Wife may have totaled our IS350 ... what next

[michal1980]

new wife?

 

[ballmode]

When you mentioned getting a 2008 IS-F with 50kish miles for 28.5 I would buy that today.... where are you able to find one? Autotrader wasn't coughing up any good ones for me nationwide

 

[Knavish]

Find me the Toyota version and then we'll talk.... in the late 90's early 2000s I would have agreed, the two have separated pretty far these days

The ES350 is based on the Avalon now, not the Camry. (Of course, the Avalon platform is a modified Camry platform.) A fully loaded Avalon is over $40k, about the same price as the ES350 with the "luxury package". Both look good for large sedans, though among some groups they do have a reputation for being a mom / grandparent car like Buicks in the 90s. I say drive what you like and who cares what others say -- most cars have a negative reputation in some group.

 

[gus6464]

The new Avalon is so damn nice and comfy. It's a big car but honestly didn't feel any bigger than my wife's 2012 Accord.

 

[ballmode]

The 2008-2012 Accord sedan was actually classfied as a full size/large car class. It went back to the 2003-2007 sizes in the 2013+ model

 

[shortylickens]

A brunette.

 

[shortylickens]

Actually, I like nissans the best, so my vote is for Infinity.

 

[TheAdvocate]

2014 Mazda 6 Grand Touring in Soul Red.

Honestly, I have no idea if you will like it, but I am starting to crave one....

 

[ScottFern]

2014 Mazda 6 Grand Touring in Soul Red.

Honestly, I have no idea if you will like it, but I am starting to crave one....

This car has had my eye for some time. Priced so practically and the mpg are extremely good for a non-hybrid sedan and with the sporty suspension......hard to beat it IMO.

 

[ballmode]

they make a bunch in manual too

I'm 5'7 and I bumped my head getting in. That roofline is sharp probably how it gets good MPG

 

[phucheneh]

DO NOT BUY A BMW. I spoke with an older woman about 2 days ago who bought a BMW X5 for $65K back in 2008 and she has had nothing but problems since the day she bought the vehicle. The car has like 38K miles on it now and I regretfully informed her that due to the years, there is no way she can lemon law the vehicle. The car has DIED on her twice in the middle of an intersection. She had the entire cooling system replaced under warranty due to the vehicle possibly overheating and dying. There are just endless issues that have been unresolved with her vehicle that I was actually surprised she didn't complain sooner. I looked at 14 pages of work (3 of the pages pertaining to the cooling system were omitted due to being @ a different dealership) and I just couldn't believe that a vehicle with so few miles and is so new had more pages of service done to it than my 20 year old Lexus LS400 which it was also serviced @ a dealer. Googling some of the issues she has seemed to indicate that she isn't alone in this.

I drove my neighbor's Infiniti M35 and compared with my ES350, even though the M35 was rear wheel drive, I really didn't enjoy the vehicle much at all and even though I despise the fact that the ES350 is just a super luxury V6 Toyota Camry, it made me appreciate how much better of a vehicle it is. There is no low end torque and fewer gears in the M35, the gas mileage was atrocious in that car and the handling wasn't worth mentioning. I really expected the Infiniti to be more fun to drive but it wasn't.

Wow, you sure do have some terrible anecdotal opinions.

Saying an M35 doesn't handle any better than an ES350 pretty much completely invalidates anything you may have to say. It sounds more like you just can't drive, 'cause even the less-sporty M will run circles around an ES and is infinitely (lol sort-of pun) more pleasurable to drive.

The only thing I would say to the OP is to ditch the idea of the AWD. The G37x is just a G37 with, in line with your own thinking, more stuff to break. And driveline vibration.

 

[JMapleton]

DO NOT BUY A BMW. I spoke with an older woman about 2 days ago who bought a BMW X5 for $65K back in 2008 and she has had nothing but problems since the day she bought the vehicle. The car has like 38K miles on it now and I regretfully informed her that due to the years, there is no way she can lemon law the vehicle. The car has DIED on her twice in the middle of an intersection. She had the entire cooling system replaced under warranty due to the vehicle possibly overheating and dying. There are just endless issues that have been unresolved with her vehicle that I was actually surprised she didn't complain sooner. I looked at 14 pages of work (3 of the pages pertaining to the cooling system were omitted due to being @ a different dealership) and I just couldn't believe that a vehicle with so few miles and is so new had more pages of service done to it than my 20 year old Lexus LS400 which it was also serviced @ a dealer. Googling some of the issues she has seemed to indicate that she isn't alone in this.

What does one example prove about the majority? I can assure you, one off lemons happen with every manufacturer.

People with your mindset are the worst. "I knew a guy 20 years ago who had one and hated it!" And? What does that prove.

If all or even a significant amount of BMWs behaved the way this ladys did the company would not be in business.

 

[foghorn67]

2014 Mazda 6 Grand Touring in Soul Red.

Honestly, I have no idea if you will like it, but I am starting to crave one....

I would normally say something like this is an apples and oranges comparison. But the 6 feels like it's damn expensive. The interior on the loaded car is really nice. Feels very German.

The recent ES sedans are very GS like in appearance. I normally hate the generic ES. But this time around it's like a FWD version of the GS. That isn't a bad thing, IMO. Most folks don't care about the difference between FWD and RWD. The fit and finish on the new ES and GS is miles above the IS from the OP's era.

 

[tortillasoup]

Wow, you sure do have some terrible anecdotal opinions.

Saying an M35 doesn't handle any better than an ES350 pretty much completely invalidates anything you may have to say. It sounds more like you just can't drive, 'cause even the less-sporty M will run circles around an ES and is infinitely (lol sort-of pun) more pleasurable to drive.

The only thing I would say to the OP is to ditch the idea of the AWD. The G37x is just a G37 with, in line with your own thinking, more stuff to break. And driveline vibration.

Well with the way I drive, I don't drive aggressively/recklessly vast majority of the time and unless the steering is more firm and the car is significantly more nimble/fun to drive, I'm just not going to notice the small difference between the two vehicles. The steering wheel in both vehicles is relatively numb, borderline Prius numb and that right there is a large factor for me in determining how I like a vehicle's steering/handling as I want to feel the road. I don't go pushing the vehicles anywhere near their limit especially on vehicles that aren't mine.

For a point of reference, according to Motortrend, the '04'-'09 Prius has a 600ft Slalom speed of 60.5MPH, Civic Hybrid @ 62.4MPH. http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests...omparison/honda_civic_toyota_prius_specs.html

Meanwhile the 2007 Camry is rated @ 64MPH http://www.motortrend.com/womt/112_0701_2007_coty_2007_toyota_camry/viewall.html

and finally the Infiniti M35 is rated @ 64.4MPH...
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/112_0503_luxury_sport_sedan_specs/

So back to the point, one of the things I don't like about the ES350 was the fact that it's a FWD land yacht, a quiet comfortable one but still one nonetheless and driving the M35 wasn't an improvement to me in any regard that I could remember which is why I said it wasn't worth mentioning. I think it's silly you think the M35 can "run circles" around the ES350 considering power is nearly identical (272HP vs 280HP in the Infiniti) and the power to weight ratio in the ES350 is better (3500lbs vs 3800lbs in the Infiniti). Yes the tire aspect ratio is more aggressive in the M35 but that is a sacrifice one can make on their ES350 if they so choose. Crappy gas mileage and a heavier weight vehicle with a failure prone differential mount in the rear crossmember however is something that cannot be avoided. (You cannot replace the mount in the rear crossmember but instead have to replace the entire Crossmember)

 

[tortillasoup]

What does one example prove about the majority? I can assure you, one off lemons happen with every manufacturer.

People with your mindset are the worst. "I knew a guy 20 years ago who had one and hated it!" And? What does that prove.

If all or even a significant amount of BMWs behaved the way this ladys did the company would not be in business.

Most BMWs are pure shit in reliability, case in point:

So yes perhaps a 2013 model will be good, or perhaps not enough time has passed before it will take its inevitable shit on the customer in the form of endless repairs.

 

[shortylickens]

BMW's have EXCELLENT reliability. The problem is they tend to be purchased by abusive stupid assholes who run the things too damn hard and never do any freakin maintenance on them.


The 2nd owner is the one who has to put up with all the issues of a car that used to be good. (the same guys who abuse them also tend to buy new and sell after it starts having its first problems).

 

[Railgun]

The 335i was a contender but having turbos adds to insurance

Has nothing do to with the insurance.

 

[Sidekicknichola]

2014 Mazda 6 Grand Touring

I drove one not to long ago, very nice car, but felt like a dog, they underpowered the car big time... maybe if they release a new MS6

Has nothing do to with the insurance.

I'm sorry I meant maintenance, having something NA would be ideal, turbos are just another thing to go wrong.



.... Lexus's collision center called today and we're at $14.5k in damages (and counting), but still no total loss yet. We'll see what happens. My thought is maybe they're trying to "jack up" the repair costs, total it, then I'll be so scared away by the estimate they gave I would never buy it back off them... which my brother has already told me if its totaled, he will buy it.... so we'll see what happens today / tomorrow.

new wife?

Haha, that would be way more expensive.


.... for kicks last night I stopped in at the Tesla dealer in town, man o man are those awesome. Calling today to see if our condo building would let an electrician run conduit and a 220v to our space(s). My office has chargers too that are free to use. I really don't want to finance anything, let alone that much, but my god that car was perfect in every single way.

 

[Sidekicknichola]

Doesn't really like like $14k in damages does it?... you can guess what the undercarriage looks like to make up for it.

 

[JulesMaximus]

The ES350 is based on the Avalon now, not the Camry. (Of course, the Avalon platform is a modified Camry platform.) A fully loaded Avalon is over $40k, about the same price as the ES350 with the "luxury package". Both look good for large sedans, though among some groups they do have a reputation for being a mom / grandparent car like Buicks in the 90s. I say drive what you like and who cares what others say -- most cars have a negative reputation in some group.

I agree. The ES350 is a lot of car for the money and they are just excellent cars all around. A good friend of my wife's has a 2002 ES330 with 359,000 miles on the original motor.

I've driven the new Avalon, it is a nice car but for the money the Lexus ES350 is nicer. Honestly, I wish I had bought the hybrid version of that car over the Camry XLE Hybrid I have now.

When we replace my wife's IS I am 99% sure we'll get the new ES350. I wasn't crazy about the styling on it at first but it has grown on me and I think they look really good and the interiors are very nice.

I would normally say something like this is an apples and oranges comparison. But the 6 feels like it's damn expensive. The interior on the loaded car is really nice. Feels very German.

The recent ES sedans are very GS like in appearance. I normally hate the generic ES. But this time around it's like a FWD version of the GS. That isn't a bad thing, IMO. Most folks don't care about the difference between FWD and RWD. The fit and finish on the new ES and GS is miles above the IS from the OP's era.

:thumbsup: Agree with this too. FWIW the fit and finish on the new IS is worlds above the IS from the OP's era too. My only problem with the IS is the front seats, they just feel over-bolstered in the bottom cushion and they feel confining as a result, that and the car is just too damned small.

 

[tortillasoup]

BMW's have EXCELLENT reliability. The problem is they tend to be purchased by abusive stupid assholes who run the things too damn hard and never do any freakin maintenance on them.


The 2nd owner is the one who has to put up with all the issues of a car that used to be good. (the same guys who abuse them also tend to buy new and sell after it starts having its first problems).

How do you explain their electrical problems then? Their cooling system problems? Their Audio/video/navigation problems? All within the first 5 years no less? The issues these cars have are ones that no amount of "maintenance" could have ever fixed.

 

[michal1980]

How do you explain their electrical problems then? Their cooling system problems? Their Audio/video/navigation problems? All within the first 5 years no less? The issues these cars have are ones that no amount of "maintenance" could have ever fixed.

they got a lemon.


If all the complaints about BMW quality were true. You'd think they would be out of business by now.

 

[tortillasoup]

they got a lemon.


If all the complaints about BMW quality were true. You'd think they would be out of business by now.

See here:

Most BMWs are pure shit in reliability, case in point:

So yes perhaps a 2013 model will be good, or perhaps not enough time has passed before it will take its inevitable shit on the customer in the form of endless repairs.

A lot of shitty companies still exist to this day and people keep asking themselves why they exist, I'd say BMW is one of those companies... However I think what keeps them alive is their designs, prestige, initial quality and people who choose to lease these vehicles instead of actually purchasing them.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Get a used Avalon hybrid.

FWIW: When my wife gets a new car eventually, the Avalon will replace her Prius. I almost want to do the swap now.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

2014 Mazda 6 Grand Touring in Soul Red.

Honestly, I have no idea if you will like it, but I am starting to crave one....

I'd hit it. :thumbsup:

Not really in the same class as the vehicles being discussed here though.