MD350

I never had an issue buying first year, until I bought an early build 07 ES 350. Need I say more?

91LS400LEX

Well, Lexus did almost perfect with the very first car - the LS400 (even in its first year) turned out to be one of the most reliable cars in the world.

Heck, mine is nearly 20 years old and I would still trust it anywhere, well after I get my leaking power steering repaired.

Even the ES250 was way up there, but its chassis had already been around for a few years since it it was based on the 1987 Camry. Thats hard to believe isnt it? The 87' Camry is a super car too. I have owned two before - one had 221K and still ran and looked like brand new. I regret selling that car.

MD350

I agree with you, but you are comparing older cars to more recent ones. Overall, I feel Lexus quality has gone downhill.

Take a look at the ES350 forum, search on tranny flares, engine knock, rattles, etc. I am not alone.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

Personally I probably will not buy a first model year car unless I buy it used after I know some recorded history. I have a first model year 91 Legend which really was solid and gave little problems, but the over all improvements and bug fixes in the send and third year should have been worth the wait. I also bought a first model year 04 RX330 back in 2003. It too was a good solid car over all, but it did have many TSIB and recall fixes which would have been taken care of in later years. I no longer feel being the first to have the new model is worth it since after 3-4 months there are already tons of them sold and on the streets.

skinny gs

toyota or lexus yes. anything else no. worst car i ever owned was a 1968 corvette. I did not buy it new, but everything about the car even if it was new was crap....except the style.

91LS400LEX

Oh- the newer ones. Well then, no- I would not.

I rented a 2009 Toyota Avalon when I went to visit my relatives in South Carolina back in October. It only had 2300 miles. While it was a nice car (features, comfort, etc), I could tell it was not up to to par to the quality of Toyotas of the 80s-90s. Heck, my old 1981 Toyota Cressida (Avalon of the early 80s) and my old 1987 Toyota Camry seemed to be higher quality cars. When on the very rough parts of I-26 in SW North Carolina, the body drummed and there was some interior "ticks and pops" on those sharp bumps - however the 2008 Honda CR-V we rented in June (went to the same place), had the same drumming. I also did not like the transmission operation on either - especially the Avalon. It seemed to have a "fragile" feel to it and I noticed some flaring - something my 1991 Lexus with 216K miles and my 1988 Mercedes with 155K miles does not do. I was really disappointed with the Avalon and would not pay $29,000 for it. Maybe $9,000, but not $29,000.

I had a 1992 Acura Legend base sedan. Must have been fairly rare, as it was base model. NO leather and NO sunroof, but thats what I preferred. It was a very nice car, but since the 3.2L in those had such a high rate of head gasket failures, I sold it before mine decided it would go.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

Fortunately for me, out of the 3 Legends I owned none had headgasket problems. All are well past 120K miles already. My brother still has one of my old ones and its still running strong. I was big in the Legend community and fortunately locally I didn't know anyone with a Legend that had a headgasket problem. Must be the good weather here

SLegacy99

My roomate just had his HG replaced at 130k miles. '95 (really a rebadged '94)Legend

mmarshall

OK, you Subie guys (I'm one myself). Here's the scoop:

The non-turbo 2.5 headgasket problem affected mainly cars from the late 90's and early 2000's. The factory officially extended the engine warranty on 1999-2002 models to 8/80, provided that a special Subaru-brand "coolant conditioner" be added to the radiator (that solution is now added at the factory on all new models). Subaru will (sometimes) also offer free repairs, on a case-by case basis, if the mileage is low enough, on non-covered cars as a goodwill gesture.....some pre-1999 models also had trouble, but not as much. Of course, those cars are now 9-10 years old, so don't expect much help now except in exceptional circumstances.


In addition, the HGs were redesigned after 2002 and ordered from different suppliers....the new ones have been much less troublesome.

SLegacy99

What changed in '99 to make the HGs problematic? ......I guess I could also ask what changed to make the speedometers in the '99s break? From what I've read about that one, nothing changed.

nabbun

i try not to buy a car in it's first model year. . . my Audi Q7 says everything.

slipping transimission, windows won't go up when partially open and trying to close them, seat warmers can't be turned on w/o the air conditioner turning on at the same time, rear hatch collapsing on itself when opening it, fuel pump failure at exactly 25k miles in the middle of an intersection, and a handful of other recalls.

RON430

I have owned first model year cars but as things go on, I definitely prefer to wait. Avoiding a first year premium is an issue but the supply chain seems to be conspiring to give new models, regardless of manufacturer, first model year issues. Driving the look of the new model year just isn't enough of an inducement anymore. I admit that I wouldn't back off the rule very easily but it would be very manufacturer dependent. I might be able to convince myself to get a first model year Lexus, although as time goes on even that is not looking like a very good decision, but some makes (I don't think it is too important to name names) there is just no way I will get a first model year vehicle. I could also be induced to add significant upgrades like new trannies or hybrid drive trains to that as well.