SW03ES

Sorry to hear about it Jim, I know you've been worried about that. Doesn't look like this will be the big one though...$4-5k sounds right.

His is a 2000 Paul. You had a wreck too? Geez!

Congrats! She's a beauty.

I think your ride issues vs your 2007 is because of the 18" wheels. I've driven several ES350s, all on 17"s and the ride is near identical to my 2010, which should ride identically to a 2007. If you shut your eyes, you would be hard pressed to tell which car you were riding in.

So if you want your cake and to eat it too, you might want to think about swapping for some 17s.

Does the 2013 have a "SAT" button on the dash? How about a "MODE" button on the steering wheel?

In my 2010 to scroll through the different SAT pages for presets, you hit "SAT" and it will sequentially flip through the pages. On the steering wheel you can hit MODE and accomplish the same thing, although when you reach the last SAT page it will go to the next radio mode, be that AUX, FM, etc...

Its kind of like saying the ability to open a Scottrade account does away with the need for financial planners or stockbrokers, certainly not the case.

I disagree. I do business with a number of traditional agency owners and their business is up. I personally would never, ever buy insurance from a direct source without an agent, having that agent there to give you advice and help you through a claims process is just too valuable. In the end, when you compare apples to apples the savings isn't much.

Why would Allstate, a traditional agency centered company, have bought esurance if the agency model was dead? Wouldn't it have been the other way around? Direct internet sales is a niche market, very small % of the policies overall that are purchased. By the virtue of the internet...it looks bigger than it is.

Its just like my business, I'm in the real estate business and people are always saying some thing on the internet is going to come along and do us in, and it just doesn't work that way. Sure the internet changes how we do business, but it doesn't replace us. Same is true in the insurance industry.

We sent him to join the banned.

John's no longer a member here ;)

But the voice commands are so poor they are basically unusable...

Get a couple estimates...that seems low. Are you sure they're using NEW OEM parts, or could they be salvage parts?

I'd rather have salvage OEM parts than aftermarket...

I can't understand why Lexus makes it so diffciult with the navigation system: many other manufacturers allow you to input and change while driving - Lexus does not. I know there are hacks out there that can get around this but there is no way that I am jeopardizing the warranty on a $45,000 car!

Actually there are very few manufacturers left that allow navigation inputs when driving. BMW and Honda/Acura are the only two I can think of. Its just a liability thing.

Use the Lexus enform, just call them up and tell them where you want to go when moving and they will enter it into your nav system for you.

One minor note of interest (I have it as a question for my salesman): my 2007 Lexus IS had a compass setting in the rear-view mirror - this car does not. Does anyone know if the car does have a compass somewhere?

The nav display has a compass in the top left corner of the screen.

Why use some of the cheaper plastic materials in real obvious places like around the interior door handles...yet include such a nice stitched leather dash? Weird...

The issue is that you're backing out onto the inclined driveway and then letting all the car's weight sit against the parking prawl in the transmission. The transmission is not designed to hold the weight of the vehicle on its own.

Try backing out, setting the parking brake THEN shifting to park. That will solve your problem...

It could have been much, much worse. A neighbor's adult son was killed a few years ago when a deer came through his minivan windshield. His wife was partially blinded. Their two kids in the back seat were injured. Somehow he brought the van to a stop before he died.

Scary. I had my car in for a bumper repaint one time a few years ago, the shop owner (who I know pretty well) showed me a 98-00 LS400 he had where a deer had landed straight in the windshield. Not a mark anywhere else on the car...luckily the people survived...

Sorry to hear about the accident landar, at least you're okay!

I agree with SRK, $10k+ in repairs there.

Congrats!

My 2010 is Parchment, and its not yellow. I found the parchment in the 2013s I've seen to be the same as my 2010...

Here's a good article for ya:

http://www.autogeek.net/detailing-clay-bar.html

Auto sales is a terrible industry. Its not really the salespeople's fault, its the way the whole profession is set up, the pressure, the low pay, the lack of any training...tough business.

A sealant would actually be something you would want to apply underneath a wax. Sealants bond to the paint surface, so they need bare paint underneath them...

From a protection standpoint you really don't need to do anything, but you may want to for appearance sake. I always like to clay a new car to remove any rail dust or bonded contaminants from shipping...

Even with the buttons though, you wouldn't be able to see what you are controlling, you'd have no radio readouts, no advanced climate control readouts, no access to any of the apps, etc.

Any issue wouldn't be with the GPS module, it would be with the screen. I've never heard of just the GPS going bad, typically the failure is with the MFD (the screen).

If the map data got corrupted you'd just reinstall it.

Do a little bit of reading in the detail forum on here, as well as at autopia.org. For protecting the paint you essentially have two options, a carnuaba wax or a polymer sealant. Carnuaba waxes generally have better looks, while sealants last longer. Nothing wrong with using a wax, a lot of companies that make paint sealants try and cast waxes as "archaic", but in reality they aren't.

Your Lexus was waxed already when the dealer did their PDI.

That being said, I don't regret my purchase, as I feel more secure with the V6. Besides, most car reviews I've read claim that the 300, while adequately competent off the line, is not nearly as capable as the 350 in the passing lane.

Its not going to be as powerful in passing as the 350, but its certainly powerful enough to be safe was my point.

But again, that's a matter of opinion. So the best thing to do it to take one for a spin on a stretch of highway and kick it down at 60 MPH. When I do that in my 350, I have plenty of pull and have to release the gas pedal PDQ to avoid the flashing lights closing in on me.

Thats the thing, it doesn't "kick down". It has a CVT, it doesn't have any gears, the drive ratio is constantly adjusted to the acceleration load, etc so you always have the optimal gearing to make best use of the hybrid system's power.

If you haven't driven one, you should if only for the experience. I personally would go with the 350 as well, I personally don't care for the hybrid driving experience, I don't like the CVT and the transitions between gas and electric power, and I don't like the bamboo trim inside. You should try one out though.

You don't have to buy the warranty now, you can buy it all the way up to when the original warranty expires, and you can find better deals on the warranty online.

As for the GPS, I had a 2003 ES, still in the family with 170k on it...GPS works fine. We had a 2004 Toyota Prius we traded last year...GPS worked fine.

If my NAV gets a heat stroke or sea sickness ... the price to fix it better be to my liking; otherwise, my Garmin friend will come out of the dusty zone.

Issue is everything is controlled via the screen, so you would loose your ability to use basically all the car's functions. You would HAVE to repair the nav unit if something went wrong.

I would be concerned about reliability with the 7 series. The LS430 is a great car...but no AWD in either of those...

Rob, your neighbor should look at the new GS350. Much more connected driving experience than Lexus' have had in the past. Much more a drivers car than say an Audi A6.