SW03ES

They can't order it in blue? It may not come pre-painted...

My Bridgestone Turanza LS-Vs (replaced by the Serenity) are great too. Michelin has crappy models too...all tiremakers do.

Let me lay it out. ANYONE who uses racially charged language will be banned from the LOC. Period, end of story. No debate whatsoever. Whether you're quoting someone, whatever, whether you put a funny line on the end, doesn't matter. Racially charged language=immediate and automatic ban. This isn't America, this is a privately owned and operated club. Freedom of speech does not apply.

Is this your first Lexus? Lexus vehicles have a distinctive smell inside (all cars do), when I get in a Lexus especially after not having been in one for a while I can tell "its a Lexus". Its not a bad smell at all, and I don't know if its the smell you're talking about, but just a thought.

Best thing to do is buy a used upgrade that is a year or so old. They can be found on eBay. I have an 04 version I'll give you lol It'd be newer than the '01 version in your '02.

Its simply a dummy light that indicates something is wrong with the HVAC. Is it cooling okay? It'll probably come and go. Mine was a faulty clutch relay.

That is really strange though, I've never heard of a transmission failure on an 02+ ES.

I saw a guy down by my office yesterday on a moped wearing a suit and tie lol

BIG bag ;)

Lesson learned: Its a car...not a toy.

Why do you think I added the selection to the poll "I have not considered any alternatives" which was not previously there? I'm not complaining, honestly I'm conservative enough that there is no hardhsip. I'm simply using my own life as an example of how *gasoline at the pump* prices are not the only thing going up right now due to gas prices because of your insinuation that we don't have the right to discuss this situation, complain about it, or talk about what we're doing differently simply because we drive "luxury cars". I mean really, an IS250 costs what, $35,000? You can spend more than that on a minivan, or a Toyota Avalon. Someone does not have to be rich, even make that much money to afford an IS250, or an ES, or the like. I would venture to say that my income is probably significantly higher than many, not all, LOC members that drive the entry level Lexus vehicles. I say that from seeing discussions about tax rebates, etc. So, if you make say $80,000 a year and you drive an IS250 that costs you $500 a month (which is not outrageous)...these things make a huge difference to you. At $80k a year your monthly income is $4700 after taxes, $500 for the car payment, $100 for the insurance, $2000 for your housing gets you to what? $2600. So you have $2100 left...to buy food, to buy clothes, to buy GAS. Hardly living high on the hog. Your comment was just plain ignorant.

I do, but you don't have the knowledge of how the car industry works that I do. Its more complicated than you realize. You're talking about a paradigm shift in how business is transacted, the role of the car salesperson, how they are compensated, etc. For instance, a lot of these high end car salespeople have relationships with customers over the long term, and what they build that relationship on is a discount when they purchase new cars, they're not going to want to explain to their customers they cant do that anymore. All the dealers are independently owned businesses, so you can't collude to fix prices...thats price fixing and its illegal. Its complicated.

Unfortunately no. They did away with the beeping in later years (01 I think) but theres no way to shut it off.

Its a pretty easy car to maintain, especially if you learn to do some of the maintenance issues yourself. They are pricey though. I'd buy the extended warranty, remember you can negotiate on the cost of it with the dealer. As for the auction. Not for sure a bad thing. Maybe it was traded at a BMW dealer that didn't want to sell a Lexus for instance, so they sold it at auction...

Its easier to detail out of the sun, although that depends on the products you're using. I'd definately clay the new car, they pick up contaminants on the boat, truck, train etc. Your black will be very easy to polish, you should only need a light polish.

Why would you think you would do better in your IS than a Prius if size is your concern? Your IS is significantly smaller than the Prius. The Prius is a midsized car, same as an ES, Camry, or GS. The IS is a compact car. Look it up. I'd feel safer in the Prius, honestly. The Prius is a very, very safe car. People oftentimes say things like this and its just plain dumb. I make a lot of money, but that doesn't mean I have unlimited money or that I am unaffected by the rising costs of everything and the recession. Lets look at what I spend on gas. I fill up about 5 times a month. So at $40 a tank I'm spending $200 a month on gas. Now that it costs me $75 a tank I'm spending $375 a month on gas. $6 a gallon? $90-95 a tank, $475 a month. Thats an increase of $275 a month from what it was last year if gas goes to $6 a gallon. Now, I can certainly afford that but everything else increases in costs as well. My fiance has a $1,000 per month grocery and household budget which includes our dog food and cat food etc, our groceries, etc. Over the past two months she has been incapable of staying in that budget. Its not her fault, she's buying all the same stuff she's always bought, it just costs a *lot* more. So, we're going to have to increase that budget to $1200. I have a friend getting married in Mexico, Cancun. We can't get a flight down there for less than $1500 round trip. Why? Fuel prices. My utilities have gone up to $638 a month...and I live in a townhouse. Cable bill went up, gotta fuel those vehicles. Fuel prices have a huge effect on EVERYTHING in our lives and if you think you are immune because you make a good living, think again. If you think making a good living means that you shouldn't be concerned with what things cost and trying to get as much value as you can out of your income, then you like the vast majority of Americans are going to be in for a rude awakening at some point in your life. Thats why most Americans, regardless of their income, can never afford to retire and die worse than penniless.

For me the procedure is: 1. Drive to Lexus dealer 2. Drive off in loaner 3. Drive back at my convinience with my bag of money to pay them with 4. Drive off ;)

It was a joke, lighten up.

Why? Sealants and wax won't protect against chips, and they would be removed before the clearbra was installed. These are fallacies. It says right on the manufacturer's website that they can be waxed, sealed, and washed just like the paint. The only thing you don't want to use is an abrasive polish, you'd want to use a polish made for plastic, like Plexus or Novus. As for the sheen, the newer clearbras are much smoother...

You're better off not having the air suspension. The ride is not that different and the air suspension is extremely expensive to repair down the road.

Hey, it ain't my Prius hahaha Around here Prius owners drive like snails...

Just hold onto the records.

I'll let the dealer respond to that too. Its not that simple, and the franchise dealer owners don't really want it to be that way otherwise it becomes more difficult for them to compete with other dealers of the same brand and other brands who WILL deal on the price. Dealers are independently owned, and their franchise agreements don't give the manufacturer the power to decree something like that. You mentioned that you think its wrong for dealers to ask more than MSRP on hot cars. Why? Its the same as when you ask for LESS than MSRP on less hot cars. Its supply and demand. You say if your product is good enough people will pay for it, then why shouldn't a dealer mark a car up $7k if the market will support that? Also for a luxury brand like Lexus volume is lower and profit margins are higher than a mid to low market brand like Saturn. They need to move inventory to turn a profit whereas the inventory automatically moves for Saturn. You'd have to have an industrywide shift towards no haggle pricing for that to really work for car salespeople and dealer owners, and in order to accomplish something like that you'd almost have to violate antitrust laws. Its a real shame. I'm in the real estate business and its difficult for us too. At least with us we retain customers through the process by legal contract and because we offer liability protection, representation, and negotiation skills on their behalf. For people who are retail, like car salespeople, its really tough.

The LS always had a pretty small trunk, it was one of its major downsides until the LS430, the trunk is significantly larger because they relocated the gas tank. Buy away!

Who said anything about Prius owners?