Considerations On A Used ES 300

[Luigi Musso]

Hello:

Today I inspected and test drove a 1997 ES300 as a possible car for my college aged son. The car has about 95,000 miles on it, looks great and drives very nicely. However, the transmission fluid appears to have not been changed for quite a while in that it is a brownish (instead of pinkish) color. There are maintenance records up to about 45,000 miles, then nothing.

Researching Edmunds and other such consumer sites, these cars seem to have just about the highest ratings of any used cars. But after reading some of the threads on this forum, I am pretty concerned about the possibility of a lurking transmission failure. I am taking the car tomorrow to my mechanic for an evaluation.

Is there anything specific he can look for to determine if this car is a likely failure candidate? Are there any other things regarding the transmission solenoids or any other high cost repairs that I should be looking for?

Thanks in advance.

[Luigi Musso]

Apologies for the typo in the subject line. I can't find anywhere to edit it.

I meant to say, of course, ES300.

[SRVCM]

Hello:

Today I inspected and test drove a 1997 ES300 as a possible car for my college aged son. The car has about 95,000 miles on it, looks great and drives very nicely. However, the transmission fluid appears to have not been changed for quite a while in that it is a brownish (instead of pinkish) color. There are maintenance records up to about 45,000 miles, then nothing.

Researching Edmunds and other such consumer sites, these cars seem to have just about the highest ratings of any used cars. But after reading some of the threads on this forum, I am pretty concerned about the possibility of a lurking transmission failure. I am taking the car tomorrow to my mechanic for an evaluation.

Is there anything specific he can look for to determine if this car is a likely failure candidate? Are there any other things regarding the transmission solenoids or any other high cost repairs that I should be looking for?

Thanks in advance.

Hi,

In regards to the transmission really you wont know until it happens but I can safely say the repairs on tranny are not as bad as you may think. I can share with you my wife's 1994 lexus es300 had 189,000 miles on the tranny when it began to exhibit a slight hesitation that got worse each day until it just wouldnt shift to 2nd anymore. (2nd gear Clutch failure= rebuild). I rebuilt it myself for less than $500.00 as I am mechanically inclined and had more time than money LOL!!!

What I suggest is if you like to the car, go ahead and have the mech do a filter change on it and inspect the interior of the tranny. Then test drive it taking it on a long trip. If you satisfied with the car then buy it. As with any uesd vehicle anything could break at anytime but I doubt it would be during the inspection period. Depending on mileage as a rule of thumb if it was over 150,000 for a 97 I would not buy it. If it was less than 100,000 I would depending on its price.

My tow cents worth........

(tow.... get it LOL)

[steviej]

Apologies for the typo in the subject line. I can't find anywhere to edit it.

I meant to say, of course, ES300.

I got your back. It's fixed.

steviej

[homemechanic]

i don't know what you are thinking man. who in the world would let you take their car to go get an atf filter/fluid change and then drive for a long trip before paying for it. may be you are the only one would do this.

rebuild is not so bad. why don't you get an estimate from the outside to see how much the rebuild would costs. you need an estimate for complete rebuild vs. just the soft parts (seals, gaskets, torque converter).

if you don't want to pay the rebuild costs down the road, don't even buy it.

Hi,

In regards to the transmission really you wont know until it happens but I can safely say the repairs on tranny are not as bad as you may think. I can share with you my wife's 1994 lexus es300 had 189,000 miles on the tranny when it began to exhibit a slight hesitation that got worse each day until it just wouldnt shift to 2nd anymore. (2nd gear Clutch failure= rebuild). I rebuilt it myself for less than $500.00 as I am mechanically inclined and had more time than money LOL!!!

What I suggest is if you like to the car, go ahead and have the mech do a filter change on it and inspect the interior of the tranny. Then test drive it taking it on a long trip. If you satisfied with the car then buy it. As with any uesd vehicle anything could break at anytime but I doubt it would be during the inspection period. Depending on mileage as a rule of thumb if it was over 150,000 for a 97 I would not buy it. If it was less than 100,000 I would depending on its price.

My tow cents worth........

(tow.... get it LOL)

[Lexusfreak]

Perhaps (depending on your mechanics evaluation) being a little more patient & wait for one that has all service records accounted for might be the way to go.

The 97 ES is the first year issue of the 3rd generation ES....try to get the newest one you can afford. Watch out for the engine gel problem as well. Good luck.