dockerguy

OK, I bought a 1993 ES300, beautiful exterior and interior, with 109K on the speedo. The car was advertised on e-bay by a seller with mostly praising feedback, saying what great cars they got from the seller. The ad said it was meticulously maintained, had a brake job recently and new tires. It did have new Cooper tires on it. I test drove the car and only noticed a clunk in the rear as I went over a bump or pot hole, so I bought it, thinking new struts would be about $50.00 each. I took it to Sears today to have the struts and brakes inspected. The brakes and all four struts are shot, plus the power steering pump is leaking (but no oil on the ground). I told the mechanic that I just bought it and it was a trade in at the Beverly Hills Lexus dealership and it was supposed to have been well maintained. The mechanic AND service mgr. said it had never seen regular service as far as they were concerned. I had called the B. H. dealership on Friday and they said it had only been serviced by a Lexus dealer twice — once in 2000 and again 9/2004. In the last service, they advised the owner to have the timing belt and water pump replaced, and the CV boots, which are shot and leaking today. The owner declined. I paid $6,195.00 Here is the link to the e-bay ad: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=2493934328 Doesn't that look and sound like a spectacular vehicle? I called the seller this afternoon and told him what Sears said. He said he doesn't write his own ads and is going to fire the photographer/writer. Big deal. He said if I leave negative feedback it will put him out of business, but only offered to refund $200.00. I figure it's going to cost $1200.00 for Monroe struts and 18,000 mile brakes at Sears, plus the timing belt and power steering pump. Sears is having a "sale" on their strut labor at 1/2 cost. I probably shouldn't put Monroe struts on to begin with, though. I'd appreciate any advice I can get. I feel like a fool and I'm not in a good mood, needless to say. Just don't say "Why would you buy a car on e-bay?"!!! :) Thanks in advance.

As some may know, I just purchased a '93 ES300 with 109K on it. I knew the needles were a problem on this model. However, I've noticed something that I haven't seen mentioned in this forum: If I start the car at night and then turn the headlights on, the needles are fine — they are bright and don't flicker at all. This has happened three consecutive nights while driving back home on a 45 minute trip. Going down during the day, the speedo and tach needles have dark areas while the temp gauge is fine, but the gas gague looks like a disco light show. Coming back at night they are all like new. However, if I turn the headlights on during the day, as an after thought, the needles still flicker. I need to start the car in the garage during the day, turn the headlights on and then see what the results are then. Can anyone shed some light on this phenomenom? Could the flickering have something to do with the voltage? Has anyone else noticed this? I can't imagine that the electronics of the needles are bad if they work under a defined set of conditions. Skperformance said that Coode 21 on my HVAC display was a "Solar Sensor" error because I testd it in the garage. Could this sensor have anything to do with the flickering? This really has me puzzled and I'm sure there's got to be a logical answer. Please don't tell me the car is haunted. javascript:emoticon('') Thanks in advance for any information you guys might have. Dockerguy

Thanks for the info! It was in the garage when I tested it. I love this car so far, except it seems to be drinking a lot of gas and there is a clunk in the left rear when I hit a bump or pot hole at over 20. It was a Beverly Hills car and I can't imagine anyone there abusing it, but... Thanks again!

I just bought a '93 ES300 with 109K miles and was advertised as mint. I did your HVAC troubleshooting test and got a code 21. Can you please tell me what this means? Everything seems to work properly, however. Thanks in advance for you help. P.S. While driving down the freeway yesterday, in the fastest lane, I could hear and intermittent high pitched sound bouncing off the divider wall of the freeway. It sounded like it may have been coming from the brakes or maybe a belt. It wasn't all that loud and I didn't hear it on my return trip. Any ideas?