2011 Lexus ES350, 143K miles?

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Benzadmiral

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A local dealer has a mica gray (deep blue gray metallic) over parchment 2011 ES350 for sale. The beast has plenty of horsepower for my wants (I've been downshifting my 2011 Buick 2.4L for several years to get extra bridge-climbing power; 268 hp will be nice). And Lexus has their stellar rep for reliability, quietness, and luxury.

Naturally I'd have it checked by my regular mechanic. However --

1) 143,000 miles in only 8 years? That's a lot of miles.

2) Carfax mentions "damage to rear" 2 years ago. No details, and that's part of what I'd want to check. But the second owner kept driving it for another 2 years; and the pics online don't show anything obvious.

Would these 2 items scare you off from an otherwise super-nice car?

Oh, and the Carfax mentions the car is affected by the Takata airbag recall. I don't know at this point if that's been done. Presuming the airbag is not likely to explode in my face right away (?), I can take it to a Lexus dealer for the covered repair, yes?
 
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Do you have a link for it? Usually the carfax will say something about the severity of the accident.
 
143k miles in 8 years isn't a lot. I wish I drove that little.

That 2GRFE has some serious power for a sedan, and will get low 30's on the highway.
 
Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
A local dealer has a mica gray (deep blue gray metallic) over parchment 2011 ES350 for sale. The beast has plenty of horsepower for my wants (I've been downshifting my 2011 Buick 2.4L for several years to get extra bridge-climbing power; 268 hp will be nice). And Lexus has their stellar rep for reliability, quietness, and luxury.

So far, so good. Sounds quite nice. What are they asking for it?.. (Edit: Never mind, just saw the link. Only $9,500 for that? That's a nice deal, and I bet you can get it down under $9k if you haggle a bit)

Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
Naturally I'd have it checked by my regular mechanic. However --

1) 143,000 miles in only 8 years? That's a lot of miles.

Not really. Works out to about 18,000 miles / year. Higher than average but nothing to be scared of.
Heck, my 2010 Fusion (built in mid/late 2009, so actually 9 years old) has 265,000 miles, and is in great shape. That's almost 30,000 miles / year.

Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
2) Carfax mentions "damage to rear" 2 years ago. No details, and that's part of what I'd want to check. But the second owner kept driving it for another 2 years; and the pics online don't show anything obvious.

This is, at most, a "maybe".. My Fusion was just rear-ended about 11 weeks ago, but sustained no frame or suspension damage and was repaired so well, you can't even tell it was hit. Tracks perfectly too. You can see the thread about it here.

Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
Would these 2 items scare you off from an otherwise super-nice car?

Not in the least.

Originally Posted by Benzadmiral
Oh, and the Carfax mentions the car is affected by the Takata airbag recall. I don't know at this point if that's been done. Presuming the airbag is not likely to explode in my face right away (?), I can take it to a Lexus dealer for the covered repair, yes?

Yes, you can, and no, it's nothing to lose sleep over. It seems most manufacturers are affected by this recall.

Originally Posted by Nick1994
143k miles in 8 years isn't a lot. I wish I drove that little.

LOL. Tell me about it!
 
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Go to the Lexus.com site and go to the owners section. Enter the VIN like it's your car. You will at least know all the work any Lexus dealer did to the car. This will only show what a Lexus dealer did.
 
That year was pretty reliable and it was deep into that generation which debuted in 07 I believe. The 3.5 V6 has plenty of power to get you over the mountains. I'd try to get it for 9k out the door(after taxes). The pics seem to show that it's in excellent condition.

https://www.carcomplaints.com/Lexus/ES_350/

An RWD(usually easier to find in the south) Lexus GS 350 would be another contender. An 07+ on one of those.
 
Originally Posted by SatinSilver
That year was pretty reliable and it was deep into that generation which debuted in 07 I believe. The 3.5 V6 has plenty of power to get you over the mountains. I'd try to get it for 9k out the door(after taxes). The pics seem to show that it's in excellent condition.

https://www.carcomplaints.com/Lexus/ES_350/

An RWD(usually easier to find in the south) Lexus GS 350 would be another contender. An 07+ on one of those.

I wish I could find a GS350 with a light-colored interior around here, and in a decent price range. I'd love to have some warranty like I did with the Buick -- but Lexus cars are still high-priced even at age 3-4.

The comments above are heartening, as is the fact that I could write a check to buy it with no financing. Sounds like I need to take a drive out to the eastern part of town and look this one over!
 
I have 145,000 miles on my 2011 Avalon which is basically the exact same car less a few fancy upgrades. I have not had a single thing go wrong go wrong and it still has the original brakes. I was driving a lot for work but it was 98% highway on cruise control and I was good about oil changes.
 
145K is too many miles, period.

That platform is reliable, but will still require work, P/S Hoses, Suspension (Control Arms and Struts), Valve Cover Gaskets and CV axles (pass side inboard boot) could make this a lousy buy if you have to pay someone to do the work.
 
I think the mileage is a little high but maybe that's just me. I'd wait for a better car,mind you it will obviously be more expensive but worth the wait. I'm sure your Buick can hold out.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
145K is too many miles, period.

That platform is reliable, but will still require work, P/S Hoses, Suspension (Control Arms and Struts), Valve Cover Gaskets and CV axles (pass side inboard boot) could make this a lousy buy if you have to pay someone to do the work.

Are those the kind of things that would be turned up by an inspection from a mechanic who knows these cars?

I agree, nearly 20K miles a year is hard on any car, and yes, the Buick will hold out fine. But apparently I live in a car desert when it comes to the sort of cars I like. Smooth-riding, powerful, near-luxury, but with a light-colored interior. The dealers get in what people buy, and apparently all the morons here in this foul climate want to buy a car with a black interior. The local dealers, say within 40 miles, have almost no Regals, and those few are black-on-black. So I'm sort of limited in my choices.
 
There's a 2013 ES350 at the local Lexus dealer. No pics yet, but the same color combo or nearly so, 60K miles, for $21,900. Damage as well, but it occurred only 3 months ago. What is it about Lexus and damage? Do their drivers not pay attention to what's around them . . .?
 
Oh, and the Carfax mentions the car is affected by the Takata airbag recall. I don't know at this point if that's been done. Presuming the airbag is not likely to explode in my face right away (?), I can take it to a Lexus dealer for the covered repair, yes?[/quote]


Are you buying the car from a Lexus dealer? If so, it is my understanding that they cannot resell a car that has not had the airbags replaced.

The airbag issue is serious. I personally would not purchase a vehicle that has not had the airbags replaced.
 
Originally Posted by SJUMBA
Oh, and the Carfax mentions the car is affected by the Takata airbag recall. I don't know at this point if that's been done. Presuming the airbag is not likely to explode in my face right away (?), I can take it to a Lexus dealer for the covered repair, yes?



Are you buying the car from a Lexus dealer? If so, it is my understanding that they cannot resell a car that has not had the airbags replaced.

The airbag issue is serious. I personally would not purchase a vehicle that has not had the airbags replaced. [/quote]
Since I wrote the above, I have found that it affects the passenger side airbag, and that it is a timebomb. The 2013 at the dealer does not mention the recall. I've spotted a 2010, same generation as the 2011, at a Toyota dealer locally, 107K miles (so only 13,300 mi./yr.), and it also does not mention the airbag recall -- and for a change, has no damage reported.

My regular mechanic suggests, as The Critic did above, that 143K miles is too much to take on. He points out, too, that when I'm ready to sell or trade it, it may be at 195K or something, and moving it will be hard to do.
 
Just checked with my insurance people (Flo's Place, if it matters), and my hair turned silver-gray in an instant. The 2013, since I would finance it and would have to have greater coverage, would bump me up by $60 a month. That plus a car payment? Yeah . . . no. If I can find an older model like the 2011 with lower miles that I can purchase outright, then maybe.

I can afford a reasonable payment and the $60 easily. I just don't want to, not now.
 
I'd pass - unless you're handy with the usual stuff that goes bad on Camrys but they are otherwise decent cars. IMO the 4th-5th gen Camry and their related offspring aren't Toyota's best efforts, the 4th gen cars(and the Sienna/ES that was based off it) had dash deformation/cracking problems, and the 5th gen 2007-2010 cars were the most maligned Camry - also interior quality and bugs with the 6-speed.
 
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