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>liked the 16 front end more
Welcome, what color is the car?
Depending on the color a lot of people have had a body shop paint the body-colored cross bar in the grill to match the rest of the grill. Doing that makes the front end look much more like the later ones.
Also, consider getting the side moldings for the doors. There are pretty cheap (<$100) from the dealer, are a perfect color match, will protect the side from parking lot dings, and give some character to a pretty bland side view. Search around this forum, there are plenty of before/after pix.
Cheers
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My karma just ran over your dogma
Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '15 Jaguar XF
I sold my 2011 Prius 2 weeks ago. Had my mind set on a 2013+ Avalon hybrid. Was searching day and night for the Avalon and stumbled upon the Es300h. I went to a local dealership and drove both the 2013 and 2016. They drove the same but I liked the 16 front end more, but they came with a higher price tag. Found a private seller and bought his 2013 Es300h and I’m loving it. Averaging 35-36mpg vs the Prius 44mph. But I guess the luxury comes with sacrifice
I sold my 2011 Prius 2 weeks ago. Had my mind set on a 2013+ Avalon hybrid. Was searching day and night for the Avalon and stumbled upon the Es300h. I went to a local dealership and drove both the 2013 and 2016. They drove the same but I liked the 16 front end more, but they came with a higher price tag. Found a private seller and bought his 2013 Es300h and I’m loving it. Averaging 35-36mpg vs the Prius 44mph. But I guess the luxury comes with sacrifice
I went from a 2010 Prius to the 2013 ES300h I had the Prius since 2011 it had 18K miles and had it up until a year ago with just over 100K. It's nice to be able to have luxury and still attain very good MPG. I am very much enjoying the luxury and comfort of the ESh.
I went from a '16 ES to a '15 GS and love it! The ES is great, but I definitely appreciate the extra luxury, more sportiness (in performance and styling), and the AWD.
Our family have long been Toyota owners (except my son who seems to have a love/hate relationship with F*rd), owning at various times Corollas, X-Tra cab pickup, Camrys, RAV4. In my past I’ve owned all of the “Big 3” but am sold on Toyota products.
I had a 2003 Camry with 277,000 km on it that I’d owned since 2005. After retiring in 2009 my wife and I have done a bit of travelling and, since the car was as still reliable and trouble free we decided our money was better spent on travel and house renovations than updating the cars. When my wife developed some health issues that placed international travel (at least temporarily) in jeopardy, I decided it was time to replace the Camry. At first I was thinking of a 2015-2017 Camry but saw a couple of nice Avalons for not much more money; I liked the roominess and the bigger engine.. Then I noticed Lexus...looked at their model lineup and knew I wanted one that ran on regular gas (premium is stupid expensive in Canada). I knew the Avalon had typical Toyota reliability and the ES was a clone so that translated to the ES350. Once I started perusing those, my price range put me firmly in the early Gen. 6 design. I still looked at and compared with Avalon but the styling of the Lexus was just better (the basking shark front end of the Avalon was and is a turn-off). Did not want a ton of “features” that are expensive to fix and can be a distraction when driving...radar cruise control, lane assist, parking assist; can live without them. My son has a F*rd that has some of those and he demonstrated how they can be a problem when driving...plus I “like” to drive.
A check of Consumer Reports showed Lexus reliability as good or better than Toyota with the ES350 being very marginally better than Avalon (depending on the year).
So: 2014 ES350 with Nav, power steering column adjust, driver seat memory, rain sensing wipers, wiper heater, seat heating/cooling, full PPF package, “solar friendly” Starfire Pearl and Parchment interior (black is just too hot in summer). Next week we’ll be headed out on a 3,000 km road trip and based on my experience to date I expect to average around 28-29 mpg with close to 32-33 (US) on the highway through the Rocky Mountains to the West Coast and back. (And that includes the “Highway Through Hell”...which really isn’t all that bad.)
why did i buy this?
2 leases with benz and 1 with bmw in the last 10 years. random things just stop working for no reason on these, all 3 i drove for less than 30k miles and had numerous dealer visits for some random warning signs.
So i needed something reliable that wasn't goign to break my bank while being luxurious.
ES was within budget.
Exterior styling was very acceptable to me.
ES was the my ABSOLUTELY last choice in case i couldn't come into agreement with any other model.
What else did i consider?
2015 gs 350 - better in every darn way than the ES. will be trading my es for this as soon as my cpo warranty expires. No more ES for me until i turn 60 or 70, i'll probably be happy with it then. At the time this was out of my budget.
13-16 is 350 f sport. same as above, it was out of my budget but if i can't find a gs350 i like, i'll probably trade my es for an is 350 f sport.
15-16 nx 200t/nx300 - if i was going to end up with a suv, this was my first choice.
older gen GS 350, i couldn't find one with less than 100k miles at a reasonable price.
I was looking at various models over a couple of months. I've always had old, used or hand-me-down cars and this was my first "new" purchase. I like to keep my cars, so whatever I chose, it was going to stick around for a long time.
At first, I considered the Mazda 6 to CX-5 because of cost and possibility of finding a 5-speed manual, Camry vs Avalon because of reliability and space, and I also looked at the old vs new Tacomas because I was coming from a 2000 4Runner (5-spd, supercharged). My commute is over an hour long so I figured I would need something with great MPG, reliable history, and family friendly. Those were my most important needs. Now, since I've graduated and landed a grown-up job, I also wanted something more luxurious. I've always stuck with Toyota anyway, but I decided I should step up the classy factor.
So I decided on Lexus, because it's a fancy Toyota, in a sense. I would still get reliability and room for the whole family but in a much nicer package. From there, I concentrated my research on different models, and discovered the ES300h. Not as much power as the 350, but definitely not a Prius either. But a part of me still wanted something sporty ( I also have an '85 Celica Supra ) so I was also looking at the IS 200t, but in the long run the ES just made more sense.
I am happy with my choice. It's not a sports car, but my drive is so much more comfortable now, I visit the pump less often, and I worry a lot less about maintenance (but I still do my own oil changes).
Simple for me. I bought a 2008 ES 350 in 2008 for no other reason than I liked its looks and knew that Lexus was reliable. I was coming from Volvo. Needless to say, it was the best vehicle decision I ever made. Drove the 08 for 10 years, over 210,000 miles and have never had one speck of trouble. Nothing! In fact when I bought a new 2017 ES UL. I kept my 08. It is simply too good a car to let go of! Probably couldn’t sell it for much, (even thought it looks brand new, inside and out). So, it’s worth more for me to use as my daily “run around” car!!
I have a feeling we use the same dealer in Naperville. The first time they washed my car, after an oil change, they left a big scratch in the clear-coat on my hood. I now insist they never wash my car when it's in for service. I could not imagine just stopping by for a free wash, especially if you're **** about your cars's appearance.
Did they fix it or compensate you for it? I just picked up an ES from them and I’m closer to McGrath Westmont so I’ll probably go to McGrath for service especially if this happens at Naperville.
Our family have long been Toyota owners (except my son who seems to have a love/hate relationship with F*rd), owning at various times Corollas, X-Tra cab pickup, Camrys, RAV4. In my past I’ve owned all of the “Big 3” but am sold on Toyota products.
I had a 2003 Camry with 277,000 km on it that I’d owned since 2005. After retiring in 2009 my wife and I have done a bit of travelling and, since the car was as still reliable and trouble free we decided our money was better spent on travel and house renovations than updating the cars. When my wife developed some health issues that placed international travel (at least temporarily) in jeopardy, I decided it was time to replace the Camry. At first I was thinking of a 2015-2017 Camry but saw a couple of nice Avalons for not much more money; I liked the roominess and the bigger engine.. Then I noticed Lexus...looked at their model lineup and knew I wanted one that ran on regular gas (premium is stupid expensive in Canada). I knew the Avalon had typical Toyota reliability and the ES was a clone so that translated to the ES350. Once I started perusing those, my price range put me firmly in the early Gen. 6 design. I still looked at and compared with Avalon but the styling of the Lexus was just better (the basking shark front end of the Avalon was and is a turn-off). Did not want a ton of “features” that are expensive to fix and can be a distraction when driving...radar cruise control, lane assist, parking assist; can live without them. My son has a F*rd that has some of those and he demonstrated how they can be a problem when driving...plus I “like” to drive.
A check of Consumer Reports showed Lexus reliability as good or better than Toyota with the ES350 being very marginally better than Avalon (depending on the year).
So: 2014 ES350 with Nav, power steering column adjust, driver seat memory, rain sensing wipers, wiper heater, seat heating/cooling, full PPF package, “solar friendly” Starfire Pearl and Parchment interior (black is just too hot in summer). Next week we’ll be headed out on a 3,000 km road trip and based on my experience to date I expect to average around 28-29 mpg with close to 32-33 (US) on the highway through the Rocky Mountains to the West Coast and back. (And that includes the “Highway Through Hell”...which really isn’t all that bad.)
Hi there, fellow Canadian. I have a bunch of questions and it would be great to hear a Canadian and/or Snow Belt perspective.
Did you also consider the 5th Gen ES (2011+ for regular fuel)? If so, I'm curious to know your pros and cons between that and the 6th Gen.
Is maintenance more expensive for the ES compared to a Camry or Avalon?
Do you have any clues as to the likely lifetime in years and/or mileage in the Canadian climate? The concern is underbody rust.
What was the odometer at on your 2014 ES purchase? Would you be apprehensive of purchasing a somewhat higher mileage ES in Canada? eg. 2011 MY with ~160k km (100k miles)
I get your reluctance towards tech features. In my mind, the most desirable ones are the safety features, especially the blind spot monitoring, and to a lesser extent maybe the backup camera and parking sensors. Not sure when it was introduced but forward collision avoidance seems nice for a bit of peace of mind as well. That's assuming it doesn't introduce headaches with malfunctions or costly repairs. How is the track record on such features?
Btw, beautiful 2014 ES350. Do you have any concerns with keeping the Parchment interior looking clean?
I get your reluctance towards tech features. In my mind, the most desirable ones are the safety features, especially the blind spot monitoring, and to a lesser extent maybe the backup camera and parking sensors. Not sure when it was introduced but forward collision avoidance seems nice for a bit of peace of mind as well. That's assuming it doesn't introduce headaches with malfunctions or costly repairs. How is the track record on such features?
Btw, beautiful 2014 ES350. Do you have any concerns with keeping the Parchment interior looking clean?
No idea on history issues with sensor-based features...when buying used vehicle with a specific budget range in our market, choices are limited. Subsequent posts here concerning the cost of replacement sensors when needed makes me glad I don’t have any. My one absolute requirement was a Navigation package.
Did you also consider the 5th Gen ES (2011+ for regular fuel)? If so, I'm curious to know your pros and cons between that and the 6th Gen. No, I had no interest in a “ Lexus/Camry”. As stated, I initially wanted a 4 cyl. Camry but thought why not go for a V-6; being retired I no longer commute 120 km daily so a marginal increase in fuel consumption coupled with much lower daily driving meant lower fuel bills. Why not then consider Avalon (checked out a couple of fully loaded ones), and that led to Gen 6 ES.
Is maintenance more expensive for the ES compared to a Camry or Avalon? If I want to drive to Calgary for service, Yes! Possibly about double. There is only a Toyota dealer where I live (no Lexus) and they are not affiliated with a Lexus dealer (unlike Vancouver where Jim Pattison owns both Toyota and Lexus and they have a “no compete” rule...probably similar in Toronto, etc.). Being as the ES is based on the Avalon, most of the mechanical bits should be interchangeable and the Toyota dealer said they’d be happy to do any regular service or any work that was the same as for Avalon. I really can’t say though, because I have not had any dealership work done yet.
Do you have any clues as to the likely lifetime in years and/or mileage in the Canadian climate? The concern is underbody rust.
I can’t see a problem with rust: I drove an 03 Camry for 15 years and there is NO rust on it. They don’t use much salt in our area; just wait for a chinook toblow it away.
What was the odometer at on your 2014 ES purchase? Would you be apprehensive of purchasing a somewhat higher mileage ES in Canada? eg. 2011 MY with ~160k km (100k miles)
113,000 km, the same as the ‘13 RAV4 we got for my wife last year. When they tried to sell me extended warrantee on my ‘03 I said “forget it, that’s why I’m buying a Toyota”. I don’t think I’d go over 140,000 km at purchase though (but that’s just me). High mileage + newer model year = highway miles which Toyotas love. Low miles, older means possible a lot of stop and go...not so friendly for wear and tear.
Because of the mileage I was able to get it for $21,000 Cdn ($15,400 US at today’s exchange rate) and it had an oil change and complete brake job after it came off lease.
Did they fix it or compensate you for it? I just picked up an ES from them and I’m closer to McGrath Westmont so I’ll probably go to McGrath for service especially if this happens at Naperville.
They offered to "fix" it, which I politely declined. I don't trust car dealer's detailing skills. Just look at all the swirls on cars they've had sitting on their lots awhile. They treat them like cattle.
12-17-18, 05:51 AM
) so I was also looking at the IS 200t, but in the long run the ES just made more sense.
