tbhowmick

Hi guys,

I love my ES 350 but its time to return the car and am wondering what to do next.

The dealer guy told me not to buy it because the there is too much maintenance required over the long term on the ES. I however think that because the residual value is lower than the market value, he just wants my car.

At this point I am unsure and was looking at some of you to help me verify the dealer's claim - ES 350 is expensive to maintain from year 3 to year 6 of ownership. What has your experience been?

Thank you for your input

jimmy2x

Mine is a 2010 with about 57,000 miles. Only costs have been tires, oil changes and wiper blades. Long term reliability is always a bit of a crap shoot, but I suspect that I can run it up to 150,000 miles far more economically than paying a monthly bill. YMMV

antonios32

I haven't owned an ES before but my mom has before she got an RX350 F Sport in 2014. Hers was a 2007 and she didn't have a single problem with it. She sold it off with 109k last year because she wanted an SUV and an F Sport. I would buy it because it just sounds like the guy wants you to continue leasing so they will get your money every month instead of all in one. I would buy your lease.

SW17LS

The dealer doesn't get money every month when you lease, they sell the car to LFS, doesn't really matter to them if you lease or buy.

He wants you to lease a new one because he wants to sell you a car and he wants to sell yours as used. If you buy out the lease the dealer gets nothing.

If you are going to keep it 4+ more years go ahead and buy it, if not you should just lease another one.

nevernu

http://autos.jdpower.com/ratings/dependability.htm
2012 lexus es350 was top of its class in reliability, same gen as a 2010, so unless yours was a lemon/abused in first 3 years i would say its gonna be pretty reliable

and you could consider an extended warranty if the numbers are right

YolosES350

We have a 2008 ES350 and we have have almost no issues with the vehicle. I did have one. We went out May 2015 to take the ES350 to Jiffy Lube just to check the oil level and tire pressure. I watch them and asked if they could check the spare too? They ended up overfilling all tires including the spare. They also added windshield wiper fluid. That was it... (no charge). As we left my dash lit up like a xmas tree... My check engine light came on, Trac light came on... VSC msg came on the dash and the engine was idling okay but I could tell something was up. It had a weird little intermittent flutter. Drove back to Jiffy Lube and asked could they have done something... they said NO.

The next day, we hit the ground running and checked with you guys here at Lexus Club to narrowed down the problem. This car is a 2008 in mint like condition it was bought in 2008 with 45k on it. Today it has 63k so you can tell it is barely driven.

We took it back to Jiffy lube again and ask them to walk me through what they did. The tech told me about the 40 psi then... Thought I had the answer. Went to auto parts store and got a tire gauge and reduces all pressure to 33 psi (I have aftermarket 20' wheels on the car... Sweet) Also checked gas cap and it looked okay.

Drove to a mechanic friend and it was put on the smaller diagnostic (sorry did not write down code) but it pointed to ignition coil... Took it to another auto shop and asked to turn off the warning lights (they did no charge) But said the problem was in the engine and bring it in if the lights came back on.

Less than a mile later, I had all the warning lights back and we were off to the dealership. They saw me right away and replaced the ignition coil (center front) reset all warning lights and checked tire pressure. Part $100 including Diag / Labor. I had a coupon and saved some money. The car Gods were smiling on me today!

The dealership said, "other coils might fail and keep an eye on it." That was our car fixing adventure. I'm just glad it wasn't something super expensive! We love our car... Hope this helps! I My guess is you should buy it.

12jimmyjam

I'm on my 3rd es 350 and they have all been great. The only real problem I had was not lubing the caliper slide pins after the heavy winter when lots of salt was used. Had to replace the caliper.

Make sure you take it in to have the transmission fluid changed though. Don't believe all that mess about it being a lifetime fluid.

jkayca

The dealer is full of crap. The ES350 is one of the most reliable cars on the market. Even if something does go wrong it is not as expensive to fix as a lot of people think. The ES is very similar to the Camry. Toyota dealerships will often fix it for less than the Lexus ones. Also local shops have lots of experiences with Camry's too. They're even cheaper!

Also, if you return the car, the dealership will probably nail you with a bunch of unnecessary and overpriced repairs.

I went through the same thing with my 2001 Maxima. I was unemployed when the lease ended. I decided to buy it out as I didn't want the payments that come with a new lease or car purchase. I also knew the history of the car, so it made more sense then returning it and finding a used one.

FYI - My 2008 has been rock solid.

SW17LS

The dealer doesn't have anything to do with lease end charges or repairs on lease turn in. Thats all Lexus Financial Services.

The ES is very reasonable to maintain, it is basically a Toyota Camry. My 2003 ES is still in the family with 175k miles on it. I think its had an alternator replaced, and I replaced the lower ball joints around 160k miles when I sold it to my family member. Other than that, its been regular maintenance.

The big maintenance deal with my 03 was the timing belt, the 350 has a timing chain so you don't have to worry about that.

This car will be trouble free for 150k+ miles, its just a question of whether you want it for that long.

SatComm302

If it has low miles and is in good shape, I'd consider buying it out and either keeping it or flipping it. Either way, you win.

CQRT

I agree 1000% . . . check the buy out on your ar and see what you can negotiate. If it's been problem free- buy it.

SW17LS

You can't negotiate the buy out, it is what it is. LFS will not budge one penny off of the residual value.

Robert_J

I have an '07 with 167k miles. We have bought tires and struts and other wearable parts but no big issues. The oil hose blew a few days before the letter about it came in the mail.

Non wear issues have been bumpers (one dog on the interstate and one trailer hitch on a truck backing up), new windshield (dump truck) and new radiator (steel bar on the interstate).

The only thing I did not like about it was the factory stereo and I replaced that.

12jimmyjam

Yeah- I've got the Mark Levinson in mine and it is the definition of unimpressive. My 09 accord had a better stereo.

Frederw

My rec: Keep the car.
We have a 2007 ES 350 with all the options. After 115,000 miles we have replaced the tires twice, brakes, struts, and battery. All required maintenance has been done. We have repainted the hood to rid ourselves of all the rock chips, and the repainted hood has not chipped in 2 years. The 120K service is a big one and will cost about $700 at the Toyota dealer. We took it to the Lexus dealer for an oil change service and haven't been back since. All of our normal servicing is done by the Ford dealer near us for under $45 for the works, including wash and tire rotations.
I expect to have over 200K on it when we decide to stop driving. This car is a real keeper.