Hello Scotty, been watching your videos since my early 20s and still do this day in my 30s. Recently here in Washington state we had a bad snow storm. During the storm my 2000 Silverado 1500 Z71 was hit hard by a reckless kid driving unfortunately the impact destroyed the engine. Rather then swap the motor and be out $1000's as I only had liability insurance since truck had over 400,000 miles on it. I've been looking at getting a used SUV this time and had seen you have done a review on the Lexus RX 350. But I've been looking at a 2000 Lexus RX 300 specifically the car has 200,000 miles and their asking $2800 for her. Was wondering if this would be a smart purchase? Hoping for a vehicle that with basic maintenance will last many years. Thanks in advance Scotty.
I would definitely have a trusty mechanic check out that RX. Otherwise, I would pass because it’s too many miles, and that engine (1MZ-FE) was prone to oil sludging.
Would I be able to check for engine sludge build up myself? Possibly by pulling out a spark plug and inspecting it?
Its 20 years old and has 200k miles. I would not consider it a reliable car. In addition, anything that breaks at this point will be the big ticket, expensive items.
Given its age and miles, I wouldn't consider it a reliable family vehicle. Maybe a wintertime beater, something to drive around for short errands but not much more.
