Dazment

After a ton of searching I found a really cheap es300, with a nice body and interior, with not too many miles (165k). The problem with this car is there is no maintenance history because they probay bought it at some auction. It has a clean title. And there are some nice perks with the car, I including 50 percent off any maintenance repair to the car for the lifetime of the car, and free oil changes for one year. http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/ctd/4953221382.html

I'm just kinda worried about the timing belt and tranny because the engines are pretty solid. How can I tell if the timing belt has been replaced not too long ago? Is it visible by the engine so I can just look at it? What else do you guys think I should look at before I purchase it? I'm going to try to loan it over night to see how it is on a cold start in the morning. Thanks!

ES300NZ

Cold start is generally not an issue with Lexus/Toyota cars provided it starts ok at temperatures above -10C. At tempatures below -10C I couldn't say, it just doesn't get that cold where I live.

The timing belt is usually logged on the plastic cover with white marker, or on the hood. check for oil on the passengers side of the engine block, at the rear, if there is a flow of oil there then the cam seals probably haven't been done so it's going to cost a far bit to sort that, including a new timing belt.

it's a very nice car, I looked it over on the website you dropped, really good condition visually, I'd expect you'll have little trouble with that car at all.