Faults:

The car had a front impact from the previous owner; slightly rippled quarter panel, small scratches on the front bumper, bonnet and impact bar. Tacked up almost $3,000 in quotes from numerous body shops, so buy your own panels if you are accident prone.

Previous owner also drove without the engine oil cap on, and thus oil spilled onto everything under the bonnet. Despite this, the cylinder head was not warped, and there were never any oil leaks after a good flush of oil residue in all the bays.

Driver's seat leather was ratty, punctured and beyond repair (a common problem with this model). Every other seat was amazing, after a good Meguiar's leather conditioner treatment to soften up any dry patches.

Transmission O/D light began to flash intermittently. 9/10 times this is a solenoid issue, but this was not part of the 9 - check vehicle history for auto services. I have the suspicion my ES300 never had one.

Small coolant leak near the radiator, most likely due to the front impact, and couldn't locate or fix, but didn't use copious amounts of coolant, so no huge drama.

General Comments:

Mechanics punctured a radiator hose during a routine service, and was able to make a return trip to Dee Why from the central coast, unknowingly empty of coolant, and it only overheated upon returning home. Very strong header on this car.

A great car for anyone shorter than 6 foot, but taller persons will struggle. Try to find one with good body work, engine mounts and transmission.

Stock tyres are 205/65 r15, but visit a wrecker and pick up a 16-18" rims/tyre set, and change the suspension to a much stiffer setting, to counter the atrocious wet weather handling.

An oil spill into the alternator was quoted at $300 to repair - went to wreckers and picked up a reconditioned Camry alternator for $80, as most Toyota parts are compatible with this model.

Faults:

Oil leak from the valve covers.

That's it!

General Comments:

Bought the car from a car lot. It was looked after very well. The day I bought the car, I had to put in a new battery. Fair enough considering it was a 14 year old car. I noticed a small rattle in the rear, easy to hear as the car is so quiet. It was worn rubber bushings for the rear sway-bar, $40 from the dealer. About 2 years later I noticed an oil leak from the valve covers - $60 in parts, did it myself.

Apart from these items, I have done nothing other than oil changes. Still the same brakes as when I bought the car (brakes were done by the car lot). The leather interior has no visible wear, other than a slight wrinkling of the driver's seat bolster, very common for leather seats. All electrics, bells & whistles are working as new. The car has been 100% reliable, not even a flat tire or burnt out light bulb.

Overall, the car is great around town and on the highway. Quiet and smooth. The only things I that could be improved on is the headroom in the front. I'm 5'10" and my head JUST clears the headliner. My son who is 6'4" reclines the seat and just manages. Also the LCD display for heater controls and radio are difficult to read at times depending on the lighting. More visible from the passenger's seat, go figure.

Faults:

Flex pipe was bad when purchased (180k), front axles and alternator recently replaced (220k), otherwise just maintenance.

General Comments:

We purchased this for our teenaged sons to share for $1000 in 2007, expecting it to last a year and we'd be happy. 3.5 years later, it's still running well.

We hit a rough spot a couple of weeks ago with the electrical system. We were told it wasn't the alternator, based on the meter readings, but after exploring every other possibility, we decided to spend $40 on a used alternator and see what happened. Worst case scenario, it doesn't work and we junk the car, still being satisfied. It's been running great again since. My son's think it's invincible, not thinking twice about driving it into Boston about an hour away.

We had purchased a used Taurus for $2000 earlier, and it was the biggest hunk imaginable. It lasted for about 3 months before we just refused to spend any more money on it, and sold it for $500 to put towards the Lexus. Absolutely the best choice we ever made, but then again, we're a Toyota family anyway.