gpreston24

Got my 2014 ES300H last Friday. I'm extremely happy with the car--and it's definitely a big step up and a great improvement on the 2010 Camry Hybrid we had been driving! In shopping for the car, I learned that the regional Lexus distributors strictly limit the packages available in their regions. So, while my local dealer--Wilde Lexus of Sarasota--had a very large inventory, there were only about three configurations available. Not one had what I was really interested in, the pre-collision system and lane departure alert. As far as I could tell, there was also not one in the whole state (16 dealerships). Since I didn't want to wait for a special order, I bought one out of inventory with nav, blind spot monitor, luxury package, premium audio, etc. I was interested in the Mark Levinson audio, but it was only available with ultra-luxury package which had too many things of no interest to me. I LOVE the car! And in five minutes, I'm headed over to the dealer showroom for a scheduled class on the nav system. Even though I'm pretty familiar with it already, I'm sure I can pick up a few new things. Gerry

Many thanks for the comments, guys. I will definitely investigate the hybrid more closely. Would also love to have the pre-collision avoidance system, but it's very hard to find in this area. According to the Lexus.com build your car feature, there is exactly one ES300H within 150 miles of Sarasota, FL, out of the numerous dealerships here. Gerry

Hi guys, Looking to buy a new ES350 or ES300H, hopefully sometime this month. I'm trading in a 2010 Camry Hybrid, and I have loved the hybrid gas mileage, but not crazy about the CVT transmission. It's always seemed to me kind of "mushy" and lacking in immediate acceleration when needed. Haven't been hearing this complaint from ES300H owners, but I would think the Lexus transmission would be about the same. Obviously need to go out and drive one. Your thoughts on this issue? Gerry

Ok, I have a set of new gold trunk emblems. I remove the chrome ones and find that a lot of the glue remains stuck to the paint. Try all of the procedures listed in forums, including goo-gone, 3m adhesive remover, etc. Nothing seems to work. So I go to a body shop to see if they can do it. Their solution: grind off the adhesive and repaint the trunk for a cost of $450. Huh? Surely there is a better way. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find it. As a minimum, I plan to check out a couple more body shops tomorrow. Any comments from the experts in this forum? Thanks in advance. Gerry Sarasota, FL