jaredmac11

Im shopping for a DD ES300/ES330.

I drove a 2003 IS300 and the car was in good shape until it was stolen and wrecked. I think I want to take a step in a different direction and get a more comfortable daily commuter vehicle, so the ES is the current target.

I am seeing a lot of 97-01 ES300 for pretty cheap, mostly less than $3000. The 2003-06 ES330 seem to cost nearly 2x as much, with the same mileage so Im thinking theres a lot of value in the earlier models.

All cars Im considering are less than 150k miles and need to be kept up with maintenance (on the timing belt/water pump especially).

Can someone tell me that I'm crazy for considering this car over a newer ES330?

What Im looking for:
Comfortable ride
Reliable with reasonable cost at maintenance

I'm several years removed from the days of speeding down the highway, hugging corners, etc and am looking for a cruiser now.


Edit: I seem to be skipping over the 4th gen, 2001-03 ES300. Is that a mistake?

JetsonES

You're not crazy. In my eye the last of the third gens are better looking than the fourth, and I own a fourth. Its just more restrained in its design, maybe I'm just 90's nostalgic. I have never driven one but it can't be that different I would think. There were a few years of bad transmissions though. Like the one in this thread, in that color the car is gorgeous.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es-...ish-es300.html

jaredmac11

ARe there any resources on those years and transmissions?

And the black one would be nice but they are so hard to find. Seem like the dull champagne/beige was the hit of the ES..

JetsonES

It's called the u140 transmission, they may be less problematic than I have heard, someone will probably chime in. I think it just comes down to the car having had regular fluid changes.

crwys

I have a 99 es 300 with the u140e transmission.

Car was bought for me at 140k, miles, salvage title.
I'm now at 203k miles 3 years later.
Unexpected problems:

Oil control valves on both banks.
(About 120 dollars, hour minimum of labor)

Torque converter at 190k
(200 dollars, a lot of labor and did a full rebuild on the transmission anyways)

And now recently an alignment which ran me about 100 dollars for after market lower control arms.

So it's been a really great car and the torque converter could have been prevented most likely if I changed the fluid. The book says every 15k miles. It's certainly been more reliable than all of my friends cars. Everything still works, ac is great. You name it.

The only thing I suggest is to try and find one with the a514e transmission. They are much cheaper than the u140e transmission.

hypervish

I'm not going to comment on the transmission, because last time I did one of the moderator deleted my comment without any explanation...

Just wanted to add that the 02-03 ES300 and the 04-06 ES330 are both 4th generation ES. Initially I wasn't a fan of the 4th gen exterior, however it's grown on me over the years. I loved the 4th gen interior when i bought it, and I still love it now. The 3rd gen interior hasn't aged as gracefully.

JetsonES

The fourth Gen has grown on me as well, at first I thought it looked like a catfish from the front and really hated the tail lights to the point that I was going to swap them out for the later units. Now I like it for what it is, I just prefer the more tidy designs of yore. I think it was the 15k fluid interval that gets this transmission scapegoated. A lot of people are not going to obey that interval and will end up paying for it and the Internet quickly becomes an echo chamber. Just make sure you get good records with the car you find.

808mcv20l

Hah, I still prefer the look of the 00-01 to the 02-03, while the updated 04-06 looks better I still think it looks bloated, though I can agree the interior of the 4th gen looks bounds better than the 3rd especially today.

Call me biased but the 00-01 has more of that classic Japanese luxury car look, the 4th gen and newer they are all started to look blended with Euro Styling features.

After reading about the problems people have had with the U140 trans it does worry me, but I think I'll be fine with frequent fluid changes.

If I were in the market again with 8-10k to spend I might go for a clean 04-06 ES or a Clean IS.

JetsonES

It seems like Audi is the only brand left with some design restraint in place.

OceanView

Personally I don't like the way the 4th Gen drives.
It has drive by wire on the gas and brake so those feel less responsive to the 3rd Gen.
Both cars are fairly easy to work on except accessing the rear spark plugs and valve cover gaskets.

Other than that, these cars are solid. No issues at all.
My 98 ES300 had 345K miles before it got rear ended and was a solid reliable car.
I like it so much I bought a 2000 ES300. Hope to get close to 300K miles on it as well someday.

speedkar9

While I agree with the rest and say the 3rd gen has a better exterior looks than the 4th gen ES, just remember - you're going to be spending most of the time INSIDE the car - so that's where it should count!

Look for a 2002-06 model, preferably an 05+ if you want the extra's of the face-lift. The 4th gen has a much better interior, quieter ride (no frameless glass!), and more reliable power-train (no tranny or sludge issues).

Just make sure you test drive it in stop and go traffic to make sure you're okay with the tranny/throttle lag.

JetsonES

You have a point. The cabin is much more modern.