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I'm against buying a used German car because you don't really know how it was broken in or maintained (unless records are provided). They say the only time you should is if you know how to work on them yourself. I would keep a German car for a long time if bought new - and plan to. I'm heading into year 6.
Not to mention the fact that I can't stomach spending $30k+ of my hard-earned dollars on a used anything...
perhaps I am old or whatever...I still remember when people said lexus wasn't a real luxury car...its really a Toyota with leather seats. I remember when mindless people were insisting its not really a Toyota .
In Europe many benz are taxi cabs...and some bmw have cloth seats too. Amazing how the marketing people put a spin on "luxury"
You were misinformed about Lexus. The people that said those things refused to respect the idea that Toyota could build a top quality luxury car.
The first Lexus was the LS400. It was rear wheel drive and a V8 that did not exist in any Toyotas (at least in the US) at the time. It was an immediate success because of its quality. The VP of my company bought one shortly after they came out - one of his other cars was a Ferrari F40. The car was the quietest I had been in, with a beautifully crafted interior. It was not a Toyota with leather.
Some Lexus vehicles are clearly derived from Toyotas. The ES is a very upscale Camry. But it is more than leather. Drive one and I don't think you would mistake one for a Camry. All of the Lexus SUVs have Toyota roots. The IS is rear wheel drive and not related to any Toyota here.
The cheap upgrade you speak of is what Ford did with Mercury and Lincoln. And GM did with Olds and Buick.
^^^But it IS a Toyota...just better in everyway. My dad actually owns the LS400...I drove it a lot myself as well. I've driven tons of Toyotas & Lexus....heck I even own on right now but I got the 2014 RX350 for someone else. Some people seem to get so defensive & have to name their other great cars in their stable....I remember going to japan how the Acura, Lexus & Infinity nameplate doesn't exist in Japan....they just call it the Toyota Celsior or the Honda Legend.
^^^But it IS a Toyota...just better in everyway. My dad actually owns the LS400...I drove it a lot myself as well. I've driven tons of Toyotas & Lexus....heck I even own on right now but I got the 2014 RX350 for someone else. Some people seem to get so defensive & have to name their other great cars in their stable....I remember going to japan how the Acura, Lexus & Infinity nameplate doesn't exist in Japan....they just call it the Toyota Celsior or the Honda Legend.
Its as much a Toyota as Infiniti is a Nissan or Acura is a Honda. Same company yes but there's a big difference. A Toyota Camry and Lexus ES300 are worlds apart as far as quality and craftsmanship are involved. I have owned both a 2003 Nissan Maxima and 2004 Infiniti G35. Some will say that a g35 is just an expensive Maxima but I beg to differ. I could notice the difference between the 2 just by the sound when the doors close.
I could notice the difference between the 2 just by the sound when the doors close.
funny, Nissan use the same VQ35 engine in many of its Nissan & Infiniti...the difference is really in the covers under the engine bay & the muffler sound.....and of course tweaks here & there in gearing, etc etc. Again I am not putting the either nameplates down as they make decent cars across the board.
personally I've driven a full loaded camry, Avalon & lexus ES.....I personally wouldn't say worlds apart....but there are some differences...not a lot. I remember liking the Avalon the most of the 3 but it is quite a large vehicle. Compared to the European cars, personally I find Japanese cars pretty uninspiring
funny, Nissan use the same VQ35 engine in many of its Nissan & Infiniti...the difference is really in the covers under the engine bay & the muffler sound.....and of course tweaks here & there in gearing, etc etc. Again I am not putting the either nameplates down as they make decent cars across the board.
personally I've driven a full loaded camry, Avalon & lexus ES.....I personally wouldn't say worlds apart....but there are some differences...not a lot. I remember liking the Avalon the most of the 3 but it is quite a large vehicle. Compared to the European cars, personally I find Japanese cars pretty uninspiring
Well the Avalon is Toyota's flagship vehicle. Its very plush and on par with Lexus's ES class. Those buying an Avalon want the quality of Lexus without having to pay for the Lexus nametag. My brother in law has a fully loaded Camry XLE. Its nice but certainly not on par with with an Avalon or Lexus ES in my opinion.
Friend of mine bought an early 2000's A4 and that car was nothing but a nightmare. He ended up spending more on trying to get it run right then the car was actually worth! I remember the electrical headaches he had with that car. The entire dash would light up like a xmas tree with every single warning light on.
Audi owners has money to waste. It's easy to remove those dash lights. All it takes is money, to reset or replace sensors or computers.
After thousands of dollars to get it running right. It's still a 3000 dollars Audi.
In the mean time a 2000 toyota corolla with 150k miles worth 2500, jus keep on going. But require a 25 dollars oil change.
There are way too many electronic things to go wrong with on the older luxury vehicles, and the used car prices reflect that. No one buying an older used car wants to pop thousands of $ into a repair. They buy them to drive, not to sit in a garage.
Nothing wrong with that - makes sense to have off the shelf parts.
Didn't say there was anything wrong with it... it was just to prove that those dashes were in fact designed to be easy to read for the 50-70+ crowd.
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