kumquatism

iTrader: (10)

I've been looking for a used car for a while now. I want it for commuting and parking in crowded areas. It must be something very reliable; I don't want to buy a car and have things keep fixing broken things. It should last me about 2 years at least.

My friend's parents are in the process of relocating, so they are selling their '94 ES300 with 177k miles on it. They are asking 1.7k for the car, which sounds like a great price to me. They bought it new, so it's a 1 owner car. I spoke to them about it, and they said they have most of the maintenance records on it. I didn't get a chance to look deep into it yet, so I don't know if the 180k maintenance has been done yet. I know it's still original engine and transmission though. I know they took care of the car as much as they could.

I got the chance to drive it around for 15-20 minutes or so, and here are my thoughts on it.
-It shifts pretty well still, so I guess the transmission is still in good condition. This was my main concern with a car with higher mileage on original transmission.
-There is enough power to get around, another big concern for me, as I absolutely hate driving sluggish cars (<140HP).
-The paint is still in good condition. There is no visible oxidizing on the paint. It's been garaged for most of its life
-The brakes vibrate pretty heavily whenever moderate pressure is applied. I think the rotors may be bad? What other possibilities (if any) would there be?

Here are the minor things I've noticed.
-The leather inside is hard. This is expected of a 16+ year old car.
-The radio antenna motor is broken, so the antenna just stays up.
-The tint in the rear windshield has bubbles in it.
-Front end has been hit before. It was repaired.
-Driver side rear fender was hit. It wasn't repaired, but the damage is very small
-The passenger side headlight is the original one, and it is hazed up.
-The foglights and high beams are tied to the stalk switch. When you flip it on, both highbeams and fogs turn on. Is there a way to wire this to make them independent?

Overall, the car was in pretty good condition, considering its age. It fits most of my wants. The only thing that's really holding me back is that its FWD, and not the slightest bit sporty at all. Most of the other cars I've been considering are smaller sporty cars, like MR2, CRX, 300ZX, which are more expensive. The less money I spend, the better. I know the ES is a champ at reliability, which is one of the reasons I'm seriously considering it. The price is also good in my book, but I want to hear your opinions.

EEngineer

sounds like your average 94 ES300.
if you want a reliable car to boot around, go for it.
if you wanna mod it, it won't be easy but it's doable.

all the problems you listed are common and easily fixable, just takes a bit of money to do that's all.

johndeez

great car ...engine could take you to around 220-300k ....its a japanese car ...