Honda, Lexus, or Toyota?

I currently own a 2000 Toyota Avalon XLS and am looking for new wheels
(and the rest of the car to go with it). I have been happy with Ava
and looked at the new Toyota Avalon, Camry, and the Honda Accord. I
haven't looked at the Lexus ES350 yet because the dealership is about
a 2 hour drive from here. The reviews look good.

My initial conclusion is they all look good. The Toyota / Lexus are
somewhat quieter and smoother, the Honda probably more reliable.

I hear that Toyota quality and reliability is slipping and the 6 speed
transmission used in all the cars that I am considering has problems.
How serious are they? The Lexus seems nice but I am being told that
it must be taken to the Lexus dealer for warranty repairs, a 4 hour
drive round trip. Is this true, or can the local Toyota dealer handle
it?

I considered the Acura TL, but it does not come with cloth seats. The
Honda dealer was pushing the Nissan Altima. I don't think they are as
reliable as the Toyota. I recently rented Nissan Sentra for 2 months
in Hawaii. In 2 months due to failures we drove 3 different ones and
were not impressed. Any other suggestions for a nicer car that comes
with cloth seats?

 

My mom had pretty good luck with her 2000 Avalon (and 1980 Cressida).
Interested in a Camry wagon? Toyota is coming out with the Toyota
Venza at the end of the year: I have a Mercedes E320 wagon and it
does get 29 mpg highway just like the sticker says. That low to the
ground, won't tip over, less drag thing really works. They just can't
pass it off as a "truck" for CAFE standards.

http://www.toyota.com/venza

Happy Buying!

 

We had a 2001 Avalon which was a rattle box. It had many other deficiencies
too. I swore we would not buy another Toyota and we bought a 2005 Honda
Accord hybrid. It was a nice car with horrible headlights (fixable with new
HIR bulbs) but road very hard and had hard seats for 55 year ol rear ends.
Also the door stops were inadequate and my wife got tired of black and blue
marks from being banged by the driver's door.

In any case we ended up selling it to Carmax and buying a Toyota Camry
Hybrid. So far it is terrific and easily gets 34 mpg. Incredibly quiet and
smooth riding. Interior isn't fancy but does the job.