jasony0423

Hello,

ive been a member here a long time, but rarely post. I've got an 02 es300 that I bought with 40,000 miles. It's been an absolutely perfect car and I just rolled over 300,000 recently. It's just gotten to the point where it's a lot time to replace it. Still original transmission and engine, but it's 15 years old and I'm tired of it. I'm thinking I'd like to get a newer ES350, similar mileage, but I wanted to get opinions. I'm thinking 2010-2012 is the way to go. My current one is black with black leather, and while I love that, I think I want a different exterior color this time, but I want to stay with black interior. Are there any specifics I should look for?

Gekko

IMO -

1. i'd consider waiting 6-12 months and then get a 2013 with the new body style - probably for the same price.
2. i have a silver ES and love it because it always looks clean, doesn't show dings/dents as much, and is a beautiful color. I like Black leather interior too because it wears so well and hides stains/dirt/wear more than the lighter colors. Looks great too.
3. since you keep your cars a long time i'd also make sure you get every possible feature that you want. don't scrimp.

good luck!

12jimmyjam

+1 for just moving to a 13. You seem to keep cars a long time and a 13 won't be as dated over time. The 07-12 ES has a terrible stereo anyway. They really skimped on the cheap speakers.

Awesome that you put 300k miles on your car btw.

jasony0423

I do tend to keep things a while, but this 02 just kinda turned out that way. I had 200,000 on it by the time it was five years old, and then the miles were so high that the resale sucked, so I kept it. I'm no longer driving 50,000 miles a year, so I probably won't keep whatever I get for nearly as long. That said, I could look at a 13 with a few more miles now, I guess. That's the first year they followed Mercedes and put fake leather in the es, right? I'm also considering a gs350 awd and on reading reviews, maybe I should check into Acura and Infiniti as well. I'd love an e350 Mercedes, but the maintenance scares me off of that some.

mk9750

"+1 for just moving to a 13. You seem to keep cars a long time and a 13 won't be as dated over time. The 07-12 ES has a terrible stereo anyway. They really skimped on the cheap speakers."

Boy, you nailed that. I've been driving my father in law's 2007 for three months now, and have gotten the audio controls set so they are as good as possible, and the sound still sucks. That's my next mod - A new stereo system and speakers. I'm a middle aged guy (58). I don't need head banging sound. But I'd like to be able to enjoy good music and understand talk radio.

12jimmyjam

I added a subwoofer using info from the forum and it helped a lot. I can actually hear bass from the radio now. Supposedly the speakers are made cheaply in China.