hypervish

Hey guys, many of you probably don't know me as I hang out in the RX section mostly ( I own a RX300, and my brother has a RX450h, rest of the cars are in my sig. below) . But, I'm Vishal. A bit of background: I work at my uncle's car shop when I have time, I love Toyota's or any Japanese car maker, and unfortunately I completely hate domestic cars... LoL, just trying to be honest, maybe too honest for my own good. lol...

I'm looking to purchase a ES300 in a few months, at the latest summer of 2012. But, hopefully sometime after January or sooner if the timing belt on my Honda Accord breaks. lol

Any things I should look out for? Not sure what year ES300 I'm looking for, my budget is around $5k so that probably puts me in the 1999 year or so, right?

xXTimmayXx

Vishal sounds like a Guyanese name. . .anyways.. .

Lexus ES's are amazing as far as I've researched the only problems to look out for is the idle control sensor going bad (which isn't expensive to repair/replace). . .I'm sure they're more though. . .

hypervish

I'm actually Indian... Haha.

Wow, if that's the only thing that's known for breaking then it's a miracle.
It's good to know that I shouldn't expect much in terms of major mechanical failure.

EEngineer

look for:
sludge in the crankcase.
rusty brake/fuel lines
gas filler neck condition
quarter panel rust
flex pipe condition
muffler inlet condition
muffler hanger condition
window switches and regulator
hood struts
valve cover leaks
coolant level
power steering functionality
CV boot/joint condition
rear sway bar links noise
suspension travel
windshield crack/chip
window molding
sunroof functionality

hypervish

So basically the same as with any other car, cool!
I'm well aware of the sludge concerns, as my RX300 has the same engine.

hypervish

How's the gas mileage on these cars? What octane is recommended? I don't mind using 93, but If I don't have to spend that much I rather not. LoL

I drive all Highway, monthly trips to Michigan/Chicago (About 2000 miles). My daily commute is 80 miles roundtrip. As you can tell by my signature I drive my cars till the wheels fall off.