Never bought a used car. Thinking to get a es 300 with 109k miles asking for $9000.seller said this car is in excellent cond. What should I be aware of when I get into this deal?your feedback is very important to me.many many thanks in advance.

Cy

 

That's A LOT of money for an '01...Blue book is about $6500 to $8000. Right now is a 'buyers market'--I think you could find a waaay better deal than that! Plus, @ 109k is a little after the timing belt should have been done. Has the timing belt been done?

Keep searching craigslist and autotrader. I found a very nice 1997 ES300 with 180k (kinda high miles, but ALL service history from Lexus) for only $3000! The deals are out there--Just be patient! Good luck on your search...

 

Thanks very much for the information. Here is the description...

Lexus ES300, 2001, COACH Special Edition, Diamond White Pearl exterior with Ivory (Tan) interior. ORIGINAL OWNER. Fully Loaded, Factory-installed Extras Include: High Intensity discharge (HID) Headlamps, Trunk Mat, Wheel Locks, power moonroof, power driver seat with memory, 6-Disc In-Dash CD Auto-Changer, Special perforated Leather trim interior, Bird's eye Maple sterring wheel and wood trim, 16" Alloy wheels with dark silver chrome finish.
Very well maintained, including newer tires and brakes, Always used synthetic oil , routine and frequent service (including oil changes, oil filter, air filter, cabin filter, transmission flush). No accidents (could be verified by Carfax). All claims are verified by proper documentation (service documents, purchase documents, etc.). 109400 miles.
Will consider all reasonable offers.

 

I will keep searching... BTW, will it be risky to buy an used Lexus since the maintenance cost could be higher than what it actually cost. I would love to have a 97 ES300 if it runs fine. Please advise. Thanks in advance.

BTW, I found another one
Black ES330, fully loaded, Tan interior, navigation, sunroof. One owner, 72,000 miles. Great condition, asking $15K. What do you think about this?

 

Well...It is the Coach Edition and it sounds like it has been very well cared--and it is a ONE owner car with 109k

But...it still sounds a little high...Check and see what other ES300's are going for in your area...

 

2001 - price too much.

If the Timing belt has not been done on it yet, use it to your advantage, in terms of negotiating the price.

Pluses - one owner, FULL documentation, can't go wrong with that. And i notices this one seems to have ALL the options! Lucky you...

Second, i suggest looking through eBay and local classifieds to see what they are actually SELLING for and counter with a price [less the timing belt as well, knock about 1K$ off the price for that]

Now the other car for 15k$ HAHAHAHAHA What a crock. It is not WORTH that much, maybe 6-7k depending on the year... Regardless of mileage. Tell them that newer ones are selling for over half of what he is asking with that similar 'range of mileage' on ebay. If he is willing to let money talk the give'r. Otherwise keep on searching!

Last, in the IS300 forum, someone just bought a minty super low mileage car for 12k$ IIRC. Now that would be more fun... So why pay more for a Camry, right?

-Mike

 

Yeah, what he said!

 

how about 1 owner '05 es330 for 10.4K with same miles and all records?
9K for this car is A LOT.

 

id offer the guy 7k for the 01

 

Last year I bought 2002 Lexus ES300 with only 25K miles one owner mint garaged showroom loaded for $12500.

 

The Blue Book value for THAT car is $8,525.

It sounds as though the timing belt has probably not been done, depending on where you take it that would cost anywhere from $450 to $900. Replacing the water pump, all belts, pulleys etc.
If the car is truly in great shape, one owner, has used 100% synthetic oil all its life then its worth $7000 easy and the owner would be a fool to sell it for less.

Kelly Blue Book, 2001 Lexus ES300

 

^^ Oil doesn't matter, so i have no idea why you made it sound like a 'selling factor' ! If the intervals were regular = perfect, if they weren't = uh oh [regardless of oil type]

Oil is oil.

 

Yes and no, on a Lexus ES300 that is between the years 1997-2002 I personally would not buy one unless they had a mechanic pull the valve covers to show it wasn't sludged. (that is what they did when I bought mine, I didn't even ask them to, and it was clean as a whistle, the owner used 100% synthetic)
If they used 100% synthetic oil the entire time (except the first 500 miles) they have owned the car then there is ZERO danger of it being sludged because in 100% synthetic oil the oil additives wont burn off and cause the oil to oxidize like Petroleum based oil will do.
There was a slight "crankcase ventilation" problem in these model years.
I use nothing but 0W30 100% synthetic which flows as good as any oil can at any temp and has a high flash point.

So while it certainly possible that you can buy a used 97-02' ES300 that has had nothing but the cheapest petroleum oil you can buy used in it, that oil had better be changed like clock work at no more than 3000 miles. and they had better not have used straight 30w either.

So NO "Oil is NOT just oil".

 

Okay. Stick to synthetic then. I'll do, me.

 

Gladly, I also get better gas mileage because of synthetic and don't have to change the oil but every 6000 instead of 3000, so its a win/win situation running synthetic.
In the long run it actually cost less money.