Your opinion needed...
 

I'm planning to buy a new car within a next week or two, and narrowed it down to 2007 ES350 or 2006 Acura TL. You might ask, why am I posting it here and not at Honda/Acura forum? I'm leaning more and more toward Lexus. To be honest, I haven't test driven either of them, so far only compared specs and scanned through reviews from owners. From a price point of view, TL has a better value with more standard features included under MSRP. Also, I've noticed Lexus ES is more popular with 40-50 year old population while Acura TL is more for a younger crowd (I'm 31). But than, 07 ES350 vs 06 ES330 model is cooler looking ;) So far, these are the only negative points toward ES350 (and of course Russian roulette you get with 07 tranny for the first 500 miles LOL!!!).

Can you guys tell me your opinion about this? Has anybody else faced the same decision when you were shopping for your Lexus?

Thanks!!!

I would definitely suggest that you test drive the cars you're interested in. If it feels right to you then buy it. I'm saying this because the people on this forum are biased towards the ES350.
But as one of the biased people.....There's no contest once you drive the 350. Quietness, acceleration, gas mileage, are just a few of the reasons. You'll be bitten after this drive. ;)

Depends on your priorities. Do you prefer a sportier ride or would you rather be coddled in the most luxury for the given price? I'll strongly suggest you test drive both. I'm not sure how the TL is tuned but my friend's TSX has a rather stiff ride for my tastes.

My preference is for the ES since I have test driven it and it's very nice. It's smooth, quiet, and "liquid" in power delivery. It has a lot of nice touches like felt-lined door handle grip, leather wrapped overhead assit grips, chrome on the rear vent louvre etc.

So yeah, in the general sense, the TL is a better buy but if you like small details like I do, give the ES a shot and see what works out for you.

Good suggestion on test drive! Don't just go around the corner, but find some different road surfaces and and different speed areas.

Although the cars are about the same size and both have front wheel drive, they could not be much more different in ride and handling. The TL is much sportier with flatter cornering and better grip in turns. To achieve this handling, it gives up the smooth ride of the ES. If you really enjoy hard driving on winding roads, the TL is the choice. If most of your driving is freeway and you want quiet and comfort, then the ES is a better fit.

One other consideration is that the ES is a brand new design, so will remain current for several years. The TL is over 3 years old, so a redesign is due sometime in the not to distant future which could make your car look old.

Steve

Thank you everybody for your replies!!!

I did go today to test drive ES350. Wow!!! That will be hard to beat ;) Tap of the gas pedal, and this smooth rocket is flying!!! Now, I can see why everybody are so excited about this car.

Of course, the price negotiation didn't go too far. They are stuck at $37,500 with the Premium Package being the cheapest available, and can only knock down about $1,000. Do you guys think its reasonable to get it at $35,000 here in NJ? Or, maybe even lower? Around here, this is the only Lexus dealer (Ray Catena), so its hard to find any price leverage from any other dealer :(

Also, from your experience, does the Lexus maintanance is more expensive (relative to Toyota)? How about gasoline, can you use regular or do you have to go with Plus or Premium?

Thanks!!!

^ i have heard that you can not use regular gas on the es350.

You heard wrong! Look at Page 394 of the ES350's Owners Manual ;)

The sales guy at dealership told me they OKed regular unleaded, and it was even confirmed by some rep from Lexus factory. I was just curious if anybody using regular with their ES350?

Also, can anybody comment on maintanance cost? Maybe from your older ES300/330?

one of salesman said it can run on regular but then again, I trust the owners and the owner's manual over the salesmen since it's hard enough for them to learn all the details and functions of all the cars.

My '98 ES300 had no maintenance costs other than scheduled work. I did have the oil changed every 3 - 3500 miles, but not by Lexus. Their price for that is a bit too steep IMO. It was a real pleasure to own a car for nine years and have no issues what so ever. The girl who cuts my hair is the very happy new owner.

We shall see with this one, but so far it has been a dream car. I actually look forward to driving to work in the morning. :cool:

I was actualy asking about the scheduled maintanance rather than repair maintanance. For example, my wife and I are Toyota/Nissan owners and those suggest scheduled maintance such as every 3.5k oil change, every 7k some other check/replacement, than every 15k a bigger one, than more at every45k and 60k with other replacements to maintain the car running "healthy". We usually follow all of those, and it actually adds up over the lifetime of a car. Was just curious if the same exists for Lexus?

Every auto purchased today requires services and maintenance. Emissions Laws require it ... Check your owners manual for maintenance needs. Your warranty may depend on scheduled maintenance.

Lexus factory recommended intervals are 5K miles, but the dealers keep trying to sell 3K. Consumer Reports did an extensive test and suggested that for modern cars, filters, and oils the 3K change is excessive. I use the 5K interval. Lexus also adds more inspections than Toyota and includes tire rotation at each 5K service. As a result, the Lexus service will be more expensive than a simple oil change. One of the reasons that Lexus reliability is so high is the inspections included with regular service. Preventative maintenance is a good idea, but it isn't free. Lexus dealers also normally charge more per hour for technician labor than Toyota dealers do.

If this is a concern because of cost, you might consider a Camry. The XLE V-6 is 95% as nice a car as the Lexus and the service costs will be less.

Steve