RICO8458

hello all. my son has a 2005 Camry with 11,000 miles. he wants to trade it in for a ES300. question is this: what year should he go with? he still owes 19K on the camry. which year lexus can best fit his needs and budget? he was looking at going for the 2001 or 2002 ES300, but at which year did lexus change the body styling on their models for both GS and ES? thanks mates.

dallison

the 2002 es300 is the new body style
the gs is the same shape from 98 to i believe 2005

PlatES300

iTrader: (1)

I say go for anything between 97 to 01, preferrably 00 or 01 (probably because I own one ) Overall, you can find them used at a decent price. Is this just going to be a daily driver? For all practical purposes, the 97 to 01 ES300 should be more than enough: good gas mileage, great interior, and that smooth lexus ride

Woogie

I'd probably try to shoot for an 03 or even an 02. That's the newer body style and that would be the most similar to his current vehicle. If he's okay with stepping down to an older gen and saving some money, definitely go for the 01.

Pheonix

Advice:
OK
Never trade in. Trading in is stupid. Huge waste of money. Dealers are not giving you some super price oon a new car to trade in. They're making money. Dealers don't expect to make much money selling you a car, so you shouldn't let them. The dealer's cash cow are the service bays.
Clean your car from snout to tail & sell it in your local paper, or autotrader. You'll get face value for it instead of 25-75% of it.


'00-'01 would be nice, or an older GS300, or an older LS400.
ES/LS - then GS in my book.
Interiors get better every year, but in my opinon the gen5 Camry platform is ugly. That means '02+ of either one.






You know he could always sit tight a few months & grab an '06 Camry. They're hot.

3000

Trade in is NOT really what people think it is. It depends on if the camry is paid off or not. If the camry is paid off, then the trade would be like a certain amount off the ES300's price (maybe 50% of what the camry is worth is given to you). BUT if the camry is NOT paid off, then the remaining unpaid price of the camry is ADDED to the ES300's price.

ArmyofOne

or you write a huge check to payy off whhatevers owed on the old car.

dallison

i would say trade in on that camry may be 15k if its a 4 cylinder, 17k if v6. depending on dealer

RICO8458

thanks everyone for the feedback. what are the gens for the ES? which years correspond to each ES Gen? i am looking at the price range of 19K to 22K. and what is the max mileage to shoot for for each Gen? thanks mates. and what is the difference between the ES and GS in terms of pricing, and Gens?

Pheonix

ES gens corrispond to Camry gens.


Camry gen 2 / ES 250 = 87-91 (89-91)
Camry gen3 / ES 300 = 92-96
Camry gen 4 / ES 300 = 97-01
Camry gen 5 / ES 300/330 = 02+


Camry gen 6/ ES 350 = 2006/2007.




I think having him wait a few months, then buying a new Camry is the best option. All he's giving up is a v6 for an i4, and getting a brand new car, with new car goodies, on a completely redisigned Camry - which should be the best ever.

RICO8458

yeah , sounds good. thanks mates. what year did the ES330 come out? and what is the major difference between the ES and GS?