flipmode64 Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 Hey guys, I have been looking for a while and I am thinking of purchasing a 2000 Lexus ES300 with 155,000 kilometers on it. I live about 3 hours from the dealer so I have to go check it out first. Just wondering what are some main or major things I should be looking at. The timing belt has NOT been changed the dealer said. He mentioned when they obtained the car they replaced the alternator. He mentioned there is one spot of rust of the pillar of the drivers side door, I do not know how bad it is yet or if this would be something fairly easy to fix. Just want to know what major things I shoul dbe asking hima bout the car. He said he does a have a FULL history of the car. Thanks for all your help guys, Devan
gbhrps Posted February 8, 2009 Posted February 8, 2009 Devan, If the dealer has the complete history of the car, that's a plus. Reading through it should tell you a great deal about how it was cared for. The rust on the pillar thing may or may not be a big deal. If its surface rust, its a relatively easy fix. Tell the dealer that you expect him to repair it before you purchase the car. If its a rust through issue, there may well be major issues down the road to repair it, such as pulling the windshield to cut out the bad metal and weld in new, paint, resealing and reinstalling the windshield. It may be that you'll want to pass on the car, or once again see if they'll do the repair. You don't say whether this is a Lexus dealer who has the car for sale. If it is, they won't want their reputation ruined by not having the car well prepared for the next owner, as in, new rotors and pads, maybe new tires, doing the 160 000 km service, etc. If its a straight used car dealership without any manufacturer's affiliation, they may not do anything but what is required for the safety check and the Ontario emissions test. That should be indicated in the price they ask. At your inspection, look for repaint overspray (indicates collision repairs), front shock towers that show no rust deterioration, a clean engine with a fresh oil change (pull the dip stick), a black radiator showing corrosion, even worn tires, and a lengthy test drive at all speeds while you check every switch function for proper use. There are a lot of these in the market place, so be sure to buy with your head and not your heart. Good Luck!
SW03ES Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 You need to make VERY sure the car has complete oil change records. The engine in the 97-01 ES is very prone to oil sludging and gelling even when oil change intervals are slightly drawn out. Personally? I would not buy any 97-01 ES unless it had complete oil change records showing strict changes every 5k miles and the dealer agreed to have the valve covers removed for inspection for sludge at their expense. Sludge is a catastrophic failure and results in basically the engine needing to be replaced. there is no way to check for it except pulling the valve covers.
flipmode64 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Posted February 10, 2009 I have a 95 Avalon right now, isnt it the same engine? the Avalon has 250,000km and climbing and its still smooth. I will have to see how bad that one rust spot is. Also does this model of car have the dash clusterlight failures like the early LS400's?
yeskay Posted February 10, 2009 Posted February 10, 2009 you may contact lexus main # with the vin id of the vehicle you are likely to purchase to assure that it has no sludge related issue recalls. It appears that the oil sludge related recalls affect only certain vin id's thru 01.
flipmode64 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Posted February 10, 2009 I will maybe try calling Toyota with the VIN number. You guys are scaring me with all this, I was reading on the net that only .002 of the sold cars are affected. Is this such a widespread problem or is it fairly common? It just makes me feel by reading all this stuff that any 97-01 ES300 is just going to fail and the engine is toast. There is a 1996 ES300 with 110,000 km for sale as well. Is there anything on that year to watch out for?
flipmode64 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Posted February 10, 2009 I have emailed the dealership and have asked them if we can arrange a valve cover removal to check for sludge. I will see what they say.
flipmode64 Posted February 10, 2009 Author Posted February 10, 2009 Here's what he said. Thank You for your response Devan.I would not expect that you pay for half of the labour involved to deal with the sludge issue.However, I would offer to deal with all issues related to this matter. If you want us to deal further with this car for you, I obviously would like to get a purchase agreement in place, which could be subject to you viewing and test driving the vehicle. If you are seriously worried about engine issues, why don’t you purchase a basic extended warranty for one year? This would cover all engine related problems. With the safety and tune up costs, I would cover all safety related items and deal with engine related issues as well; if there is any. If you would agree to those numbers, I would request a deposit of $ 500.00, once again subject to you viewing and test driving the vehicle. Furthermore, we would remove the valve cover and send pictures over to you. Please give me a call and let me know your thoughts. Any thoughts, the more I keep reading up on this sludge crap, the more I do not want to buy this car.
flipmode64 Posted February 11, 2009 Author Posted February 11, 2009 Now I'm looking at a 96 es300 with about 120,000km - is there anything with these mdoels I need to look for? Any help appreciated! Devan
Lexusfreak Posted February 11, 2009 Posted February 11, 2009 Devan, Where abouts are you located & how much are you looking to spend? I might be able to help you with your search. I have several Lexus contacts.
Lexodus Posted February 11, 2009 Posted February 11, 2009 I obviously would like to get a purchase agreement in place... If you are seriously worried about engine issues, why don’t you purchase a basic extended warranty for one year? This would cover all engine related problems. This is why I try to stay away from used car dealerships, they try to sell you expensive warranties that usually wont protect you without you having to dish money out your own pocket. Plus dealers always tell you that the car was driven by a grandma or something else like that when usually it was abused and sold at auction 3 times. I bought my car from a 1 owner who had the original window sticker and who had oil change reciepts every 4-5k mi for the life of the car. AND I paid a couple grand less than a dealer would charge for a 3-4 owner with no service records. If I were you I would try to find a 1-2 owner that had ALL the service records.
Lexusfreak Posted February 11, 2009 Posted February 11, 2009 Service records are very wise....for any used vehicle.....but especially the 97 - 01 ES. If you get all service records accounted for, I would also suggest switching to synthetic. :)
lenore Posted February 11, 2009 Posted February 11, 2009 By the way the 2003 has the same engine, and is not covered by the 8year 120day warranty. Keep that in mind. A 2002 would still be covered by the Lexus warranty for engine sludge.
yeskay Posted February 13, 2009 Posted February 13, 2009 useful link for known issues http://repairpal.com/cars/lexus/es300
flipmode64 Posted February 15, 2009 Author Posted February 15, 2009 96 ES300 purchased. Will be posting pics when I pick in up in a week. Thanks for all your help.
Lexusfreak Posted February 16, 2009 Posted February 16, 2009 Congrats on your purchase Devan......looking forward to the pics. Enjoy!
SW03ES Posted February 16, 2009 Posted February 16, 2009 By the way the 2003 has the same engine, and is not covered by the 8year 120day warranty. Keep that in mind. A 2002 would still be covered by the Lexus warranty for engine sludge. They remedied the sludge issue in 02, I've never heard of a sludge issue on a 02+
Lexusfreak Posted February 17, 2009 Posted February 17, 2009 They remedied the sludge issue in 02, I've never heard of a sludge issue on a 02+ Agreed.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now