1995 ES300 Needs work, good buy?

[craigferriter]

looking at a 1995 es300, 85,000MILES. The seller is an indiv and wants 5k firm.

We had it checked out and it needs:


Valve cover gaskets: $410
PS Fan Motor : $500
Water pump and timing belt: $700
Wheel Bearing RF: $$350
Motor Mounts: $365
And a few others : $500

Other than these items, the car is in nice shape. What do you all think of the prices and work that needs to be done? This is an honest mechanic we've used for years.


Please help soon, need to pass or buy today or tomorrow.


Thanks!

[Toysrme]

Without the repairs, $5000 would be a steal on a '95 with 85K on the clock.

The motor mounts, wheel bearings water pump and timing belt are all in line for a mechanic to repair.
Valve cover gaskets are less than $20 and something you can change with a socket @ 10,12,14 mm sockets at home in less than a few hours.
I don't know about the PS fan motor.
If you were to have everything fixed @ one time you'd save labor (which is the bulk of the money) greatly. If you feel like buying the car, have all the repair work done @ one time and i shouldn't be as exorbitantly expensive.

Valve cover gaskets, water pump, timing belt - all of that can be done at the same time without an extra hour of labor on just changing the waterpump.

FYI Also ask about him taking the heads off and changing the head gasket. Always have the alt & power steering belts changed at the same time as the timing belt($30 in parts) Buy some Denso, or NGK spark plugs from a Toyota dealer and give those too him as well. (Sometimes Toyota v6's just don't run right on $1 bosch/AC-Delco plugs, gotta go high dollar to the $4-$5 Denso/NGK's)
Just be sure you do everything at one time.



Have him flush the cooling and use only green fluid(no Toyota red), flush the A/T system, flush the power steering system (uses the same dexron III fluid as the A/T).
You should be set!

Synthetic oils rule & the oil change interval on any real synthetic is 7500 miles. (or 15000-50,000 on something like ASMoil)

[bowlofturtle]

5k firm. i'm looking at a 96 with 78k miles for 5,500 with no main huge issues off a friend's friend. But i think they are a steal for 5k even with work needed to be done.

[skperformance]

the ps pump is a bitch to get out and replace and costs about 250-300 for a rebuilt one
it runs teh power steering and teh cooling fan ,so it has to be done
your motor mounts will cost way more than 365
the wheel bearing needs to get a new hub and abs sensor as teh old one will not be able to be salavaged.
so up that price as well
get a compression test than decide if the engien is worth the trouble of the body

[jhbhatia]

for the price and milage, its a steal!

[craigferriter]

Thanks for the input. I will keep you all posted. I think he checked compression and it was good.

The remotes don't work. (button on key). I read the article on setting them up, but after pulling the phillips screw out, I cannot open the cover to replace battery. It begins to pry open, then it feels like it's gonna crack, so I stop.

Where do I get battery from?


Any thing else to look out for on this car????

[jhbhatia]

i'm currently at 130K on my 94 es. i had my tranny replaced by the dealership cus it died (when under powertrain warranty). Other than o2 sensors, i've really not replaced anything besides preventive maint.
The key battery, if you got the screw off, yoru half way there, i take a small flat head screw driver and place it on the metal side of the key there is an indent there for a small screw driver to fit in (has to those glasses screwdriver). Then i just pry it open. Good luck!