NeiLtYmE

thats certainly true. Ive seen, esp with the earlier gens.... there are common issues that effect them all. But for the most part these LS's, only if maintained correctly, are like tanks. The only thing is that people get lazy because they require high adherence. Ive seen plenty LS's that are all bent out of shape. I think its strictly reflective of what toyota put into their vehicles. ofcourse very reflective in the price as well.

well, realize that the car was 60+ grand when it was new. thats actually a pretty typical deal. If you obtain adequate service records, it may not be a bad buy. Your from long island, Plenty of used LS's and other lexus cars to choose from, where you can personally check them out.

Welcome newbie! as far as gadgets and space goes with the amount you want to spend, id go for like a LS, generations 3.2(UCF20 II) and 4.1(UCF30 I). I gave you a link In case you don't know the lingo, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LS#UCF20_II_.281998.29. The latter one might be pushing the budget a bit. Post '01 Es300's are the most spacious, IMO. You'd have to go look at them. There are pretty good CPO programs for these, so go check em out cause they may be in your budget. Ive seem plenty 02' Es300 and up below 60,000 miles in the 20's. You have a lot of questions though. You should seriously do a search on this forum, as every single model has gobs of information that will guide you very well and answer many of these questions. Then, if your still curious about stuff you can't find, keep asking.

go to a autozone, pepboys or any autoparts shop. Most of them have the diagnostic hook-up unit. It will provide a code which will help you understand the problem. it may be a O2 sensor or something like that.

i recently swapped my alternator. Since then I've also been getting this same noise you are talking about. Its not so bad, but I can notice it. Coincidently I was told my power steering pump was going bad a few months back. The noise only started right after i replaced the alternator. So I am assuming its coming from the alternator. Let us know what you find out.

changed with a Denso refurbished alternator myself. also put in an optima red top this time. To my surprise no one sells new alternators for these cars. They are all refurbished ones. Almost bought one from autozone with lifetime warrantee. However ive heard a couple of horror stories and decided to stick with denso. 12,000 mile 1 years warrantee.

i do it at 2 yr increments too, sometimes sooner. I need to do a flush soon, but i avoid those "power flush" I think you should be fine as long so no one applies any pressure flush machines to it. That would only do harm. how does your fluid look now? 8 Years is long time without changing fluid.

why is yellow top wrong? Worked great for me and most people who have gotten it for these vehicles.

anyone ?? i need to make a decision pretty soon

Hey everybody, Wanted to bring this thread up because i was am in need of a new alternator. Been having with starting, (click click click click) jumps ok, then after it turns off it needs to be jumped again. Battery maintains enough juice to power interior lights and dash display, ect but not to start the car. Now, Autozone diagnostic equipment displayed that my alternator has a bid diode. In addition, it also displayed that the battery was bad. The battery is a sulfuric acid, deep cycle, optima yellow top... and i felt as though the battery tester wouldnt be able to accurately diagnose a failure. If the alternator has a bad diode, would it still be able to maintain a partial charge on the battery? enough to not be able to start the car but to power lights etc...? Should i rely on these results? the other question is about this highlander alternator. for people that have tried this, or know about it; how has the placement worked out, and how complicated does the rewiring become? my impression from scoping out the alternator was that its a plug n play unit with that branch connector. Not so much fun, trying to get to classes and work, and also jumping the car everytime..... hope my luck doesnt run out.

i was in a situation like yours. Did some homework and found that most reputable body shops can match the paint to near perfection. Did you claim as hit and run? looks like you need a front fender/panel repaint and a bumper cover replacement. That crack... when polyurethane cracks, your done. Generally they are made to dent in or bubble in, in which case its pushed back out and repainted.

hey Ler, From my experience in college, as i just graduated last year, is that its pretty hard managing school work, work life, and hobbies all together. Now add-in a car that has a real fat chance of being on its feet again. At the same time its also a pain maintaining those car payments while in college as well. I bought my 96 ES during my freshman year of college. It was a good choice at the time because i had to spend only a little amount of money to maintain it. Now i'm in graduate school and having fun with saved up money and living car-trouble free (cept my alternator just gave out!!!) anyways, i suggest that if your really inclined in getting a nice car, you get something newer and more reliable. It may cost you some right now but in the long run you will be happier and have less expenses (if maintained right) as opposed to you 93 with 2XX,XXX miles on it that will only be alot older when your getting through college and ended up sinking $$$ into it while not having a car to drive quite frequently. excuse the run-on sentence. I know how you feel though, its a tough decision. But the bottom line is that college is too important/involving to worry about a stupid car all the time. You gotta draw the line somewhere. As far as selling your car is concerned? finding a buyer going to be hard. Not many people are going dip into a car that old which is ready to be junk-status. Your better off junking it yourself. Try ripping out some parts and selling them, you may make a good load of money from that. I wish you the best of luck.

96 es for 10G in 2002 w/64,XXX Now has 99,XXX with tons of upgrades, and little costs to repairs been well maintained, all fluids, belts. etc... love the car.

yeah, i was not commending the problem. I was just responding to Geo's post.

what do you mean they are gone ? they still there