Keep the Acura, or get the Toyota?

I

imported_UnsanePyro

New member
Well, here is the situation. My mom wants to get into something new because she doesn't feel she can see well enough out of her car. We can either get rid of her car and she will get something new, or get rid of my car, I'll take hers, and she will still get something new.



I have driven her car quite a bit after she fractured her pelvis in a few places and the Volvo died on me. I never had too much of a problem seeing out of it, and it is a bit funner to drive.



Now, the cars themselves.



1997 Acura 2.5 TL - My Car - 136,000 miles - Within the last 10,000 miles (my ownership of it) it has new ball joints, exhaust manifold, O2 sensor, spark plugs, wires (all that stuff was free) and fresh transmission fluid, coolant, fuel filter, air filter, and a small exhaust and oil leak were fixed. I have no service history for it though, other than what I have done. The transmission shifts from D -> R and R -> D a little rough, and I have no idea about the timing belt right now. The brakes could probably use some work right now too.



2000 Toyota Solara SLE V6 - Mom's Car - 50,000 miles - It has pretty low milage, and has always been taken care of pretty well, she got it with ~30,000 miles I believe. She has the service history for it I'm pretty sure, and I keep on her about keeping it in good condition.



Keeping my car would be nice, I'm more mechanically framiliar with it, and don't mind pulling stuff apart to work on it. Her car has a lot more life left in it than mine does though, the difference being 85,000 miles. Both are pretty reliable to being with.



It would only cost me about twice as much per week/month to get her car instead of mine (she would give me a break on payments as a high school graduation gift), but I would be paying it off for quite a bit longer.



All her car needs is a set of tires and it is good to go, and its black :bounce With what I am making now, payments on her car would be about 30% of my monthly income from work, currently it is only about 15%.



I am pretty sure I am going to try and get into her car and sell mine (after I get the bumper repainted) but am not really sure and wondering what you guys think, and what I may be overlooking.
 
TW85 HHI said:
Solaras are great vehicles. Talk to mtodde; he had a first generation Solara.
Click to expand...



Hers has been great so far, and I am pretty sure that if I get to take over taking care of it, it will go for a looong time. It's fun to drive too.



Do you, or anyone, know of any good Forums Camry/Solara specific, or general toyota car even. I haven't found much that I am very impressed with yet.
 
I just replied to your PM; the 1st generation Solaras are great cars...and a great value too.



You can check out solaraguy.com; it is the only Solara specific site I'm aware of.
 
Solaraguy.com. Todd and I have pretty well stopped posting there (well, he has...I post on occasion) but it is the only Solara specific forum I have found.
 
I just spoke with my mom again, and she changed what she had said about payments, and it would actually be closer to 50% of my weekly pay.



At 18, that is too much money to put into just paying for a car I think. I think I'll stick with the Acura.



Thanks for the advice though guys.
 
UnsanePyro - Sorry to hear about the change of plans, heh heh, parents can be like that. Just wanted to give you a :xyxthumbs for making a smart decision, that would be a huge chunk of your budget.



Better think about that timing belt....
 
Look at this way.... When the timing chain on my car went, it was like a $500 job, any way you cut it, that $500 (or whatever the cost may be) you pay once will probably be cheaper than tripling your car payment.
 
Do look into the timing belt AND water pump replacement ASAP. May as well do them at the same time or you run the risk of double labor should the water pump fail later. As far as I know, ALL Honda engines are interference engines meaning that should the timing belt break, the pistons collide with the valves causing a good amount of damage.
 
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