In a conundrum on what to do about my '07 ES. I inherited this car from my mom when she passed back in July of last summer. I negotiated the purchase of this car, bought new, and I detailed it several times when I would go visit her, so it's been well taken care of, always at the dealer for maintenance. Only has 45,000 miles on it now, she didn't drive it often. She lived in a large retirement village for the last couple of years, which means a lot of the residents weren't the best drivers. The car has a few parking lot scrapes and dings that do look awful, but they are not structural. The interior is in excellent condition.

I've attached a couple of photos of the worst damage, they are both on the passenger side, one in the front bumper, the other by the rear door/quarter. A few other dents/dings as well. When I took ownership of the car, I was planning to keep it for awhile, so I figured since I got the car for free I'd spend the money to have the bodywork repaired, then drive it for awhile. I bought some really nice rims (tasteful) to replace the originals that are badly curbed, car is getting new Michelins next week. I did get an estimate from a shop that I trust of $3500 to fix everything I asked for, which given the miles on the car I figured it was worth it.

This is my 3rd ES so I know these cars last a long time. But my needs have changed, I was thinking about selling/trading it this summer for a GX470. So I'm wondering if I should invest in the repairs while I wait for the recalled airbag to (some day) get fixed, or am I money ahead to just trade it as-is. Would I get my money back? I've never been in this type of situation, not sure how a dealer would treat it.

Thoughts?

 

I'd shop around and see if you can get a better price on the repairs before making a decision.

 

Welll... about 3 years ago there was a scrape similar to the one you see in the rear quarter, actually just behind that wheel. My brother took it to a few shops, got a few prices, they took the "lowest bidder" option. Result is poor paint, orange peel, will not hold a shine at all. The repair is very obvious. So that also need fixed IMO. Not going the cheap route ever again.

 

Is this a reputable shop giving the quote? Have you asked around for recommendations? Just because they charge a lot doesn't mean they will repair it properly. Just look at the repair shops at the dealer.

Anyway, at $3500, it doesn't seem worth it on a 10 year old car.

 

It's probably not worth fixing it. Wait for the airbag recall first and see if they will even fix them or issue a buy back. In the meantime, get the dash replaced under the extended warranty before it expires in May. When I went to my Lexus dealer to talk about trading in my 07 ES350, they offered me $4000. After it get fixed, sell it on craigslist.

 

Go to CarMax to see what they will offer for it. They are usually a bit more generous than the dealer.

 

I used this shop to paint my '87 Xtra cab back in 2013 that I was restoring, they were great to work with and did a better job than I expected or asked for, within my budget. They let me borrow a trailer so I could take them the cab, no charge. Kinda unfortunate that now the darned thing is so shiny that I'm afraid to take it off-road, especially like I used to.



I've also seen a couple of classic muscle cars they've done, they can do great work. Perhaps I asked for too much to be fixed, there might be some things that I can overlook, but there is a lot of blending to get the color to look consistent. Maybe what I could do is go back and say "do what you can for $2000", they can probably fix the worst stuff. The other thing that's a mess is the bottom of the front bumper cover, the curb that was in front of her assigned spot was just high enough to sccrraaaaaaape on the bottom of the bumper cover, it was a gut-wrenching sound every time she parked the car. I wanted that fixed, but maybe it could be dropped off the list too.

Dash replaced? I wasn't aware that was a thing with these cars, only the GX. Mine is perfect, no cracks.

The closest CarMax is over an hour away from me, and they don't have any cars in stock that I'm interested in. But it is a thought, just to get their advice.

 

If money is an issue, you can buy aftermarket painted bumpers online pretty cheap. I've seen them for around $300ish before. That would knock a good bit off for you.

 

Carmax will give you a price they will give you, regardless if you buy another from them or not.

 

In contrast to other people's opinions because of the low trade in value with the damage, and the cost to fix it, if I were in your shoes I'd probably just keep it. Not necessarily as you main car, but as a second car that you know will be reliable when you need it.

 

yeah you could they sell them on eBay for like 250 to 350 primed and painted.
However, i would personally stay away from any aftermarket body parts of these cars.
I have had several cars that I have had accidents and collision repair done on with aftermarket and capa approved parts with no problems.
the Lexus has been the only car that never lined up right when ever they have put aftermarket parts on the insurance has then had to turn around and pay fo the work to be done twice because there aftermarket capa certified parts didn't work properly

 

The shop assures me the bumper cover doesn't need to be replaced, they can fix it.

My truck is getting tired and I'm too busy with other projects to keep maintaining & improving it. I'd rather spend the time on the camp we bought a couple of years ago. It's challenging keeping a 30 year old truck on the road in New England. No A/C, poor heat, lousy ride, and NO safety provisions (ABS, air bags, traction control, etc), not to mention that parts are becoming scarce and sometimes no longer available. Plus it's getting harder for me to just get into the thing, my wife will likely never be able to ride in it again. So it's getting hard to justify. But I need a truck, and I intend to stick with the Lexus line, they've been very good to me over the past 13 years. Even though I can afford it, I'd rather get down to 2 vehicles now. So a GX is the best compromise, I've always liked them.

Thank you for your input, greatly appreciated.