tex2670

19-21 on my AWD.

That just means he knew it would be easier to locate.

Son of a gun! If I had only waited a few months! Bought mine in the spring--same options, but the dealer did a 500 mi radius search. The only BWBs were coming in were special ordered. After holding out for a month, no BWBs, no Matador Red, I settled with Tungsten/Sterling. I like the Tungsten. But I'm still jeoulous.

Weight in the rear wont do sh*t if you don't have snows. If you have RWD and drive in winter, you really MUST have snows. One recent thread I saw had someone from Canada weigh in and state Blizzaks are the best snows--I can't say. Tires aside, AWD>FWD>RWD, and snows makes each that much better. You don't have summer tires, do you? If you do, you are right to rent a car if it snows--you can't drive in the snow w/summer tires.

are you looking for AWD or no? If so, the 3.2 quatro, comparably equiped to the IS, is going to be $1000s more (however, I don't know if Audi is wheeling and dealing). A 2.0T would match up on price, but the engine is a 4, rather than a 6, and not as smooth as the Lexus. If you are not looking for AWD, then you are comparing the RWD IS to the FWD Audi--they will handle quite differently. If you aren't getting AWD, it may be hard to come by the IS, and even harder to get one equipped the way you want w/o a special order. If you want factory nav, Audi's system isn't touch screen, and the Lexus system is way better. I had the opposite view point as you--I loved the Lexus styling, and did not like Audi. YOU are the one who has to live with your purchase. Both are good cars. Lexus quality is certainly better, but Audi isn't scraping the bottom--it's merely average. Test drive them and go with your gut.

BWB/Cashmere was the choice I wanted--would have had to special order with the Lux Pkg, though.

Oh I agree, I'm just kicking ideas around I have no plans to trade the ES until the market turns around. I'm just a serial shopper lol. The market hasn't been THAT bad here, but things are slow and we just don't know what the next year is going to bring. We expect it to be strong through the spring but thats how it was last year, then after June it just completely died and has been that way ever since. The inventory is clearing and things are picking up which bodes well for the spring, but beyond that is anybody's guess. It has certainly been MUCH worse just about everywhere else I've gotten reports about... The ES is paid for and I still enjoy driving it so its not going anywhere for a while. Alan, let me know what you think. I had read your original post about that and I wonder if the unit you had was an oddity, how many miles did it have on it? I've driven a couple of them brand new and while they're firmer than I'm used to I wouldn't call them "harsh" by any standards. Maybe the one you drove had bad tires? I know, the Prius has keyless go and I love it. I say this without having driven any of these, but it would seem that an ES to an M would be a pretty drastic change in ride (more so than ES to LS). To me, the GS, M and RL are the most direct Japanese competitors, and I thought that most critics picked the M as the sportiest of the 3. Again, without having driven them, I'd lean toward the M. I tried to see if I could find a pre-owned M35x when shopping for my IS 250 AWD, but I couldn't find any with nav for a comparable deal.

Wont work, the car will keep unlocking it. Yeah--I tried it on my way home last night. I guess people are SOL if they want to do that.

You have to get in the car and put your foot on the brake to start the car--lock the door with the button before you get out.

The inside of the door has a lock button. Use that.

I never even remember to check--it's all based on estimates anyway.

Hi Janizary, When I first started, I wanted the Sport Package. I checked (on-line) Utah, Arizona and California, and no Dealer could deliver unless I placed a true special order. This would require 3-4 months of waiting. I didn't want to wait that long, nor did I want to buy out of state like a friend of mine did. There was no real price advantage. I then checked the various available packages and found that if I ordered the XE package with the Moonroof, and several other packages such as HL, NV, and PT, I would basically have the Sport Package. The only things missing were front Seat memory, Exterior mirror with memory, Power tilt & telescopic with memory, and Rain sensing wipers. I could do all of those functions, but manually, not by memory. I was willing to give up those Memory features in order get a shorter delivery date. In my case, rather than a true Special factory order, it became a Preferred order which means already built, just search for it. In short, I had my 2008 IS 350 with the equipment I wanted in three weeks. In addition, the car arrived with the Rear Lip Spoiler and Trunk Mat in place. It seems that those two items are almost automaticlly installed at the Port, and I was not required to pay for them. As far as the Agency, they treated me as if I had just purchased their top of the line special Hybrid Sedan. My Salesman has already given me two hands-on training sessions on the Nav. system and in making Bluetooth phone calls. All in all, I am totally impressed with Lexus of Las Vegas and with the deal they gave me. If you need more info, give a holler. 250 AWD. Lexus of Chester Springs, PA. One of my co-workers just called them about a GS350AWD, and they are giving him a pretty good price quote on that too--$4800 below MSRP (Im not quite familiar with the GS pricing).

It wont do this? Do you really want it to automatically lock every time you walk away from the car. I originally thought it would do this--what a PITA that would be when it was parked in the garage at my house, or in my driveway. If I just want to go get a cd or package out of the car, I have to make sure I have the key with me? I'd hate that. To xriddle--certainly you can lock the doors with the car on. I never tried it with the remote, but (1) you could use the door button, or (2) the LPS setting automatically locks the doors when you put the car in drive, for it's std setting.

For $50K, that's $15K in options. Sounds fully loaded to me. Without the options you question about, I don't see how you get to that price. The dealer's basically offering you invoice. On an '07, in late November, I'd think he could do better. And--why are you concerned about the "economy"? Are you employed in a volotile field of work? Could you be laid off tomorrow? If not, it doesn't matter what the generic "economy" is doing. How are you doing?

Edmunds may not have enough data to show acurate "TMV" prices yet for the '08 model year, so they will show it as around MSRP. Shop it around. For an '07, entering into the 'December to Remeber' event, I woudln't think that's a very good deal at all. I would have guessed you could get invoice or below on an '07.

I read the nav in the new MB C class is a huge improvement, and received rave reviews.

True that you don't have to hack the portables. You don't have to hack the Honda systems. I've used my Honda system on the go, and I really shouldn't. Type in an address while driving down the road (yes, I know, my passenger could do it--if I have one)--I've done it at 5mph, but I wouldn't want to do it a full speed. I cant imainge trying to type in on the small portable screen on the fly. There's got to be a hundred threads on this--there will never be agreement. Now, I take the entirely OPPOSITE view on factory rear entertainment systems. For the $1500, I could buy 2 separate portable DVDs--one for each kid, and still have $1300 left over.

Um...like driving a Lexus? Not really. The 250 is the cheapest model. Sort of like buying a C class Benz. :) I bought it for the reliability and look not the so called Lexus status. If I wanted status,I'd buy a more expensive Lexus model. $35K is not big bucks for a vehicle today. But SOME people buy a Lexus (any Lexus) or an MB (any MB) for status. And some don't. And some people get factory nav for status. And some don't. Until a scientific poll is conducted, I don't think it's really fair to say "most" people buying factory nav do it for status. I didn't want dealing with a portable unit. I know you'll tell me it's no hassle, but just as I won't convince you factory is better, you won't convince me that the hassle of portable nav is no big deal.

Did you post this in the wrong thread?

My Honda dims the dash when the lights are turned on--there's no light sensor. So I have to manually go into the settings to change the nav screen between DAY/NIGHT/AUTO if I have to use the headlights during the day.

If the lights are on, AUTO or not, headlights or parking lights, and it gets dark enough, the dash will dim unless the dimmer is all the way right. In fact, I had my LPS for my AUTO headlight sensitivity set to "1", and the AUTO headlights come on before the dash dims.

Are your presets in ascending numerical order? Or descending? Or random? i.e., is Button 1 88.1; Button 2 95.5; Button 3 101.5, etc? Or, are they descending? If they are descending, you go "up" with the arrow from preset 1 to preset 2, but from station 95.5 to 88.1. EDIT: Oh--I think I saw what you meant this a.m. On the nav screen, presets are 1-3 in the left column, and 4-6 in the right, so when you hit "^" it highlights the next station shown below? Was that it? Either way, up or down is for the preset numbers, as Gaugster said.

Ok--I'm not loud protester when it comes to the nav lockout. I sometimes use my Honda nav while moving when driving my wife's car--and I shouldn't. BUT--why'd Lexus lock out the "Previous Destination" feature. How is that any different than the numbered presets??

Paddles or gearshift, the manual shift feature is not up to competitors. My '00 TL had a better manual shift system. The IS-F 8 speed is like the germans' direct shift systems, and should be way better.

There's 2 adjustment buttons directly to the left of the steering wheel. One has a button surrounded by 2 rocker switches like this [<o>]; the other is just above it and is a round knob. The knob adjusts the illumination of the dash. If you turn it ALL THE WAY clockwise, you will hear a click--that locks it in day mode. If you turn it counterclockwise just past the click, it will swich to night mode when it is dark. If it's JUST THE NAV SCREEN that's stuck in day mode, you might have hit the "Day Mode" button on the nav screen (when you push DISP button next to the screen). You may only see this option at night--if the dash is in day mode because it's light out, you may not see the "Day Mode" Button on the screen.