2008 Lexus ES 350

Hey Veeky Forums I just bought a 2008 Lexus ES 350 with 96,000 miles on it.
No prior accidents, it was regularly maintained, never a late oil change, ect ect.
The interior is white leather, almost immaculate, only one small scuff where the arm rest folds down in the back seat (I think I can get it off too)
What am I in for? And how do I protect her perfect interior?
My only car before this was a 2004 sienna that I put almost 300,000 miles on, so the difference in both quality of driving and quality of car in general is insane for me.

>look at me, I'm the most boring person alive

I mean it is a luxury saloon. But the minivan was a hand me down I drove all through highschool and college. I got the lexus to be a roadtrip and commute car. It's comfy as fuck and not bad at all to drive.

Self bump

Lol loser this is a grandma car

T.is350 owner

How big of a difference is there between the two models?

Indeed a nice upgrade from the minivan, but probably the most pleb car Lexus makes. Should still be a comfy thing to cruise around in, and plus you can take advantage of that top-notch Lexus service. Enjoy, sir.

Between ES and IS?

Congrats. It's basically a Camry with luxury options, so very solid car, just make sure you do the oil changes. As for the interior any kind of leather conditioner would work, the key is to keep is supple so it doesn't crack, just make sure you wipe down any dirt before applying the stuff.
Smaller, RWD and expensive gas. Ignore the fags on this board. Boring is good.

>Smaller
Yep. Passengers complain all the time about my back seats. Headroom sucks as well. Really only one usable cup holder up front. At least the turning radius is nice.

>expensive gas
Yessir. Coming from a Civic LX, filling up this thing is bit of a nuisance. Very quick car though. Gotta pay to play.

It is a fun car, at least you didn't buy a bimmer.

Is the dash and door panels sticky, cracking or easy to scratch? Lexus will replace for free. long waiting list so sign up asap. I got them to replace all my panels, still waiting for fronts though. I have an 07 is250 but the defect applies to many vehicles.

Thanks, I figured I'd get a few responses about how it's not a street racer or track car before I got any real feedback.
Im glad I got the ES for the reasons mentioned in the above post, I like to take friends places with me and I do a lot of long drives for work, so I like the comfort and headroom. Plus it likes premium so better milage is a plus!
I don't think it's boring at all. But it's not as much of a panty dropper as the sportier versions.

Actually they're basically mint! The previous owner really took good care of it. But I'll keep that in mind, it sounds like lexus has pretty solid customer service

I really need to call Lexus about this. My '07 IS350 has three long cracks in the dash. The fucked up thing is I bought it back in April, and cracks weren't noticeable until very recently. I think the cold temperatures cause the dash material to contract, exposing the cracks. Warm temperatures expands the dash and hides it. Scumbag dealer...

>sounds like lexus has pretty solid customer service
Yes. The receptionist was nice enough to tweak my nipples while I jerked off. You won't find that at your local Infiniti. Ask for the club sandwich. They'll know what you mean...

My 250 dash didn't crack, it just got sticky and sort of melted. Door panel rubber would scratch off pretty easily as well. My mom's 350 is the same way but has cracks too. Apparently they were sued because the melted surface on the dash created a reflective surface that would fuck with your view through the windshield. I guess they're being nice by replacing all panels if needed?

Are the replacement dashboards supposed to be improved material, or are they exactly the same? I'm probably gonna purchase a dash mat to protect my new shit regardless. I don't trust those cunts.

It's a better material on the parts I got, like on the late model 2nd gen IS. The fitment is a little off above the center AC vents though.

should have gotten a GS350 or IS350

the only thing you really need to do is wash and wax like any other regular car, and apply leather conditioner / moisturizer every few months

You're a fucking dumbass for getting a tuxedo Camry. Kill your self OP for not getting the ultimate sports sedan

At least you won't have to pay a fucking grand when nav goes out. I may deal with that down the road.

I literally do nothing to my leather and it's great 74k miles later. I think Lexus uses nicer leather than say Infiniti or Acura though.

Sucks that used prices are still in the 30s. I need that bitch down to say $25k.

>red halos
gross desu

You could get a '11-'13 model for around $18-24k.

Nice car.

I have a LS430 and a RX350.

The ES is a good car. Obviously, not the sport oriented RWD IS or GS, but you can't go wrong. While it IS essentially a camry on prom night, it is built MUCH better than a camry, and likely cared for substantially better than a camry. The 2008 was still built in Japan, where the camry was built in the USA or Canada at this time. Japanese built Japanese cars are ALWAYS better to those built outside of Japan. Go drive a camry and youll see that the Lex is simply nicer all around.

You can protect the interior by tinting the windows to cut down on UV damage and heat, and by a seasonal leather moisturizer from almost any decent car car brand like mcguieres etc.

by far better.

I've owned all of the Jap lux brands. Acura leather used to be great, but now it's shit. Lexus has always had top leather. Only optioned out MB, Jaguar, and above have better leather.

IS-F? Maybe with like 100k miles haha.

>find a manual bimmer 3-series on carmax
>leatherette
REEEEEEEEEEE

The ES is for Grandparents & the IS is for girls & faggots.

why are you even on an enthusiast board lmao

I got mine for 13k, so that would be out of my price range.
I enjoy watching others race and reading about their cars, but I'm a pretty boring driver. I get my excitement from other extreme sports (caving, skydiving, scuba), but when it comes to cars I'm more utilitarian.
I actually had the option of a newer model camry for the same price, but I knew the lexus would be the better buy.

>Boring is good.

Too many people underestimate boring.

dubs confirm

what the fuck did you do to the headlights?

>heavy window tint
>opalescent red paint
>red halos
>on a luxury sedan
You know how I know you're a nigger?

As far as seasonal protection for the leather, I live in the American south so I'm going to have to work on moisturizing and sun protection. It gets 110F+ around here on the daily in the summer.

Yeah, that is why we bought the RX350. We were looking at 2012-13 Highlander Limiteds. The RX350 was a 2011 with only 50,000 miles on it for less miles and money.

There definitely is a sweet spot on the depreciation curve between badge-engineered Jap brands, and their luxo-counterparts. The other car I see this on seems to be the GX460. The way that depreciates compared to the 4Runner, you might as well snag the Lexus version when they hit the $22-$25k range, and you'll walk away with similar miles / condition to a 4runner, and maybe only a year off in production.

I'm going with Dominican

Not a whole lot of difference

This.

Cariboos are still blacked.

A quick google search has determined that you are wrong

People underestimate comfy

Nice 2006 MS paint shoop.

dubs for the truth

>tfw you will never have a car shop specialized on turning two door cars into sedans

I wonder how that drives

I have an is300 and just use regular gas lol

Have fun putting regular octane gas into your high compression engine. Nothings more fun than paying out tons of money for repairs 100,000 miles sooner than a responsible owner.