very general solara question. please help! :)

[john2049]

Hey you guys,
great site, i'm eager to become engaged in the discussions!

Really general question: How long are you guys seeing your solara last before you start putting big bucks in it?

YES I know this completely varies, but just want to get a feel for people's experiences.

My solara is a 2000 SLE (the gold trimming etc.) with all the works.
She is at 187,XXX miles right now. She seems to be running good. Yet, I can't get this nervous shaking out of my head that these are really high miles and will blow up on me! Maybe I am being paranoid! hence my question!

Thank you so much in advance for your exp. and advice. thanks

[toytim]

Hi John and welcome. I have had many Toyotas and it has been in my experience that they are very durable and reliable. Right now we have 2 Solaras with low miles, they run great and are very reliable, we also have a 2000 Tacoma that we purchased with 160,000 miles and is now over 180, I feel so confident in this truck that I would drive it anywhere in north america with no worries. I also had a '95 Camry 2 door with just over 100,000 miles, I got it for a low price cause it had obviously had never seen a fresh oil change or any other regular maintenance done up until then. The motor had major sludge and the trans oil was like mud but it lasted me over 2 years then it went to a coworkers son where it was driven rough for another 2 years then sold it with about 300,000 on it, still running.

My opinion and experience is that if you do regular oil changes as well as fixing little things when they need fixed then your car will last for a very long time, maybe even if it isn't a Toyota...maybe

Good luck and enjoy your Solara.
Tim

[jimmm]

Welcome, john2049. Just remember old Ben Franklin's
advice from the 16th Century: "An ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure." It works on anything and
everything.

[john2049]

thanks you guys. I'm just a worrier sometimes!

I've been too obsessed with this idea of being a cheap newer chevy aveo.........
the temptation of lower miles for the price i could sell mine for seems so tempted.

then again...there is a reason they are so cheap huh? besides, i hate chevy....i don't want to be a hypocrite!

now to figure out some good preventive measures to do as my baby gets up there mileage wise!

thanks you guys

[(K)]

In the time since I've owned the car I've only had to replace the struts/springs, the AC pump and the clutch. That's about it.

That was at 30k miles when I bought the car, and I'm now at 117K and going strong.

[toytim]

I'd stick with the high mileage Toyota too...Good choice man!

[Mr_Krispy1183]

I'm curently at 167,XXX miles on my '01, and I'm the original owner. Aside from the obvious stuff to change (water pump, timing belt, etc), just make sure none of the gaskets are leaking and that all of your motor mounts are unripped (replace them if they do), and she'll give you many thousands of miles yet to come.

[MisterTedster]

I'm at 150k miles and all I've had to spend money on was general maintenance, belts, fluids, and struts (and the dreaded strut mount). I did, however, buy a new alternator as my old one was dying most likely due to the strain placed on it by my audio system. But I picked up a highlander 130amp alt for $60 bucks on ebay and did the labor myself. So not too bad.

[ozone]

My wife's car: 1999 Solara SE with 225,000 miles on it.
My car: 1988 Corolla GTS with 165,000 miles on it.
Our car: 2003 MR2 Spyder with 101,000 miles on it.

As you can see from this, I can't really comment on how well they do when they get to be high mileage. I'll let you know in another 100k or so when I get there.

Oh and by the bye, new cars break down too.

Don't buy a crappy new car, when you can have a nice older one.

[john2049]

thanks you guys. im gonna look into all of this. you guys re right. i can make her last! thanks for the moral support!