Hi, I am new to cars and I'm about to buy a 1997 Lexus es300 from my mom's friend, and I just wanted to know if I am getting a good deal or not.

Info: 1997 Lexus es300, 244,XXX mi , Automatic, Black Exterior, Tan Interior, Some dings and big dents [mostly on the front(passenger fender, hood)].

By the way, the car costs 1500.

 

How has the car been maintained? Oil changes, timing belt, tranny fluid? All depends on how it runs.

 

The car runs smooth, according to my mechanic for he took it to the freeway as a test drive. As for maintenance, I forgot to ask my mom's friend . Oh I forgot to mention that the car has a oil leak ,but my mechanic said that he can fix it for 150 dollars. He also said that it is a common problem for 1997 es300s. Correct me if he's is wrong about this.

 

lol i was gonna say wait ASG14 to chime in!

If it has been maintained with proper and suggested intervals times then it should be good for another 100k easily.

If not, well you may be in for a world of frustration. Then again, if they did fail at keeping it in running condition it would not even be at 244k on the clock to begin with...

 

Depends on the oil leak. I'll guess it's the valve cover gaskets? Thats common on all Toyota/Lexus engines, lol.

If he looked it over and all checked out as ok, $1500 is fine. Just remember with ANY car with that many miles, things can break. But the key is your mechanic looked it over and said it was good.

I fail, 01LEXPL just beat me. :-P

 

i would start teh car up cold to see what color if any smoke comes out of the tailpipe. If there are used tires on the car, see if they are cupped. If they feel kinda rough when running your hand over the tread, the struts most likely will be worn.

check all electronics to make sure they work and turn the ac and heat on to make sure they work.

with gloves grab the tire and try to move it back and forth(not trying to roll it). if you can feel any sort of banging or similar sounds/feeling there could be bad inner or outer tie rods.

Also take the car to a large parking lot. Turn the wheel all teh way to the left and drive in a tight circle. If you hear any clicking, you may need to replace the axle. Turn the wheel to the right and repeat.

Look under the oil cap, if it looks milky the car may have been driven short distances.

check trans fluid. It should be red when you wipe it on a paper towel.

Look at the brake fluid, it should be clear, but most people never change it and it may be brown.

Look at the antifreeze,, clean antifreeze will be either clear orange or green..

If there are any other colors on the reserviour it would indicate to me that maintenance may have been skipped.

if there looks to be a dark oily substance in the reserviour, it could be oil mixing in and the head gasket may need to be replaced.


These are just some quick things that anyone can use to evaluate a car. They are simple and do not require disassembling things.



that price is good, if 1500 is the asking price offer 11-1200, but 15 is still a decent price.

 

My mom managed to lower the price to 1k while I was out volunteering for camp Walden west. ^___^ I love my mom.

 

Yeah I'd say it's a good deal, I got my 94' ES300 for 5.9Ks with 188k miles and it just runs so smooth unlike any car I've drivin' I think you got a very good deal, these cars are known to get 500-600k miles if you take car of it.. Lexus is king

 

I hope you're right.

 

Okay, I just found out my car is a 96 and not a 97. Eeeeek!

 

Yeah, ES300's are known to get a few 100k miles and you can get 400-600k miles out of it if you maintain it, really good cars. Lexus are some of the best cars in the world

 

600K miles? proof?

you can expect 350K for the vast majority, from what I understand about the wear cycle.

 

I can't see the car, but take some pics and show it off as soon as you get the chance, I need to do that as well I'll pick up a camra sometime this coming week

 

Anywho back to the task at hand, 244k is not even half of what the record may be for a Lexus vehicle. I have personally seen gauge pods of SC300/400’s that have
topped 600k. But that’s not to say that 244k isn’t a LOT of miles because it is. im sure it's not Lexus certefied, have the seller(or if you got the car already) take it to get inspected by your local Lexus dealer or somewhere. That is your best bet right now,