too Many Miles?? 1999 SLE V6 Solara-- 235,000

[Stringpickin]

Hey and good day. I am very aware of how excellent the ol Toyota's are. Have owned a few in my life. But I have never owned a Solara..

I am looking at buying one in the next day or two. Driven by a gal back and forth to Moms and Dads from San Fran to San Diego a million times and back and forth to work and school in San Fran Area.. Has a Excel Database print out of all maintenance done on it since she owned it. Proving average oil changes at 5K. Timing belts replaced at 90 and 180k.. Says all maintenance schedule done by Dealer for most part. Never been in a serious accident. Has most of the goodies, no abs. Sunroof,AT,AC,front air bags,leather,alloy wheels,spoiler,etc. Says body is about a 7 or so because of nicks and little dings. Interior an 8.. Engine compartment spotless..

Main question is,, even though all this had been done, is 235,000 miles on the car make this a somewhat scary proposition concerning not only the motor but other things breaking, wearing out.. i.e.. elec. windows, elec, sunroof, antentae.. and all scensors and shocks and seals and on and on..

What is your opinion. is the car worth 4K or should one shop for a little higher price with lower miles..

sure do appreciate your time and answers. sincerely.

stringpickin

[Akfahad]

me personally, depending on what your needing the car for, that's a little bit too much mileage for me. I'm sure you can shop around (try craigslist) and find a toyota (if that's what you really want) with lower mileage for around the same ballpark price. Although, you could always try bargaining with her to get the price down...

[riceqx2]

...gave it to my sister at 200k miles. I took good care of it with synthetic oil changes and good fuel. I had the timing belt replaced @ 125k, suspension @ 90k, valve cover gaskets @ 190k etc. She now has the same mileage on it (235k), and it still has the original alternator and muffler. The suspension needs new strut mounts, and the air conditioning needs a new compresser. The drivers door latch is hard to open. The suspension on this car is a perinial problem and little things will go bad. I would'nt pay a penny over $3k for this car.

[Stringpickin]

Hey and good day.. Thank you for your input.. Well I went and bought it.. and I paid exactly 3k for it.. Let me tell you,, the gal/single owner has every receipt for every thing she has done on it since the day she bought it. The overall car minus two minor dents, is in Excellent Shape, not fair, not good, but excellent. The shocks feel like they could be more firm, but it does not cycle more than 1 1/2 times even on the severest of bumps. The AC was used generally only on road trips as she lived in the bay area and never needed AC. This is where 70% of her miles were put on the car. It has a brand new set of 70K mileage michelins(rather have goodyear or bfgoodrich) but anyway.. The engine runs with zero valve noise. The tranny shifts as smooth as any I have been in. She has had every factory recomended tune up, and maintenance item done to it, with the papers to prove it. unreal.. I talked to a toyota service rep. He told me it is probably in better shape than 75% of the Solaras out there with half the mileage. I tend to believe him.. I figure for 3k. if it lasts me 70k I got a steal.. What a nice car to drive. Do you know anything about the traction control option for the SLE models. It is the only option not on the car. Did it really help the handling of the car or?? Thanks for your input again. Let me hope it stays as trouble free for me as it did for her eh? oh yeah, brand new gel battery a few months ago.. nice..