ArmyofOne

Im with...well.... DITTO! lol :D

As usual Steve, you completely.... made an excellent point. :) i did not think about that. It doesnt make me feel much safer though...I would feel safer in a bigger Vehicle. but i am trying to think that higher doesnt mean safer. I think at this point it will come down to what i find first. As for jeeps not being reliable, granted, it would be a PITA for it to break down every week, but at the same time, i will have all the tools and the shop needed to do all my own work. and i may still get an older one which has been set through it spaces. I have seen some with a few hundred thousand miles on them before. so its not impossible. BUT, i will probably stick with toyota, its just so hard to go back. the build quality differences are incredible. I felt MUCH safer in my 1990 Lexus than in my 1995 Ford. Because i knew it was built better. that ES was a SOLID car, its a shame to see it go, but i may be back with a ford temporarily before a few days have gone by. (see my accident post). So having wrekced a Ford and a Toyota, i would much rather (if i have to be in a wreck) be in a wreck in the toyota. However, getting the LS doesnt solve the manual trans problem...i hate automatics. I dont feel like i have complete control of my car.

Okey Dokey! :)

well dont get me wrong, the gas prices dont bother me all that much, i just pay it. i really dont care 2 ways or the other, but...if i dont have to pay it then why? hoever, its not something that would steer me to a small car if i was buying anything other than a beater. it doesnt influence my car purchases all that much.

I dont much care about gas prices. It cant get any worse mileage that what the lex was getting (abotu 13.5 city), and if it doesnt, i dont care, im not gonna drive a car thats gonna fold in half hould i hit something or get hit. Im sick of totalling cars. and if it is going to fold in half, i want it easily repairable, and a Jeep wrangler will accomplish this. but they are severely unstable with any kind fo sudden movements, the 4runners are better, by far. and you are right, i wouldnt mind having one from 96 and up, especially a limited. accordeing to KBB, a 1998 Limited SR5 with a gold package shoudl run around $16,000. i can pay cahs for that and only have to pay an insurance payment, but i probably wont, so i can build up my credit. I look at it like this, i take a chance buying any used car, but if i buy from a BIG dealer (something like Leadership ford or Gullo Toyota) then sure there will be less haggle on the price, but more importantly, i get some gauruntee that the car has at least passed inspection and runs decently, because most big time dealers dont take piece of *BLEEP* cars as trades. I was even told by several dealers that they wouldnt take my Lexus as a trade for more than $200 (when it wasnt wrecked) because it was too old. There are exceptions to the rule, but not very often and those i will steer clear from. the only thing stopping me from a "big" car is that i REALLY want a manual trans. maybe i will get the good car and then get a small beater to putz around in with a 5 speed, that way i get the best of both worlds...

Whats the area code? so i know its you?

SCREWED AGAIN!!!!! here is what the police report states: B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T. We all stopped for the red light. Then we all started going when it turned green. Then they stopped again! I dont knwo if i should consult the officer about this or not, because she didnt Give me a ticket, i feel i should just let it go...but damn...this is in a police report that my insurance company probably already has. DAMN IT! It also says: so why the hell didnt she give me a ticket? is it because im shipping out, as a wya to say thanks or something? becuase When these people claim there damage on my insurance, My Allstate claims person is probably going to say "if he didnt recieve a citation then he is not at fault". this could be a good thing...(i have known this person for 6 years).

I know for a fact you can do your own brakes steve LOL. a monkey with a wrench can do front brake pads in an hour. If you dont want to do them, thats a different story. :) as for all you other work, im sure there are good qualified Indie mechs in you area. Woudl you liek me to call in to some connections i have? Give em a ring at the hosue and we can chitchat (its the 817-485 #)

Steve, there are afew pads that i would reccomend If you arent stingy with your money (in otherwords, on a budget then check Bedix pads out. also the redstuff and greenstuff line from tirerack.com are good. If Brembo makes pads (they used to, not sure if they do anymore) then go with them. other good brands include StopTech, and Rotara. EDIT: and now dust is NOT a good sign. It is an annoyance, but dust can be a good indicator of brake function. Your pads are too hard if they arent dusting at all, or if you notice a drop off int he amount of dust.

The other thing is, the next car i buy to get me by for more than few months will come froma dealer and have somewhat of a warranty. when i say buy a used SUV, im not talking about a 20 year old truck. Im in a position now where a 3 year old truck is in my price range, or at least i will be in 6 months.

hmm, anything on the inside of the rim? ← Sounds liek your pads are too hard of a compund. that can happen from the factory where they are made. If they pack them too much, they get down to the middle of the pad and they get to the point where they grind, cause the are packed so hard its liek a solid surface. your pads are somewhat pourus. if they arent, they can overheat. if they heated them up too much when they made them or compacted the material in the mold to hard, it could be the cause. try going with a set fo aftermarket pads (dare i say it). are your rotors scored? take a look at them. are they glossy scored or discolored? if they are shiny liek a mirror, this is your problem, you have glazed them.

Today i had a decent offer. for $500 and my car, i can get a 1990 Ford Festiva. I have no idea what kind of shape this little festiva is in, but if i buy it, it will be great to scoot around the base in. 40mpg when gas prices are sky high? ill take it! i dont like the idea of going from a lexus to a ford POS though, but whta the hey, its only for a week, then it will be my brothers problem. BTW, for those that dont know, these cars look like this: they are fun cars, i have driven them before.

I do like SUV's, but try finding an LX/LC that isnt beat to hell around here. the other option is a toyota 4 runner. I wont make the same mistake twice. i did it last time cause i had nop other alternative really, i had already bought it. if you will recall, i rcieved 98% of my purchase price back, so i would like to think i came out even. now i am carless again. I had someone offer to trade me a ford Festiva for my car. they are neat little cars too...i wonder... If i get that, it will make me miss my contour, because the 4 cylinder in the contoru would drop into the festiva quite easily. My othe roption is a new Jeep Wrangler that i like so much. so here are the choices: New/Slightly Used Jeep Wrangler Used LS400 Mid 90's used 4runner (i dont liek the newer styles) Land Cruiser/LX that hasnt been totalled and rebuilt Possibly a GS.

thats what i hate about Ft. worth, if you arent iside I-820 Loop, you dont have public transportation. it sucks. there are some peeps on CL who have offered to help. i will cal on them if i absoultely have to, noone is near me though, so unless i am stuck, i really dont want to have to pull someone 30 miles out fo there way. Transit, do you need any Parts off of mine for your ES250? daytime pix:

I want either a large car or a truck, preferably a large car. one that will not fold up easily. this is where the LS comes in. When i get back from ADR, i will begin looking for a car to buy, i will have over $14K in the bank. what do 95-97 LS's and 98-2000 LS's usually go for? i would love to have the one that does 0-60 in 6.2 seconds. :D im thinking 10,000 down would be a decent down payment.

Correct sunman B) monarch, let's ask the question then to other members......how many Lexus owners of any model have suffered transmission problems (severe or minor & please describe in detail) as a result of using Amsoil synthetic ATF? :whistles: Below, I have posted a link that gives what specs the Amsoil ATF meets (or exceeds). This matter should be put to bed rather quickly I would guess. B) ;) http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/atf.aspx ← Been using Amsoil ATf since 1996. Now issues at all. Used in tranny and PS systems on the autos. I will say this, it shifts smoother and the fluids always smells sweet and red as the day it was put in. ← Since I did a complete 100% tranny flush a year ago (along with a new gasket & cleaning of the filter mesh screen), I don't think it's necessary that I buy about 12 - 15 qt's of Amsoil ATF, but rather just do the 'drain & fill' with the Amsoil ATF (3-4 qt's)? B) I do that several times & it will pretty much be 100% Amsoil stuff in there. B) Still waiting for anybody to come forward and explain that using Amsoil ATF (instead of Toyota type IV) caused and kind of tranny damage or failure as a direct result of switching fluids. :whistles: ← and.... OWN3D

I can't even imagine how I'd feel... Gotta remember though, thats just how life is sometimes. Unfair or not, nothing you can do about it now, being angry doesn't help anything, all you can do is look towards the future. You're going to be leaving April 20th, when you come back you'll have some cash in your pocket to get into something else. You enjoyed your time with the ES250, you had fun restoring it to a better condition, now its what it is and you take away from the experience what you can. All thats lost is money, something you'll make plenty more of in your life, and the metal structure of a car, something you'll purchase many more of in your life too. Just be glad you weren't hurt, if not for anything else than because early 90s airbags can be scary things even in low speed collisions, burns, broken bones etc. ← you are right, unfortunately i didnt want to think about it too much yesterday. and these gen I airbags HURT!!!!! true...but this couldnt have happened at a worse time.

OH GEEZ Army! :cries: I'm sorry my friend!! :o All the work & money spent on the car & new Falken's to boot! Looks like you got scraped up pretty good. I hope your OK. :( ← man im soo *BLEEP*ed right now i can hardly see straight. my damned station i have to report to to take my PT testis over 30 miles away, and i have no way to get there... this REALLLLLLY sucks.

I give the hell up. im going all out next time, my next car will be a truck. im sick of playing the little car games. <_<

one more:

Steve, as much as i would love to agreee with you, im finding it really REALLY hard to do so right now. Nothing against you, i just dont feel very lucky at the moment...2 totals in 8 months...how would you feel? :( Pix of the carnage: ^UNIBODY DAMAGE^ ^see the crease in the Unibody???^ Core Support I drove it home, it drives fine, just runs a little hot...LOL

I'm no worse for the wear i guess... couple of slices and some airbag rash, ill live. The cop asked if i wanted an ambulance, i said no, i cant afford one, and i have ahd worse. she said ok, but she will call one anyways. she said i didnt have to go with them but she is reqired by state law to call them if there is more than $500 damage to any vehcile in a pileup. i ended up being fine..minus these: somebody help me, i need better *BLEEP*ing luck than this! ill take pix of the devastation as soon as i go pick up the car, i had to wait for the cops to clear out. when she arived she asked which tow truck i wanted, i said "none". she said i couldnt drive it, i said, i have driven worse, i only live a few blocks away. she said she was calling a tow truck, i told her she could call it if she wanted but the guy wasnt going to get paid, cause i have $42 in the bank. so she said, "do you have a way to get it home? cause its not street legal, if you are seen driving it home you will receive a citation." i said i knew that and that my dad was coming with a pickup. as soon as i get back there, guess what, i am driving it home. the last time i paid one of theire rotation wreckers, it was $285 for 3 miles, i am NOT doing that *BLEEP* again, i cant. i havent the funds.

Well folks, today, i rear ended somebody. We come to a red light, i stop, driving nomrally. Light turns green, truck in front of me goes and then i go then he comes to a comnplete halt in the middle fo the road and WHAM! no more ES2. On the upside, i didnt get a citation. On the downside, My car is RUINED. Airbag Deployed and $6,000 down the *BLEEP*ing tube. aint life a !Removed!. :chairshot:

heh, my contour did this with an analog odometer. It read all the way up to 299,999 miles and then rolled back over to 000000. i was shocked! i called ford and asked if it was normal, they said they didnt know becaue they had never seen a contour go that far. i pulled it out and apart and sure as *BLEEP*, the last digit only went up to 2, when it came time to roll around to 3, it went back to a 0! weird... finally i asked around int he contour owners club locally here where a few members have reached over 300K, and they all had the same issue, so i determined it must be normal. i just had to make sure that at every inspection the odometer reading was reported as having a 3 in front of it, i didnt want the carfax report coming back with a damn inaccurate reading!

I wouldnt think so, the ECU will learn to compensate. thee cars are pretty smart. ;)