New to SG.com. Pics of new (to me, at least) 2002 Solara.
by cdaniel76 » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:40 pm
Hello all,
Here's my stock 2002 Solara SE. Four-banger and Automatic. Got it to be used as a commuter car. You can see the gas guzzling Tundra in the background in a couple of the pics and with talk of gas prices hitting $4.00 this summer in Louisiana, it was time for cheeper transportation. I "stumbled" upon it at an independant used car lot and noticed the price was too low to be true. Sure enough, it had a sludged up motor. A 1/4 million miles would do that to a motor. The dealer let me bring it to the Toyota dealer that I used to be the Parts Manager at before I made a decision on buying it. Upon learning of the shot motor, I talked the dealer down to $3500. Found a used motor with 80000 miles for $1000 and had a buddy who's the Shop Foreman at the above mentioned Toyota dealer tear the new(used) motor down to inspect it and put it all back together with new gaskets, seals and anything else he deemed needed changing.
With the condition of the rest of the car, I feel like I got a good deal. It's got some hail damage on the hood, roof and trunk but it's most noticeable on the hood. I already have a Carbon Creations hood sitting in the garage just waiting to be installed and if you look closely at the interior photo, you'll see another mod I've already done (brushed aluminum faced gauges). I won't be doing too much more to it since it's just a commuter car. Window tint is a must and I'd like to get a set of 2nd generation 16" Solara wheels. I need to repaint the grill because it's fading and I'll be about done.
Here's my stock 2002 Solara SE. Four-banger and Automatic. Got it to be used as a commuter car. You can see the gas guzzling Tundra in the background in a couple of the pics and with talk of gas prices hitting $4.00 this summer in Louisiana, it was time for cheeper transportation. I "stumbled" upon it at an independant used car lot and noticed the price was too low to be true. Sure enough, it had a sludged up motor. A 1/4 million miles would do that to a motor. The dealer let me bring it to the Toyota dealer that I used to be the Parts Manager at before I made a decision on buying it. Upon learning of the shot motor, I talked the dealer down to $3500. Found a used motor with 80000 miles for $1000 and had a buddy who's the Shop Foreman at the above mentioned Toyota dealer tear the new(used) motor down to inspect it and put it all back together with new gaskets, seals and anything else he deemed needed changing.
With the condition of the rest of the car, I feel like I got a good deal. It's got some hail damage on the hood, roof and trunk but it's most noticeable on the hood. I already have a Carbon Creations hood sitting in the garage just waiting to be installed and if you look closely at the interior photo, you'll see another mod I've already done (brushed aluminum faced gauges). I won't be doing too much more to it since it's just a commuter car. Window tint is a must and I'd like to get a set of 2nd generation 16" Solara wheels. I need to repaint the grill because it's fading and I'll be about done.
- cdaniel76
- Just Licensed SolaraGuy
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2008 5:04 pm
- Location: Slidell, LA
