Brooks2IS

My question is directed mainly at those who have owned both an IS and an ES, but any ES owners please feel free to chime in!

I currently have a 2008 Lexus IS250 RWD w/83k miles (purchased w/55k). When I initially purchased the vehicle, I did not drive often, just a couple miles a day. However, I have been doing upwards of 500 miles a week and, frankly, the IS just is not suited for this type of driving. Yes, the main service has been just a $50 oil change, but that has changed recently. A month or two ago, my water pump decided to explode which added a nice service bill. Then the driver HID went dead. $250 fix. Today the passenger one went dead. Another $250. Trunk strut assists failed, couple hundred there. And I'll have the 90k service coming up which, again, isn't cheap. I know with proper maintenance, the car will go well into the 200ks. But how much is that going to cost me? As it is, I do my breaks myself. I don't have the time or the skill set to replace an HID. Now, going into this car purchase, I knew tires would be more frequent than I was used to, but that was prior to me driving a whole lot. In February I had new tires put on (about a thousand there), and will need more in the November time frame. And no, I'm not going to buy rims to put on my car, I prefer the stock style on any car. But this staggered business is killing me. $2k per year on tires isn't cutting it. And finally to my question, would an ES350 be cheaper to maintain? I thought it might as its origins are with the Camry, but I would love to have y'all's input!

xanderES

iTrader: (8)

So let me get this straight... you're asking whether or not routine maintenance and proper upkeep of two cars of the same brand with essentially the same amount of mechanical parts will be? Over a statistical bell curve of possibilities I'd say essentially the same.

You say you're paying for "h.i.d" replacements: Is this the ballast or the bulbs? Bulbs are ~$80 for a pair and take 15 minutes to install.
Oil changes cost $4 for a filter, the cost of oil, and 45 minutes
A water pump for the 250 costs $84 + price of coolant.
Tires for a is250 can be had at ~$400+ a set depending on what brand/treadwear

All of the above mentioned work can and are discussed within both the ES and the IS forums. I know this because I owned/own both cars and have read them on these forums.

If you are both unwilling and unable to do the research necessary to find cheaper alternatives or to learn how to do these replacements yourself you will obviously pay a premium at the dealerships.

SlangBlade

On a long enough timeline, you're going to have to do maintenance/upkeep/repair on both vehicles.

In my opinion, you would save a little if you switched to an ES, namely in (probably) smaller and uniformly sized tires that you can rotate, and probably less wear on the brakes. Major services MIGHT be a little less expensive, but don't forget to consider how you'll feel driving 500 miles a week in an ES vs. an IS. That's a lot of time to spend in a car that you might not be as engaging just to save a couple hundred dollars a year over the life of the car. On the other hand, if you want more room and a softer ride, I don't see any reason not to make the switch before you have to do a major service.

EAS

Go to truedelta.com and find the year models that you are interested in. This is the website where owners post records of how many repairs per year done and what those repairs are. Register to see all of the messages there and report your car history to help others.

In addition if mileage from pump to pump records matter to you, check fuelly.com