'00 Toyota Solara Convertible - Yes or No?

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Originally Posted By: hypervish
Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
Originally Posted By: KitaCam

Thanks for this info...I had once recommended on Toyotanation that the cover be pulled, thinking (but not knowing for sure that there were 2) that the (front) valve cover would be easy and got criticized for that...nice to find out I was right...

As for the door...when I got my Camry the passenger door skin had been replaced withOUT the soundproofing foam pad attached to the inside and so it slammed like an aluminum storm door, a cheap one at that...adding the foam pad returned the "THUD" to the door so it now sounds more substantial, and "rich"...

Yes the timing belt is a bear and expensive...$1000-1200 if you change the water pump and seals...recommended...at the same time...but I've read that the new replacement is made from kevlar and will last a lot longer than the the original...so hopefully a one-time/100k maintenance...

The seating is high...you definitely feel that you're sitting ON the seat rather than IN it...much more family sedan-like (like the Camry) than sports-sedan...

All that said...it's a nice car...my cuz has the next gen convertable and it's sweet.


That timing belt job is really expensive. If I get the car I'll drive it around for at least a month and make sure it's rock solid before having it done.



I'm sorry but $1000-$1200 is pushing it.

You can buy a timing belt kit off of ebay (includes cam seals, timing belt, water pump, crank seal, water pump gasket, drive belts, and thermostat + gasket) for $300. You don't even need all of that at only 50k miles, you can get a kit with only timing belt and water pump for around $100 all OEM parts by the way.

Labor is going to be around $400.


$1000-1200 @ dealer including front seals, water pump, and drive belts...
a lot of information here...
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/104-5t...iming-belt.html
 
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Someone is getting hosed. The local dealer charges about half that for the 3.0 with seal and pump out the door.
IF it needs cam seals it will be 2 hrs more but at 55K lets not start rebuilding the engine.
 
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Isn't that engine a non-interference? The change interval might be 90k miles or 7 years or whatever, but that's conservative and they can usually last longer. If you bought it, I wouldn't be afraid to run it for a little while longer before changing the belt. Now if it was an interference engine, I wouldn't think of exceeding the mileage or time interval.
 
Non interference engine. I have no problem running them to 100K. CA models may actually spec 100K like Subaru does with the same parts as 49 state engines.

Its got a little over half that and some guys are starting already with seals and oil leaks and all sorts of stuff. Its laughable.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Someone is getting hosed. The local dealer charges about half that for the 3.0 with seal and pump out the door.
IF it needs cam seals it will be 2 hrs more but at 55K lets not start rebuilding the engine.


+1.

The Lexus dealer here charges $1000 for everything, and that includes free loaners, etc. That link is inaccurate.
 
The VVT-I version of this engine (1MZ-FE) is Interference.

The 2000 Solara does not have VVT-I so therefore it is non-interference. However some Solara's did come with VVT-I up until 2003 I believe. But, double check to see if it has it or not.

You can at your own risk run it till the belt breaks.

And, yes this 90k/7 year number is a very cautious number. People have gone longer than 200k miles on their original belt and it still looks good. So carry on at your on risk.
 
A toyota with that low of miles would go for a lot more here even with the body damage. Toyota=Golden Pedestal. I'm sure you could shop around independent shops for a good price on a timing belt job. Not like people haven't seen that engine a million times before.

I think the miles are too low to worry about sludge, but pulling the valve cover is a good idea. Just so you know if it has only had two oil changes during its life. Any kind of reasonable maintenance and that engine will outlast the car.
 
Guys,

Yesterday I went to look at the car again but the owner of the station wasn't there. One of the employees gave me the keys so figured I'd look it over quickly again.

Well, the inside of the car had a musty smell to it. When I originally went to see the car the roof was down when I got there. This time it was up and probably had been since the previous day.
Of course this made me fear the worst. That the car is some flood damaged vehicle and this mechanic quickly got it 'good enough' to get rid of.
Then there's the flip side. It is a convertible. Sometimes they get left with their top's down in a sudden storm and get pretty soaked before the owner remembers...The Car!
Or even just that this one has or had a leak in the roof at some point and quite a bit of water got in. At least enough to cause the mustiness.

My first impulse is to run away from it. My second impulse is to try to dig as deep as possible into this situation until I come up with conclusive evidence one way or the other.

How do I know for sure if it's been flood damaged? Every electrical item worked. The A/C works, the cigarette lighter, the radio etc.

The other issue is the entire car is missing all Toyota badges with the exception of the front grill.

- No trunk badge. Should say Toyota. With emblem and Solara SLE.

- No badge on either side of the car. Should say I believe Solara SLE.

So the whole car is like a puzzle or mystery.

- Is it the low mileage vehicle with fully documented service records since new it claims to be?

- Or is it a nightmare flood or water damaged vehicle that got reconditioned off the record?
 
It's obvious that you have engough reservations about this car that even if you buy it for a decent price, you'll always be worried about these potential problems.

I think you know what the right decision is for you. Unless you can get the car for a low enough price that some of these potential problems would not put you over the actual value of the car.
 
Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
Guys,

Yesterday I went to look at the car again but the owner of the station wasn't there. One of the employees gave me the keys so figured I'd look it over quickly again.

Well, the inside of the car had a musty smell to it. When I originally went to see the car the roof was down when I got there. This time it was up and probably had been since the previous day.
Of course this made me fear the worst. That the car is some flood damaged vehicle and this mechanic quickly got it 'good enough' to get rid of.
Then there's the flip side. It is a convertible. Sometimes they get left with their top's down in a sudden storm and get pretty soaked before the owner remembers...The Car!
Or even just that this one has or had a leak in the roof at some point and quite a bit of water got in. At least enough to cause the mustiness.

My first impulse is to run away from it. My second impulse is to try to dig as deep as possible into this situation until I come up with conclusive evidence one way or the other.

How do I know for sure if it's been flood damaged? Every electrical item worked. The A/C works, the cigarette lighter, the radio etc.

The other issue is the entire car is missing all Toyota badges with the exception of the front grill.

- No trunk badge. Should say Toyota. With emblem and Solara SLE.

- No badge on either side of the car. Should say I believe Solara SLE.

So the whole car is like a puzzle or mystery.

- Is it the low mileage vehicle with fully documented service records since new it claims to be?

- Or is it a nightmare flood or water damaged vehicle that got reconditioned off the record?


Maybe the previous owner was someone young who thought it was cool to debadge the car.

I'd investigate further, see where it leads you. But, don't buy it if you don't like it, because even though it's only $5k, it's still $5 thousand of your hard earned money.
 
I suppose it depends on how much of a gambler you are but I would run in the other direction. Everything you've said about this car screams flood damage vehicle to me (really low price, low miles, musty smell, rust, etc...)
 
I would recommend that you take the car to a trusted body shop and indie mechanic to inspect and confirm condition....definitely worth the $100 it might cost for a thorough inspection.
 
Have you at least run the VIN through Carfax or Autocheck?

External appearances usually correlate with how much care an owner puts into a car. From what you've said, I'd be suspicious of what other neglect this car may have suffered.

Check it out more if you want, but I wouldn't get too enamored by it.
 
Take it to a good body shop for a closer look, the fact a convertible has a musty smell is nothing unusual. Do a carfax, get some documentation.

My wife always sprayed the garden hose at the side windows when washing it and soaked the carpets. Still does on the new car and manages to get water in it.

Debadging is nothing new many BMW and MB cars in Germany have none especially the entry level and top level cars.
 
Well the car has been SOLD.

I called the mechanic today and he said the woman who owns the car found a buyer for it. So that's that. Honestly, the whole thing felt like a gamble. Between not being able to properly test drive the car, having no contact with the actual owner and discovering that musty smell it just wasn't within my comfort zone to purchase it. Maybe it was a great car maybe it wasn't.

Just wanted to thank Trav, Vish and the rest of you guys for your input during this whole thing. I really appreciate it.
 
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