JDK

When I bought my LS 430 back in '04 I also considered the Avalon. Both are very good cars and will last you a long time (my wife still drives my '06 Avalon with 150K and will not even consider getting rid of it!) but the ride of the LS far exceeds the Avalon, even comparing an older Lexus to the newer Avalon. I have a friend that has an '02 with 225K (He's in sales) and has had it since new, gets the service done at the dealer as required and has not had one problem with it. I would not hesitate buying his car and if I had to do it all over again I would have bought used instead of new. I think scheduled service is more important than mileage so if you can find the service records you'll get a pretty good idea how the previous owner took care of it. (I would not buy any car used without the records) The ES and the GS are also great cars and almost as roomy, you'll just have to spend a couple of hrs at the dealer and drive all 3 to pick the best one for you and your family. I've added links below to several very nice LS's on Ebay in the $20-$25K with less than 100K miles. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-Lexus-...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ALL-ORGNL-S...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-LEXUS-...1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-Lexus-...1QQcmdZViewItem

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do. Pretty cool!! I'm a Corvette (which means means for the money I'm a MUCH better buy than the Italian and German cars!!LOL) I'd still rather be a Lexus!

Young guys can enjoy the smooth ride but I see so many going after the smaller, sporty models, so they can jump lanes faster!! LOL Your right about falling in love with the LS, there hasn't been one day in the past 1000 that I've owned my car that I haven't really appreciated the ride... the look....the stereo....etc,etc!

You didn't say if you were single or a family man, road warrior or simple back and forth to work. I went from a '95 Avalon to my '04 LS and yes it was a change but well worth it. My lease is up in a yr and I had really thought about turning it in for a GS or ES but every day that I drive my LS I just can't get over the ride. I drove it 9 hrs and when I got home I went out and cut (walk) and trimmed the grass! But having said that, if you're more into the sporty, road feel ride, you may be happier with one of the smaller models but at 54 yrs old, I'll take the quiet, smooth ride of the LS anyday. Good luck with you decision.

Why are you selling the car?? What are you planning on replacing it with?

I've never taken my car to the dealer (it's also an hour away and we also have a Toyota dealer) My brother's golf partner opened a Valvoline Oil Change a few years back and this is where I've always gone for my Lexus and my wife's Avalon. His computer tells him what is recommended by Lexus when I take it in so that is what we do. The dealer wants $49.95 (the dealer where I bought it charges $129.95!!)for an oil change, he does it for $29.95 and still checks all of my fluid levels, belt, etc. My car is a lease but I've decided to buy it next year so I asked the dealer what the cost would be to catch me up with my services and he wanted $1900. Valvoline figured $300 would do it. Bobby, the owner, is 52 yrs old and has worked at Mercedes, BMW, Jag, GM as a mechanic all of his life and explained how the dealers will rip me off... I drop my car off in the morning, Lexus gives me a loaner, they change the oil and give it a visual inspection, wash it and park it outside. About an hour total. Then they call me mid afternoon and tell me the car is ready (I assume they have been working on it all this time) and I pick it up. I would have actually believed them!! I had him flush the tranny (he had to get the fluid at Toyota, it's thinner) and it took 3 gal. I paid $189 for the oil change and tranny flush. Next time I'll have the 3 step injection cleaner ($69.95). They pulled the wheels off and the brakes have 8-10K left. The slides still held grease so there wasn't anything to be done. All of this service at the dealer would have been $400-$500. You may also want to change out the cabin filter (every 15K) The dealer wants $90 to do it but if you Google "genuine Lexus parts" there are several places that sell them for $25. Empty your glovebox and remove the little divider stand (it simply is held in by tabs that fit in slots) shine a flashlight in the back and you will see a door with clips that open it. Right behind the door is a white plastic door and you will find the clip release on the bottom. Open it, the filter pulls out, remove it from the plastic frame and replace. This should take you about 5 minutes total. One last thing, the dealer is the "only" one that can align your car. They have the gas tank filled and put weights on each corner so that it is aligned "fully loaded" (I rarely have 4 people in at the same time) The owner of the local alignment shop has been a friend for over 35 years and told me that he would have no problem giving my car an alignment. Dealer gets $300, he gets $70. We checked the wear on my tires and they measured different specs and my car did not need an alignment at this time. I would take it to Lexus if under warranty. Sorry I rambled on and on but all of the above has just happened to me in the past month. Talk to your friends and find a honest mechanic, they're out there, and you'll save quite a bit of cash. I agree about not necessarily needing an extra warranty, but you also have to think, if one thing goes wrong on the car, chances are that money spent would pay for itself, also with only 33K on your car you definetly don't need a tranny flush, I've also heard some horror stories on here about guys who've done tranny flushes and they wish they hadn't. My car is old, but it only has about 55K on it, I have flushed or replaced every possible fluid on it, the only one I haven't flushed is the tranny... just regular changes. Good luck Lexus calls for the tranny flush at over 50K. I've flushed all of my Honda's, Toyota's and now my Lexus without any problems. (I wonder if the other people that had problems had standard fluid put in? )The tranny fluid in the Toyota's is thinner than other cars and it seems to turn black pretty quick but it will not smell burnt. My mechanic flushes his own fluid every 30K but I think 50K should be fine. He did tell me to never flush my oil because it would most likely lead to big problems.

I'm not sure if it's coated or not, when I spoke with the Lexus parts mgr he was only concerned with the rain sensor still working, never mentioned anything else. The rain sensor is a box on the inside so I'm not sure why it wouldn't work. My brother is a mgr at the glass repair/replacement company so I'm not worried about a shoddy job and it was the owners wife that was worried about not being able to get a seal as good as the factory. I have a "business" appointment with the owner on Thursday so they are going to pull it inside and take their time on the repair. Her idea was to try the repair and see how it works out and if I'm satisfied, if not we can go after the replacement windshield. I Googled the chip repair and found a site that showed an animation of the epoxy injection. That site even mentioned the problem with breaking a factory seal and not being able to duplicate it with new molding.

Personally I wouldn't pay extra for an extended warranty. With only 33K, my guess is that it was serviced regularly, you should do the same. I have a friend with a '02 LS430 with 220K ( he's a salesman and these are all highway miles) and has never had anything done except for regular maintanence. With my '04, I have 54K and the only warranty issue I have ever had was the parking sensors on the front had to be replaced ($500) and this was the first time the dealer ever had to do this. Take the extra money for the warranty and stick it in the bank, use it for your tranny flush, 3 step injector cleaner, etc. and I think you'll be using your money much more wisely.

Thanks for the replies! As it worked out I was going to have to pay $1100 out of pocket for OEM so we are going to do the repair for now because the location shouldn't bother me (except for knowing that it's there). If it doesn't hold I'll go after the OEM but as a side note, I'm a fianancial planner and the VP of the insurance company is my client so seeing my name on a law suit would probably be a bad thing! The local glass company is concerned that anytime you break a factory seal, the replacement (OEM or not) may not be as quiet as it was before so that is something to consider. I'll let you know how the repair turns out.

Has anyone had to replace a windshield? Semi threw a rock into my windshield and put a small 3/4" crack lower middle center. I'm sure it will start to spread eventually and my P&C agent told me I could either get it repaired (not!) or replaced for free, no deductable. I told the local glass shop I'd prefer OEM because of the rain sensor and they explained that there are probably only 3-4 companies that make windshields and after-market or OEM should work the same. My insurance company will only pay for the after-market so if I want OEM it will cost me $500-$600 out of pocket. Any suggestions?

I had my tranny flushed the other day at 53K. My mechanic (local Valvoline) couldn't believe how black it was coming out so I'm going to change it every 30K from now on (using Toyota fluid). My car seemed to shift a little smoother afterward but your problem seems more extreme. Valvoline also has a 3 step fuel system cleaner that has always worked well on my other cars, cleans the injectors and plugs like new. Good Luck!

I sometimes have the same problem ( slight hesitation when I punch the gas pedal) with my '04 LS and my mechanic told me it had to do with the way the injectors were set up and that it is common in most cars. I flip my switch over to ECT if I know I have to pull out onto a busy intersection or if I'm in heavy traffic and need to change lanes often and this seems to eliminate the problem (but can lower the gas mileage)

I average 20.1 overall in my 2004 LS430 with 53K. I have installed a K&N Filter which may help a little and my mechanic (not the dealership!)recommends replacing the fuel filter and having the entire fuel system cleaned every 30K so you may want to try that.

My '04 is coming off lease and I too was trying to figure out what to replace it with. I checked out the ES and while it is a great car, let me throw a wrench in your spokes. I also checked out the new '07 Avalon and for the price, I really think it's more car than the ES. Just a thought. (my wife drives my old '95 Avalon and even with 150K she will not part with it) FYI- I'm keeping my LS, I just cannot replace that much car for the same price as a new ES or Avalon! It shouldn't be a problem finding a LS coming off lease that has all of the service records and if the prevoius owner kept up oil changes, etc. the car should last you for a long time. Good Luck!

My wife drives a 1996 Avalon, my old "poor man's Lexus", with 150,000 miles and she loves it!

I refuse to take my car back for service at the dealer after I was told an oil change was $125. Sure I got a loaner and car wash but that's robbery. Another dealer wanted $50. Both would "check the car over" but after talking to one of the most respected mechanics in our town (who has worked for BMW, Mercedes and several other major brands his whole life 50+years) I get it done for $29. He will do all of the recommended service's for a fraction of the cost. Both dealers wanted $90 to change out the acc filter, I purchased 2 filters online for $50 and it took me all of 5 minutes to change the first one out and it will last 15K miles. I leased my car so was only concerned with keeping my oil changed regularly but now I have decided to keep it for a long time. The dealer wanted $1900 to "catch me up" with all of my scheduled maint. but my mechanic is doing it for $350-$400. At this point the main item is flushing the tranny, checking and lubing the brakes and a few other minor items that will take a couple of hours. I'm sure there are other's who disagree with me because I have a friend who only goes to Lexus for everything and doesn't mind paying the price but I trust my guy and he works on all of my family members cars plus most of my friends that drive foreign and American cars. The reason I bought the Lexus in the first place was because of the reliability, not to get ripped by the dealer. One final note, my wife's '95 Avalon has 150K and runs like a dream, my mechanic does all of the service work, I couldn't ask for more.

I've been using Zaino on my cars for about 6 years and absolutely love it! My '04 LS430 is black and it looks detailed year 'round. My son has a bright red '98 Dodge truck that we put Zaino on last year and the paint looked absolutely WET when we finished. (This was a vehicle that hadn't see wax in over 3 years) If you still do not believe the hype, check out the cars on their website, you will be ordering!