SW03ES

You know, I like your chromed standard rims better than the Telios rims RF...

7.1 is the most recent, the 5.1 will be for the DVD nav.

Sucker ;) lol

A lot of them you have to buy online... www.autopa-carcare.com

LOL! I have used the real time traffic in the LS460 and its cool. However, in DC the traffic always backs up the same places at the same times. So I know where it is depending on the time of day and can route around it myself. That said, a traveler wouldn't have the same knowledge. I'd appreciate it on trips like going to Philly or NJ where traffic often backs up on 95 and its re-routable.

How old are you talking? In 02 they made a lot of really nice upgrades to the Explorer which included an independent rear suspension that make it much nicer to drive on the road. I think the 02-05 Explorer is pretty bland but I really like the changes they made to the 06+. If Carla would trade the Prius in on a new Explorer Eddie Bauer I'd do it in a heartbeat. I had a 97 Limited and the 95-01 truck is still that, a truck and it lacks refinement and safety when compared to the newer ones. Oh no, the HIghlander will be more reliable and hold up better over time. Oh its a much nicer vehicle, but the basic vehicle and many of the body panels are exactly the same. I'd say its 60-65% the same vehicle, where the RX is probably only 40% Highlander.

If it were my wife and the LS400 and LS430 are any indication I'd buy the snow tires...

Thats why I never buy first year runs of a car, Lexus or not.

Shes a beauty RF, you must be so proud. Congrats! I love that interior too! I'm tempted to get that myself.

I picked up a 200W for travelling and loaner cars and am happy with it. The technology is different than the OEM system in the Lexus and to be honest I like the system in the Lexus more but the Garmin is great for only $250. No real time traffic on the 200, its pretty basic.

You can add it to your post as an attachment. And yes, the 08 will have the 7.1. I jus upgraded mine from 4.1 to 7.1 and saw a noticable improvement, although I wouldn't bother upgrading 6.1. Wait a few years.

They should all be "V" rated. Thats what the "98V" stands for. I don't believe the OEM tires have a treadwear warranty because you weren't the original purchaser. If you bought the same tires from a tire retailer you'd get the warranty... If you're seeing wear after 2500 miles you've got something wrong.

10.5?!?!? Somethings got to be wrong...

Theres no comparison in them qualitywise either. You'll be really happy with it ;)

There are only cosmetic differences, the Aviator IS an Explorer. Its not like the Highlander and the RX. Explorers aren't so bad. I mean, they're not Toyota-reliable but my 97 is still trucking along (my parents use it as a third car) and it has like 190k miles. It needed a new tranny at 70k which was common for Explorers of that era, and its had its share of problems along the way but nothing so major that it would have made sense to replace it. I would buy another Explorer. The 02+ model has shown itself to be quite reliable.

needone, you're welcome to be a member here whatever your opinions are but we won't have you starting flamewars or inciting arguments.

Congratulations RF! I hope you enjoy it! Now all we have to do is wait for the real estate market to turn around and I'll go get mine! lol

700 a month isn't going to get you into an LS unfortunately unless you've got some money to put down. Even with 12k miles a year on a lease the cheapest LS you can really buy in the states is $68k, its a significantly more expensive car than the RL. You're going to be looking at more like $950-$1100 a month depending on the term. To buy, again assuming nothing down its going to be more like $1300-$1400 a month. To get to $700 you'd have to put like $25-30k down. In a lease you'd have to put $10k or so down... $700 a month would get you into a UL ES350. But even a GS350 would be a stretch, again assuming nothing down.

You should probably take one for a drive too. I'll answer the questions from my perspective. The LS is one of the smoothest and quietest cars on the road, I'd say quietness is a 10. Yes but there is a large driveline hump in the back which cuts down on legroom for the rear center passenger. High teens city, low-mid 20s hwy www.nhtsa.gov, www.iihs.com Not without snow tires. I think it looks great in silver.

You could, but what would be the point? The system in the 03 is the same, and the system in the 04 is only slightly different. The DVD can be upgraded for new maps...

It should, it is an Explorer ;)

Yep, we're on the same page

You really aren't the only one. The vast majority of owners have no problems. They did this in the '08 I'm a real estate agent too and I've been using the nav system for going on 5 years without being able to input destinations when driving with no problems. Sure it'd be nice but I load up the addresses before we head out and its not a big deal.

Won't hurt the warranty at all provided you do the things outlined in the maintenance schedule.

Are you sure that there isn't some route preference set up in there? It doesn't make sense you'd have all those issues with the LS but not the GX, its basically the same system...