I am the 2nd owner of a 1997 ES 300 that has been very dependable over the years, but now is in need of work. I have all records of regular routine maintenance & never wrecked. I live in El Cajon, CA. The local dealership wants to charge me more than the car is worth to address the major issues.

I need other options.....Any ideas for an independent mechanic in my area?

(1) I was told I needed a new A/C compressor (a/c button light blinks and air is hot - resets - starts over - going on for 4 years now), but Lexus doesnt make comps for this year anymore, so I would have to get a rebuilt one that they dont even guarantee. Parts + refrig recharge + labor = about $3,000.

(2) Check engine light and TRAC OFF light just came on, but car runs fine.
Separate Diagnostic fee + ?

(3) I cant recall replacing any major things like timing chains/belts, or pumps, etc. What else might I expect?

I saw an add on this website for Discount A/C Parts compressor replacement Kit for $300. Claims to be new comp + hoses, etc. Not OEM or reman?
Any experience with this company or others?

Is bringing in your own parts and paying the indep or dealer mechanic to install without warranty logical or appropriate?

If I were to sell this car in its current condition (the clear coat has acne. Paint job may be needed. Int. is fine), what I should ask?

If I did all of the above & then tried to sell, I think I would lose $.

Im thinking about donating it to charity, in which case I would ask for the $4,999 valuation, and uncle sam might actually allow me to deduct 30% = about $1,500.

What would you do?

 

The AC should be around $800 plus or minus $200 to fix at most independent places. NO WAY this should be a $3K repair.

 

If you can't do at least some of the work yourself, then I would strongly consider selling the car. You can get a re-manufactured compressor for about $150, getting a shop to install it and charge the system will not be anything close to 3 grand that is outrageous. There is no reason to replace any A/C lines unless they are damaged and leaking, normally there is no reason for them wear out. But before you start replacing any parts, the A/C system needs to be checked for leaks.

TRAC light can occur because of an engine misfire, you need to read the codes to see for sure. If you don't have any record of a timing belt job, then it will need it for sure. To do the job correctly, you need to replace the belt, the tensioner, tensioner bearing, idle bearing and water pump. You may also need the crank and cam seals replaced as well, depending on how well the car was maintained.

Bottom line is if you are not able to do some of the repairs yourself, or you can't find an independent mechanic to do the work for a reasonable price, seriously consider selling the car, the last thing you should do is pay thousands in labour costs.

 

Thanks - any idea what I would expect to pay for all the stuff listed in paragraph 2?

 

You're getting ripped off in a big way.

Do not use this shop/dealership anymore, ask around to friends and family and find a good independent shop. These cars are essentially Toyota Camrys, so plenty of shops can work on these with ease. You can also take your car to place like AutoZone and they'll scan your trouble codes for free if you're unsure what the check engine light is on for. You can buy an OBD 2 scanner at WalMart for like $40 and scan them yourself if you want.

My advice would be to get a used compressor or a remanufactured one, and have an AC shop install and charge the refrigerant. Your hoses should be fine and won't need to be replaced. Probably no more than $500-$600 tops for everything, but get a second opinion from a reputable AC shop before you do anything.

Get a shop to diagnose the check engine light, and see what it needs, it could be something incredibly simple and cheap.

Donating your car to charity WAS a great deal, but the IRS closed that loophole.
Now the deduction you get is what the charity ACTUALLY sells it for (not the market value), and usually they sell it super cheap to get rid of it as quickly as possible. So a charity would probably sell your car for $1500 to a wholesaler in it's current condition, in which case you get to write that off on your taxes, so when it's all said and done it will probably "make" you $450.

The paint work is something you might just want to ignore if you can. Body work is incredibly expensive if it's done properly, probably more than the car is worth. It doesn't hurt to get a quote, but you'd probably be better off unloading this car and finding one with better paint.

My guess is you probably have around $1,200 worth of work to get the car back up to snuff, and you'd probably get around $3,000 if you sold it "as-is" before any work was done. Get all your quotes together before you begin to get any work done and decide if it's worth it versus unloading it and buying a different car.

 

good advice - FYI Autozone cant pull codes anymore - they were barred from doing this in CA when the auto shops and unions sued for infringement on their business.

I think i will try a generic toyota shop or a specific a/c shop for a quote.

Funny - the last time i donated a car, they kept it for business use! Not sure how they valuated it in that case?

 

lol! try advanced auto parts or o'reily

 

Some info available on this forum:

A/C issue-There's a relay that goes bad which causes the symptom you describe. There's info including a part # here if you do a search.

AAmco, at least in NJ does a free inspection/diagnostics/estimate, and will tell you what codes come up and cost of repairs. Beware, though, the facility near me triples the price of parts over Autozone, so get other estimates for the work.

If you have owned the car since new and can't recall replacing TB and water pump, do so. Do the tensioner and pulleys, thermostat and fresh antifreeze at the same time. Again, get a couple of quotes for the work. 155K isn't a lot of miles for these cars. You should be able to get another 50-75K with regular maintenance.

Another thing to consider is draining and refilling the transmission, but unless you've had this done every 50K, drain only the fluid in the trans pan and replace the filter. DO NOT let the garage do a flush and fill, which stirs up sediment and impurities and may ruin the trans.

 

Thanks for the tips on other threads - Im going to check into that relay thing - the more i read, the more it sounds like an electrical problem rather than a compressor, which could save me hundreds.

 

Lexus should diagnose the check engine light for free or get the codes read and see what the prob is they should not charge for this

 

for the check engine light, just get a cheap obd II scanner from amazon. It's around 40 to 50 dollars max and it will have paid for itself after a scan or two.

 

Follow-up on the a/c issue. The relay is NOT the solution. I spent $250 to have an independent Japanese auto "expert" tell me that a simple replacement of the relay would solve the problem. IT DID NOT. Next he wants to sell me a compressor after all.

Seems to me that there should have been a way for him to check the old relay before making me wait a half day to deliver a new one and then find out it didnt work?

 

I wouldn't pay it, I think you're being taken for a ride.

The relays are in an easily accessible compartment, under the hood, on the driver's side. You simply open the black top, pull a relay out, and put a new one in. Someone who knows nothing about cars could do the job in less than 2 minutes. Your mechanic also should have tested the relay before making you buy a new one, which is easily done.

The relay itself costs around $15-$60, depending on which relay needs replacing. The "book" time for this service is around a half-hour, but it looks like your mechanic did zero diagnostic work. You should have been out the door for around $100 from an independent mechanic if that repair did solve your problem, and you should pay absolutely nothing if your mechanic was just throwing parts at a problem that did nothing to fix it.

Whenever I get a recommended repair, I'm always very specific of about getting an out the door price and an assurance that this repair actually will fix my problem.

Sorry for your dilemma, I would ask around and find a good shop you can trust. Your repair could be something simple (like being low on refrigerant). I would seek out an ac specialist for cars.