ArmyofOne

easier (and cheaper) said than done. a full paint job to factory spec for this car is well over $3,000, and i will tell you why: bumpers and lights have to be removed all body cladding has to be removed (that takes well over 4 hrs when done properly) exterior chrome trim around glass and weatherstripping has to be removed then the body has to be completely sanded to near metal. then filler has to be applied to door dings and to smooth out the sides. then the car has to heat cure. then it has to be sanded again, then primed. then it has to sit for 14 hrs, then wetsand and prime again. sit for 24 hours (or oven cure) and wetsand, then dry and apply first base coat. sit for 4 hours, then apply second coat. then the third. then finally the clear. then you have to heat cure, then you have to reinstall everything. oh,and each piece of the body cladding and the bumpers has to be painted individually. i have a power steering system that needs replacing first. then engine and tranny mounts, then shocks. then i will think about paint. i will fix it temporarily (sand down and repaint the area with a green similar to OEM) that will keep the rust out. the only spot of rust is the spot on the pass side rear door, and its ona door, thats a removable panel. im not too concerned about it. oh and transit 921, i wouldnt even THINK of installing ANY expensive audio upgrades without Limo tint on your glass...PERIOD. the more peopel see, the more they want. the factory alarm on this car is crappy. you have topractially kick a dent int he door to get it to go off. breaking a window wont do it.

and allow me to express this: thats fine, its your car and we wont judge you for it. i simply dont see the point in making these cars something they arent. mine is staying all stock with the excpetion of maybe some audio upgrades evetually. i may do wheels and i may not, btu they wont be alloy racing wheels. you have to realize something, these cars are so rare its rediculous. 9,950 made in year one and 15,000 in year 2. (1990 and 91 respectively). if they are ever gonna be worth anything, mods arent going to help unless its something that can be changed easily, IE window tint. ← Personally I think the stock wheels should just be refinished [ that is if they even need it } B) ← thats what im getting at. ;) i am going to have them chromed if i cant find a set fo chome ones from an LS4. they are identical to these, just chrome with gold "L" that will probablybe the only wheel mod i ever do.

and allow me to express this: thats fine, its your car and we wont judge you for it. i simply dont see the point in making these cars something they arent. mine is staying all stock with the excpetion of maybe some audio upgrades evetually. i may do wheels and i may not, btu they wont be alloy racing wheels. you have to realize something, these cars are so rare its rediculous. 9,950 made in year one and 15,000 in year 2. (1990 and 91 respectively). if they are ever gonna be worth anything, mods arent going to help unless its something that can be changed easily, IE window tint.

WHY? have you actually tried to race your car? news flash...it aint fast... im not into all that rice rocket crap. alloy racing wheels? what for? this car is slow, it will always be slow. its a cruiser (thats what it was designed to do, and it does VERY well.) when you have driven cars down the quarter mile in less than 10 seconds, then you realize 2 things. 1. thats WAYYY to fast for anyone to go in a stock production car that wasnt designed for such a purpose. 2. thats WAYYYY to fast to drive a car in the city. i didnt install the tint for looks, i installed it because it will be sitting for 6 months in the SUMMER TEXAS SUN. the temps in the inside could reach up to 200 degrees without it! that and its a saftey feature. if im ever hit, the glass wont shatter into a bajillion pieces, the window tint will keep it all together. the other reason i had it put on is for privacy. ← Well said !!! ← it did surprise the hell out of a friend today though, he has a black ES300...pretty funny...i pucnhed it, he compleely wasnt paying attention and was isntantly pushed back in his seat. but i didnt race it, it was only for a second.

The car likely has heavy drivetrain, suspension and steering linkage wear and tear due to 96,000 miles of fast and aggressive driving. So if you are looking for reliable transportation and freedom from big future repair bills, this car would probably be the worst possible choice. ← IM DYING to ask how the hell you know anything at all about this particular car and the habits of its previous owners. what the hell man did you knwo the owner personally? awful quick to jump to the negative side of things. yes, it might have been driven hard, but then again, it could have been a female business exec who commuted 50 miles one way to work on a freeway? who knows? more than likely they are highway miles. drive the car, inspect the car, if you still feel comfortable with the purchase, go through with it. ← Well the car was on a nice drop and 19"s. I think most of us who mod cars drive our cars a bit harder then the normal folk. Why mod it then to look at it and not have fun? Its not an outrageous comment IMO. Either way its a lexus/toyota....they last forever with proper maintence, just make sure the sellers been on top of that. ← still, assumptions shouldnt be made. my chrysler will soon be dropped and i dont drive liek an !Removed!. some people just liek the lower stance. i was a bit hash and im sorry VGR, i just cant stand it when people make generalized comments like that when they usually arent the case. some people modify for the look and dont really drive the car to its limits. i plan to lower my ES eventually, but i wont be taking any hard corners or swerving in and out of traffic. my comment was a little on the harsh side, and again, i apologize, i have had a long day, and to be honest, i didnt initially see that it was lowered, but that doesnt change my opinion on the buying procedure. drive it, have it inspected, if it checks out, buy it. my GF had a lowered WRX, never took a turn faster than 25 in her whole life.

Agreed. You are a Midwesterner with a military background. :D ← actually, im not...my profile says texas...thats southerner. but im originally from alaska, and thats pacific nortwesterner, but you get the idea. :D

well the rack and pinion and ball joints were out for along time, but that wouldnt cause a bubble, only inner wear. i dont drive like an idiot most of the time, btu ido cruise rather fast on the freeway when traffic permits.

thats why he contacted me, :D I am quite skilled with a rotary, steve. its all i used for most of my life, i just recently got an orbital. i have a few formulas i use to get my customers paint back to new again. a claybar didnt work the last time...soooo...i will try a fe other ideas (on an inconspicuous area of course) this time around. i have learned alot since my early days here as well, most of it from you.

The car likely has heavy drivetrain, suspension and steering linkage wear and tear due to 96,000 miles of fast and aggressive driving. So if you are looking for reliable transportation and freedom from big future repair bills, this car would probably be the worst possible choice. ← IM DYING to ask how the hell you know anything at all about this particular car and the habits of its previous owners. what the hell man did you knwo the owner personally? awful quick to jump to the negative side of things. yes, it might have been driven hard, but then again, it could have been a female business exec who commuted 50 miles one way to work on a freeway? who knows? more than likely they are highway miles. drive the car, inspect the car, if you still feel comfortable with the purchase, go through with it.

im sure it is, many of them had problems, the point is that those problems couldhave been lessened and even eliminated with regular maintenance. the problem with those statistics is they are based off of whatthe avergae consumer writes or says about the car, and guess what else...the average consumer doesnt maintain there car anywhere near to what they should. ever wonder why, after the warranty is upon a car, the problems begin to arise? MAINTENANCE ISNT BEING PERFORMED IN A TIMELY MANNER ANY LONGER. the notices stop coming in the mail from the dealer saying its time for the car to be brougth in for maintenance. the 3 things the average customer worries about after the warranty period: Are my brakes working? Do i have Fuel? and is my oil change current. americans dont care what causes the problems, only that there is one. and its people like you that hurt the sales of american cars. they arent all piles fo *BLEEP*. there are good ones out there. i simply use my contour as an example because it didnt fit the norm. the only MAJOR problem on the contours i know of (and i know the chief engineer of the CDW-27 project personally) were the early and chronic automatic transaxle failures. while that is pretty major, it isnt ANYTHING a little routine maint. and prudence in driving manner couldnt eliminate completely. the reason mine didnt have the problem? it had the 5 spd that woudl hold 500 HP on stock parts. ford didnt design it to be a race car, when people hammer it like it is one, things will eventually break. that goes for toyota as well. i know of 2 people who have over 500,000 miles on their automatic ford contours and mercury mystiques, and even a few cougar owners with over 250K. the cougar is after all, a 2 door contour. suspension, frame, engine transaxle they are all thesame. the only thing different is the body and interior. and guess what else is on that list you menitoned? the 1993 toyota celica, trannies and headgaskets were common. for no apparent reason. you arent going to sell me on this american cars are pieces of *BLEEP* campaign, so dont even try. not all japanese cars are good cars either. whatever you say guys, i know enough to trust my own experience, your narrowmindedness wil only hurt you in the long run. there are many many great american cars out there, and you will never get to experience them the way i have and do... i feel sorry for you. ;) oh,and what is it with you and consumer reports? they arent perfect. and they arent the bible when it comes to cars. i would get a wider variety of sources before attacking something like this. would this happen to be the same place that told you the camshaft seals and struts would last 360,000 miles?:whistles: if so, i would find yet another source. oh, BTW, you know the Mazda6? yeah, the one with the incredible reliability record? Guess what it has? the same exact compnents of the CDW-27, with a mazda body/interior and a few badges...the rest is the same as a contour SVT with the exception of the 3.0L V6, which is a taurus engine. the tranny and suspension come straight from the contor and i have seen this engine swapped into a contour on numerous occasions. i have even done 3 myself and had them from engine to engine (removal and renistallation) in less than 8 hours. figure that one out and then get back to me. till then...peace out. EDIT: BOT, the LS4 i mentioned in this thread earlier? it turned over 400,000 miles yesterday as the owner pulled into the parking lot. nothing like seeing an odometer reading 400,000.

i guess it's not all that bad of a deal then. thanks! ← check to see fi the 90K miles service has been done. the timing belt is quite an expensive service...can range between 600-1000 dollars depending on what all is done. i would have the valv cover gasket, PCV valve, water pump, Thermostat, camshaft and crankshaft seals replaced at the same time, could bring the total towards 1000, but, it would be worth it.

My '92 Toyota pickup can top that by a small margin and it still passes tough California smog with its factory original catalytic converter http://www.saber.net/~monarch/smog92.jpg While a rare Ford / Chevy may go 375,000, it's on its last legs by then and has had alot of problems along the way whereas a 400,000 mile Toyota engine can still have like new compression and low emissions with alot of good running years left. Example: I'm going on a 350 mile trip tomorrow in my 453,000 Toyota and have no fears of it breaking down on me. ← MAYBE you didnt hear me, it wasnt on its last legs. it drove like brand new. and i never had a single major issue along the way. bottom line is, if you maintain it, chevy, ford, lexus, dodge it doesnt matter, they will all last a long time. i have seen jsut as many neglected toyotas asfords, and i have seen camrys die before fords simply because there owners think (liek you) that imports (toyotas in particular) are special, and do not ever break. this is not the case. my lexus is a fine exapmle...$4,000 in 2 months is not routine. i wish you would stop dogging american cars. there is nothing wrong with most of them. they serve the purpose they are intented to serve. like it or not, a car is a machine, foreign or not, and EVERY machine needs routine maintenance, like it or not. Every part in an engine is a wear item. period. as such, replacement will eventually be nessecary. its how you take care of it that determines how ling it wil go before needing replacement. with 270K i ran the quater milein 15.7 seconds. ON THE OEM CLUTCH. so go ahead, dog it some more. if you want to be close-minded, thats your option. <_< oh, and BTW, compression the day after the accident rear 174 on ALL FOUR Cylinders.

that would be me... :whistles: agreed! I take it you like what you see on my tint? i assume you mean me (ill be detailing his car before the meet)! LOL. well blake, it has been a year for you already..and that car is simply stunning. she dresses up nice inthe pix. as for your hood, i think i have a new solution, PM me. migth work, might not, but it wont harn your finish.

i hate you :P I am the resident ES250 guy, i probably know more about this car than most here. (dont mean to sound arrogant, but i have had this car apart on more than one occasion :) ) 1. Yes, but use premuim once or twice a month if you can. 2. I just changed my belt at 143k: as you can see it was still nearly perfect and that was when it was dropping a half a quart of oil a day. i should see no problems going to 100K. Make sure you CHANGE YOUR PCV VALVE! these cars are EXTREMELY prone to leaks. the valve covers, rear main seal and camshaft/crankshaft seals all go if you dont change the valve. do it, it will cost like $4. cheap insurance. when you do have the timing belt done, have the camshaft and crankshaft seals done as well. My car never had that done and the PCV vave was never changed either, now, $1800 later, i am leak free. CHANGE THE TRANS FLUID...dont neglect this. every 20K if it is still red it doesnt matter. dont wait for it to turn black, it iwll be too late. congrats, if your car is a 1991, you have one of 15,000 made. if your car is a 1990, you have one of 10,000 made. either way its a rare car. mine is # 14 ever to roll off the assembly line, and its currently undergoing a restoration Check out the thread titled "the legacy of armyofone's ES250" in the general discussion to find out more about what waswrong with mine. and what could go wrong with yours if not maintianed. ← Can I expect the same type of patterns from my 1997 ES 300, I have 92K and am thinking of getting the belt done but if I don't need to I will wait. And when I do get it done I should do the camshaft and crankshaft seals and pcv? Thanks for your help I am not mechanically inclined/ JT ← YES, do the seals and the PCV valve. read my sig, the PCV valve should be done more often than 100K...more like 40-50K and even that is pushing it. if you dont have the pcv valve changed and it clogs, it will cause a leak. i woudl spring for the timing belt replacement now.

i get it too, but i clikced "never download" and it hasnt done it since.

WHY? have you actually tried to race your car? news flash...it aint fast... im not into all that rice rocket crap. alloy racing wheels? what for? this car is slow, it will always be slow. its a cruiser (thats what it was designed to do, and it does VERY well.) when you have driven cars down the quarter mile in less than 10 seconds, then you realize 2 things. 1. thats WAYYY to fast for anyone to go in a stock production car that wasnt designed for such a purpose. 2. thats WAYYYY to fast to drive a car in the city. i didnt install the tint for looks, i installed it because it will be sitting for 6 months in the SUMMER TEXAS SUN. the temps in the inside could reach up to 200 degrees without it! that and its a saftey feature. if im ever hit, the glass wont chatter into a bajillion pieces, the window tint will keep it all together. the other reason i had it put on is for privacy.

DO NOT take it to the delaer, $800 is highway robbery... Im pretty sure you can change all of them in an hour. http://www.lexls.com/mainoxygensensor.html

yes, your warranty is voided in this case, unless all repairs are made by lexus.

i gtot 384,991 out of a 1995 Ford Contour GL..no frills or options! ← hello, is that ford still running, my celica still a daily driver ← drove like new, till some 16 year old in a ram pickup decied to be an *BLEEP* and pull out when there wasnt enough room.it eve still ran after the accident: and i never even bought a muffler for that car. *Plays Taps*

i most certianly would :)

i gtot 384,991 out of a 1995 Ford Contour GL..no frills or options!

yeah, the tint really takes the focus off the clear glass, so the paint peeling stands out now LOL.

sounds like you ran something over that may have torn your wiring harness. as for yoru timing belt, it is probably broken...a 96 should be non interference...meaning no internal engine damage if the belt fails... use the shift lock override to shift into neutral.

yes the fronts are tinted too. :D Daytime Pix:

as you cansee, this is really nto an accurate representation fo the tint (pix at night) has to be during the day!!