fju2112

My Lex is a 2000 Platinum Edition ES300 with 127K miles.

I have maintained it well; bought it at 85K miles, regular oil changes, complete 90 and 100K work (tranny fluid, timing belt & related engine work while in there, plugs, etc.). I have also had to do some non-maintenance work such as U-joints & AC clutch.

Now I'm at a point where I don't know if I should continue fixing it and investing in it when that investment may very well be half the value or more of the car on trade. I'll need new tires by end of year which I'm fine with, but also front struts/mounts & perhaps a steering rack or pump by end of year. I have hard steering in the cold; when I rev the engine just a couple times it clears right up, so may just be the pump. My mechanic has discussed trying fresh steering fluid and as long as it's only a cold weather issue, going into next winter to see how it does.

All in that could be $2K worth of work for a car that *might* be worth double that, less if trading it in. Paint isn't in great shape; I've taken care of it but the prior owner/owners did not.

Curious about the experience of other forum owners with an ES300 at this mileage & age; at the very least, I want to avoid putting this kind of money into an older car & then have to spend a ton more on it down the road.

BDSL

My 97 ES300 is at 260k miles and still drives fine.

New PS fluid = less $10
New Tires = $400-500
Front struts and mount = $200

Labor is probably $200.

Therefore, with $1000, your car can last a lot longer.....better than spending a lot more money on a used car (probably needs to be repaired) or a new car.

fju2112

hmm..was quoted a much higher figure for the front strut & mount job . I see the struts themselves out there for $130apiece or so, but haven't looked deeply into it...have to do both sides at once and overall indicated a total of $500 a side, P&L.

PS fluid job at next oil change is $50; tires themselves might be $400-$500 but remember alignment, balancing & labor will be more. I'd rather get decent tires (stick with the Primacys again) than cheap out on the only part of the car that hits the road.

This also doesn't take into account the steering issue. If the components are wearing down and I have to do either the pump or the rack, you quickly get into the kind of money you'd get by trading it in. I'd love to hang onto it, don't get me wrong...just have to be realistic about how much it'll cost & do a cost/benefit.

Coulter

The smart money is on keeping it, what a dealership will give you for it won't even cover the sales tax on a new car. The repairs it needs would probably be only a few months of a car payment.

The stiff steering when it's cold out could be something as simple as needing a new power steering belt? It could be slipping.

Some cars do become money pits when they get that kind of mileage (especially late model European cars), but if you're looking to save money and be frugal, I'd stick with the ES and make a few repairs. The mileage you have is nothing for these cars and most of the depreciation has already occurred.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

I'm at 130k now, just did all the struts [monroe quick struts, so new springs, mounts, struts]. All FOUR Front/back were 500$ bout 1.5hrs to install.

So you're pricing is with serious markup, or includes labor. Just check for parts at www.rockauto.com

If you want struts & mounts alone, that should be a reasonable 300$ for Sensen [search for more info on them], a lot on this forum & RX.

PS, i'd drain the system, and get a new belt. Fluid 10$, new belt on rockauto, 8$

I know how you feel, i've dropped over 1.5k into my 01 in the last 6mos, and still other **** happens [sticking caliper last week] and probably going to do preventative maintenance with new control arms, trailing arms, tie rods ends, and probably a transmission drain/fill for the year.

HOPEFULLY once i do this, i can finally start on getting some audio and do the rust repair/repaint.

fju2112

thanks 01. the price i mentioned does indeed include labor. will check out the site you gave me for parts and compare. will also insist on the belt change when the fluid is done (not sure what labor is like for that, but i imagine it's easy to access). i'm not sure if I just need struts, mounts & bearings or if there's more to it, because I'm not familiar with the parts that wear down and what would need to be replaced. at the very least i'll ensure i get a thorough explanation of what parts are being purchased & how much of the price is labor.

fju2112

speaking of audio... have you ever replaced the climate control lights on the bottom of the module, that go on when headlights go on? kind of annoying that i can never see those in the dark but i've memorized the locations so no biggie.. ! re: audio i'd definitely miss the upgraded audio system on my car if i were to trade it in. it's fantastic. 12 years old and it sounds way better than the speakers in the 09 Odyssey we bought last year.

hypervish

Fix it. 120k miles isn't anything.
In my calculation your looking at about $1000 with labor, not bad at all. Much cheaper than making car payments every month.