How you got your ES300? (here's my story whats yours?)
09-16-09, 01:12 AM
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How you got your ES300? (here's my story whats yours?)
My ES300 is my second car, my first being a 96 Toyota corolla wagon there is a ton of history behind it, but basically since I did all the work fixing it and paying for it to get running again (after being practically abandoned by my older brother) after I got into an accident that totaled it I was given around 4k by insurance.
My mom's only rules about buying a car would be that it had to be within the budget, it had to have less than 100k miles, and have 4 doors. I was on craigslist practically every day, local forums every day, reading the pennysavers and classifieds whenever I got the chance.
At first I wanted an Acura Integra, as my friend has his and I've driven it and it was great, but due to what I call "Ricer tax" many of the ones I found were quite overpriced with many aftermarket parts that I just wasn't into. I also looked at Subaru Imprezas, Acura Legends, Honda Accords, almost bought a Toyota Camry but there was too many problems.
Then I found it, the car I drive now. I saw it on Craigslist the second it popped up. it was a simple ad looked something like this
Green ES300
86k Miles.
Female owned.
no major problems.
4000$
I called immediately (thank goodness) and actually went out to see the car that day. Looked at it as the previous owned had just finished washing it. it was extremely clean inside and out, no major damage, a few door dings and the rear corner was punched in, few chips on the hood and bumpers fading on top. I asked the owner for the VIN and told her I would run a carfax, I told her I was extremely interested and that I would let her know the next day.Thank goodness for her she called the next day and asked if I was still interested, I had gotten the car fax and checked with my mom, told here I couldn't find anything majorly wrong with the car and my mom agreed to get it. the previous owner told me she called because there are other people interested in the car, but since I was the first to call and come out and look at it she would at least give me 'dibs'.
So my mom and I went to buy the car and were able to talk it down to 3700$ because the carfax had more than 2 owners and a minor accident. just a week before my birthday!
Attached is the only picture I have of my car lol.
(It's big)
Sorry guys I was bored
My mom's only rules about buying a car would be that it had to be within the budget, it had to have less than 100k miles, and have 4 doors. I was on craigslist practically every day, local forums every day, reading the pennysavers and classifieds whenever I got the chance.
At first I wanted an Acura Integra, as my friend has his and I've driven it and it was great, but due to what I call "Ricer tax" many of the ones I found were quite overpriced with many aftermarket parts that I just wasn't into. I also looked at Subaru Imprezas, Acura Legends, Honda Accords, almost bought a Toyota Camry but there was too many problems.
Then I found it, the car I drive now. I saw it on Craigslist the second it popped up. it was a simple ad looked something like this
Green ES300
86k Miles.
Female owned.
no major problems.
4000$
I called immediately (thank goodness) and actually went out to see the car that day. Looked at it as the previous owned had just finished washing it. it was extremely clean inside and out, no major damage, a few door dings and the rear corner was punched in, few chips on the hood and bumpers fading on top. I asked the owner for the VIN and told her I would run a carfax, I told her I was extremely interested and that I would let her know the next day.Thank goodness for her she called the next day and asked if I was still interested, I had gotten the car fax and checked with my mom, told here I couldn't find anything majorly wrong with the car and my mom agreed to get it. the previous owner told me she called because there are other people interested in the car, but since I was the first to call and come out and look at it she would at least give me 'dibs'.
So my mom and I went to buy the car and were able to talk it down to 3700$ because the carfax had more than 2 owners and a minor accident. just a week before my birthday!
Attached is the only picture I have of my car lol.
(It's big)
Sorry guys I was bored
09-16-09, 03:19 AM
#2
I got a 99 ES in 2002 from a Cadillac dealer who bought it at the Lexus Financial auction in Manheim , PA. It was a great car and had been leased for three years to a company. It had 41k on the odometer. Sold it in 2007 and got a 2004 RX. I loved my ES as it was so smooth and fuel efficient.
09-16-09, 08:15 AM
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I got my 99 es300 from my 85 year old grandmother for $1. She was getting ill and couldn't drive anymore. I wanted to pay her what the car was worth, but she wouldn't accept any money from me. After an hour a debating, she told me to give her a dollar and we'll call it even. I got the car in 2004 and is only had 30k miles on it and it was always parked in a heated garage.
09-16-09, 10:39 AM
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got my es out of luck. a friend of the family owns a used car lot near me, so i went to pick out a car and chose a 2000 dodge stratus. i payed for it and left because they had to do inspection and wash it and such. i come back a few hours later to find it didn't pass inspection for missing a air bag, lol. but the guy said because i already payed, see if there was another car i like nd he'd work something out. so i looked around for a while nd found my lex. sat in it and loved it, checked if the trunk was big( buying for audio comp car) drove it around the block and new i wanted it, soooooo smooth. guy let me have it for the price i already payed. $4600. 82k clean not one problem. 3 years and 50k later, no major problems. love this car 
09-16-09, 10:55 AM
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At first my 1st car was a 92 legend that i got from a family member for free. I loved that car, but then i ran into some engine problems that would cost more to fix than what the car was actually worth.
Spending weeks looking for another car, i decided to hop into the toyota/lexus game. I decided that any car would do as long as the price was good, but then i remembered, my uncle had the 2000 es300 platinum edition
I said to myself, damn i want that car but, similar ones are too pricy for that year.
so i lowered it to the 97-99
after weeks of searching, i found a silver 97 es300. 130k miles. [yes high mileage but], i only paid 4900 and all my maintainance is free. so my car is runnin like it only has 50k ;]
i siad i loved my legend. but damn this es300 is my baby now;]
Spending weeks looking for another car, i decided to hop into the toyota/lexus game. I decided that any car would do as long as the price was good, but then i remembered, my uncle had the 2000 es300 platinum edition
I said to myself, damn i want that car but, similar ones are too pricy for that year.
so i lowered it to the 97-99
after weeks of searching, i found a silver 97 es300. 130k miles. [yes high mileage but], i only paid 4900 and all my maintainance is free. so my car is runnin like it only has 50k ;]
i siad i loved my legend. but damn this es300 is my baby now;]
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09-16-09, 06:06 PM
#8
AHAHAHAHA i agree WINNER
but okay since everyone was sharing their stoy mine as well share mines not really interesting but okay.
So before even knowing about my es i was looking into SC400, trying to buy one and actually found one, then a couple days before I was going to go check it out, my parents were telling people about it, a fammiyl friend then said my daughter was selling her lexus es, then all of my sudden my parents were very interested in it, because it was a family friends, and they trusted them more then out side people, I was agree at first but then after a while I have fallen in love with this car.
but okay since everyone was sharing their stoy mine as well share mines
not really interesting but okay.So before even knowing about my es i was looking into SC400, trying to buy one and actually found one, then a couple days before I was going to go check it out, my parents were telling people about it, a fammiyl friend then said my daughter was selling her lexus es, then all of my sudden my parents were very interested in it, because it was a family friends, and they trusted them more then out side people, I was agree at first but then after a while I have fallen in love with this car.
09-17-09, 06:14 AM
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My wife & I were actually looking for a Prius but at that time there was like a 8+ month waiting list to get one, so we strolled on over to Carmax and just started looking.
A Lexus was really not even in our minds because we didn't think we could afford one.
We were looking at Camry's mostly, even glanced at a new VW beetle.
I then noticed this 99' black Lexus ES300 in virtually perfect condition only had a couple of minor paint blemishes and had a perfect like brand new interior with 50,000 miles on it.
Had brand new tires, brand new battery, brand new brakes, they also popped the valve cover off and showed me there was zero sludge problem. There was also a 3 year warranty that came with it to cover anything major.
When we started the car to check it out and could not even tell the car was running we were pretty much sold.
Paid $17,000 for it which was about the same price as all the other cars we were looking at, although most of them were a year or 2 newer however the Lexus was in just as good of shape and simply a better all around car without any question.
We have had the car for almost 5 years with very few problems with it, just basic maintenance things is all.
We did have to repaint the hood because of rock chips and the paint started looking real bad on the hood because those chips started peeling.
So repainted the hood which now looks better than new and put a Clear Bra on it and honestly if you are 15' away you would swear this car was still brand new and its 11 years old.
A Lexus was really not even in our minds because we didn't think we could afford one.
We were looking at Camry's mostly, even glanced at a new VW beetle.
I then noticed this 99' black Lexus ES300 in virtually perfect condition only had a couple of minor paint blemishes and had a perfect like brand new interior with 50,000 miles on it.
Had brand new tires, brand new battery, brand new brakes, they also popped the valve cover off and showed me there was zero sludge problem. There was also a 3 year warranty that came with it to cover anything major.
When we started the car to check it out and could not even tell the car was running we were pretty much sold.
Paid $17,000 for it which was about the same price as all the other cars we were looking at, although most of them were a year or 2 newer however the Lexus was in just as good of shape and simply a better all around car without any question.
We have had the car for almost 5 years with very few problems with it, just basic maintenance things is all.
We did have to repaint the hood because of rock chips and the paint started looking real bad on the hood because those chips started peeling.
So repainted the hood which now looks better than new and put a Clear Bra on it and honestly if you are 15' away you would swear this car was still brand new and its 11 years old.
Last edited by Nunyabiz; 09-17-09 at 06:18 AM.
09-20-09, 06:06 PM
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I got my 96 by luck i guess..at first i was looking to buy a mini truck like an s-10 or sonoma and my aunt came over and told me that she had bought an es300 but wasnt liking it due to it being a v6 and she wanted something a little better on gas so she told me that she would sell it to me for the price she bought it which was $2500 and the car was too good to pass up so that is how i ended up with a Lexus instead of a Chevy lol
09-21-09, 12:00 AM
#13
Lexus Test Driver
Mine just exists....
seriously though...
Early this year the toyota dealer i work for bought a white 2003 ES300 from a local lexus dealer with a few other lexus models in hopes to sell a few second hand lexus models on our lot...the ES has an impeccible carfax and a perfect service history from lexus, but needed a good cleaning and some minor bodywork to show, and the car didnt sell. Thats where i come in.
I was on a test drive in a car in march when i decided to roll through our used car lot and i spotted the ES across the lot. I got out to look at it and i saw it needed some work but it had low miles (68k) and i might be able to get a good deal on it. After work i debated a bit on the car since i had a nice 2003 camry SE, but i wanted more power and more luxury...The next day i was off work so i stopped in the dealer and test drove the car...i fell in love with the smooth ride and power of the car, so i talked trade and price...the dealer called me the next day with an offer (car was on the lot at 16k) and they offered to sell it to me for 12k. I retaliated, stating the car needed some bodywork and such, and they said 11.5k was their final offer. I let the offer stew oever a weekend. Mind you my camry had 72k on it and i owed 6 on it, and they only offered me 7k for the camry, which was BS. The following monday, the finance guy at my work who is a friend of mine called me in to his office and said " would you buy the lexus if we gave you 9k for your camry, sold you the lexus for 10.5k and you put the difference down and financed the lexus for 2 years at 300 a month" and i simply signed the paperwork then and there. I basically drove into work on a monday in my camry and left in the ES.
My camry was modded (springs, intake, exhuast, rear sway bar, front sway bar, BBS rims, etc) and i sold most of the parts and returned the car to stock before the sale. The rear sway bar and front sway bar were bolted onto the ES
anyway, thats my story.
heres the camry
and heres the ES. ive done some mods since these were taken, and more are on the way.
seriously though...
Early this year the toyota dealer i work for bought a white 2003 ES300 from a local lexus dealer with a few other lexus models in hopes to sell a few second hand lexus models on our lot...the ES has an impeccible carfax and a perfect service history from lexus, but needed a good cleaning and some minor bodywork to show, and the car didnt sell. Thats where i come in.
I was on a test drive in a car in march when i decided to roll through our used car lot and i spotted the ES across the lot. I got out to look at it and i saw it needed some work but it had low miles (68k) and i might be able to get a good deal on it. After work i debated a bit on the car since i had a nice 2003 camry SE, but i wanted more power and more luxury...The next day i was off work so i stopped in the dealer and test drove the car...i fell in love with the smooth ride and power of the car, so i talked trade and price...the dealer called me the next day with an offer (car was on the lot at 16k) and they offered to sell it to me for 12k. I retaliated, stating the car needed some bodywork and such, and they said 11.5k was their final offer. I let the offer stew oever a weekend. Mind you my camry had 72k on it and i owed 6 on it, and they only offered me 7k for the camry, which was BS. The following monday, the finance guy at my work who is a friend of mine called me in to his office and said " would you buy the lexus if we gave you 9k for your camry, sold you the lexus for 10.5k and you put the difference down and financed the lexus for 2 years at 300 a month" and i simply signed the paperwork then and there. I basically drove into work on a monday in my camry and left in the ES.
My camry was modded (springs, intake, exhuast, rear sway bar, front sway bar, BBS rims, etc) and i sold most of the parts and returned the car to stock before the sale. The rear sway bar and front sway bar were bolted onto the ES
anyway, thats my story.
heres the camry
and heres the ES. ive done some mods since these were taken, and more are on the way.
09-21-09, 05:03 AM
#14
Registered User
My turn...so this is my 3rd ES.
The first one I got at a dealer auction in 2003. It was a 1993 model in that green color and was pretty solid. The suspension was shot though and I didn't know until after I got the car (they don't really let you drive it too much around at these auctions). I ended up getting into an accident with that car due to an idiot on the road who made a wide turn from a side street and ended up hitting the median and flipping the car into a front yard next to a cemetery on Halloween night!!!!
In 2004, I got a 1997 model ES in pearl white and that car was awesome....gray interior, factory chrome wheels, titanium tint, sound system, all sorts of leds, neons, and strobes on the inside (lot of things I did when I was a little younger...prolly wouldn't do again). I ended up crashing that car because I was the idiot this time and I as racing some guy in a souped up Camry on the highway...a truck merged into my lane and I couldn't slow down in time. I was able to miss the truck but ended up in a ditch on the side of the road.
In 2006, I was looking for another ES, beacuse I really love these cars. But people kept telling me that I should probably stay away from Lexus for a little bit and tha tI may have bad luck with them....I was like screw you! I was still onthe lookout for a 97-01 ES. They were a little pricey at the time and my budget was $8k. I ended up with a 2001 Mazda Millenia, which was also a very nice car. Didn't last as long as a Lexus would but it was a very nice car. I had HIDs headlights/foglights, Diablo 18" rims, tint, TVs, ridiculous sound system...everything from speakers to subs to amp, touchscreen double din mp3, iPod, DVD, etc headunit was Pioneer, LED dash lights, LED door lights and dome light. Every light on the car was either red or hyper white. Lot of attention when this car came around...I loved it. Its not as fast as an ES and its heavier and its not as smooth and its not as reliable...lol, seems like a lot of cons, but it was definitely a sweet car. Although that Millenia could handle!!!! It would definintely outdo an ES when it came to handling. I ended up selling the car in Decemeber.
I bought a Infiniti G coupe in December and went through hell trying to manuver the car in the snow and any other type of inclimate weather. RWD sucks!!!!! ...other than in the summer that is!!!!
So I decided I needed a commuter car. I was looking for 02-03 Nissan Maximas, Acura TLs, and Infiniti i35s.....which are surprising cost around the same as a 97-99 ES...guess Lexus just retains value better than those cars. I was still stuck on those ES300s though. So for the hell of it I started looking for one and ended up finding a 99 in excellent condition which an old retired man use to own for $5900. It was located like 700 miles away from my house, but I really liked it and it was the cheapest car I had found....carfax was clean and I was planning on offering the guy $4500-$5000 for it if it looked like the pics I had seen and read through all the maintenance records which he had kept. I mentioned to my parents that I was going to be out of town for a weekend to go check out this ES. They told me I'm an idiot.... Why? ...because they had a 98 which they never used and said I could have it. So in exchange, I offered to get their other car fixed up and get it all the services done, including getting new tires and having them mounted/balanced. The only thing about their ES, which I guess is now my ES, is that my dad got hit by some kid who had just got his liscense like 2 days before and ended up smashing the rear area, a year or 2 ago. His insurance company got it fixed for us but they didn't do the greatest job (not exact Lexus paint but same color and trunk isn't perfecly perfectly aligned to a point where a little water sometimes gets into the trunk when it rains. I'm thinking about taking it to a legit body shop and getting all the mismatched paint redone and getting any other scracthes and small dings/dents fixed. Still drives very well...and works as an excellent commuter, a pleasure to drive and do love it!
The first one I got at a dealer auction in 2003. It was a 1993 model in that green color and was pretty solid. The suspension was shot though and I didn't know until after I got the car (they don't really let you drive it too much around at these auctions). I ended up getting into an accident with that car due to an idiot on the road who made a wide turn from a side street and ended up hitting the median and flipping the car into a front yard next to a cemetery on Halloween night!!!!
In 2004, I got a 1997 model ES in pearl white and that car was awesome....gray interior, factory chrome wheels, titanium tint, sound system, all sorts of leds, neons, and strobes on the inside (lot of things I did when I was a little younger...prolly wouldn't do again). I ended up crashing that car because I was the idiot this time and I as racing some guy in a souped up Camry on the highway...a truck merged into my lane and I couldn't slow down in time. I was able to miss the truck but ended up in a ditch on the side of the road.
In 2006, I was looking for another ES, beacuse I really love these cars. But people kept telling me that I should probably stay away from Lexus for a little bit and tha tI may have bad luck with them....I was like screw you! I was still onthe lookout for a 97-01 ES. They were a little pricey at the time and my budget was $8k. I ended up with a 2001 Mazda Millenia, which was also a very nice car. Didn't last as long as a Lexus would but it was a very nice car. I had HIDs headlights/foglights, Diablo 18" rims, tint, TVs, ridiculous sound system...everything from speakers to subs to amp, touchscreen double din mp3, iPod, DVD, etc headunit was Pioneer, LED dash lights, LED door lights and dome light. Every light on the car was either red or hyper white. Lot of attention when this car came around...I loved it. Its not as fast as an ES and its heavier and its not as smooth and its not as reliable...lol, seems like a lot of cons, but it was definitely a sweet car. Although that Millenia could handle!!!! It would definintely outdo an ES when it came to handling. I ended up selling the car in Decemeber.
I bought a Infiniti G coupe in December and went through hell trying to manuver the car in the snow and any other type of inclimate weather. RWD sucks!!!!! ...other than in the summer that is!!!!
So I decided I needed a commuter car. I was looking for 02-03 Nissan Maximas, Acura TLs, and Infiniti i35s.....which are surprising cost around the same as a 97-99 ES...guess Lexus just retains value better than those cars. I was still stuck on those ES300s though. So for the hell of it I started looking for one and ended up finding a 99 in excellent condition which an old retired man use to own for $5900. It was located like 700 miles away from my house, but I really liked it and it was the cheapest car I had found....carfax was clean and I was planning on offering the guy $4500-$5000 for it if it looked like the pics I had seen and read through all the maintenance records which he had kept. I mentioned to my parents that I was going to be out of town for a weekend to go check out this ES. They told me I'm an idiot.... Why? ...because they had a 98 which they never used and said I could have it. So in exchange, I offered to get their other car fixed up and get it all the services done, including getting new tires and having them mounted/balanced. The only thing about their ES, which I guess is now my ES, is that my dad got hit by some kid who had just got his liscense like 2 days before and ended up smashing the rear area, a year or 2 ago. His insurance company got it fixed for us but they didn't do the greatest job (not exact Lexus paint but same color and trunk isn't perfecly perfectly aligned to a point where a little water sometimes gets into the trunk when it rains. I'm thinking about taking it to a legit body shop and getting all the mismatched paint redone and getting any other scracthes and small dings/dents fixed. Still drives very well...and works as an excellent commuter, a pleasure to drive and do love it!
09-21-09, 03:18 PM
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I got my 96 es300 coach edition with 148k while I was looking at a 01 camry with 90k . I went to go pay for the camry and i don't even know why, but i looked across the lot and seen the projector lights and I was like let me get the keys to that car, i drove it around the block and just fell in love with the v6 power and smoothness.
picture is from the day i picked her up from the lot.
sure she's been around the block a few times & if i had to choose again I'd pick the es300 again. Few days ago i got hit in the back by a ford explorer at about 25mph and besides scratches on my bumper there was no other damage. this thing is a BEAST!
picture is from the day i picked her up from the lot.
sure she's been around the block a few times & if i had to choose again I'd pick the es300 again. Few days ago i got hit in the back by a ford explorer at about 25mph and besides scratches on my bumper there was no other damage. this thing is a BEAST!