McMuffin

Hello all, my friend is looking to get her first car and her budget is around $3500 max. I looked around for the typical civic/carolla but the ones in decent shape are going for a lot of money.

It seems that the 92-96 generation ES300 can be had for around her price range. I was wondering how reliable these cars, and what the typical things that go wrong are. Also how are you guys doing on fuel economy?

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

6N1SC

iTrader: (3)

While not personally owning a Es300 myself, I did own a same generation of Camry (what the es300 is based off of) and it was a solid, reliable car.

92-93 came with the 3VZ-FE
94-96 came with the 1MZ-FE

If not properly maintained, especially higher mileage es's are prone to engine sludge, which can be a hassle to deal with. The 3VZ is somewhat prone to bad head gaskets at 200k+ miles, but is still a solid engine.

With around $3500 to spend, opt for one that has been well maintained and preferably low mileage. My .02 cents.