I'm looking to buy this model but was wondering if there are common issues with this car to watch out for.

The car I'm looking for has a blown amplifier (concerns about the computer electrical system?), squeaky steering column (easy fix or signs of bad things to come?), and both side mirror motors do not work. Also might have a crankshaft seal leak.

I'm a bit surprised all these are bad for a 100k mile car. My 1994 Lexus ES300 has almost 200k and all things work except I had to replace the stereo.

Are those common issues with the 2001 Lexus ES300?

 

Hello,

This topic has been discussed extensively around, here is one of the thread on the subject. As for the specific car you are looking to buy, it's hard to tell without seeing it in person, if you are not an expert, it may be wise to ask for a per-purchase inspection. The issues you described are not all that major, mostly happening from time and specific use cases, nothing that would give out any inherent weaknesses, my 2000 ES300 was beat up pretty badly over the years more than 225,000 miles, but everything appears to be working as it should.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

Thank you - I really appreciate the link. I guess I was thinking if it's not a common issue with the vehicle, then it may have been that the car was mistreated. Not totally sure, but that's why I wanted to know if they were common or not. But seems like it's just luck of the draw?

Also looking at your link, can you show a picture of the rear wheel rust and also give more info on oil sludge? Is it black tar like gunky and gooey? Or is it supposed to be black cakey or like burnt/hardened oil?

How's your 2000 Lexus ES300 doing? Any repairs on the transmission needed? Anything for the engine? How many more miles do you think it'll last?

 

From the issues you described, unless the amp was ripped apart with can opener and mirrors were set ablaze, there is nothing that would indicate that either the car was neglected or abused, it's 22 years old by now, stuff happens, and it's not that expensive to repair..

If those are THE only issues in the car, I would get it in an eyeblink, but again, if you are not sure, it will pay you a lot in the long run to do an inspection, it is not all that expensive in comparison.

As for my car, it feels pretty solid, still has a lot of life left in it. Neither engine nor transmission received any major repairs beyond gasket replacements and basic maintenance routines, like fluid replacements and regular timing belt service. The most expensive repair being a suspension rebuild so far, but with that kind of mileage, it wasn't much of a surprise anyway. Here is an interesting thread with people comparing their mileages, just as a reference for a longevity.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

I just read and the list of common issues was that the rough shifts could be do to suspension issues which can be tested with a pry bar which is interesting. I wonder if that’s why my car has those issues.

 

Thanks. Should I still negotiate the price? Or do you think it's a fair deal and would just buy it at that price?

Is there a way to just replace the motor in the side mirrors? Or would I have to swap the entire mirror assembly? For steering column is it replace the steering column, or just grease?

 

Looking back to when I bought my car which is almost an identical situation as yours. The biggest thing is if the timing was done. If the timing isn’t done then a fair deal is 3k or 2500k for a good deal if the timing wasn’t done.

At low mileage 100k it would definitely be worth 3700k in my opinion if it had the timing done or a bunch of other stuff done.

The maintenance records are key cause it shows exactly what they did to it and if they changed the oil on time to reduce sludge and where out the internal engine components like piston rings or the block itself which a compression test would show.

It’s risky to buy a car without a compression check especially if you can’t get detailed service records.

A one owner vehicle who’s enthusiastic about their car going on these forums and doing all the the correct maintenance is a lot different from a multiple owner vehicle.

My car was a multiple owner with the squeaky wheel with a guy who didn’t know anything detailed like we talk about on these forums but I got lucky the leak was just the drain plug and there wasn’t much else wrong besides the thermostat.

Most likely the previous owner never put Toyota long life coolant in it, didn’t service the transmission, or any of the detailed stuff we talk about on here. So a bunch of stuff is going to have to be done if you want it the way it should be.

Plus now you have to add in the timing, water pump, seals, potentially valve cover gaskets, to the list of things to do.

Edit: Also the mirror is unfortunate, my drivers side mirror was blue and just needed the glass part for 15. The oem mirror is pretty pricey I think adleast 200 and up. Not sure about the motor replacement.

 

Thanks. They're willing to drop it to $3,100 because the mechanic pointed out it'd be $800 the fix the oil leak (crankshaft or valve cover), and $1k to replace the front and rear engine mounts and hood struts (not disclosed).

There minor scratches and small dings and rust spots. Some paint fade. Still worth it given the $1.8k (plus 1 tire) for repairs?

 

Paint fade and rust? I'd pass those issues are very expensive to fix. Unless you want a car that drives until it dies meaning you won't be putting any money into it, keep looking.

 

It was really light paint fade and the clear coat still felt like it was on there. And it was two very small spots of rust damage (probably a rock chipped the paint).

Still big enough issues to pass?

 

Your decision but it sounds like the car is a beater needs thousands in repairs the paint is going and rust is starting. $1500 car IMO.

 

Post pictures or ask for the advice locally, otherwise it will be very hard to tell.

 

Why are we talking about rust, lol? He's from California. Having said that, finding a car in that condition here (Maine) and you will have struck gold. I saw a rusty, but still presentable, '01 here for sale that was gone in 2 days, $5000. As a side note, and to demonstrate what some of us do here for a rust free car that may sound nutty to some, I flew done to Florida in 2019 only to pick up my '04.

 

Yeah I'm not super familiar with how much people value a perfect exterior (I like Lexus, but my 1994 ES300 is nowhere near good looking lol). I can only guess the other posters were watching out in case I wanted to resell and other Lexus enthusiasts may not be forgiving on the mildly faded paint / rust spots (2 pebble sized).

I ended up not buying the car because the cost to fix the oil leak and replace the engine mounts (mechanic quoted almost $2k) and seller was only willing to go down $600. I think the price for the car would've been a good deal at that price, if at most I only needed to fix up to $1k. There's cars here that are similar (not as low on miles, but some with rebuilt/new transmissions) that went for $5-6k but they didn't need any extra repairs so I think $3,700 + $2k just pushes it past a good deal (sounds average deal now).