They were doing promo and I went to survey Estima and Alphard before. Estima XR50 I was quoted around 180K-190K for a recond unit IINM year 2010-2011 with only 6 months to 1 year warranty. I viewed a few different places and most of the cars condition is not very bad but started to show sign of yellowing on headlights, minor cracks on headlights, chrome area fading..small small places, then I was ask that I need to fork another 4-5K to have the head unit change to local one. Interior wise most of the cars I viewed all are ok and very new. Mileage of the cars was average around 35-40K.
For Alphard I have a relative which own it, a 2.4 Version which he said the FC is not really good also. Plus the drive was very floaty he said it's like driving a bus. Vellfire on the other hand was more stable but the price range was out for me. The V6 is more powerful. I test drove the Estima 2.4 and its not really that powerful as its the same engine on the Camry my dad used to have. Renesis, both Estima and Alphard got 2.4L also not just V6. Estima got a 3.5L V6.
I choose the Grandis cause, it's a new CBU from Japan, price discount, comes with working 2DIN Kenwood touch screen player, DVD, reverse cam, TV, Ipod/USB port, Micro SD slot, Garmin GPS software..black leather interior (recon I saw mostly fabric and leather condition was not good for driver seat). 4G69 some parts are compatible with 4G63. The car has lower roofline and sits lower than an Estima, car felt more planted at speed. Not too common on the road also.
Honestly i don't know how good is the FC on an Estima but I think it's maybe a bit better than Grandis. If only grandis had sliding door like estima then it will be nice as I have encounter many times the rear doors very long so when I want to get my daughter off from her car seat I need to open the door wider so choosing parking space is a norm for me now.
There's still many things I chose the Grandis but can't remember all. Overall it's a good car, not the best I would say. Maintenance wise also ok for me. The car have plenty of rooms but doesnt make, the car feel bulky..it's quite streamlined. You can go search in motor trader you also will find very little on sale cause it's not much on the road..