Considering buying an ES300, should me and my Camry part ways?

[71Corolla]

I've found a very very nice 2000 ES300, all options except the CD changer, I think. It has 130,000 km (78,000 miles) and is pretty much in mint condition. There are some very minor scratches on the wheels, the interior looks like new, nice clean leather no cracks. It has traction control, new tires, and had a windshield replaced, by the looks at a Lexus dealer because the repair was over $700. I can't find any chips or scratches on the paint except for one on the one door, and the spoiler has a bit of a scuff on it. The Carproof report came back clean, I'd be the second owner.

The reason I'm looking at this car is my 1993 Camry was recently damaged by hail, estimates to repair the car are $5000 and up, which is more than the car is worth. Insurance is going to give me about $2600 and let me keep the car. Otherwise they would give me $3400 and they get the car. I've put new struts, timing belt job, new windshield, put some new tires on it, a couple of other minor things. The car runs really well, flawless actually. A couple of relatively minor things still need to be done but basically I have (well had before the hail damage) the car where I want it.

So should I attempt to repair the hail damage, or just sell the car and take the settlement? I won't just outright give the car to my insurance company, pretty sure I can get more than $1000 even given the damage.

A couple of things about the Lexus give me pause. The car uses premium fuel, yes it can in theory run on the cheap stuff but not sure how well it would run on regular. Actually this is a pretty big issue for me, premium fuel in Canada is significantly more expensive. Insurance will be more, although I checked and my insurance would not be that much more, about $15 more/month vs. my 1993. The car is from a dealer, which I don't like, I hate buying from dealers I simply don't trust them. I know there are good dealers out there, but I've had poor experiences personally. It also makes me wonder why such a nice car like this is for sale, the car leaves a great impression it looks amazing. Another thing is it has brand new tires, Geostar brand which honestly until today I had never heard of. They are Nexen tires apparently, are these tires at least acceptable or are they complete crap? Why would someone put a low end (I'm assuming) tire on an entry level luxury car?

Thoughts.

And no I won't reveal the price, I will when I buy the car or the deal falls though.

[Nervous]

Any pictures of hail damage?
I'd take 2600 and leave the car. Even if decide to go and buy the ES300. Unfortunately, without knowing the price it is hard to recommend or not recommend the purchase. But I like ES300, they are just upscaled camrys, so, you'll be very familiar with the mechanic part of ES300.

[71Corolla]

I don't have any pictures of the actual hail damage, just pics of it shorty after the hail storm. It is fairly hard to capture hail damage actually, it has to be in certain light and at the right angle. There are many, many small dents, the trunk is the worst it can't be repaired. The roof and hood could probably be fixed with paintless dent repair. Same with the fenders and doors. It would be costly though, to take out each dent adds up quick when they charge per dent to remove them.

I'm really chocked because the car had only a couple of door dings and that was it. Original paint, no rust except for a very small bit starting on the drivers side wheel well (they all start here first). Otherwise the paint was about as good as you can expect for a '93. The previous owner put touch up paint on every tiny chip so rust didn't have a chance to start. Too bad they were not so concerned with the mechanical part, the timing belt and drive belts were original @110,000 miles. I guess some people just don't know better.

I agree that it's nice to have essentially an upscaled Camry, I know the car, and also mechanical parts are easy to find. Actually for some odd reason, lately I've seen more ES300's at my local wrecker than Gen3 and 4 Camry's. Only problem is they were beat to hell, the one had 480,000 kilometers, the interior was trashed, the body was fairly good though.

The Lexus will sell for around $10,000 still to be negotiated. Here's a couple of pics, sad day for the poor Camry.

[peshwa]

Hey 71Corolla
I am sorry boss but I dont see any perceptible damage to the camry...I had my camry in worse cosmetic condition when I bought it 3 years ago. As long as the car runs good I dont care much about the exteriors any ways...(You cant impress the girls with 17 year old cars these days...ha ha ha)

[71Corolla]

Ya you can't tell in these pics at all. I'll try to take some pics to show the dents. Nope you can't impress a girl with a 1993 Camry. But I hardly care about that. Like a friend of mine says, when you meet a new girl, tell her you take the bus everywhere, see if she still likes you.

[BamZipPow]

Have the car Line-X'd...no more dents.

[ricamryman]

Honestly dude, it does not look bad at all!

[Bankos66]

I would keep the car and take that money and try to fix whatever is wrong yourself and save some money.

[rty]

I would keep the car and not fix anything especially if it's cosmetic damage. That's just me though.

[71Corolla]

I don't like driving around a car with dents everywhere, it just bugs me. I want to replace the hood and trunk with salvage parts, and pull the rest of the dents myself. I'm having trouble finding salvage parts in my colour. I'm okay with painting them, but I don't want to paint the underside.

I've looked into dent pullers, they all seem to be basically the same, they use a glob of glue and a pad, you glue the pad down, and use the mechanism to pull the dent until it pops out. Sounds fine, except I have dozens to remove, and I'm not sure the glue is strong enough to pull out a small dent like that, it will take some force. And there is the risk of pulling the paint right off the car. There are hail specific dent pullers, but I've never used those, they also use glue strips, at least the ones I've seen. Anyone have experience with hail repair and dent pullers?

The paintless dent specialists here are making a fortune right now and are booked up 6 months or more. I have an appointment with two of them, but I can't get in for an estimate until the end of August.

BTW, I'm pretty close to buying the Lexus, if me and dealer can come to an agreement , the car is mine. Only a couple of sticking points, he can't seem to tell me when the timing belt was done, and of course the price.

[Noku]

I have had a '00 ES300 (platinum edition) and now a '98 XLE Camry both w/ the V-6 engine. The ES300 is such a refined auto w/ a very smooth and quiet ride especially w/ the right tires. At the time I ran Bridgestone Turanzas which made me feel like riding on a cloud. I also like classical music so a quiet environment to listen is a necessity and the ES300 with the stoneys did not disappoint in this area. If the tires that comes w/ your car feels good then know that it can get better.

Used mostly premium grade (92 octane) and a few times the regular grade (87 octane) gas. It runs fine on regular but imho the premium grade gave me better gas mileage and a bit more ponies under the hood. Felt as though like less accelerator pedal pressure was needed to drive uphill to where I live. The middle grade gas (89 octane) is an option for you and again better than regular but not as good as going premium.

The only downside was the cost of Lexus OEM parts/repairs. Personally I have never seen an '00 ES300 w/ a factory spoiler, not sure if its because I live in Hawaii. Also $10,000 seems high to me though. I almost bought a '99 ES300 (coach edition) a few months ago instead of the camry for (IIRC) $5,800 (private owner).

Nevertheless both the Camry and the ES300 are excellent just that the ES300 a tad better in the comfortable ride and quiet departments.

FYI I would have bought the ES300 if I didn't have to park it outside on the street where some p_nks like to damage "nice cars".

[Noku]

Originally Posted by 71Corolla

Another thing is it has brand new tires, Geostar brand which honestly until today I had never heard of. They are Nexen tires apparently, are these tires at least acceptable or are they complete crap? Why would someone put a low end (I'm assuming) tire on an entry level luxury car? [/SIZE]

Probably the dealer got the car w/ tires that needed replacement and didn't want to pay for a better one. Never used NEXEN so can't comment there.

[71Corolla]

Thanks for the insight. Cars in Canada are significantly more expensive, and the choices can be limited. I have not found many ES300's for sale at all, or the ones that are for sale are high mileage and the body condition is fairly poor. I found this one at a dealer, so that means I will pay more. On the plus side, I do get a powertrain warranty which can't hurt. The bottom line is I simply can't find many ES300's on the market, especially in the colour I like, my choices are few. I'm willing to pay a bit more to get the year and colour combination I like.

The cost or parts doesn't really bother me all that much, the mechanical stuff I do myself, and the car shares much with the Camry. Cosmetic/interior parts are a different story, but hopefully I won't need to replace any of that stuff.

BTW, if you want a rare Lexus, look for an ES250. I hardly ever see them on the street. It's a great car, but looks kinda goofy and probably should not have been called a Lexus. But if I ever see one locally for sale I'll buy it right away.

[71Corolla]

Originally Posted by Noku

Probably the dealer got the car w/ tires that needed replacement and didn't want to pay for a better one. Never used NEXEN so can't comment there.

I was thinking the same thing. Hopefully they are not dreadful and at least acceptable. If I can get a couple of years out of them I'll be happy. I read a bit about them, people that have them seem to be saying they are a good tire for the money.

[Drewfuspx]

Hey 71, you wouldn't happen to be in Calgary would u... lotsa hail here recently!

I really personally LOVE the idea of the ES300. Just today I was on the ring road, opened up the v6 to get up to speed, and realized that I wasn't hearing the engine, was just hearing my JL sound and the conversation I was having with my wife. That to me is what makes the 95 great. If the ES Is in fact quieter, with the same type of reliability, it sounds like you have an awesome potential there!