flblue

For the Mrs, and a car we'll both use on the weekends. We drive 200 miles roundtrip every weekend to a beach condo so a comfy highway cruiser would be nice.

Just sold a Benz,had a BMW, don't want German again, want a change, want Japanese next.

Would like good MPG, car that takes regular unleaded if possible, not too bothered about performance anymore (getting old)

As many goodies as possible, quality stereo is a must, southern car (I'm in Florida) low miles and of course RELIABILITY.

Looking at....

Lexus ES300 2000-02, with Nak stereo if possible.

GS 300/400 Probably out of my price range?

Nice LS400 probably out of my price range too

Toyota Avalon XLS with JBL stereo

Acura TL-S with the Bose stereo.

Infiniti I-35

Anything I should stay away from out of my list or to watch out for??


Any car I should know about out there that I should be considering? I lurk alot here and respect the views and opinions from alot of you knowledgeable car people out there who post. Some of you really know your stuff, so any advice is greatly appreciated and will also save me days reasearching on Edmunds.



TIA

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

I think out of the entire Lexus line up the ES vehicle line is the least sought after so you can probably find a good deal on an ES. The Toyota Avalon is a very good car as well however I think it's unnecessarily bigger than the ES. The Acura TL was a good car but from what I remember, I think the ES interior was nicer than the past few TL cars. Also, just to be clear - you quoted the "TL-S" which is the sportier version of the TL. If you're not going after performance, save the money and go for a nice cruiser mobile.

Also, I would stay away from infiniti cars. I've just had bad luck with them.

iobidder

No doubt my pick would be the 2002 Acura TL-S 6MT!

TunedRX300

ES and Avalon have the sludge prone 1mz-fe, Toyota's 8 year sludge extension for 2000 is expiring.
TL-S has the transmission problem, Honda has extended warranty to 7 years 100K.
Both have class action lawsuits but settle out of court for peanut benefits for owners in exchange for conditions of never litigating against Toyota and Honda on said engine/tranny issues.

TunedRX300

There is no MT in 2G TL, only 2003 CL-S has the manual transmission. That is the only tranny that has good reliability because it is manual.

iobidder

That is not all V6 Honda's with the J series motors, only some. Even when the Acura or Honda surpasses the warranty, they will still replace it after one call to American Honda.

kit cat

iTrader: (6)

I would get a GS if I were you.

And you seem to be wanting the factory option brand name stereo, but none of those are worth the cost/time to look for one IMO. The only thing I would watch for the GS is the lower ball joints....but if you're mechanically inclined, its not a hard DIY job.

vince1128

you can afford a 2 gen gs. if your not interested in power you can get a nice 98+ gs300 instead of the 400 and have the nak sterio.
thats what i would do. very comfortable

TunedRX300

The thread starter listed 2G TL, it is under tranny extension and the class action ligitation. I know because I own one, had a tranny replaced and opted out the settlement.
Outside 7 years or 100K, you are depending on Acura's goodwill.
The same can be said with 1mz-fe, after 8 years, you are on your own and be lucky if Toyota uses goodwill or previous owners religiously changed oil @ much shorter interal than recommended.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

yeah, my vote for you go to GS300... best of your choices...

3000

An 07 Camry does everything that you listed. It has the best gas mpg compared to all the cars listed. It takes regular 87 octane and is very quiet. The sound system is improved compared to the earlier camrys. And the best thing is the reliability. I've always never liked the camry until the new 07 model came out. It really changed from a standard family car to something more sophisticated.

LexFather

ES GS. I35 is a steal, great car with awful resale, good for used car buyers. If you plan on driving over 100k miles, avoid the Acura like the plague.

JAC JZS

U can get a decent mileage MKII pre '01 GS in ur price range. Or u can get a newer MKII Avalon. The MKII avalon is better than the pre '07 ES(although the '07 ES has trans. issues). You can get the Avalon XLS which has more room, similar feature content and is cheaper than the ES300/ 330.

price comparison for all '02's, modify years urself
http://autos.msn.com/research/compar...94236&v=t95230

fuel/ size comparison
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm

bighitbike

GS300/400

They can be easily had for under 14k.

timer00

I got my 99 LS400 with all options except nav/air suspension from a dealer with 64k miles for 16995.. so any 98-99 LS400 with 80k or so miles would be around 14K or so .. nice relaxed cruiser..