osfan8228

Hi all, so I'm looking to buy my first car (I'm in college) and I came across a 1999 ES300. It looks in great shape and well maintained. It has 173,000 on it and the seller has maintenance records for the last 8 years. He's asking $2100 for it.

Any thoughts on this? Is there anything that I should specifically be looking for in this year/model? He told me that the check engine light has been lighting up on and off, but it doesn't effect the driving. He had a few problems with the ignition coils (and replaced three of them) and that may be the reason for the check engine light. Are the ignition coils known to have problems?

Let me know your thoughts, and thank you for any help you can provide.

crwys

Ask when the timing belt / water pump has been replaced.
Timing belt is every 80k and water pump is every 120k I believe.
Ask for the intervals of the engine and transmission oil change.
Engine should be every 4k at the most.
Transmission should be every 15k at the most.
If possible, drop the transmission pan to check for metal inside the pan.
Also ask what transmission the car has. U140 or A514. A514 has much better reliability feedback.
Run a code reader for the check engine light. My guess is it will be for p0420 failing cat sensor or failing cat. Or it may be for the evap system. Which can be for tons of things ranging in $10 to $350 in parts depending on what it is.
Check suspension, leaks, rust, oh and tail lights, license plate lights, reverse lights. Opening and closing the trunk causes the wires to fail is a known problem in these cars.

Ignition coils are not known for problems. If you are getting a misfire on all 3 cylinders 1, 3, 5 or 2, 4, 6 and the car has vvti. I would start with the oil control valves. This year came with both non vvti and vvti

osfan8228

Thank you for all the info! All the maintenance (timing belt, water pump, oil, etc.) checks out and was done on schedule.

The check engine code is P0171. Which is a fuel injector problem. I don't really know where to go from here except trying to determine what exactly needs to be done.

80es300

You can search for P0171 on this forum and you will see lot of threads/info. In my 1998 es300 case, it was the o2 sensor (one behind the engine on the firewall side). Few things to note if it is indeed the sensor problem.

1. use original toyota sensor or denso direct fit, no bosch
2. California spec vs. non-california spec vehicles have different sensors.

jaredmac11

If the previous owner did the timing belt at 160k, I would feel VERY confident about my purchase and pull the trigger.

osfan8228

The timing belt was replaced around 150,000 I believe. Other than the check engine light like I've said, I am feeling pretty good about this.

tomf

P0171 could be several things, most likely, IMO, is, as 80es300 said, is the AF ratio sensor. Second most likely would be the MAF. Both can be replaced for roughly $100 bucks each. You can find DIYs on this site.

If it's a bad AF ratio sensor it can cause drive-ability problems so be prepared to get it fixed.

I have a 99 with about 176,000 miles on it and I bought a 99 with 120,000 for my son. They both drive like they are brand new. I think for $2100 you are getting a deal.