jose20

hey peeps, i have a black 93 es300 (first car) and im 20. $960 yearly for ins. i live in northwestern Los Angeles, about 20 miles from downtown my dad bought it for my mom 3 years ago but since i acquired my license first at 17 i got to keep it B) i think it cost in the vicinity of 5k-6k. most likely only 1 previous owner. exact mileage is unknown because the odometer burned out about a year and a half ago when it had 123600 miles, so the mileage now is estimated at somewhere around 134k. problems have been several but since i know enough auto mechanics to do stuff myself ive saved a bunch of money just on labor costs: a)3 window motors so far LF, LR, and RR: got them for about $75 each from ebay ($400-$500 each from Lexus!!). no labor; did them myself (2 years ago, over the course of 1 and half years) b)Both CV boots: about $120 for the set of the boots for both sides from toyota dealership. no labor; some friends and i (2 years ago) c)power steering hose leak: about $110 for a 6-8 feet hose that goes from PS pump up behind the engine comes across to the front into the radiator fan from toyota dealership. no labor; did it myself. (2 and half years ago) d)radiator crack developed on top near the cap:my dad deemed that i was not suited to fix it myself so he used his own tech and radiator itself (not original) and labor were about $200 (which came out of mypocket )(last year) e)some moron bent the antenna while i went into the library for 10 minutes (the antenna was stuck up). so i painfully broke it off completely. i can still listen to FM radio but not AM (then again who needs AM). the antenna motor still runs when i turn the car on and off and havent done anything about it. (last year) f)driver's seat cut open right under the butt area. thinking of taking it upholstery before it gets wider (10 months ago) g)sunroof made a cracking sound when i was closing it. now the left side of it wont tilt up and when i slide it and want to close it a gap remains on the left side (stuck a pen from inside so it water doesnt go thru the gap) (4 months ago) h)odometer burned out, backlight gage lights burn out (havent done anything about it yet) i)i do brake jobs, oil changes, and spark plugs myself which saves me tons of money :) other than that, i enjoy taking my car to the canyons and on long trips (just took a 1400 mile round trip to redwoods NP (in northern california) in the summer and a 400 mile trip to sequoia NP in winter). the car banks a little too much so ive been considering putting new shocks. stock rims. tint peeled off and only rear windshield contains the remaining tint glue so im peeling it off very slowly. overall its a sweet ride and a nice chick magnet when u show them the key B) thanks for reading me out :D