1994 Es Suspension/undercar Problems

[lexobandit]

I'm new to the forum but appreciate any suggestions people might have. I bought a 94 es300 with 136k on it about week and a half ago for $1500, thinking I got a steal (hence the name). Now I am having some issues. I noticed the ride was a little bumpy on the test drive, but nothing like other cars i've driven that were bouncing all over the rode and squeaking because they needed new suspension. That being said, I was prepared to put some work into the car since it went for so cheap. Unfortunately now the problem is figuring out *what* exactly is wrong with it. If I know what is wrong with it, I will get it fixed, but I don't like being in the dark about what's going on down there.

I took it to a local mechanic and they said, it has the original struts and they're worn so you should probably put new ones on. No other problems. They gave me an estimate of $700 and seemed to be saying that struts were not major, if the ride isn't too bumpy, there's no reason to worry about getting the struts done right away. This went against what I had always thought, which was that if you ride around without struts you risk messing up something else on the car when you hit a big bump. So anyways, $700 to have the car ride like new, which is how they put it, seemed fine to me. But I took it to another spot down the street to make sure nothing else was wrong.

This guy had a similar attitude about the struts, but found another problem, and suggested I fix the problem he found immediately and put off the struts for a few months. What he said was that a bushing in the front end was worn and moving around and had to be replaced right away. The bushing apparantly is attached to a control arm. To top it off, the control arm is supposedly only available from lexus, meaning parts and labor would come to $636.25. So needless to say, after getting 2 different answers for why the ride is so rough I figured I should get someone else to verify what was happening.

I took it to sears auto center because I figured that although the service is slow, they do enough business that they won't try to make up a probem or something for some extra money. They told me it would be a half an hour to look at the car. I came back in an hour after buying a sweater in the mall and they were surprised no one had filled out any paperwork for me...anyways it took 3 more hours, just to look under the car for 5 minutes. They came back with a different problem - it needs a motor mount. Apparently they saw no other problem with the suspension - the struts are original but not leaking or anything, and they saw nothing wrong with the control arm or bushing which I told them to check (although because of the type of place it is, there was no way for me to actually point out the part that the other mechanic told me desperately needs replacing or be entirely sure they checked in the right place).

My questions for people on the forum is, can a motor mount cause my car to feel rough over bumps? Could the engine really be moving around that much? Does anyone have experience with Sears, do you think they just missed my other suspension issues because they were rushed? Is it possible that the struts are still good after 13 years and do people recommend replacing them right away just based on their age? Has anyone else had a control arm problem and does $600+ seem reasonable for this problem (I believe the guy said it would take 3 hours of labor). And finally, can anyone recommend a good mechanic in the Boston area that they take their lexus to?

I think tomorrow I am going to take the car to Lexus of Norwood, which I have read good things about here, just to get the 3 issues looked at; motor mount, control arm/bushing, and struts. I doubt I'll be able to afford to get the work done there, especially if I have all 3 problems, but first and foremost is figuring out what work to get done.

I know this a rambling first post, its been a pretty long day. Any help and suggestions about anything I mentioned would be greatly appreciated.