The Joy of Owning an Old Lexus: A Reliability and Performance Paradise
As I sat with my friend, admiring his 22-year-old Lexus with 220,000 miles on it, I couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at its reliability and performance. He told me that he had bought the car when it was already 100+ thousand miles old, and I asked him why he didn't just buy a newer model. His response was that it showed to be a very wise decision, as the car has been trouble-free for years.
One of the key reasons for its reliability is the engine. He mentioned that he had tried a fuel cleaner from Bernie's ATS fuel cleaner, which helped improve its performance. The fuel cleaner allowed him to go closer to zero emissions, but more importantly, it enabled the car to run smoothly and efficiently. He noted that the fuel trim was 0.99 initially, but after using the cleaner, it showed no issues with misfire or poor performance.
The Lexus's transmission is another area where it excels. My friend mentioned that he had fixed a lot of cars in his time, many of which ran lean and resulted in poor gas mileage. However, the Lexus is different; it runs perfectly fine even when leaning slightly, which actually results in better gas mileage. He also noted that the transmission shifts smoothly and quietly, making it a pleasure to drive.
Another aspect of the Lexus's reliability is its maintenance cost. My friend mentioned that he only uses aftermarket parts, which have been reliable and affordable. He warned that if you buy a V8 Lexus, be prepared for high maintenance costs, as some of the parts can be quite expensive. In contrast, the V6 engines are relatively easy to maintain and repair.
The Lexus's design is also noteworthy. My friend mentioned that he had recently replaced the wood on the steering column, which was still in good shape despite being over 20 years old. This highlights the attention to detail and quality of construction that went into building these cars.
In terms of performance, the Lexus is a force to be reckoned with. The V6 engine provides smooth power and acceleration, making it a joy to drive on both city streets and open roads. My friend noted that the car still has plenty of zip even after 220,000 miles, which is impressive considering its age.
Despite its advanced technology, the Lexus's transmission doesn't seem to get overwhelmed by modern systems like modern cars with computerized transmissions. The data transducer shows normal fluid temperature, and there are no misfire counts. My friend also noted that the car can handle rough roads without issue, including those notorious island roads.
In conclusion, owning an old Lexus is a great way to experience reliability and performance in your daily drive. With proper maintenance and care, these cars can last for decades, providing years of trouble-free driving pleasure. Whether you're looking for a smooth ride or want to take advantage of affordable parts, the V6 Lexus is definitely worth considering.
As my friend mentioned, it's essential to find the right car at the right price. He found his Lexus in a lot for three grand with 100+ thousand miles on it. The car had been previously owned and was being sold because the owner wanted to upgrade. The fact that he was able to get such a great deal highlights the importance of doing your research and finding a reliable car that fits your budget.
If you're considering purchasing an old Lexus, remember that there's always someone else who will be interested in buying it from you. This is especially true for high-performance cars like this one. The owner mentioned that he had told his friend about his car, saying that people were "snapping up" these vehicles left and right.
Overall, my friend's experience with his old Lexus has taught me the value of patience and persistence when searching for a reliable vehicle. By doing your research and finding the right car at the right price, you can enjoy years of trouble-free driving pleasure without breaking the bank.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines okay look my wife's car somebody painted it put fancier wheels on it no this is the same car it's a 2002 Lexus ES300 he bought it8 years ago for three grand it's got 200 something thousand miles on it now he changed the wheels he still had the original ones but he got a good deal on these so he didn't care even got the full carbon fiber gas cover here vehicle in excellent shape but it does have a little bit of rust there from all that salt that they stick on the road I'm glad I don't live in Maine and as you can see hey he snazzed it up he added these all that plastic will fade away he stuck them on I got to say they're pretty sharp he got those Chrome side pieces for like 60 bucks on eBay did do both sides I got to say you go inside you got a little crack in the seat but my wife did the same thing only I fixed hers before I cracked the whole away you can get nice seat coverage for it if you want but you know you're talking about 22y old car things are going to wear now as we check under the hood of course it's the same engine as my wife's car it's a variable valve intelligence V6 24 valve and these things can run forever this has got over 200,000 miles on it the only thing you ever got messed with is the timing belt cuz they do have rubber timing belts was changed to 90,000 Mi before he bought the car now he's got 224 he's thinking about changing it but I think I'll talk talk them out of it because I've never changed it on my wife's the thing is I have never ever seen a tiny belt brake on one of these even if they had 300,000 miles and being that this is ES300 that means that it's 3.0 l or 3,000 CC's these are non-interference engines even if the stupid belt broke it wouldn't hurt anything now if you get the in between one after this when they made the engines a little bit bigger those are interference engines and you'd have to change the belt every 100,000 miles because if it ever did break goodbye engine this would just be an inconvenience it won't hurt the engine at all and of course then after a few years they went to timing chains instead of belts and you don't have to think about them at all we got 225,000 Mi doesn't burn oil still the original transmission on the thing and he's got the original headlights check it out he's polished it with one of those kits and look how good they look but I do have to say still like The Replacements I put in my wife because it's got those cool Angel Eyes LEDs you can do a lot of things to these it's not all that expensive because they sold tons of these worldwide and there is a tremendous aftermarket for these things since they last so long people still make parts for them but since even on eBay these things hey they're 400 bucks a piece he figures what the heck and he did a good job polishing them you can just polish them every so often but take my advice and heed this warning don't get clear coat pain because then they'll be ruined it'll fade away after a period of time and then you can't really do it again and it doesn't last you want to polish them you don't want to get clear coat paint and spray I've seen so many guys do that and I tried it years ago and invariably in the sun of Texas it just faded and looked horrible within a year so you can polish them it's not that hard to polish them so you polish them once in a while you know maybe once a year or something it's not hard to do and if you really want to be a fanatic you can do like your teeth you can use toothpaste and that'll shine them up pretty good too and it's so weak that you can do that whenever you want when it starts to look bad he likes taking care of his car so he has done the brakes and the rotors and he's changed the wheel bearings on all four wheels he you know 200 something th000 miles wheel bearings will wear out and they're readily available in places the front ones are pressed in they're kind of hard to do I'd say leave it to a pro the back ones just both both on and off cuz they're an assembly and they're real easy to do anybody can both those on and off but the front ones you probably want to leave to a mechanic like me with special tools and a 20 ton press to press them out and press them in because it's part of the assembly in the front you don't just bolt it off and bolted on the old bearings got to be pressed off and the new one's got to be pressed on but really he only paid three grand for this car you know and he's got aund something Thousand Miles he's put on himself so you got to say the guys make it out like Gang Busters oh here comes our little autel scan tool got the key turned on and we'll do a diagnosis you can see other than the color it's exactly the same as my watch but this is a more luxurious one because it came with the fancy Dash that's got readouts on it mind you the GPS doesn't work anymore but we all have phones so who really cares you can see in the back it does have the rear shade that goes up and down it's up now but it still works so here we go it's doing its thinking thing it's an older car so just like my wife it's going to be relatively slow compared to the new ones ES300 North America 2002 mzf engine there's the VIN number do a diagnosis an auto scan and while scanning we'll look around some more got the old sunroof hilariously enough his mother said to what are you buying this old car for well hey three grand 120,000 mil later it's still running really good I always say he got the deal of the century no mind you his had over 100,000 Mi when he bought it for 3 Grand mine only had 65,000 Mi that I got from a wife but still he got a phenomenal deal oh okay it's 22 years old everything's green everything's no fault let's start her up and look at live data okay long-term fuel trim 3.88% now that means that it's adding 3.8% fuel on average which is typical on a car with 200 something th000 Miles because the have a tendency of running a little bit lean if he wanted he could buy some of Bernie's ATS fuel cleaner that stuff is amazing and it would probably go closer to zero but it runs perfectly fine for him nothing you really have to do but what happens is the injectors with 200 something Thousand Miles They Don't Spray all the gas that they should so it runs a little bit lean so it adds a little bit of fuel but really runs as smooth as this I'd probably thr cleaning it just her kick and see how much better than it got but it's nothing to worry about and he just told me he's getting close to 25 so I'd leave it alone because if your car runs a little lean and it has to add fuel you're getting better gas mileage and I fixed a lot of cars in my time that ran a little bit lean but then they got worse gas mileage because if you're running lean you're using less Fuel and more air so I definitely leave this alone now the ignition stable showing there's nothing wrong with the timing belt if the timing belt was worn it start flopping around which it isn't fuel trim is 0.99 and now this one is 1 0.99 and that one goes to one so really it's not really running all that lean I mean one is perfect right and then sometimes it's 099 so it's one 100th of a percent off so hey they made these things in Japan and they knew what they were doing now we look at other data transmission data that's all normal fluid temperature that's normal not going to have any misf far cuz it's running perfectly there we got the misf far count Zero's down the line well check it out there's the sunscreen now we're going to put in gear there goes the sunscreen oh that's so cool and it still works 22 years later now here we go down the road and these are the worst roads in the world the road Island roads and it drives pretty much the same as my wife's does even though it's got 120,000 Mi more than hers do still shift smooth extremely reliable transmissions don't worry about pulling front of people with one of these they got plenty of zip even though they're 22 years old got 220,000 miles on them I mean listen to this car okay I'll turn the turn signal off it's still quiet you can barely feel them shift gears even with all this mileage on it there's a big advantage to one of these lexuses with a V6 engine it's smooth power you don't get jerkiness 220,000 Mi still doesn't burn oil I don't like the lexuses with four-cylinder turbos they don't feel the same they're a rougher car and a lot of them start burning oil when they get older yeah they're still decent made cars but they're nothing compared to these old ones they should have just left them well enough alone and leave the V6 engines and these engines are pretty much Ultra Dependable the wood on the steering column's still in good shape just like my wife's car so there you have it a fancier version of my wife's car in white that's got 130,000 more miles than hers does they're about 22 years old his mother said saying why did you buy that old car that was 100 something thousand miles ago well it showed to be a very wise decision it's still going doesn't burn oil still shifts like a dream and as he found out he only uses aftermarket parts and he has no problems with them they made so many of these engines and Designs there's plenty of aftermarket stuff that you can get at a reasonable price you don't have to go to Lexus and buy a $800 control arm you get aftermarket once for 100 something bucks but as I always warn people this only applies to the V6 lexuses if you buy a V8 lexes you better have some money because those parts cost a fortune for example I get a brake master cylinder for this thing 145 bucks on the V8 it's all computerized some of those things 12 13 $1,00 do you want to spend that kind of money on an old car no these they're not set up that way they're basically fancy cameras and cameras you can get parts for a lot of the parts are interchangeable same basic engine and everything so you can find one like he did and you only had to pay three grand with 100 something Thousand Miles now you got 220 hey snap it up cuz even if you're tired of it somebody else will buy it from you you never have to worry about that when he bought this at a lot the guy says man these things are so hard to find cuz people are always snapping them up so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair vide videos remember to ring that Bell\n"
