I purchased a used Lexus GS300 with 155k miles on it from a major dealership in Orange County, CA for a killer deal of $5500. Car fax showed it had two owners, first was lessee and second was a primary owner. Car fax showed it was taken care of extremely well with every service being done by a dealership. I purchased vehicle in November 2018 and only put 1000 miles on it because I was waiting for my daughter to pass her drivers test. The radiator started to leak a the top of the tank so I replaced it along with two hoses and the thermostat. After this $700 repair it started to overheat.
The shop informed me that there were bubbles in the radiator pointing to a head gasket failure, and they stated that this probably killed the radiator. Before buying this vehicle I did extensive research and found not one complaint about this condition occurring. Even this site showed no major defects. Now I am facing a $5000 to $8000 repair bill with some shops saying that they would just replace the entire motor with a used engine. So I guess that I am that one of those unlucky used car buyers that got screwed! I plan to try some head gasket sealer this weekend to see if it works as advertised. Otherwise I will sell it for whatever someone will buy it for and start all over again.
I purchased a used Lexus GS300 with 155k miles on it from a major dealership in Orange County, CA for a killer deal of $5500. Car fax showed it had two owners, first was lessee and second was a primary owner. Car fax showed it was taken care of extremely well with every service being done by a dealership. I purchased vehicle in November 2018 and only put 1000 miles on it because I was waiting for my daughter to pass her drivers test. The radiator started to leak a the top of the tank so I replaced it along with two hoses and the thermostat. After this $700 repair it started to overheat.
The shop informed me that there were bubbles in the radiator pointing to a head gasket failure, and they stated that this probably killed the radiator. Before buying this vehicle I did extensive research and found not one complaint about this condition occurring. Even this site showed no major defects. Now I am facing a $5000 to $8000 repair bill with some shops saying that they would just replace the entire motor with a used engine. So I guess that I am that one of those unlucky used car buyers that got screwed! I plan to try some head gasket sealer this weekend to see if it works as advertised. Otherwise I will sell it for whatever someone will buy it for and start all over again.
- Tom C., Villa Park, US