blake918

I was washing the car this weekend, and I was looking at all of the wax and polish build up that was in the sunroof seal while I was holding a magic eraser that I was using on the interior. Hmmmm. Thinking to myself, should I try it? Why not! It worked absolutely perfectly! Now, my gasket is black instead of white!! B) I love these erasers!

Just an update, I got some new stuff for the interior (XM, Kuda, etc.), and the rest are just weekend wash pictures. The weekend before I did a full detail, clayed/polished/sealed/waxed, so this weekend was just simple maintenance with Meg's car soap, Collinite 845, lightly sprayed Black Magic on the tires/wells, vacuumed the interior, all of the upholstery cleaning with a Magic Eraser, and conditioned with Lexol. She came out great! Here's the EX and the 845 at 1 week, obviously still like new: I forgot to take befores (other than the beads.), but it wasn't very dirty--just a little dusty from the gravel roads and parking lots. The Crown Jewel: I'm really pleased with the way the interior came out--very clean without a glossy look. The steering wheel was filthy, but it came out better than I had hoped! Getting closer to 300k! Thanks for looking!

Not bad at all, Steve!!

I didn't do the plugs/wires/throttle body cleaning until my '95 was deep in to the 200,000's. I found that cleaning the sludge off of the tb made no difference at all, but changing the plugs/wires/caps/rotors made a nice improvement. She's still running great even with 285K miles. :D

I probably would buy it if it drives perfectly, like a 430 should. Now a days, a competent body shop can do some incredible things. Ideally, it would be nice if it was 100% perfect, but considering the price+color+condition, I wouldn't be too put off by the previous damage provided that it looks and drives normally.

My ES300 used to do that. It turned out that the radiator had a slow leak (so slow that I couldn't even see it on the driveway. The only way I knew was by checking the coolant on a regular basis while waiting for the new radiator to come in.). Is your coolant level ok? I paid $12.42 for the overflow cap @ Park Place, p/n 16401-50071.

That looks like a very nice car! I love that color as well. That's a rare color that is very attractive compared to some of the past rare Lexus colors are rare for good reasons! LOL Jeez, 12 bids, I bet there is going to be a bidding war 5 minutes before the closing!

Try this: http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/body/rearseat.html ;)

That warm tingly feeling... My LS has 285,000 miles. My car has had Toyota filters from day one, and I'm not about to think about switching now because it has obviously worked well for the past 11 years. I used K&N filters a few times, but they just aren't priced right. I made a point of looking at other non oem brands of oil filters for my car when I was at the store the other day, and they were all $3-$4, so their isn't much of a savings factor in my situation.

Who is arguing? Civil debates such as this one are perfectly legal and would only get locked if rules are violated. Come on now. If you are going to come in here and say off the wall things like ipods are going out of style and aren't selling, you'd better be ready to back that up with something. What came out last Christmas?? The new iPod Nano and Video models. Of course, the exciment has fallen and sales have leveled (that's the case with almost any new product that hits the market.), and they have leveled at a point that is far greater than this time last year. Steve Jobs is just excellent at keeping the iPods fresh and exciting. They just launched a new iTunes that allows you to download videos in addition to all of the Podcasts, music, tv shows, books, etc. that they already sell.Of course you're not the only one that might think that iPods are going out of style; you can find any research you want on the web to support almost anything you want.

Only Toyota filters for my car. I found them on sale at a Toyota dealer the other day for $4 a piece (I typically pay $5); yep, I stocked up! :D I'm sure you could get by fine with an AutoZone filter, but I guess I just like the piece of mind that I get with an OEM filter on the car!

Well, Apple would disagree with those statements. iPod sales are up, way up. They sold 8.1M iPods this quarter which is a 32% growth from this quarter last year (Figures courtesy of apple.com). iPods are hardly a thing of the past. You're probably right, but I LOVE mine and would never consider any other make of MP3 player. I just like them--they look good and perform well. I bought one of the very first 5gb iPods (that is the size of a big deck of cards and weighs 5 lbs--back when they were Mac only with the Firewire plug. LOL It's built like a tank though; I've dropped it many times with it bounching back with nothing more than a few extra scratches on the case.) that came out way back when, and I have a Nano now. I love them both. Battery life is exaggerated--as it is with almost any electronic device, but it lasts long enough for what I ask it to do. I put my Nano in an iSkin case a few days after I got it, so it still looks brand new.Cell phones with tv on them....I think I'm one of the last people who likes a cell phone to just call people. LOL

Sometimes mine wooshes, and sometimes it doesn't. I haven't noticed a pattern for when it does it and when it doesn't. I get great fuel economy and my car is fast regardless of the woosh, so I guess it does not matter. ;) As for the greater fuel consumption start with some of the basics, check/replace the following: air filter, tire pressure, ignition system, fuel filter, etc. And, above all, no jack-rabbit starts and use the cruise control as much as possible on the freeways.

Art, I can back Steve up 100% on what he said because I learned to buff using a PC. I had never ever used a buffer before this one, and it was so easy to learn. Steve had briefed me on what to do with this machine, so I was buffing as soon as I took the machine out of the box. I don't think that you'll get much safer than a PC orbital. I would, however, recommend buying a package deal. The one I bought included a small assortment of pads. This is what I bought: http://www.autopia-carcare.com/son-sfxpol-kit.html Good luck!

What a nice tribute, George. I particularly liked the last few sentences: "Take the time to consider what they have done for you. Live a life worthy of their sacrifice. Never forget." God bless the USA!

Congrats Doug! I'm sure your new G35 is going to be a fun car to own! B) That is just great!!!

Community pool? Have you seen the movie Caddyshack!!!!! jk :D

I'd go for it @ $8500! That's a great price (if you are concerned about resale value, this might not be the best car choice.). I'm more comfotable about the salvage knowing that they've put 100K miles on the car sine it has been repaired. Give it a thorough test drive and inspect (or get it inspected) the mechanicals, and if they are good, go for it!

I too am very tall (6'4) and can hardly fit in my beloved LS. The 430 has slightly better head and legroom than the previous 400s. The main thing that makes the 430 more comfortable is the bottom seat cushion extender that gives you better lateral support, and that could make a nice difference because I find that a good seat brings you about 85% of the way there to being comfortable. Because of my height, my '95 LS is going to be my last Lexus until they start sizing them like the German competition and some of the American barges like the Town Car and DTS. This is just my $.02. Everyone has a different definition of comfort. Some tall guys love their LSs, but I'm not one (I do love it from a mechanical standpoint though!). If you really want a comfortable car and know of a trustable German car shop, look at S or E class Benzs. Some solid time behind the wheel of the 430 will answer all of your questions. ;)

That all depends on what kind of leather the shop buys. I was very pleased with the quality of the leather that my guy put in to my former ES. Ask them to see a sample before signing off on the work order. It won't be a perfect match, but you also aren't paying a premium for it! ;)

It's hard to say if $6k is fair or not without knowing the mileage or interior condition. ;) All of the other cars on your list are great too. The new Sonata is an excellent little car for the money, and I love the Lucerne--just make sure it has 4 portholes on the side instead of three!!! B) :D But, I'd say to sit tight and wait for the '93+ LS that you really want....

Very nice, Rob!! Congrats!

If you really want a manual, you have options other than buying a hardcopy: http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/intro/repairmanual.htmlI sure wish I would have know about those websites before spending almost $200 on the repair manuals for my '95. LOL I wonder if my '95 missed the starter recall because my starter wasn't changed until it had 148k miles on it!?!? It's not that bad. You basically start at the front and just keep digging and digging until you can access the timing belt. We found that doing the timing belt on your own intuition is far better than going off of the manual (tried each way once) since they have some wacky stuff in the manuals.

The NHTSA doesn't have any recalls on file for the '91. I think the starter issues were for 95 or 96 or both. Fuses and relays are two different animals. ;)

I absolutely would not want an old car with miles that low (in regards to both of the LS and SC) unless it was almost new or if it was a real collectors car. They look very nice, but I'd be nervous about buying them. Cars need to be driven--2300 miles a year just isn't enough. 2300 miles is like a months worth of miles for me most of the time. I don't know how you live in a city like DFW and have such a low mile car! LOLNow, if that LS had air ride, trac/heated seats, chrome, etc. and a 1989 build date it might be a more interesting buy....