fomenter

Hi All,

I am new to Lexus Family and will be purchasing 09 ES350 with 110k

The car is being sold by a lexus dealer, 1 owner and complete maintenance history is available(bought and serviced at that dealer). Interior and exterior are in very good condition,nothing major

1-) What should i be looking at with these many miles?

2-)We made a deal for $9500+ttl. How does it sound in terms of pricing.


3-) Do i need to use premium fuel

thanks

Lexus081

1) 110k is not bad if it's 1 owner. you should look at the maintenance and find out where the guy was taking it for check ups, dealer or mom and pop mechanic? find out if it's ever had any water pump problems or failures. water pump, water pump, water pump. did i say water pump? ask them when it was last replaced. es's have a problem with the water pump
also may wanna check for oil leaks as usual. when the car is on do you hear any weird noises, like chirping or squealing?
and if i were you, take a good look at the front of the car and see if it has lots of rock chips and damage as the lexus paint is garbage and prone to rock chips and nicks.

also, take your hand, bend down on your knees and run your hand under the lip of the front of the car and feel for any major scratches or dents on the plastic.

2)cant comment on pricing as i'm from canada and not sure what the pricing is in the usa. however, if i were you i would only get 2010 and up as the 2010's have some cosmetic changes. 2 of the stand out ones: new front grill, and turn signals on the side view mirrors. if u dont care about those trivial changes then 2007 and up is fine

3) no you dont need to use use premium fuel, i, along with many other lexus es owners use regular 87 gas as the es has the same engine as the toyota camry and the camry can use 87.
lexus recommending premium for this vehicle is merely to keep the value and image of the car high.

fomenter

Thanks for your detailed reply. I would love to get a newer model but my budget is $10k or less. I looked up the maintenance history and there was nothing about water pump. I see that sway bars have been recently replaced and oil changes are every 5-6k. There is no major repair in the log.

What convinces me is the one owner thing and maintenance history since day 1.He even replaced tires at the lexus dealership.

jagtoes

If you can see the maint. record then you should be able to see the previous owners name. Give him a call and ask him about the car.

fomenter

I can see it through lexus webpage + carfax

EJC

I'll 2nd on the regular gas. We've had an ES in the family since '91 - '91, '94 (still going strong in FL with my mother), 2002, and currently a 2010, All running well on regular fuel.

Check KBB, Autotrader etc for pricing comps

Blueshark

You can sleep well with that model. I have a 08 with 250 000km now and no major issues, just the maintenance. My suggestion is not to look to much on the price, but the options that you want in it, a base ES350 is too plain. I would take a fully loaded ES vs the base regardless of the price.

ESh

2009+ are pretty bulletproof.

fomenter

I just got a new job and did not want to spend more than $10k..but i am aiming to buy the newer body style when things are more certain and stable-hopefully in 1-2 years.

Blueshark

Noneless, you have chosen a well made car. Are you planning to sell the car afterward or keep it.

fomenter

I will sell it...I might consider RX too.

the es350 has ultra premium package-but no navi or back up camera

nevernu

for a few hundred $, you can easily add nav and backup camera

fomenter

How? I would love to see one if somebody installed it

nevernu

this is what I did, still going strong
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...up-camera.html

Blueshark

Nevernu is completely right, i've done the the backup camera on many cars, got a nice 4 inchs screen and backup camera from ebay or any places, the wiring is very easy, all you need is is where to place the screen.

To let you know, i have 3 small screens in addition to the OEM navi, all the screens are dissimulated to prevent breaking-in. Two for side views and one for the front bumper. So, i have access to all the angles possible.

Any navi is better than the oem one.

BTW, i've never seen a UL package without the navi and backup camera before.