Alexslexus

I'm sure you don't remember me, I was only here for a short while when I had my 2003 Lexus ES300 aka "smokey". I bought the car about 2 years ago with 83k miles and discovered that it was smoking (blue smoke) really bad when cold starting. The culprit was the notorious 3.0 engine sludge... so I traded the car in for a 2006 Honda Accord EXL. I really liked the 03 ES300 as it had a very nice interior, BUT, I never was never really in love with that generation like I was with the 97-01s. I tend to like older body styles that aren't so round and bubbly, and the 97-01 ES300 just had such a nice presence about it that I never quite saw in the 02+ models. Sooo, fast forward 2 years and I came accross a 2000 Lexus ES300 Platinum series that was in showroom new condition inside and out (even better than my 03) and "only" 105k miles. The moment I first saw the car I knew I had to have it... so I brought it home last night! It is diamond white pearl with the silver 2-tone and camel leather interior. By far the most beautiful car I have had the pleasure of owning in my 15 year driving career... FINALLY, I buy a car that is the exact color combo and generation that I wanted. Call me crazy, but I like this car many times better than the 03... even if the 03 did have a much nicer interior. For starters, it doesn't smoke when I start it... everything is clean under the oil cap, there is NO soot or residue of any kind on the taip pipe tip, engine starts up and runs like a sewing machine and the transmission actually shifts without drama unlike the 03.

So, I'll give the 1MZ-FE another chance... I know it's a goot motor based on all of the Avalons, Siennas, V6 Camry, and even the 2nd gen ES300s that are still on the road and some of the mileage figures I've seen on them!

What do you guys think of the 3rd gens overall in terms of reliability and longevity? If I can depend on this car to take long road trips on the interstate in and can reasonably expect it to last another 5-6 years, I may very well sell my Accord and just have the Lexus. Any tips? I plan on running Amsoil synthetic oil through it and getting the t-belt done, etc. pretty soon.

I'll upload the pics of it tomorrow. I hope it will be a good car, because I really love this one... lol.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

I'm at about 210k miles on my es300 and i would still drive it anywhere. I love these cars, and even though i just bought a newer car, i refuse to ever get rid of this one. They really are great cars and minus my oil leak, it has been extremely reliable for the 12 years and 210k miles we've had it. Oil changes are very important on these and if you take care of those, you should be good minus the oil control valve, knock sensors, and charcoal canister, (These have all been replaced on my car twice, once under warranty and again around 176-183k miles). Suspension makes noises but thats just wear and tear stuff. I also had a 90% rebuild on my transmission around 190k miles, but thats because it was leaking and the cost to fix the leak was only a little less then refreshing the entire thing, so i figured i'd just fix everything for a few hundred more, but again that was at 190k miles. Enjoy the car, i saw one at my local dealer with 70k miles, a fully loaded 2000 silver on black platinum edition and it really made me reconsider buying another.

Alexslexus

Thanks for the quick reply. Are the automatic transmissions generally reliable on these cars? I know the 02+ models had software issues that caused some irratic shifting behavior, but nothing in the way of failures as far as a I know. Honda had some major transmission problems on their V6 models from about 98 all the way up to 07.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

In general they are reliable, but i think people just don't change the fluid enough in them, i am guilty of that as i didn't change it for about 100k miles as i drove that in about 3 years and just didn't think about it i guess. Mine never failed, it just started to leak so i guess it all depends. Very nice wheels though, i love those, wish my car had them.

imherenow

wow that is a nice looking ES> i really like those chrome rims. Some say chrome doesnt suit on a white caolour car. but i am big fan of it.
Which dealer did you got it from

Alexslexus

It actually has one rim on the passenger side that isn't chrome plated.. it's just the standard platinum style rim, not sure what that was all about. In any case, they are nice... and the gold center caps are a nice touch, too.

I did notice tonight that my digital clock does not work... is that common?

yeskay

looks nice. has HID too. does it have the nakamichi audio.

Alexslexus

Yes, it does have the HIDs... which was a nice surprise because that was the first "upgrade" I was going to do...and then I turned on the lights for a pleasant surprise. As for the adio system, I have no idea... doesn't say that anywhere on the head unit. Just says Lexus premium audio system.

imherenow

i couldn't find any pics from creditcars.com. i guess they removed it fast. Anyways you should post more pics.

hypervish

Congrats on the purchase! It's great car, and you will love it.

I too own a 4ES, and am planning on purchasing a 3ES as just an additional car while keeping all of my other ones. I almost did purchase an 01' but the deal fell through (on my terms).

Alexslexus

Well, I was hoping for a nicer morning... but this will have to do. I drove the car over to the B52 Memorial Park this morning for some shots in front of the B52 Bomber. This is near the Orlando International Airport. Now, these were taken with a basic Samsung Galaxy smart phone and I'm no photographer by ANY means, but here they are...

marcoes300

Very nice and clean ES !

hypervish

Look's fantastic! Look's like there was really only the driver in the car most of the time, all of the other seats look new.

BTW: You can probably buy a chrome platinum edition rim on rockauto for a decent price.

Power6

Nice ES! I am jealous, I love white cars, didn't really think about color when I bought my Antique Sage.

Guessing something happened to one of the wheels and it was cheaper to get the non-chromed wheel.

Alexslexus

Thanks! I typed in the VIN on the Lexus service history data base and apparently the car was originally purchased from Riverside Lexus in California and was dealer serviced until 2003 when it was then listed as a pre-owned vehicle with 43k miles. 3k miles later within the same year, it reported this:" LOANER CAR GAS A LOANER VEHICLE" at 46k miles and got a list of services/checks reported as "first certified service" including an "idle air control R&R" and an evap system repair to cure a check engine light. No other dealer services were reported. The last entry was 11/13/2003.

Interesting...