Lacebug Sydney

Well friday is here in sunny Australia, the day of my baby's big 50,000 service. I woke at 7am to have the fellow from Lexus turn up right on time. He leaves me with a brand new RX350 for the day. man am I impressed. I've driven around listening to Chris Issak on the Mark Levinson stereo (is this the music system God himself/herself listens to or what!). Anyway lexus service centre ring me at noon to ask if they have permission to install some new wiper blades. Go ahead I tell them. The they ask if they can run it on a machine which will clean out all the gunk from the fuel lines. Go for it. And they reckon the power steering fluid wasn't changed by the previous owner (who never had the car serviced at lexus). Fair enough I reckon. At least they bothered to ring and ask me. They are washing and vacuuming it before returning it to my house this evening. I'll post later to let you know how much. As I am a motoring writer, they said they will charge me a trade price. We will see. But so far so good.

Hey guys I just purchased some 10w-30 mobil 1 synth oil for my 2000 es300 ready for its 50,000 mile service tomorrow. It cost me $80 Australian (which is about $70 USD) for the five litre container. Is it that expensive Stateside??? Cheers Stephen

Hey guys, as I mentioned, I'm having my lexus picked up and serviced on friday. Do you think it will save me money of i go up to my Toyota dealer today and buy the bits and pieces (filters etc) from them and give them to Lexus to put in? In other words, do you think Lexus will charge more for the bits than Toyota? Cheers Stephen

I'm taking my beautiful 2000 ES300 in for its 50,000 mile (80,000km) service on friday. Actually the Lexus Service centre in Sydney are sending a driver 60 miles to come pick it up and leave me with a courtesy car, at no extra cost...how cool is that. anyway, I want them to use Mobile 1 10W-30 for the oil change of this very major service. If I supply them with the oil, how can I be sure they actually use it and don't just keep it for themselves??? Also do you think I should ask them to use irridium plugs??? Cheers Stephen

Toysrme. What's the difference between ron and octane; I'm eager to learn. Cheers Stephen

Down here at the !Removed! of the world we have this new petrol (sorry, I know you guys call it gas) called Shell V-Power (I think it's 98 Octane). It was developed by Shell petroleum and Ferrari. I run it in the 2000 model Es300 and it purrs like a beautiful big panther. Cheers Stephen Sydney. Oorstraya B) Here's the blurb on that Petrol i was telling you about....do you guys get it in the good ol' USA?? New Shell V-Power is a high density, high performance 98 octane fuel containing Friction Modification Technology (FMT). Designed to reduce friction in the engine, and improve engine performance and responsiveness, new Shell V-Power has been developed by the same scientists who develop Ferrari’s racing fuels.

YOU KNOW YOU OWN A LEXUS ES300 WHEN... A young person calling himself Shayam walks up to you and asks you for money towards a new car!

Hey guys I'm curious as to which ES300 is considered the best; a 2000 model or the new shape 2001 model?

He might be only 6 foot tall, but his legs are 5 foot of that total height. :P

I'm a bit of a Luddite. How do you get this thing to work??? Cheers Stephen

Greg, Have you considered a divorce? Stephen

IS anybody missing Shayan yet? If anything could be said for him, it's that he certainly livened things up around here. Although I'm not too sure I like things that lively!

Does anybody know whether lexus ever produced a boot/bumper bar protector for the ES300? I'm talking about those things that the limo drivers use when they unload your baggage. It stops the boot lip and bumper bar getting scuffed by luggage.

It's not that simple. You would have to change the seats also, since the cars that came equipped with seat heaters had heating elements enclosed in the seats and backrests. Anyway, why would you want heated seats in San Diego? I went there once to check out the famous zoo and from what I remember it's a pretty warm place, even in winter. Cheers Stephen

If he buys a German car, he'll be broke for the rest of his life. Heck, next you'll be telling him to buy something French!

Ahh you litigious Americans. No wonder you guys breed so many lawyers. I was just trying to help a fellow member. Heck, I'm sorry.

Hey Shayan, I'm actually being serious. I figure there are several thousand members of the Lexus Club. If each of us puts in say a measly $5.00, I reckon we'd be well on the way to getting you a 2001 model IS200, or perhaps a newer model ES300. Set up a paypal account, I'm in for $5.00, I don't mind helping a fellow member. I have a paypal account I use for Ebay. How do I set one up for Shayan??? S

Hey Shayan, I'm actually being serious. I figure there are several thousand members of the Lexus Club. If each of us puts in say a measly $5.00, I reckon we'd be well on the way to getting you a 2001 model IS200, or perhaps a newer model ES300.

Hey guys after reading through all of Shayan's posts, I'm beginning to feel a little sorry for him. In fact, I reckon we should all put a few dollars his way towards buying a newer Lexus. What do you all think? Stephen

Hey Rosie Let's see a photo of this car of years. Sounds nice. Stephen xx

I wouldn't advise that. I sold my Corolla to buy my Es300 and it's the best move I ever made. The new Corolla was the most uncomfortable car I have ever owned (and I've owned more than 20 cars). The seats must have been designed for an alien and the NVH was not exactly sophisticated. I needed earplugs to drive it down the freeway. Just get a loan (heck the whole world lives on credit anyway) and buy a 2000 model ES300. Then get it serviced at Toyota using mostly Camry parts. Simple.

I don't want to sound like a smart A#@ but have you ever considered selling the car and getting a personal loan to buy a later model (such as a 2000 ES300). The repayments probably would be the same as your current repair bills and at least you'd be in a more modern and safer car.

Well they kind of tinted it for me for free as a favour, so I feel a bit slack asking them to replace the screen as it is. maybe I should just get the window retinted. I'm a little wary of them removing a scree in case the new one (genuine by the way) never ever fits as well. S

Hey guys, I know I've mentioned this to you before, but it was ages ago and I wouldn't mind your thoughts on the subject. I had my windows in my beautiful 2000 ES300 tinted late last year. Anyway; the tinter (who must have been drunk at the time) scratched the outide of my rear windscreen with his blade. It's a scratch about 6 inches long, on the far left side of the screen, where the window has the blackened glass around it. The company has offered to replace the screen and retint it. Do you think I should go to the bother of getting the screen replaced? Or would just have the scratched one retinted? Stephen

Have you ever considered that your Lexus is a 15 year old car. Heck, Nirvana were still around when your car rolled off the production line! Did you know the top selling single that year was Boyz II Men's End of the Road? Perhaps that best describes the state of your car. Cheers Stephen