ES350Bob

Ouch..... I see you list Florida as area you are in, if it's Central Florida, I can relate, Sand Lake road train overpass intersection, one downtown Orlando exit from expressway and just about any of several of the Maitland exits from I 4 are almost a setup for some bozo not paying attention and ramming into you.

You are potentially ES shopping at the best time for price, e.g., you can pickup a non UL/ML with premium package for roughly 31,800 and equivalent discount on UL/ML, much better pricing than most anybody paid.
They are running many cash back ads in Central Florida for Orlando and Melbourne dealerships.

When testing, be sure the car is cold started and driven right away with little or no salesman distractions to you and get it up to 65 mph for a stretch paying attention to engine noise, wind noise and outside sound intrusion from start to 65 mph.

If you end up getting one with issues, you can at least take comfort in having gotten one at the best price, thousands less than most others paid and maybe that will allow you to offset any issues you have to deal with.

And hold out till March 2 or 3 if you can before negotiating though I can imagine being in a rental is not the best scenario.

MShybrid

I, for one,can honestly say that my wife loves her ES350 more than any other car she has ever driven.
We have not experienced any of the faults noted by other owners.
The UL package is definately worth the extra cost. The ML audio is something to behold.
Would we buy another?? In a heartbeat.

nelsjay

I'm in Tampa, but what happens on March 2 or 3?

garsarno

I love the car / hated the problems. Buy / lease another - no. Suggest the Volvo S80 AWD V8, Lincoln MKS, Cadillac CTS. Drive them all on the same roads: home, mall, work.

ES350Bob

They see the results of February and may give an even better price to you than you could otherwise negotiate, sales for them are way down.

I don't know if they are running same cash back ads in your area or not but I suspect they are or offer similar discounts without advertising they are. 4,000 cash back here on ES non UL/ML as example, 6,000 back on GS and of course they expect you to otherwise negotiate as it is.

Tampa will likely match any deal anyway, I do like the folks at Lexus of Tampa as they were the most truthful about issues of the ES350 up to a point, or at least they were in 06.

Take sticker price of car you want and go at least 10 percent off that and you will get it, though I'd go for a GS non AWD or LS if you can to avoid most problems.

I will go out on a limb and say if you test as outlined above, coming from an ES300 you will be at the engine idle noise of 350 alone you can always hear inside the car in contrast to able to mistake your 300 was even started yet, among other things you will notice.

thedon3

I will just say, it's the best car I have ever driven. I have no issues with this vehicle

AccElan01

Does the Pope SHlT in the woods?

Yes I love this car!

Gumball

Great car, no problems

frmsuv2van

Bought 08 ES350 late December 07. No transmission flare, no loud engine noise at start up, no discernible problems....(knock on wood).

Quiet, roomy, comfortable, a dream cruiser. I would recommend it.

YotaCarFan

It's a decent car, but I don't "love it" because (1) the minor occasional warm transmission flare, minor wind noise, moderate tire noise, greater engine vibration in the steering wheel than the 04 ES330 my wife has, and (2) the substandard standard audio system. If I'd gotten the ML audio, I'd probably be fairly content, though. As others have said, be sure to get at least 10% off sticker, and test drive it thoroughly under various conditions to ensure the transmission shifts to your satisfaction, there are no rattles, etc. You should be able to get the Premium Plus pkg (Navigation system) for about $37.5K and the Ultra Luxury pkg (with ML stereo) for about $42K, including freight.

SusanSC300

That, right there, is the difference between a bmw forum and a lexus forum...

SusanSC300

i can,t believe some of you people. "best car i've ever driven??"

what else have you driven? the camry it's based on?

you're all smart... but you utterly lack appreciation for a fine automobile. the ES350 is the automotive equivalent of a mcdonald's premium chicken selects. satisfying? yes. adequate? for sure. but it's still mcdonalds. why not go to wendy's instead? they have bmw 3 series there.

codex57

With that price limit and you needing a car immediately, even with all the reported, the ES350 is easily my top choice. I was in a rush too. Wife loved the RX, but it's about to be replaced and we needed a car immediately as well. I looked around. At this moment, there's not another car I'd rather have.

Kaius88

How time flies...i have owned mine for 1.5 years already! Best car ever owned. Runs as well as day 1....actually better than day 1 because I switched to synthetic oil. No issues with engine at all. Very quite and comfortable. Seems like the UL owners love their cars more. I am just beginning to use the voice commands for dialing cus the keypad screen is inactive while moving. Luckily I am good at remembering phone numbers. There's also a speed dial function that works even when car is moving. Asides from the bells and whiles, this car saved my life twice. I was almost going to rear-end somebody at 60 mph, and was forced to swerve away. The stability control kicked in, and I never lost control of the car. Too bad for the car behind me because he plowed right into the car in front of me. I could have been sandwiched!!! Safety features aside, this car can really take a beating. It's built like a tank...I really give it punishment by driving over big potholes and stray lumber on the freeway. Took it like a champ. I dunno man...what more can I say.... this is as close to a perfect car as I can imagine. My next car will definitely be a ES...(or a variation of it).

dreyfus

I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. I love the features and the service from Johnson Lexus here has been superb.