Dilemma.. please advice.. Should I buy a '97 Lexus ES300 or a 01/02 Camry?
 

Hi,

I am in a dilemma and unable to come to a conclusion, so I thought of
seeking advise with some of the knowledgeable people here. I am
planning to buy a used car. I was looking for a 2000/2001/2002 camry
that I could buy in a $7.5K - $10.5K range. I wanted to buy a low
mileage car, with less than 50K miles.

Now, I have come across a seller who is selling his '97 Lexus ES300 for
$8.5K. The car has 65K miles on it.

I am unable to decide whether I should buy a '97 ES300 with 65K miles
or whether I should look for a newer Camry with low mileage i.e. a
00/01/02 camry with <45K miles. With the Lexus I get a fully loaded
luxury car but the trade-off is that I am buying a 8-yr old car with
slightly more mileage.

Please advice. I need to make my decision today itself. Any suggestions
that you provide is highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

Mark wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I am in a dilemma and unable to come to a conclusion, so I thought of
> seeking advise with some of the knowledgeable people here. I am
> planning to buy a used car. I was looking for a 2000/2001/2002 camry
> that I could buy in a $7.5K - $10.5K range. I wanted to buy a low
> mileage car, with less than 50K miles.
>
> Now, I have come across a seller who is selling his '97 Lexus ES300 for
> $8.5K. The car has 65K miles on it.
>
> I am unable to decide whether I should buy a '97 ES300 with 65K miles
> or whether I should look for a newer Camry with low mileage i.e. a
> 00/01/02 camry with <45K miles. With the Lexus I get a fully loaded
> luxury car but the trade-off is that I am buying a 8-yr old car with
> slightly more mileage.
>
> Please advice. I need to make my decision today itself. Any suggestions
> that you provide is highly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Mark

Things start breaking at 65k miles.

Since they are virtually the same car I would find a newer Camry and get
lower mileage. I would stop looking at higher than 2001 though. The
2002s and up are having LOTs of problems in the front end. Seems Toyota
is having major quality problems with them.

--
Steve W.

"« Paul »" <" > wrote in message
...
> Mark wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > I am in a dilemma and unable to come to a conclusion, so I thought
of
> > seeking advise with some of the knowledgeable people here. I am
> > planning to buy a used car. I was looking for a 2000/2001/2002 camry
> > that I could buy in a $7.5K - $10.5K range. I wanted to buy a low
> > mileage car, with less than 50K miles.
> >
> > Now, I have come across a seller who is selling his '97 Lexus ES300
for
> > $8.5K. The car has 65K miles on it.
> >
> > I am unable to decide whether I should buy a '97 ES300 with 65K
miles
> > or whether I should look for a newer Camry with low mileage i.e. a
> > 00/01/02 camry with <45K miles. With the Lexus I get a fully loaded
> > luxury car but the trade-off is that I am buying a 8-yr old car with
> > slightly more mileage.
> >
> > Please advice. I need to make my decision today itself. Any
suggestions
> > that you provide is highly appreciated.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Mark
>
> Things start breaking at 65k miles.
>



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In article . com>,
Mark > wrote:
>I am unable to decide whether I should buy a '97 ES300 with 65K miles
>or whether I should look for a newer Camry with low mileage i.e. a
>00/01/02 camry with <45K miles. With the Lexus I get a fully loaded
>luxury car but the trade-off is that I am buying a 8-yr old car with
>slightly more mileage.

Are you looking for luxury or reliability? If you want reliability,
a less fancy car has less to break. Don't forget to check the service
records on any car you are considering, since previous owner care or
lack thereof makes a big difference in reliability. Note also that
low mileage per year may indicate severe service city driving or short
trips.

Note that the 2002 Camry is the first year of a major redesign, for
better or worse.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

"Mark" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi,
>
> I am unable to decide whether I should buy a '97 ES300 with 65K miles
> or whether I should look for a newer Camry with low mileage i.e. a
> 00/01/02 camry with <45K miles.

How long do you want to keep it? If it's just for a few years, the resale
value of the car drops off quickly after around 70-80K so get the lower
mileage car. If you intend to keep in until the wheels fall off, (like
around 150-170k
miles) your going to be driving this car for a long time, with either car
your going
to be putting in the same major repairs, and if the Lexus is a lot more
comfortable/desirable
then the Camry, then you get the benefit of that over the next 100K miles.

Ted

Mark wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am in a dilemma and unable to come to a conclusion, so I thought of
> seeking advise with some of the knowledgeable people here. I am
> planning to buy a used car. I was looking for a 2000/2001/2002 camry
> that I could buy in a $7.5K - $10.5K range. I wanted to buy a low
> mileage car, with less than 50K miles.
>
> Now, I have come across a seller who is selling his '97 Lexus ES300
for
> $8.5K. The car has 65K miles on it.
>
> I am unable to decide whether I should buy a '97 ES300 with 65K miles
> or whether I should look for a newer Camry with low mileage i.e. a
> 00/01/02 camry with <45K miles. With the Lexus I get a fully loaded
> luxury car but the trade-off is that I am buying a 8-yr old car with
> slightly more mileage.
>
> Please advice. I need to make my decision today itself. Any
suggestions
> that you provide is highly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Mark


http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/

is a helpful resources. You can read good and bad about any of the
cars.

I have not researched the ES models, but my 92 LS400 is going strong
with 170k miles. Others report fine performance through well over 200k
miles with (relatively) minimal service, and expecations of them giving
a good 300k miles or more. Also, if you are handy with tools, there is
plenty of help on this forum for DIY projects.


Joe

Thanks to everyone for responding. I finally bought the Lexus !