Why did you buy a Toyota Camry Solara?

by **solarasle00** » Mon Aug 12, 2002 7:36 am

I did not want to turn 21 with the same car I drove back in high-school. So I went looking for something fast & sporty, yet refined and comfortable. So from January 1999 to January 2000 I went and tried the 99’Acura CL 3.0, a 2000 BMW 328 w/sport package, a 99’Jaguar XK8, a 2000 Pontiac Firebird Formula and a 99’Cadillac Eldorado ETC. After giving each car a test drive, doing research on the models, and checking the sound systems that each one had with on of my CD’s (euro-dance does not sound good on most stereos) I chose the Cadillac as the one I would get. I was one my way to the dealer that January day when my father told me about this new car he had seen at the Toyota dealer in town. I took a ride over and they had just gotten in a 2000 Solara SLE in pearl white with tan leather and every option. She had 1.2miles on her and still had all the plastic from the trip covering her. The salesman said why don’t we take it for a drive. That was it. I was hooked on the car. I got back to the dealer and told them to do the paper work. I took it for a 36-month lease not knowing anything about Toyota and if I would still be happy with the car by the end of that time. I am now 23 and will be buying the car in January when my lease is up and have now begun to do a fair amount of modification to her knowing that she will be with me for a long time.

by **Missay** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 2:51 pm

heheheh...remember this discussion, guys??http://www.geocities.com/solarachick84/cointray.html

by **Jai_Jai_Binks** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 3:13 pm

I'm guessing that this is a SLE option. Cus' us chepo guys here...don't have that!

by **Blaze** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 5:19 pm

ya must be, i dont have that either

by **Missay** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 5:41 pm

jhbhatia wrote:I'm guessing that this is a SLE option. Cus' us chepo guys here...don't have that!

hey...no one ever said the SE was cheap

it's no geo metro!

by **Peter** » Sun Sep 15, 2002 8:24 pm

i bought mine cuz i dont like it.... :-?

by **evildre** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 4:56 pm

I bought mine because I got sick and bloody tired of my 1988 Cadillac Sedan deVille. I test-drove a Volkswagen Golf TDI, Volkswagen Golf w/gas engine, Volkswagen Jetta, Honda Accord coupe, Honda Accord sedan, Honda Civic EX/LX/HX, Toyota Prius, and Toyota Solara.

I initially liked the Volkswagen Golf TDI simply because of the insane fuel economy. But then I drove it ... the thing is ass slow. I drove the Golf with the gas engine, and it was more peppy, but I couldn't stand the dashboard. Also, none of the dealers around here had 2-door Golfs, and I really wanted to get a coupe/2-door of some sort. The Jetta's a Golf with a trunk instead of a hatchback, so I wasn't too impressed.

The Honda Accord sedan I drove had a V6, and that thing hauled. Great ride, and I'd had assloads of experience with Hondas before. My girlfriend owns a Honda Civic HX, which she lets me drive all the time ... I test-drove an EX coupe and an LX sedan, but there was really nothing special about the Civics. As for the Accord coupe ... that thing has an obscenely large rear-end.

The Solara's ride was smoove as buttah, which is much-appreciated after owning a Cadillac

And, the inside is virtually silent when driving down the street ... at least when my stereo's turned off. The external appearance of the Solara is definitely nicer than that of any of the other cars I drove (read: it's SEXY!!). So, I ended up with a Lunar Mist Metallic 2002 Toyota Camry Solara SE, complete with the appearance package, moonroof, spoiler (ineffective, but looks great), and the NEW CAR SMELL

I got the 4-cylinder SE for two main reasons: I'm a po' college student, so I don't want to pay more for gas than I have to, and I'm a po' college student who couldn't afford the V6.

/me shuts up now

by **Missay** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 7:09 pm

evildre wrote:and the NEW CAR SMELL

lol..speaking of new car smell...i think i've figured out what it is!! the tires!! i know this sounds crazy, but i just got new tires and i swear the car smells like a new car! lol..i'm crazy and it's probably not it..but can anyone else explain the new car smell?? common..it makes sense!! lol..i mean all new cars have tires!! hahah

by **Guest** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 7:18 pm

Kenn157 wrote:I've been seeing the Solara around and I liked it very much. But I had an 88 Camry LE since October of 87. It was running well, little rust now and then but I kept up with it... 150K miles on him and going strong. Until that faithful day in March 2002 when the teenage girl up the street hit my parked baby in front of my house on her way to school.

i guess my situation is just like this one. I used to have an '88 Corolla. My friends and I used to call it the "Corodda". I named her Elenore. :lol:

but the damned old thing ran!

anyway, in one week i got into 2 accidents, none of which were filed with insurance, which was a definite sign to me: this car is not going to last forever!

at first i decided to get the new Lancer, just to trade it in to get the new Evo VII Lancer in 2003, but my family (being obsessed with Toyota's) insisted on a different choice. an ad in the paper caught my attention for a 2001 Solara at a ridiculous price, so i jumped on it. I'd always been fond of Solara's and i never thought i'd get one myself. i WAS going to trade it in for the Evo VII Lancer, but. . .i think i'll hold onto this one for a while. . . :wink:

by **krook** » Mon Sep 16, 2002 7:22 pm

whoops! got logged off in the middle of typing! :bad-words:

i posted the message above.

by **Slipstream** » Tue Sep 17, 2002 6:17 pm

Because I didn't know the Infinity G35 would be coming out a few years later!

by **c2g** » Tue Sep 17, 2002 9:16 pm

I went to the toyota dealer just to see what they had my dad had bought a 99 camry le v6 and my stepmom had bought a 2001 celica gts from the same guy he was really cool so we went out to the lot and he showed me the solara 99 se v6 silverstream he gave me the keys told me to take it around see what i thought he didnt even come with me i was hooked got back from the drive and signed that night i love the car.

by **evildre** » Wed Sep 18, 2002 7:18 pm

Missay wrote:lol..speaking of new car smell...i think i've figured out what it is!! the tires!! i know this sounds crazy, but i just got new tires and i swear the car smells like a new car! lol..i'm crazy and it's probably not it..but can anyone else explain the new car smell?? common..it makes sense!! lol..i mean all new cars have tires!! hahah

I don't know about that one ... it sounds plausible, but I've tried other things, in which the new car smell showed up ...

About 2 weeks after I bought the Solara, I finished the break-in period of 1000 miles. So what did I do? I drove it to Colorado Springs. 16 1/2 hour drive. While I was in Colorado Springs, the weather was damn near PERFECT, so I constantly had my windows rolled down and the moonroof open. Needless to say, the new car smell was gone by the end of my vacation.

On the way back from Colorado Springs, right after the Nebraska/Colorado border on I-80, I turned on the air conditioning. The car was filled with the glorious new car smell yet again!

by **ericatdallas** » Wed Sep 18, 2002 10:13 pm

I wanted something fast, with a V6, reliable, and sporty. I was going to go with the Camry but while I was looking I noticed the Solara. My cousin had one and I thought it looked great and she loved it.

I would have went with the 350Z but it wasn't out yet and I had just lost my job and I NEEDED a car because I had just sunk $3k into my 95 Protege and it still wasn't working (now it had transmission problems and the air compressor was dead- another $3k to fix).

The coin tray is weird. I'm not sure what I plan to do with it... I was thinking it might be a good place to put pens.

by **Missay** » Thu Sep 19, 2002 10:49 am

ericatdallas wrote:My cousin had one and I thought it looked great and she loved it.

The coin tray is weird. I'm not sure what I plan to do with it... I was thinking it might be a good place to put pens.

that coin tray really is weird..it really has no functional, practical purpose. someone mentioned a pen and postie notes, but besides that, what else you gonna use it for besides dollar bills?

ekkk...my mother mentioned the other day that she was thinking about buying herself a solara convertible. lol..for someone who acts tough and tells me the car is beautiful but just "ok" she sure didn't seem that way when she was talking about it! as much as i don't want her to get one (for obvious reasons..common!) it would be kinda nice! then i can drive it every now and then if she let me! haha..i don't think she's going to go through w/ buying one, but you never know.

my father fell in love w/ the green 99sle that we found for 14k (well, i think he fell in luv more w/ the price!!). he had that "humm...maybe it's time for a new car" sparkle in his eyes when he was looking at it. haha...he shoulda just bought it! instead i have him finding every excuse he can to drive my car!! another one who acts like i'm a loser for liking the car so much..but who wants to take in on all his dates...cough cough...lol

Why did you buy a Toyota Camry Solara?

old faithful in fateful accidents!

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