SW03ES

Lookin good! Those clear plastic mats look awful though. Lexus sells rubber mats that fit and look nice...JMHO

Actually if they depreciate fast...it makes sense to keep them longer. But Lexus vehicles hold their value pretty well.

Its not uncommon actually...

You can buy a very nice LS for $20k. I have a colleague that bought a UL Model (top model car, air suspension, power/memory/heated/massaging rear seats, laser cruise control, car was $72,000 new) 2003 with 60k miles for $21k. You just have to look around and remember the market for these cars is VERY soft and negotiate...don't be afraid of miles, we have members here with 300k miles. Look for one with good maintenance history. The LS is literally the most reliable car on the road. Thats true of any Lexus by the way, don't worry about mileage. Find one with a good service history. Once you drive the LS...you won't want the ES. As for colors thats a matter of preference. I like the white, I also like the car in silver. I love my color but its hard to find.

Welcome to the site! I take it you do have a nav unit? Do a search for "Vaistech", I have the Vaistech iPod/AUX-in adapter that runs my iPod and also runs my Sirius from an independent tuner. Works very well and they have some systems out now that are even more advanced. www.vaistech.com As for Bluetooth, there is no OEM system, Bluetooth wasn't available on the ES until the '07 ES350. There are several good aftermarket kits that can be installed though from Motorola and Parrot. Search for "Parrot", I'm sure there are members here who have installed them. I've thought about it, but I just use bluetooth headsets.

You can do it with an FM switchbox from the Audio out jack on the stiletto and then it plugs into the back of the headunit and then the standard antenna plugs into that. I had it set up this way on my ES for a long time, works well you just have to shut the PnP Sirius unit off to use the radio. Good sound quality, but not as good as an Aux-in jack (the LS430 doesn't have one). What I eventually upgraded to was this: http://www.vaistech.com/home.php I got the iPod kit with the secondary AUX-in. Ran the PnP Sirius unit to the AUX-in and mounted that in the armrest and put the iPod in there too, works well and the sound quality for the Sirius is better. Honestly, with that car I would spend the money on the OEM Lexus Sirius kit. Its about $200, if you're handy and have a good understanding of how the car comes apart and goes back together you can install it yourself. Sound quality will be much better than an FM switchbox and it'll be integrated. Only downside is you won't have a lot of the Stiletto's features...

Theres a difference between a high end suit, and a $330,000 suit. She didn't even realize that she would get heat for wearing a $330,000 suit...therein lies the problem. a $330,000 suit is something that 99.8% of Americans would never even contemplate being able to afford. In fact...I'd say 85% of Americans didn't even realize they made $330,000 suits. She didn't realize the symbolism...THATS the problem. I have no problem with people having money. I'm not poor, I make a good living. Its a question of people not understanding the stresses that "normal" Americans go through and are going through. The McCains do not. Their actions speak louder than their words. Cindy didn't know anyone would have a problem with her wearing a $330,000 suit. it has no more value to her than a $1500 suit. John thinks someone making $3,000,000 a year isn't rich. Their house and lifestyle were on the cover of Archetectual Digest... I'm not saying you shouldn't vote for him because of that (I DO think thats a problem with the current state of our economy, but that is my viewpoint), but don't be fooled by all this clever positioning into thinking these are normal people. They aren't. They don't know what gas costs, they don't know what food costs, they don't know what daycare costs. They have never had a day in their lives where they worried about money. They feel no strain because of the current economy. Bill Clinton for all his controvercy is a "normal person" (he may be wealthy now, but he wasn't until he left the presidency), so is Barack Obama (he made $4,000,000 last year [still middle class according to McCain!] but thats his book sales, he's the primary breadwinner in his family with a senate income of $158,000), so is Joe Biden (he co-signed a loan so his son could go to college and his largest asset is his house...just like NORMAL Americans), So is Sarah Palin (her husband is a commercial fisherman)! John and Cindy McCain are not. You're right, money doesn't make someone unlike you and me but what that money is to them does. If you and I had...$50,000,000. I bet we wouldn't buy $330,000 suits. Would we spend $30,000 to go to Japan and take a racing course? Sure. Would we forget what its like to NOT have money? No. The McCains have never experienced not having money...so they have no basis from which to forget. THATS why they aren't like us.

Think again... You absolutely cannot operate a vehicle on the road without a functioning parking brake. For one its illegal, it will trip any state inspection you may be subject to and should your vehicle roll away and damage someones property or hurt or kill someone and they find out you disconnected your parking brake...everything you own is going to belong to someone else. Parking prawls on automatic transmissions are NOT designed to hold the vehicle in place without the parking brake. For some reason everyone thinks that, and they call it the "emergency brake" when it is not that at all, its the parking brake and needs to be used every time you park. Japanese prawls are way weaker than American prawls also because in Japan they more commonly use their parking brakes. Lubricate it...replace the lines ($500 sounds insane)...whatever...but do all of us on the road a favor and leave the parking brake operational and use it. Just on this very forum we've had owner's cars parked on inclines get bumped into by other cars and roll out into traffic.

Cindy McCain is not a "normal person" guys. She is a very wealthy and well-heeled socialite. What happened was she took her son to Japan to take drifting courses (that in and of itself is not something a "normal person" could do) as a bonding experience. And she liked it. She's not a "car drifter", she doesn't drift cars on the weekends, she's probably never done it since. Knowing what a trip to Japan costs and knowing what driving courses here cost I'd say that trip cost $30,000...easy... "Normal people" can't spend $30,000 on a trip like that. Normal people don't wear $330,000 suits to compaign functions. This is politicking through and through in an attempt to make the McCain's seem less elitist. I'm not a fan of John McCain (I think he's a sellout, I voted for him in 2000 and the John McCain I voted for and this John McCain bear very little resemblance) but thats beside the point. You can't take stuff like this at face value ;) These people are not like you and me.

I still think you should go drive an LS430. If you're buying used anyways, I'd rather get a 2002 or 2003 LS430 than a 2004 or 2005 ES330. Sales of pre-owned LS430s are down because of public perceptions that they guzzle gas because of their V8, but in reality the economy is pretty similar in the ES. You do have to run premium in the LS. The ES is a great car, I love mine...but the LS is in a league of its own. I had a very difficult purchasing decision when I bought my ES new, did I want a 3 year old LS or a new ES...and I bought the ES because it was new and had all the latest technology. However, if I were going to buy used I wouldn't even consider an ES...I'd go straight to the LS.

Well all tires are speed rated...which speed rating are you talking about? In my experience as a brand Michelin has the most consistent and high quality lineup in the business. Other tiremakers have great tires, but a lot of if not most of their linup is crappy. Michelin only has a couple tire models that I wouldn't buy...

Ever been in a storm like that? Sometimes you have no choice. if he's evacuating his car would be ruined if he left it behind anyways...

No idea about the brochure...try eBay maybe? They're coming off lease, so three model years old is the sweet spot, should be plenty of cars right now with 36k miles or so. Premium is suggested, but they will run on regular. Its the same engine as the Camry...and it specifies regular. I'v3e always run premium in mine.

Thats the problem with car covers. If the car is dirty...at all...when the cover goes on it will scratch the paint...

Thats something only those who were watching live saw, because that tape has never been re-run. I didn't get to a TV until both towers had collapsed...

Safelite was reccomended by the insurance company? I would call the insurance company.

And now that I think about it, I responded with the same comment before too

You guys got trapped in the ever moving field of technology... It'll happen to us 01-06 owners too, eventually the systems will get so huge the data won't fit on a DVD any longer... I'd lock the old system on the radio screen and buy a Garmin or TomTom.

Beautiful car! I have a client that has one that looks just like that, I haven't ridden in it but I sat in it and its gorgeous!

You're absolutely right, and it probably will look totally fine. However, the repair deriving from a snapped timing belt is probably going to be $6.....7,000. Why take a chance? Lexus says change it at 90k, they've got to suggest doing that for a reason. They don't make profit off of dealer service either, dealers are independently owned. This is another area where you're potentially shooting yourself in the foot by being cheap. The vehicle is designed to run on premium. Will it run on regular? Yes. Will it do damage? Potentially. Regular gas doesn't burn as fast which can cause carbon buildup that rubs power and economy. So, while regular may save you a few bucks in the short term (its really not much), its going to cost you in the long term due to poor economy. Lets do the math. The LS has a 22 gallon tank if Premium is $4 a gallon it costs $88 to fill the tank. At 19 MPG thats a range of 418 miles, or $.21 a mile. If you are using regular and saving $.30 a gallon and its $3.70, its $81.40 a difference of $6.60. If your mileage stays the same thats $.20 a mile. So it saves you 1 cent per mile. If you loose 1MPG while using regular, thats $0.21 a mile, no savings. 2MPG? $.22 a mile, costs you an extra penny. Remember, even if the ECU adjusts to the regular fuel and you don't loose any economy at first, you're saving a penny a mile. But the effect of carbon buildup is cumulative. Ultimately, in the best scenario its not going to save you anything, it may even cost you more. The bottom line is these are not cheap cars to own really. You have a very nice low mileage LS, a car that rides and drives better than almost every brand new car on the road. They require maintenance, and they require premium fuel. If you want something thats not going to need these things...you should probably look at something smaller and more economical, like an Accord or Camry. The LS is a great car, and if you treat it right it can be humming like a top at 200,000...300,000 miles. BUT, you've got to treat it right, use the right fluids and fuel, do maintenances when they need to be done like the timing belt replacement and stay on top of repairs. If you DON'T do those things, then these can be VERY expensive cars to own.

I think its just that technology in general, I know people who have TPMS systems on all sorts of cars and problems are common...

Yeah I would go ahead and do it, its an interferance engine. It probably would las longer, but better safe than sorry.

You're absolutely right. My company doesn't offer any kind of retirement benefits (I work on a 1099) but Carla's does, we focus on building our retirement privately also, as should everyone. If your pensions come through it'll be a pleasant surprise, thats the way to look at it.

You mean differences between the 98-00 years? Not really. In 99 the wood/leather wheel and HID headlights became standard whereas on the 98 they were options (although almost all of them have them). In 99 they introduced DRL's (daytime running lights) and in 00 they introduced brake force distribution that maximizes braking power when a panic stop is detected. They also installed the child seat LATCH system in '00 if thats important to you. In 00 there was also a platinum edition that had special trim, badging, wheels, wood, and leather surfaces. Pretty much though they're the same, I'd concentrate on finding the right car with the equipment you want with service records and in the right condition and ignore the year. I'd skip the navigation system since they don't offer updates for the maps anymore.

Yeah you should look at the Infiniti G too.