SW03ES

Have you tried that yourself? I ask because its a common fallacy that Coke dissolves lots of stuff that it doesnt actually do.

Congrats! A great find. I drove a co-workers 98 yesterday with 210,000 miles on it and it still drove like new, best car on the road no question.

If the service isn't active then you shouldn't be able to get your voicemail...

The wood will probably be easy, some sort of plastic cleaner like Plexus will take that off. As for the seatbelt I'd take it to a professional detailer that specializes in stain removal. There are certain cleaners that you can use that will remove ink stains right away.

I agree, if you dont have reciepts then you have no proof whether or not the repair work was done or not. You could also go over and see the car and ask him to describe the repair work that was done. Also dont have too much confidence in "washed waxed and detailed weekly" I've heard that one too many times to count then when I see it its a total disaster.

Nice isn't it? Gotta drive one now!

They do have them but they're rare, I'm not sure if the dealerships will carry them. What year LS400?

I'm just going on their look, but who knows. Maybe I'll try em out next time. As for the RE92s, I'm not saying they're a good tire, they're a horrible tire. But they were better in the snow than my Toyos. All the consumer reports in the world won't take the place of my own firsthand opinion having experienced both tires on the same car in the snow. The Toyos made my car positively undrivable in the snow where I got around well on the Bridgestones. You said the SAME thing about the Toyos last year when I bought them ;) More and more I just think this car is better on Ultra High Performance tires than Touring tires.

Personally, I automatically write off any product that says it will last 12 months, there is no scientific data justifying that claim, so far no test has been able to get ANYTHING to stay on paint for 12 months, in any climate.

Honestly though, cars hold their value so well nowadays, especially these cars, I think you'd be pretty safe against being upside down even on a 72 month loan. Personally, I dont see why people BUY these cars unless they're going to keep them a really long time. IMHO its not a smart use of your money, its better to lease and get into a new one every 3 years (hell you can lease for 5 years now...) than it is to purchase and sell at a similar timeframe and save your money for something like a down on a house, something thats an investment not just a purchase like a car. I bought mine out of the lease cash just because I was gonna be way over on the miles and I wanted out of the payment, but it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, that cash would have been better spent on an investment.

Alan- I looked at them side by side and it doesn't LOOK any different...

I agree with what econ says, again though except for the improvement of acceleration times. Even just around town there's not going to be any meaningful improvement in actual time it takes to reach certain speeds. Any difference is going to be in the microns...

Oh no, the button definately changes the way the car shifts, I'm just saying acceleration doesn't change, not 0-60, even street starts from 5-35 or 40-60 all the times will be the same regardless of whether the car is in ECT PWR or not. The perception of the car accelerating more briskly is artificially created by crisper shifting.

They'd still write it off.

Well that wont be true when the Highlander hybrid comes out.

Not anymore, 72 month car loans are becoming very popular and I've even seen a couple 84 month loans. My Prius is financed for 72 months.

Excuse me, who do you think you are? All members are welcome to be involved in all discussions, including managers and moderators. I do this for free because I enjoy building the club, I'm first and foremost a member. If you have any problems having a discussion with me because I'm a manager or for whatever other reason, you're welcome to leave the thread and the site. If you think certain members should be barred from discussions because of the model they own or their status on the site we dont want you here. If you make those sort of comments to me or any other member on the site again, I will show you the door. As for my experience, my first experience with Lexus was years and tens of thousands of miles on a 98 LS400 with the ECT PWR button. I am quite knowledgable about the features and functions of all Lexus vehicles, especially the LS series and I am more than capable of having a discussion about them with you or anyone else, thank you. Anyways, yes the button does have an effect on shift ratios and on gas mileage, the question is does it improve acceleration times and the answer to that is most decidedly no. It does make the car feel more responsive around town, but when it comes to pulling acceleration runs you wont see a difference between having the button on, and having it off. If you'd read my post you'd understand that I said I would ALWAYS choose a NEW car over a used car. I have no desire to drive a used car. I also vehemently spoke my feeling that the LS was a much higher caliber car than the Avalon. That was extremely rude and that type of behavior will not be tolerated, from anyone. I disagreed with you without calling you stupid, if you can't do the same to me take your high horse and hit the bricks.

From my examinations it is, but you never know, I thought the 05 tails would fit too.

Having had Toyota techs service my Prius...let Lexus do it. I've not encountered one that can even drive it. Honestly though servicing it isnt any different than a normal car.

I think the longest they can finance a used car for is 60 months.

Thats my point, its psychological.

First of all, the suspension of the car is designed for it to ride on V rated tires. The speed rating does mean the speed the tires are capable of handling but it also has to do with the stiffness of the sidewall. That effects stability, ride, handling, etc. In my opinion putting T rated tires on a car designed for Vs is a mistake and unsafe. Hs you can get away with, but I still wouldn't. Poke around the forum and look for VMFs post about finally replacing the missuited T rated tires on his LS with proper Vs and how much it improved the car. The Toyos are the worst tires I have ever driven on in the snow, the Bridgestone Re92s I had previously were better. They took what was a pretty good snow car and made it dangerous to drive, there's no excuse for that. These tires should not be considered M+S rated, they're really summer tires. But how do you know unless you have the same tires on the same vehicle back to back? I've ridden in several cars lately that have the MXV4s and the new MXV4S8s and I find them quieter than my TPTs. The TPTs have a drone at low speeds that the Michelins don't have, they're probably about the same on the highway. In my opinion Michelin is like Sony. Yes, they're the most expensive, and no they may not be the best in every category but you can guarantee they'll be in uniformly the best spots and be in the top 5-1%. Other tire lines are more of a crap shoot. I havent seen or ridden on the Falkens, but they look way to aggressive for the ES to me. I dont see how they can be quieter than something benign like the Michelins. As for the TripleTread and Comfortread I think they're probably good tires, but I dont think they're suited to the ES. My next set of tires, which will be soon if this low speed droning gets worse and definately before next winter will be Michelin MXV4 S8s or maybe a set of Yoko AVS dB S2s.

Iys just for style, they've gotten away from it now.

Cool, I'm going to do the VAIS TECH Sirius radio when it comes out I think.

At his age, I seriously doubt any of his songs have any of his influence. They're either re-recordings or written by writers to appeal to a specific audience. I've never read any reviews that have elluded to him having any ties to that or any other song, and they'd ham that up if it were true. A tribute? Come on ;) Its just record execs betting that people listen to music without listening to the words, which most do. He's a good singer (or was) but he's not an artist. Maybe someday.