dvdchance

Greetings,

I'm looking to cheaply pick up a 97-01 or so ES300 as a second beater / work car. I'm looking for any advice you can give on high milage vs cost.

Let's say I can get a nice 97 with 240,00 miles for $2100, vs a lower milage 170,000 car for an extra $1000? Would the extra money be well spent?

I know how reliable these cars can be, as I had a 98 I bought new that I got nearly 180,000 from with very little maintenance at all done to it. I was very foolish back in my younger days and would think nothing of going 20,000 between oil changes and the like.

So whats the general opinion of getting a high milage ES?

Thanks for reading.

PFB

The key to determining which car is a better value is to look at the maintenance and repair record of each car, their overall condition, and how close you are in terms of milage/time to the next scheduled timing belt change.

Also are those mostly highway or city miles? Knowing the general history of the car is also important.

Taking a long test drive. looking for fluid leaks, engine, transmission and suspension issues, checking for check engine codes stored in memory, and finally having an independent garage check the car is always a good idea.

Phil

speedkar9

I too was looking for a beater car I could learn to work on last year. It was supposed to be a cheap $500 V6 Camry with a fender bender that I was going to fix up myself, but I quickly found out that Toyota's are worth their money and its hard finding one worth fixing.

I ended up buying my Solara for $2100 CAD taxes included with 252,000km (156K miles). I inspected it thoroughly before buying it as is, changed the brakes and a few bulbs and it passed safety easily. Surprisingly, it was a one owner local car, the previous owner had it since 1999 and traded it for a Volkswagen.

I knew I got a good car, but after riding in my friend's 1999 ES300 I feel I should have gotten an ES instead of the Solara for a smoother, quieter ride and 4 door practicality.

As you'll find when searching for a car with a set budget, there's a lot of crap out there in the used car market. You'll quickly come back and upgrade your budget to get something better when you see whats out there.

For an ES300, make sure the timing belt has been changed within reason, and there is no oil sludge. These cars are very reliable, so I would not hesitate at one that has been cared for even with high mileage. Keep in mind suspension components start to go around the 150-200K mark, so if purchasing a car in that range, take that into the cost consideration.

Also, for a reliable car like the ES, I'd go for a newer car with higher mileage over an older car with lower mileage. I don't think at this age that 50K miles should make as much as a $1000 difference in the price tag.

OceanView

You can't go wrong with a used ES. Just make sure you have some idea of how well the previous owners maintained them.
Main issues are timing belt replacement and Leaky rear valve covers.
Otherwise these things will last a long time.

dvdchance

Thanks for all the replies.

Definitely you mentioned things worth inspecting when I start doing test drives. Right now I'm more or less browsing around and seeing what the markets like for the ES300's, setting what I'm willing to spend, etc..

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

There are a bunch of super cheap es300s out there, but to find one in good condition, let alone good condition, low miles and a nice color combo is a extremely difficult. If this is just a beater, a 97 would work best as it is the cheapest and if the timing belt brakes, no tea damage (98 as well). If you are going find yourself driving the car more often, a 2000/2001 would be ideal.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

A 14-17 year old car still has a sweet spot?

speedkar9

A 14-17 year old Lexus? Sure.

Domestic? No way.