blake918

Cool car Losiho!! B) What kind of features does your car have? What are all of the buttons in the back armrest for??

I'm not going to sway your from the Merc. It's your choice afterall, and it already sounds like you've made up your mind! It sounds like you've talked with enough people to know what goes wrong on these cars, so I don't think my set of horror stories will change your mind one way or the other!! I'd go through every record and inspection report very, very thouroughly. $1600! You're right it is almost wortht the risk. But what happens when something breaks? It wont take long to add up a $1600 repair bill. ;) The one thing that gets me about the diesels are the oil changes! My grandfather has a '02 F250 SD Lariat with the turbo diesel(that is the sweetest sounding diesel especially the way the ecm blips the throttle when it starts up!! It's for the fifth wheel camper.); he told me an oil change requires 16quarts of oil! :o But on a 3/4 ton crew cab pick-up, who can argue with 18+mpg in the city even with 16 quarts of oil! I predict you'll keep the LS! Primarily because of the amount you've spent on it thus far-the car itself and parts&labor- v. what someone will pay it. I have no doubts that your LS is a roadworthy machine with tons of life left in it, but to most people it's just a 14 year old LS with 230+k miles that has no a/c and a bad climate lcd. Your asking $3500 will be high to most since they will quickly deduct at least $1k for the a/c(I think you said the part alone was north of $700!), so that's already $2500, and then, they'd want you to knock off some more for the lcd repair. I remember you paid right at $4k for the car, and the $2500 number I've calculated is nearly half, so I'm betting you keep the LS....that is if you get the Merc! :whistles: I know you've had misc maint. one along with some shocks too, so that ups your investment too. What do you mean by steering problems? Suspension clunk or the imfamous LS power steering pump. I love putting miles on my LS even with it's 235k odo reading; it's some kind of weird obsession I have! lol I want the odo to read "500000." :D SRK, tooooooo funny!!!..."Not a 4000 pound Mercedes sled with a smelly, rattly, underpowered stone of an engine." LMAO :lol: You make a very vaild point in the process! I loved(and still do!) my LS for my summer job commute(75 miles each way), but if I were looking for something that'd get me there and save some fuel in the process, I'd look past a 20+ year old Merc. My sister got her car stolen in January. My parents decided to buy her something (really!!)cheap and reliable(the theft is a long story!). It's a '91, 4 cyl-5 speed, excellent condition in and out, 160k miles for $2700. That dam thing doesn't have a single rattle while my dear Lexi have a few of their own(it's ok...they make up for it in other places!)! Believe it or not, it is an extremely, extremely nice car for $2700! It was owned by a service writer at a local Honda dealer, so it had all of the services done. I'd take a gander at a early 90's Accord or Camry(preferably '92+) for easy to work on, reliable transportation.

I just got back from Barnes and Noble. I ordered: 1)"The Lexus Story" by: Jonathan Adler ISBN: 0971793573 Price: $46.xx 2)"Lexus: The Rentless Pursuit" by: Chester Dawson ISBN: 0470821108 Price: $24.xx There is a third Lexus book called: "Lexus: The Challenge to create the finest autmoible." This title has been out of print for a little while, so I'm going to track-down a used copy on amazon, half, or barnes and noble used section. I should have my books in about 10 days; I'll let yall know if they are any good.

How many gallons did you use to go 260miles? That will be the greatest indication of how you're doing...hopefully that wasn't a full tank! I drive my ES in a very spirited manor, and I still get atleast 18mpg(depends on how many times I punch it!)-the a/c is always on to help with this southern heat. The best way to save gas is to go easy on the accelerator. Accelerate smoothly(only pin the gas to dodge a Mack truck or something! lol), and you'll see your gas mileage go up greatly. What I do is pick a rpm limit and don't accelerate past it(I chose 2k rpms, and I went from 16mpg to 20mpg in the city. This is in my LS; the ES always got good gas mileage, so I never bothered trying to increase it!)--in the city only. I also find the gas light annoying! In my LS, the light comes on with 5 gallons left in the tank which is 100 city miles--a little overkill there! I monitor my gas with the trip odo because I find that the gas needle doesn't move in proportion to my actual gas usage--kinda aggrovating!

Welcome and congrats on the new car! :) AutoZone will read the check engine light for free. ;)

I agree with you 100% Steve. It's all about the driver. I can make any car in our garage(lexi, cobra and suburban) hesitate including my LS and ES both of which have regular, old fashioned cables. I have the worst problems in stop and go traffic. I get up to 35, slow to under 30, and hit the gas, but the car doesn't know if it wants to up/down shift resulting in a slight lag with a little lurch. I've easily solved this problem by giving the car another nanosecond so that the tranny can figure out what it wants to do. Should I have to do that on my LS that had a sticker of $55k? Absolutely not, but it's worth my sanity and a smooth ride, so I comply, and all is well! :D

Yeah, I've opened the file on my pc and mac, and all of the pics showed up. It takes a while to load, so give it a second(even on dsl). If that still doesn't work, select everything and copy and paste it all into MS Word.

Here ya go: http://www.lextreme.com/timing.htm

I just took HRP's quiz. I must say it's quite accurate because it labled me as a "right, Rush Limbaugh listening conservative!" lol Ok...it didn't put the Limbaugh part, but it fitted nicely! lol You brought up an excellent point of voting for who you think the better man for the job is rather than the lesser of two evils. It seems like a lot of people have that mentality since they don't really like Kerry or Bush. Rest assured that I'm voting on my own accord and not the lesser of two evils. :) WOW the deciding vote...that'd be something!! :D

I guess you could say that! I wouldn't say that I like any one particular "type" of style over the next(I will say that I love big, V8 powered cars like the LS, DeVille, Lincoln TC, Crown Vic/Marquis, Merc S, etc). I love Chris Bangle's BMW's especially the 645i, but I'd never buy one because of the iDrive. His maze of lines come together in a more pleasing way than the styles of Cadillac to ME. It's weird I know...how do I like Bimmer's but not Caddy? I like the front half of the STS, but it looks like the rear end up in the air was thrown together in about 5 minutes. Conversely, Lexus's boring/ultra conservative/call them what you like styles of the late '90's are my favorite('97+ ES is among my favorite with the '98+ LS, and both maybe have one body line on them. Ohh, I can't forget the Rx300 either!...ovoid?? Absolutely!!), but I'm well aware that they are extremely dull, but the boring predictability is what has kept me so satisfied with my two Lexi(and excellent reliability... bearing age and mileage). They don't scream look at me, but they are upscale and elegant in their own way, and they age remarkably well. B) I don't know if I'd say that the DTS or Catera are ovoid since I don't see much of an oval them to either of them. <_< The Catera is a little bubbly, but I don't know about the DTS-it's soo smooth and graceful looking, and like '90 said, the LED tails are sweet! The funniest thing I've ever heard was the owner of a '00 Taurus refer to the styling as hamburger-like! I think they are great looking cars(the '00+)...I almost bought one but ended up with an ES instead. There is so much room inside, and it had a pretty smooth ride, but it was probably for the better that I got the ES although we've had great luck with our Fords(they're hit or miss.).

I'm having the same problem. My Lexus dealer just lightened my wallet of $35 for 8 bulbs today, and if this solves my porblem, it'll be well worth it, and if not, I got screwed! I've had someone press my brakes for me while I checked the bulbs, and every light lights up, but that dam malfunction light is still on. I've even put that electrical grease on all of the bulbs, but that didn't help either. I'll report back tomorrow(hopefully with a good report!) with my results of replacing all of the bulbs.

I don't deserve the thanks! Our good buddy VMF and the guys at Lextreme deserve the thanks! Here's their home page and "tech articles" if you'd like to see all that they have(I don't know how much exploring you did, and the vast majority pretains to the origional LS): http://www.lextreme.com http://www.lextreme.com/tech.html

Thanks for your calm explanation(some people would have read my response to your post the wrong way, so thanks!)! No doubt that the Caddy is more stylish than any Lexus, and I agree that they do deserve props for trying to make a comback from the '90's. My favorite Caddy(and only ones that I'd consider owning) was actually the one "that Ziggs!" ...the Catera(and Deville DTS that is current)! :D The refresh in whatever year it was('00 or '01?) made the car look really, really awesome although I remember Consumer Reports filing the Catera under the collumn "to avoid." :( My neighbor has one, and he said his has been a pretty good car! I guess "spotty" reliability would be a better term! Here's the one that I'm talking about; it's even in my favorite color-beige! Absolutely, we are just having a friendly discussion on the new Caddy's!! :D I could imagine that I sound like the hard core Lexus Loyalist, but suprisingly, their subtle and elegant styling appeals to me greatly...more so than the new Caddy "hey look at me styling!" All just my $.02! And, the DeVille that I like...stylish, but not too much! B): Blake

Thanks!!! :D Now, I can vote!!! B)

Ohh...you were talking about the string and ball and laser things; kinda got me confused! Sorry!

I think he meant room...not run. <_< The current S430 is one of my favorite cars, so very, very beautiful, but being a Lexus owner, I can't help but wonder about the reliability! :D

I'll try my best with describing these...they are these little yellow things that sit on the floor of the garage. It's got a hump on both sides of it, but the middle is flat because the tire sits in there. It's kind of like two wheel chocks put together, but it's not so steep because they are meant to be driven over. I'll keep searching for them and report back! Found them!!! https://www.what-if.com/SECURE/garage/media/pspmat_lg2.jpg And, buy them here: https://www.what-if.com/SECURE/garage/produ...ccessories.html

Ferd, VMF has it on file here: http://www.lextreme.com/timing.htm . He walks you through it step by step in detail. It's superb! Thanks VMF! :D

93, I'll have to get back with you on the view from inside because I don't have a digital camera with me at school. :( I'll pass on the trade! :P lol I'm finally getting my land yacht the way I want it-tint, new timing belt-water pump, tensioner, idler's, GPS navi system, functional stereo LCD,new driver's door weatherstripping, and a fresh antenna mast, and now, my plan is to drive it for the next 10 years! B) 99, what percentage do you have on your 'ultimate LS(IMO, atleast!)?' :D Thanks for the complements guys! Steve(SW) has talked about a cleaning agent that can wash the entire car with only 2 gallons of water, so I'm going search for that post! I need to find something to use while I'm at college because I can't stand the dirtiness of my car, and I haven't seen the car cleaned up with the new tint either! Plus, like acf said, other people detailing my car can't be a good thing!

Denny, I'm not disagreeing(just curious!), but what kind of classic style do you see in the new Caddy's? The only thing I see is tail light style. The front and side views remind me of nothing else I've seen from Cadillac. I see plenty of classic(as classic as a car that's been in production since early '90 can be!) style in the LS430 like the tail lights, chromed exhaust tips, grill, and shape of the car. I love Lexus's conservative style's of the late '90's, but Lexus's new styles certainly aren't bad at all. My favorite love it or hate it styled Lexus is definantly the SC430...what a car!!! My next door neighbor has a '03 GS430 Silver on black...it's incredible(and it drives nicely too)! B) I like the plain, simple look that Lexus uses. I guess that's why people believe that a '90 LS400 is brand new. I'd be willing to bet a lot that in 14 years a STS will never be mistaken as a new or even a newer car! Sure the STS is worlds more stylish than a GS, but I think the new Caddy's are almost over styled; they are just too busy to me! I hope Lexus gets their act back in gear. I'd hate to see such a great car maker fall!

That was my thinking too! The top of the backseat really gets baked, and it's starting to split a little too, so the tint should help some. I was origionally going to go with 30 or 35%, but that wasn't dark enough for me when I saw the samples of the tint! I was looking for something as dark as possible, but I didn't want to have to roll down the windows to use the rearview mirrors. Thanks for all of the nice words acf, silver, lexls, and vevro. Vevro, your black '99 would be out of this world(98-00 are my favorite LS's) with some tint! :D

I just did my belt last weekend too. I used a small Coleman air compressor-it's about 12 gallons and 110 max psi...nothing fancy at all-with an impact wrench, and the bolt came right out.

I had my windows tinted recently. I went with 20%(50% is what's legal in LA!); now, I wish I would have gone with something darker like 10 or 15%! I feel 100% confident of my nighttime driving with my 'dark' tint. Price: $190 with lifetime warranty; after talking to other people, that sounds like a great price for the job! My friend had his '04 Corolla tinted for $210; I don't know if he got taken for a ride, or if I got a great price(I am friends with the guy that owns and installs all of the tint at his tint shop, so maybe that influenced the price!). I know; I know...my car is filthy in the pics(I'm at college now, and I have nowhere to spend all day detailing the car); I'm going have my fuel filter changed this week, so I'll let LeBlanc Lexus clean it up for me! Along with the obvious benefits of the tint for the interior, the car looks stunning with the blacked out windows and black paint! B) Here are the before and after pics(as per the request of a good LOC friend):

Great review on the STS and CTS, Steve! I agree with everything you said, but there's just not a chance that I'd pay about $60k for a STS(CD mag had an as tested price of $62k with all of the options-nav, magnetic ride, etc.) even the V8 model starts at 47,500. It looks good up to the driver's door; then, it's hideous to me...especially a side shot(below. It looks too low in the front.) or rear shot. I'd take a GS430 with Nav, Levinson, and 5 problems per 100 cars(I think USA Today quoted numbers like that) for $52k instead!

LOL, me too! Pimp they hoes....LMAO!!!! The Caddy badges the size 45's fore and aft are rediculous on the Escalade. And, like almost every other Caddy, there are just too many lines--hard ones. I love the look and all of the gadgets in the Navi. The only Caddy I like is the Current DeVille. I love the exterior-it's smooth and flowing, and the led tail lights are very nice, but then, GM ruins it with their plasticy, "rubbermaid interior."(I forget what car mag came up with that quote, but it's great!) I don't like any others-especially the CTS and the SRX( whose rear end is laughable)! There's not a chance that I'd pay $80k for a Caddy XLR when I could get a Merc SL500(for another $10k) or SC430(with an extra $15k in my pocket!). Steve, I'm stunned to hear that you want to trade your ES for a Caddy! Are you dissatisfied with it, or are you ready for something different?