Friend's '99 Lexus ES300 engine just died. Want to buy it? It's in Palm Springs, CA

[LeeH]

Friend's '99 Lexus ES300 engine just died. Want to buy it? It's in Palm Springs, CA.

Not sure what's wrong. My friend is not mechanically inclined. Had it towed to a Meineke and they said the car needs a new engine. Car only has 125K on it.

He had bought a new car a few days before this one died. My friend doesn't have the time or energy to mess with it and will probably just take the high bid from local junk yards. He says it's in excellent condition otherwise. CD player is broken, one small star on the windshield. He tends to keep his cars in very nice condition.

I think he had three junkyards he's going to call. Can't imagine they'd be offering him much. Anybody interested?

[Scott R]

Ahhh, timing belt.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by Scott R

Ahhh, timing belt.

Well, that's what I thought, but he had it done a month ago.

[redstrosekNic]

Sludge problem could have starved lubrication to the engine???

[kaisen]

They were known for sludge issues

Well, except to the public who believe that Toyotas and Lexii never break

[aigel]

FWD 3.0?

Still books at $6k private party value, amazingly. I'd pick it up if I were closer. Driving to Palm S. with a rented trailer and back will be $300 and 6 hours of my time.

G

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Friend's '99 Lexus ES300 engine just died. Want to buy it? It's in Palm Springs, CA.

Not sure what's wrong. My friend is not mechanically inclined. Had it towed to a Meineke and they said the car needs a new engine. Car only has 125K on it.

He had bought a new car a few days before this one died. My friend doesn't have the time or energy to mess with it and will probably just take the high bid from local junk yards. He says it's in excellent condition otherwise. CD player is broken, one small star on the windshield. He tends to keep his cars in very nice condition.

I think he had three junkyards he's going to call. Can't imagine they'd be offering him much. Anybody interested?

He should list it on Craigslist for $1500 and someone will come with cash within 24 hours.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by kaisen

They were known for sludge issues

Well, except to the public who believe that Toyotas and Lexii never break

Wow.... I guess I have been extremely lucky with my bullet proof Tacoma and now my Tundra both of which had/have high mileage with ZERO engine or transmission issues.

I guess the brand new Dodge Dakota I had previously that had 8 issues during the 3 years I owned it was a fluke.

Thanks for setting me straight, I think I will dump the Toyota and buy a high quality UAW built government subsidized Dodge or Chevy instead.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

Wow.... I guess I have been extremely lucky with my bullet proof Tacoma and now my Tundra both of which had/have high mileage with ZERO engine or transmission issues.

I guess the brand new Dodge Dakota I had previously that had 8 issues during the 3 years I owned it was a fluke.

Thanks for setting me straight, I think I will dump the Toyota and buy a high quality UAW built government subsidized Dodge or Chevy instead.

Some Toyotas are known to be problem-free, others have their achille's heel(s)
That's true of most vehicles
Toyota is not infallable, despite non-automotive-type's public perception

Nothing in my statement said you would NOT have issues with a Dodge Dakota, an American made vehicle, a UAW made vehicle, any specific brand, etc.

[RANDY P]

Dodge. Yuck.

rjp

[look 171]

Hey Lee,

I like to have a look at this thing if its good. My sister's husband may need a car and due to his layoff, they are a little tight right now. I like to help them out. I PM you.

[LeeH]

Here's a pic of the car in question... somebody buy it soon before I go pick it up!

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by kaisen

He should list it on Craigslist for $1500 and someone will come with cash within 24 hours.

Yes, but list it at $2,500 and take $1,500 if he has to. But first see what the wreckers offer, hassle-free.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Yes, but list it at $2,500 and take $1,500 if he has to. But first see what the wreckers offer, hassle-free.

Good luck with that type of BS on CL. That's not my style, but glad it works for you.

[t-tom]

I'm really shocked you guys have not said anything about "Had it towed to a Meineke and they said the car needs a new engine" Take it to a real shop. I highly doubt it needs a new engine.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by kaisen

Good luck with that type of BS on CL. That's not my style, but glad it works for you.

Don't really understand your unnecessary rudeness and know-it-all arrogance. I've been in the car business over 20 years and can guarantee you that no matter what you ask for on CL, a buyer won't be happy unless he gets a discount. Why take $1,500 quickly when one could get over $2,000 just as quickly?

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by t-tom

I'm really shocked you guys have not said anything about "Had it towed to a Meineke and they said the car needs a new engine" Take it to a real shop. I highly doubt it needs a new engine.

Good point.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by kaisen

Good luck with that type of BS on CL. That's not my style, but glad it works for you.

Sadly there are a lot of people who are not satisfied until you come off of an asking price... no matter how low. Personally, I put "FIRM" after the price on all of my Craigslist ads. Keeps the crazy offers to a minimum. I still get responses offering less.

Originally Posted by t-tom

I'm really shocked you guys have not said anything about "Had it towed to a Meineke and they said the car needs a new engine" Take it to a real shop. I highly doubt it needs a new engine.

Believe me... this crossed my mind. The shop where it is has a good rating on Yelp. I've asked my friend to contact the shop and ask for a detailed diagnosis.

They know my friend is going to sell the car cheap and the shop hasn't even made an offer of any sorts. Seems like if it was really an easy fix they'd want to buy/fix/sell the car.

[speeder]

A shop offering to buy a car that they just put a major repair estimate on is an automatic conflict of interest and should always raise a major red flag. Most reputable shops never offer to buy broken cars for this reason, plus the fact that they are usually not in that side of the business.

If you offer it to them and they make an offer, that is slightly different but still most are not interested.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Yes, but list it at $2,500 and take $1,500 if he has to. But first see what the wreckers offer, hassle-free.

Originally Posted by kaisen

Good luck with that type of BS on CL. That's not my style, but glad it works for you.

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Don't really understand your unnecessary rudeness and know-it-all arrogance. I've been in the car business over 20 years and can guarantee you that no matter what you ask for on CL, a buyer won't be happy unless he gets a discount. Why take $1,500 quickly when one could get over $2,000 just as quickly?

Originally Posted by LeeH

Sadly there are a lot of people who are not satisfied until you come off of an asking price... no matter how low. Personally, I put "FIRM" after the price on all of my Craigslist ads. Keeps the crazy offers to a minimum. I still get responses offering less.

Not rude. Re-read my answer. I'm glad it works for you, and perhaps there is a regional / cultural component as well. If you like dickering, then your tactic works for you.

Shopping on the internet is an interesting endeavour.

When YOU shop for something, do you search/filter by price? In other words, do you put in "under $2000" when you're looking for something under $2000? Most people do. So if you're "asking" $2500 but will take $1800, guess what? Some legitimate buyers will never even see your ad.

When YOU shop for something, do you sort by price? If you're looking for a widget on eBay or Amazon do you look at the lowest price on that item? Or the 14th lowest price? If that widget is listed for $499 everywhere, but you see one at $650 do you call the guy with the $650 item and ask him if he'll take $499? Nope. Most people just move on and call the $499 guys.

So why is it different when YOU are selling something? Think like a buyer.

Now I understand that this isn't a widget that people will cross-shop with other 99 Lexus ES300s with blown motors, but the premise is still true.

It's worth what it's worth. Price it there and be firm, don't negotiate. At all. If you really priced it to the market, you'll sell it quickly with little hassle. Will people try to lowball you? Maybe, but if you're firm and the price is realistic, they'll buy it anyway. If you "try" a high price hoping to negotiate you may have loads of fun wasting a lot of time and weeding through the lowlife dickering tire kickers.

I've also been in the business over 20 years, running dealers and dealer groups. MOST of which are now non-negotiating stores. It's proven to work better for both buyer and seller. Run your business however you want. But the future is most likely non-negotiating, whether it's your preference or not.

It's my strong opinion having bought dozens (hundreds?) of cars like this is that it's going to ultimately sell for about $1500 on Craigslist. If you want to spend a couple weeks screwing around, go ahead and start high and "ask" $2500.

I bought a 2001 Toyota Camry XLE V6 with 108K miles and a still-running (but smoking and ticking) sludged V6 for $800 from a private party on Craigslist. That was a bargain, but that was what they listed it for. And no, I didn't offer them less. They were quite happy not taking the $300-350 they were offered several times by junkyards and scrappers.

YMMV