FredParoutaud

Thanks for the info! Ok, I'm going to bite the bullet and remove the pan, clean the filters, etc. Pan gasket is from toyota? I'm confused about the "tranny flush" method. Reading the searched tranny posts, it seems to me that some folks have damaged seals caused by the flushes. Is this true? Also, for some reason I'm a big believer in valvoline. (fwiw) If the dealers are using valvoline, that's good enough for me. I'll check that out too. So filters are to be cleaned, but not necessarily replaced? How do you go about cleaning them? And any sealer needed for the tranny pan gasket? Best regards, Fred

Great, now I'm totally confused. ;) Well, I'm going to dig into the owners manual first. But it does sound like a simple drain and refill (whatever it spits out) is the way to go, and not mess with the screens for now. Si? Maybe do that a couple of times. Our es300 has 87k miles on it, and transmission fluid is verified as "dirty" by a good shop. Thanks, Fred

Hi All, I'm going to change transmission fluid and filter on our "new" 96 es-300. Is there an article about this already written up? I've got a service manual on order, but I might dig into this before it arrives. Any help appreciated! :) Fred

Thanks for the info, very good! -- Are there torque numbers on this site? I have all the tools, no sweat. -- I thought this was a "non-interference" motor? ie: if the timing belt goes, the valves won't hit the pistons. Si? Non? Cheers, Fred

Ok, coming down the home stretch. Had the car checked out at A+ Japanese Auto Repair today, which seems to me an excellent place. 780 Industrial Road, San Carlos, CA 94070 They basically concluded that a major service was due (my summary). The car has 87k miles, and it looks like maybe the 60k service was done, maybe not. There are no stickers for a new timing belt, so assuming for now that maybe it hasn't been replaced yet. I'll go through the FAQ and look for info. But I have a couple of questions first: - Power Steering Pump. Is it somewhat normal for them to leak? Is this a common problem? Looks like ours is. Is it hard to replace? And about what should one run and who sells them? (assuming that toyota will be expensive) - How tough is the timing belt? I can do stuff like that, but if it involves special tools, I'd rather not make the investment. Is there a sheet on this site describing the procedure? - Same question for the drive belts -- are they easy to do? - Plugs. Are they tough to replace? Or is most of the cost in the plug? I have a buddy with a superbird (supercharged thunderbird) and even though he's a darned good mechanic he's prefers to have the shop do this job (I think maybe it was actually wires...?) cuz it's a toughie. - I guess I asked about the headlight cover already. :( Anybody have a cheap source? BTW, I am a mechanic, so I'm sure I can do this stuff. But I'm a lazy mechanic ;) and I'd rather hand something off to a pro if ultimately it's cheaper (timewise) for them to pull off. Thanks! Fred

Good call on the color, we love it! Shadow Rose Quartz. Well, it's kind of grey, or brownish, or roseish -- depending on the light. And the interior is something like "plum." But I'll tell you, it's impossible to tell it's not a new car, except for a couple of little things. 3 annoying tiny dings on the LR door...do these "dent doctors" really work? It might be worth it, since the rest of the body is mint. Car has 87k miles, and feels pretty good. Interior is perfect. Car was from Thousand Oaks (Los Angeles area) so it's dry as a bone, no rust anywhere. Now, for my questions: - Moonroof whistles ever so slightly when the slider (?) is open. I can shove up on it and it stops whistling. Any cure for this? With the slider closed, you can't hear it. - Every so slight metalic-like rubbing sound (faint) from the belt area. Nobody can hear it but me (yay me) -- I'm figuring something like tired alternator or ps pump bearings, but I don't really have a clue. Anything common like that with these cars? - Sadly, a cracked passenger-side headlight cover (clear). Looks expensive -- any resonable source for this? I think that's it, maybe I'll have more tomorrow, but I can't find much wrong with it at this point. We're going to get it checked out by a Lexus mechanic tomorrow, I'll give you a report. Man, this car is nice on the road! Fred

Here's our new baby, what do you think? :) Fred

Hey, Thanks! Yeah, I'm a huge toyota fan, for a number of reasons. I'm glad to hear all your purchases were used...I've owned at least a dozen cars, and none of them were new. What I primarily look for is a good "frame" to work with, something that hasn't been hit. I figure everything else is probably going to wear out anyway, but at least I can have a "good solid foundation" to build on. Thanks for the words of encouragement. I should have a report on the "new" car tomorrow. Cheers, Fred

Hi Guys, Thanks for the info. I'm kind of wondering if the price seems high because we live in a very expensive area! Super here is stil about 2.50/gal, and the median house is going for almost $600k. Good old San Francisco! Beautiful, but tres expensive. Anyways, I hear what you're saying. This is an auction car from the big Tracy auction. My next door neighbor goes there, and he figures they bought the car at auction for $7000, and wouldn't go under $9000. However, I like your thinking -- maybe we can get some sort of warrantee thrown in. They're already going for new tires, they've already fixed the antenna and aligned the front tires -- and we're not even dealing yet! I'm always a bit concerned about oil when I don't know where it's coming from. I'm goign to get the car checked out Monday and see if they can tell, hopefully it's something like you described -- that would be nice. There are some cheaper cars out there, no doubt, but they all seem to be well over 100k miles. FWIW, I do like the fact that these are around 80k. At least I'd be able to get my hands on them earlier in their careers, and maybe get the proper maintenance schedule going and get some serious miles out of the car. I don't see why these babys can't do 300k before major work. What do you think? Fred

Hi Folks, Just looked at a couple of es-300s, and I have a couple of questions: - Is it "normal" to hear a bit of belt/bearing noise from the right front of the car as you drive? Kind of a whispy, metallic sound -- nothing really bad, but it's there. I ask because I've heard it on 2 of the cars now. Might even be power steering or alternator bearings or belt. - Do most of the cars have some oil on the frame rails on either side of the motor? Again, not bad, but enough to make things wet. Is there any typical place it's coming from? - One of the cars we looked at was having motor mounts replaced -- is that typical? It had a "klunk" when changing from park to drive, and they said they had one more motor mount to replace. (Back I believe) - How about cracked headlight covers (glass) -- is that pretty common? Are they expensive to replace? (same with tail lights) We're down to 2 nice cars, both around 80k miles, both a little pricey at almost $10k, but both straight, clean, very nice machines. And I guess we could negotiate down from there. Thanks, Fred

Thanks everybody! All good advice. First of all (off the top of my head) I'd say you're right about leasing a new Camrey, I was just discussing that with my wife. My point AGAINST that is that you don't get a Lexus! :-D Other than that's it's probably a good way to go. Yeah, I deal with a lot of "exotic" problems working on Porsche 928 electronics, so I'm not terribly concerned about getting into a black hole, as long as I can get a wiring diagram (I'm assuming they are available here somewhere?). I know toyota/lexus parts can be expensive, but I've had good luck continuing to find supra parts pretty cheap. The off-brands don't last that long, but ultimately, when you find the problem areas you just deal with the problem. My main concern is buying a car that immediately needs a major repair, like tranny, something silly like that. We've driven 3 cars now, and all 3 are pretty good. One has fallen off the list cuz the dealer seems a bit "greasy" and less than honest, and the car has some chassis rust (minor, but a sign of things to come me thinks) and rear end noise. The car has 85k miles which isn't bad, but seems to me these problems shouldn't be there with a good car. The second one is pretty nice, except for a noise which sounds like it could be disc brake noise after a good washing. Rust on the rotors... That's what the dealer says it is, but frankly, that should go away after a block or so, and it didn't. Any idea what kind of noise that could be? Sound like a steady "squeak" from under the car as you drive, and I can't say if it changes much with speed. We're going back today to retest drive that one, and I'll listen more carefully. But any suggestions are appreciated. The third one is the one -- no problems at all. Drives great, no weird noises, very clean and straight. A few dings, but very minor (unless you ask my wife about them!) Very nice machine, and same price as the others with only 80k miles. Seems like a new car, and is from a dry (and expensive) climate, which might explain its condition. All asking prices are basically $9999. What do you all think we should get the car for? If I offer $8000 and "walk" will they run after me?? Again, thanks for the excellent posts. This is a great site! :) Fred

As Austin Powers says... "Groovy Baby!" So --- how much are these tires? And where do I get them? (I'm in the SF bay area) They certainly sound good to me! Fred

Cool, thanks guys. So there are no drivetrain parts to worry about up in front that would cause bad tire wear? I'm not experienced with fwd cars. Fred

Hi Folks, Thanks for the excellent advice from everybody so far. We're looking for a 95/6 es300 and just looked at one at a dealer. Nice car, 88k miles, drove fine. BUT, talk about some funky tire wear! It looks like the front tires were moved to the rear, and rear to the front -- which is fine. But the rear tires (which were on the front) had what I'd call "serious" wear on the outside tread, say 1" from the sidewall, worn flat. Whereas the rest of the tread was nice and smooth, and even wear. And the front tires had what appeared to be major toe-in wear -- feathered on the inside portion of the tread (as I recall). Assuming that the "worn flat outside edge" tires were on the front... What on earth is wrong with the car? I don't know much about frontwheel drive cars, does this sound like a serious problem? Is it typical of some sort of Lexus problem, or is it a sign that "Danger's ahead!"? Thanks, Fred

Thanks again, excellent posts. I'm giving up on the lease idea, I agree. And thanks for the tip on 95-96, nice to know they had some fixes/improvements in them. That's why I bought the 84 supra, it looks like an 82, but they ironed out some problems (like steering) and added suspension/motor upgrades -- I'm REALLY glad I bought the 84. We're kind of thinking.... 95/96 es300, 80k miles. What should that be going for? $8000??? (when all is said and done, assuming a nice car) Best, Fred

Thanks for the excellent advice! I'll start digging a bit more. I agree, buying a high-mileage car (even a lexus) and expecting it to last forever, in perfect condition, is a pipe dream. Especially in this day and age. I am a porsche mechanic and it seems like a lot of this depends on the previous owner. Some take care of the car like it's a work of art, and some treat them like a beater for the grocery store. I'll be back with more questions as I go...but does anybody know anything about leasing a "certified" used Lexus? For our purposes, that may work best, tho the newer ones seem quite expensive. I can't see spending $700/mo!! (Maybe for a new lambo :) Thanks, Fred

Hi Folks, We're going to start looking for an es-300, probably mid-early 90s, 100k miles, that sort of thing. Two questions: - What are the typical problems we should watch out for, when are the major services, etc. - What should we expect to pay re mileage/year? (We're in California) I already own a supra, and at 270k miles it has made me a toyota fan for life, engine hasn't been touched, and shifts like a new car. Thanks! Fred