mark71

I am seriously considering a 1999 Lexus ES300 with 103,600 miles. I cant get him any lower than $6K out the door. I have checked out the car and its extremely clean. You could eat off the engine. It was garage kept. 1 owner. NADA has it valued around $6700 so looks like I am getting a good deal but not a great deal. All the other 10 + year old ES300's I have come across have minor or major issues so I think this is the best I am going to find right now.

Is $6K a good price for this ES300? I live in Virginia.

Please get back to me ASAP. Thanks

Mark

mark71

Well thanks for nothing guys. It would have taken 15-20 seconds to respond. Remind me not to join your "club" when I purchase.

crwys

LOL?

I'm not sure how you want anyone to give you advice based on the information you provided.
Is the interior in good condition? Exterior? Does everything work? Tires? Brake Pads? Struts? Any mechanical squeals when driving? Have you even test drove it? Pics would help A LOT Paint Job? Dents? Check engine light? I wouldn't be able to give you advice regardless because I'm not a car buyer enthusiast type of person but I'm just letting you know why no one has given you their 2 cents yet.

PuReChaos

Well put. Also you posted 2 hours ago during the middle of the day on a week day.... what did you expect?

mark71

Guys

EVERYTHING works and is clean. Let me put it simply. There is nothing obviously wrong with the car. There is no check engine light. I don't normally take pics when I buy a car. I would have a mechanic check it out but this dealership is VERY small. One man operation. He has been in and out of the shop going to medical appointments so I have only seen the car once.

Honestly, I am a little surprised he hasn't sold it yet. I think he has had it for 3 weeks and counting.

I need to make a decision by tomorrow. Again, its the cleanest example of a 10+ Lexus ES300 I have seen in 2 months of searching. Its obvious it was babied. I am not asking for a pedantic analysis. Just an opinion on the info I provided. Thanks.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

I don't understand how our opinion makes any difference in this situation. It sounds like you already made up your mind.

lostape45

Seems like a good deal to me, I got mine for quite a bit less but mine had 147k when I bought it. Make sure the timing belt has been done just recently, otherwise, its not a good deal. From what you say, it seems like a decent deal to me, good to know the history of the car.

Mythotical

Have your mechanic pull the front valve cover. No sludge? You get a good deal on a great car. Sludge? Get him down to $2,000 and roll the dice!

mark71

Guys -

Well, I am glad to hear that this is a good deal. I HATE buying cars from independent auto dealers
I made sure the timing belt was changed. That was the first thing I checked.
It was very clearly written on the timing belt cover - "93,400" miles.

"Have your mechanic pull the front valve cover..." I would love to do this but it would take too much coordination. I would have to drag a mechanic over there . That's assuming I can get one on short notice. Is this something I can check myself? Is there a thread on here about the process? Sorry, I am obviously knew.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

I feel like if a person paid close to a grand replacing the timing belt, they paid the $50 for oil changes.

mark71

Ok. So this morning I got lucky and found an independent shop that could squeeze me in without a hassle in Chantilly, Va.
They service Toyota and Lexus. They inspected said ALL the oil seals were leaking. He even said it doesn't even look like the timing belt was replaced even though the replacement date was CLEARLY written on the cover. Man , I feel like I just dodged a bullet. If its too good to be true...

lostape45

Unfortunately no matter the mileage on these engines, the rubber seals will go bad simply because of old age. The seals will easily cost you $1k between all of them, so good thing you had those checked out. Not such a good deal after all

mark71

I just wonder how these dealers sleep at night. Seriously. If they are not checking these cars out for maintenance issues before they sell them they are opening themselves up to lawsuits.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

Since when is a 99 worth 6K ?!?

Dayum, I should ask 10k for mine!

lostape45

I was thinking the same thing 01LEXPL