Cpo 2000 Es300 Platinum

[krschee]

alright, so i've been lurking for a while, in search of my first car out of college. after looking at numerous accords, camrys, corollas, i realized i could get a used es300 for about the price of an accord ex, which includes a 3 year warranty and lexus reliability.

so i was at the dealer tonight looking at a 2000 black on ivory platinum series, asking 21.9. i was never a fan of the coach/platinum edition rims, but after looking at it, i guess i could get used to it because i absolutely love the black badges.

what's wrong with the car? im picky, but i know its used so i let minor dings and scratches slide. but apparently the rear bumper cover was replaced by them....i think the previous driver was pretty rough on it since i also saw an obvious quarter sized dent on the rear quarter panel, scratched rims, and worn weather stripping. yes, im picky, but looking at some other 2000 es300s on the lot, those exteriors were in much better condition.

should i take the plunge? the style of the rims, i guess i can live with. the dents and scratched rims...i guess eventually i'll mess them up right? but my mom's 1998 toyota sienna is totally dent/scratch free....so there's really no excuse except for careless driving. how much should i take off for those cosmetic issues? would you guys worry about tear on the engine of a rough driver? also, all the oil change records don't show, which means they bypassed it or went to an outside shop...worry about engine oil gelling? any advice is appreciated.

[NeiLtYmE]

wait for another deal... if your as picky as i think you are... and willing to spend that sort of money ballpark.... wait for another one to pop up. Lots of owners out there who take better care of thier car. i usually get *BLEEP*ed when i see owners with scratched rims and bruised tire walls, endless dents/ and or dings scrathces. tells me the driver was a careless putz.

I waited 2 years till i landed on my 96 coach. but well worth it.

Your looking for a newer car obviously, so those arent as rare, and you have a great chance at finding stuff. Plus if you dont really car for those wheels, just for a non plat.. and get those emblems later as a mod if you really like. the only thing youll miss out on then is the baby butt leather.

cheers to the picky!!

[iammikey]

After reading what you feel is wrong with the car, it sounds like you are already talking yourself out of it. As the 2004 models fade out and 2005's fade in, you'll also finds some great deals from private sellers wanting to upgrade.

[jragosta]

alright, so i've been lurking for a while, in search of my first car out of college. after looking at numerous accords, camrys, corollas, i realized i could get a used es300 for about the price of an accord ex, which includes a 3 year warranty and lexus reliability.

so i was at the dealer tonight looking at a 2000 black on ivory platinum series, asking 21.9. i was never a fan of the coach/platinum edition rims, but after looking at it, i guess i could get used to it because i absolutely love the black badges.

what's wrong with the car? im picky, but i know its used so i let minor dings and scratches slide. but apparently the rear bumper cover was replaced by them....i think the previous driver was pretty rough on it since i also saw an obvious quarter sized dent on the rear quarter panel, scratched rims, and worn weather stripping. yes, im picky, but looking at some other 2000 es300s on the lot, those exteriors were in much better condition.

should i take the plunge? the style of the rims, i guess i can live with. the dents and scratched rims...i guess eventually i'll mess them up right? but my mom's 1998 toyota sienna is totally dent/scratch free....so there's really no excuse except for careless driving. how much should i take off for those cosmetic issues? would you guys worry about tear on the engine of a rough driver? also, all the oil change records don't show, which means they bypassed it or went to an outside shop...worry about engine oil gelling? any advice is appreciated.

I'd pass.

$22 K for a 5 year old car that's in mediocre condition. Add $1500 for the extended warranty since the previous driver didn't take care of it.

$30.5 K gets you a brand new one in your choice of colors and will a full factory warranty. Sorry, but I don't see a 20% savings as worth the bother of taking on someone else's headaches. If $30 K is too much, I'd buy a brand new Camry over a 5 year old Lexus. You'll have fewer headaches in the long run.

[amf1932]

Excellent advice on all the previous posts! ;)

[jbarhorst2]

I am picky too. Don't settle. You will not be happy with that car. Just wait for a short while. One will pop up. Tell your dealer what you are looking for. They should be able to find one in a reasonable amount of time.

[nicksan]

What kind of miles does it have?

Ask them although you are aware you are buying a USED car, if they can do something about some of the major items such as dings, leather wearing out, etc. and ask them if they have any service records, and check for engine sludge problem.

I bought mine CPO as well, a 2001 with 22k miles and I have well documented my saga with my NY dealer. I had them repair 2 dings, repaint the front bumper, fill in a winshield chip, replace rubber seal around the moonroof, new floor mats...so they can be flexible to an extent.

Just make sure you are getting at least 1 master key and 1 valet key...anything additional is a bonus.

$21.5 price really depends on the miles on the car. Mine was listed at $26.5 which I thought was ridiculous. I haggled down to $24k with CPO status and a 3.9% rate. The car also has chrome wheels, but it is not a coach/plat edition. I have everything else in there like leather, heated seat, wood steering wheel...

I've passed up on several ES with different color that were in better condition with lower mileage, and cheaper to boot because I wanted a specific color.

I got it...it's at Lexus right now for some service that they owed me from the sale...been there for a week almost.

Good luck!

[amf1932]

One of the biggest problems is that the majority of cars that dealers take in trade are those that were originally leased. A large percentage of these owners don't give a rap how these cars were serviced because they know that after the lease period they're going to trade it in. I've seen and heard this attitude from the many people that I've talked to. That's why a service record is very nice to have, if not for anything else but to check if the previous owner really cared for the car properly.

[SW03ES]

I would definately try and find a 2002 even if it has to be higher mileage because of the engine sludge concern on the 97-01.

[krschee]

thanks for all the good advice.

yea, after seeing a 2001 non-platinum, 33k miles, chrome wheels for $23.9, i think i'll wait.

the 2000 has 43k.

the salesman checked the "card" for me and said they would realistically go as low as $19.5 ($21.5 out the door)....which is REAL tempting because it does come with the CPO certification. the fishy thing is that the salesman told me "it will be certified. we did not opt to put a cpo sticker on it, but my manager said if i offer it as cpo, it will come out of my commission."

i'm not a fan of the 2002 gen body. would other people also recommend the new gen over the old due to the engine gel problem? does the new gen have this problem? then there is the transmission problem to consider on the new gen...

i think i will wait...the game is in my favor because if those cars sit on the lot longer, they keep losing value. one'll pop up eventually.

[nicksan]

krschee,

As I mentioned before, my 2001 CPO was $24k with 22k miles and pretty much every option including chrome wheels.

The main reason why I chose the 2001 instead the later models was that I liked the compact and sharper body styling of the 2001 better than 2002. I think the 2002 and later models are bigger. It's really a matter of taste. I think the later ones look nice, just not for me.

The whole CPO thing I went over in another thread. It is VERY fishy indeed. The whole program is out of whack. My car was advertised as CPO on the lot, but when I went to Lexus.com it wasn't listed. The dealer's web-site didn't have it listed as CPO either.

When I was haggling they offered the car for me at $23k WITHOUT CPO status. Originally it was $26.5 with CPO. We settled on $24k.

My CPO certificate was just a XEROX copy with the VIN number typed on it...that's fishy...why wouldn't you type it on the Original and then give me a copy? Because they don't have originals...and they don't do jack...they just type the VIN on the thing and that's your CPO for you...

All that million point checks...that's all B.S...

I've had soooo many things repaired on the thing pre-delivery it makes you wonder what kind of "checking" they do!!!

Anyways, in the end, it was fine. I get a 3 year warranty. They fixed most of the issues (mostly cosmetic). At 22k miles at $24k I think I got a fair deal...maybe not the deal of the century, but a fair one.

So shop around...you'll know when you find the right one.