1996 Lexus ES 300 Long Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited September 2014 in Lexus

image1996 Lexus ES 300 Long Term Road Test

Read daily updates on our long-term road test of the 1996 Lexus ES 300 and follow along as our editors live with this car for a year.

Read the full story here


Tagged:

Comments

  • stovt001_stovt001_ Member Posts: 799
    "Beats a car payment" is something we say frequently with all the little repairs to our Taurus wagon. I know the feeling well and it is wonderful.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 10,936
    Yep, same clip that broke on mine. Real pain to get to, lots of time for a tiny little part. Took quite a while, but I saved $95 or so, it seems.
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    When you told this guy you were from Edmunds, an automotive website, if he thought about it at all, he probably wondered why in hell you didn't just fix it yourself. It seems the LT strategy with the Lexus is to simulate having an owner who can't do anything other than maybe replace the wipers, check tires and fluid levels. That kind of owner usually does better with a cheap new-car lease. Someone who is willing and able to twist a wrench here and there will do better with a car like your '96 ES300.
  • duck87duck87 Member Posts: 649
    Great story! From the awesome narrative I thought I was back on Insideline for a second ;)
  • rysterryster Member Posts: 571
    " If you find someone who is willing to fix your old car, and they are honest and reliable, treat them like the most important person in the whole world. Pay without complaint and thank them profusely. Frequently ask them if they've lost weight. Laugh at their jokes. This is all because of this one sad fact: You need them much more than they need you. They already have plenty of customers."

    This is the antithesis of customer service. A company's goal is to delight their customer and retain them. By returning to them, you are demonstrating approval. Any company that believes they can afford to lose customers in reality has serious problems.
  • minereminere Member Posts: 2
    Maybe Manuel is a man of few words in English?

    Yes, owning a car which is 17 years old you need to be handy or know someone who is. I still think you could have avoided much of your initial trouble by having a competent person loooking over it, or by buying an ES that had not been neglected for a while, as I suspect this one had been. But good cheap used cars are rare and they often get sold privately or are kept in the family. You don't normally find them in a dusty car lot.
  • darthbimmerdarthbimmer Member Posts: 606
    Driving an old car to save money requires keeping maintenance costs low. There are two valid ways to do that: 1) Treat it as a beater by skimping on repairs and drive it into the ground. Buy another cheapo car when it's dead. 2) Minimize trips to the shop by taking care of some of the maintenance and minor repairs in your driveway. If you're not mechanically inclined enough to do that yourself, you've got to have a close relative or friend who is and will do it for you.

    The approach that does not work for saving money is to drive an old car and take it to a shop every time something minor breaks. Even with a trustworthy, inexpensive mechanic the costs add up quickly. Pretty soon you're in the same ballpark as making loan payments on an inexpensive new car.
  • vvkvvk Member Posts: 196
    Don't you just love competent people?
  • zimtheinvaderzimtheinvader Member Posts: 580
    The other big plus with a shop like that is you actually got to talk to the mechanic. It didn't require 10 minutes of someone typing into a computer, trying to describe on a work order exactly what the problem was. Then having another person pull your car around (but not into the shop yet) and then having a person you never met or talked to read what the problem was off a work order hours later and try to fix it and then park the car again in some mysterious area. Finally when you pick up the car you only talk to a cashier who takes your money and hands you the key, having no idea what was done to your car or who you are.

    It is much more personal at the small shop.

    But in all fairness we don't know what the dealer would have charged for it. They would have had the part right there so they could have fixed as soon as they had the door open. Ironically the dealer probably paid someone to drop the part off at this shop for you.

    Probably an hour job for either of them and the dealers rate is definitely higher so you probably saved $30-$40 but it is hard to guess.
  • zimtheinvaderzimtheinvader Member Posts: 580
    The other big plus with a shop like that is you actually got to talk to the mechanic. It didn't require 10 minutes of someone typing into a computer, trying to describe on a work order exactly what the problem was. Then having another person pull your car around (but not into the shop yet) and then having a person you never met or talked to read what the problem was off a work order hours later and try to fix it and then park the car again in some mysterious area. Finally when you pick up the car you only talk to a cashier who takes your money and hands you the key, having no idea what was done to your car or who you are.

    It is much more personal at the small shop.

    But in all fairness we don't know what the dealer would have charged for it. They would have had the part right there so they could have fixed as soon as they had the door open. Ironically the dealer probably paid someone to drop the part off at this shop for you.

    Probably an hour job for either of them and the dealers rate is definitely higher so you probably saved $30-$40 but it is hard to guess.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles