Alexusform

Hey Guys/Gals New to the site . Ill start with Im looking to buy my son a better car he drives a Saturn LOL Laugh but the car is great on gas mileage and it is his first car , Just not enough "Swag" as he puts it .

Anyways my sons 17 soon to be 18 Greatest kid a dad could have , And will be entering college after High School this year . Now to the car Looking at a Lexus ES330 2004 has 130K Miles on it looks to be in near mint condition seen it ( Tonight and in the Rain ) So I will be going back to dealer tomorrow in the day .

I dont know much about Lexus except they look nice and they are higher end SAFE cars .

Couple questions I have if any of you can comment Id appreciate it , First is 133K Alot of Miles?? Id be guessing hed be putting on 8-10 K a year and is a pretty safe driver He doesnt "Hot Rod" Around town .

Dealer wants 10500 for the car but we kinda of agreed on 9500 Seems like a fair price to me , What do you guys think ?

Is repairs on Lexus more expensive then say a Nissan Alitma ? Like Brakes , Belts , Altenator , headlights , Etc Etc your basic repairs ?

I have read about a timing belt that needs replaced , How much is that roughly ? After How many Miles ?

Im Sure I can google all the questions I have but I Like getting the answers directly from Owners of a Lexus .

And One last Question hopefully there wont be any Bias I doubt it LOL But What would you buy the Lexus Im Looking to buy at 9500 or a Nissan Altima 2006 2.5 Loaded to the teeth and 90K in Miles For $9000 ???

Thanks Again for any and all Comments , If I do buy the Lexus My Son Will Join the Site to talk and take a look around at some pics I seen of some of your guys Cars Really Sharp !

hypervish

Welcome to Club Lexus!

133k miles is nothing, it's just a number in this case.

Sounds like a great price to me! But, never hurts to try for 9k. lol

Repairs are not much more expensive, as long as you go to the Toyota dealership. If you get maint. and repairs done at Lexus they will definitely be a lot more money, but the Toyota dealership can work on the ES and they will charge you much less than Lexus while using the same parts. Just no free loaner, or free donuts/coffee.

Timing belt gets changed at 90k miles, so it has probably already been changed. You can check out the service history by signing up at this link: https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lex...-lexus/home.do

Of course, I would go with the Lexus over the Altima! Also, I believe the Altima has an issue where it will suck the catalytic converter back into the engine!! Yep, ouch costly repair! I don't know if it affects the 2006 though.

Timothyj

I have had my 04 Es since new, great car, 96000 miles, still rides and drives like new. same struts. The only part I replaced was the alternator. Its not a hot rod, keep it stock, better resale. Sounds like a good price. Get it checked out good before buying.

Alexusform

Thanks Guys , I decided to buy the Lexus :-) Got if for 7K and my Sons 2002 Saturn SL1 135K on it I think I did pretty good . Anyways Son Loves The Lexus rides Like a Dream .
I do have a couple questions , The Gear Shifter lights are out on the Floor console NOT on the Dash they work , Any Idea what fuse it is ? Or if it is a light is it a simple fix?

And the lights are out on the Driver Side ONLY on the Temp Up/Down and the Drivers Side Seat Heater they work they just are not light up at night . Can that be a fuse ?
Is that fixable ? I dont mind if I have to take the Dash out to fix because I will be doing so in the very near future to install hook up Kit for my kids Samsung S2 Galaxy Cell Phone .

Speaking of Cell Phones have any of you installed the kit for Droids? Which did you use ? Thanks for any help
We are loving the Cars Ill post pics or my son Car is Nearly Flawless .

andybisnut

Congrats on the car. I got an '03 ES300 w/ 109K miles and have been loving it so far.