rockworthy

Hello all, I love the pro look of the forum. I am seriously considering buying an older lexus, early to mid-nineties, somewhere in the $4000 dollar range. I wanted to do a little research before buying, however. What I wanted to ask all you nice, knowledgeable folks is:

#1: Do Lexus cars from the mid-nineties have relatively low maintenence costs and parts availability compared to other cars like Honda Accords?

#2: What would be a good Lexus to start out with that has good fuel economy for a Lexus? I would love to have a 4 cylinder Lexus but it looks like there aren't any. What is the most fuel efficient Lexus?

Thanks everyone, I look forward to your responses.
Micah

llcoolpass

you can put the camry 4cyl in the es 300 conceivably

the best older lexus to get is the es 300 for what it seems like you are looking for.

the parts are suprisingly very very available. the routine maintenace costs are reasonable[ for japanese car ]. the unexpected repairs are infrequent on the es 300 [and other lexii]

other than that, look for car with maintenace records and have a couple mechanics and bonus any lexus experts . check out the car and ask for their honest opinion of it.

the 90s LS400 is one of the best cars [quality] ever made in that time period. very reasonable like the es 300. the plus on the es 300 is the FWD which is good for certain people. the ls 400 is RWD.

other than the stock, Lexus SC300, you will only find manual trans in some ES 300 from 1993 to 1992. then later, in the IS300 [2000s]

fuel economy is best in the es 300 compared to the other models.

03 ES

i think the ES is probably your best option...llcoolpass stated it very well..
the ES has better fuel economy and cheaper maintenence than early the LS, GS or SC, but all are excellent vehicles with quality builds and their own little niches.
the GS300 is also a nice buy if you can find one in good shape and if you like the oddball looks of a gen 1 GS

just try and find one thats been cared for so you save yourself money


try and find a 92-93 ES300 5 speed manual!

rockworthy

That was a great, in-depth video, thanks I couldn't have asked for much more than that

Lazy

iTrader: (2)

I would say the ES300 also.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

Yes. We had both a 97' Accord and a 98' ES300, the ES300 was much more reliable and cheaper to maintain. All Lexus parts are just as much available as any Toyota, which has the best availability out of all the cars.

Everyone have stated everything correctly already. My take is, even though all Lexus are the most reliable cars in the world, the ones with more features and gadgets are going to require more maintance and repair. Out of all the Lexus I owned and worked on (see my sig), the simpler they are, the less issues they have. My LS430 UL have given me the most problems just because it has every available features and technologies from Lexus, the 98' and 01' ES300 have absolutely no issue what so ever, they are very simple cars, not much on them that can break!

With all that being said, with you on a budget, the ES300 is the one I recommend. Try to find the newest one with the least mileage within your budget, and that should be your choice

The most fuel efficient Lexus would be the all the ESs, due to the front wheel drive.

The 1st 4 cylinder Lexus is just around the corner, it is the HS250h