I guess I just like to be propositioned. During my brief fling with the Jeep Cherokee, I was told that a friend of a friend really wanted a Cherokee and had a Lexus to trade. I was in no hurry to get rid of the Jeep, having already purchased some new ball joints for it which I was meaning to install. But the friend of a friend came over and we test drove the cars. The Lexus felt like it was missing on one cylinder but I really didn’t care. So I swapped him for it. Something about the car made me think that it could probably be remedied fairly easily. Or even more easily yet, just lived with; at least until the next proposition.
For those unfamiliar with the ES250, it was essentially a tarted up Camry SE V6. Power windows and locks, moon-roof, automatic transmission, up-rated sound system, different grill, head and tail lamps, alloy wheels, and some nicer interior appointments as well as a hardtop-look green house. That was it; oh, and a significantly increased price tag. But the price tag for me was essentially seven hundred and twenty five dollars, going back to the last time I paid any money for a car (Jeep Comanche). I needed better fuel economy since my car generally was used only for my short commute to work and back; the Lexus looked like just the ticket.
I don’t know why I got the feeling that it would be easy to fix. Over the years of trading and buying, I think I may have developed a sixth car sense. The young man who owned the car said he had replaced the spark plugs last month and that it had always run that way. The plugs I could see did look new, but on a Toyota V6 of the era one cannot access or see the spark plugs or wires on the back cylinder bank. Everything else checked out OK except a ball joint was getting pretty loose. Honestly though, I really did not look the car over carefully; I just didn’t care that much. It seemed I was just swapping one tired mule for another: the kid wanted a Jeep, I needed a commuter. On the plus side, it was nearly perfect on the inside, it had eighty eight thousand miles on it, was always dealer serviced until the kid got it, had always been in his family, had records from new, and the tires were OK.
So I swapped him and we both went home happy. Well, mostly; The Kid had never driven a four wheel drive before. I got a report from our mutual friend that the very next day after he had bought it that he had taken it up in the woods, gotten it stuck, and had to pay over a thousand dollars in towing fees. The Jeep ended up in the tow lot waiting for him to come up with the money to pay for the fees. Why anyone would call a tow truck off-road is beyond me, but rack it up to inexperience I guess. He did finally get the Jeep out of hock though.
The car proved to be very dependable even with the cylinder missing. I really did not care about it much, but I was eager to see the fuel mileage to improve. So I looked up the procedure and found that to even touch the spark plugs one had to remove the upper manifold and a plethora of hoses. I let it be for awhile longer.
Then my friend Steve from Eugene came up to see me. He was still driving a pickup I had sold him some time ago. Actually he had bought the Land Rover Discovery from me on payments several years ago. When he lost his job he could no longer afford the payments, so I gave him a pickup that was worth about what he had paid to date and took back the Land Rover. He was still driving the pickup, and since he was moving out of the farm he was on, he did not need it any longer. I offered to trade him the Lexus for the truck. I really missed that old truck, and the Lexus was not really my kind of car. He was delighted and traded me back the truck.
One other problem the car had was that the trunk hinge had a broken bolt. This caused the trunk not to close right and water to make it’s way in. I had removed the carpeting and drained the lake in the trunk. Upon examination it was found that the bolt was broken off inside the trunk lid and that someone had tried to weld and then to glue it. I told Steve that it would have to be extracted and tapped. He did part of the job but used a self tapping screw instead of tapping it out to the next larger size. This did not last and so it must now be done right. But he did get the engine fixed.
He was driving back to Eugene when the car died on him. He looked around under the hood and found that the ignition coil high tension lead was burned in half. After repairing this, he took it to a hippie mechanic friend who noticed that the plug wires were the original ones. So Steve traded the mechanic several bottles of his homemade beer (which really is quite good) to have him replace the plugs and wires. It was found that one plug was not firing at all. So now it runs great; of course, it’s a Toyota after all.
Lets just say I don’t regret trading it away, but I sure do miss its comfort and efficiency. But the vehicle I just bought does one of those very well; although it does just get about half the fuel mileage of the Lexus. Just in time for higher gas prices.
Author’s note: we are near the end of Cars of a Lifetime. The last three will be vehicles I currently own. I’ll also put together a list of the cars, according to their respective attributes in my final COAL post. Cars I obtain in the future may be posted as “My Curbside Classic” if they are deserving. And I’m working on a new series now, but it’s still in process.
[ED: looking forward to it! And is there someone out there who’s had an interesting assortment of cars they’ve owned, and would like to start a new edition of COAL?]
> I really missed that old truck, and the Lexus was not really my kind of car.
Phew. After Paul’s teaser, here I was worrying if you had gone soft after all!
Great writeup, but that is a given with your style. Thanks for this most enjoyable journey you’ve taken us through.
PS: Have you thought about compiling these (and other) experiences and having them published?
You are too kind sir. I don’t know if anyone would ever publish this stuff (sorry Paul ; ) but it would be cool to think of
Hi Michael,
I found your article you wrote on Curbside Classic about your Lexus ES 250. It was a great write up. I own a 1990 which has been in my family. I had a water pump go out and caused a blown head gasket which I had the top end done. Shortly after the repair I had a rod start knocking. I had a number of repairs done prior so the car is sound except for the engine. The body and interior is in great condition. I hate getting rid of the car, but I have sunk a bunch of money into it already. Do you know what If people collect these? I need to figure out if I repair or replace the engine or sell it as is. I would appreciate your input. Thanks Michael. James
This has been a most interesting series indeed. Great write up on several cars in your life.
That Lexus really didn’t seem to suit you at all and like the Disco, was a little TOO swanky for your tastes, though the Disco was more your style due to being an off roader, though a plush one at that.
I’ll be awaiting your write up of these last few COAL posts and will be interested in what else you do contribute to this site.
Paul, I would like to try a stab at this as some of the cars I have are major influences in my life though not necessarily mine (the 64 Dodge wagon that was my parent’s I’ve still got to finish) and several of the cars I have had, though I don’t have photos of some of them but have tales about none the less.
No 4WD so not really your kinda car Michael Ive always wondered what a ES250 was not a model seen out here. NZ was the first market outside Japan to get the new shape widebody Camry in 1990 which had the four runner 3L V6 not the engine used in the US or Aussie in 92 A friend currently has one a good car runs and drives great with 400k kms on the dial. Only JDM Camrys have that 2.5 V6 here its the easiest way to tell what type of CamCam youre looking at the mushy suspension JDM/US or the rally sprung rate NZ new version.
We always get the mushy ones here sadly
Michael Freeman with a Lexus. Now I have well and truly seen everything. 🙂 This journey through your many cars has been an enjoyable experience. Isn’t that really the best way to truly get to know a guy – what has he driven all his life?
I am at a bit over 25 cars myself (I would have to stop and count). Maybe one of these times I will pick up with your series.
That generation Camry/Lexus was bulletproof. I’m surprised they’re not still selling them in some third-world country. I drove the V6 LE while I was in school courtesy of my parents and have a manual DX in the driveway now. It’s almost the perfect commuter car.
I think it could have run that way forever
If ‘bulletproof’ why did the feaured car have issues with trunk, plugs, and such? These were disposable consumer items too, just lasted as long as upper class buyers expected, i.e. until bored and the ‘new styles’ come out. Toyotas are built to last long enough for buyers to want a new one, otherwise they’d be out of business.
Hello,my name is Alex, and i’m from Ukraine, so how can you understand, my country is actually called a “third-world” country. And i bought the Lexus ES 250 at the beginning of this year, i dreamed about this car, and this is a really good, and quality car, also,as i know , there is only two such cars in my country, so there is an exclusive model)) because all other cars of Lexus more younger))
I always thought this was the most thinly disguised Toyota that Lexus produced. I drove a concurrent Camry and the only difference was the headlights, grille and tail lights.
I’d love to pick this series up, I had to sit down and write a list just now of everything I’ve had. I counted 19 cars and 2 bikes. Nothing close to Michael’s 40+, but then again I’m only 32. Sadly, my car swapping pace has slowed as of late, it may take me more than 16 years to get to 40.
The ES300 is just a Camry with gold badges very common here exJDM horrible to drive with very mushy suspension.
Last time I did a count I got into the 70s but I write poorly and had many repeats of some models ie my current Hillman Minx is the 7th Minx Humber 80 Gazelle Ive owned.
Well I skipped a second Bronco II and several cars and motorcycles not worth note.
I’d be curious to know how many touch points/body panels this shared with a contemporary Camry.
Though I’d never want to own one, I frequently find myself defending the current ES from accusations of being a “Camry trim level,” as I’ve driven them back-to-back and the Lexus does feel sufficiently different to a Camry. Pretty much everything the casual owner will ever see or touch is different, and detail tuning makes a difference over the road as well. It doesn’t seem like Lexus was trying as hard with the ES250.
Wasn’t this a rebadged Cressida and not a Camry? I’ve always thought there were too many differences with the same-year Camry.
Nah, the ES250 was a rebadged Camry. The Cressida was RWD and had a 3.0 liter inline 6. ES250 was FWD and had a 2.5 liter V6.
Period comparison test (with the even rarer Infiniti M30) video at link below:
As always, a pleasure to read, thank you 🙂
Those cars didn’t have that ugly gold as delivered to the dealers. Either the dealers added it or the customer had it added later. I have seen that stuff on several makes and models and it always looks ugly.
Agreed
For better or worse, I had the privilege of accruing 28,000+ miles on a 1990 Lexus ES 250 in the mid-nineties. Mine was the exact color and trim of the featured car. Not a bad car overall; it served as a (fairly) reliable, if pretentiously badge-engineered, daily driver for a high school social climber. But enough about me…
It is my understanding that the ES 250 was a hastily-contrived, stopgap measure to flesh out the fledgling Lexus lineup. Rumor has it that Lexus dealers pressured Toyota to manufacture and import an entry-level model to capture less affluent moths attracted to the LS 400 flame.
In any event, it is remarkable how many parts on these ES 250s were NOT shared with their lesser Camry brethren. Although it appears the ES 250 was differentiated only by its Lexus eggcrate grill, closer inspection reveals the ES 250 to be a hardtop, frameless side glass and all, based on the JDM Toyota Vista. Certainly a little slicker and more refined than your average Camry, but with little visual return on that investment – the two cars looked so damned similar.
The standard driver’s airbag and ABS on the ES 250 were a welcome upgrade over the Camry’s motorized belts (and costly ABS option). If memory serves, warranty was much more generous on the Lexus, too, and that’s REAL birdseye maple trim, damnit!
Although I still have an inexplicable fondness for boxy Japanese near-luxury cars of this era (see e.g. Cressida, 929, M 30, original Legend, et. al.), I kind of couldn’t get past the “Lexus Versailles” feel of this ride. Thus, the honeymoon was over when Mother and I coasted on to a Nissan lot with an intermittently functioning fuel pump, trading the ES on a newer, more reliable successor as a graduation gift.
My boyfriend just gifted me a 1991 Lexus ES250. It drives like a champ and I am enjoying the speed pick up vs my 99 Honda CR-V. It brings me so much joy owning this wonderful luxury relic and I know I will be enjoying it for many years to come. Since it is pretty much a Toyota, parts and labor aren’t too shabby and the junkyard makes a nice outing when I am looking for sparkly trimmings. Cheers!