SW03ES

No LS yet, I'm going to keep looking and find the right one and the right deal. I didn't tell you guys? We got married in September. I can't believe I didn't tell you lol, she let me take her to Vegas. It was awesome!

I don't think anyone who dislikes Lexus prefers Acura. Acura is definately on a lower tier than Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, etc. Lexus is really the only Japanese brand that has punched through to be considered on the same level, Infiniti has been doing better lately...but still. Basically anybody that "hates" something of little consequence like a car is just a moron. There is absolutely no reason to "hate" any type of car...you may prefer one car to another...but to go as far as to "hate"? Somebody needs a life. I went and drove some Benz E350s, a car I've always liked. No leather...a $55,000 car has "MB-tex" and you have to special order real leather. BMWs have "leatherette". What a crock of crap. You want to see overpriced cars? Although again...I don't hate them, in fact I rather like them its just I can't get around the value proposition...

Bring it on big boy ;)

We'll see...

yeah anything will break down if its been mistreated, but the LS400 is one of, if not the most reliable cars on the road. Thats not just an opinion, look at the dependability data. Its no question. And LOL, remember...Norfolk is really the south...but North Carolina is not. Hilarious.

If all you care about is gizmos ("features") then you should buy the Caddy. The Lexus has certainly been a top of the line car since well before 1998, its just not a car about "gizmos", never has been. Even now they have a lot of bells and whistles but they still lag behind in that department a little bit. You'll learn as you go forward that truly fine things are actually fairly simple. Yes I have had a Cadillac, not an Eldorado but the same car, my dad had a 95 STS before he got his 98 LS400. No comparison, the Cadillac of that generation is nowhere near as sturdy, reliable, or as long lasting a car as a Lexus. The Eldorado is FWD, Lexus SC is RWD. Rattles...broken off trim peices...that was our experience with the Cadillac. You say the Lexus is overpriced (best selling Luxury car in the country, so obviously people disagree), but what you are experiencing is that Lexus vehicles hold their value while Cadillacs depreciate like rocks. When you're buying them that old I guess thats a good thing because they are cheap, but when you buy them new like me...lets just say that would be the biggest reason I would hesitate about buying a Cadillac, the extremely poor resale value. Cadillacs have gotten a lot better...but that generation they are just not on the same level as a Lexus. Once my Dad made the move to Lexus vehicles he always said "after you get used to the Lexus a Cadillac really just feels like a Chevy".

Me in the beltway? I'm a realtor...what do I have to do with any of this? You know...most people who live in DC have nothing to do with the federal government... None of this is new...its the same argument time and time again. The democrat gets in there and all of a sudden "spending has gone nuts" and "inflation is going to be out of control", the republican gets in there and all of a sudden we're yelling about tax cuts for the wealthy, !Removed! marriage, and abortion. Same old song and dance. You guys said this about Clinton...I think things were pretty good back then. To Lenore, thats what my grandparents said...and my generation is doing okay....thats what their grandparents said too. Values are great, but values don't have a whole lot to do with the role of the government IMHO. You can't legislate values, nor should you. I like him a lot, I like his easy-going manner, I like the fact that he's talking to world leaders and coming off as a little less arrogant for a change (why is it a sign of weakness to admit that we made some poor choices and to change tack with the world? Thats typical American BS that makes us so unpopular around the world. America is not the only country on earth. The reason we swoop in on our golden chariot when the earth calls has a lot to do with the big-ol American ego trip), I like his youth and the energy he brings to the position. Time will have to tell, but if I took that "How well are you doing now compared to before" test right now...I'm doing a lot better now as I think a lot of people are. Inflation? A lot of economists disagree with you. People said the same things about JFK at the time. Time for a new generation to take over guys...and this is how we roll. Get used to it.

Stay calm, friendly, and assertive. Make your case to the general manager, the rotors have warped this soon, if they are turned then they will just warp again within 5,000 miles and Lexus will have to replace them then...why not just replace them now?

I know, I know LOL. I'm thinking about it...I'm just not sure this is the right one...never bought a used car before and I definately want to make sure its the right car...plus this one is overpriced, $39k which I know I can do better on, I think I can buy a car like this for $32k or so. This particular dealer has a lot of nice CPO cars, but they are very expensive... da, thats a very rare car. They made just over 100 '06 LS430 Ultras, it was a short model year. I'd snap that up!

Yeah proper painting is expensive, a lot of R&I work. Best to avoid it whenever possible.

I would insist they replace them...or agree to replace them if they rewarp after they turn them.

Depends on where you live too, if you live in an area without a lot of growth and new roads being built then it might last a long time...not here.

Almost pulled the trigger on an LS430 yesterday guys. 06, Modern Luxury package, light green (forget the name of the color) with the cream interior. 35,000 miles. Very tempting...took her for a drive and even my wife was impressed, and she's hard to impress... Thinkin about it...

nc's usually wrong too ;) Except here he was right because he agreed with me...as was LEXI. Hey...good day guys! (pats them on the back)

What LEXI means is that he has always been wrong, and I have always been right. ;)

Get a clearbra installed...

I actually think that sounds cheap... For a rear quarter done and blended right I would expect more like $1200. They would need to paint or at least clear the roof ridge all the way to the front fender.

Your mileage sounds pretty spot on to me. If 16MPG is too low...I would buy something other than a high profile SUV.

Yeah "wow what a supermoderator", what were we supposed to take away from that plus the impatient double post? bartkat is an enthusiast just like you and donates his time to be a "supermoderator", so bite your tongue.

If its free sure...I wouldn't pay for an alignment every 6k miles though.

Its $275 to update the maps, not the end of the world. If you don't want the absolute latest map upgrade you can buy them 1 year old for cheaper on eBay. If you're buying new Garmins every few years its the same thing... A Garmin by example would cost about the same and you still would have to update the maps down the line and it wouldn't have the backup camera, the POIs and Bluetooth phone system, plus you have the ugly Garmin on the dash...having to worry about hiding it and theft...not for me. Our '04 Prius still has the original maps and they're still pretty good. Same system as the 04 LS430.

Obviously lol My wife and I went to GW...a school more expensive than any other university in the country, including Harvard and Yale. I was rich, my parents paid for mine. How did she pay for hers? A mixture of financial aid, grants, scholorships....and $60,000 worth of student loans. This is how Obama paid for his education, and how people without a lot of money pay for expensive educations. Did my wife get money from some Saudi king or something as this guy insinuates Obama must have? No. Poor people can go to nice schools too. What a jerk. As for their "lifestyle". Lawyers make good livings and Michelle Obama was a very powerful and highly paid lawyer. US Senators make pretty good livings, as do even state senators and when you wrote two bestselling books...that makes you some money too. If the guy were white and with a name like "Bob Smith" this jerk wouldn't even question any of this. Niether have many Presidents. George W. Bush never ran a company he didn't run into the ground...but somehow he didn't truly scare this guy? We know how that turned out. Again...racist. Plenty of other Presidents who haven't, but remember...none of them scared this guy. Other people have a lot of stuff to be blamed for. Like Rush Limbaugh? Oh please. Republicans have done more to try and silence those people than Obama. But illegal wiretapping and the patriot act made him feel safe? This guy's a trip...

You'd be wise to read this instead of getting insulted by it...thats some pretty good advice above.

Actually the navigation is very modern and is easily upgradable. Its not dated at all, and is very similar to the system being sold in the new cars.

You've never heard of this happening before?!? How do you think dealers make money? Where do you think used cars on lots come from? Even if he sold it at auction he would sell it for more than he paid you for it...otherwise he wouldn't have bought it from you. Why do you think trade in value is less than retail or private party value? to allow for a dealer to make a profit. Dealers don't buy cars for fun...they buy cars to make a profit with. You say you understand...but obviously you don't. Don't be afraid to admit that you don't understand something...people will be more apt to help you. Its your attitude that you know everything that got you this response...as was the fact that you didn't understand why insurance fraud was wrong in the other thread. You shouldn't find it insulting at all, someone can't feel sorry for you unless they care about you at least in some way. Life's tough...its been easy for you in the past but should you ever be required to get out and fend for yourself its going to teach you a bunch of lessons real fast, trust me. Now, I don't know you so I don't know if you will ever need to fend for yourself, but you are missing out on actually achieving buying these things on your own...