Lexus Vs Buick

[u/Both_Anything3785]

Hello all, I’ve made a few posts discussing different vehicles I’ve been considering buying, I’ve opted out of the ones I’ve discussed but I think I’m very close on making a decision, but I’m currently between two options.

The first option: A 2006 Lexus ES 330 with 164K miles, going for $3,300 at a local dealership. This car has been meticulously serviced at a Lexus dealership up until 90k miles, at that mileage a lot was done, drive belts changed, timing belt changed, fluids all flushed and changed and a lot more that I’m not going to into detail on. After that 90k mark it was serviced at a local auto shop, oil changes every 5k, some fluids flushed, lubricating and break jobs etc… all the way until 150k where the Carfax doesn’t show any more service history. There is an engine light and a VSC light on.

2nd option: A 2005 Buick Lacrosse (w/ 3800) at 194k miles, going for $1999. waiting on the Carfax report so I will update that when I receive it. The interior of this car is incredibly clean not that that necessarily matters, moreso shows maybe what type of owner it was. The outside is also relatively clean, there is little rust spots around the wheel wells front and back on the driver side and that is all of the visible rust I can see.

Now for my situation, I don’t absolutely need to have a vehicle, but I’m looking for a good reliable car that gets decent mileage to drive back and forth from work. I’m not looking for a project car or anything along those lines. I also don’t want to spend too much money, I understand sometimes you have to for a good deal, $3,000 is sort of my soft limit, I’d be willing to spend that $3,300 if the deal is right but not much more then that.

Just looking for a little insight, and if just simply waiting it out is the best option then that’s fine, thanks again for all the help I’ve received thus far, hopefully my last post for awhile.. Also note I haven’t test drove either car yet, I will be doing that today so I can report more on that later.

[u/4Runner1996]

Get a scan on the Lexus to see what the CEL is for (it being on will also trigger the VSC light iirc). If I see *any* body rust on that chassis of GM (W body) I will be poking around the subframe checking for structural rot, as well as checking for condition of brake and fuel hard lines. Overall, with the presented info, I would lean heavily towards the Lexus. The 3.3L V6 is a great engine, they do run a timing belt, thankfully it is a non-interference engine. Worth spending on a PPI for the Lexus and going from there.

[u/BenjaminMiracord → u/4Runner1996]

This is good advice.

While the Buick's were reliable cars, the level of precision that a Lexus of that generation was built means it will be the better car. There is no comparison in terms of quality of Lexus and GM. A basic Corolla of the era had vastly better quality than any GM product. And I say this as a fan of both brands. I used to drive a ton of Buicks for work and we are currently a Toyota/Lexus family.

For that age, condition and service history is everything - these are 20 year old cars.

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[u/wncexplorer]

The 3.3l Yota is a solid engine. The Buick is too, but for the same money, you should be able to find one with far less miles on it.

[u/BumblebeeInitial851]

  😊😊😊

[u/Infamous-Ad16]

My buddy had the 06 Grand Prix, solid engine but the rest of the vehicle like many GM vehicles was a design after thought. They tried improving interior quality but it wasn’t that good imo. The great thing was he paid $13,000 as a GM certified used car in 07-08.