Opinions needed: Lexus ES300 vs. Infiniti G35

[AznAnarchy99]

What do you guys think about these two cars? Looks, pricing, power, gas, etc.

 

[thomsbrain]

this is like asking, "Should I get a quart of Ben and Jerry's, or a poke in the eye with a sharp stick?"

 

[ElFenix]

how long have you been driving, again?

the ES is bulletproof. the second gen ES300 is the best looking ES. '01 was the last year for the ES 300. 02/03 is the ES 330. the ES 330 looks like some sort of sea creature. ford got hammered for the taurus sea creature, but toyota gets a pass.

don't bother with the ES 250.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

About a year since i got my license, just been driving others peoples car since then. From Wikipedia, it says that the ES330 was from '04 and on and the '02/03 was still named ES300.

 

[ElFenix]

carpoint is wrong, then. i vaguely remember them using the 3 liter for the first couple of years of that sea cucumber body style. i stand by my assertion that the 2nd gen es 300 is the best looking one.

i don't know whether the 2002, being the first year of the new chassis, had problems or what, but the user score on carpoint for that year is much lower than the other ES scores.

i also wonder if that is one of the engines that toyota overstated the horsepower of? they had a 190 hp 3 liter v6, and when competitors came out with higher power engines, toyota simply said their engine had more power, when it didn't.


and $18 to 20 grand is a bit much for someone who doesn't have that much wheel time. you're going to run it into things. especially if it's the G35 (which is much too easy to drive fast).

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Other people told me they thought that the sea creature was ugly too but i thought i was kinda nice...

I was looking more at spending ~$13-14k after dealing it down. These are the ones that I'm looking at. I plan on going to test them out myself also.

G35 107k miles

G35 90k

G35 89k

03 ES300 103k

'02 ES300 101k Miles

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i think you should reconsider your choices, unless you have tons of money. these cars are about to start costing a lot of money to keep running, and more to keep up the looks. as an inexperienced driver, you may not know these cars have been driven more than average by persons unknown, drink only premium, and require regular services costing several Benjies.

if you're truly an AznAnarchist, you'll by one of them anyway and blow even more money making it as tacky as possible. my pick would be the G35 with the best looking finish.

 

[theeedude]

G35. It isn't going to cost that much to maintain either if you know what you are doing. That powertrain is damn near bulletproof.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
i think you should reconsider your choices, unless you have tons of money. these cars are about to start costing a lot of money to keep running, and more to keep up the looks. as an inexperienced driver, you may not know these cars have been driven more than average by persons unknown, drink only premium, and require regular services costing several Benjies.

if you're truly an AznAnarchist, you'll by one of them anyway and blow even more money making it as tacky as possible. my pick would be the G35 with the best looking finish.

Not planning to do a single thing to the car except tint the windows and put in a sub.

 

[GoatMonkey]

It doesn't make any sense to look at cars like this as your first car. There are a lot of good regular cars you can get with lower miles and newer for the same price as a near-luxury car like Lexus or Infiniti. You especially need to consider this if you're going to be the one maintaining it. One of these cars will be falling apart by the time you finish college. Then as soon as you graduate you'll be looking at having to buy a new car yourself at a time when you're already being faced with real bills for the first time.

Remember what I said in the other thread. Save money to be spent on beer and women. That's what college is all about. At that point what kind of car you have doesn't matter, just having one at all is often enough in that case, so don't worry about it.

 

[Gibson486]

Maybe it is me, but i would never spend 13k on a car with over 70k miles.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: AznAnarchy99
Other people told me they thought that the sea creature was ugly too but i thought i was kinda nice...

I was looking more at spending ~$13-14k after dealing it down. These are the ones that I'm looking at. I plan on going to test them out myself also.

G35 107k miles

G35 90k

G35 89k

wow, G35s are cheap out there. can't find one for under 20K in texas (of course, they all have half the mileage... 100 K is a lot for those cars). i have to wonder if those are salvage title?

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: AznAnarchy99
Other people told me they thought that the sea creature was ugly too but i thought i was kinda nice...

I was looking more at spending ~$13-14k after dealing it down. These are the ones that I'm looking at. I plan on going to test them out myself also.

G35 107k miles

G35 90k

G35 89k

wow, G35s are cheap out there. can't find one for under 20K in texas (of course, they all have half the mileage... 100 K is a lot for those cars). i have to wonder if those are salvage title?

Yeah. I have an '03 that has 44k on it. Really nice and in pretty good shape that I'll be selling soon. Not for 14k though.

 

[Arkaign]

I think you should find a CL Type S, you get Honda reliability, a 6spd manual, 260hp, a coupe body style, 19/29 fuel economy, etc, etc, not to mention 0-60 in 6.0 flat, stock.

You can find a nice one for $10ish, which leaves room for touchups on the paint/interior, new tires, or whatever floats your boat.

Review :

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vd...ive/48981/article.html

Example car (I don't dig those aftermarket rims though)

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/car/384972904.html

Cheap intake upgrade :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...VWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Obligatory Youtube video of stock CL-S vs. RSX-S, though the guy driving the CL is an idiot who shifts too early, and can't launch right. Still pulls a 14.5 though ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ej3eFPR5X0

If you're looking for more than 300whp after mods, you might look at the G35, it's RWD and can deliver that kind of power to the ground easier. Stock, though, the CL-S is a shade faster than the G35 Sedans of the same era.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: AznAnarchy99
Other people told me they thought that the sea creature was ugly too but i thought i was kinda nice...

I was looking more at spending ~$13-14k after dealing it down. These are the ones that I'm looking at. I plan on going to test them out myself also.

G35 107k miles

G35 90k

G35 89k

wow, G35s are cheap out there. can't find one for under 20K in texas (of course, they all have half the mileage... 100 K is a lot for those cars). i have to wonder if those are salvage title?

Ill be carfaxing before i buy for sure. Yea i know its a lot but im not planning to drive anywhere near 10k a year. 5k a year at the most so im thinking it will even out over time.

Ill look into the CL

 

[theeedude]

Originally posted by: Arkaign
I think you should find a CL Type S, you get Honda reliability, a 6spd manual, 260hp, a coupe body style, 19/29 fuel economy, etc, etc, not to mention 0-60 in 6.0 flat, stock.

You can find a nice one for $10ish, which leaves room for touchups on the paint/interior, new tires, or whatever floats your boat.

Review :

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vd...ive/48981/article.html

Example car (I don't dig those aftermarket rims though)

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/car/384972904.html

Cheap intake upgrade :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...VWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Obligatory Youtube video of stock CL-S vs. RSX-S, though the guy driving the CL is an idiot who shifts too early, and can't launch right. Still pulls a 14.5 though ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ej3eFPR5X0

If you're looking for more than 300whp after mods, you might look at the G35, it's RWD and can deliver that kind of power to the ground easier. Stock, though, the CL-S is a shade faster than the G35 Sedans of the same era.

CL-S is a FWD, awkward looking coupe, IMO. Something about the proportions is very wrong, IMO. I think they moved the C-pillar too far forward, and the trunk is too big. Plus it looks very dated already, while G35 sedan sort of looks like the current model on the outside. Also, while manual should be OK, the auto tranny on the CL-s had issues.

 

[Arkaign]

Well, to each his own. I love big coupes Especially 260hp 6spd ones that can get nearly 30mpg

Trunk too big? Awww

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: senseamp

Originally posted by: Arkaign
I think you should find a CL Type S, you get Honda reliability, a 6spd manual, 260hp, a coupe body style, 19/29 fuel economy, etc, etc, not to mention 0-60 in 6.0 flat, stock.

You can find a nice one for $10ish, which leaves room for touchups on the paint/interior, new tires, or whatever floats your boat.

Review :

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vd...ive/48981/article.html

Example car (I don't dig those aftermarket rims though)

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/car/384972904.html

Cheap intake upgrade :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...VWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Obligatory Youtube video of stock CL-S vs. RSX-S, though the guy driving the CL is an idiot who shifts too early, and can't launch right. Still pulls a 14.5 though ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ej3eFPR5X0

If you're looking for more than 300whp after mods, you might look at the G35, it's RWD and can deliver that kind of power to the ground easier. Stock, though, the CL-S is a shade faster than the G35 Sedans of the same era.

CL-S is a FWD, awkward looking coupe, IMO. Something about the proportions is very wrong, IMO. I think they moved the C-pillar too far forward, and the trunk is too big. Plus it looks very dated already, while G35 sedan sort of looks like the current model on the outside. Also, while manual should be OK, the auto tranny on the CL-s had issues.

They actually had a lot of problems with the auto transmission. Honda reliability my ass.

 

[theeedude]

Originally posted by: Arkaign
Well, to each his own. I love big coupes Especially 260hp 6spd ones that can get nearly 30mpg

Trunk too big? Awww

Well, it's so big that it's hard to tell if it's coming or going.
Main reason to get a coupe over a sedan is appearance, IMO, and CL-s isn't much of a looker. G35 sedan looks a lot better to me than a CL.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Arkaign
Cheap intake downgrade :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...VWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

fixed

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: Arkaign
Cheap intake downgrade :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...VWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

fixed

Heh, well it seemed less restrictive than the stock one. My brother upgraded several items on his TL-S (same motor), and seemed to get a bit of a boost from the combination (intake/exhaust/headers)

 

[woodie1]

I had a 2001 CL-S and the tranny on it was bad. Also had a throttle body problem IIRC and orange peel paint . Acuras built in the US can and do have problems.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: woodie1
I had a 2001 CL-S and the tranny on it was bad. Also had a throttle body problem IIRC and orange peel paint . Acuras built in the US can and do have problems.

Yep, the auto tranny was a notable problem on both the CL and TL for those years. The manual is fine, though.

Haven't heard any other throttle body/paint issues.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: woodie1
I had a 2001 CL-S and the tranny on it was bad. Also had a throttle body problem IIRC and orange peel paint . Acuras built in the US can and do have problems.

Yep, the auto tranny was a notable problem on both the CL and TL for those years. The manual is fine, though.

Haven't heard any other throttle body/paint issues.

Manual was 2003 only i believe so it's rare and expensive.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: mwmorph

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: woodie1
I had a 2001 CL-S and the tranny on it was bad. Also had a throttle body problem IIRC and orange peel paint . Acuras built in the US can and do have problems.

Yep, the auto tranny was a notable problem on both the CL and TL for those years. The manual is fine, though.

Haven't heard any other throttle body/paint issues.

Manual was 2003 only i believe so it's rare and expensive.

They're a little rare, but luckily they're not expensive. A small minority of people actually want manuals, though I imagine their percentages are well-represented in forums such as these

Excellent condition '03 CL-S 6Spds are $9k-$12k, same price range as the autos.