General Car Conversation
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 35,386
Likes: 359
From: ON/NY
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,339
Likes: 237
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Thread Starter
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,496
Likes: 4,002
From: Maryland
Thread Starter
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,496
Likes: 4,002
From: Maryland
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 17,025
Likes: 496
From: Knoxville, TN
Yep. My Mercedes the honeymoon period is over (thank god...piling on miles) but yes it never sits for long without being warmed up and driven. I feel like my acquisition was almost "good" for it as I put a quick 2500 miles on it and drove it hard.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 17,025
Likes: 496
From: Knoxville, TN
Literally no maintenance.
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Racer
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 1,535
Likes: 71
From: WA
When I got in that accident in March 2019 it had 240k miles. In the 10 years I had it, it had the following done:
3 sets of tires.
1 new battery.
2 transmission fluid changes.
x amount of oil changes (religious at doing it every 5k)
Nothing else comes to mind. I don't even think the spark plugs got done in all that time. That's really as inexpensively as you could get for transportation especially considering the 30+ mpg the car got and the silky smooth ride. My favorite generation Camry of all time, especially the 2005 facelift.
Last edited by xjokerz; May 14, 2023 at 11:25 AM.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 1,535
Likes: 71
From: WA
LOL, here's an LS400 that went 250k miles with *NO* maintenance except oil changes. Still running, power wheel still working even. Mercedes isn't stupid reliable like this, it's just not.
Literally no maintenance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMepmadSN4
Literally no maintenance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMepmadSN4
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 18,101
Likes: 1,742
From: Ohio
LOL, here's an LS400 that went 250k miles with *NO* maintenance except oil changes. Still running, power wheel still working even. Mercedes isn't stupid reliable like this, it's just not.
Literally no maintenance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMepmadSN4
Literally no maintenance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMepmadSN4
Thread Starter
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,496
Likes: 4,002
From: Maryland
No...they are way more complex than a basic Mercedes.
But it needs thousands and thousands of dollars worth of work. Sure its running, but the timing belt could explode at any moment, its leaking oil, and has all kinds of other issues and deferred maintenance. If you want to keep a car like that running well, its going to cost serious money over time.
You are incorrect. Most mid 2000s Camrys are V6s, and its exactly the same car, 180 lbs heavier, the parts are interchangeable. Its on the original suspension except for lower control arms, the engine hasn't had any problems its other wear stuff that is normal for a car of that age, but its had a lot of needs over the 20 years and 225,000 miles its been on the road...and it has a lot of outstanding needs that could be addressed if one wanted it to be perfect. It leaks oil, it has a main seal leak, it needs struts all around, needs a timing belt, etc.I could spend $4,000 on it today if I wanted to. Its had both front axles and CV boots replaced, multiple engine mounts replaced, multiple alternators, 2 starters...all those replaced parts are identical to the parts in the same year Camry.
LOL, here's an LS400 that went 250k miles with *NO* maintenance except oil changes. Still running, power wheel still working even. Mercedes isn't stupid reliable like this, it's just not.
Literally no maintenance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMepmadSN4
Literally no maintenance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMepmadSN4
One, that's a V6 so it's obviously more expensive to maintain and/or repair than a basic 4-cylinder. Two, even though it was based off the Camry, it was still a Lexus which is still more just because of different parts, designs, etc. It wasn't exactly a Camry. Three, those had timing belts whereas a 4-cylinder Camry did not. Four, it was considerably heavier which wears out suspension components faster. Mine didn't have any of that done.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 1,535
Likes: 71
From: WA
No...they are way more complex than a basic Mercedes.
But it needs thousands and thousands of dollars worth of work. Sure its running, but the timing belt could explode at any moment, its leaking oil, and has all kinds of other issues and deferred maintenance. If you want to keep a car like that running well, its going to cost serious money over time.
You are incorrect. Most mid 2000s Camrys are V6s
But it needs thousands and thousands of dollars worth of work. Sure its running, but the timing belt could explode at any moment, its leaking oil, and has all kinds of other issues and deferred maintenance. If you want to keep a car like that running well, its going to cost serious money over time.
You are incorrect. Most mid 2000s Camrys are V6s
Point of the discussion I brought up was that a mid 2000's Camry was very inexpensive to get to around 500k km. That is true and I listed the comprehensive list of what I did to my car. Yeah I failed at getting it to 500k km but being just over 100k off, I have no doubt I could have gotten there without a single repair. Car was still in great shape.
Goes to show you that even though it was based off the Camry, your Lexus was more costly to maintain than my car, which was a 4-cylinder Camry.
Thread Starter
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,496
Likes: 4,002
From: Maryland
Point of the discussion I brought up was that a mid 2000's Camry was very inexpensive to get to around 500k km. That is true and I listed the comprehensive list of what I did to my car. Yeah I failed at getting it to 500k km but being just over 100k off, I have no doubt I could have gotten there without a single repair. Car was still in great shape.
Goes to show you that even though it was based off the Camry, your Lexus was more costly to maintain than my car, which was a 4-cylinder Camry.
NO vehicle will survive to that mileage without requiring repairs.
Racer
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 1,535
Likes: 71
From: WA
Because only the basic models were 4cyl, the mid trims which are the most common trims were the same V6. Anyways its a moot point since none of the costs I have put into my old ES have anything to do with the engine being a V6.
And I listed a comprehensive list of what I have done and what needs to be done, I owned the car since new. If your car had 240,000 miles on it and you had never had one repair, it had a whole lot of stuff wrong with it that needed to be done. For one, it should have had two timing belts and water pumps at $1,000 a pop at least. The struts would be shot, suspension bushings and engine mounts would be shot, water pump would be leaking for sure, belts would all be shot, probably had leaking CV boots and a leaking main seal (they all have these issues)
Only if you didn't actually maintain your car. Its the same car.
NO vehicle will survive to that mileage without requiring repairs.
And I listed a comprehensive list of what I have done and what needs to be done, I owned the car since new. If your car had 240,000 miles on it and you had never had one repair, it had a whole lot of stuff wrong with it that needed to be done. For one, it should have had two timing belts and water pumps at $1,000 a pop at least. The struts would be shot, suspension bushings and engine mounts would be shot, water pump would be leaking for sure, belts would all be shot, probably had leaking CV boots and a leaking main seal (they all have these issues)
Only if you didn't actually maintain your car. Its the same car.
NO vehicle will survive to that mileage without requiring repairs.
Was the car perfect? No. It leaked some oil. Not a lot but a bit. We were discussing how inexpensively a car could get to 500k km, not about it being in showroom condition.