ARfan395

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum and I am hoping I can get some input in helping decide a new car for my grandmother.

She has driven GM products most of her life, and is tired of them. Her current car is a '03 Deville DTS and its starting to show its age with minor problems popping up. She wants something safe, smaller than her current car, good gas mileage, and luxurious with some sport to it. Reliability is very important too, since she plans on keeping whatever she buys for a long time. Her budget is $45K and it seems the ES350 is the perfect fit for her. The only problem is the nearest Lexus dealer is about 80 miles away, which makes her hesitant to buy one since she would have to drive that distance to get any warranty work done. Is the ES350 a good choice? Or should she stick to something that is sold close by like Mercedes (E, C-class), Hyundai (Genesis), Lincoln (MKZ), or Cadillac (CTS)??

Any advice will help!

Thanks

EJC

1- Talk to the service dept. When I bought a Lexus at a dealer 60mi away they offered to drive a loaner up and pick up my car. I never took them up on it because there was a closer dealer.

2- routine service can be done by a Toyota dealer. Warranty work might require a Lexus dealer.

3- These cars our solid. We go go back to the '91 ES250, which we traded for a '94 ES300 which my mother drives in Florida. The car has held up well and the original paint is still in excellent condition. The '94 was replaced by an '02 ES300, which we traded in March '10 for a '10 ES350. The '02 was still in great shape, with no issues when we traded. Hope that gives you some idea of the dependability of these cars.

4- For what it's worth, I'm on my 2nd IS250AWD

LexBob2

The ES350 sounds like an ideal car for your grandmother, however, with the nearest Lexus dealership 80 miles away, this would be a deal breaker for me if I were buying the car.

It sounds like it would be too inconvenient for her for warranty work etc.

ARfan395

Thanks for the replies! Yes the distance is sort of a deal breaker, but she said if she had too she would drive down there, but only for warranty stuff, the servicing can be done here. It's come down to the Genesis and ES350 now. No doubt the Genesis is a nice car, but if I were her age and had the money I would rather have the ES in my garage. There are lots of people around here that drive Lexus vehicles so apparently the distance didn't stop them.

k9shelly1

IMO, you won't notice the need for a dealer until you need one. If I'm not mistaken, if its a major break down (car won't go or its a hazard) and it is covered by warranty Lexus will tow it to the nearest dealer anyway.

Car is very nice to drive and will make you forget about it anyway. Like I said though, until you need it.

miniz

The dealer being 80 miles away wouldn't scare me. First off, she won't need it much, if at all. There isn't much that is going to break on an ES. The isn't a Mercedes or BMW. If she is set on getting all her work done at a dealer (like a lot of old people), then she can use her local Toyota dealer. They can do just about anything and might even be able to process warranty claims. One look at the residual resale value of a 7 year old (estimate time she will keep car) Hyundai, Lincoln, or Caddy product should be more then enough scare her and anyone. They maintain horrible, terrible residuals. If she wants to throw money down the drain for a minor 80 mile 'inconvenience' and be forced to drive a inferior product, then that is her choice.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

My wife is probably around the same age of your grandmother (Me, I'm even older) Anyway, I would not want her in any car, except the ES350. It's the perfect car for her, and she loves it.

Lou

LowBeam

I hate to say it, but I recommend BMW 328I since you are ready to spend $45K.
I have 07 es350, feels like lexus could not quite make the transition from toyota.

Humaira

If your grandmother wants a reliable, comfortable car, she ought to drive a Toyota/Lexus--not a BMW. BMWs stay in the shop all the time. We are currently a family of three Toyotas and two Lexuses and owned three Toyotas previously. Without exception, these cars have performed well for us. BMWs lack this record, so do other European makes.

one2free

My Lexus dealer have promised us that, any repair under warranty, oil changes or any other services just give them a call, they drive 235 miles to where i live and pick up my car and drop off a loaner car free of charge for me. Don't buy Mercedes, they are not good at services and parts alway needs to wait for. Lexus serivces are great!!