Should I get it?
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Driver School Candidate
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 15
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From: Texas
Should I get it?
Hey guys. First post here. Found a Lexus es300 coach edition for sale for 4k. Here is the catch. Only 13k miles!!! Is it a good deal? 17 year old, this would be my first car. I just want a reliable car that can take me through college, want to make sure the tranny won't break down. Supposedly it was owned by a grandma.. Which explains the miles... Thanks!
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 500
Likes: 38
From: OH
Oh wow, that's almost hard to believe. I would pass it up. With the car sitting for that long, it will need a lot replaced, struts, mounts, tires, rubber seals. Cars that sit for long periods of time and are only run to the grocery store once a week (short trips) have lots of wear. The engine doesn't get up to operating temp and that can cause issues.
Get a quote for a timing belt, water pump, cam seals [the FULL job], along with coolant flush. Guaranteed the brake fluid has never been changed, that is a must do right away.
Same goes for the trans. a drain & fill is sufficient.
Willing to bet all of the endlinks will fail sooner than later [cheap to replace, 10-20$/ea from rockauto. aftermarket], if they're still rockin' or your mech has a way to grease them you're laughin'.
I'd have it looked at in terms of seals. Look for leaks in particular around the oil pan, a gasket that old with irregular use may have swollen up/become brittle which leads to leaks. This applies to the valve cover gaskets.
Basically, what I'm saying is, if you get this thing for 3-3.5k. Have around 1.5-2k set aside for a worst-case series of repairs [over inflated obv.].
All the things above are cheap & quite a few are DIY, but if you're not comfortable with a wrench, well you gotta pay someone.
Since you're young you may not have any existing relations with industry techs, take it to somewhere your folks/family friends take their cars... aka a mechanic you can trust, that is blessed with a watchful eye.
I wouldn't be too scared of the above list, its standard maintenance over a series of intervals, its only that this low of a mileage has not seen any of the above [yet].
Other than that, the original brakes would still be good for another 30-40k easily. The underbody/body should be very clean as-is the interior with all the electronics due to such little usage over time.
I'd love to score something like this, I personally wouldn't think twice about it and go for it. If you do some digging around these forums many members [across models] have scooped up examples like this and made away like bandits. The best part is you have an essentially new car, and once you do the minor 'refresh' of the drive train, you have a new car without the 20k$ car note......
Same goes for the trans. a drain & fill is sufficient.
Willing to bet all of the endlinks will fail sooner than later [cheap to replace, 10-20$/ea from rockauto. aftermarket], if they're still rockin' or your mech has a way to grease them you're laughin'.
I'd have it looked at in terms of seals. Look for leaks in particular around the oil pan, a gasket that old with irregular use may have swollen up/become brittle which leads to leaks. This applies to the valve cover gaskets.
Basically, what I'm saying is, if you get this thing for 3-3.5k. Have around 1.5-2k set aside for a worst-case series of repairs [over inflated obv.].
All the things above are cheap & quite a few are DIY, but if you're not comfortable with a wrench, well you gotta pay someone.
Since you're young you may not have any existing relations with industry techs, take it to somewhere your folks/family friends take their cars... aka a mechanic you can trust, that is blessed with a watchful eye.
I wouldn't be too scared of the above list, its standard maintenance over a series of intervals, its only that this low of a mileage has not seen any of the above [yet].
Other than that, the original brakes would still be good for another 30-40k easily. The underbody/body should be very clean as-is the interior with all the electronics due to such little usage over time.
I'd love to score something like this, I personally wouldn't think twice about it and go for it. If you do some digging around these forums many members [across models] have scooped up examples like this and made away like bandits. The best part is you have an essentially new car, and once you do the minor 'refresh' of the drive train, you have a new car without the 20k$ car note......
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: Texas
Get a quote for a timing belt, water pump, cam seals [the FULL job], along with coolant flush. Guaranteed the brake fluid has never been changed, that is a must do right away.
Same goes for the trans. a drain & fill is sufficient.
Willing to bet all of the endlinks will fail sooner than later [cheap to replace, 10-20$/ea from rockauto. aftermarket], if they're still rockin' or your mech has a way to grease them you're laughin'.
I'd have it looked at in terms of seals. Look for leaks in particular around the oil pan, a gasket that old with irregular use may have swollen up/become brittle which leads to leaks. This applies to the valve cover gaskets.
Basically, what I'm saying is, if you get this thing for 3-3.5k. Have around 1.5-2k set aside for a worst-case series of repairs [over inflated obv.].
All the things above are cheap & quite a few are DIY, but if you're not comfortable with a wrench, well you gotta pay someone.
Since you're young you may not have any existing relations with industry techs, take it to somewhere your folks/family friends take their cars... aka a mechanic you can trust, that is blessed with a watchful eye.
I wouldn't be too scared of the above list, its standard maintenance over a series of intervals, its only that this low of a mileage has not seen any of the above [yet].
Other than that, the original brakes would still be good for another 30-40k easily. The underbody/body should be very clean as-is the interior with all the electronics due to such little usage over time.
I'd love to score something like this, I personally wouldn't think twice about it and go for it. If you do some digging around these forums many members [across models] have scooped up examples like this and made away like bandits. The best part is you have an essentially new car, and once you do the minor 'refresh' of the drive train, you have a new car without the 20k$ car note......
Same goes for the trans. a drain & fill is sufficient.
Willing to bet all of the endlinks will fail sooner than later [cheap to replace, 10-20$/ea from rockauto. aftermarket], if they're still rockin' or your mech has a way to grease them you're laughin'.
I'd have it looked at in terms of seals. Look for leaks in particular around the oil pan, a gasket that old with irregular use may have swollen up/become brittle which leads to leaks. This applies to the valve cover gaskets.
Basically, what I'm saying is, if you get this thing for 3-3.5k. Have around 1.5-2k set aside for a worst-case series of repairs [over inflated obv.].
All the things above are cheap & quite a few are DIY, but if you're not comfortable with a wrench, well you gotta pay someone.
Since you're young you may not have any existing relations with industry techs, take it to somewhere your folks/family friends take their cars... aka a mechanic you can trust, that is blessed with a watchful eye.
I wouldn't be too scared of the above list, its standard maintenance over a series of intervals, its only that this low of a mileage has not seen any of the above [yet].
Other than that, the original brakes would still be good for another 30-40k easily. The underbody/body should be very clean as-is the interior with all the electronics due to such little usage over time.
I'd love to score something like this, I personally wouldn't think twice about it and go for it. If you do some digging around these forums many members [across models] have scooped up examples like this and made away like bandits. The best part is you have an essentially new car, and once you do the minor 'refresh' of the drive train, you have a new car without the 20k$ car note......
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 15
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From: Texas
I have no problem with that haha. I Have no real knowledge of the car. Does it have adequate acceleration? Is the tranny reliable? Fun factor? Thank you very much for the info!
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 500
Likes: 38
From: OH
My apologies, I didn't mean to make you feel any way. I may have came off a little strong. 01LEXPL is the genius here and he hit pretty much everything you'd need done to it. Just test drive it and see about the suspension too.
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 15
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From: Texas
thanks for your insight too!
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 500
Likes: 38
From: OH
I'd say you shouldn't have any worries at that mileage. Make sure the timing belt/water pump has been done, check the engine for oil leaks/drips, check the trans fluid, and suspension. Did you mention what year it was?
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: Texas
2001 but I wouldn't give them 4k for one with 130k miles :/
