jaredmac11

About 3 weeks ago, my 2003 is300 was stolen. Had appx 113k miles and was taken care of. I purchased it used from the original owner about 5 years ago. Since then I have done every necessary maintenance and other work.

It was recovered in an tow storage lot, pulled from the streets of downtown Houston. Seeing it, my heart dropped a bit. It really was drove to the ground. Dings, dents, scratches here and there, but the worst of it was the front driver side wheel hit a curb which blew the tire. I'm going to have a shop look at the alignment and suspension and eventually do a full replacement myself.

Even with all the body work, I dont think the car will total out. The initial appraisal was weak, but even with supplements, Im just not sure.

*IF* the car doesnt total out, what should I be mindful of regarding the engine? In the books its a 'high mileage' vehicle, even though 113k is nothing but a drop in the bucket for what this motor. Because of this, it will be hard to prove whether it had underlying issues or if the thefts pushed it over the edge.


TLDR; is300 was stolen, thieves ran car in to the ground, what sort of engine damage should I be looking for?

edit: Its likely just going to be totaled. RIP is300 : (

DrDDay

Interested in selling the O2 sensors cheap?

jaredmac11

I had replaced the whole lot literally 2 months ago, so if I am parting it out; I'll keep you in mind.

blkaltezza

iTrader: (1)

Really sorry to hear this, I'm in Houston as well and I'm always paranoid when I bring my car out. To be honest if it isn't totaled, I would sell it right after is fixed. It sounds like those thieves really did a number to it and it might not drive the same as before.

When you bring it in to your mechanic I would check for any bent control arms, and any other abnormal things. If the alignment isn't too far off and everything looks normal it shouldn't be too bad. It would be a perfect time to freshen up the suspension anyways. I would replace all the bushings, and the lower ball joints, these tend to go out with age. Make sure you replace the LBJ with a OEM one, a guy on my.is replaced his with a MOOGs and it only lasted 30k miles. I thought MOOGs was a good brand but I guess it still doesn't last as long as OEM. For the bushings I would get Figs, I don't think Toyota/Lexus sells the bushings separately and only as a whole unit with a new control arm.

For the engine, at that mileage I would replace the timing belt if it hasn't already been done. I would also check the cam seals, front main seal and rear main seal for any leaks. I would also clean out the vvti oil control valve on the side of the engine. Other than that, these engines are pretty bulletproof in stock form.

If there's no major damage to the suspension, then it might not be too bad. There's a salvage yard on Airline called NT Autos and they have like 6-7 IS300s on their lot so you could get some parts from them. If the engine is bad you can always replace it with another one, 2JZ-GE engines go for about $600-$900 depending on condition and mileage so its not too bad.

Good luck man, hopefully the damage isn't as bad as it looks.

jadu

iTrader: (42)

did it happen to be totaled? In another thread, they had replaced the broken control arms, spindle (with new wheel bearing) when a wheel hit a curb. Since it was stolen, they probably gunned the engine and trans and stomped on the brakes, so new fluids and turned rotors wouldn't hurt.

jaredmac11

Found out yesterday-- It was totaled. The body damage was almost enough, but there was damage to the subframe as well, so that killed it.

I havent heard back what they will appraise it at or what the buy back would be.

stheodore

Really sorry to hear this, I hate stories like this. I hope insurance treats you fairly and, if they don't, stand up for what is really fair replacement value.

az989

our car gets totalled way to easily because any damage that may go over 6000 its automatically totaled. My bother got T boned and they totaled the car because the repair was 9000.

jcavalca

I learned a hard lesson years ago about carrying full-coverage insurance on a paid-off older car. I had a 1985 T-bird that was about 10 to 12 years old with only 50k miles on it. Some dumbass hit me while she entered the highway and my insurance company totaled it. When it came time to settle, all the bull**** comps they sent me were of cars in worse shape and/or with more miles so there was no way I would be 'made whole' and given enough money to buy something truly comparable.
The lesson I learned is not to carry full-coverage insurance after the car is paid off and getting older. Instead, I check comparable resale values to help determine the relative value of extra insurance and install LoJack. My IS300 is stock so there's nothing special about it to increase the value. At its current market value, I'm better off saving the extra money I'd spend on more insurance and putting it aside another car if mine were stolen or totaled.
I hope everyone has better experiences with auto insurance than I did and no one else is treated the same way. As far as I'm concerned, I was screwed in the deal.

jaredmac11

I understand your concern. To play devil's advocate, Geico used a prettyfair appraisal.

I had to work for it a bit. First, I lost like $250 by not having the original stereo. They took off $200 for not having a 6 disk changer (non working, mind you), $50 for not having a casette deck (Im not kidding). but didnt add ANY value for having an aftermarket stereo with hands free calling, bluetooth, USB connection, etc. Crazy. Swapping out decks got me $250 plus my old stereo back.

I also gave them receipts of all maintenance I did. anything within the last calendar year of the incident netted me value. I think I got $250 back. Not bad.


The problem is, they do some fuzzy math. First off, Private sales are NOT considered for the valuation. They all come from dealers, which is a much lower pool of comps.

At the end of the day, I spent $10,500 for my IS300 in 2010. In 2015, I received a check for $8050. Id say that was fair. $2500 depreciated value over 5 years aint bad at all. What sucks is that you just wont ever get your car value back if you maintain the car well.

jadu

iTrader: (42)

^^^ Glad that insurance took care of you. $8K aint bad at all. Are you getting another lexus?

A1cntrler

iTrader: (2)

Not insurance related, but dealer values.

Wife wanted an IS so it was time to sell her car. 2003 300M Special, all options (18" factory wheels, Navi, Leather, etc... 43k miles) This was in 2014. Because of the age of the car they offered $1750. No dents/dings/scratches. tears. Nothing they could find to mark off on the value. Also no comps for it except for 2 that had been auctioned recently (not the Special trim package) and both with over 120k miles.

Told them no thanks, took it home, photographed it and put it on ebay. Guy in PA ended up with it for $4800 plus had to pay $1200 in shipping for it.

I hate dealing with dealers. I've always felt like they got one over on me when leaving. My last new vehicle I bought from Ford using a frinds/family X-Plan pricing. Didn't have to haggle/deal with anyone. went in, paid the price and walked out happy.


You going to get another IS?? Ours in a 2nd gen, but I always wanted a first gen IS. Someday I'll have one. Of course it will have to be a Sportcross in blue with a manual trans....

jaredmac11

While I would like another IS, I think I am going to close that chapter. Im not really enthralled by any of the offerings that are available on CL.

Right now I have a '97 ES300 for my DD until I find something I really need to have.

The theft and vandalism just left a sour taste in my mouth so I am hanging it up for a bit.