Thinking of buy lexus 140K miles. I am not a mechanic. Guy wants $2000. what problems should I expect from ES300. I get oil chg 3000 miles.
Lemme see, a 21 year old car with 140K for $2000. And not a mechanic.
What problems can you expect… ALL of them. Everything you can think of and more. At this age, condition is everything. Have YOUR mechanic look this thing over before you buy it. Best $100 or so you will ever spend.
Unless the seller has a receipt for a timing belt change in their hand to show you it was done within the last 20,000 miles or so, assume it was NOT done and budget $600 or so to have it replaced so it doesn’t break and possible destroy the engine - not sure if this is an interference engine.
That said, it is cheap wheels. As long as you won’t be financially distressed if this thing pukes a transmission.
The fact that YOU get oil changes every 3000 miles is meaningless for this discussion. Of far more importance is how often the previous owner had the car serviced. It’s imperative that you take this car to a mechanic that YOU select, who has no connection whatsoever with the seller, and ask for a pre-purchase inspection. Expect to pay between $100 and $200 for this service. As for what you can expect to go wrong in the future, the answer is anything. The car is 21 years old, and things simply wear out and age out.