jens99lex Posted March 21, 2004 Posted March 21, 2004 Well I finally got my dream car! Ever since I saw the 99' ES 300's in 98' I said when I can afford it I will get one of those. I just love the body style of the 99's. Anyways...... I just got one :) It's opal with the grey on bottom. I paid 14,900 with 56,780 miles on it 2 weeks ago. Well I didn't know it had to have the key pad thing. The dealer only gave me the one big key so every time I opened the door the alarm would sound. The dealer is 200+ miles away so I called and they basically said "the previous owner didn't have it so tough, go buy a key pad". SO I went to the local Lexus dealer and paid $150.00 for the key pad and for them to program it. Now for the past 4 days the airbag light flashes. Sometimes when I drive it, it will blink and then sometimes it won't. Well all day today it has blinked (every time I stopped and restarted the car). Went to Lexus dealer and they said JUST to look at it will $98.00 plus tax. :( That isn't them doing anything to correct the problem, just 98 bucks to check it out and tell me what it might be. I called the dealer I bought it at and they said it's not covered under the waranty. Keep in mind I also paid $1,800 for a waranty because the factory waranty already ran out on it. They told me the warranty I got was the best warranty I could buy "it covers everything". Now I know it dosen't URGH!. I love my car so much but HATE that I just bought it and have to deal with this. I feel like I have been taken and this is going to be a money pit for me. Any advice on what I should do? Thanks so much! One more thing. Mine isn't the "Coach Edition". Besides the type of leather what exactly is it and how do you know if you do in fact have it or not (dealer was a chevy dealer). I have about 4 Coach purses and can't imagine sitting on one, lol, oh can Lexus' get any better???
Senna4ever Posted March 21, 2004 Posted March 21, 2004 Congrats on your new purchase, but I'm sorry to hear about your problems. :( I hope everything goes well for you. The dealer where you bought your car only gave you one key and no remote? That's a rip-off on the part of the previous owner, as the car came from the factory with 2 master keys, one valet key and a flat key for emergency use, with the key serial# to make additional keys. You also should have gotten the remote. I hope this wasn't an impulse buy, as more research might have been needed.... Have fun with the car. I have an (1997)ES300, and I love it. The Coach edition originally came with Coach fitted luggage, I think.
lexusk8 Posted March 21, 2004 Posted March 21, 2004 Now for the past 4 days the airbag light flashes... Any advice on what I should do? Thanks so much!One more thing. Mine isn't the "Coach Edition". Besides the type of leather what exactly is it and how do you know if you do in fact have it or not (dealer was a chevy dealer). There's really not much you can do with the airbag warning light except to take it into the dealership. I think having to pay $98 just to check it out is ridiculous; we are talking about an important safety Lexus feature, not some trivial problem. If this dealership doesn't budge in having the airbag light checked out for free, go to another dealership; it sounds to me they're trying to rip you off :( Like Senna4ever said, all Coach Edition ES's come with Coach luggage, but also the following: - Coach Edition badging - perforated leather seating - special Coach wheels - Coach Edition floormats - extra wood trim - black pearl Lexus badging
SW03ES Posted March 21, 2004 Posted March 21, 2004 Yeah if JPI can do the service definately go with him as opposed to the dealer!
jens99lex Posted March 22, 2004 Author Posted March 22, 2004 Hi! Thanks for the replies. I live in San Antonio. I would love to find somewhere I can take my car and know I am not getting ripped off. B) Impulse buy...hmmm....well I have always wanted a Lexus and I did look around here and there for the past 6 months for a good deal. Buying a used car, no matter what kind of car, I know if I wait a bit longer I may get the same car somewhere else but for less money and that's what I did. For the longest time all I saw were 99's having over 70k miles and priced around $16,900 and up. So when I saw this one I went down there, test drove it, had a mechanic look over it fairly quickly and was on my way back home with my dream car. Impulse...maybe it was. But I still do not think I should get screwed. The Coach edition sounds soooo nice. OK I'm jealous now, lol.
Senna4ever Posted March 22, 2004 Posted March 22, 2004 I don't think we got the Coach edition in Canada....maybe someone can correct me? You bought a beautiful car, IMHO....most people who I meet can't believe my car is 6 years old! Still looks new...damn those Toyota people know how to build cars! You can cut up your Coach purses and re-upholster your driver's seat with them for a pseudo-"Coach" edition car! :whistles: I truly hope the airbag light will be your only problem. It's a Toyota...should last at least 200,000mi. One possibility about your airbag: maybe some unscrupulous person removed the airbag? It's been known to happen. Off topic: test drove a '04 Acura TL today. What a piece of S**T! Awesome sounding engine and gobs of power, but very rough ride.
jens99lex Posted March 22, 2004 Author Posted March 22, 2004 Lol Senna, cut the Coaches up...ouch! ;) I never thought that someone may have took the airbags out. :( How could I find out? I guess I'll be going to a Toyota dealership today to see if they have lower prices for just "looking".
Lexdiamonds Posted March 22, 2004 Posted March 22, 2004 This is the type of thing that is making more toward leasing a new one because it scares me to pay all that money on a 5 year loan and then have to fix it. I wish you luck though. that is a very nice body style , the one from 99.
VBdenny Posted March 22, 2004 Posted March 22, 2004 I seem to rememebr something about the SRS being under warrenty for 100,000 miles. I am probably wrong but I still remember something about this, perhaps in was a Kia or something.
jens99lex Posted March 23, 2004 Author Posted March 23, 2004 VBdenny, I'll be calling Lexus tomrrow to check it out, won't hurt, right? But I highly doubt it and I do know the kia has the 100k warranty. My hubby is from Virginia and has lots of family in Virginia Beach. We vacation there every summer, I love it but the beach seems to be getting more dirty every summer. Oh and by the way my hubby would love your Cutlass, so if you ever want to sell, just let me know, lol. ;)
Senna4ever Posted March 24, 2004 Posted March 24, 2004 Jens99lex: You mentioned that your alarm sounded when you used the key, and that you only received one key. You should get a master key from Lexus. The alarm will not sound if the master key is used to unlock your car. You only got the valet key. BTW, have you cut up your purses yet? My friend works for Coach...60% off!
branshew Posted March 24, 2004 Posted March 24, 2004 My hubby is from Virginia and has lots of family in Virginia Beach. We vacation there every summer, I love it but the beach seems to be getting more dirty every summer. I live in VB too. I think it's the people and not the beach (No offense geared towards you at all). Unfortunately we seem to attract alot of riff-raff from the surounding cities (Norfolk, Portsmoutn, Hampton, etc...) that want to come to the beach and have a good time. Unfortunately, most of them have no respect for the real tourists nor the residents. The city is working hard to keep it clean, and clean up the undesireables. I've heard that they are going to start pumping opera music out of loudspeakers beginning at 12 AM to help dissuade potential loiterers. We also have facial recognition software & camers so watch out if you're a criminal or terrorist ;) . Anyway, to keep it car related.... Any mechanic should be able to check if the airbags have been removed (i.e. you don't have to pay the dealership diagnostic fees). If so, you could have a case against the dealership since it may be illegal to remove the airbags in your state. I wouldnt worry too much about it being a money pit though. It is, after all, a Toyota. P.S. If you ever drive the Lexus to VB, I can recommend a great independent mechanic that is very reasonable and reliable. He's the only one that has worked on my ES since I stopped going to the stealership and I never have any problems.
SW03ES Posted March 24, 2004 Posted March 24, 2004 Thats true of any coastal vacation sort of town. We spend a lot of time in Ocean City, MD every summer and know a lot of people that live there year round, they hate the summer because of all the highschool kids that come down and rent places 15-20 to a room and just trash the whole town. My fiance's father lives in Brick, NJ and its the same deal there. They love it in the offseason but hate the summer.
jens99lex Posted March 25, 2004 Author Posted March 25, 2004 Jens99lex: You mentioned that your alarm sounded when you used the key, and that you only received one key. You should get a master key from Lexus. The alarm will not sound if the master key is used to unlock your car. You only got the valet key.BTW, have you cut up your purses yet? My friend works for Coach...60% off! The valet key????? UGH! Can I buy one of those blank master keys from e-bay or no? If not, no biggee but I always look at e-bay first, lol. 60% off, lucky you, I want your friend!
SKperformance Posted March 25, 2004 Posted March 25, 2004 Coach never came to Canada nor do any dealers even know what it is,big suprise. If the light was always on then i would say it might be disconnected if not you may have a loose wire. Have you registered you vehicle with lexus head office yet?They can give you exacts on your warrenty.
Senna4ever Posted March 25, 2004 Posted March 25, 2004 Like I said in another post, when new the car came with 2 master keys, 1 valet key, and 1 flat key, which is the grand-master key. The flat key has the key's serial# stamped on it. With that number, you can get any number of keys made at your Lexus dealer for $100, I think. The flat key should be inside the pouch that contains the vehicle manuals. It looks just like the other keys, but just does not have the black plastic "L" on it...it is just a naked key. Anyways, you cannot buy the keys on e-bay (I'm sure), as they are laser cut with the grooves on the inside of the key...not a key that one can copy at the local hardware store. The heads of the master keys have a trapezoid shape, and the valet keys have a smaller, more rounded head. I think it's best you get at least 1 master key made, because locking/unlocking the car with the master key also arms/disarms the alarm the same as using the remote. I hope this helps! I want you to start to enjoy the car ASAP!!! B)
jens99lex Posted March 25, 2004 Author Posted March 25, 2004 Thank you. I have an appointment at the "stealership" (that was funny branshew) next week to get the air bags looked at and a master key made. Thanks everyone for your replies. :)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now