First used Lexus on a budget?

bogglo

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The pricing's exceedingly similar to each other from what I've seen between the GS, IS, and ES on the NA used market for similar model years. I understand that parts, maintenance, among all the other things I'll need to worry about will end up being very dependent on the model I'll end up with. ES is seemingly the cheapest to maintain, but I'm not sure how that holds up relative to the GS or IS for that matter.
Preety sure maintenance is very similar between all three especially since the F Sport wasn't introduced until the 4th Gen. However, I think driving style and changes you make to it can increase cost of maintenance. For example when I owned my GS I went from the stock square setup to a staggered setup which prevented me from being able to rotate tires. I was also heavy on the throttle so I had to change breaks more often than someone who babied their car.
 

Smychavo

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For some strange reason it's hard to find a good IS at a reasonable price. Peronally have never been interested in the ES. The only ES have owned is a 97 ES 300 it is fún to drive surprisingly and handles well due to it being light weight. It came with premium sound system and honestly that's the most crispy sounding system have heard in any lexus.
An ES. Most reliable and cheapest to maintain and parts are cheapest.
So between the 3GS and the VX40 ES, which model years and feature set would be ideal? How about powertrains between the two of them? I'm hoping to grab at the most the upgraded sound system. Additionally, are there any modifications available for the head-unit to add Carplay functionality at the very least? That'd be neat.
 

ssun30

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So between the 3GS and the VX40 ES, which model years and feature set would be ideal? How about powertrains between the two of them? I'm hoping to grab at the most the upgraded sound system. Additionally, are there any modifications available for the head-unit to add Carplay functionality at the very least? That'd be neat.
There are many Tesla style tablet infotainment with Carplay on Alibaba. They will make the interior look terrible though. I will just stick with a phone mount.