nc211

Well, there is a lining in every cloud, sort of. My wife got a ticket about 18 months ago, and hired a lawyer in downtown Raleigh to handle it. She got clocked going 11 over the limit. After all the jabbering I've heard this week over my 17 over the limit ticket, it turns out my ticket will cost LESS than hers! HOW? Referral discount from the attorney! Since I told them my wife used them for the same thing, they gave me a cut rate, preferred customer I guess.... Hahahaha!!! $285, including court costs and all!

So you're saying that those spots aren't bug guts on the windshield of my black ls?

Oh lord, there goes the neighborhood!!!! Now he's gonna be all over my "rants" thread that won't go away! Hahahaa.. I think the answer to your question is in post #1710 of the word association thread... :whistles: PS: My pleasure DC. It's the LEAST I could do for helping me out with my home computer. You saved me hundreds of dollars with that software you sent to me. Plus, you got more posts than Jesus on here, and you clearly enjoy the site, so I couldn't think of a better way to repay you for your kindness. Too bad Monarch isn't around anymore, we could really pis$ on his parade now! Thanks for your help DC!!

Heavy Duty Gold.... :whistles:

David, you keep calling me and expert, and my big head might get even bigger, and I'll start telling the true experts on here what to do! And, nobody wants that! hahaha... The rear carrier bushing, very common problem and usually one of the first parts to go in the suspension, especially in the back. Yes, it is very common, and the dealership's have an aftermarket repair kit they use "most dealerhships, not all". It's called the ASUS 530, or 505, or 503 or something like that. Do a search under "carrier bushing, rear carrier bushing, etc.." and you'll find the thread. Where is it? Look under your car, right infront of your rear wheel. See the control arm that runs parallel to the car, connecting right behind the rear door? That is your carrier control arm. It has two connector points, both with rubber bushings. These two bushings take the most abuse, since they receive the most weight in going forward, and coming to a stop. You can replace the control arm if you like, which will replace the bushing that connects to the frame of the car "contact point closest to the rear door". BUT, what he is probably talking about in the hub, is on the other end of that control arm. See where it connects to the wheel's hub assembly, where the other two control arms connect to as well? It's THAT little rubber bushing in there that goes bad first. And is the one the ASUS fixes. That bushing is actually built into the hub itself, not the control arm. Your options are to replace the entire hub "expensive, several hundred dollars", or get the ASUS repair kit and have your mechanic press out the old ones, and press in the new ones. I think the ASUS kits are like $90 bucks for both? I think, I can't remember. This will keep your rear wheels locked in plane, so they don't skoot forwards and backwards under torque.

David, SK is talking about Toyota's transmission fluid that you can buy at your local Toyota or Lexus dealership. It's the company wide fluid they use in all of their cars, and is HIGHLY recommended for guys like us, with older LS's. Toyota has labelled their tranny fluid over the years with a numeric name "Type II, Type III, Type IV..etc.." The latest one is Type IV, which is fine for our cars, and the one I personally will only use. About once a year I go to the Toyota dealership and buy a box of it, probably 10 individual quarts in a box, for like $50 bucks. Every oil change, I do the "drain and fill" on my transmission, which is nothing more than undoing the drain plug on the bottom of your tranny pan, letting it drain out "drains out 2 quarts", put the plug back on, and pour in two quarts of new fluid "they come in 1 quart containers". It's very easy, and will keep your tranny running smooth and clean. If your car hasn't had a tranny fluid service in some time, your fluid is probably a dark maroon color, or black. A few of these drain n' fills will bring it back to that nice red color. It takes a couple times for it to completely cylce out all the old fluid "your tranny hold 7 quarts total", but it will get cleaned.

I agree SWO, in all honesty, I knew it was coming too. My internal warning system was going off the second day we had the car. I just knew I was going to get a ticket, but I didn't think it was going to be that bad, 17 over is going to be expensive. It's a speed trap that got me. A brand new, 4 lane country highway, smooth black top, and the speed is 50 mph? Cop said it's still a construction zone until they remove the barrels "which might I add, are tossed in the woods off to the side of the road, and have been for MONTHS". There hasn't been a worker on that road since October. Total trap. Not to mention, you show me a road crew working on a Saturday, the day after Good Friday and the day before Easter, and I'll show you a project being run by the union and not the DOT. Being a right-to-work state...just a scam... They got me, hands down. Now I've just got to spin the situation a little bit and get it knocked down via Quick-Draw-McGraw Esq. services. I must admit though, it is pretty damn funny! I walked in the house and told my wife "I've got good news, and I've got bad news". She said "good news first". I said, and I quote word for word "honey, you don't have to worry about being the 1st one to get a ticket in your new car!"

Humbling, yes, frustrating especially since it's Easter weekend, and they've been saying on the news for the past week they're having a campaign against speeders around town. I should of known. But the flip side to it is that he didn't catch me on the country road I was taking before HWY 55 of winding and twisty roads. He would of thrown me in jail and tossed away the key. 35 mph limits, and I had the car up to 85! No traffic, no houses, no nothing but me for miles with plenty of visability, no blind spots. Had a blast. It's just too much fun. Kudo's to Mazda for developing the perfect balance between power, tranny & torque. I seriously suggest anyone looking for a small fun little car to check out the 3's with the 2.3 engine, or just take one for a test drive for kicks. It's the triptronic transmission that got me into trouble. I haven't driven a stick in probably 10 years, and this is the closest thing to it.

Well....bad news.... My 16 year perfect driving record has ended..... County Mounty busted the Bandit today going 67 in a 50! 1st ticket I've had in my adult life, and within a week of getting this car. Thankfully, having law enforcement family members, and knowing some good lawyers, this should be nothing more than a $350 parking ticket. NOte to my fellow NC's.... DONT' SPEED ON HWY 55 ANYMORE!!! They're all over it now, especially down where I540 is to connect into HWY55. The cop asked me why I was laughing, I told him "this is my wife's new car. It makes me feel 16 years old again, and now it's going to cost me like I'm 16 again too." He said I was the nicest guy he's pulled over in a long time.

since it's a 98, I assume it's running on windows 98, and not xp. you should have a boot disc with windows, one of those 3 1/4 discs. put that in your computer, then turn it on. your bios should go straight to it first. you want a comand prompt. use the command "FDISK".. This will take you to a section where you can wipe out partitions, etc..... then, once you're done with that, back at the command prompt, type in "format c:" or something to that effect, this will reformat the hard drive, erasing absolutely everything on it.

Thank you thank you ladies and gents for the nice posts! We're really getting use to the car now, and on occasion "while wife is in the shower" I take it out for a quick spin around the "race track". A 4 mile country road loop around the neighborhood. I did notice last night how hard it rode, felt too hard. So, I decided to check the tire pressure... The car recommends 32 psi... The tire's max is 44 psi....and the dealership's setting??? 50 PSI :o !!!! I couldn't believe it! I'm going to drain the oil this weekend and put in the Mobile 1 full synthetic. I was going to wait until about the 1,500 mark, but after checking it last night, it looked a little low, so I'm just going to make sure the car is properly "prepped" from the get-go. After lowering the psi to 32, it rides much better. Great little cars! I really like those CX9's myself. Not too bad on price either, if I recall. Maybe high 20's for fully loaded? But those big ole' tires....oh that's gotta hurt when it comes time to replace them. I can't imagine what the Infinit FX tires cost! I think they're 20 inch sport tires... Gawd that has to just kill the savings account!

Brooklyn, man, you crack me up! It takes some Gahonas to call the freakin salesman at his home, because you never know what a person is like "after hours". I know a lot of bankers who are some gun tootin' boys that I wouldn't want to tangle with, sun up or sun down. I'm assuming you bought your car from a Lexus dealership, right? Man, you got your refund and such, and the issue is resolved, but man you've put yourself in a tougher position than you were in to begin with. You're in the "one off" spot, which translates into "that was your last hook up from that dealership". The key to a Lexus dealership is in the service department, when you're beyond the limits of an indi mechanic. They can absolutely bend you over, and there ain't nothin' you can do about it once it's done. I'm not preaching to you on how to live your life, and how to inneract with folks. It's none of my business, and we all sleep in the beds we make for ourselves, none is better, none is worse. But man, you've gotta see where that's just a bit outside of the line. That guy was just doing as he was instructed to do, sell a car. And when it comes to Lexus cars, they pretty much sell themselves. You either want one, or you don't, when you show up at the dealership. Legallly, you're lucky the police weren't called agianst you, just to start a file on you. It would be easy for a case worker to look into harrassment charges for that. You interacted in a business transaction, outside of the business transaction guidelines. And man, you live in a place with more lawyers than freakin Washington DC. But, you got some nuggets, that's for sure. To each is his own, it all tastes like chicken at the end of the day. But, before I give you mechanical advice, you're signing a waiver!! Hahaha..

Nc, Your sub is on the way. You're the man!! Thanks DC, I've had about all I can with just the front speakers these days "have fader all the way forward". Twingie to say the least!

Hahaha!!! Your avatar needs to meet LexusLooker's in an alley soon! You're the antivirus that LexusLooker needs on his computer, and mow down that "virus"!!

RX, yep, that's the place! They were great, really and truely a pleasurable experience, and very fair. The honda we traded in just needs a spin through the detail shop, a dr. dent on the fender and the basic fluid flush service, and it'll go forever. We felt pretty good about trading it in in the condition it was in. I don't like to feel like I'm !Removed! over anyone, and we were very upfront and honest about the honda, and they still gave us what they originally quoted as the trade value, before they even saw it "had my car there during the negotiations". Capital Mazda is a good place to buy a car. We drove through Madison Motors the other day on our way to the fair grounds, and saw a bunch of nice cars, but the fact that they don't take trade-in's was the deal killer for us. She just didn't want to hassle with selling her honda. I, on the other hand, will sell my LS myself and then probably head over to Madison Motors for my next car, some day. It's just foolish of me to accept trade in value on my car and not take advantage of all the service records and the maintance history of the car. That's the value of my car, is the service. SWO, the Toyota dealerships told us that the Prius's don't have sunroof's due to two cables running along the roof line. Three different dealership's told us the same thing, so I figured it was true. The wife would not of gone for an aftermarket sunroof, she wanted it to be factory spec. Basically, once she got the car, she wasn't willing to put it into a shop to have anything done to it. I tried to argue the aftermarket stuff, but was shot down quickly. Hahaha... Took the Mazda out last night by myself for a spin around the area. I love the triptronic option. That little car is a blast to drive, no doubt about it.

Sounds like you laid down the law Army, you got a good deal. The thing that really amazes me "being a finance guy and all", is the fact that this Mazda has so many options, and yet the payment was only $10 bucks more than on the Honda, which was financed back in 2003 when interest rates were much much lower than they are today. We got a great rate, but I had to tell them how and where to get it "credit union in Winston Salem, NC that I know is tied into their network". I basically did the paper work for them, which was funny. They made their fair share of profit, as they should, they're in a business, and treated us well, very well, much better than our experience at the Lexus dealership, that's for sure. Swo, funny thing is she wanted the Prius too, that was her #1 pick, but due to some safety cables running in the roof that the jaws of life have to cut, no sunroof is possible, so she nixed it. I really wanted the 5 door Mazda too, they had a sweet white one just like her's, but she would not give in. Said she's not ready for a hatchback. I personally think the 5 door looks better, more meatier, but it's her car. The rear trunk opens up at about a 110% angle, and the trunk is huge, so I think we're good for the home depot runs. Anywho, I still love the LS400, can't beat that smooth ride!

Good, one step closer to the funeral! That old battle-ax needs to take a dirt nap, Vegas style. THREADCUTTER, WHAT'S UP MAN? YOU'RE KILLING ME WITH THAT AVATAR OF DAMION THE DEVIL !Removed!!!

Thanks fella's, yeah RF, I kept my sanity, but came close once or twice. My wife's parents would tell her what kind of car she could have "honda civic, all three of them", and her choice was just the color, so she never went "car shopping" before. I, on the other hand, was raised around cars, it's in my dna. She always wanted to shop on Sundays, I hated it because why spend the time, every freakin' sunday, if you can't get in the car, drive it, etc... Drove me nuts. But, all had it's purpose. Plus, we think that it's law that every newlywed couple should have a Mazda. Hahahaa... Hope this baby holds up, it seems pretty well built, lite as a coke can, which makes the engine so much fun. Haven't gotten into it yet, still breaking it in "only up to 117 miles". It's my first experience with a triptronic gear box, and I dig it. Bust out the Led Zepplin, give me back my Eddie Vedder hair due "or just the hair folicals would be nice", and let me skip 6th period gym class... I agree Dens', Mazda is coming out with some neat looking cars. They look like they've hired a european consultant to help out, maybe Volvo since they're all under the Ford family tree? The gamble is how they will hold up. They all ride hard, but my opinion I'm sure is biased due to the LS. Whew... Ok, now it's time to start shopping for a new bed. Our 4 year old $499 Sears special is breaking my back! 'Course, that might have something to do with the newlywed 20 I've packed on. I went from "lite ranch dressing & fresh turkey" to "if it ain't fried...it ain't food!"

yeah i think the days of those old 626's where the interior would litterally desinagrate in the sun are over. I hope the new ones are right around the corner to be honest, our equity in the Honda pretty much transferred over into this car, and knowing what we all know about the last year of a particular model design, we should be good to go on this one for quite some time. The dealerships are saying that they're selling them like hotcakes right now and are having trouble getting the fully loaded ones on the lot. The car magazines say it's the one to beat in that car segment, which is what the wife likes. This was the last one of the loaded up ones on the lot we bought it from, except for a teal one. And we were lucky, early bird got the worm, because two other people who came in after we did wanted that exact same car. Opps, so sorry, too late, already signed the contracts. I know though, those tires are going to be a pain, they're 17 inch 50 series 205s Goodyears, and they ride like a stiff side walled tire does. But, my wife loves it, and I love knowing I can get back into my softy boat cruiser LS400. I wasn't worried about depreciation hits on this one either, I mean when you're in the mid teens anyway at the start, there isn't much further it can slide right off the bat. The thing is a hoooot to drive, really is a fun car. Zoom zoom zoom is really an appropriate description of this car. I'm impressed, that's for sure. Not nearly as well built as a Toyota, you can see the weld spots and stuff, but who cares at that price with all of those options.

After all the posts from all of my friends here, all the cars we've talked about, and my wife and I have looked at, we have finally made it happen....and man can I tell you that good things come to those who wait!! I'll give you a hint before scrolling down to the pictures..... Zoom Zoom Zoom... We bought a brand spankin' new, fully loaded Mazda 3. It was the last car we thought of, decided to take a look, and we both fell in love with it on the spot!! And what a freakin' deal!!!! This thing has, no jokes: Leather 5 speed automatic with tiptronic option Dynamic Stabilitiy Control Heated Seats Sunroof 6 in-dash cd changer "Bose, and it sounds pretty damn good" I-pod direct connectivity, plus charger Satelite prewired in HID lights "that you can electronically adjust up and down from the cockpit Tire monitoring system 8 air bags 158 HP Cruise, power everything... Automatic climate control 8 way adjustable sport seats AUTOMATIC rain sensing windshield wipers 17 performance tires sporty exhaust note metalic pearl paint sporty whip antenna on the roof 4 wheel disc abs brakes computer "avg mpg, speed, miles to empty, real time mpg, etc..." 3 year 36k bumper-to-bumper warranty 3 year free road side assistance 1 year free maintenance program typical 5 year powertrain / rust, etc... warranties split fold down rear seats huge trunk 25 city / 32 hwy mpg. ALL of this, for $20k!! We got a great deal on the trade in on her old 03 Civic, which had some equity in it. That car was due to go, had a dent in the front that broke the headlight seal "moister in it", tranny was making noises, 86,500 miles, vibrated like crazy, noisy, buzzy, rattley.... just road hard and hung up wet, never saw a speck of wax it's hole life. All in all, the total difference of ownership costs per month, including insurance adjustment against the old Civic.... a whopping $17 dollars. That's it, a medium pizza from Dominos. How does it drive? IT'S A FREAKIN' RIOT!! It's a sports car, rides like one, handles like one, stops like one, it's just a riot. The best thing I can compare it to is a BMW 318 ti, Miata, MG, Old Nissan Sentra SE-R's, older IS300's... etc... It's no LS400 on the open road "what is?", and it's a stretch to compare it to the IS300's, but a logical stretch. It's just a blast to drive, I feel like I'm 16 again in my 87' VW GTI. A real pocket rocket. Thing has plenty of room for 4 sub-6 foot guys. Or a pack-full of girls. My wife loves it, and won't give me the extra key. It rides hard, but not harsh. It's on the new Volvo S40 frame, which has eleminated the Mazda feel. It doesn't feel like a Mazda at all, except in the crisp steering. It feels british to be honest. Made in Japan too, not here in the states. So, enough chatter.... here are a couple pictures.

Tear In My Beer :cries:

i noticed this morning the hissing sound has died down quite a bit, we've had some rain lately, and I think the water splashing on the rotors helped seat the pads a bit, or, like mentioned earlier, I'm getting to the point of wearing them in. They probably have 500 miles on them now, with somewhat city driving. They'll seat, I'm confident of that. I just refuse to buy oem rotors, especially for the rear. I just can't justify the expense in my own mind, especially when there are sooooo many other premium brands out there for 40% the cost. I know rotors aren't just "rotors", and everything doesn't taste like chicken, but geezzz are Toyota rotors expensive, and will warp too.

What I don't understand, and I'm not knocking your complaint's Brooklyn, but how can these issues be deemed a "nightmare?" I would say "frustration", which comes with the car buying experience anyway, sadly. I agree though, you're getting a bit screwed on the keys and tires. I didn't think they would do the servicing you wanted though. They only do that if the manual calls for it at certain intervals, not at customer request intervals, unless you build that into your offer. I remember when I bought mine, I included the full whopper 90k service to be done as part of my offer. I don't know man, it's a tough call, being as how it's a CPO and all. Looks like new, drives like new, finances like new.....but you get treated like crap in the process. If it were me man, I wouldn't let it get to you too badly, just let the manager politely know that you were dissapointed with your experience, and regret your purchase now. Be polite, not too pushy or confrontational..... I'd bet he'd cave under those comments, which appear to be your honest feelings. Trust me, he knows a can of engine coolant isn't nearly as expensive as loosing someone with the financial horsepower to buy the flagship, and if you're getting the title, the financial horsepower to pay cash for it. He'd be a fool to let you walk out of his business with those kinds of feelings. Especially with the MB / BMW / Audi & Infiniti shop just down the street "as they all tend to follow eachother".

Groaning noises are usually associated with low levels of power steering fluid. Are you getting this noise while you're driving and turning, or while you're parked and turning the wheel side to side? If you're parked and doing it, then I don't see how a control arm bushing could have that affect? I would think if anything outside of your pump making that noise could be your outter tie rod ends going bad, but I don't think they would groan, but rather pop. Bushings don't really "groan" as if they're straining, they just pop/bang/crunch/squeek. The guy who installed the rack, is he a Lexus mechanic? I ask because i've heard of specific hoses needing to be used. I've also heard of some kind of pressure valve incorrectly being installed. Honestly, to me, it sounds like your pump groaning to strain. Another thing that could be causing the pump to strain, and probably a likely candidate, is the solenoid in the rack!! It's got that tiny screen in it, and when it get's clogged up, your steering gets heavy. The solenoid opens and closes depending on your speed. The lower the speed, the more open it goes, which allows the pump to assist you more in turning the wheel. If it's clogged up, your pump might not be getting enough fluid in it to be effective, which would cause it to strain, and in the long run, would burn it out. If your new rack is a remanufactored one, then it is QUITE possible the solenoid was never cleaned. If you do a search for the power steering solenoid, you'll see the threads, and some pictures as well. Edit: Here ya' go Bama'! http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...enoid&st=45

I tivo Motor Week, and on one of the Goss's Garage segments, he demonstrated how to smooth out the surface of a new set of rotors. He used a pnumatic grinder / sander with about a 2 inch circular piece of sandpaper. He gently applied the pad to the rotor and proceeded to go around the rotor's surface. He said this will allow the pads to groove the rotor to thier own liking. I just bought some new rear rotors, and they have a criss-cross pattern to them, which makes a horrible hissing noise at parking lot speed. Anyone ever does this to their rotors before? Any advice or input on technique?