TL2ES350

Hello all, I am looking at purchasing a 07 lexus es350. I have haggled the price down to $8900 if the pre purchase inspection looks good. The vehicle has 61000 miles and it is from the original owner.
-I asked the owner if he had done the recalls (dashboard melting? and Accelerator throttle getting stuck) and he was unsure. I assume even if I am not the original owner Lexus would still perform the recalls if they have not been done.
- I am struggling to find any major issues with the car mechanically that I should be aware of/looking out for and was wondering if you guys or gals had any suggestions. (the car does have the steering wheel controls wrap peeling but that seems to be common.)
-Lastly the vehicles value seems to differentiate significantly from 6-10k depending on which website I use. Does 8900 for a 61k mile example sound like a fair deal?


I was very surprised at how much of an overall smoother and more comfortable ride the ES350 was compared to my Acura TL Type S. I understand I will be losing some of the sportiness but am not expecting to get a sports car in the ES350 as much as I am just a reliable, cheap to maintain car with a lot of creature comforts that also drives incredibly smooth.


Thank you for your time.

ellocovg

iTrader: (1)

I’m sure the gas pedal remedy has been done already, if the dash wasn’t done it’d probably show some cracks or shinyness. You can create an account at mylexus and enter the vin even if your not the owner you can see all the work that’s been done at the dealer. At this point they won’t replace the dash for you that ship has sailed. With the 07 to 09 common issues seem to be the dash, the front passenger side window clip breaks, the timing belt cover seeps oil. And annoyance that were corrected for the midlife update are the interior leds are orange, Bluetooth does not stream music only phone calls, overhead lights also are bad. If the car is in great shape inside and out go for it. I just sold my 07 with 115k good mechanical shape but it had allot of scratches for $6K, seemed like $7K was the going rate but I wanted a quick sale. The car was amazingly smooth and had a ton of gizmos for its age. If I covered the odometer you would of never guessed it was a high mileage car that seemed like it was abused a bit in the past. If it’s in great shape in and out and no motor issues I’d try to get him down a little but I’d probably get very close to asking price eventually.

TL2ES350

Sounds good I will search the vin. The outside is not pristine that is for sure but is about what I'd expect for its age. I really appreciate the info, and no doubt if I didn't know it was an 07 I would never guess it by the way that it drives. Thank you for the reply

ThumperPup

i like thinkign that a 2007 es350 with 61k has a value so high still but thats just a wish because if thats the case ofr that than my 07 ES with 225k might have a value of 5000-6000 perhaps but i know thats just B/S no freaking way
if i where to sell my car i would be happy to get 4500 private party sale or 3000-3500 trade in perhaps.
But a 2007 even with under 70k on it unless its fully loaded every option is not with 8900 private party sale maybe 8900-9900 for dealer retail value but not private party. chances most likely that seller tried to trade teh car in and found out that they could only get about 6500 tradein value use that as a selling point to get it lower i think private party sale on that would be like maybe 7500 8000 at most and thats if it has navigation and sunshade and parking sensor and those options
keep shopping around
to akswer the other questions
dash pad was not a recal it was a warranty extension for 10 years from date of first sale of vehicle so that was only good until 2007 if the car was sold in 2007 or 2008 if sold in 2008 for exampel so with it being 2019 you wont be able to get that done anymore.

CQRT

It sounds like a good car and IMO, not an unreasonable price given the low miles.

I've had two 2007s- sold the first one because I wanted an SUV .. .missed the Lexus so much I bought another one and have had a lot of comments that the car looks almost new.

I'm now just over 100k miles as the second owner and have all the service records from the original selling dealer as well as the Lexus service here in Phoenix.

We just returned from an 800 mile trip to visit family in S. CA- just over 28mpg.

You're welcome to see/drive my car as a comparison to your prospective purchase if you think it would be helpful. Oddly enough, the short-lived SUV was an Acura MDX and although it was nice- it's no Lexus.

Good luck-

johnj1020

TL2ES350, in my search for a used ES350, (I eventually found a 2011) I found out that some VINs of the 2007 model had transmission recalls; as well as passenger side air bags (all VINs) & that year requires premium fuel, whereas starting in 2011, the factory pulled their premium fuel requirement & now it will run on 87, (read that "much cheaper") octane fuel. As an example, I filled one of our company trucks, (O'Reilly Auto Parts) yesterday at a shell station here in Arlington Heights, Il & there was a DOLLAR difference between 87 & 93 octane there, so you might hold off till you find a later model for the savings in fuel costs. I paid $12,900 for mine with 94,000 miles on it last October....found it on the CarGurus website. Good luck & hope you find yours, I LOVE mine! johnj1020

jagtoes

All ES350's as well as Toyota 3.5L engines run on 87 Oct. The engine management system adjusts for the difference. The only difference stated in the Lexus spec's is using 93 oct. it is rated at 272 HP while with 87 oct. the HP is rated at 268. There is no damage to the engine or fuel system.

cb109

I know this is debate is many years and many threads long, but do you have any official, non-anecdotal proof of this (and the difference with 2011+ models)?

The manual for 2010 and earlier models states "Use unleaded gasoline. (Octane rating 91 [Research Octane Number 96] or higher)" and the fuel door says "Premium Only".

chuyrobles

Its common knowledge among tuners that if the engine pings you need higher octane gas. We’ve always put 87 in ours 07 and it has never pinged. If you are gonna race or drive hard, then do get the higher octane fuel.

ellocovg

iTrader: (1)

Same exact engine nothing changed from 07-11 engine wise. It’s a selling point Lexus realized where shooting ourselves in the foot because ppl our getting scared off by the premium requirements and they realized the performance difference would be minimal with regular gas.

TL2ES350

I appreciate the info, and am gonna hold off on that particular model and keep hunting.


In regards to CQRT, thanks so much for the offer that is super kind of you!

cb109

Thanks, but I was asking about official, concrete information.

It's not clear to me that "same exact engine" means that "nothing changed." There could be software or other design changes.

Riick

Back in the day, the Federal government required, that all cars be able to run on 87 octane fuel.
They've apparently changed that requirement, but, here's what Uncle Sam has to say: LINK to fueleconomy.gov
My old 2005 Avalon had the same 3.5 liter V6 as my current 2007 ES350, but, the Avalon called for 87 Octane gas.
You can spend the extra for the extra octane rating, but performance is very very very similar to "regular".
"You pays your money and you takes your choice"

jagtoes

Here we are again beating a dead horse. All should agree to disagree and move on. If you wish to use 87 vs 91 or 93 octane then do what you feel good about.

johnj1020

One of the desirable things I became aware of regarding the 2011 was, or so I thought, that I could run this car on 87 octane gasoline. You see here in the Chicago area, there's a dollar a gallon difference, at least, between 87 & 93 octane. I've been using the 87 since I took ownership of the car in October & haven't regretted it since. Thanx, johnj1020