2003 Toyota Solara
2003 Toyota Solara questions and answers
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Q: Should I go for used 2003 BMW 3-series sedan or New 2008 Toyota Solara Coupe ?
I love BMW, but both the cars mentioned cost almost the same.
which is more reliable ? and which one will be more fun driving ?
A: Once you drive a German car,nothing else drives better but the question is:can you afford to maintain the BMW?
After selling cars for 11 years in US and 5 years in Europe and I own a BMW , I will say that Toyota will be a better choice for you.
It is newer,under the factory warranty,better resale value and way lower to maintain.
Q: how much will a very minor fender bender cost me?
i hit the back of a toyota solara (probably 1999-2003). it looked like chipped paint and scratches (white bumper). there may have been a very small dent, but maybe not even. how much would it cost and would i have to pay for a while new one?
A: If it's just scratches, see if you can get away with picking up a bottle of touch up paint for them.
If there is a dent, it can cost anywhere from $50-800
A lady hit the side of my 91 civic, there was a small dent and the plastic runner came off, I didn't think much of it until I got a $750 estimate.
If the "dent" is just pushed in it's no big deal, if there is a crease at all that costs to have it taken out.
Ask if you can settle this without insurance, and ask her to (or him) get a couple estimates.
Shouldn't be that expensive if it's only a few scratches.
Q: What should I do? I have a car loan right now with negative equity...?
I'll try to keep this as short as possible... It all started when I traded in my Toyota Solara with a Bertera dealership. I traded it in torwards a Toyota MR2 Spyder. I only had the MR2 for about 45 days and I found out that it needed a new engine!
So I got a lawyer involved for about a year and in the ended I only got $1000 torwards the $5000 to replace the engine in the MR2, but in the mean time I had to get another car to use because I didn't have the money to replace the engine at that time. I ended up getting a Hyundai Tiburon which was really good, I had it for about a year an a 1/2.
After the lawsuite was settled I wanted to trade both cars in torwards one, so I would only have 1 car & insurance payment. So I did that torwards my current Audi A6. It just passed 100,000 miles and I have had to do a few repairs. I really want to get something cheaper, but I have about $10000 still in negative equity!? It's a 2003 A6 Quattro, I still owe $20,000, trade in value is about 10k
BTW this happened about 2 years ago, I've had the Audi for 2 years and have been paying.
I would like to refinance it but most banks won't because it's over 80,000 miles...
I had to get something like the Audi because a bank would not have rolled the 2 car loans into one car that was cheap.
I wish I could have kept the Tiburon and just sold the MR2, but I need to do something quick because both car payments were $350 plus insurance on each one. I don't know how long it would have taken to sell the MR2 privately so atleast by going with the trade in with the Audi I cut my payments down a little and insurance in 1/2... but it's still been alot and because of it I can't get my own place....
@ tincoatr , i don't just keep trading in cars... .i mentioned that I got screwed from Bertera because I had to put in a new engine just after having the MR2 for 45 days!
A: The first thing you should do is stop trading in cars until you figure out what you are doing. You have a pattern of going from bad to worse. I am not sure how it is even possible that you managed to get a negative equity of that proportion.
I doubt anyone is going to give you the amount you owe on the car so your choices are limited. You can come up with the $10K negative and trade it in OR you can keep the car until you can come up with the negative equity.
Q: Whether to tow or to drive two cars separately?
Moving from: Gulfport, MS 39507, Moving to: St Joseph, MO 64507. Distance to drive: Approx 1000 miles.
Car towing: Nissan Xterra, 2003, 6 cyl, 4WD, Gas mileage: 20 mpg on Hwy. Car towed: Toyota Camry Solara, 1999.
Cost of hitch, wiring, ballmount, installation and car dolly: close to 400 $.
My question is: Is it better to tow solara or drive separately? Is it safer to tow? What are the tips for safe towing?
I will appreciate any tips/advice or suggestions.
A: First, it is NOT safer to tow. Towing has its own set of risks and driving techniques to cope with those risks. A good driver, with experience in that kind of towing CAN make the trip safely, but, it is NOT a safer choice.
Towing can save gas money, compared to driving it separately, but, for that short distance, the cost of towing gear looks like a lot more than the $400 you figured on. By the way, with the Nissan doing the hauling, it will NOT get 20 mpg. I don't want to guess what the mileage will be, but with the extra load of the tow, it will drop considerably.
As far as tips: assuming the connections are made properly, the best advice I can offer is for the tow car to drive slower than it might have under normal driving conditions. The extra weight of the car means a longer breaking distance required, and a slower speed means a shorter stopping distance, PLUS, more time for the driver to react to hazzards on the road ahead. Also, other traffic will EXPECT the tow combination to be slower.
And please, PLEASE have the driver spend a half hour or so PRACTICING, in a parking lot, and in light traffic before setting out. Acceleration will be affected, passing clearances different and overall handling of the front car will be TOTALLY different. Getting a feel for those differences, even just a half hour, will mean a more confident and safer driver.
Finally, stop every couple of hours or so to check out the hitch, tires, etc. Even in the most expert set ups, things CAN go wrong, and the thousand miles gives problems plenty of time to crop up.
To all this, add the usual cautions about driving defensively, getting plenty of rest and avoid all the conditions that contribute to an impaired driver. Get plenty of sleep, make regular rest stops, don't let the driver get too distracted, don't tailgate, speed or make too many random lane changes.
Good luck on the trip, and your new home.