1st Generation Solara

[thecarguy]

Just picked up a solara lastnight with my mom. Its a pearl kinda colored SE v6 1999 with 60K miles. Was looking at the 4 bangers, but the v6 is much nicer. Im suprised that I like driving it so much. Anyways its an overall great car.

Is this the same 3.0v6 engine thats in the older toyota pickups? I believe it is the 3uzfe engine thats in the older pickups. To me it looks different and I hope it is, that older 3.0 sure does like to blow up headgaskets and isnt much better than the 22r. However, this does seem much more powerful than the 3.0 in my last truck.

Is there any solara forums out there?

[Steelerboy]

Originally Posted by thecarguy

Is this the same 3.0v6 engine thats in the older toyota pickups? I believe it is the 3uzfe engine thats in the older pickups. To me it looks different and I hope it is, that older 3.0 sure does like to blow up headgaskets and isnt much better than the 22r. However, this does seem much more powerful than the 3.0 in my last truck.

No worries,its not the same engine.The 3.0L in the Solara is the same engine that is used in the Camry,ES 300 etc.It has a alum block/head and the older pickup engine was a iron block/alum head.

[shelbix2020]

I think Im going to sell the truck and buy a 99-01 Solara within the next month or 2 .... I want to stay in the family, so to speak Ive really liked the solara and wanted to give that a try

Anything I should know? other suggestions on cars?

basically I want a car for around $7-10k, 99-02, and good gas mileage ... 20/25ish MPG and up

thank yall

.... I CAN afford my truck ... but I just cant save any money and I kinda needta save money!!

[THarms]

My wife drives a '99 Solara SLE... Fun, fast and unbelievably dependable. Car has 90+k miles and the only thing we have had to do beyond what I would consider "normal" maintainence (oil, air filter, timing belt@70k, tires, etc..) is we had to get the front upper strut mounts replaced (understand this is a common problem on the '99/'00 models) which cost about $400. She avg's about 25mpg w/ mostly hwy driving. Like the camry, its probably one of the best/most reliable cars on the road today.

[shelbix2020]

thanks THarms

Ive been searching around for one, but cant realy find any good ones for under $10k ... since I have the Tundra theres no rush on getting it, besides money leaving the bank account faster than my truck

[Tundrav8yamaha]

Originally Posted by shelbix2020

I think Im going to sell the truck and buy a 99-01 Solara within the next month or 2 .... I want to stay in the family, so to speak Ive really liked the solara and wanted to give that a try

Anything I should know? other suggestions on cars?

basically I want a car for around $7-10k, 99-02, and good gas mileage ... 20/25ish MPG and up

thank yall

.... I CAN afford my truck ... but I just cant save any money and I kinda needta save money!!

hey

my bother drives a solara sle(debadged with hid) fully loaded i like his car only vibe i have with it seems to be the door's (seems on the solara it's a longer door and feels weird to close because the side glass has no frame beyond that his has 60k and it's very much as smooth as my parents avalon..


his ride..


http://www.tundrasolutions.com/photo...solara-med.jpg

[Simias]

shelbix...i was looking at getting a solara as well for my commuter car. i really dig the styling and the quality. the only year i didn't like was the '02-'03 when they changed the tailights. if you really want to get good gas mileage get the 5-speed 4banger. good luck!

check out your local recycler. they've always got solara's for sale. good luck!

[peid]

I had actually thought about getting a Solara instead of my Camry but the one huge issue for me was the windows with no frame/metal around the window. I know its Toyota and should be better than most but it seems eventually those types always leak wind/water or something. I probably would've bought the Solara if it had metal around the entire window for a sure seal.

[Tundrav8yamaha]

Originally Posted by peid

I had actually thought about getting a Solara instead of my Camry but the one huge issue for me was the windows with no frame/metal around the window. I know its Toyota and should be better than most but it seems eventually those types always leak wind/water or something. I probably would've bought the Solara if it had metal around the entire window for a sure seal.

yea i mentioned the same about the door, just has a really weird feeling opening the car door ..I prefer windows with frames, the side panel on the solara feels like it's glass waiting to break,,,

[ElSanTT]

I am also considering a solara and sell my Tundra but I will miss it if I do.

[shelbix2020]

cool guys ... I actually like the no frame windows, so thats not a problem for me and I dont think I could go to a 4-banger from a V8 lol

my works blows, its a cool job but I didnt have enough for my last payment and then all of a sudden Ive worked almost 3 weeks straight WITH overtime!! so I made like 2 or 3 payments worth Ill keep goin with the Tun, get some more equity in it

[Matador98]

Don't worry about not being fast enough with the 4 banger. We bought my wife a 2002 solara with the 4 last June, and bought my Tundra in February of 2004. First thing we did when we left the dealer with my truck....raced from a red light. The the solara beat me off the line, but I took over when the V8 hit 3500 rpm, not a suprise. The V6 is nice in the solara, but we couldn't justifiy the difference in gas mileage and price because the 4 banger is just that close. And then I put a k&n on it, and it made a huge difference, got even faster. Overall, pretty good for a 4 banger with 157 HP that still gets 29-33 mpg, depending on which one is of us driving it.

[meagap]

Originally Posted by THarms

My wife drives a '99 Solara SLE... Fun, fast and unbelievably dependable. Car has 90+k miles and the only thing we have had to do beyond what I would consider "normal" maintainence (oil, air filter, timing belt@70k, tires, etc..) is we had to get the front upper strut mounts replaced (understand this is a common problem on the '99/'00 models) which cost about $400. She avg's about 25mpg w/ mostly hwy driving. Like the camry, its probably one of the best/most reliable cars on the road today.

THarms,
I am interested in your front upper strut mount replacement. I have a 99 Solara that I've had since '01 and have always had a mysterious rattle near the front that no one seems to know where it comes from. It hasn't caused any problems so far, other than being a bit annoying. I am wondering if this might be the problem?

Thanks
Margo

[THarms]

Margo - on our solara, the front of the car would make a popping or knocking-type sound everytime we hit a moderate sized bump or dip in the road... the drivers side was the loudest.

Any reputable shock/strut shop should be able to confirm whether it is indeed the strut mounts that need replacing. Its now been about 50K miles since our were replaced and they are still holding up (car is pushing 125K miles now on the odometer)

[PXLpainter]

Good luck with buying a Solara so you won't keep spending $$ on your Tundra! LOL!!

I've had mine for about 7 months now and have already TRD-ed the thing out (except for suspension - which I'm waiting for wheels and more $) and there's a long list of other mods I'd like to keep doing.

It's a sickness and switching vehicles won't necessarily cure it!

BTW - the 4-banger has more options for FAI than the V6 does, but the Gen 1 V6 at least has a TRD S/C to bolt-on.