Bunz617

What should be the 1st thing I do? I feel like I should take it to dealer and have them fully inspect the car for anything that might be troubling.

Unfortunately, I am not a car savvy and dont know what I am doing. The only thing I do know is that I really wanted a CT after I rented one for a weekend and I loved it and finally bought one.

The car has 86k miles and I have driven it for around 100 miles so far. I feel like the engine is louder than it should be but I def dont know for sure. Thanks for any advice!

TobiasSing

Is the intake and exhaust stock? I can't hear my engine running during normal driving operation. You can try taking it to a trusted mechanic, but if you can't do anything DIY, then taking it to some random place to look at isn't a good idea, because you won't have any clue what they are talking about. I'd say just drive it and enjoy it until the headgasket blows.

spiral

I noticed our engine making more "noise" as the mileage racked up. When we did an engine swap, the "newer" engine was more noticeable compared to the original even though it had less miles. But it drives fine, so i really don't pay much mind to it being louder. at 86k, i wouldn't be surprised to hear a difference compared to a car with lower miles.

Bunz617

Thank you both. Appreciate the replies.

E46CT

Probably just hearing what you want to hear. Unless the car is modified or damaged in an openly obvious way (accident etc) I'd consider any noise it makes to be normal. That's just 4 banger stuff doing 4 banger things. It's an economy car engine and a dressed up Scion TC at the end of the day.

Raidin

Hit up RepairPal.com and see if there's a good shop near you that you can go to to get the car looked at. You can ask them for a quote for a "used car inspection".

You can also what a friend of mine likes to do when he buys a used car--he immediately does all the maintenance things it may need just to be safe and to essentially reset the maintenance counter in his mind to his own schedule. This is not really necessary on a Lexus, but with 86k miles, if you can't tell when the services normally due where done, I'd consider getting them done soon according to the factory maintenance schedule.

Also, I can confirm that engine noise gets louder with age. I can hear everything my engine does now with my mileage.

HOMER350

I normally like to do the oil right away, just in case the last person didn't mind the mfg suggested oil and just put what they had. My CT I bought from a Toyota dealer and trusted they did right by it, so didn't bother.

Someone who bought my car paid to haveton inspection think it costs him $100. Since it's your 1st and you're feeling clueless...I think $100 is worth it to get the OK from someone. But yes, find a highly rated shop or a dealer....Toyota dealer would be fine too. And it's OK to make them explain what they looked at, why, and if something may need service, ask why on that too. Point is...dont be afraid to ask questions! Many people don't.

And I agree, I bet whatever loud engine noise your hearing is normal. It's not a super quite engine you can definitely hear it doing it's thing.