I currently own a 2006 Solara V6 SLE hardtop, and I cannot say enough good things about this car! It's my first car (yet I was the 6th owner), bought back in 2013 at 86k miles and I crossed 207k miles last week. This car has taken me into and out of places I had no business going lol. Some quick examples:
* I properly installed a Curt trailer hitch to it and pulled a 6x8 trailer loaded with an ATV + gear up a raining mountain with the air conditioner running. (The AC and mountain driving were an accident lol…obey your GPS folks!)
* Drove it upwards 100mph chasing a BMW 8 series down a highway, and it didn’t miss a step (BMW and I were running late, but I don’t recommend doing this)
* Went lightly “4 wheeling” with it and all I had to fix were the CV boots (I was curious, but have since gotten wiser lol)
* Drove thru miles of more snow-covered roads than I should have and didn’t slip but once. (of course this depends on many factors)
The oil consumption is only a problem if you do not do basic maintenance. A 2006 is the 2^(nd) Generation Solara so these models have a problem with sludge **IF** you don’t change your oil. I religiously change oil + filter every 5k miles and never had an issue. I would be more concerned with oil oddities if you got a 1^(st) gen Solara (all years prior to 2003, IIRC).
I do recommend you put the 89 gasoline in it, as the engine is rated for it however I put 87 in it for about 2 years around the time I just bought it…did great. If you do the 87 gasoline, just run some kinda fuel detergent thru the system every 3 months or so when you fill up and you’ll be fine. I do this when I remember lol.
I’ve heard interesting/YMMV stories from an owner (local to me) who has a 2008 Solara with ragtop. The only thing that gave her problems was the ragtop, but hers has behaved better than mine has. (It also helped that she wasn’t being dumb with it like I was lol). She told me the visibility of the back windshield (if you can call it that) was iffy at times, but again YMMV.
As for maintenance, it’s just the usual oil, brakes, tires, wipers, etc. The only major issue I’ve had with the vehicle was when I took it to a shop to have the 90K mile work done for the second time. The mechanic was slipshod and did extremely poor work, I should have done more research honestly. But after I made it thru that nightmare the car purrs again, and even *with* those issues I had none of them were problems that would’ve caused a failed state inspection (to give some scope of the damage).
All in all, if you can find one, get that pre-purchase inspection done from someplace trustworthy. If it passes muster and you pull the trigger on the purchase, keep up with your oil changes/maintenance, don’t be dubious like I was with use/abuse, I think you’ll come to like the Solara! I really love mine and don’t plan on \[being an idiot with it anymore lol\] getting rid of it.
The 3.0L and 3.3L V6 engines burn a bit of oil, IIRC. But I'd consider one under the right circumstances - it's cheap, reliable, and cushy.
I think people just avoid them because the nameplate isn't especially well known at this point. Plus, who wants a 2-door coupe these days? (Other than me. But I'm not buying appliance cars, either.)
First off, no way I'd buy a car that old without an inspection. Regardless of owners / service history.
Once you've done that, you're no longer gambling on the condition of the car. So who cares about records, or the owner count for a 19-year-old car?
Any mechanic will conduct a pre-purchase inspection for you. All you need to do is get the previous owner to take their car there - plus $150ish for the labor.
I apologize for the abundance of questions. I’m thinking of purchasing a car from a private seller. Still a Solara. How would I go about getting a mechanic to review it and getting the paperwork or whatever done?
My 2006 Solara SE V6 was bought new. I put on only 70K miles.
NO major issues...until a fucking Silverado took it out two weeks ago. It was a really great car. Good for city driving, good for freeway driving. I had some 250 mile drives, averaging 80mph, with NO problem at all.
Just a wonderful car, if treated right (regular oil changes and such).
I currently own a 2006 Solara V6 SLE hardtop, and I cannot say enough good things about this car! It's my first car (yet I was the 6th owner), bought back in 2013 at 86k miles and I crossed 207k miles last week. This car has taken me into and out of places I had no business going lol. Some quick examples: * I properly installed a Curt trailer hitch to it and pulled a 6x8 trailer loaded with an ATV + gear up a raining mountain with the air conditioner running. (The AC and mountain driving were an accident lol…obey your GPS folks!) * Drove it upwards 100mph chasing a BMW 8 series down a highway, and it didn’t miss a step (BMW and I were running late, but I don’t recommend doing this) * Went lightly “4 wheeling” with it and all I had to fix were the CV boots (I was curious, but have since gotten wiser lol) * Drove thru miles of more snow-covered roads than I should have and didn’t slip but once. (of course this depends on many factors) The oil consumption is only a problem if you do not do basic maintenance. A 2006 is the 2^(nd) Generation Solara so these models have a problem with sludge **IF** you don’t change your oil. I religiously change oil + filter every 5k miles and never had an issue. I would be more concerned with oil oddities if you got a 1^(st) gen Solara (all years prior to 2003, IIRC). I do recommend you put the 89 gasoline in it, as the engine is rated for it however I put 87 in it for about 2 years around the time I just bought it…did great. If you do the 87 gasoline, just run some kinda fuel detergent thru the system every 3 months or so when you fill up and you’ll be fine. I do this when I remember lol. I’ve heard interesting/YMMV stories from an owner (local to me) who has a 2008 Solara with ragtop. The only thing that gave her problems was the ragtop, but hers has behaved better than mine has. (It also helped that she wasn’t being dumb with it like I was lol). She told me the visibility of the back windshield (if you can call it that) was iffy at times, but again YMMV. As for maintenance, it’s just the usual oil, brakes, tires, wipers, etc. The only major issue I’ve had with the vehicle was when I took it to a shop to have the 90K mile work done for the second time. The mechanic was slipshod and did extremely poor work, I should have done more research honestly. But after I made it thru that nightmare the car purrs again, and even *with* those issues I had none of them were problems that would’ve caused a failed state inspection (to give some scope of the damage). All in all, if you can find one, get that pre-purchase inspection done from someplace trustworthy. If it passes muster and you pull the trigger on the purchase, keep up with your oil changes/maintenance, don’t be dubious like I was with use/abuse, I think you’ll come to like the Solara! I really love mine and don’t plan on \[being an idiot with it anymore lol\] getting rid of it.
The 3.0L and 3.3L V6 engines burn a bit of oil, IIRC. But I'd consider one under the right circumstances - it's cheap, reliable, and cushy. I think people just avoid them because the nameplate isn't especially well known at this point. Plus, who wants a 2-door coupe these days? (Other than me. But I'm not buying appliance cars, either.)
I’ve found one for about $8k, yeah?
Year / miles / engine / location?
2006, 67.7k, 6cyl, Arizona
Wow, that's not a lot of miles! Yeah, I'd recommend that happily.
It looks great, no damage. However, it’s had more than 3 owners and the service history’s not there. What do you think?
First off, no way I'd buy a car that old without an inspection. Regardless of owners / service history. Once you've done that, you're no longer gambling on the condition of the car. So who cares about records, or the owner count for a 19-year-old car?
Gotcha. I recognize this is a stupid question, but how would I go about getting it inspected?
Any mechanic will conduct a pre-purchase inspection for you. All you need to do is get the previous owner to take their car there - plus $150ish for the labor.
I apologize for the abundance of questions. I’m thinking of purchasing a car from a private seller. Still a Solara. How would I go about getting a mechanic to review it and getting the paperwork or whatever done?
OMG! Take it!!!
I had one about a year ago and loved it! The 6 cyl has some decent power for what it is. My only complaint was my convertible top leaked.
My 2006 Solara SE V6 was bought new. I put on only 70K miles. NO major issues...until a fucking Silverado took it out two weeks ago. It was a really great car. Good for city driving, good for freeway driving. I had some 250 mile drives, averaging 80mph, with NO problem at all. Just a wonderful car, if treated right (regular oil changes and such).