corky

I wanted to trade my '04 ES330 in on the 2007 ES but the interior isn't as nice IMHO as mine and now I'm waffling. I'm not familar enough with new car re-design so is it possible or even likely, that the 2008 interior will change by adding more wood trim, etc. ?

Sorry fellas, I don't agree with your feelings comparing the GS with the ES. For the past month I've been driving my cousins '06 GS300AWD with less then 2K miles on the odometer, and after putting on about 1K miles, on both city & highway, I came to these conclusions. The ride was hard.......I always felt cramped in the drivers seat......my rear passengers didn't like the hump in the middle(drive train), and also the lack of leg room........the trunk was too small.....and rattles developed in the dash. These tradeoffs for a more sporty driving car left me with very negative feelings! On the other hand, when I went back to my ES350 I once again felt like I was being coddled in a car that gave me, and my passengers a much more spacious feeling........a much smoother, quieter ride. Every one of my passengers definitely preferred driving in the ES over the GS. The secondary things like the shape of the oval dashboard or the carpeting did not bother anybody in the least, including myself. Aaah.....it was like a breath of fresh air jumping back to my old ES350. So there! :)

I absolutely agree with you. I have been driving an Acura TSX since 2005 (I bought it because I liked the technology for the price) and although I know I'm comparing apples and oranges, every time I slide behind the wheel of my ES 350, I'm in love all over again. I really like the dash, instrument cluster and overall styling of the interior. I was disappointed that the ashtray came standard. I would have preferred a power outlet and another storage area. I also concur that Acura's voice recognition software appears better than Lexus voice recognition and hope that's fixable with a software upgrade at some point soon. In terms of exterior styling, ride, room, etc, I could't be more pleased. I have had the opportunity to compare to other Lexus vehicles including my former RX 330 and IS 300, and I prefer the interior of my ES 350 to those hands down. I also prefer the styling to that of the GS. As a techie, I wish the ES 350 had offered the LS new "auto-park" feature but I bet that option is one of the many reasons the LS tops out at $82G.

Thanks for the suggestions. I see Plexus is sold on line but not sure where it might be sold locally Think I'll try my Invisible Glass on an old computer monitor screen before trying that on the navigation.

I've seen lots of good info for leather care and washing/waxing a car but what products are best for removing dust and fingerprints from the navigation screen and wood trim ? Thanks !

We bought our 330 in Bakersfield, Ca. on Sunday August 31 and it was the first one sold there. The MRSP was $38,664. with all options for California. Nav, Lev, AVS, adjustable pedals, etc. but no chrome wheels. We added $1700 chrome wheels on top of the MRSP for a total of $40,364 and then the dealer discounted back to a total price of $37,026. The trasmission works well for us and we love our Lexus also :)

The top options for the West coast, like Alan listed, are exactly what we have on our car. I wonder why the West coast, in their package, have AVS, Adjustable Accelerator and Brake pedals but not chrome wheels while the East coast is the reverse ? The chrome wheels we added make the car look even nicer and a spoiler will be added next week :)

Sorry no satellite radio and as far as the navigation we only had an after market StreetPilot III for our '98 es so we have no comparsion between the '03 and '04. My husband says the new car's navigation is super quick and really nice ! As for the transmission we tried to duplicate the conditions that have cause others their problems and our car is working well for us. I'm not saying they fixed the tran problem on the '04 but only that ours is working well.

The dealer gave us the MSRP sticker $38,664. He added $1700 for the chrome wheels and then discounted to $37,026.. We probably did pay a premium as we were the first to buy a new '04 at the Bakersfield dealership but come on guys, how about a Congratulations, enjoy your new ride !

The MSRP, es330 with all options including chrome wheels, was $40,344. We're satisfied with our purchase price of $37,037 (plus taxes & license) Others may do better if they chose to haggle more and wait longer :)

I've finally "warmed" to the new body style. We made a trip to Bakersfield, Ca. this afternoon and took the '04 es330 for a spin. The tranmission worked smoothly for both my husband and myself. They had a loaded es330 ..nav, lev, AVS, Adjust pedals, chrome wheels, etc. that we bought on the spot for $37,037. :magic:

I don't know anything about the dealer other than we were routed to him thru internet Autobytel.com when we asked for a bid on a '03 Lexus . I asked if we decided to accept the deal, would he confirm a vin # to make sure the car would be there before we traveled 3 hours to his dealership. He said he would need a deposit to hold the car for us (sounds reasonable) and he would supply the vin # . We've always bought cars face to face before so I'm not sure if this could be fishy or not. Any input accepted and appreciated.

Received the quote on the '04 and with the car having navigation, Levinson, AVS, heated seats, power rear sunshade, etc. They said it would be $37,031(plus tax and lic.), which according to them is $1,500 off MSRP. Both times they mentioned the es '04 they wrote es300 but I'm sure they mean 330 as the '03 es300 was quoted at $4,814 off MSRP. I thought I read they were no longer going to offer the AVS on the 2004 ?

On the '03 es300 with nav he had quoted an internet price of $33,307 but later said he couldn't find the car in the color combo we want.

On 8/20/03 an Oxnard dealer said he would be happy to quote a price on a '04 Silver with gray interior plus navigation that he had coming into his dealership in "a week and a half" and I asked him to please do :) I haven't heard back yet. I did ask if there might be additional exterior color changes ( I'd like a gray) and he said, "it doesn't seem so but only limiting some interior" He had looked for an '03 for us but couldn't find the color and navigation package we wanted. Sure would be GREAT if someone closer to Oxnard or another larger dealership got the new info before we travel 3 hours. :whistles:

I asked an internet Lexus dealer to search for a '03 es, Silver ,with gray interior and navigation but after a week he said he had searched California and 7 surrounding States but couldn't locate one and wasn't expecting any in. He emailed yesterday saying a '04 es330 is coming in, equipped like we want, and it should be in the L.A. area within a week and a half. I'm anxious to see if the transmission problem has improved.

We have the ES '98 and we're lucky enough to be in a position to beable to buy the new 2003 ES300 but I'm still trying to "warm" to the new style and colors. I love the two tone on our older Lexus..one of the first things that attracted me to the car. Honest, as we left a restaurant last night there was a 2002 Silver ES parked next to our '98 Sage and I truly do like the older style best.

The 2004 LS 430 has five exterior color changes and the IS three but the ES330 none :o

It's my understanding that the es330 will be out in October but other than a boost in horsepower it will not change all that much from the '03 es300..that would be disappointing as I've been dragging my heels about buying a '03 thinking that the transmission problems may be resolved come the new year ?

Excuse me, I meant the Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS)

While talking to our Fresno Lexus dealer today (central valley, Ca.) about perhaps waiting to see the new color choices on the es330 he mentioned that the Mystic Sea would no longer be available after 2003 but he didn't know which new colors would..he also insists that if we want the nav/levinson auto system we must take the DVS, adjust peddles, etc as it only comes that way....only in California ?

Have you heard what the new paint colors may be and if the '04 es300 may also introduce other color choices ?

Be brutally honest..is there a time when old folks like myself (60 yrs.) should not add spoilers, etc. Our '98 es has very nice custom pin stripping, chrome wheels, etc. and now that we are changing over to a 2003 es I believe that style needs lots of extra help but.........

Maybe it's because I don't like change or perhaps it's just that I think my '98 ES300 is sooo classy and pretty but who else feels the 2002 body change isn't REALLY to their liking ? I love and miss that "new car" smell and excitement but it's hard to let go......

We are thinking about trading our "98 ES300 in for a newer model..I really like the Sage paint color on our present car but not that fond of the Mystic Sea on the 2003 model.. was the Sage paint color replaced by the Mystic at the same time of the body style change ?