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My car is at 20,000 miles and the service people say I should get my auto transmission checked.
What type of service do I really NEED?
Westsolara- I'll be sure and check what exactly they want to do for the charge and have them deduct what isn't necessary. I only have a few months left on my lease and I don't want to dump a lot of money into a big service. I have basically just been getting the oil changed every 3K and rotating the tires every 2nd change. I had the brakes inspected and cleaned about a year ago.
Has anyone out there leased from Toyota before? I am curious what the experience was like in turning in your vehicle at end of lease, how the inspection went and if there were any surprise charges outside of the disposition fee?
I won't be leasing another Toyota, so I hope I won't have any problems. With my previous Honda leases, I basically just dropped the vehicle off, got a copy of the final inspection report and that was that.
1. Do NOT PAY any acquisition or disposition fees. DONT! Walk out until they agree to drop them. My Lexus dealer even OFFERED to drop the disposition fee. These are just purely arbitrary fees to rip you off. The same with documentation and messenger fees, etc. They make PROFIT on your sale, that pays for acquiring the car. The make PROFIT when they re-sell it - that pays for disposing of the car. The other fees just go in their pockets. They don't charge these when you BUY a car do they?
2. Be sure that any fees that you do pay are NOT included in the "cap cost" of the car (the price you finance). Otherwise you are paying interest on these fees for years.
3. Try to accept that it is really best for you if you do not give anything as a "deposit" or "cap reduction" - $0.00. I try to leave with my new car without giving them a dollar, except for DMV and other fees. Why? The interest you are paying on the car will be less than you are paying on credit card debt. Better to pay 4-7% on a car lease, then 18-21% on your cards. Put the down towards your credit card debt, and then make a higher car payment. The monthly will be the same, but you will come out many $$$ ahead if you don't charge your cards up again. If you don't have any debt - well - good for you!
4. BE SURE to check the interest you are paying. In Leasing it is called "Money Factor".It will be a number such as 0.0029. Mulitply by 2400 to get the true interest rate. It should be 3-8% unless you are a high credit risk. I have seen where a dealer gives you a great price on the car, and then makes it up in interest. Have them show you the loans that are available, and be sure they go with the lowest interest rate you can qualify for. My Toyata dealer was very good about this and let me see the computer screen. Mine was 0.0025 - the best available at the time.
5. Returning the car should be as easy as to drop it off, sign some papers and walk away. BE SURE to take photos inside and out at the dealer to prove the condition of the car. It has happened where they have dinged it up after delivery and tried to charge the returner for the damage. Even better - Sell it yourself before the lease expires. If you keep your car immaculate, you can even make money. I made $2500 over the lease payoff on my Millenia because of the great condition it was in - and I didn't even know about Zaino yet! You can also trade it in for another car at any time.
6. DON'T wait on the Zaino - To wait is a false economy. You will probably not need to buy more for the life of your lease, and you will have the best protection and shine the whole time.
Good Luck!
Next, your points 2 and three are contradictory. If you believe you are better off not financing the taxes and DMV fees, why would you be opposed to cap cost reductions? They are the same thing. For many people, it makes sense to put a down payment on a lease. Their lease end obligations are the same but they have paid less "interest" and lower payments. Every $1000 down drops the payments by about $31 per month for a saving of $1116 over the term of a 36 months lease.
You're kind of right on the interest or money factor. Make sure the dealer tells you what it is. On cars with rebates or incentives, the MF can be quite low. If there are no incentives, the "buy rate" (the amount the dealership can put it out for without profit) varies from .00365 to .00495 depending on credit situations. This means that even at premier rates, you are paying the equivalent of 8.76%. Lease rates tend to run higher than conventional rates because the bank takes more risk on a lease. That risk is that the car will depreciate faster than the residual and they will be stuck with the cost. They charge higher rates to compensate for that risk.
Leasing is not for everybody. It works for many people but you've got to be very diligent in your research and you need to find a basically honest dealership to work with. That is easier said than done but can be done.
Acquisition Fees - This may be true for TFS, but not for all. Also - the usual gouging for this is as much as $600 - just too much. $250 is almost acceptable! And - the dealer can still elect to "drop" it, however it is done. Disposition fees are always a rip-off.
Cap Costs - You are correct - I thought about this later after I wrote it (staying up too late!). What I was thinking was that most people feel that they MUST leave some sort of down payment, I wanted them to be sure that the fees were kept separate.
However, anyone with ANY credit card debt is still FAR better off to put any available cash to the credit cards, and to pay higher car payments. The amount saved by the end of the lease can be huge! The same for buying of course ( as long as they don't run the cards up again! )
Thanks for the MF info
Hope your solara is shining green
nori10
Paint - Zaino your car yourself after you get it home (or at least use a really good clay and wax). If you really care, DON'T let the dealer wash or wax it - this is where a lot of the scratches get started in your new paint.
Interior - Scotchguard your interior yourself, if you can still find some at the Hardware store.
Glass etching - This is supposed to stop selling of parts if your car is stolen, but shop it around.
In Short - NO - you don't need it.
Thanks.
RMB52
I plan to change out my filter at 3500-4000 miles and then change my oil at probably 7500.
you can drive at least 5000 before changing the oil and there will be no
negative consequences. Also, took my 2000 Solar to the dealer this AM
to determine the origin of a noise in the rear just after acceleration and was
told this is NORMAL and in fact is the gas moving in the tank!!! First time
in my ancient years I have encountered this situation.
There is little doubt that synth oil is more slippery, and better for your car than dino oil. However, be sure not to change to synth oil TOO SOON. If you do, there may not be enough friction to allow the rings and bearings to seat properly. Some car makers even use a special "break-in" oil to help this. Estimates of the "proper" time to change to synth oil range as high as 10K miles, but no lower than 5K miles.
Here are the prices as follows:
Camry Supercharger: $2,150.00 + Shipping
Solara Supercharger: $2,250.00 + Shipping
We will need a total of 20 buyers for the deal to go through... So we will need all the buyers we can get... The offer ends April 30, 2001. . .
Please email me at ackbar15@yahoo.com if you have ANY questions. Or go to https://www.toyotaparts4u.com/group_buy_form.htm to place your order or for more information. This is a TOTALLY legitmate group buy by a VERY reputable Toyota dealership that sells parts online.
My girlfriend has a Cougar and just got her 30K mile work done. Her book said something about a Transmission Flush (I figure this includes a new filter and the such). But our book doesn't say anything about it. The only place (correct me if I'm wrong) that talks about transmission fluid changes is under "Special Operating Conditions". I even looked under the 45K, 90K and 120K checks. Maybe I just missed it but my questions is when should transmission fluids/filters be changed??? How long do they usually last???
Thanks, Mike
Definetly take an EXTENDED test drive of the vehicle. Make sure the vehicle will hold a straight line on a flat road. The car should not pull to one side. Trust me (and many others), if you have one that shows this tendency, you will go through many trips to the dealer to get it fixed (and you may never get it fixed).
Outside of this problem, you should have an extremely enjoyable car to own.
I too have the Michelin tires. Unfortunately, my cars problem has been unable to correct and at this point with just 4 months left on my lease, I'll just live with it. World Omni is throwing all kinds of offers at me to try and tempt me to buy my car at end of lease. I told them, I wouldn't buy if they gave it to me for half price.
Besides, even if my Solara was trouble free, I'd still want a new car. That's why I lease. So that I can get a new car every 2-3 years and let the bank deal with the depreciation. I could never buy a car, because the thought of a $500+ monthly payment for 5 years just doesn't appeal to me.
Anyway....
Best of luck and enjoy your Solara.
Thanks
Once again -- if your owner's manual doesn't say to change it, don't worry about it. Simple!
Also, I recall someone posting a message previously that they disconnect the sensor to the passenger seat that tells the car whether someone is sitting in it or not. If the passenger front airbags are similar to other cars, I would think it has a sensor to tell whether someone is sitting in the passenger seat or not and will then decide whether to deploy the passenger front airbag (and probably the side airbag, too?). I have no documented evidence of this, but I would strongly suggest that no one disconnect the sensor to the passenger seat's 'occupant sensor' just to prevent a little light from flashing on the dash everytime you have something heavy on the seat - and potentially compromising your passenger's safety in the event of a crash.
All of this being said, you should get what makes you happy. After all it is your car and your $$.
Solara:
- More comfortable and roomier seats
- Larger Sunroof
- More interior room
- Just a bit better radio (our opinions)
Cougar:
- Better handling (tighter suspension but it's still not rough)
- Blind spots looking over both shoulders
- Better styling
Acceleration is about the same on both cars (both have the v6). She does have an automatic vs my standard.
All this is our opinion but I wouldn't mind answering more direct questions if you have any and would like to contact me via email.
--Mike
The service costs me $150 with a coupon. Not sure if I paid too much, but regardless it was well worth it. Now I can fully enjoy the final 4 months of my lease.
-PNC
If Ford would tighten up on this car, they'd have a real winner.
What eles did they do that was noticeable?
Thanks for the information.
Neil
'99 SLE
Red\Gray - 29,000 miles
PS - I am in LA/Santa Monica
I am in Atlanta, GA. It was a dealership special. Let me know if you are in the Atlanta area and I'll give the dealership info.
-PNC
I was all set to purchase a 2001 Solara sle until I read about these problems. Is this a car I should avoid? Would a test drive of the car aI am considering tell me if these issues are a problem, or do they develope over time? Have these problems been experienced in a 2001, or do they exist only in 1999 and 2000 model?
Any help would be appreciated.
Billboy
I have a '99 SLE and it had the Strut Tower clunk. It was a quick fix by the dealer. I would not call it a major problem by any means but make sure that you listen to the suspension when you go over bumps in the road.
Neil
'99 SLE
Red\Gray - 29,000 miles
You will find problems listed for ANY car on the forum. Remember that people with problems post much more often than those who just want to say "Really enjoying my Solara - just wanted you to know!"
And - all the "problems" that you will read about here are REALLY minor compared to what you may read about on other forums. Coin box? A little harmless clunk when going over big bumps? BIG DEAL!
In General the Solara is an excellent car for the money. I was test driving cars that are twice the price last weekend, and while they may be fancier with more technical feature, they did not drive smoother or quieter or faster than my Solara.
If you want a good-looking, good driving, quiet, 2-door coupe with a full-size back seat and great reliability, you cannot do better at the $25K price
Yes, I have had my problems, but few cars are without them. Read through the "high end" car topic boards and you will not find a car that's completely 100% trouble/problem/defect free. That's just the nature of cars.
I was frustrated with my Solara and with Toyota for quite a while until I had my one major problem resolved. I think my problem was a fluke and just need the right tweeking to resolve it. Now my car is a dream to own.
Billboy
accent stripe on the horizontal body strip on each side
of the car and it looks fine. Also, went to VIP and got
some mud guards for $24.00 for two sets and, with a
slight modification, installed them using the existing
screws found on the vehicle.
The other problem was some noted subjective increase in ride harshness...I never experienced the "clunk" that others have. But in all honesty, I think it was all psychological because the car continues to ride very smoothly, especially when compared to other cars. And I never had any of the left-pulling that others have problems with...someone thought it may be due to the Bridgestones, and it may be because I have the Michelins. As for the coin box....well, it works fine for me..no problems with it working loose or anything.
My biggest gripe with the Solara is the rear window dot matrix which makes it extremely hard to get a perfect tint (Toyota desingers must have been drinking too much rice wine when they designed that...how could they think to put those dots in a sports coupe when they must know that it makes it harder to tint, and that most drivers would want to tint).
As for the Solara being one of the best finds for under 25K...I agree to a certain extent. If you want a car with better handling with the same equipment, but with a harsher ride and maybe slightly cheaper interior materials, the Accord Coupe could be had for 2-3K less. Go up 2-3K more and you might want to consider the Acura CL.
the reason i didn't just trade the car in to a dealer directly (as opposed to selling privately) was the dealers weren't willing to give me anywhere near 15900 for the car-- due to the 5 speed mainly they say-- 5 speeds are brutal on resale...
i went with a honda cause after two toyotas, i was just in the mood to change back to honda, which i had owned prior.. i basically switch between hondas and toyotas every one or two cars (which i tend to keep 3-4 years, except for the solara which i hated the leather seats, which is why i got rid of it after 2 years)...plus honda had the 3.9% financing incentive, even on the V6 coupe.
i also penalized solara for its lame coinbox which vexed me throughout my ownership...solara does have a better tilt steering wheel mechanism.
I have a convertible and I don't want the climate control on when the top is down. But I always have some light on the climate control (recirculate or fresh/flow thru light). Even when it is off I can feel a very slight heat coming thru. I have a SLE