Hi Scotty and caries,
I'm inheriting an old car, a 2003 Lexus 430 with almost 300,000 highway commuting miles. My in-laws offered it to my son and me instead of selling it to the junk yard. 😆 It has a dead battery and a key fob that hasn't worked on the drivers door for many months or years. I have heard if engine and transmission are good there could be more life in this Lexus, maybe till 500,000 or more. 😍
Sorry if I was unclear, but is this old Lexus with high mileage worth time and money to resurrect with hopes of using for many years to come?
Is there a question?
I'm just learning how to use this site. Is this Lexus worth investing labor and money to resurrect, with hopes of using for many years to come?
I'm just learning how to use this site. Is this Lexus worth investing labor and money to resurrect, with hopes of using for many years to come?
You could try a few basics to get it running again and evaluate its overall condition, but I would not put a huge amount of money into the thing. It's already 20 years old with very high mileage. How many more years do you realistically expect to get out of it?
I'v heard on Youtube and onLine, if engine and transmission are sound/good this Lexus could be one to reach 500,000 miles or about 10 more years as a babied backup auto. 😆 Ask our buddy, Scotty if he agrees with me? I do see your concern, I too have fears, but its a free auto and I have a retired Cal-trans mechanic friend to help advise with repairs 😆
@nenecalifhwy99 - A wise man once told me -
"Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see."
Free is a good price - especially these days. A battery - and a battery in the fob are pretty cheap and easy. What else is wrong? Putting an engine or trans is one thing, new brake pads and fresh tires are a whole different level of effort and $.
It’s a Lexus/Toyota. It’s free.
While it is free, it will still need to be maintained. But you are starting from a good base as compared to other cars of the same age.
I would take it and roll with it, but I am crazy like that. Lol.
I'v heard on Youtube and onLine, if engine and transmission are sound/good this Lexus could be one to reach 500,000 miles or about 10 more years as a babied backup auto.
Ask our buddy, Scotty if he agrees with me? I do see your concern, I too have fears, but its a free auto and I have a retired Cal-trans mechanic friend to help advise with repairs
I guess if Youtube and the internet says it, that settles it. :silly:
Scotty picks and chooses the questions he answers, he cannot possibly answer them all. Up to him if he takes this one up or not.
Although 500K miles and another 10 years might be possible if that car was extremely well cared for I would not count on it - very few cars make it that far or last for 30 years. If it were me I'd probably give it a shot but would be careful not to let the endeavor get too expensive.
Don't forget there's a lot more than the engine and transmission that can fail in an old luxury car that can cost a fortune to repair. You can expect all the rubber parts to be deteriorating and there's a lot of complex and expensive electronics even in a 2003 model. Additionally if you're in Commiefornia as your screen name suggests you have to worry about "smogging" the car and that can be an expensive challenge with an old vehicle, particularly with the C.A.R.B. emission parts racket.
A "free" car can become expensive very quickly if you're not careful.