blackfireb

Hey All,

Made an account to look for some advice on what to do about my moms car.

My mom had a 2005 ES330 with around 179k miles in that greyish blue color. Over the last year she put around $8k in work into it through the dealership. She recently was in an accident and the insurance totaled it out. The other drivers insurance company gave her the option of taking $6,200 and forfeit the car, or $5,100 and keep the car. I told her we should keep it because the car is in good shape and I figured there was more than $1,100 in value in the car in parts, despite its old age.

I guess I was just looking for some advice on what to do from here now that her salvaged ES is sitting in my garage.

Think it's worth parting it out? Should I sell it outright to someone?

Not sure how active the community is here and if anyone is looking for parts for this model, but I figured i'd ask.

The damage is all confined to the front right headlight area and quarter panel. And some minor damage on the front left bumper.

Photos:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vaQYxgBzU9F3QnGB6

Let me know your thoughts.

ilkinandr

The dmg doesnt look too bad, depending on the frame as its hard to tell based on photos. If airbags didnt go off, i say make it a project car and repair it. Can prob get it up and running for 2k if you put in the work. I might be interested in seats and steering if your still selling, send me some pics.

funcrusher

Engine cover
Shift position indicator (piece that has D, N, R, etc)

Might be interested in those! Damage doesn’t look THAT bad.

daredeil95

If you could fix it yourself or you are close friends with someone who can fix it for you then. yes, I would keep it and fix it. If you can't work on cars then I wouldn't bother with it, it is worth more then $1100 in parts but, if you can't remove the parts such as motor/transmission then it's not worth the hassle imo. Good luck

CELSI0R

Sorry to hear. Glad your mom is okay.

Given the photos, it appears that the passenger side frame rail is in good shape and looks to be undamaged.

However, due to the nature of the hit I can see that there is damage to the right side of the radiator support and to the right side fender apron, which have been bent inwards. The bends in the fender panel also indicate that the profile of the rest of the apron is not straight. Unfortunately, replacement parts will not just bolt on, and frame work would be needed.

An engine bay photo that is focused on the passenger side would be more informative on this upper area.

If you are curious, I have attached a few photos of how the frame should look on both sides, with and without a fender installed.

------

Given how common these cars are, I would buy another that is in good shape and swap over any nicer or new mechanical/trim/etc parts to your mom's new car, if she wants to still have an ES.

Otherwise, you can sell the car as parts only or part it out. Keep in mind that if you part it out, you will need a place to store the vehicle and you may need to keep it there for a long time. Like daredeil95 mentioned, removing the drivetrain will be where you can recoup a good amount of money (these drivetrains are used in many Toyotas).

blackfireb

Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm kind of on the edge with whether to part it out, fix it, or sell it outright. As far as skill level, I'm confident I could handle disassembling anything and everything in my spare time. I'm mechanically inclined and have a boosted frs that I race. I also just rebuilt an old 96 Camry I got on copart for $300. It had 91k miles on it and only needed a couple basics. I drive that baby everyday. Haha.

This however is a little more in depth. And in addition to that, I just don't know I want to have this thing sitting around taking up valuable garage space for very long. It took over my motorcycle parking space. Lol.

What would a car like this sell for in its current state to a private buyer? Car runs and drives just fine. No check engines. No airbags deployed. Salvage title. Think i could get more than $1,100 as is? I'd much rather offload this thing and focus on some more fun projects to be honest, but if you guys think it's worth my time financially to rebuild, I'm considering it.

Here's more pics of the damage. They aren't the best. Nighttime.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XfaaXj74fP9wTeit9

The interior is in good to excellent condition I would say. Has the navigation unit.

I will update this post with more photos later when I remove more of the damaged parts.

CELSI0R

The additional photos are very good. Unless the car has a lot of sentimental value, I don't personally think it's worth the rebuild with almost 180k miles and given how common ES models are. If you ever plan to sell the car after repairs, most people will just see the salvage title, no matter how well the work was done.

One of your pictures is very informative. I attached it with some notes. The radiator support and fender apron are bent where they meet, and there is some minor crumpling in the fender apron that is visible.

You could bend this area back to spec, but it would need reinforcement. The best repair method would be to bend it back and then to cut it out and replace the damaged areas by welding in pieces from a donor car.

If you keep the car, my recommendation is more or less the same as before - find another ES330 in decent shape (at least body-wise) and swap over the nicer parts from your mom's car. One with a blown engine or transmission would probably work in your favor to end up with a net profit on the project.

80es300

This is not directly answering your question but just a suggestion in general. I wouldn't take such an old car to the Lexus dealer as you saw they made your mom spend 8K. A toyota dealer or a good independent mechanic & fix only what is needed would be my choice.
Looks like you have done quite some builds. Since your mom spent so much money, maybe you can fix it and she can drive for few more years.

blackfireb

Unfortunately, this is a conversation that I have had and lost many times. She doesn't care that she is over spending because, as she says, it's the best customer service. One example she always recites is one time they sent someone out to her work and repaired her antenna in the parking lot for her. They go above and beyond for her and that's all that matters I guess.

I know how silly it is, but I literally can't have that conversation one more time or i'll lose my mind. I have multiple friends who own shops in the area that I told her would help her out and she continues to take her Lexus to the stealership, despite my rantings.

As for fixing it, she needs a car asap for work, and has already located an ES350 that she is dead-set on. So even if I repair this one, it seems as though it would only to be to sell it and recoup costs.

I'm still trying to decide what to do, but before I make my decision I want to remove all of the damaged parts to get a clearer picture of what is needed and if i'd have the skill and tools to do the repairs.

speedkar9

I think you can quickly part out the most valuable parts and scrap the rest to recoup your $1,100. It may cost you a weekend in labor to get it all apart and list it on Facebook, eBay or Craigslist.

I recently bought an old Infiniti G35 as a project car to pull apart and learn how things work. What I didn't expect was that there was a huge market for used parts on these cars, and at this point I've already sold off a lot more than what I bought it for...and I still have a ton more parts including the engine/tranny.

Focus on the parts that are easy to remove, are in high demand, and are valuable such as:
- wheels and tires
- catalytic converter (ES330 has four which is $$$)
- muffler
- battery
- alternator, starter, A/C compressor
- radio / speakers
- seats
- doors
- trunk
- hood
- lights
- bumpers & rebar
- air intake
- radiator / condenser
- fuel pump
- struts (if fresh)
- calipers
- airbags w/computer
- ECU with key

The bigger tasks are going to be the dashboard assembly, sunroof and engine/transmission assembly, the latter of which may be the most worth it depending on the mileage and condition and your abilities.

When all is done, call up a local scrapper to haul the carcass away (you might even get paid a few bucks for the scrap metal). I opted for fun to cut up the body:


Enjoy

blackfireb

Impressive!

How much time was it for you from the first part removed to the scrapper taking away the carcass?

Did you remove valuable parts all at once and store them? Or did you remove piece by piece as items sold?

My big thing is not wanting it to take up my garage space all summer. But maybe if I spend a weekend tearing out all the valuable items and storing them in my basement, I could both part it out fairly quickly and take my time selling the parts.

I think it might be fun to do.

Edit:

Where would be the best places to list parts for sale? Other than the common places like craigslist, eBay, etc.

blackfireb

Decided to post it for sale on Craigslist for parts to see if anyone bites. Price is obviously high considering clean title 330's with similar mileage are going for around 4k near me. But we'll see. Just wanted to get it up there and see if i get any interest.

https://cleveland.craigslist.org/pts...874503387.html

blackfireb

Well, we decided to send it off to Copart. They gave my mom an offer that was very close to the amount her insurance was willing to give. If I had more space or free time this would have been a fun project, but being that I haven't had time to touch it in a few weeks and it's taking up needed space, we agreed to just sell it outright.

My mom upgraded to an ES350 that only had around 30k miles. She paid around 15k from a Lexus dealership in PA. Seems like she got a pretty good deal.

I want to thank all of you that provided valuable information and ideas. It was very helpful.

Best of luck in your ES330 adventures.

80es300

U tried What year ES did she get?

blackfireb

2010 es 350.