1997 Lexus ES300 questions.

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I have always liked the looks and feel of the ES300 cars but were always overpriced due to the Lexus name.. Today i was gassing up and noticed a very sharp garage kept 1997 ES300 beside me. An older arab looking gentleman was fueling the car and i struck up the conversation about if its been a good car..kind of fishing to see if it was for sale.

Turns out he is a doctor and was kind of upset that he had to put a battery in it today. (17 years on original battery). Car is garage kept and looks immaculate. 101,000 miles and he is original owner. Car taken to lexus dealer for all maintenance etc.

Motor was dead quiet, silky smooth.. now to the questions.

This is obviously a sludge monster engine.. i cant tell much by looking in the oil fill cap due to the baffle..but i do see some hints of sludge..but its dry and thick.

I am a good mechanic but i dont see him letting me take the valve covers off or oil pan..so if the deal is right can i beat the sludge or will it beat me?

I think i can get it for $4500 and this is above KBB by about $900 but it looks to be a cream puff and i think if the sludge doesnt get me..will be a good car for the wife.

Move forward or run?
 
I like the $3600 kbb price MUCH better. Plus kbb is high anyways. I wouldn't go above that on a 1997. He's a doctor for crying out loud. He should give you a good deal. Probably not hurting for money. Tell him $3600 buys a lot of new batteries. He probably tired of the car anyway.
 
I think the sludge issue is over-rated. If the car is taken car of (oil changes) then the motor should not have much sludge, IMO. The PCV system is the weak point. I have a '03 Sienna with the 3.0 liter, I change the PCV at least every 30k. Simple change. I think this car will last a long time, that seems like a decent price. Those cars are SWEET!! I would run some Pennzoil Platinum through it to clean it out if you have any worry about sludge. That engine will likely outlive the body. Again, this is just my opinion. I would buy it.
 
If you're interested then go for it. I have a 98 Sienna and it's got the same engine in it.

Mention your concerns for sludge. Tell him you'd like to remove the valve cover to ensure that it's in good shape, because you want to keep the car for another 5-10 years. If he's a real car guy, then maybe he'll appreciate it.

I've removed my valve cover and there is some sludge built up around the corners of the valve cover. There is also varnish. You should check the PCV valve to make sure that the ball is rattling. Bad PCV maintenance is the cause of sludge in the Toyota 3.0L V6.

Find out is he has he changed the timing belt also.

Regards, JC.
 
Originally Posted By: krismoriah72
Move forward or run?
'

'99 ES300 here, so I'm entirely biased. With that said...move forward! After spending time behind the wheel, you'd never believe these cars are 15+ years old now -- they're exceptionally quiet going down the road (with the most noise by far emanating from the frame-less door glass seals), very comfortable, all while delivering nearly 30mpg on the highway (and that's not some crazy "hypermiling" number).

As it pertains to us, fluid changes are easy. Notably, the transmission has a drain plug, which makes drain/fills a cinch, and the engine oil filter is right on the front. As aforementioned, make sure to change the PCV valve!

Mobil 1 High Mileage 5w-30/Motorcraft FL-400S (I posted an excellent UOA on here)
Valvoline MaxLife ATF
 
I would venture to say he isnt a 'car guy' I talked to him on the phone and he takes it to the dealer every oil change 5000 miles and they fix whatever they find. Timing belt was changed in 2007 and he drives it to work and so forth averaging 6000 miles a year.

From the evidence this is an in town only car, getting him back and forth to work..short trips and probably once a year oil changes..which is hard on any oil/engine.

I doubt he will let me pull a valve cover due to the terror of changing the battery today.
 
Originally Posted By: satinsilver
I like the $3600 kbb price MUCH better. Plus kbb is high anyways. I wouldn't go above that on a 1997. He's a doctor for crying out loud. He should give you a good deal. Probably not hurting for money. Tell him $3600 buys a lot of new batteries. He probably tired of the car anyway.


Him being a doc is irrelevant to whether or not he sells the car at "a deal."
 
Originally Posted By: john_pifer
Him being a doc is irrelevant to whether or not he sells the car at "a deal."


Kbb is book value and a fair price. Being a professional, he should recognize that.
 
I'd definitely go for it. I love the way that generation of the ES300 looked. A very classy ride. Were those 5K OCIs with conv. or syn. oil? I'd run PU for a few OCIs and that should clean up any bits of varnish or grime.
 
If there is no obvious engine issue related to sludge, I would go for it.

Change the pcv and use quality oil but a simple cheap filter. Keep an eye on the oil and oil filters to figure out when is the optimum oci. It will slowly get better and if it runs fine now, then you have nothing to worry about. Just don't get obsessed that you need to get it cosmetically clean. So long as you know it runs well, oil gets to where it needs to and your maintenance regime is not making it worse, you will have a great vehicle on your hands.
 
I had a 2000 Toyota Solara 3.0 V6 (a cousin of the Lexus). It had a baffle below the oil filler opening that was dark and rough textured and always looked like sludge - but wasn't.

That Lexus is from the sludge era or very close to it. But it's not a problem with regular oil changes (I always used synthetic for its high temperature resistance) and an occasional PCV valve change (my first was at 100,000 km).

But, if I was buying one, I'd get an inspection.

Ecotourist
 
I'd never looked closely at this gen ES300 but...

It seems that so much of this model is the basis of the 05 Camry (inside and out)...at least to my eye...I'm very pleased to see that...which means I approve of the ES300!

...of course, the Cam is only a 4-cyl...but it does have that MT I couldn't drive without...
 
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Got it today for $2500. Im going to go to the dealer tomorrow with the VIN to see what all he has done, right now its word of mouth but after that im taking it in the shop and go thru it. Going to pull valve covers and if all is clean then i will end there, but if its bad i will pull the pan to see what the oilpan and pickup looks like.

So far im ahead of the game, pretty decent deal and the wife is very happy.

In the glove box, receipt for $125 battery and $600 in tires (3 months old). Nonsmokers, and leather is flawless.
 
Asking price was $6000.

I took the kelly blue book and edmunds printouts with me showing that top dollar was $3300.

I pulled out $2500 cash and asked him how many test drives he felt like doing after he gets off work each day. How many hours of his time will it take with people going through the car and wanting to see how fast it will go etc.

No negotiations, he accepted.

Husband and wife are both doctors and i think he valued his time more than wasting it selling this car.
 
Nice! Enjoy!
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Put up some pics when you get a chance.
 
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You got an amazing deal! Congrats!

Sign up on clublexus.com if you wish to, you will find plenty of information there.

Also, you don't need to go to the Lexus dealer to get service history. You can access it online at http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home. Just create an account and enter your VIN, it will show any work done at a Lexus dealer.
 
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