mfalk

I am considering a 2002 es 300 with 207K on it!!!! Well maintained according to Carfax......all dealer maintenance. Timing belt is not noted as being changed, however, the seller says it was done at 175 K and is promising to find the receipt. Assuming he does............I'd love your advice on buying this or not!

UPDATE.................. The price is 5K. Dealer produced the rcpt for 175K timing belt replacement.
I am seeing $7-12K for the same car at 115,000 miles and don't want to pay more than 5K for any car.

Any new thoughts?

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

If you can get it for a couple grand max. then I would! Especially for a daily driver, might as well get higher mileage luxury as opposed to low mileage econobox status.

BDSL

If you are interested, have it inspected by a good mechanic that is knowledgeable of Lexus.

rlx101

What is the price??

This is a steal at 500-1000$, great bargain at 1000-2000$. Its a highway robbery if he is asking 4000-5000$.

Whatever the price is add 1500-2000$ to it to bring it back to tip top shape over next 1-2 years. You see, if you got it for 2K now + 2K over next couple of years it becomes a 4K car, for only 1-2K more you could get a vehicle with a lot less miles.


If you cant DIY your expenses will be higher.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

I'm a bit surprised by your estimates of $1-2k. Isn't that a bit too low for a 4ES, even with those miles?

Megafast13

There are just way too many other options and ES's out there to consider one this amount of miles. However it will last past 350k

hypervish

Yeah, those are ridiculously low numbers.

4es's with 150k miles in my area around $7-10k.

200k miles would bring in at least $5k.

brucelee1

iTrader: (2)

I just paid $9200 for an 2006 ES with 128K on the clock. Car is in very nice shape, I put new tires on it, changed the oil, two new accessory drive belts.


Other than that, she is good to go.

That said, I had to fly to Chicago to get it (275 miles) so that added a bit to the actual cost.

mfalk

So, there are many opinions that vary widely. As I look at other ES300s of similar vintages, 1)there are none I can find with less than 150K miles, and 2) they are all over approx $8000 and most are closer to $9000 or even $11000. As I consider $5000, it starts to sound better. I have done Carfax and Autofax reports...........all good.
Ideas?

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

Carfax is only good to see how many owners the car had and if the odometer is untouched. You should do a test drive and a thorough visual inspection. The driving is way important as you want to see if there are any unusual sounds, vibrations, or warning lights.

hypervish

$5k sounds fine, if the timing belt, water pump have been done.

As with any used car purchase, you should take a thorough test drive and test every function of the car that you can to make sure it works.

rlx101

thats ridiculous! 4 years ago i PASSED on 2005 with 100kmiles from the original owner for 11K because i found a better deal. I dont understand who would pay this much for an '02 today. Used market is just crazy these days.

Broaden your search area - deals are out there. I'd pass on a 5K/200,000miles car. Now if this was LS430 i might consider.


Honestly if your max to spend is 5K - a better bet would be a civic/accord/matrix with a lot less miles. Better bang for a buck IMO, good resale value as well.

mfalk

I agree totally. Three test drives.........it's in superb shape......tight, smooth, quiet, NOTHING rattles. Brakes work nicely, accelerates reasonably well (I don't want it TOO fast........buying it for my son!). No lights, no nothing. The interior is immaculate

The only thing I haven't done is test drive more than about 15 min. Is it important to really give it a 30 or 45 min shakedown?

rlx101

it is important to drive it in stop and go on side streets to test suspension/brakes/any weird noises, pay attention to what transmission is doing!!!! Does it shift smoothly through all the gears?

Then take it out on highway and gas it up all the way to 85mph. Watch for : transmission - how it shifts through all of the gears, note rpms; suspension - any weird wobbling, noises? let the wheel go - does the car pull to either side?

Tires-? A new set of OEM michelins runs $700.

How is the cooling system? Any rust? Was radiator replaced? At 200kmiles i would not be surprised it need new one soon (another easy 500$ +)

Is underbody rusty? Where did this car spend time? Was it on the road during winters? Garaged kept?

5K does not seem like a lot. But when you add up all the little things (that are expected to wear on any car) you could be looking at 7K+ easy and you still end up with 200,000miles 11 year old car....

If this is for your son - take those 5-7K and spend it on low mileage reliable honda or toyota. When he grows up and makes money he can buy a lexus or whatever he wants on his own.

Me, honestly, would get him a beater for 1K - let him learn to appreciate cars.

satiger

iTrader: (1)

I have 2000 ES (208k miles) and 2005 GX (108k miles). Based on my persoanl experience, ES is built like a tank. I used Lexus extended warranty to fix GX and later spend on cracked dash board, air suspension fixes etc. The quality and workmanship isn't the same between these two cars.

If I was forced to sell one of those, GX would be gone without a second thought. If your ES is well maintained, I don't see any reason why it won't last 300k and more. In fact I am talking to my daughter about this ES being her first car during her college day - she is 2nd grade now .