Abqhudson

I'm trying to help my adult daughter find a AWD vehicle that she can use in snow and ice in the western NC mountains. She has a steep hill in front of her house. She's poor and cannot afford vehicle repairs. I've found what appears to be a clean es300 with 126,000 miles and would of course do a pre purchase inspection. Would you recommend this vehicle for her? Would greatly appreciate any advice. TIA.

fastnoypi

For the type of driving conditions you are describing, i would opt to pick a different vehicle. The transmissions are known to be a weak link in the early rx's and often go without early routine flushes. Maybe consider a 3rd or 4th generation 4runner for reliability and to take advantage of the depreciation and huge aftermarket support.

ToledoRX

Clean ES300 or RX300? The ES300 is sedan, the RX is the SUV. The ES300 is not known to have transmission issues.

As far as not being able to afford vehicle repairs, maybe a honda civic or a Toyota Corolla or Toyota Camry is better choice for her.

Used 10 year old honda and Toyota cost about the same as an RX300 but cost less to maintain and use less gas.

fastnoypi

Just a thought, maybe your daughter doesn't really need a truck.. Subaru AWD is very popular out west in Seattle and Colorado where weather conditions are nasty. Repairs are not that bad if you go with a non-turbo model.

mckellyb

You're aware every vehicle requires maintenance and upkeep, correct?

...and registration...

...and insurance....

...and gasoline....

Furthermore, any 15 year old car is going to have things just wear out/fail due to age. My wife's '02 RX 300 (the tall wagon version of the ES 300) has been the most solid vehicle I've ever encountered, but then, I've taken care of it since she bought it with about 32K miles on it, and I'm a hard-core gearhead.