Good idea to run the VIN @ Lexus dealer. I did Autocheck.com on the VIN and it came up only with registrations and inspections as public records. The Toyo dealer ran a repair work inquiry of some kind and came up with services done every 5K mi. and a few "other inspections" which look like they could actually be oil changes or something, judging from the mileages. One visit is listed as "Trunk Badge", which leads me to believe the trunk emblem was re-glued or replaced when it was about one year old. Perhaps the Lex dealer will have more detail on the service/repair history.
About the prices for Certified Lexus ES 300 w comparable mileage, the closest I saw was a '99 with 39K miles for a little over $22K. Most had more miles by about 3-10K and higher pricetags by $2-5K. BTW, it does have the CD changer (missing CD carriage, but the Toyota dealer said they'd replace it or find it or swipe one from another car).
Monday I'm taking it to a Lex dealer for a thorough going over before I pay for the thing.
One thing I'm wondering, which I hope the Lexus dealer can answer, is exactly what options the vehicle has. For instance, it has so-called "Platinum" chrome ext. parts, actually darkly smoke-tinted chrome. It looks fantastic with the oyster 2-tone paint job, but does that mean the car is a "Platinum Series" (or "edition" or whatever). It does not have a badge that says so. Anyway, I'll find out more on Monday morning.
Strange, there were a bunch of Earl Schieb reciepts in the glove box and an AK-47 in the trunk, though... ;)
Thanks for the responses.
-C