BrotherAli

Glad to have found a knowledgeable lexus forum

My parents are thinking about buying a 2002-2003 ES300. Is it worth going to the mechanic to have them check it over? My father is pretty mechanically inclined so he can check fluids and many basic things. When I called a mechanic to ask he said it would be $100 to check over; and talked about how they have a lexus scanner. Anyone know if the lexus scanner gives any extra info vs a regular OBD2 scanner? It seemed like thats pretty much all they would do for the 100 (talked about checking for recalls and a bunch of little things I could do myself).

Also are there differences between 2002 and 2003? Anything specific I should look out for when buying a ES300?

jenga

You can check the service history (if serviced at Lexus dealer) with the link below.

https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home

BrotherAli

Wow thats an extremely helpful tip. I see 10 years of service history for one of the vehicles (2002-2012). Also see timing belt was replaced. Vehicles alittle more expensive than some of the others I was looking at but 10 years of history+timing belt changed 20K miles ago is worth some $$$.

KLF

Yes, the Lexus-specific scanner provides access to more codes in the ECU than the generic OBD2 scanner.

97trophy

Yes, its a good idea to get a mechanic to check it out.

I hear the going rate is $80 to $100 so he's in the right range.

ES300NZ

I'm very mechanically minded, and auto-electrically skilled.

I usually pay a mechanic to look over a car I'm buying mostly for a couple of reasons,
1. I'm not perfect, I can miss things, a second mind is a good thing.
2. I don't work on a wide range of cars every day, so I might not know of specific faults each car can have when a mechanic would
3. if a seller won't allow it, the car has a major fault he's either hidden or trying to hide. walk away.

the es300 is a great car, they don't have alot of common faults, but there ware a few so it's worth having it checked out.

speedkar9

Inspecting a used car by yourself isn't hard if you are mechanically inclined and have some time to spend with the car.

Check out my used car inspection 6 part video series I made for some pointers:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...-used-car.html


The Lexus scanner, or Toyota Techstream can read more codes than an OBDII reader. Generally not needed for an inspection as long as the CEL or SRS or any dash lights aren't on.

You can read stored codes, airbag codes, ABS, traction, and emissions information. For more information check out this demonstration video: