Need Advice On 2002 Lexus Es 300

Clift · August 21, 2011

Hi all,

I'm seriously considering on buying a 2002 Lexus ES 300. Thing is that it has a lot of kms on the engine (about 250k).

Seems like its been taken care of well and regularly maintained.

Question is, is it worth the purchase? Do these cars regularly clock high mileage without issue? (provided they are maintained)

2nd question is, how much is it to swap out the engine later on down the road? (total estimated costs for everything?)

I noticed a few sites from the US that offer used engines with decent mileage.

Thanks for the help!

SW03ES · August 22, 2011

If they are well cared for they can last significantly beyond that mileage. Does it have service records?

You shouldn't ever need to replace an engine that has been well maintained.

branshew · August 27, 2011

You shouldn't ever need to replace an engine that has been well maintained.

True, but you could end up replacing a lot of other things. While an ES is nice, I hesitate to recommend to anyone that they buy a high mileage one just to get a Lexus. You would be better of buying a Camry with lower miles.

With high mileage and age comes wear and tear. While the engine may be good, there are a lot of other mechanical parts to consider. I would look it over with a fine tooth comb. CVs, brakes, tires, suspension, battery, etc. If there are no records then plan on immediately spending $600 on a TB & WP job (regardless of what the owner says was done). When it comes to the TB, no records = not done.