Considering A Lexus

[benalexe]

Hi,

I love cars.... I have always leased new cars.. Not overly expensive ones. I am currently driving a SAAB 9-3. Car before that was a maxima etc.

My 9-3 lease is up in a few months and I have decided that I think I want to own something instead of leasing. So I hvae a lot of questions I hope I have come to the right place.

Some of the things I look for in a car are Saftey, luxery, looks, pick up, reliability, and to me... I LOVE TOYS and Gadgets.

If I were goign to get a car for the toys it would probably be an infinity Q. But since the car is not very nice looking (and repairs are expensive)

and not near as reliable I think Lexus is my best choice.

THe problem with he SAAB isi I have a family of 5 (3 young boys) and they can't fit in the saab. (my wife drive the SUV)

So now here I am...

Based on eveyything i have read, Totyota/lexus makes the best most reliable used car. I am looking at spending abotu $20,000 I want to finance it.

Here are my questions.

1) Is there one year better than the other in terms of used car?

2) Do you reccomed spending the money on a certified used car?

3) If I am going to plan on keep the car for 8 years what kind of millage is the most I shoudl look for in this car. I drive about 14K a year.

4) Are there specifice options that make sense in this car?

5)What should i expect in terms of routine maintenance... ie. Does it have a timeing belt or chain. Is maintenance very expensive

5) anyone have positive experience buying on the net? if so where?

6) how is the insurance on this car?

7) What will I not like about it?

8) Shoudl I also conisder the avalon?

I am sure I will have plenty more q's so bear with me. Thanks.

[Tyler121]

well for question 3, i wouldnt just look at the mileage, these cars go on forever and ever if you take care of them, i have a 94 and so far have had absolutely no problems with it, and for the Avalon, well its a less fancy Lexus, that about it

[NeiLtYmE]

Welcome newbie!

as far as gadgets and space goes with the amount you want to spend, id go for like a LS, generations 3.2(UCF20 II) and 4.1(UCF30 I). I gave you a link In case you don't know the lingo, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LS#UCF20_II_.281998.29.

The latter one might be pushing the budget a bit.

Post '01 Es300's are the most spacious, IMO. You'd have to go look at them.

There are pretty good CPO programs for these, so go check em out cause they may be in your budget. Ive seem plenty 02' Es300 and up below 60,000 miles in the 20's.

You have a lot of questions though. You should seriously do a search on this forum, as every single model has gobs of information that will guide you very well and answer many of these questions. Then, if your still curious about stuff you can't find, keep asking.

[benalexe]

Thanks.

I like the LS but I am sure it will be out of my budget. I looked at some on ebay but the ones that were in budget had about 100K miles on it. Too much for me.

The in my research I can get a fairly new ES..

I really love the look of the GS.

[JDK]

When I bought my LS 430 back in '04 I also considered the Avalon. Both are very good cars and will last you a long time (my wife still drives my '06 Avalon with 150K and will not even consider getting rid of it!) but the ride of the LS far exceeds the Avalon, even comparing an older Lexus to the newer Avalon.

I have a friend that has an '02 with 225K (He's in sales) and has had it since new, gets the service done at the dealer as required and has not had one problem with it. I would not hesitate buying his car and if I had to do it all over again I would have bought used instead of new. I think scheduled service is more important than mileage so if you can find the service records you'll get a pretty good idea how the previous owner took care of it. (I would not buy any car used without the records)

The ES and the GS are also great cars and almost as roomy, you'll just have to spend a couple of hrs at the dealer and drive all 3 to pick the best one for you and your family.

I've added links below to several very nice LS's on Ebay in the $20-$25K with less than 100K miles.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-Lexus-...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ALL-ORGNL-S...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-LEXUS-...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-Lexus-...1QQcmdZViewItem

[benalexe]

Thanks I really like the first one.. But I question $23K for a car with almost 70K miles. Just scarey to hvae a car with that much espicially for that price. Would it make more sense to have a es with 40K miles for the same price.

I would also be concerned that the car did not have it's 60K service and that as soon as I purchased it I would have to put another $1,500 into it.

[NeiLtYmE]

well, realize that the car was 60+ grand when it was new.

thats actually a pretty typical deal. If you obtain adequate service records, it may not be a bad buy. Your from long island, Plenty of used LS's and other lexus cars to choose from, where you can personally check them out.

[SW03ES]

70k miles on an LS is nothing. Hell, 70k miles on an ES is nothing.

I think what you need to do is go drive a couple LS' with mileage in that range and see what you think. The LS takes miles like no other car, and they will literally ride and drive every bit as good at 250k miles as they do at 10k miles provided they have been well maintained, all worn suspension components are in good working order especially. The ES also ages remarkably well, but not AS well as an LS (theres a reason the LS costs twice as much after all).

If you're buying used any way, especially if you're gonna keep it for a while, I would get an LS even if its a stretch over the ES.

Now that said, I love my ES its a teriffic car. Mine has getting close to 90k and it still rides and drives every bit as good as a new one and although I'd love to step into a new LS at this point, the need to do that is purely because I've always wanted an LS. The ES gives me no reason to replace it, and I have no doubt it would give me 90k more miles service if I'd let it. The ES isn't an LS though.

[NeiLtYmE]

70k miles on an LS is nothing. Hell, 70k miles on an ES is nothing.

I think what you need to do is go drive a couple LS' with mileage in that range and see what you think. The LS takes miles like no other car, and they will literally ride and drive every bit as good at 250k miles as they do at 10k miles provided they have been well maintained, all worn suspension components are in good working order especially. The ES also ages remarkably well, but not AS well as an LS (theres a reason the LS costs twice as much after all).

If you're buying used any way, especially if you're gonna keep it for a while, I would get an LS even if its a stretch over the ES.

Now that said, I love my ES its a teriffic car. Mine has getting close to 90k and it still rides and drives every bit as good as a new one and although I'd love to step into a new LS at this point, the need to do that is purely because I've always wanted an LS. The ES gives me no reason to replace it, and I have no doubt it would give me 90k more miles service if I'd let it. The ES isn't an LS though.

thats certainly true. Ive seen, esp with the earlier gens.... there are common issues that effect them all. But for the most part these LS's, only if maintained correctly, are like tanks. The only thing is that people get lazy because they require high adherence. Ive seen plenty LS's that are all bent out of shape.

I think its strictly reflective of what toyota put into their vehicles. ofcourse very reflective in the price as well.

[benalexe]

I guess my concern is, if I buy a used car how do I know if it has truly been maintained? I have always leased cars and I barley even changed the oil because I did not care about the car and I knew it was going back.

Alos, Is the ES bigger than the camery? What about the GS?

If I look more for an ES is there a better year to look at?

Is maintenance very high on these vehicles?

[SW03ES]

Look for a car with maintenance records, and you can poll the Lexus dealer. If a car has been maintained by Lexus they'll have records you can access.

The ES is about the same size as the Camry, the GS is a little smaller inside and sportier. The GS has never appealed to me personally.

As for the ES, the ES never appealed to me until 02 when the generation mine is came out. So, I wouldn't look pre-02 personally.

Maintenance can be expensive if you use the dealer (but service is high quality too, generally), but if you don't use the dealer its no more expensive to maintain than any other car.

[dcfish]

Look for a car with maintenance records, and you can poll the Lexus dealer. If a car has been maintained by Lexus they'll have records you can access.

The ES is about the same size as the Camry, the GS is a little smaller inside and sportier. The GS has never appealed to me personally.

As for the ES, the ES never appealed to me until 02 when the generation mine is came out. So, I wouldn't look pre-02 personally.

Maintenance can be expensive if you use the dealer (but service is high quality too, generally), but if you don't use the dealer its no more expensive to maintain than any other car.

2003 es300 interior dimensions:

Seating Capacity 5

Front Head Room, in. 38.5

Max. Front Leg Room, in. 42.2

Rear Head Room, in. 37.4

Max. Rear Leg Room, in. 35.6

2003 gs300 interior dimensions:

Seating Capacity 5

Front Head Room, in. 39.0

Max. Front Leg Room, in. 44.5

Rear Head Room, in. 37.4

Max. Rear Leg Room, in. 34.3

You must be speaking of the rear legroom ?

[SW03ES]

Yes and overall cabin volume, its less than the ES. Not a huge amount less, but enough to be noticable when sitting in the car.

[dcfish]

Yes and overall cabin volume, its less than the ES. Not a huge amount less, but enough to be noticable when sitting in the car.

Would you consider the " Noticability " due to ones height and weight ?

[Lacebug Sydney]

Yes and overall cabin volume, its less than the ES. Not a huge amount less, but enough to be noticable when sitting in the car.

Would you consider the " Noticability " due to ones height and weight ?

I've heard the GS are really thirsty?

Why not buy a RX300 or 350. I had one as a loaner while my Es was being serviced and it's the most comfortable car i've ever sat in. Plus, if you have kids and all their gear, it certainly makes a lot of sense.

[dcfish]

Yes and overall cabin volume, its less than the ES. Not a huge amount less, but enough to be noticable when sitting in the car.

Would you consider the " Noticability " due to ones height and weight ?

I've heard the GS are really thirsty?

Why not buy a RX300 or 350. I had one as a loaner while my Es was being serviced and it's the most comfortable car i've ever sat in. Plus, if you have kids and all their gear, it certainly makes a lot of sense.

The gs400/430 can hit the pocketbook pretty good. My gs300 gets 25-26 on the highway and around 20 in town. The es also gets similar gas milage, Maybe even better.

[benalexe]

my wifes car is an suv. I only want one. The 350 is a great car my mother in law has one . It drives great. Also, very very thirsty.

The ES may be my best option due to the fact that it is reasonable priced as a used car and good on gas.

[birdieman]

I got a 92 ES when they first came out. Drove it a long time & never had it in for any repairs just normal maintenance. Sold it to a friend who is still driving it. My wife had a LS400 and drove it for 130,000 miles. same story, never had a problem. Now her sister has it & wouldn't trade it for anything. She just had a new power steering unit put on it for the first real expense to repair the car.

[Lacebug Sydney]

I got a 92 ES when they first came out. Drove it a long time & never had it in for any repairs just normal maintenance. Sold it to a friend who is still driving it. My wife had a LS400 and drove it for 130,000 miles. same story, never had a problem. Now her sister has it & wouldn't trade it for anything. She just had a new power steering unit put on it for the first real expense to repair the car.

Have you considered buying Shayan's ES300? I hear it's going cheap! :D

[birdieman]

my LS460 is scheduled to be delivered to me either next week or the following week

[SW03ES]

Would you consider the " Noticability " due to ones height and weight ?

Not really, and its not a bad thing. The GS is more intimate and sporty, the console is much higher and it has more of a cockpit feel than the ES does. Its just a matter of personal preference.

One big difference in the ES and GS is a usable middle seating position in the back seat. The back seat of the ES is wider (although its much narrower on the ES350 for some reason) and there's less of a driveline hump due to it being FWD. Whether that matters to you or not depends on your needs.

The ES may be my best option due to the fact that it is reasonable priced as a used car and good on gas.

Actually, in my experience not so much. The bulk of my experience with Lexus comes from the LS. My dad had a 98 that I loved and spent a LOT of time with when I was younger. He has an 04 LS430 now that I've spent considerably less time with. In my experience, the LS400 and the LS430 are BETTER on gas than my ES300. I get 18 or so in the city, 24 tops on the highway. I got about that, maybe a MPG more or so in the LS.

The engine in the ES might be smaller, but it has to work a whole lot harder to move the 3800lb ES than the V8 does to move the 4000lb LS.