jragosta

Look, you're driving a relatively high end car which contains high end components - and ones that aren't made in a high enough quantity to get huge economies of scale. On top of that, you're dealing with a brand that excels at service. You're probably getting a free loaner car (as just one example). No one's taking advantage of anyone. That's what it costs. You may be able to find some garage shop who will do it for less, but that carries its own risks. You'll have to decide if it's worth it. Sorry, but I just get tired of people who immediately jump all over high end companies who are providing a premium service simply because they charge more than the cheapo high school dropout mechanic down the road installing used parts.

You must be new here. See the thread that's pinned to the top of the bulletin board.

They are not comparing a Camry to a BMW. Camry is the 3rd most reliable whereas the BMW is the 3rd most unreliable. I guess the way I posted is confusing people. I would have thought that 5 million surveys would have ironed out/taken care of bias. ← Thanks for the clarification. I can accept that. I should have clarified my negative statements. CR is pretty good when it comes to collecting data and reporting raw data. It's when they get into interpreting it or providing reviews that they're somewhat questionable. Keep in mind, of course, that this type of report is generally somewhat risky statistically. People who report are generally the ones who have problems, so the results are skewed. Also, there's a perception bias. If my trunk lid is out of alignment on my Lexus, I might complain, but if it was out of alignment by a similar amount on a Ford Focus, I probably wouldn't.

I've learned that Consumer Reports isn't really a good source of information about anything. I'm quite knowledgeable about computers - and their rankings are usually absurd. Friends have told me the same thing about areas that they're expert in. It seems that CR gives nice reviews that seem helpful - if you don't know the subject. The more you know, the less sense their reviews make. Comparing a 4 cyl Camry to a 7 Series BMW is pretty silly.

Personally, I'd go with the Lincoln. 1. Why are you worried about resale value? You're buying a $4 K car. If you even get a couple of years out of it, you've done OK. Once you're talking about a $2 K residual (which is the best you could hope for after a couple of years), it if runs well and looks good, you'll get some money. 2. The Lincoln has clearly been better maintained. Given your past experience, I can't imagine why you'd even consider an older car with no records and nothing more than someone's promise that they did certain work (which might not even have been done right). 3. The Lincoln has half the mileage. Since the Lincoln was driven less than 10 K miles per year, you might want to have the compression testeed checked if the Ford facility didn't do it. Doesn't look even close to me.

I still haven't gotten the replacement mic installed, so I can't say for sure, but it looks like it's going to be fine. The mic is mounted on the pillar on the driver's side. The control unit is mounted to the underside of the glove compartment (behind the passenger side trim panel).

I just got a Bluetooth kit for my Motorola V505 phone in my ES330. The dealer charged me $200 to install it (a ripoff, but I was there for my 15,000 mile service and it saved me a trip to a specialty shop). It seemed to work right off the bat, but when I called out, the microphone wasn't picking up. The dealer was good about it and spent an hour on the phone with Motorola - who finally determined that the microphone was bad. There's no local Motorola facility where I can get the microphone, so I called the 800 number. They said I had to remove the entire old unit ($200 more), then they'd send me a replacement ($200 more for installation). I explained that this was ridiculous since they'd already determined that it was just a bad microphone, but no go. Finally, I went up two levels and got someone with a brain who agreed to send the microphone but said she'd call back. A few days later, she hadn't called, so I called again. I had go go through the whole thing again (send in the entire unit....). Finally, I got someone who agreed to send the microphone - only to find that it was out of stock and they won't back order. He agreed to call a distributor and found one, so I finally have my microphone. What lousy customer service!!!!

My favorite is 'bland styling'. Virtually every review I've ever read on the ES complains about it being boring. Sorry, I want my car to get me from point A to point B in comfort and without any surprises. Boring is EXACTLY what I want. I don't want my car to be a fashion statement. I looked at the Cadillac STS before I bought my ES and didn't even test drive it. What a ridiculous looking car..... (IMHO)

I think there's more to it than that. Most of the car magazines rate the cars with a very, very heavy weighting toward performance. Lexus tends to offer adequate performance, but nothing trendsetting. That's why the Acura TL and Infiniti G35 will consistently beat the Lexus in most car magazines - more HP. Of the top of my head, I can't think of a single magazine that rates ride comfort as equally important (or more imprtant) as performance.

It depends on how you drive. For some people, working around the lousy transmission/drive by wire system in the Lexus isn't a problem. If you're one of those people, it's a great value for the money. If you are unable or unwilling to change your driving style to make Lexus happy, it's not as good a decision. The shifting and downshift hesitation are a severe problem - and IMHO a significant safety factor. Personally, I wish I had bought the Infinity G35 instead of the ES330.

Nothing there seems out of line. In fact, seems quite reasonable - is this a mechanic you trust? My inclination would be to take the $1K from the seller and get on with your life. As I understand it, you'll be paying about $600 more than you planned, but the car will be essentially cosmetically and mechanically perfect when you're done. Seems like a decent deal.

Your points are all valid, but your example might be cutting it a bit close. CCA requirements are rated for new cars. If your car has a 360 CCA OEM requirement, that's based on when it leaves the factory. After 8 years, it may well take more amps. So, 400 might be cutting it a little close. But your point is correct. Just don't take it to extremes.

Optima Yellow Top is the best battery. A lexus OEM batter is $100 I believe. ← Not to be nit-picky, but.... Oh, what the heck, let's be nit-picky: That's not really a Lexus OEM battery. It's an OEM replacement battery. 'OEM' means it comes from the original equipment manufacturer - or Lexus. So a Lexus battery is OEM and Optima is OEM replacement. Just a pet peeve of mine.

I don't think it's that simple. He's not really spending $3 K on a $6 K car. (I don't remember the exact numbers so I'll use yours). Any time I buy a used car, I assume that I'm going to have to put money into it. On a $6 K car, I assume that I'll have $1,000 in repairs in the first year - or more. So he's only spending $2 K more than I would reasonably have expected. But even that isn't necessarily so bad. From his description of the car, it sounds like it's cosmetically perfect. That's worth something in a car this age. Would I pay a $2 K premium for a car that was cosmetically perfect? Probably. What I'd suggest is to spend the money or so to have a mechanic go over it with a fine-toothed comb to see what he's looking at. If the mechanic says that he's already identified the problems and everything else is in great shape, I'd push for the seller to pay a fair part of the cost. The thing he has to avoid is fixing all these things and then having something else major break the next week - and then another problem the week after that. As I said, I normally expect to have some expenses, so I might not demand that they pay the full amount (other than as an initial starting position). If he gets $1,000 back, and if the mechanic says the car is otherwise OK, he'll have a low mileage Lex in cosmetically perfect condition and mechanically excellent for $8000 or so. I would consider that a decent deal.

While it's true the eBay's buyer protection program doesn't cover wear and tear, it most certainly is SUPPOSED to protect you from outright fraud. The guy claimed it had new brakes - which it doesn't. He claimed that it was meticulously maintained - but he doesn't have any records. IOW, the eBay ad was false. You MIGHT get some protection from them. Ordinarly, I'd pay the $20 for Square Deal arbitration. If you don't like the results, you can always to the small claims route. OTOH, small claims will probably be a bigger pain for him than for you, so it might be worth paying for small claims to make him defend himself. Make sure you present it as a fraud claim - that he made specific representations that are untrue. If you present it as a claim that he sold you a defective car, you'll lose. When buying a used car, it's definitely 'let the buyer beware'. But since he flat out lied, you've got a very good case. Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with buying a car on eBay, but I would have paid for an inspection by a good mechanic before going through with the deal.

eBay has an arbitration system. Since he clearly stated that he had new brakes on the car, you have a good chance of winning. I'd go through their system. I don't think the bad feedback is going to put him out of business - but if it does, he doesn't deserve the business, anyway. But don't leave negative feedback until their system works. File a complaint with eBay. Save copies of the ad as well as all your documentation. If that doesn't work (and it might not - the eBay system stinks, frankly. They don't enforce much of anything), I'd go to small claims court and sue him for the full amount of the repairs. Since he's clearly in the wrong, you've got a better chance there.

That's exactly what I've been saying all along. There's nothing wrong with these filters for professional / racing use. But for the average commuter, they're a very, very bad choice.

for those that didn't take latin in school. caveat emptor = Buyer Beware!!!!! steviej ← Sorry. caveat emptor = 'Let the buyer beware'

The bottom line is that 'caveat emptor' is ALWAYS a good policy. And in the case of K&N it's only partially pulling the wool over people's eyes. Their filter is probably a fine filter for race cars or for enthusiasts who like to tweak their cars and understand the risks involved. The only problem is that people take that and reach the conclusion that it's a good general purpose filter - which it isn't.

i dont believe that, i dont care how much education you have, i refuse to believe that one without proof. it is in many ways as good or a better filter than a paper filter...depends on the application. call me hard headed, or set in my ways. you are right, that doesnt mean it cant happen, but i have been around cars and engines my whole life, and am practically an expert on certian ford and mopar cars...20 years of K&N and bnever seen a problem. that smarts man...i cant believe you said that. that offends me. im not going to ignore the facts, but i know what i know. i have been around engines long enough to know how to troubleshoot and diagnose them properly. dammit i sure as hell would tell someone if the filter caused damage to their engine. and i sure as hell would admit if it caused damage to mine. dont jab at me like that again please. that was completely uncalled for. <_< ← You're acting all offended, but you're doing exactly what I said. I've pointed out that from a scientific perspective these filters are inferior. In a different thread, I explained exactly why. But you don't want to believe that, so you'll ignore all the scientific information in order to feed your bias. That's EXACTLY what I said you were doing.

Deer antler hood ornament?

I wouldn't necessarily say that you have to stick with the Lexus filter. Just one that meets the same specs. For example, ask the Toyota dealer for the part number of the Camry filter from the same year and see if it's the same as the Lexus. Alternatively, if you can find a premium pleated filter that exceeds Lexus specs, it might be a good deal. Other than that, I can't help much - I just have the dealer do all my work. For me, the convenience is worth the money.

ill only say one thing... 35+ years of filtration, i think they know what they are doing...that is all. (Click here) ok maybe ill say more. i have NEVER EVER heard of a K&N filter ever causing a problem with any engine...ever. you want to talk about inadequate filtration, those cone filters you put on the end are no good, but the panel fliters that sit in your stock airbox have EXCELLENT filtration capabilites, and the fact that you say the oil will get down in the intake, this is true, if you DOUSE the filter in it. you are only supposed to use a little bit. you would have to have the fliter literally dripping in oil when you put it in the airbox to have any ill effects. and even then it would only screw with the MAF... and inadequate filtration...its no wonder NASCAR uses these filters... granted you are entitiled to your opinion, and i can resppect that, but that had to be just about the strangest/most wrong thing i have ever seen on a car forum. the performance gains are insignificant, true enough, but it WILL NOT damage your engine if used, and installed properly. and that is a fact. and if someone cant install an average air filter correctly, they dont belong anywhere near a car... ← As you've pointed out in a different thread, these are not racing cars. What makes sense for a racing car doesn't necessarily make sense for a family car. Racing cars require every ounce of HP they can get. More importantly, racing car engines are rebuilt many times as frequently as a family car. Also, the mechanics working on a racing car have much more experience than the average Lexus owner. I've explained this before. I have a PhD in Chemistry and spent most of my career studying filtration. I'm not relying on a vendor's unsupported claims. The testing that you showed on the K&N site is not quite useless, but close. They're not measuring the right things. This type of filter requires very, very careful installation. A little bit too much oil and you can screw things up. A little bit too little and filtration stinks. But even when properly oiled, it's not as good a filter as a good pleated OEM filter. I'm glad that you've never seen an engine damaged by a K&N filter. That doesn't mean it can't happen. Furthermore, given your extreme bias toward the K&N product, I'm not so sure you'd notice even if there was engine damage. You'd probably blame it on something else. Bottom line is that my Lexus cost $34 K. All my years of filtration testing say that the K&N is not as good a filter as the standard filters. Not to mention that not a single car manufacturer makes the K&N standard. Why not? Obviously because they have to warrant the engine and they don't see the K&N as being adequate. I'll pay the $10 for a good air filter.

No one ever disputed that you know a lot about cars. But when your advice conflicts with the manufacturer's recommendation, I am simply recommending that people go with the manufacturer. Lexus designed the car. They've tested the car for millions of miles. They've collected reams of scientific data. They have to offer a warranty on the car. They service hundreds of thousands of cars. It's not very likely that your experience exceeds that.

Again I would not say outstanding , but it does its' job for the interval given. As I have stated in the past, if a group 4 or 5 is used (with good PAO and esters), along with a good ZDDP you can go longer. If you have a good ZDDP that enables you TO go longer. All group 3 oil and below have a small to zero ZDDP so you can't go longer. After about 5K miles the TBN will be close to zero thus causing your NOX and OXD to go through the roof. So if you drain a group 4 or 5 soon, you are throwing money away. Either one is fine but I personally have better things to do then mess with used oil, used filters, etc every 1.5 months. My time is worth synthetic True, if you use a group 3 or below dino oil. Again for the last 25+ years with synthetics people have gone longer and have oil tests to prove oil is just fine. Hell I am one of those people. Also as I have stated in the past, most owners are clueless, so from a legality standpoint it only makes sense. All it takes is a few “morons” to screw it up and bam! Not saying they are here, but most people in this “class” of car, don’t know jack about cars, never mind oil, TBN levels, boron etc. Again they NEED to make them “dummy proof” it they have done it the best way to cover there behind. Again, a myth that was true about 10 to 15 years ago. There were seal compatibility issues but most have been corrected. I would like to stick to the original posts question so I have answered it in my last or 2 posts. ← So, in practice, one can choose to believe the company who built the car and did extensive testing on the car and has to honor the warranty on the car..... or some anonymous no-name on this board. Sorry, I'll stick with the manufacturer's recommendations.