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It’s a 1999 with 206,000 miles. I had an agreement with my dealership after 72 months of leasing that I wanted a cash car so I can do a real estate transaction soon. The finance guy said he didn’t have any used cars under $5K that day but I could buy his sister’s Lexus suv. He said it had no known issues but I asked the same dealership shop to look at it and they called for $3K in repairs and put pressure on me to leave it and take a loaner. I thought that’s nuts, I just drove it all weekend and it was great except I know it needs tires and I could feel a few things running rough. I took it to my local shop and he said the timing belt needed replacement because it was making noise and there was leaking in from the top of the motor and he recommended the water pump at the same time, both for $950. He also said I should replace all three cylinders on one side since two were wrecked. I thought this was related to the timing belt but maybe it’s not. This lead me to wonder if I should get AAA and do nothing just save for a new car when it goes. But the interference discussion is key. Is it safe? What if it locks up on the highway? And this is Minnesota. Snow on the way.
Hey Newcargal, sorry to butt in but.... WHAT? First, what carguy said, find out what the hell he meant by 2 damaged cylinders. That is not the way it works. If he said to replace all 3, which you cannot do, the parts that function in there, sure, you can do work on cylinder walls, but in that case the motor is not worth working on at this point -- but did he say "Coils?" That would make more sense if he says to do all 3 on a side and it runs rough. You would likely, however, get a ce light when those start to go.
You are getting a lot of weird info. get the guy to write it up, take a picture so this board can see the exact work he recommends and post that estimate on here. It's also unlikely anyone can tell if a timing belt is making noise, there are a lot of belts right there and an array of pulleys. Leaking on top of the engine? Leaking WHAT. Get all this in writing and let others take a look.
Agree, a lot of odd diagnostics. One disadvantage is not knowing the service history. Go to https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/ and create an account. Then enter your vin# and look at the service history that has been done by Lexus. Hopefully you will get good info. At 206K anything is possible as far as service needs—especially if it has not been taken care of.
OldSurfer made a good suggestion about getting a written quote and letting us decipher it for you. Example: the leak could be valve cover gaskets; which is very common (and labor intensive=$).
Do you know of another mechanic that could look it over for you?
You guys are the best. I will do all that and one thing I learned that made it worth it, I don’t have to do what anyone says the first time. Too bizzare. I also am glad I discovered the Lexus. My folks had a parts store for 20 years, I was too young to learn much. But I drove a lot of beater cars that my Dad took in for deliveries. The Lexy has a great feel to it, better than the old Volvo that I drove and loved years ago. I will report back on this timing belt thing. I will keep my hand on my wallet and may just upgrade to a more gently used Lexus. We do have a Lexus dealer 3 miles away. I will visit them Monday and see if they will look at it. My Dad thought the cylinder thing odd too. Thanks again everybody
My local KIA dealer charged me $350 last week to do the used car purchase review. I put some muscle into explaining to the right people there what had transpired and received a credit back for my $350. I think I will get new tires and fix the back breaks with my current mechanic as they have kindly let me drive their JEEP loaner for free for a week while they found time to review my car and I had time to decide what to do. But I decided not to have him do the timing belt because he said he could “hear” it but he didn’t say he “saw” it. I am not convinced yet that I am doomed if I drive that car without replacing engine parts whether it’s interference or non-interference. I should have time to steer out of something and in truth anything could go wrong on my car at this age. I will take it to the local Lexus dealer and see if I can get better information. I will also do the other recommended actions from this thread like getting my current mechanic to write up a laundry list of recommended repairs and see if any previous service work is available under the VIN.
I fear I may be going off topic here but I asked my mechanic not to do the timing belt and water pump until I could sort out on this forum (in a strand related to that topic) whether I should have that work done at our local Lexus dealer repair or not at all for now. Also, the Lexus dealer shop hasn’t returned my vm about pricing for that service. This is a big tab for a 20 year old $750 vehicle with 206,000 miles on it. Thanks for offering to look at it, I appreciate all input. Bid for multiple services
The price for tires is good, the rest I would have to research.
Do you hear a rattling/clanking noise when you go over bumps? If so, that would be the sway bar links quoted.
Does your car make a thumping sound/feeling when you put it in gear or accelerate from a stop? If so, that would be the engine and transmission mounts quoted.
Do you hear noise from the passenger side when turning? If so, that would be the CV shaft quoted (could also be a torn boot).
That's a lot to put into the car all at once, especially since you haven't had it long and don't really know how it is going to do. Instead of taking it to Lexus for a 2nd quote, you might see what a Toyota dealership has to say. Is the car running well? By that I mean does it start, idle, run, and shift good? Is it using any oil (not leaking, using)? You mentioned an upper engine oil leak, if it is the valve cover gaskets, that would be another expense.
In the end, really, since you are not mechanically inclined, don't have a shop and tools, all the work has to be done by someone else and paid for. You need to find out what is the most important (critical). If the brakes are bad that is critical! Tires are high on the list as well. Walmart had good prices on tires, but let's stick to one thing at a time. Do you know anyone that has a small independent shop that can help you out. Ask around i.e. colleagues, friends, neighbors, or even the managers at AutoZone or O'Reilys. Ask who they use and if they have had good luck with them or if they know of a good repair shop. I use a guy here where I live that has a salvage yard and does car repairs (if he has the time and he can squeeze me in) or I use a Toyota dealer about 25 miles from my house (just dropped my RX there tonight for them to do my rear valve cover gasket). Otherwise I do all my work myself and this forum has been a Godsend.
Really impressed that you are following through and being proactive in your quest to keep your new ride going! It can be frustrating, but keep focused and draw good things to yourself (and your RX)!
This is the best thing you could have said to me as a rookie, “Really impressed that you are following through and being proactive in your quest to keep your new ride going! It can be frustrating, but keep focused and draw good things to yourself (and your RX)!” and I thank you. Everyone who took time to help me out here in this forum is appreciated. I so respect your ability to DIY... and some very complex repairs. I read other threads! I did learn a lot. And I found places to get info, too. So this evening when I received my second $3K recommended bid for repairs on my RX300, I dropped everything and drove to the Lexus dealer in a neighboring town. I asked for a previously owned rep and she got someone great for me. I explained my situation. He spent a full hour with me reviewing the basics of my two bids and the realistic cost of me having the work done in the venues I knew. He shared the merits of selecting a potentially less worn new old car. I decided that one way or another I was likely to end up spending $4K for the cheapest used car I could feel safe about. He got me a printout of the dozen cars in my range, a cup of tea and nice biscuits and a computer in one of the offices so I could look up their VIN numbers before going down the road to the affordable used lot owned by their dealership. I decided to buy a 2003 Toyota Camry with a super clean interior and a somewhat leaky gasket that may be down the road. They do repairs at this smaller lot too. I was proud that I smelled the oil and could review the engine a bit. To bring it around to this thread, I understand the interference issue on this model is moot. So I will sell my Lexus and hope to rejoin your ranks when I get my real estate done. And the salesman at the Lexus sister shop said Toyotas are really after all very Lexus in many ways ��
10-20-19, 08:19 AM
Good news. Awesome way to start off a Monday morning!
