jgcec

Is there any reason to not get a 07,
assuming it has been taken care of?

Or is it worth it to get a 2008 over a 2007,
everything else being equal?

ESh

If it has been taken care there won't be any problem. 3 weakest points on a '07 are water pump/flare/rattles.
VVT hose was problematic on 07,08 smd 09.

jkayca

Noise too due to the overly large side mirrors.

FYI the 08s had water pump issues too. Mine certainly did.

Blue Moose Engineering

Both have the broken window clip problems that stopped in '09 but I wouldn't rank that as a reason to avoid either.

jgcec

http://www.clipular.com/c/5852702498...1CFTrq3w2Ur4zY
Explanation of reliability scoring system.
The model has had more or fewer problems than the average model of that year in each of 17 trouble spots. That information can be a big help when inspecting and purchasing a used car. The Used Car Verdict summarizes the 17 trouble spots for each model year and compares that to the average of all vehicles in the same model year. We use these Verdicts to identify lists of Reliable Used Cars and Used Cars to Avoid.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2...-faq/index.htm

Consumer Reports Reliability score totals.
What I did then was add up the total deductions from a perfect score of only the dark green circle which is the most reliable.
The light green is -1, the yellow is -2, the orange is -3, and the red is -4.
I add up all the scores and get a total and that is what you see below.

The left most column is 2007. Next is 08,09,2010.
2007 -16
2008 -13
2009 -3
2010 -8
The 2011-2016 can be found on the consumer reports website.
I put the total points deducted here.
2011 -2
2012 -7
2013 -2
2014 -2
2015 -3
2016 -0

So based on these findings the 2009 ES is almost as reliable as the best years
which are 2011,13,14,15 and 16
and more reliable than 2010 and 2012.
So for me, I will be buying a 2009.

The only other question to ask is:
Is it fair to compare the 2007 reliability score with much newer one, like 2015?
You would assume that cars are getting more reliable in general.
But you could also argue that Toyota and Lexus cars are getting less reliable,
than the cars they made in the 90s.
So you put even more weight on a 2007 rating than a 2015 rating.

Can anyone find a flaw in my analysis of Consumer reports reliability numbers ?
Is there any better reliability information source than consumer reports?