Thinking of buying a 99 - good idea?

by **aaron_g** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 8:18 pm

My beautiful Saturn was rear ended and totaled, so I'm looking for a new car. I found a 99 Solara in my price range that has 75000 miles and good maintenance record. The only thing that has me worried is the car is eleven years old.

So I'm asking you all for your input.

by **DriDed** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 8:23 pm

From what I read about the members on here, the 99 is great in terms of reliability. Just to be sure about that particular car you are looking at, have it checked out and be sure to test drive it before any deals are made.

Good luck and hope you get that what you are looking for.

by **ASG14** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 8:25 pm

As ^ said. Nothing to be worried about. The fact that you say it has all the maintmentce records makes it even better.

by **LatinUSMC** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 8:53 pm

its a TOYOTA ..beats ANY American car anyday.

by **aaron_g** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 8:54 pm

Is there any information about a faulty oil problem in the 99 Solaras?

A friend of mine said she heard something about it.

by **ASG14** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:01 pm

You mean the Oil Sludge issue. 95% of the time, if you do oil changes normally, there will be no issue at all. SINCE you said it has a good maintence record (assuming oil changes are in that), it should be a non-issue.

But as with any used car, check everything out. If you can;t, have an independant shop, toyota dealer, or car friend check it out for you.

by **Mole** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:57 pm

aaron_g wrote:Is there any information about a faulty oil problem in the 99 Solaras?

A friend of mine said she heard something about it.

please do tell more about your female friend....

there is no faulty oil problem, however "sludge" has been mentioned before, but that is due to owner's negligence.

by **corlon** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 10:33 pm

love my 99 v6 5-spd w/ 130,000 miles on it.

by **x99suplarax** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 4:06 am

x2.. i have 120000 miles on it

by **1gSE** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 5:06 am

150k+ on mine and she runs like a champ

by **sahuddleston** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 6:34 am

welcome to SG. buy it.

by **TLMNICK** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 9:27 am

The solara is a WAY better car, in reliability, performance, and appearance. +1 to it being better than any american car.

Oil sludging, as others have mentioned is due to negligence. It might be less forgiving than other cars that way, but if one is dumb enough to slack on their oil changes....then you sort of deserve it. Bottom line is, if you treat the car good, it'll return the favor.

by **mazen222** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 10:08 am

is it I4 or V6 ? manual or auto?

140k miles on my manual V6, still run strong and smooth. I am aiming for 190k before i let it go.

So far all i had to change are strut mounts and some bushings. All the rest is clean.

Do go a good in depth ispection and then make your decision. The 300-400 $ inspection is worth it... worst case, you will know what you will have to repair.

by **Skew** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:27 pm

I bought my 99 with 79,000 on her and shes coming around the 100K milestone. As you said, if she has been properly taken care of, she will run forever.

by **LEE337** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:28 pm

This is a great forum to do your homework on Solara's.
If the seller kept good records and kept up regular oil changes it will run just fine.
Spend the dough and have a mechanic check it out.

Im coming up on 170,000 miles on my 99 SE.

Your in for a treat going from a saturn to a Lara!

Tell us more about it.
I4 or V6?
AT or MT?

Good Luck!

Thinking of buying a 99 - good idea?

Thinking of buying a 99 - good idea?

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