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MailManX

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  • Lexus Model
    GS300

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  1. Darn! Sorry to hear that. But the kits can be found on other sites, and they go on sale sometimes, too. You can even find them on ebay for about $199. Just be sure and verify with the seller that the kit is made by Sherwood.
  2. Yes, the kit include those pieces. You have to make sure to pick the right kit for your dash such as with or without NAV, Nakamichi vs Pioneer, etc. Unfortunately, the kit does not include pieces for the overhead console, but I believe that Sherwood makes a smaller accessory kit just for that. The kit is currently on sale for only $176 at CarXccessory.com. That's a darn good price. I paid $199 for my kit. http://www.carxccessory.com/carxccessory/w...xus-gs-300.html Here's a diagram of what the kit contains for a 2000 GS300 with no NAV and the standard Pioneer radio: http://www.sherwooddash.com/shadowsheets/1...if?Picture=1010
  3. I got the correct wheel back. Before I sent it, I used a black Sharpie to write my last name on the inner metal structure of the steering wheel. I've also posted this review on another Lexus forum and several members there said they have personally experienced, or seen with friends, the trouble that American-Stitches has in matching leather color. The wood kit goes directly over any existing dash plastic. Nothing has to be removed.
  4. It was an aftermarket kit which I installed myself. It was pretty easy, but it took about 4 hours because I was very careful in the cleaning process. All of the kits have 3M adhesive, but there's nothing wrong with that. The emblems on the trunk of your Lexus are bonded with 3M adhesive and they are very difficult to remove. It's all in the preparation. If you follow the three step cleaning process, the stuff will stick forever. I researched several kit companies and finally settled on a kit made by Sherwood Dash. They are a manufacturer and you cannot buy directly from them. However, there are several distributors online. The average price among the distributors is $225. Sherwood is the largest manufacturer or OEM wood trim and they are the only manufacturer that prints OEM factory sybols and words on the wood UNDER the clear coat. Some kits just cover the OEM symbols and other kits cut little access holes where the OEM symbols are (that just plain looks stupid). Check out this comparison of the three types, then go back and look at the pictures inside my wife's car and see the OEM symbols including a gold LEXUS logo just to the right of the tape deck opening.
  5. Yup, my antenna is in the window and I do have aftermarket tint. The tuner is fine, there's just not much range. In my Toyota Avalon with essentially the same radio, but with a real antenna, I can pull in stations from a long way out. With the Lexus, those same stations drop off many miles sooner. It may be a few weeks before I make a decision. But once I do, I'll post the results.
  6. Yeah, I wondered about amplifying the noise. I think I'm leaning toward the satellite radio through an FM modulator.
  7. My wife's 2001 GS300 gets terrible radio reception, both AM and FM. It's only really good on strong stations, and then only within a fairly narrow radius. I don't want to replace the stock radio, so I was considering the various options: 1. Add an antenna booster - if such a thing exists. 2. Drill a hole in the fender and add a mast antenna (no, no, no!). 3. Add a little roof antenna like a VW bug. 4. Add XM or Sirius satellite to the existing radio - if that's possible. So, I'm wondering if any of the above options, or even others I haven't though of, have been tried successfully by anyone on the forum. They key is that I want to keep the stock radio.
  8. The warranty is for one year. That's probably not long enough to cover the clear coat getting cloudy, but it's a chance I took. I understand that they can make the wheel with the larger wood ends that you mention, but I chose not to have that feature due to personal preference. I'll see how my wife tolerates the leather color as she drives around to see clients this week. By next weekend she may be begging me to send the wheel back. At least I hope so 'cuz I never liked it from the start. If I do send the wheel back, I'll have them re-do both the wood and the leather.
  9. I had a frustrating experience getting wood added to my steering wheel from American-Stitches. Here’s a review followed by some pictures. PROS: Excellent craftsmanship. CONS: Everything else! Poor color match (both for the wood and the leather), a very long 5 weeks for the retrofit and simply awful customer service. FULL REVIEW (It’s long ‘cuz I need to vent!) I received a quote of $400 plus $10 for shipping. That sounded good to me! I didn’t think to ask for a discount based on being a forum member. I can’t say for sure, but I might have gotten a cheaper quote based on that. Also, I didn’t ask how long the retrofit would take because the American-Stitches website clearly states that turn-around time is only 4 to 5 days: http://www.american-stitches.com/amstitche...ges/index2.html American-Stitches did not have a “core” steering wheel for the 2001 GS300, so I would either need to get a loaner wheel, buy a cheap temporary replacement, or just leave my car in the garage for a while. Based on the expected 4-5 day turn-around and the fact that I have an extra vehicle, I decided just to leave my wife’s car in the garage for a few days. Big mistake! I sent the steering wheel, along with my wood & leather shift knob as a color-match sample, by UPS. American-Stitched received it on Friday, January 14. I waited for two weeks after that, then decided to call and find out what the hold up was. I was told that they started the retrofit on Thursday, January 20 and that it would take about three weeks from that date. I asked about the 4-5 day turn around stated on their website. They said that was only for “production” steering wheels. Apparently that means only adding leather, not wood. But their website doesn’t say that. I suggested that they revise website for clarification. I also pointed out that they didn’t even start my job for 4-5 days after receiving it. They didn’t feel that either of those items was a problem. A few days later, I sent an e-mail asking for an updated ECD. I also suggested again that they clarify their website for the sake of future customers. I never received a response to that e-mail. A couple days later, I called to get an ECD. They said they were busy and would call me back. I waited three days and never got a call back. I finally called them again on Thursday, February 3 and spoke with a fellow who said the wood was complete and that the leather would only take one more day. He was confident that my steering wheel would be shipped on Friday, February 4. Yay! I asked him to e-mail me with a tracking number when it got shipped and he promised to make a note of that. Naturally, I never heard back. I called again on Monday, February 7 to get the tracking number only to be told that they were out of the leather for my color match. They said the leather was on order and should arrive in a day or two. I asked about the conversation I’d had with the fellow who said my steering wheel would be shipped the previous Friday. They simply said he made a mistake but they weren’t really apologetic about it. I let it go for a while, then called back the following week on Tuesday, February 14 (Happy Valentine’s Day!). They still had not received the leather. They said it wasn’t their fault that their supplier was slow. I pointed out that they should have ordered more leather BEFORE running out in the first place! They replied that I shouldn’t feel bad because “a lot of their Lexus customers were being held up by the same problem.” All that did was prove that they were !Removed! a whole bunch of their customers! I decided to ask for a discount. I didn’t ask for a specific amount. I just asked for them to consider reducing the price based on the run-around I was getting. I was told that they’d “check with the owner” and get back to me. Guess what? I never heard back! They finally did call me (will wonders never cease!) on Wednesday, February 16 to say that the leather was in and my steering wheel would be done in a day or two. On Friday, February 18, I received a UPS tracking number. That was exactly 5 weeks from when American-Stitches received my steering wheel on dock. I also received an invoice by e-mail. They charged me full price. No surprise there! I’d have been happy with a paltry $10 discount just to know that they “made an effort” to work with me. They obviously don’t care about their customers. I was so excited when the package finally arrived at my house on Wednesday, February 23. But my excitement ended abruptly when I saw that neither the wood nor the leather matched my car. The wood was quite a bit lighter. The leather was noticeably darker and somewhat the wrong tint. I considered sending the steering wheel back, but based on the previous lousy experience, I figured I’d be without the car for another month! Since it’s my wife’s car, I let her make the final decision. She wasn’t willing to be without her car any longer, so she reluctantly said she could live with the color differences. It’s a shame she was put in that situation by the lousy service from American-Stitches. CONCLUSION Would I recommend American-Stitches? Yes, but with major reservations. I only say yes because their craftsmanship is excellent. But on the down side, expect the process to take a long time. Also, be willing to accept an imperfect color match or else be willing to wait even longer if you have to send the steering wheel back to correct the color match. I can only assume that American-Stitches will take a steering wheel back and try again although I did not test that theory. And finally, don’t expect them to give you any sort of caring customer service. Here are three pictures. The first picture most clearly shows how the wood on the steering wheel is quite a bit lighter than the wood of the shift knob and the leather is darker than the air bag or the shift knob (remember that I sent the shift knob to American-Stitches for color matching). With the steering wheel inside the car, the differences are not as noticeable. It changes a lot depending on the light conditions. NOTE: I forgot to take pictures of the back of the steering wheel, but it does have the finger indentations in the wood. That's a very nice feature.
  10. I finally got it figured out. It goes under the head of the screw on the lower top side of the cruise control stalk.
  11. I just got my steering wheel back from American-Stitches and started reassembling the parts. I had taken some pictures before disassembling my steering wheel so I would have a guide for putting it back together. Unfortunately, this little clip does not show up in any of my pictures and I can't figure out where it goes. Seems like it should be obvious, so it's really annoying me! I'm hoping that at least one of you who has taken your steering wheel apart remembers where this goes and might even have a picture that shows it. Or, maybe you have a parts diagram that you could scan and post or e-mail to me (michael@preyerplanning.com). Once I get this steering wheel back on the car, I'll take pictures and post them along with a review of my experience with American-Stitches. It was both good and bad, but more on that later. Thanks for your help! Michael
  12. 49,000 miles. Purchased from dealer - certified. The dealer was asking $30,900 (WAY TOO HIGH). I Paid $26,500. It's more than I would have paid to a private party, but not too bad for a certified car. That way my wife gets three more years of bumper-to-bumper warranty up to 100,000 miles. That's important to me and her because she's on the road a LOT. Michael
  13. 27 years. She may let me touch it once in a while (the car).
  14. I'm a new Lexus owner - well actually my wife is and the car isn't brand new. It's a 2001 GS300 that looks new inside and out. She got that car and I inherited her old '95 Avalon. You'd think I was whipped or something. I have a question: The rear license plate frame from the dealer has no lower mounting holes. It occasionally rattles because of that. I'd like to replace that dealer frame with a plain chrome frame with (4) screws. Does the rear bumper have lower screw holes provided by the factory? My wife is gone with the car to visit our daughter for a few days so I can't go check it. If the holes aren't already there, will it hurt anything to drill them out myself?
  15. I've done some more research and I think I've found a better source. A company called "Sherwood Dash" is a major supplier to dealers. Their products are sold through online distributors such as carxccessory.com. What I really like about them is that the wood pieces have the factory symbols and labels printed on them. The printing is under the clear coat so it won't rub or wear off. See example below. Michael
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