Any inherent quality advantage to Lexus RX350 or ES350?
- Thread starter Elkins45
- Start date
Only if you’re a glutton for punishment.
no, I got the point. its just a moot one. there is nothing special about an old mass produced vehicle. you should always want the newest most reliable vehicle possible. a vehicle is a tool, and the best tool is the one that works with the smallest about of attention as possible. you want something that all you have to think about is getting in a turning the key.
with all the maintenance cost, and insurance. you would be way ahead financially with one newer vehicle. if you sold everything you would be ahead even with a small note on a newer vehicle. I've had old vehicles, I was spending around 1000 a year on parts on the low end.
My wife drives a 2019 RX 350 that I don't drive much anymore but I did drive it into Boston last night to the Bruins game. It was built in Canada and has 60k easy miles. There are quite a few squeaks and rattles, the driver door buzzes with the stereo bass (the passenger did this when it was new and they added foam to remedy it and that mostly took care of it but 55k miles later my wife doesn't care enough to bring it in), the transmission has quite a few hard shifts, it needed its first brake job at 30k miles and now it needs its second at 60k miles. The engine runs like a top with no oil consumption. The steering feels "loose" compared to when it was new. I'm sure it will run for many hundreds of thousands of miles but I was surprised how "loose" it feels in general at 60k miles. My Tundra at 55k miles still feels like new.
but they aren't equal one has ten years of heat cycling and one just rolled off the line.
I am with you on that. Anything built in the last 4 years especially.
I haven’t spent $1000 total on parts for every vehicle I own combined in the last 10 years, and that includes the consumables. Other than brake pads the only parts I’ve replaced are a belt idler, a wheel bearing, and an ignition switch for a truck I barely consider as mine.
Your point about insurance is valid for sure, but with a nice new vehicle I would have to carry full coverage but with old clunkers I’m fine with just liability. I’m currently only carrying full coverage on the two newest ones. The others are just a few hundred per year combined. Besides, if I get a decent Lexus I’ll sell one of the toasters.
If you are considering the ES, the GS is worth at least a glance - RWD platform while being a similar size up front. The ES has a much better rear seat and the seat cushions themselves are softer. Both IME are wonderfully built vehicles. The LS comes across to me as a classic, but they are a bit thirsty and a little small inside for as big as they are on the outside.
My complaints against ES are that it lets you know there’s a big, heavy nose up there, and it tight driving I can feel the softly mounted engine rocking as I come to each stop. Big heavy vehicle over that nose. I’ve driven an RX exactly once, a hybrid version, and I did not notice the soft motor mount wobble, and it felt better balanced front to rear. However, the interior of the RX feels no larger than a Camry, while the vehicle is bigger dimensionally.
I’d boil it down to body style function. Would you prefer and SUV or a sedan. On a desert road at night all alone? Sedan for me. Thick traffic, suv.
My complaints against ES are that it lets you know there’s a big, heavy nose up there, and it tight driving I can feel the softly mounted engine rocking as I come to each stop. Big heavy vehicle over that nose. I’ve driven an RX exactly once, a hybrid version, and I did not notice the soft motor mount wobble, and it felt better balanced front to rear. However, the interior of the RX feels no larger than a Camry, while the vehicle is bigger dimensionally.
I’d boil it down to body style function. Would you prefer and SUV or a sedan. On a desert road at night all alone? Sedan for me. Thick traffic, suv.
I don't see how that is possible. a oem alternator now is several hundred dollars alone. oem wheel bearings are similar.
The OEM Mazda tensioner was around $150 and the Scion hub assembly was around $100 but it wasn’t OEM. I also realized I left off a $60 Denso 02 sensor I just replaced on the older xB.
I’m probably about to spend $300 on front struts for the newer xB but that can wait until I get around to it.
Having owned two old Lexus LS (both +20 years old), you're always looking at cost to maintain. Maintenance parts are not an issue.
In general, replacement parts for some of the optional equipment are either NLA or prohibitively expensive. Especially when overall mileage of the vehicle is concerned. Some of the standard equipment can fall into this pit as well.
If you're considering an older Lexus that +10 years old, I would look for a base model with as little options as possible. Unless you have the window sticker, I've found it hard to tell what's optional equipment and what isn't. TIS (Vehicle Inquiry) is the best place for this info.
A lot of options, like CD-R based navigation is essentially useless. Typically, there's no way to interface with your mobile phone either.
In general, replacement parts for some of the optional equipment are either NLA or prohibitively expensive. Especially when overall mileage of the vehicle is concerned. Some of the standard equipment can fall into this pit as well.
If you're considering an older Lexus that +10 years old, I would look for a base model with as little options as possible. Unless you have the window sticker, I've found it hard to tell what's optional equipment and what isn't. TIS (Vehicle Inquiry) is the best place for this info.
A lot of options, like CD-R based navigation is essentially useless. Typically, there's no way to interface with your mobile phone either.
not particularly, 2010 Honda accord alternator was $800. that was back in 2019. tried the 200 dollar o Reilly special. it failed in six months.
