Should I Buy A 1994 Es300?

[dannywantsaes300]

Hi im considering buying a 1994 es300 for my first car. I live in chicago and i want a car that is flashy and somewhat powerfull and that i wouldent have to worry about spending a lot of money on. I was also wondering how the factory stereo is in this car? i like bass, not a ton but enough to like feel it. Will the factory stereo give me that? if you could help me out on this i would really appreciate it. thank you

[GS3is4me]

Hi im considering buying a 1994 es300 for my first car. I live in chicago and i want a car that is flashy and somewhat powerfull and that i wouldent have to worry about spending a lot of money on. I was also wondering how the factory stereo is in this car? i like bass, not a ton but enough to like feel it. Will the factory stereo give me that? if you could help me out on this i would really appreciate it. thank you

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[GS3is4me]

Hi im considering buying a 1994 es300 for my first car. I live in chicago and i want a car that is flashy and somewhat powerfull and that i wouldent have to worry about spending a lot of money on. I was also wondering how the factory stereo is in this car? i like bass, not a ton but enough to like feel it. Will the factory stereo give me that? if you could help me out on this i would really appreciate it. thank you

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The factory stereo in a 97 es in terrific, im assuming the same is true for a 94. i like the yellow fogs on the 94 too.

[snidehockey]

my names danny, and I love my 94 es300! dude the thing is awesome...im only 20 n it's my second car, but you would NOT regret getting this car. The factory stereo is EXCELLENT especially considering it's from over 10 years ago! The bass is better than most stock systems but obviously its nothing compared to subs (which I've put in at Christmas time) - sidenote: the stock system WITH aftermarket subs is UNBELIEVABLE. Anyway it is a solid car that will go forever! Oh yeah it can move too.

[creamyy]

I live in chicago and i want a car that is flashy and somewhat powerfull and that i wouldent have to worry about spending a lot of money on.

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Just letting you know that after 10+ years a lot of things start to wear out or need to be replaced. You will be spending money for repairs.. depending on how well the previous owner maintained the ES. I have a 1993 ES300 for my first car, and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. Just be prepared for the repairs.

[DKRC-2003]

I own a 94 ES and its the best car that I've ever owned. The stock stereo to me has enough umph.

Don't be afraid to shop around and find a nice, well kept one. Even if you pay top dollar and still have to sink 1 or 2 Gs to get all the maintenance up to snuff, you still should have saved a fortune considering the cost of a new one.

[Toysrme]

From a more un-biased standpoint.

The stereo is fine for the 99% of the population with no inclination to change it. What you must realize is that all of the speakers are 5, 10, or 15 watt speakers.

If you are use to stereos that can be loud, without blowing, and maintain clarity, the stock system will not suite you.

The good news is that with so many stock speaker locations, it's eeeeasy to swap in really good equipment if/when the need suites you.

[dannywantsaes300]

Thank you all very much for your comments, a few more questions though, how many speakers is the factory stereo? and also i was considering a 1999 Cadillac Catera for a choice as well, for me as a first car do u think the lexus is better?

[Toysrme]

I do. 1992 leather in an ES is many times the quality of what caddy and Lincoln used through 2004.

I know.... I shofered my grandparents around car shopping in '04. When nearly blind grandparents, can tell you your leather kick the domestic leather's !Removed!... And that's inspite the fact that the leather was worn, 12 years old, and in the base line Lexus no less.... That just tells you the quality difference for the rest of the car.

I am serious. Jsut the quality in leather and wood trim in a Camry XLE puts the US luxury divisions to shame. God forbid you compair the Japanese built ES, against American Luxury cars in pure reliability and build quality.

Keeping it real tho, if you need the typical room associated with those large American style cars the '94 ES is going to be a size smaller than the Caddy will. Toyota didn't grow the Camry platform as fast as some other imports to meet US market wants. Step up to a '97 ES, and that one minor complaint may not even be a problem.

I try to keep it un-biased... But the problem is that the quality itself is so much better, it's a joke.

[SKperformance]

97 has a rear sub

but a 94 is a good car

make sure to have it fully checked out

suspension

regular oil changes

engine mounts

and transmission are the only things to keep an eye on

[snidehockey]

my dad had a 98 catera and sunk 6k into repairs in 4 months...NOTHING but check engine lights and bad sensors...that car was at the dealer being worked on more than it was in the garage...it drove nice but It's a GM and for bein a Caddy I think the interior was really clunky...

[SKperformance]

Catera is one peice of wood.

The parts are ridiculas because of it being the german arm of GM called OPEL.

[snidehockey]

Catera is one peice of wood.

The parts are ridiculas because of it being the german arm of GM called OPEL.

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Yeah like an Opel Omega or somethin I think...the car rides like a dream and is pretty freakin fast too but repairs are outrageous and often

[dannywantsaes300]

well then lol i think the caddy is pretty much out of the question for me. i agree the seats in the cadillac are very ugly to me. i was wondering, if anyone had a owners manual for this car that i could maybe download onto my computer, so i can learn about the inside and some of the options. i did that with the cadillac, they let you download the owners manual off there website but lexus doesent. so if anyone had one that would be great thanks again for all the comments and please if anyone has anything else to say let me know. thank you

[Toysrme]

I have the ever popular 1994 Camry Toyota repair manual if you just want to look over all the mechanic stuff.

It's about 110mb of zipped .pdf's that you can't download off TN anymore. That's as good as I can do.<_< Maybe someone else has the factory car manual on CD / PDF??? :D

[dannywantsaes300]

No thanks i dont think i want the manual for the camry, i like want to see all the interior options and things in the lexus one. thank you very much though, i was wondering if anyone could tell me like all the specs on the 94 es300, like how many speakers are there with the stereo? how many hp's? whats the 0-60 time? stuff like that. if anyone could help me out there it would be great, and also if anyone has the lexus owners manual i could download it would be greatly appreciated. thank you all very much!

[94LexusES300]

If you can, buy one, take it from me my mom bought a 94 Lexus ES300 when it first came out and has now passed it down to me. It has been everything I ever wanted in a car with beautiful class luxury with a 188hp 3.0 V6 that will keep you at the edge of your seat. It is a dream car for me, and is a really good head turner. I'm not sure about the 0-60 time but I did hit 123mph on the freeway one time on a stock engine. ($700 speeding ticket)

But it is alot of money to repair the car with the instrument cluster (speedometer) on my Lexus is fading really bad and they told me it might take me a total of $500 not including labor. But I just recently put new leather in my car and a new $3,000 paint job with the Lexus dealership assigned me to. So it needs constant babying.

[steviej]

the instrument cluster (speedometer) on my Lexus is fading really bad and they told me it might take me a total of $500 not including labor.

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take look at lextech.org for a cheaper alternative to instrument cluster repair. Several members have had success.

steviej

[Toysrme]

188hp @ 5200rpm, 203lb-ft @ 4400rpm

All-aluminium engine

Unleaded premium (91 oct)

Curb Weight 3380lbs

Should do 0-60mph in 8.7 1/4 mile in 16.6 @ 83-85mph bone stock.

94LexusES300 talk to O.L.T on clublexus. He's a moderator and does custom replacement lighting for the entire dash, A/C, radio controls.

Wound up started a web biz.

http://www.lextech.org/

That pretty much tips the iceburge on color combinations - if you search on CL, you'll find two completely massive threads with dozens of combinations.

[amf1932]

188hp @ 5200rpm, 203lb-ft @ 4400rpm

All-aluminium engine

Unleaded premium (91 oct)

Curb Weight            3380lbs

Should do 0-60mph in 8.7 1/4 mile in 16.6 @ 83-85mph bone stock.

94LexusES300 talk to O.L.T on clublexus. He's a moderator and does custom replacement lighting for the entire dash, A/C, radio controls.

Wound up started a web biz.

http://www.lextech.org/

That pretty much tips the iceburge on color combinations - if you search on CL, you'll find two completely massive threads with dozens of combinations.

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If you read the 1994 Owners Manual you'll see that the fuel requirements are 87 Octane Rating NOT 91 Octane Rating! You're mixing up the 'Octane Rating' with the 'Research Octane Number' which is 91.

I know this as a fact since I bought a new 1994 ES in 1994 and this question about octanes was brought up then. I used premium fuel(91 Octane) for about 1 year and then switched to regular fuel(87 Octane) for the remaining time I owned this car with absolutely NO problems. My fuel economy did not suffer in the least, nor did the performance.

[Toysrme]

Just quoting websites.

Reading from a 1998 Toyota 1mz-fe repair manual:

1MZ-FE engine

Unleaded gasoline, Octane Rating 87 or higher. For improved vehicle performance, the use of premuim unleaded gasoline with an Octane Rating 91 or higher is recommended.

I'm the biggest supporter of not running higher octane than the engine needs you'll find, that being said...

Personally, I wouldn't run 87 in a 1mz-fe anyways. Over-active knock sensors are a big problem on them. That's just me. Yall might not, but I have run across them loosing 10-20hp in the mid-high rpm powerband too many times. ;)

[amf1932]

Just quoting websites.

Reading from a 1998 Toyota 1mz-fe repair manual:

1MZ-FE engine

Unleaded gasoline, Octane Rating 87 or higher. For improved vehicle performance, the use of premuim unleaded gasoline with an Octane Rating 91 or higher is recommended.

I'm the biggest supporter of not running higher octane than the engine needs you'll find, that being said...

Personally, I wouldn't run 87 in a 1mz-fe anyways. Over-active knock sensors are a big problem on them. That's just me. Yall might not, but I have run across them loosing 10-20hp in the mid-high rpm powerband too many times. ;)

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Like I said.....I NEVER had any problems with 87 Octane in over 50K miles of driving........never heard a ping(pre-ignition). Believe me, if I did I would of immediately switched back to a higher octane. :)

[Toysrme]

I run 87 too. I ran 87 back when I was adding 10-15* of advance at high rpm too. I run 87* now with the turbo. I hear you - as long as performance isn't down, the knock sensors are happy, and there is no detonation - all is well.

Differant engine tho. ;)

[dannywantsaes300]

ok guys got another question? ive been looking at like around a 1993 LS400 also, i sorta like the interior of those cars a lil better, but the outside is sorta ugly to me but then again im only looking at them in pictures. which car is better the es300 or the LS400? i like them both, but me for a first car, which one would be better? i also know the LS400 is faster then the ES300. so im debating lol. also tell me which one u guys thinks looks better.

[dannywantsaes300]

ok forget the 1993 LS400 because i just looked at a 1995 and wow they are WAY nicer lol so if i can afford one of those im going to buy that, but still let me know your comments on it.