Fix Or Sell

[ArmyofOne]

well, i drove out to JP Imports today, (jason is very cool BTW, answered all of my questions and gave up an hour of his time for free.) my car is leaking...badly. not bad enough i cant keep putting oil in it (it takes a quart every 2-3 weeks, when colder leaks more), but it smells bad and just isnt cool to have to stop 3 times in a 100 mile trip cause you are worried about your oil level.

Jason at JP Imports looked at it today, and in addition to the cv joints (which will be done tomorrow if i ever get PAID!!!!), there is oil leaking from nearly every external gasket on the motor. in fact, i would guess (he said it was impossible to tell for sure because fo all the oil) that everything that can leak oil, except the rear main seal, and the heads, is leaking oil. the exhaust manifolds, cam and crank seals, valve cover gaskets, spark plug seals, and most importantly, the oil pump seal. the oil pump seal is leaking the most. so i am at a turning point. i can either sell it now and try to recoup some losses that i have put into it (CV JOINTS< BRAKES ETC>>>) or i can keep it and have it fixed to the tune of between 2,000 and 3,000 dollars, (wont know till hes in there).

here is my dillemna, if i buy another car for 2-3K (what im looking at to fix this one) i will most likely be buying someone elses problem...again.

if i pay to fix the lex, i know i have an entierly sound motor that is working fabulously and is in nearly new condition. im thinking he will pull; the motor to replace all these seals, hence the amount of money involved...but the car still has other issues. they can be worked around, but they are still there.

so since i cant figure out how to make a poll on this site, here are the options

sell and be done

fix and keep.

remember, it is a rare car, and the interoir is in mint condition, minus the window switch on the drivers side door, and a little heat warp on the dash...

thoughts?

[jahon]

Honestly i dont think it is worth fixing if its that much. Sell it and by a 92+ es300 :D . Sorry that you have so many problems. Another option could be fixing it all yourself, but just changing the front+rear valve cover gaskets and spark plugs in my car along with cleaning the throttle body took me 6 hours to take apart and 2 hours to reassemble!! bah! But once everything is fixed you will love your baby..

btw, if you decide to fix it yourself, get bosch platinum +4 spark plugs so you wont have to change them in a while.. trust me, its worth it; although, im not sure what the setup is like on the older es models.

[juan01]

Despite it being rare and in great condition.... that's alot of money to put into that old of a car. If I were you, I'd probably try and get a cheaper car with little/no problems and save money and get another Lex down the road sometime.

[SKperformance]

Its only rare because no one wants or wanted the car for its exact camry structure.

I wouldn;t even waste time buying a 92-93 only looking for more problems.

Fix what you got slowly

[ArmyofOne]

Its only rare because no one wants or wanted the car for its exact camry structure.

I wouldn;t even waste time buying a 92-93 only looking for more problems.

Fix what you got slowly

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yeah, it does look a lot like a camry...

and its not even the top model, it doesnt have leather, no cd player...

if i can come up with the amount of cash i need between now and the time i leave, i may leave it at jason's shop while im away, and he can tinker with it whiel i feed him money via electronic transfer...they can do that from iraq right ?

its only costing me $260 every couple of weeks to put oil in it, and its not getting any worse (*knocks on wood*) so i might just live with it...

[mxl4729]

just a question but any idea y your engine is leaking so bad. it seams like you have an lot of leaks and was just wondering if there was a way to prevent something like this from happening to everyone else.

[SW03ES]

$260 to put oil in it every couple of weeks? What kinda oil you usin ;)

[ArmyofOne]

just a question but any idea y your engine is leaking so bad.  it seams like you have an lot of leaks and was just wondering if there was a way to prevent something like this from happening to everyone else.

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the only thing: CHANGE YOUR PCV VALVE EVERY 40,000 MILES! that is the ONLY reason my motor is leaking, at 138,000 miles, mine stil had the toyota factory PCV valve. when the PCV valve clogs, the crankcase has nowhere to vent the extra air/oil pressure, so it starts to push oil out of your seals.

my car is leaking the most oil from the oil pump seal. about 3/4 of it is coming from there. the only things not leaking are the heads and the rear main. the exhaust manifolds, the camshaft and crankshaft seals, the oil pump seal and the valve cover gaskets are all leaking. since i had the PCV valve changed, i will probably attack them one at a time, cam and crank seals (w/oil pump seal) when ihave the TB, WP and tensioners replaced, the total on that will come to around 1K. the valve covers and exhaust manifolds i can and will do myself more than likely.

$260 to put oil in it every couple of weeks? What kinda oil you usin ;)

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whoops meant $2.60 my bad.

[steviej]

Army, I made and pinned a Poll for you.

here is the link to Army's Poll.

steviej

[PharmGuy]

Well, I'll put my spin on it, since you asked for opinions. At 14 yrs old, and

having multiple problems, I simply feel you need to move on. On the basis

of it being a rare model, my thought is it's going to be most expensive to repair

(please note I used repair instead of fix---hint, little problems, then bigger

problems, then more expensive problems).

And as far as buying someone else's problem, it comes down to how

well that vehicle is cared for, it's mileage, and the biggie "Why are they selling

it?" Just consider, if you sink a boatload of money into this vehicle, you still

have an older vehicle. If you update, the generalized life expectancy should

naturally increase.

Good Luck,

PharmGuy

[ArmyofOne]

Well, I'll put my spin on it, since you asked for opinions. At 14 yrs old, and

having multiple problems, I simply feel you need to move on. On the basis

of it being a rare model, my thought is it's going to be most expensive to repair

(please note I used repair instead of fix---hint, little problems, then bigger

problems, then more expensive problems).

      And as far as buying someone else's problem, it comes down to how

well that vehicle is cared for, it's mileage, and the biggie "Why are they selling

it?" Just consider, if you sink a boatload of money into this vehicle, you still

have an older vehicle. If you update, the generalized life expectancy should

naturally increase.

Good Luck,

PharmGuy

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all good points, but can i possibly get $2000 for it in this condition?

and thanks Steviej, i appreciate the poll. :)

and 2 the guy who suggested +4 plugs, i refuse to use them, i had a chjevy S10 that i used them in, and 2 of the elements broke off of the plug and went into my cylinder, scoring cylinder walls, it also put a hole in my #4 piston. sorry, i just dont trust them.

[bkchig]

Perhaps on a trade in if they are willing to take it. Heck, I wouldn't even trade it in...I would sell it privately to a mechanic or something for parts. If money is the 'only' issue and this car doesn't have any real sentimental value...a used honda accord or toyota camery may be a better choice now (like juan1 said...get a lexus down the road).

[ArmyofOne]

Perhaps on a trade in if they are willing to take it.  Heck, I wouldn't even trade it in...I would sell it privately to a mechanic or something for parts.  If money is the 'only' issue and this car doesn't have any real sentimental value...a used honda accord or toyota camery may be a better choice now (like juan1 said...get a lexus down the road).

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i probably will, i like those jeep wranglers... :)

i do love my lex too...

but i cant trade it in, i have never taken a loan out on anything, so i would need a cosigner...my parents refuse, and i dont feel liek paying 18% interest, i might was well fix this.

[steviej]

all good points, but can i possibly get $2000 for it in this condition?

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I ask you honestly........would you pay $2000 for it?

and thanks Steviej, i appreciate the poll. :)

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not a problem, so far it is 5 to 0 in dumping the albatross.

Watch for one of those sale days where dealers will give you $2000 for anything you can push pull or carry onto the lot. Then talk financing. Used cars and new cars are more like 5-10% (not 18%...that's a credit card). Look for a first time buyers program. Go through a credit union as opposed to a bank, they are little more leanient. You never know as long as you apply. You have a residence and a steady job, right? Give it a shot. You don't have to try to bag a $35k loan your first time out.

steviej

[SW03ES]

You don't need a loan to trade something in...

[ArmyofOne]

I ask you honestly........would you pay $2000 for it?

no, knowing what i know about it, never

Watch for one of those sale days where dealers will give you $2000 for anything you can push pull or carry onto the lot.  Then talk financing.  Used cars and new cars are more like 5-10% (not 18%...that's a credit card).  Look for a first time buyers program.  Go through a credit union as opposed to a bank, they are little more leanient.  You never know as long as you apply.  You have a residence and a steady job, right?  Give it a shot.  You don't have to try to bag a $35k loan your first time out.

steviej

i have a steady job yes, the residence, no...im still living with my folks, dont pay rent.

You don't need a loan to trade something in...

you do when what you want to trade in is less than the amount of the car you want to buy, and you dont have the balance in cash though, thats my problem. :D

i had to ride a bicycle 20 miles a day before i got this car, for 2 months (almost 3) because i had to save money to buy a car, when i had my wreck i had $18.79 in the bank.

if i could make myself afford it, i would. i may yet still....

and yes, 18% is a car loan, thats what my parents paid on their first new car (in 1982...Nissan Pulsar).

i dont want NEW. i want a 1999 -2001 Jeep Wrangler, or a 1997-2000 ES300 if i can find one for under 10K, and get a loan. my bank (bank one) refuses to finance me without a cosigner. as does MECU (Motorola Employees Credit Union), because i have no credit history...

help!

[VGR]

ArmyofOne, on the one hand you said your car was "nearly new condition" and on the other hand you say the PCV valve had never been changed in 15 years! So in reality your car was badly neglected by the previous owner.

You'd be money ahead right now if you had spent an extra $1,000-2,000 buying a lower mileage '90 ES250 from a little old lady type owner who had extensive service records on the car.

[Lex3486]

ArmyofOne, I'm feelin ya man. My 93 ES has been a pain in the !Removed! for a long time now and I'm faced with keeping on pouring money into it or starting anew...as far as my car goes, the engine is perfect so far as I know. I won't say that it had been taken care of by the book Lexus style, but it was maintained just as most average cars would be. I've already replaced the head gaskets and radiator, spark plugs, valve cover gaskets and PCV valve. Then came the transmission...with my car though, it's not the car that's the bad part, it's the shop we ended up being binded to; they have NO CLUE what they're doing apparently, but we've already invested so much in it at THAT shop that we can't justify cutting our losses and taking it somewhere else and spending ANOTHER couple thou...what do we do?? I have no clue right now. My car has very much sentimental value to me, and I'm confident that if we could just get the transmission fixed right, it'd be right as rain. I just don't know. What do you guys think?

[norbertk]

Wanna buy my 1993 ES300?

[ArmyofOne]

Wanna buy my 1993 ES300?

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unfortunately, not from chicago, it was $1200 for me to ship a ford contour from Chattanooga TN to here, cna you imagine what it would cost from there?i dont have $300 in the bank anyways, i am BROKE. if this cars trans drops tomorrow, i am *BLEEP*ed...not a good feeling (*get the feeling, toyota*? )

lex, what did they say is wrong with your transaxle? ATX's are not an easy thing to deal with, they have over 12,000 moving parts related to them, crammed into a space smaller than a basketball...i woulkd advise taking it to a specialty shop, then...after its fixed...DRIVE THE *BLEEP* OUT OF IT. just so you get your $$'s worth.

[Lex3486]

Obviously they must not know...the very first time I took it in, they replaced the valvebody, clutch packs, and torque converter. Every time thereafter, they did the same thing (remember, I've probably had it back there about 8 times with various problems since the first time they ever laid hands on it). Then finally they found out that the tranny kept gettin *BLEEP* in it from the differential, so they replaced all that stuff again and the differential. After that, probably 2000 trouble-free miles...then a leak...fixed that easily though, and then about 11000 trouble-free miles...then, it started to hesitate to shift outta first when it was cold, and it skipped second gear from time to time, so I took it back for one last checkup before I hit the 12000 mile warranty limit about 3 weeks ago...well, the head mechanic, the only one who seemed to know what he was doin and the one that had worked on it all this time, the one that had it fixed for the longest period, quit. SO, now the owner of the shop is fixing it himself...not sure what to expect. This time, the valve body had a failure in it (probably a shift solenoid) but they replaced the whole thing rather than the solenoid so I don't know...

[ArmyofOne]

Obviously they must not know...the very first time I took it in, they replaced the valvebody, clutch packs, and torque converter.  Every time thereafter, they did the same thing (remember, I've probably had it back there about 8 times with various problems since the first time they ever laid hands on it).  Then finally they found out that the tranny kept gettin *BLEEP* in it from the differential, so they replaced all that stuff again and the differential.  After that, probably 2000 trouble-free miles...then a leak...fixed that easily though, and then about 11000 trouble-free miles...then, it started to hesitate to shift outta first when it was cold, and it skipped second gear from time to time, so I took it back for one last checkup before I hit the 12000 mile warranty limit about 3 weeks ago...well, the head mechanic, the only one who seemed to know what he was doin and the one that had worked on it all this time, the one that had it fixed for the longest period, quit.  SO, now the owner of the shop is fixing it himself...not sure what to expect.  This time, the valve body had a failure in it (probably a shift solenoid) but they replaced the whole thing rather than the solenoid so I don't know...

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well, thankfuly, my Tranny is failry solid...for now *knocks on wood*

[NeiLtYmE]

i honestly think that your putting way too much into that car. Ive ready many many various post upon problems youve have with your car. I fel ya man that blowz. If your ready to spend all that one one car thats worth almost nothing i think thats ganna be real conter productive. Buy your self an old prelude or somthing and get rid of this. Youll run strong with not to bad of repairs while you look for something in the future. Besides, didnt you say you werent ganna be around for a while ?

[JPI]

Josh came to us a couple days ago. When I look at his ES250, I don't know where to start. The previous owner never bother service the poor vehicle. Josh, I will have the loaner car for you on Tuesday.

JPI

[ArmyofOne]

Josh came to us a couple days ago.    When I look at his ES250, I don't know where to start.  The previous owner never bother service the poor vehicle.  Josh, I will have the loaner car for you on Tuesday. 

                JPI

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good to hear, is 330PM ok?

im hearing ya about getting rid of it. i just cant bear to sell this car to some unsuspecting idiot in the shape its in...its dangerous...and its unethical. just cause i got screwed doesnt mean someone else has to.

what i will end up doing istrading it in, and getting the best i can for it. that way i have my consience, whoever gets it next, has only the dealer to blame if there are problems. ;)