Bought a new car this morning

[Satty]

I'll get pics later, but lets say you're all going to hat me. 2000 _o____ __m__ ___a__ S_ _6 Guess

[the_yellow_dart]

Toyota Camry sedan SE V6?

[Satty]

Toyota Camry sedan SE V6?

[post="52301"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

close....nix the sedan, add another suffix

[the_yellow_dart]

ah... Solara. So you bought another Sebring and had Toyota put it together for ya! :)

[Satty]

Pretty much....its red, tan interior, V6, auto, I might post some pics later. Let the bash fest begin, but for a few bucks more per month than my Saturn this car is worlds ahead of it in every category possible.

[Flybrian]

So, did you castrate yourself before or after you bought a Solara?

[ocnblu]

This sounds like sodomy gone horribly wrong. :o

[!!!TED!!!]

I know Polish_Kris is gonna love you now. :lol:

[Cory Wolfe]

Well... um... uh... wow, what to say.... err... atleast its a coupe or conv? Sure that works... :P Edited December 3, 2005 by blackviper8891

[Satty]

Its a coupe and it blew away the other cars I test drove. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. The Saturn was in for the taillight recall, I was wandering around the used lot and started talking to a salesman. I told him that I wasn't actively looking for a new car but if something good came along, I would jump on it, since I was kind of tired of the noisy, cheap Saturn. I told him my price range, he had '98 4Runner, a '96 Camry, the '00 Solara I bought, an '01 Eclipse, an '02 RSX a '98 325i (the last two were a little more than I wanted to spend) and an '01 Monte Carlo SS. I took the Eclipse for a spin (I've driven one before) followed by the Solara and the 325 and the MC. The Solara is in great shape and it is one hell of a car. I decided to switch insurance companies, I got a few similar quotes so I did what any guy would do, I went with the company that had the hottest woman working in the office. Yay me! And there was no castration involved anywhere in the process.

[CSpec]

That car looks like it's in great shape. Congrats on your purchase.

[Satty]

That car looks like it's in great shape. Congrats on your purchase.

[post="52365"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Thanks.

I forgot to mention the stereo, stock JBL system, it kicks ass. Better than the Infiniti we have on the Sebring, and thats the only good thing about that damned 'vert.

[Variance]

My first guess was a Pontiac Montana SV6. :P Not my taste but a nice-looking car nonetheless. Congrats on the purchase. B)

[Teh Ricer Civic!]

Satty you are stripped from your post whore 2003 status because of this!

[bobo]

Not a bad car. A co-worker, a 40ish woman, has one that looks exactly like it. The car is like a budget Lexus, a huge step up from the L-Series. And course, the only reason evil Toyota called the car a Camry Solara was to get Camry sales up. I would have thought that you would try to get something more bicycle friendly, like a small SUV. Now Satty no longer fits you. Maybe we should call you something like Toyboy (or Toyboi)?

[Sixty8panther]

--- Post edited for graphic violence & crude language --- Sodomy aside even I didn't think you were this much of a Masochist. :blink:

[Satty]

I would have thought that you would try to get something more bicycle friendly, like a small SUV.

[post="52425"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

First gen CR-Vs were in my price range, and were pretty appealing, but not easy to find around here. A Rav4 would have done ok too, again impossible to find. I could have stretched and gotten an Element, but figured that I wouldn't want to be driving it 4-5 years from now, so I might as well jump on something a little more "adult." Honestly, I haven't tried my bike rack on the car yet, I've been running around in it all day, but it should fit with a few adjustments. Mini-Lexus is right, it is so smooth and quiet, silent and vault-like compared to the L, it moves quickly enough and handles pretty well considering the tires are pretty wussy. The only problem with it is the grille, which is really crappy looking, as you can see in that pic. It'll be replaced eventually.

--- Post edited for graphic violence & crude language ---
Sodomy aside even I didn't think you were this much of a Masochist.  :blink:

[post="52437"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

The next part of my plan is to put an Acura emblem on every Camaro ever made.

[ocnblu]

Congrats on the purchase, Satty. I forgot to say that in my earlier post.

[Sixty8panther]

I better just stay away form this thread because I keep wanting to post that quote from "Christine" that Balthazar had in his sig. a while back.

[ShadowDog]

Nice car though. Just thought I'd make a jab anyway. :P Edited December 4, 2005 by ShadowDog

[Satty]

Well, I've had it for one month today, and let me tell you, this thing is a piece of shit! The little rubber cover on the brake pedal came off! I'm going to write Edmunds, Consumer Reports and Toyota about this. They had better replace the car and pay me for the emotional damage done by watching a part fall off of a Toyota. But seriously, other than the gas mileage (22 mpg compared to the 28 the Saturn got in the same driving) this car is awesome. The blind spots are pretty big, but thats not a huge concern, especially when all of the plastics are so soft to the touch. And before anyone says "Who ever touches their dashboard?" I just want to say that the stuff on the door panels (which I do touch and rest my arm on) are the same as the dash. And they're soft. Maintenance is going to be expensive, replacing the timing belt and water pump (which as far as I can tell should have been done by the 90,000 mile mark and haven't been) is going to run like $500, but nothings perfect and its only money.

[Sixty8panther]

Maintenance is going to be expensive, replacing the timing belt and water pump (which as far as I can tell should have been done by the 90,000 mile mark and haven't been) is going to run like $500, but nothings perfect and its only money.

[post="66975"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Someone who says "It's only money" is the kind of person who buys a relly desirable product like a CTS-V or a Corvette Z06... not a Camry Solara. If you had to sell out to Toyota at least you should have bought a Lexus IS/GS or at least a Celica GT-S.

I'd never pay Toyota-like maintanence dollars for a car that is blander than a box of macaroni. But that's just me. :rolleyes: Edited January 3, 2006 by Sixty8panther

[Satty]

Because the $430 quote I got from Saturn to replace the rotors/pads on the L200 was soooo reasonable. Oh, and people who hate Japanese cars usually dont buy Datsuns and people who want sporty cars, like Camaros, usually get manual transmissions.

I figure that whatever extra I have to spend on maintenance I'll make up for by not having to have the car in at the dealership for a recall every couple of weeks and by not getting tickets and wasting my time in court because I hadn't gone in for the recall work yet and I got pulled over because the taillight (reason for the recall) went out. And, I assume, a car whose seats actually stay on the frames will sell better, since you could lift up the edge of the leather and pull up the whole seat, the passenger seat was a little worse, you could see the seat frame at all times. So yeah, all things considered Solara>L200.

I didn't want to drive around in a rapidly deteriorating POS, so keeping the Saturn too much longer wasn't an option. I also didn't want to tie myself up in payments on a more expensive car (hence there not being a Mini Cooper in my garage) so I went with something reasonable and easy to live with that would allow me to pay my tuition and other bills I am absorbing. Given the circumstances I was working with and my lack of a desire to own a Camaro (yes, there are people who really dont want to drive them on a daily basis) I got the best car for me.

[mightymouse]

Better luck next time

[ocnblu]

I say leave Satty alone. Let's continue the C&G tradition of mutual respect for members.

[z28luvr01]

Yeah, let's....right after this: TRAITOR! IMPORT LOVER! SHEEP! RICE BOY! moving on :P j/k Satty. If there was one Toyota I wouldn't mind seeing someone get, of all the Toyotas in existence, it would be that generation Solara. The current one is just so awful. Lots of luck with it.

[Guest Josh]

Personally? Buy what you want, but if you own a Toyota you're no longer a GM Enthusiast at all. Never really were to me.

[Croc]

Personally? Buy what you want, but if you own a Toyota you're no longer a GM Enthusiast at all. Never really were to me.

[post="67322"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

:lol: :rolleyes:

[Sixty8panther]

I'm sorry I did not mean to be a d!ck about it. I guess to me buying a Camry of any sort means you've sold your soul. I'd rather have a scummy 80s Mitsubishi or a beat up old '93 Skylark than a A Camry. I mean it kind of does represent the ANTI-enthusiast. So you hate Saturn? I'm not a big fan either... did someone hold a gun to your head and say Saturn L200 or Camry Solara, those are your choices? Either way it's your right to own what you like and I'm not trying to be a Nazi about it just expressing my disapointement in another person giving in to the evil empire. :(

[Flybrian]

Why would you choose a 1980s Mitsubishi over a Camry? That's like a definition of six of one, half dozen of the other...

[Satty]

Personally? Buy what you want, but if you own a Toyota you're no longer a GM Enthusiast at all. Never really were to me.

[post="67322"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I remember at one time FOG had a Toyota, he still might, I'm not sure. So what does that make him? I am, first and foremost, an automotive enthusiast. I ended up on a GM enthusiast website because my family was 100% GM as of '95 when we got rid of our old Sentra and got a Century. I had an appreciation for Saturn since early 1992 when we replaced another Nissan ('twas a wagon, not sure which model) with an SL2. GM is far and away the most interesting company to observe, it seems everyday they take two steps forward, then two steps back.

So you hate Saturn? I'm not a big fan either... did someone hold a gun to your head and say Saturn L200 or Camry Solara, those are your choices?

[post="67329"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I wouldn't say I hate Saturn, I hated my particular Saturn, too many problems. The previous L200 we had ran great other than a minor electrical glitch that caused the dash lights to not turn off. It seemed a lot quieter too, could've been the aftermarket sunroof in the second one, or maybe because it was a stick (that really wouldn't make sense, with the stick the engine spun several hundred rpm lower at cruise than the auto). It was just time for something different. The VUE would have been a good fit for me if I could get one equiipped how I would like at a decent price, even harder since the new face yhasn't grown on me and they're a rare find used around here. The ION and I had a tryst or two, but at the end of the day the quirkiness and quad coupe were the only redeeming values, not enough to justify buying the car. The wackiest thought to cross my mind was to put a deposit down on a SKY and wait it out, but where the hell do I put my bike, the stuff I take biking and the other general junk that sits in my car? Yeah. not going to happen. Test driving the Toyota was just something that kind of happened, more out of boredom than anything else, and guess what, I liked it. I liked it enough to buy it.

[Sixty8panther]

Dude... FoG got stuck with Camry rental and he was very unhappy about that... the thread he posted was about how he put duct tape and plastic wrap over ALL the emblems so he would not advertise the Toyota emblem to anyone. Even the airbag emblem was taped over. That's a resourceful GM enthusiast right there. Anyway good luck with the Solara. Hope you won;t hold a sludge, er.... I mean grudge against me. :P

[bobo]

FOG has had a Toyota Starlet forever. RWD.

[Satty]

No sludge (first thing I had checked out) and no grudge either. I am going to bitch about one thing about this car. Some of you may remember that my Saturn was dark red and I bitched that it was impossible to keep clean. Well the Solara has an ivory interior, which in itself is tough to keep clean, it is made worse by the fact that I have a black lab. And the cloth holds on to everything. I cant win. My next car (it'll have to wait until 2007 at the earliest my New Years resolution for 2006 is to not buy a new car) is going to have to be some shade of brown that matches the color of dirt, or gold or some other color that doesn't show dirt that much, and it'll have to have dark cloth inside.

[knightfan26917]

Some of you may remember that my Saturn was dark red and I bitched that it was impossible to keep clean.  Well the Solara has an ivory interior, which in itself is tough to keep clean, it is made worse by the fact that I have a black lab.  And the cloth holds on to everything.

Ouch.

From a hard-to-keep-clean exterior to a hard-to-keep-clean interior ... I'm not sure which is worse, Satty...heh.


As for the, ahem, discussions ... why are we still doing this?

Frankly, I'm glad Satty bought the Toyota ... instead of the wannabe "monte carlo" ;).


Cort, "Mr MC" / "Mr Road Trip", 32swm/pig valve/pacemaker
MC:family.IL.guide.future = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/
Models.HO = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort/trainroom.html
"It's coming down to nothing more than apathy" ... The Fray ... 'Over My Head'

[Sixty8panther]

I love light interiors though... the white interior on XPs Deville is so awsome. Can you get seat cover ofr the pooch? The early 80s Starlets are about as cool as you can get for Toyotas. Kind of like my POS Datsun. Old, weird, unknown and antiquidated.

[z28luvr01]

Well the Solara has an ivory interior, which in itself is tough to keep clean, it is made worse by the fact that I have a black lab.

Get one of these, then get one of these. That should help for the most part. When I take my dog out, I now just have to worry about her leaving snot on the passenger's side window.

[Sixty8panther]

Z28: I hope you're talking about the no-jump harness and not the training collars... those look cruel!

[Satty]

Yikes, those collars do look scary. I thought I was mean getting one of those anti-bark shock collars. I have one of those big waterproof pads to put down on the seat, it worked perfectly in the Saturn, the rear doors helped getting it in, it goes in the Solara as well, not as easily, and it is easier for her to dislodge for some reason. The problem is that she leaves snot and slobber all over the rear windows, which is a bitch to clean so I'm starting to let her ride up front, its easier to get her in and out that way anyways.

[z28luvr01]

Yeah, I meant the car harnesses.This one will probably work for a black lab...at least when she gets fully grown. They hold the dog so that she can only sit face forward on the seat, and they hook right up to the shoulder harness.

Those training collars, as mean as they look, are actually not that bad. Instead of choking the dog, they just press on the pressure points around the neck, which gets him/her to stop without doing any damage to the esophagus.

[BlkHhr104]

Hey wait, would if he got a Pontiac Vibe, would he be a traitor because its besically a Matrix?

[beck27]

Personally? Buy what you want, but if you own a Toyota you're no longer a GM Enthusiast at all. Never really were.

[post="67322"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

:Toyota:

[Sixty8panther]

so can you disable the front airbag in the Solara?

[sciguy_0504]

I don't check out this thread much so that's why I'm late. Congratuations on your purchase. I liking shopping and cars so me going to a car dealership is not so good. I'm always tempted. I like the Solara, both gens. Good luck!