Es330 Loaner

[denslexusgx470]

well i got a 05 ES330 loaner, and all i have to say is, WOW. :o This thing is quick and nimble, and i know how much fun it must be driving this thing everyday (right SW)?? lol :whistles: It had nice features that my GX didnt have. I liked having memory settings for the PASSENGER side too (GX doesnt have that), and the seat cooler (felt good on a hot summer day).

It was fun to drive around town. I've never really driven a "car" size car before, because most of the time my family either has a van or an SUV. So it took a little getting used to when it comes to entering and exiting (probably some bruises on my head) the car, but it was nice and roomy. Although the headroom, IMHO was terrible (well for people that are 6' and taller i guess) so i had to recline the chair a little to avoid my head always hitting the ceiling. ;)

Too bad i didnt have a shot at the 350. This was the last loaner they had so i had to take it vs an Enterprise vehicle. I wanted to get SW more jealous after i type reviews on how the ES350 feels and drives but I guess some other time. LOL ;)

But do the side window defroster vents easily come off? This ES did.

[Kutten]

I also had a chance to drive an ES330 loaner few months ago, it was an awesome experience. Loved it. So far, I had ES330, RX350, IS250 loaners.

IS250 is soo fast, smooth, more gas mileage, and sporty.

ES330 is luxury, smooth, roomy, and family type.

RX350 is lot more HP then 330, Sexy design, much smoother than RX330, but gas mileage is not good as IS or ES.

My dealer fills the gas tank to at-least half way. So, I return it (fill it) back as they gave me.

[denslexusgx470]

my dealer doesnt require me to fill it up at all. The only problem, they give it to you at ramdom levels. Usually i get them at 3/4 full but this time it was only 1/2 full. So i ended up using the whole 1/2 tank that i had to fill up $5 the night before, and in the morning to make the empty indicator turn off. :whistles: Pretty fun to drive.

[indiasfinest]

yea i thought it was just my ES that had that flimsy defroster vent..its long gone now, but in our ES300, that came off a lot

[SW03ES]

Dens- Its a really nice car isn't it? Mine's not quite as nimble as an 05 because I dont have the 17 inch wheels, but everything else is about the same.

As for that vent, never seen that before.

My dealer used to give me free gas in the loaners, but last time they'd stopped that. You can understand why, with gas at $3.60 a gallon that makes their free loaners really expensive.

[denslexusgx470]

Dens- Its a really nice car isn't it? Mine's not quite as nimble as an 05 because I dont have the 17 inch wheels, but everything else is about the same.

As for that vent, never seen that before.

My dealer used to give me free gas in the loaners, but last time they'd stopped that. You can understand why, with gas at $3.60 a gallon that makes their free loaners really expensive.

Yes i think the 17 inch wheels is what makes it really nimble. Very nice vehicle. If i had a choice between, let's say a GS vs an ES, I'd take the ES anytime. The new GS has terrible headroom (for me at least) IMHO, so I'd take an ES anyday. ;)

My dealer doesn't require me to fill up the tank when returning so that's the free gas they give. Only problem, I ended up using the whole half tank (which was the level they gave it to me) and had to pay $13 to get it back to them (w/o running out of gas). :D ^_^

[Rx330driver]

i have never been told to give them back their gas when returning the car...but they do charge me 8 dollars a day for gas...used to be 5.

somehow i get around that 8 dollars though, gotta find a good rep!

[Kutten]

last weekend I received a brand new IS 350 as my Loaner.. The ride was too awesome. I drove all around the town...

[denslexusgx470]

last weekend I received a brand new IS 350 as my Loaner.. The ride was too awesome. I drove all around the town...

my dealer doesn' t use any IS as a loaner anymore. Only RX's and ES's <_<

[SW03ES]

My dealer has ES330s, ES350s, RX330s, RX350s, a couple IS250s, a couple GS300s, and a couple RX400hs (only for hybrid owners).

[Kutten]

My dealership don't mind if I fill the gas tank or not. Also, they don't mind how much mileage you drove. Last loaner, I put about 1000 miles.

[SW03ES]

Mine doesn't care about mileage either, and they just started requesting you bring it back with the same amount of gas.

The gas makes sense...

[Rx330driver]

if they make you bring back the same amount of gas, why are we paying 5-8 dollars for gas fee?

[denslexusgx470]

if they make you bring back the same amount of gas, why are we paying 5-8 dollars for gas fee?

That's the dealer's discretion. I don't pay any fees, as long as you don't smoke in or soil the car too much

[SW03ES]

if they make you bring back the same amount of gas, why are we paying 5-8 dollars for gas fee?

My dealer charges no such fee.

[denslexusgx470]

Maybe I should change the topic description of this topic. lol. I finally got a chance at an ES350 today! Now I know what amf's enjoying this whole time. lol.

Personally, there isn't much difference in performance. Yes the extra gear was nice though, and the available tip-tronic, and smartkey were nice but the performance is almost the same. Response was better on the pedal, had to get used to it a little as it would always jump forward on me (during the first moments I drove it). The blind spot was killing me, personally. The xenon plate light, and cabin lights just made me go .

Only problem was that the loaner I got had a defective tranny. It's only 9 months old, with 9k miles, and there's a grinding feeling when the car shifts from 1st to 2nd gear. :( I know our Ody had a tranny that was at it's dying moments, but this one was horrible.

Well I had fun, but too bad i couldn't keep it for at least 24 hours. :(

It was kinda weird that today was a day where both "toyota" vehicles were in the shop. <_<

[SW03ES]

You should drive them back to back, the 350 has considerably more punch than the 330 and overall a much sportier performing drivetrain. Maybe it was the tranny issues...

Only problem was that the loaner I got had a defective tranny. It's only 9 months old, with 9k miles, and there's a grinding feeling when the car shifts from 1st to 2nd gear.

Thats old for a loaner, that car has been abused beyond belief.

[Rx330driver]

lol seriously. I am always disgusted with how dirty the cars are on the inside. What are people thinking! its still a 35K car!!!

[SW03ES]

Its unbelievable. Lexus loaners are beat harder than enterprise rent-a-cars.

[denslexusgx470]

if only they let me keep the loaners overnight then maybe i would have a better feel of them. the nice service guys are gone probably because they were letting ppl keep them longer than they have to! i remember the longest time i had a loaner (and rental too cuz they wouldnt let me use the loaner out of state) was 2 weeks! now theyre tryin to get smart on you by returnin ur car to you while orderin the parts(unless its a safety issue) so you dont keep the loaners for long! <_<

[SW03ES]

Thats strange, my dealer here is very open with their loaners. I always drop off the night before and pick up close of business the following day, no problems at all. No state or mileage restrictions.

[denslexusgx470]

Well mine's stingy. lol <_< I bet they do have age restrictions though, right (shhhh)? :whistles: lol.

Even with the dealer being like this, people do abuse the privelege. They get a lot of phone calls saying "Sick right now, can't return loaner until tomorrow" and other BS like that. Even with that, my dad barely got a loaner and almost ended up with an Enterprise. Only thing I hate about enterprise (aside from that it's not a Lexus) is that you have to fill em up upon return. haha. I only put $5 on this just so that the car wouldn't die on the way back to the dealership (yes it was pretty low, playing around with the low fuel level) :D

[Rx330driver]

that reminds me, on my last visit, last week, or so, i got an ES350 with practically no gas, and after driving maybe 30 miles or so...the light came on. I filled in 5 dollars at hte nearest gas station. so total, i was charged 10 dollars for gas because i have to pay the dealer as well.

everytime i go, even if it isnt a major service, i still get a loaner. they dont always seem to have enough, but i have a good rep.

[nc211]

I have the ES350 now, while mine is being serviced.... It is very nice! and might i say, VERY fast! i like the 6 gears, and the shifting points are perfect. To me, it feels like they've finally fixed the throttle tip in issue. The car isn't jumpy at all, but rather smooth and easy. I like this new ES. I liked the other's too, but this new one is something else. I'm impressed by the power, the room in the back seat, and especially the trunk, it's freakin' HUGE!

I must say, I really liked the fact that at 2,650 miles, it shimmied just like my 12 year old, 125k mile LS400, for which is in the shop getting adjusted for! That made me feel great! I figured if a new one did it, then it's just an alignment issue and i"m not going to be WACKED again on the bill.

[denslexusgx470]

I definitely would pick the ES anyday if I were in the market for a sedan.

haha, I was talking to a guy the other day that has a ES350. I asked whether he got a deal or not. He says "Yes, about $3,000". Then he explained (and obviously it shows why) that he got other stuffs "cheaper" (i.e. extended warranty for about $1k or less, chrome rims for about $200 less, etc.) and that he was happy with his top of the line, everything on it (including the dealer installed headrest monitors) ES350. And you know what he was comparing it to? A honda accord! lol. :)