CELSI0R

Are there any service records for this car? It's very possible that the mileage is accurate. I don't really doubt that, but the question is how much was done during those miles

It looks like the radiator may have been worked on or replaced. the bolt for the upper clamp that is visible in the engine bay photo is a replacement bolt and not a Toyota bolt (doesn't matter though).

The car also definitely spent some time in the sun, but not enough to do serious damage. Just average wear - the stickers for the door locks have turned white from sun exposure. They originally are red, but fade in the sunlight. The wood however and seat belt buckles look perfectly fine and glossy, and not bleached as many of these that had high sun exposure show.

To me, the lower half of the rear bumper looks darker than the rest of the lower trim, but this is not really worrying.. Bumpers get repainted all the time. But this could explain the trunk gap if the car was lightly tapped in the rear. Although, I don't see anything to indicate a major accident from the photos.

From the factory, I've usually seen 1st gen ES 250s develop this over time. I have not often seen it on an LS though.

You will not be able to see the bolts for the trunk on the hinge, as they are covered by the fabric trim, but this is what the trunk panel looks like with the trim removed:

CLLEXUSS

What can happen sometimes is people open the trunk and take stuff out of their trunk and say toss their jacket on the glass behind the trunk, the jacket or whatever say slides down a bit into where the trunk seals down and they slam the trunk down, and because whatever is wedged in there just enough unknowingly it pushes the trunk up. I've seen it before, sort of reminds me of that.

DC32

Thanks for the feedback. The service records on the CARFAX are strange for this car. By 2001, it was only driven 25k miles. In 1999, the first service that is stated is that the antifreeze/coolant was checked and the battery was checked. The next actual service statement is in 2014 where the car had 39k miles. There must be things that are missing from here beacause it doesn't add up unless the guy did everything himself. It is just strange that from 2014 to now the car gained 2k miles in 8 years. Vehicles are not good when sitting for long periods of time which this one had to be so that is my main concern. That or just the odometer was rolled back or altered.

Gerf

Just forget about it, it's not worth the aggravation it must be causing you.

DC32

Yeah, in all honestly you're probably right. I'm looking at other models that are a couple years newer that have more miles on them, but at least I know those were serviced. A '95 with about 130k that was serviced that I'd just have to replace the timing belt for seems like a better deal that'll last me in the long run because it was used and did not just sit around anywhere.

CLLEXUSS

Steer clear unless you want to have to be the one that explains this to the next buyer, everything about this from the estate sale story to missing records, to everything in-between with all that missing time. Look at the coolant reservoir, looks green, wrong color. (used the cheap stuff) That's not good. If this is supposed to be such a pristine vehicle why all these anomalies and issues, even the wheels are on the car wrong lol. The scratches on the plastic where the air intake is just as you open the hood. This is a 5K tops car at best due to the unanswered questions and possible issues with unverified claims which you will get stuck with trying to convince the next person who buys it. Whoever is looking after this car right now is not showing he or she knows what they are doing, that's concerning. Close to 13K is outrageous for this car with such issues. It would be interesting to see how many years this car was actually insured by an insurance company because they ask for miles and document it. I'm not going to rule out the mileage claim being made is accurate, it might be accurate, (but I see issues) but it all hinges on the inability to prove it. If say you were buying it from grandma, and she bought it new, and still owned it, and had it serviced every 3K miles since new and there were records then that's a different story because you can sit down with grandma and she can provide you the proof and documentation. Seems like you are buying it from a 3rd party that is making spectacular claims but has no proof only shrugs the shoulders. I just see things on it that look to me that there are inaccuracies, and you will have the same problem if you buy it. There are also companies that buy cars to use as fleet vehicles for their staff, they do all their own servicing as they have their own shop and circumvent traditional maintenance reporting methods so because of that you may see any or very little public service history because of that. It's entirely possible this car was a fleet vehicle with private company. I'm just throwing stuff out here trying to get an idea on this car.

deanshark

You are throwing alot out there. Most of the stuff is minor to someone that wants a nice DD that will last 15 years or so. This car really doesn't need much, especially if ya do the work yourself. Changing all the fluids would be the main thing. Personally, I wouldn't even change the timing belt unless I saw something while inspecting it. (non-interference engine)
Ya can't put so much confidence into Carfax. Not everything or every garage is connected into the system. You could check if anything was serviced at a dealer by going to https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers and creating an account, for free, if you have the VIN.
I'm sure the guy could very well get his $12.5K asking price from someone that wont see all the small to tiny stuff that we see. Prices are up there now. It's probably like he said, "got it from an estate sale and flipping it." If I had the storage space I'd like to make a couple purchases myself.
Mileage is gonna be wacky if the guy was an older senior citizen. When ya get older ya don't drive as much. Hell, I usually only drive 2 miles a day now since I stopped working.
By not seeing it in person, I'd say it's worth about $10K. I just payed $5K for mine with 85K miles in close to the same shape. The previous owner passed away and I got it from his grandson. The owner was 92 (if I did my research correct) and only drove it in town. You know, like those stories ya hear "little ol lady only drove it to church on Sunday".
We can give you all kinds of advice but we're not standing next to it. You're best bet would be to bring it to a mechanic in your area and have them look it over. If it's good then try to offer him $10K.

CLLEXUSS

Guess if we were all Hoovie from Hoovies Garage we could just throw money around on cars every week without too much concern lol, wish I had that problem ha!

fredbobo

That's a nice looking car! I bought a 93 in very good physical condition recently (though a lot more miles) but still have all kinds of problems popping up. Major sunroof leaking, randomly stalls, saggy seatbelts, to name a few. And these don't necessarily have simple fixes. Just keep in mind that it's an old car and there's bound to be issues, which you may be fine with, but just know what you're getting into! Be prepared to spend a fair amount of time working on this car, or paying a mechanic, no matter what condition it's in.

dkraus022

If this car has never had the typical big maintenance things done already (water pump and timing belt), I'd say that price is a little high. I bought my 93' in near perfect condition with those repairs done for $3100 but it needed a front main seal and starter replacement. Since I have the ability to do it myself, I did and only spent probably $800 on parts as opposed to an easy $3000+ repair in a shop. If those things have not been done, they will need to be eventually and that's going to cost a lot