SW03ES

IMHO buying a $50,000 automobile and then balking about spending $100 on a nice set of custom sized allweather mats and buying cheap and poorly fitting Walmart mats instead is laughable... Weathertech sells custom mats for the RX and they come in tan. They're about as nice as the Lexus mats...

When you run your fingernail over them, can you feel them?

Remember what I said CL=corporate owned, run for a profit. LOC=enthusiast owned, run so that the owners won't be poor because it exists. It changes things... It really doesn't have anything to do with Dave. If I had a dollar for everytime someone on here has said about me exactly what you guys have said about him I'd have....several dollars. People don't like to be moderated. I feel for them with the company that owns the site dictating the way they have to enforce the site's rules.

I've just heard bad things about a lot of aftermarket warranties. The Lexus Platinum new car warranty can be purchased any time up to the end of the original factory warranty and is also transferable. I bet you can buy it online for about what the Warranty Direct one will cost... I bought one for mine and it wound up being worthwhile... The UL is the Ultra Luxury package, thats the big package with the air suspension, the power/massaging rear seats, and the sunshades...

The LS and 5 series/E Class aren't in the same class. The 5 Series and the E Class compete with the GS, your generation LS is kind of in a size class in between the 5/E and and the 7/S but it was never designed to compete with the 5 series or E class...

Nothing works the way that ad says it works. When you have a scratch like they are showing there, to repair it properly is going to involve painting. A talented person can fill the scratch with touch up paint and wetsand to a pretty invisible repair, but there is no magic bullet for repairing deep scratches. What type of scratch are you looking to repair?

Absolutely. When can we expect you to have a replacement writeup written?

Nope, doesn't work. If you think about it it doesn't make any sense...

Yeah post 'em here!

Are you sure the bulbs are servicable? On my '03 the bulbs aren't servicable, the whole unit had to be replaced...

Congrats! Thats a great deal. If you want a remote starter ;) I'd say park carefully. You can have a clear bra material installed on both bumpers, but I don't know how much good it will do... I would only buy the factory lexus warranty or just skip the warranty... The struts aid in lifting the trunk lid up (its heavy), it doesn't open all the way when you release it I don't think. It could be that there is some carbon build up in the throttle body, but I doubt its from regular gas. I would run premium in the car (it calls for it) and you could have a fuel induction service done and see if that helps. If this is your first car with an electronic throttle then it may be a characteristic you just have to get used to, try driving in ECT PWR mode and see if that helps. In what way does it function improperly? Definately a warranty item. They sell all kinds of aftermarket ones that roll up but they look awful. You could buy door panels off a UL with the shades and install them sure, but my guess is this would cost so much it wouldn't be worth it...

Dave's not a moderator, he's the forums manager. Things get out of control quickly, the same thing happens here. People's backs get up, all of a sudden the original issue gets lost and sometimes its hard to keep sight of what the real issue is. I wouldn't loose too much sleep over it. We're still here ;)

I believe there is a sticky at the top of the forum... In the least please don't repost your questions, sometimes you just have to be patient.

Yeah don't beat yourself up about it, drive it and enjoy. A couple years from now you won't even remember what you paid...

Hey man, Sounds like a bummer, especially on your birthday... I've had my issues with CL in the past, however the current management there is a lot more fair handed than in my day. They have rules and regulations just like us, we don't allow solicitation of our members for gain either. Its a little harder over there because they are owned by a company that runs the forums for a profit, whereas we're independently owned by an enthusiast. What I'm getting at is it may not be entirely within the management's control. We also moderate members for openly discussing the moderators and their decisions and for going around the moderators and doing things like creating additional accounts. In fact creating additional accounts here will get you banned for good. I have a sneaking suspicion that if you contacted Dave (DaveGS4) and discussed the situation it would work out.

No problem, glad I could help!

This will cost a fortune. Bear in mind the engine itself from lexus is about $15,000.... Its just not worth it, explore some mods for your IS250.

How long does it sit before it dies? The smart jey might do it, but it would take 3 weeks at least of it just sitting there...

On the control to the left of the steering wheel under the A/C vent where the mirror controls are there is a rocker switch that has a picture of the mirror folded in, the word AUTO, and a picture of the mirror folded out. Just set it to the mirror folded out. I doubt thats your battery issue. Have you had the battery itself load tested?

If you can feel it with your fingernail it cannot be completely removed without paint...but it can be made less noticable. See what you can do with the Scratch X and report back...

Thats not surprising down there, all of them here were AWD. They don't even sell FWD ones up here. You did fine, not to worry.

Lexus is not going to do anything with you on the paint. I think it looks like I would expect it to look after riding highways for 22 months. The issue is not weather or climate, its rocks from the road hitting the hood. The issue with the wheels is brake dust corroding on the exposed metal surface of the chrome without being effectively cleaned off in a timely manner or being polished regularly. Trust me...have it detailed or detail it yourself and it will look a whole lot better. The paint surface needs to be clayed, machine polished, and topped off with a nice deep wax. The wheels need to be clayed, polished with a metal polish, and topped off with a nice polymer sealant. If you want a referral for a good detailer in SoCal I can give you one. Your Escort and your Supra had old laquer based paint, carmakers can't use that paint anymore. I'd reccomend in the future you have a clearbra applied to the front end of the vehicle when you buy it. You can try to get Lexus to cover the paint, but they wont. The vehicle is not warrantied for road wear and thats what that chipping is.

You can, its sold wherever car cleaning products are sold thats why I reccomended it ;)

No, the RX has never had parking sensors. I assume the new 2010 has them but I haven't looked. The ES350 has the backup camera and parking sensors. The 07-09 is a 5 year old body style, the new one has more features.

I started, built, owned, and sold a successful detailing business and I know what polish can and can't do. I am telling you that if you have the vehicle thoroughly detailed it will look much better. Will the chips be gone? No, but they will be reduced in size and overall the vehicle will look much better. Lexus clearcoat black responds extremely well to detailing. Do you want to be more satisfied with your situation other than having the front end repainted? Try our suggestion. Lexus black is very soft, its single stage (no clearcoat). Like I said...have it detailed. Well yeah. The wheel vendor was the one who chromed the wheels for you aftermarket, its their responsibility not Longos. Why didn't you leave it there and see if the wheel vendor would rechrome them? From your pictures I would agree. Chrome is bare metal, there is no clearcoat over it and it needs to be regularly polished and maintained. The pitting in the windows of your wheels is from corrosive brake dust not being adequately cleaned off of the chrome. With claying and polishing they might look okay...again I'd have a detailer look at it. I'm not sure what you want Longo to do about it, at some point you have to take responsibility for keeping the car clean and in good condition yourself. Try our suggestion, have the vehicle well detailed or visit the detailing forum for advice on what tools and techniques you need to use to recondition the car yourself. Do you want your car to be in good condition or do you want to spend your free time trying to "get" Longo? Seems kind of childish to me.