nc211

It's just the humidity. No worries, all cars do it. In Carolina, on those super hot and humid days in the summer, you don't need to rev the engine, it just does it on it's own sometimes. I remember as a teenager, we had an 86' Acura Legend that would do it so badly, you thought the car was either on fire, or was peeing on you. No worries man, you're good. By the way, did I ever tell you that I graduated high school from BVN? Use to live in Nottingham on the corner of switzer and 119th. And use to "cruise" the kentacohut with my ice ice baby...

Thanks Sakataj, I'll take a look at the threads! I didn't get to the car this past weekend. I had an impromptu visitor from back home come up for the weekend. We were too drunk to mess with it. I did, however, get a chance to look things over last night. I opened the hood (this being the 4th or 5th time doing that since I got the car), looked at it, and could figure out a damn thing! I want to change the plugs, but the passenger side bank is covered up by what I think is the trac system. It was a billion degrees in that garage, so I shut the hood, grabbed a beer, and walked inside. I'm really not looking forward to doing any of this anymore. They're is a growing sense inside of me to just drive this thing into the ground and not give a damn, then when it gets too bad, just get rid of it for something else. If I do go through with this, it'll be the last time I ever do it. I think my LS days broke me. The thought of having to jack up the car, replacing all the rotors, pads, shims, plugs, clean the throtte body, coolant temp sensor, AND THEN realizing the car needs to be clayed and waxed, is starting to simply sound like hell on earth to me. I wouldn't be suprised if you guys see me listing a whole slew of brand new oem parts on here for sale. oh yeah...forgot the new motor mounts too....damn this thing.

I saw one of these the other day. It reminded me of a cross between the old 4 door Acura TSX's, and whatever Suzuki has that funky front corner piece of glass on the front windows by the mirror. It caught my eye, but I'm not sure in a good way. Something looked "off" with the whole front end, like an extra layer of design was piled on top of it as an after thought.

Bali, I would be even MORE excited if Ford, Toyota, John Deer, Yahmaha, hell even Schwinn came out and could offer anything somewhat similar to that kind of offer! Not because I believe it 100%, but because it shows they have the ability to "deal" like that. This is the problem, and the reason for the sucess of the Clunkers program. The government is giving the dealers a tool to use that normally is only available when times are good. I hear you about the $300/month payment and such. But, divide $3,600 by 12. Now, think for a second...how many threads on here have you seen about repairs on these older LS's that total that amount over the course of a 12 month period? More than you think. While many come on here to praise their cars, don't forget what the main cause is that has most of us on here to begin with.....a problem that we're hoping has a much cheaper solution to. Starter goes out...$1,800 of mostly labor charges. Timing belt service...$1,000 average. Driveshaft..$1,000 average. Strut rods...$500...mounts here, bushings there, dash lights, and god help ya' if your ecu is bad "mine was, cost $3,800 alone - dealer ate it though, luckily". If you ask me, I'd rather pay another $500-$700 a year in a slightly higher payment for a new car with a warranty and not have to worry about this stuff, and all the time it takes to address. But, that's the personal decision each has to make on their own. It's like you said: you'd trade yours in a heart beat if it started to break down on you. The gamble is, when it does break down on you, will it be a break that you will have to fix inorder to sell it, which will wipe out your profit on it anyway. After 18 years of service, one can only conclude that if you haven't been hit by the big stuff yet....odds are you will in future. In general, I will say this though....that tin can Mazda we had, on a nice blacktop road....was quieter than my LS was at 80mph. In the LS, I could hear the faint hum of the engine. But, in the Mazda...I couldn't hear the engine at all. However, get it concrete, and you'd go def from the road noise! I drove it down to the coast of NC quite a few times, same route I took in the LS several times as well. I always arrived at the beach in the Mazda feeling less fatigued than in the LS. That's no BS either...that's what 12 years of evolution in automobile design offers you. Things are "studied" differently now, and it works! If I were in the position Texas and 93' are/were in, that LS would be out of my garage yesterday for something new.

93', excellent buy! You made the right choice by a mile! TexusLexus, you're on deck! Look, at the end of the day, no matter how much we love our Lexus vehicles, only one solid conclusion will be made....they're just cars. They wear out. They all have the same final chapter at some point, which is failure and worthlessness. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Lexus nuthead too. But if you think I'm ever going to spend the kind of money I spent restoring my old 95' LS again...you're crazy! I got rid of it because of another car, our former Mazda 3GT. When we traded in my wife's beat up Honda Civic for the Mazda, I loved it! But my wife was not comfortable driving the LS, and wouldn't let me drive the Mazda. So, it became a car that she didn't mind driving every now and then, the 4Runner. We had a child, and the 4runner became the family machine, and I got the Mazda. I'd still have the Mazda, if we weren't living in a gigantic pothole of a town now. I refused to maintain a $20k payment on a new car that rode like a go cart, and would have been eaten alive by the road salt up here. So, it became the GS. But, I didn't a buy a $12k Lexus. I bought a $12k car that just so happened to be a Lexus. All I wanted was a softer ride from a car that can take this kind of environment in stride. Same principles applied by 93', and under consideration by TexusLexus. Are you happy with what you're paying for. If it's not a car payment, then it's probably maintence bills. Which one are you more comfortable with. The CARS program is the people's "stimulus", which is working perfectly. Infact, it should serve as another beacon of recovery in this recession. $1b was meant to last to November, but instead only lasted like 10 days. If that doesn't show you the overwhelming demand for the ice to break from the general public, then nothing will. Another example: the bond market. Two weeks ago, a public REIT issued $250,000,000 of unsecured bonds in the market, with a coupon of approx 6.5%. This was a first in nearly two years! They were OVERWHELMED by the response they got, as the offereing was oversubscribed within a 45 minute window of time, that they had to double the offer. It went out the door in about the same amount of time. NO doubt in my mind though, the CARS program has some elements of abuse going on. You can't toss $3b on the street and not expect someone to figure out a way to scam their share. The type of car maker doesn't matter anymore. The goal of all of this "stimulus" activity is one thing, and one thing only.....get the dollars exchanging hands again. Get it flowing through the system. That's our backbone, our entire financial system. We're a consumer based economic society. We stop consuming....and we're toast.

Solara ;) Totally different car. The Solara is FWD and off the Camry platform, the IS is much more a drivers car. The Solara is a nice car...I know I have one with 4 doors...but its a boulevard car (a pig), the IS will drive circles around it. Now you're gonna start correcting my spelling? Where the heck have you been for the past 4 1/2 years!!! I totally agree about the performance aspects between the two cars. I was thinking along the lines of a nice convertible and the wind in your hair element of that segment. To me, a performance machine in a convertible fashion just doesn't mix well. But, I have a little history with such. When I was 16, I had to bury two friends, and watch two others go through hell in recovery from a wreck in one of those late 80's Cavalier convertibles. They were hotdoggin' it, went of the road and flipped it. So I never really can view a sports car, in a convertible set up like most.

Not yet! But you wanna' hear something funny? After all of that driving back to NC for the stuff....I hear a little rumor that YOU have your own bottling/distribution/entire town dedicated to the stuff, just a short 200 miles up Lake Michigan, in the town of Shawano, outside of Greenbay! AND not only that, but it's the real-deal sundrop. The old school sundrop, in glass bottles with the actual pulp from the fruit still in it! Be seein' ya' soon!!!! http://www.sundrop.net/forum.php

Thanks guys, I did the Advance Auto route at $22 bucks. Now, I've just got to find the time to get all of this done. Got an impromptu call last night from my fishing buddy back in NC....he's on his way to the Windy City for the weekend! This....should be good!

Guess I'll be charting some new territory on this one then! I'll post up how it goes on the 430 engine when I'm done (or ranting like a barbie doll on fire!)

That's the one! I went by autozone today to pick one up. But they wanted $80 for theirs (duralast). I told him I could do better at the stealership! Gonna try advance auto next! Thanks Blake!

I haven't seen one yet, but for the money, honestly, I'd save the coins in this segment and go for the Toyota Solaro instead. My folks still have their 05' (or 06 I can't remember), fully loaded, and besides the lack of the "L" on the steering wheel, it feels and drives like any other Lexus I've ever driven. In fact, better if you ask me, because it felt "lighter and nimbler". I was planning on replacing our former Mazda 3GT with one this year, when we were still living in NC. But since we're in Chicago now, I saw no point in having a convertible. This place sucks - sorry, off topic rant.

This sort of stuff really chaps my tail. Lexus should be ashamed of themselves for charging these kinds of prices for something so simple and easy to do. It's simply criminal, and makes owning a BMW look CHEAP! As the others have said....buy the parts on line and take them to any ole' indi mechanic. This repair is basic, 123, abc stuff that just about any mechanic can do. The trans mount "referred to as the rear mount" is so easy, you can do it yourself in about 30 minutes. You only need one. The actual engine mounts "called the front mount", you need two of them, and I would let someone with a lift do those for you. I buy my parts from www.parts.com. When I had my mounts changed in my old 95', I went this route. I paid something like $150 for the two "front" mounts (the actual engine mounts), took them to the exxon gas station/repair shop down the road and had them installed for like $100 bucks. Do yourself a favor...don't touch the lexus dealership for anything that doesn't require the flux-capacitor to be repaired, which if done incorrectly, can result in you, Einstien, and Doc being blown back to 1985. You get my point..... Another fantastic resource to have on hand is the manual... $20, 4 hours of your time, from this website, can yield you every Pdf. file detailing every single repair of every single nut/bolt/screw/clip/fluild/voltomatrix setting on your car, from bumper to bumper. https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/...o.toyota.com%2F Buy a one day account. Set up some folders on your computer for the corresponding categories, and download everything. This way, you'll be fully armed on what's what, how's it done, and what's wrong. This, matched by http://www.parts.com, and you're in the game of owning a world class luxury sedan, for the maintenance costs of a Chevy Cavalier.

Mods, I've got to admit, the search feature isn't very helpful these days..... I'm looking for that thread that discussed changing the coolant temp sensor? I believe Blake had chimmed in on it, and I think it was either SRK or SK that had started it? Anyone know what I'm talking about?

No more parties at sketchy trailor parks...right.. ;) I don't know about the donuts and flowers. I need to see a photo of this 'hot' receptionist first, preferrably in something with lace...

Wow! I bet you wish you could get your hands on that 88 again! I'm 35, and starting to notice my attention is turning more and more towards the older, classic cars, then new ones. My dad still has is 73' Caddy, with something like 14k original miles on it, stored outside of Tulsa in the Grande Lake area. I keep begging him to not sell it, as I will take it off his hands one day... Just need a place to park a 21 foot, true land yatch! It's all original, and "cherry" in every way, except for the exhaust, which he had glass packs put on a few years ago to enhance that 9 mpg 8 liter V8 monster that lurks under the hood. I call it "the boner maker". :D

I never could get my 95' to spin the tires on dry pavement, going straight, either. The rear end would sit down too much on the tires, and it had new struts! I could though if it had rained, but as easily as one would of thought. The GS, like SRK's, has the 4.3 engine with 300hp/325lb, and it's very capable to spin the tires on dry pavement. I need the traction control in that car when it's raining, otherwise I just spin spin spin with anything over a 20% initial throttle. It's got Goodyear GT3's on it, in good condition too. I can tell this car's going to be a !Removed! to deal with come winter time, even with "snow" setting on. I think the squatting of the butt of the LS and the downforce associated with it, hamper the "burn out" factor, as does what SRK is saying as well.

In 2007, I sold my 95' with approx 130k miles for approx $7,250, down from the original listing price of $9k. I SERIOUSLY doubt your buddy's is nearly as nice as mine was, as I invested a few thousand dollars replacing the entire suspension system of the car with new, genuine Lexus parts. From the struts, to the control arms, to the ball joints, motor mounts, trans mount, engine computer, differential mounts, drive shaft, brakes, plugs, and a dozen other parts that I can't recall at the moment. It was a "hobby" of sorts. We're all telling you...$10k is WAY WAY WAY too high! He'd be lucky if he gets $6,500 for it.

There it is....your points....

Hahaha!!!! http://sendables.jibjab.com/originals/hes_barack_obama

Nic, wait a minute man, something's wrong with your numbers here amigo. Here are the scenarios and the error in your numbers. 1) Your monthly payment, interest rate, and term, don't $0 out at the end on a 5% interest rate. To fully amortize a $43,500 loan in 72 months on a $650 montly payment would require an interest rate of 2.44%. At 5%, the final payment would have to be about $4,235 to retire the loan. You don't have a balloon payment at the end do you? You might want to check your paperwork on that one, especially since you went into this on a "payment" basis. 2) Your monthly payment of $650 for 72 months at 5% would retire a loan amount of $40,360. 3) Your montly payment of $650 on $43,500 at 5% would require a term of 79 months, not 72. Since they gave you nothing beyond the existing loan balance on your trade-in, that missing $3,140 between what you paid for the car, and what you're payments are assigned to pay for the car, isn't in the Z. Either you put a down payment on the car, they gave you a "deal" without you asking for one "uh, you think they really would do that?", you've got a balloon payment at the end of the loan, they screwed up, or there's a trick to financing a Lexus that I don't understand. But eitherway, something is wrong with your numbers. I'd check your paperwork again! If you do have a balloon payment, well, $3,140 on a new car at the beginning of a loan term would be a lot easier to satisfy than a 5% accrued $4,235 payment on a 6 year old car.

I'll be your friend SWO , but I get to be Tango...

Honestly, my first impressions of the Lexus cars in general, have always been "boring", until I've actually got one in my garage. All of the sudden, and as time continues to go by, they keep looking better and better to me. It's really odd. First look "blah"...3 months later "beautiful and classic". I've had my GS now for about 4 months, and it's starting to grow on me even more.

First: Nic = I'd say you either got a better deal than you realize, or you lost some equity in your trade that you didn't realize you had, because a payment of $650 a month on a 5% interest rate for 72 months equates to an initial loan balance of $40,360, not $43,500. If your interest rate is higher than the 5.0% rate, the initial loan balance will be lower. So, you got something somewhere, or lost something somewhere. Don't know what the balance was on your Z though that they gave you on trade value. $43,500 on a 5.0% for 72 months should be $700/month. Second: Bartkat = I know EXACTLY what you're saying about dealing with dealerships outside of the hussle and bussle of a city, first hand, in YOUR town! In 2001 I bought a new Maxima SE while I was living in B'ham. I went to Clown (Crown) first, and got the haggle from a dude wearing a wig and makeup, I kid you not. I was so displeased with the process, that I went onto nissan.com to locate other dealers in the area, and found a gold mind 50 miles south of town in Sylacauga, called Reilly Nissan. Did the deal over the phone with a guy "Bill" who insisted I call him "Fish Fry". It was easy, it was what I wanted, and aside from the fact that every employee there with a pair between his legs was circling my then girlfriend when we went to pick it up, it was great! Third: Jim = I know the Badger dealership you're referreing to in North Carolina (just moved from Raleigh to Chicago this past February). Great ad...but not necessarily a true portrait of the type of service you'll receive from them. I bought my 95' LS400 from them, over the internet, and that went fine. But, three years later when I was in the market to replace my wife's 02' Honda Civic (2007)...well, we met a serious Badger, and he's still there. It's all in the approach. To a certain degree, selling cars is just that, selling cars, no matter if it's a Benz, or a Buick. Every dealer has more than their fair share of badgers. Even back in the day when Saturn first hit the market and based their approach on "it is what it is, no badgering", they would still badger you on your trade-in, and little nickle and dime fees out the tailpipe. My approach is to simply put the cash on the table and say "it's your job to take this money from me". Put the smell of money under their noses, and it's a whole different story "assuming you're making a decent and fair offer - they've got to make a living too". I finance my cars through USAA Bank - the best experience I've ever had with the process. They cut you a signed blank check, only you and they know what's the limit of that check. I write down how much I'm willing to fill in on the check on a sticky note, attach it to the front of the check, and set it on the dude's desk. I say "it's yours, if you want it, not a penny more". It's worked perfectly for the past three cars I've bought (new 07 Mazda 3GT, my 4runner, and my GS430). If you've got your heart set on that specific car, then what I would honestly do is contact the GM of that dealership and tell him/her the experience you've had there, and what you're willing to pay. All of this hassle the sales team has now put you through, can actually play to your benefit now, if placed into the right hands. The GM is the one who's held accountable for the volume of sales. You're not making an off-base offer here, but you're being held up by lower level employees. I'd tell Ana something to the effect of: "given the amount of time i've already invested into this process with the dealership, and given the results of these efforts, i would prefer to have communications between the two of us verified by the general manager from this point forward. no more games, i need answers that will be accountable if i am to take time out of my busy schedule to yet again make the trip down to the dealership to conclude this transaction."

I agree. For 7 kids, you need at a MINIMUM a Sequoia. The GX won't float the boat with that many booger slingers. I agree with 1990 on the Sienna too. I think for what you're asking for from a vehicle, it's the best by a long shot. The decked out Siennas are basically the Lexus Minivan. But, as Kyle says, if the wife won't bite on the minivan status, and you want to stay with the Toyota brand, then the Sequoia, Land Cruiser, or even the LX470 are probably your better bets. You won't be happy with the GX. I've got it's cousin, the 4runner, both are mechanically the same, same frame too, and very similiar in interior size. The 3rd row seat is a joke. And when it is installed, you've got about as much cargo area as a 1978 Porsche 914. Got pets? they'll be riding on the roof. PS: 7 kids? Man, leave the poor lady alone already!

....it's the ghost of Monarch, reaching out from the other side, as sent there by SWO! Steve....you're next!