300,000 Miles - Keep or Sell?

[OceanView]

My Daily Driver (98 Lexus ES300) just hit 300,000 miles. Never imagined I'd put that many miles on her but she has been reliable. Total cost of all maintenance since 1998 has been $8,932 or about $0.03 per mile or $58.76 per month. Current Issues and Needs: 1. Rear Engine Mount - $350-$500 to replace at dealer - I can't do this one on my own. 2. Timing Belt & Water Pump - $200 parts DIY or $800 Dealer 3. Valve Cover Gaskets & Spark Plug Replacement - $100 parts DIY or $700 Dealer 4. Oil Leak(s) - Loosing about 1 Qt per 3000 miles. $500-$1500 at dealer (May be related to Valve Cover Gasket or ?) 5. Paint has started to fade a bit - $500-$1500 Range, also needs some dings remooved 6. Seat Cushion is separating at the seem - $200 new seat covers (Front only) 7. LCD on Radio has gone out (twice) - $200 new Head Unit . = Rough Estimate of Total Repair costs $2050 - $5,400. KBB Valued at $2150 Trade in or -$3325 Private Party. So I am at the cross roads with this car. I want a new car but I can't afford one right now. I do have another car I can drive but it is German so you know what that means. It breaks down a lot and gets expensive to fix when it does. I can do most of the DIY items except #1. Should I fix her and keep her or sell it? Sorry about long thread. Also Margins and Carriage Returns don't seem to work.

[chronoti]

fix it, i'm 20k miles behind you, i say do it

[ghettosled]

honestly, with the mileage and what the car needs you might as well drive it since its not worth that much. plus you know the repair history and maintenance.

no way you could get $2150-3325 for that car even if everything was in tip-top shape.

[96ToyoCam164K]

Are you kidding me? $700 for a valve cover gasket replacement and spark plugs???? I got that done for like $150 at a private shop back in 2009.

I think you should find cheaper places that'll fix it. Dealers are a no no unless it's for warranty repairs or very new cars. And the radio...you can swap that out. I changed mine with a new Sony for $79 bucks and it has a line out AUX. If you don't want to mess with it, Best buy can change it for $40.

[pmesfun]

He has the V6 and getting to the rear valve cover gasket is a lot of work.

[Chris Crash]

I would fix it, also some of your pricing seems off. $200 for a new headunit is a little steep, you can find good brands for around $60. I would do the important work (motor mount, timing belt, waterpump, gaskets and plugs) and let the rest go. It's an old car and if the only wear you're showing is ripped seat seams, and fading paint, then I say you've done pretty damn good.

[tef]

If you like it, the engine and transmission are good, I would fix it. I, like you, are leery of replacing the rear engine mount. But I think the rest you could do yourself. I would not pay more than $2 grand per year to keep it fixed.

[arabianobsession]

I'd keep it, IMO. It's already taken you this far, and been extremely reliable, no reason to stop now!

My advice? Ditch the German car

[hill8570]

As long as you've got the time, I'd just fix the mechanical stuff yourself -- IMHO, these older rigs are pretty cost-effective compared to a car payment as long as you do most of your own maintenance. If you're paying a shop (or, God help you, a stealership) to do the work, a car payment starts to look pretty good.

If the ripped seat bothers you, you might want to get a quote from a auto upholstery place (call around to the used car dealers in your area, and find out who they use) -- I've always been surprised how cheap auto upholstery is.

Never changed out the rear mount on a six-banger, but the four-banger isn't bad, as long as you've got a floor jack to lift the engine. Is the six-banger rear mount really that much worse?

[Safari Wagon]

Keep the car until you have enough to buy what you want. My advice (broken down by item) is listed below -

1. Rear Engine Mount - $350-$500 to replace at dealer - I can't do this one on my own.
- Don't do it
2. Timing Belt & Water Pump - $200 parts DIY or $800 Dealer
- Don't do it
3. Valve Cover Gaskets & Spark Plug Replacement - $100 parts DIY or $700 Dealer
- Don't do it
4. Oil Leak(s) - Loosing about 1 Qt per 3000 miles. $500-$1500 at dealer (May be related to Valve Cover Gasket or ?)
- Don't do it
5. Paint has started to fade a bit - $500-$1500 Range, also needs some dings remooved
- Don't do it
6. Seat Cushion is separating at the seem - $200 new seat covers (Front only)
- Don't do it
7. LCD on Radio has gone out (twice) - $200 new Head Unit . =
- Don't do it
Rough Estimate of Total Repair costs $2050 - $5,400.

If you follow my advice, your total repair cost will be 0. I really don't see any of the items you listed as critical to keeping the car on the road. Keep your eye on the goal. You want to save money and buy something you want. If you can't sell it now and have the money to buy what you want, then either don't sell it or lower your standards (for the new car). If you spend 2-5K now, in a year or two you will not be able to recover these costs. If you don't do anything now and just slap some cheap seat covers on, your car may keep going long enough for you to save the money for your new car....

[OceanView]

Originally Posted by ghettosled

honestly, with the mileage and what the car needs you might as well drive it since its not worth that much. plus you know the repair history and maintenance.

no way you could get $2150-3325 for that car even if everything was in tip-top shape.

Good point, I have maintained the car at each interval and kept track of everything. Used mostly Mobil 1 Synthetic after about 70K miles with no issues on the engine or tranny. Never raced and never abused in anyway. I just checked on Autotrader for just MY 98 ES300's and there are about 99 cars in the US for sale. Range is from $2,995 to $10,222. I'm not saying my car is worth more or less. Just give you an idea that these cars still get a lot of money for them. Which is fine by me.

[OceanView]

Originally Posted by 96ToyoCam164K

Are you kidding me? $700 for a valve cover gasket replacement and spark plugs???? I got that done for like $150 at a private shop back in 2009.

I think you should find cheaper places that'll fix it. Dealers are a no no unless it's for warranty repairs or very new cars. And the radio...you can swap that out. I changed mine with a new Sony for $79 bucks and it has a line out AUX. If you don't want to mess with it, Best buy can change it for $40.

My car has the V6 and a lot of stuff has to come off to get to the rear valve cover. Trust me, if it was easy I'd already have done it. As for the stereo, it's a rough estimate. I can get the LCD display from Pioneer who is the OEM on this stereo for about $120. I bought it last time from them and it went out again in about 1 year so I am leery about doing that again.

[OceanView]

Originally Posted by Chris Crash

I would fix it, also some of your pricing seems off. $200 for a new headunit is a little steep, you can find good brands for around $60. I would do the important work (motor mount, timing belt, waterpump, gaskets and plugs) and let the rest go. It's an old car and if the only wear you're showing is ripped seat seams, and fading paint, then I say you've done pretty damn good.

Thanks Chris, Sound advice there. The paint is not too bad. Just the hood needs work. The rest can get me by another year or two. $200 head unit is a ball park figure. I'm sure there are additional costs involved in getting a bracket/face plate kit as the OEM stereo size is a double din.

As for the rest of the car, I'm guessing the minimum I would have to spend is $650 with the possibility that it could be more for the oil leak. That's with me doing most of the work except the rear motor mount.

[pmesfun]

Originally Posted by OceanView

Thanks Chris, Sound advice there. The paint is not too bad. Just the hood needs work. The rest can get me by another year or two. $200 head unit is a ball park figure. I'm sure there are additional costs involved in getting a bracket/face plate kit as the OEM stereo size is a double din. I'm guessing the minimum I would have to spend is $650 with the possibility that it could be more for the oil leak. That's with me doing most of the work except the rear motor mount.

My friend has a single din Kenwood headunit installed in his 00 ES300, although it doesn't flow with the design of the center console and doesn't have the wood trim the sound quality is much much better. I was about to install one in my other friend's 00 GS300 before his dad traded it in.

Do you have the Nakamichi system?

[OceanView]

Originally Posted by Safari Wagon

Keep the car until you have enough to buy what you want. My advice (broken down by item) is listed below -

1. Rear Engine Mount - $350-$500 to replace at dealer - I can't do this one on my own.
- Don't do it
2. Timing Belt & Water Pump - $200 parts DIY or $800 Dealer
- Don't do it
3. Valve Cover Gaskets & Spark Plug Replacement - $100 parts DIY or $700 Dealer
- Don't do it
4. Oil Leak(s) - Loosing about 1 Qt per 3000 miles. $500-$1500 at dealer (May be related to Valve Cover Gasket or ?)
- Don't do it
5. Paint has started to fade a bit - $500-$1500 Range, also needs some dings remooved
- Don't do it
6. Seat Cushion is separating at the seem - $200 new seat covers (Front only)
- Don't do it
7. LCD on Radio has gone out (twice) - $200 new Head Unit . =
- Don't do it
Rough Estimate of Total Repair costs $2050 - $5,400.

If you follow my advice, your total repair cost will be 0. I really don't see any of the items you listed as critical to keeping the car on the road. Keep your eye on the goal. You want to save money and buy something you want. If you can't sell it now and have the money to buy what you want, then either don't sell it or lower your standards (for the new car). If you spend 2-5K now, in a year or two you will not be able to recover these costs. If you don't do anything now and just slap some cheap seat covers on, your car may keep going long enough for you to save the money for your new car....

Ha ha ha ha! Not what I was expecting but a point of view that can be considered. I guess I could take my chances and just drive it. It should not be a problem but I am very anal about keeping things in good condition.