Hey Scotty!
So I’ve been looking at a 1998 Lexus Es300 with 142000 miles 1 owner with timing belt and water pump replaced at 98000 miles. Will that be a reliable car? Also, if the owner didn’t change the automatic transmission fluid, would it be fine for me to do it at 142000 miles or should I leave it? Overall, I’d it a good deal? Thanks.
Its sounds like it could be ok, but you didn't mention price.
Changing the fluid will be ok and I recommend that, but have a mechanic check it out as you never know what else wasn't maintained.
Price for the car is $2200 cad. Do you think it’s a good price?
Daily driving or weekend toy ?
If it is a clean title, it SOUNDS like a good deal.
That generation of the ES300 (model years 1997-2001) only came with the 3.0L V6 (1MZ-FE) and was susceptible to oil sludge and oil burning. There was even a class action lawsuit against Toyota for that issue. One way to mitigate that issue was religiously changing the engine oil on time every 3,000-5,000 miles (and using only the proper oil meeting Toyota’s specs). At 142,000 miles I would want evidence the previous owner or owners were on top of the engine oil changes (it gets harder to track when a vehicle has multiple owners). Otherwise, I would walk away as you don’t want to inherit an engine with sludge and oil burning. Also, that engine had a timing belt and recommended interval to change was 90,000 miles, but looks like the belt was already changed which is good and don’t have to worry again until 180,000 miles. Also, make sure the transmission fluids were changed on time. See below for other issues but that’s the big one, but it can become a money pit if it was not well taken care of. Additionally, not sure how many years and miles you need the vehicle to last you but you could be dumping more money into the vehicle at that age (nearly 23 years) to replace rubber, belts, bushings, plastic, etc.
http://www.toyotaproblems.com/oil-sludge/
https://blog.1aauto.com/3rd-gen-lexus-es300-problems/
https://repairpal.com/1998-lexus-es300/problems
https://repairpal.com/sludge-buildup-on-engine-due-to-infrequent-oil-changes-547
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAb7Noq9juI&feature=youtu.be
Hi, so the vehicle only has 2 owners, but from what I know, the current owner (second owner) does not have any service records pertaining to the car.
As for longevity, I would want it to last at least 300,000 miles, but I am not sure if that's possible considering the age of the car