found a 97 ES 300 with 169,000 miles for 3300.00 seems to run great took for test drive, Has a few chips on it other than that okay. Read reviews and seem positive. Just leary with that many miles. My daughter and I will be co driving it

Thanks.

 

it could last you another 100,000 or 1,000 miles. have it checked out by a mechanic or someone who's familiar with the issues these cars have.
repairs are expensive

 

Mechanical repairs for the most parts will be about the same price as a Toyota Camry if you take it to a Toyota dealer. The Lexus specific parts ( interior, exterior or any thing that says "Lexus" on it will be more expensive). Have the oil checked for sludge buildup, esp in the heads and see if you can find out when the timing belt and water pump were last changed (should be done every 90k miles).
Creaks and groans from the suspension seem to be common at that age (mine does) and different members have found a few different causes. If that bothers you, be aware that tracking that down will likely involve replacing a bunch of parts to find the one that's creaking.

 

Thank you for your help will check the oil out. It doesn't seem to be any creaks and groans from the suspension.

 

as long as it checks out it will be a good car and for the risk of $3300 it's not that much risk at all in my book.
Overall these are great cars that can last a while. I've seen some with over 400,000 miles.

 

Since you are not familiar with auto-mechanical stuff, you better have a Toyota / Lexus mechanic (or other mechanics who are familiar with Lexus) inspect the vehicle. It will cost you $100-200 but you will know you are not buying a lemon.

97 ES300 is a very reliable vehicle as long as it is maintained as per maintenance schedule (i.e. oil / fluid changes). My 97 ES300 is at +280k mile with original drive-train.

 

depends.

with old cars you buy SERVICE HISTORY or you dont buy nothing at all in my opinion.

If you dont have complete service history and do not know the state of main wearable items then its a gamble IMO.

 

And don't trust the seller. He/she can say the vehicle is in mint condition and serviced regularly.
Ask for proof and documentations.

And if you are still interested, have the seller take it to your mechanic and have it inspected at your expense.
A $100 inspection is better than a $1000-2000 engine overhaul.....

 

yep.

the only reason you would buy this car without inspection and any repair records - if it was heavily discounted down to 500-1000$ range to allow for necessary repairs. Heck, its a 16+ year old car.

 

I feel like we need to make a Used ES300 Checklist for anyone who's considering one. This topic keeps coming up every week.

 

Thank you all will be taking to our mechanic and see what happens

 

mechanic can only tell so much. its just a visual, smell and feel kind of check. no guarantees, your tranny for instance or check engine light wont come up next week with a problem.

i'd ask for maintenance records first if there are none i'd look for another car. simple. you want to know what and when was done to the car. if the car was maintained - 167,000 miles is nothing. If maintenance was often skipped on or regular wear items were not addressed on time its just a time bomb waiting to explode inside your wallet. the only way to tell this is recorded maintenance history. plain and simple.

 

The mechanic I usually use is away on vacation has son filling it who know nothing on Lexus car.
I call the only dealer near us and can't see us till Thursday so I did a auto check and this is what came up: your thoughts I'm thinking no and will do more research.


07/03/1997 VA

Independent Source VEHICLE MANUFACTURED AND SHIPPED TO DEALER
08/11/1997 RICHMOND, VA
10
Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE
07/06/1998 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
07/16/1999 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
06/07/2001 RICHMOND, VA
34,399
Motor Vehicle Dept. TITLE
05/01/2002 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
05/19/2003 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
05/17/2004 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
05/02/2005 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
05/10/2006 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
09/07/2007 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
12/12/2008 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
12/15/2009 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
01/18/2011 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
01/27/2012 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
12/21/2012 RICHMOND, VA

Motor Vehicle Dept. REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL
04/01/2013 EASTERN REGION
168,490
Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION AS DEALER VEHICLE
04/02/2013 EASTERN REGION
168,490
Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
04/18/2013 EASTERN REGION
169,167
Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION
04/22/2013 EASTERN REGION
169,552
Auto Auction REPORTED AT AUTO AUCTION AS DEALER VEHICLE

 

Yepp That's when I know the 3/4th gen ES is getting dated, when there is nothing but 'used car purchase' threads.