Drrobb

Should I buy?!? 05 ES 330.
an actual little old lady here in Duluth MN Owned it.
drove her Rav 4 much more. Sold it to my friend age 72, who did new tires, oil and tranny flush, wiper blades, battery, etc.
changed his mind, offered it to me.

( I’m selling my 07 Maxima to a young man in need)
AND......
I can buy it for 8500$.
I’ve been reading here about all the tranny,gears, lurches, ECMs, battery resets, etc. the problems. Also across the Web the great reviews.
on my short test drive I noticed nothing wrong.

any thoughts from some wise veterans?!!
I’d appreciate it!!
drrobb58@gmail.com

daredeil95

Some say cars that sit can be troublesome and me in my 30+ years of driving say, it's still a newish car and it will be great to own so, yes, I would buy it. You might find a couple minor problems when you start to daily it but, the issues will go away and you have a very nice newish car. Hope you buy it and post some pics.

Richardsr

$8500 for a 2005 ES is very high. Consider this... If your bank won’t loan it and your insurance won’t cover it,

Granted, it may have led a beautiful life but that doesn’t make it worth $8500.

How many miles does it have on it?

BTW, I own an ‘05 ES myself.

Drrobb

My bad. I didn’t make clear it only has 16,800 miles.
for 8500.
my looking about seems that others with 60-120,000miles sell about 8-11grand so it seems like a very unique situation here in late 2019.
I’m excited to purchase and join the club.

Drrobb

Club Lexus lost my response to daredevil95!
i test drove the car a bunch on Friday.
Just like off the show room floor. Great!
I’ve had 6 sedans in my life, and 6 SUVs, a few minivans, 2 Subaru’s 1 truck, missed a few.
this ES 330 will rank #1 in the car class.
NADA has it at 6100$. Huh——-as KBB AND car guru, car digest, etc range from 7500-9000.
so the credit union will snarkily give me 6000$.
I don’t want to out of pocket 9k right now so I’ll
just drop cash 2500 on my friend. He has 4 others waiting to give him 9 right now.

why is NADA so low?? Market is Much higher

Richardsr

Because NADA, financial institutions and insurance companies do not consider fair market value and it’s many variables. Driving experiences, low miles, zip codes and appearance really don’t factor into an automobiles real worth and this is left up to the buyer‘s discretions. If you want a real eye opener, take this same car to an auction and watch the asking price die on the vine there.

Welcome to ClubLexus and enjoy your ride.

430SLOwner

Who cares what the book is? This may be the only one left with those low miles. What else can you buy like it for $8500? If you are buying for transportation to drive for years, may be a good value. If you are buying to resell, not so much. You would likely be stuck.
But why a transmission flush??? Is there something wrong you are not being told? (It is just good business for the credit union not to lend much for such an old car. Maybe ask for a personal loan if you need the money?)

430SLOwner

Who cares what the book is? This may be the only one left with those low miles. What else can you buy like it for $8500? If you are buying for transportation to drive for years, may be a good value. If you are buying to resell, maybe not so much.
But why a transmission flush??? Is there something wrong you are not being told? For that price it should look and run as new....

Drrobb

You bet, I’m taking possession Tuesday.
The seller just did the fluid for transmission I guess.
no deception here, I trust him as real family.
good timing on this. My 07 maxima is showing the dreaded transmissions problems. 3x now a sudden jolt on accelerating into traffic from an on-ramp.
no joy there. I’ve spent way too much since it hit
120,000 miles

430SLOwner

Congratulations! Wish you many trouble-free miles for many years to come....

daredeil95

That's a good buy, look on FB or CL for what you can buy for $8500.....nothing as good as your deal; you could get newer but, with a 100K+ on it. In June 2018 I paid $7700 for mine with 66K on it so, yea, IMO you got a great deal. Good luck and post some pics when you take possession of the car!

FromFL

As a "friend" price that seems high, so he's not cutting you any break. I wonder how much he'd ask if he posted it on a classified ad.

Richardsr

Well, there were four others willing to pay it and he did ditch a Nissan.

I’m always a bit of a cynic about buying cars and the old, “Whaddaya think...?”, but this car is somewhat of a rare find.

ArmyofOne

If you're buying that car to put miles on, its a huge gamble.

Cam/crank seals, valve cover gaskets, intake manifold gaskets, crank seals and rearain seal will likely all need replaced in the next 20k miles due to age. If its not leaking already, it will be.

Chsnge timing belt, water pump, and tensioner if more than 5 years old.

430SLOwner

Please post pics....