SW03ES

lexus- thats the whole point of this forum, to ask questions and get responses from fellow Lexus owners. If we direct everyone to their Lexus dealer then theres not really much point in us being around is there? I'm sure someone with an 06 will chime in...

Run a search, there was a huge thread on RX tires about 3 weeks ago.

Lookin good, I can see what you mean about the peeling paint now though. I will get those poilshes out soon I promise! I've just been so swamped...

Thats how most salespeople are. The reason car salespeople are so bad is because as salespeople go, car salespeople are about the bottom of the barrel. You can make a LOT of money in car sales if you're good, but it attracts the real "winners".

Here-

But you just said in another thread that you had GSM and get poor reception...

Why? Its something he can easily learn to do himself and he'd be better for the experience.

lexus- Please check your PM.

36psi is way too high for that car, I'd leave it at 29. You can start at 29 and move one pound up until you get the ride you want. These cars are that sensitive to tire pressure, one pound of pressure will change how the car rides. The Dunlop 5000s are good tires. They won't last long though, 15k miles or so. nc is right about the rubber bushings and the car riding harder when its cold, I've found mine gets much smoother and quieter as it warms up. One thing you can do about the wind noise is pick up some 303 Aerospace Protectant and dress all the door seals. Sometimes they get dry and can let some air noise in. No problem about the questions, thats why we're here ;)

If you have problem using the touchup pen then well...you're not mentally capable of touching up your car in the first place. Just a ploy to get you into the dealership to spend money. I have been touching up cars for years with the pen and with normal paint, no comparison the pen is SO much easier and gives such a nicer result. Not to mention the paint used in the pen is the same formulation as whats used on the car vs the touchup in a bottle that isn't, makes for a better color match. Touchup paint in a bottle globs and bobs and the brushstrokes don't put down a smooth coat. Pen all the way. Remember that the dealer told LexKid not to wax his new ES for 30 days, they're hardly a trustworthy source of information on anything.

None of the 5 dealers here sell them... Its best to just order it online. Probably be cheaper anyways.

I soak them in either laundry detergent or something like simple green/water. When they've been soaked everything will just waft out, then you can squeeze them dry and let the rest of the moisture ait dry.

Do the reading, I promise it'll be worthwhile. Not to discount what Nike is saying but the true secret to getting the best look possible out of your paint is the process, not the product. Master the process and you can use pretty much anything with great results.

Kevin- RX4 is right, for a while you could buy a Prius for MSRP, turn around and sell it used for a profit. Some people were selling Priuses with a couple k miles on them for as much as $10,000 above the list price. The RX isn't going to be quite as in ravenous demand but its going to be the highest demand vehicle Lexus has ever had no question. You wont see one on the lot for at least a year.

I answered your question wherever you posted it ;)

Yep, gotta read. There's probably 30 pages of things to read on the board about this topic. Read whats out there, once you've read (starting with the "what should I do first" sticky on top of the forum, come back and ask us more specific questions. Run searches for "wax" "polish" "buffer" etc.

Base to base though there isn't any suspension difference.

See I personally never found the styling of the 98-05 GS appealing, I think the new one is a huge improvement over the old one.

VGR- The LS430s are a little tauter than the 400s. I agree with Jim that the questions of ride and wind noise are too subjective for us to tell you how it should be. What is a lot to some isn't a lot to others. I agree with the tire pressure, this is vital on a Lexus where the ride depends heavily on the tires. The type of tires are important too. Poor tires can ruin a Lexus' ride. Gotta remember, the car is a machine and machines make noise. Its a very refined and silent machine, but a machine nonetheless. You might want to test drive another LS and compare them.

No idea, but its much less than 40k.

They've talked about this on the Prius boards a lot, if you want to check them out www.priuschat.com is the best one. Lots of gurus on there that have done oil analyses and things like that. Our Prius only gets about 500 miles a month put on it so we change the oil every 4-5 months or so. The oil stays good and clean, much cleaner than the oil on my ES which gets really nasty really quick (I use full synthetic on both cars). I believe the engine is designed to reach operating temperature really quickly. wwest has a Prius too, I think his is the older model though.

LOL Oh no, it doesn't cost $40k to build them. Far, far from it.

Yeah the profit margin is about $5000 on the ES. Its closer to $10,000 on the LS and the SUVs. Its not really cost of production that drives the markup, the profit is kept by the dealership not Lexus. Lexus sells them at wholesale which includes the cost of production and their profit. Whatever the dealer can get above wholesale is their profit, plus holdback. The salesman makes a commission on the profit made by the dealership. Most dealerships don't buy their inventory anymore they actually rent it when it sits on the lot, then they pay Lexus wholesale less holdback when the car is sold. How much of the markup they get to keep is a direct function of supply and demand. The longer the car sits on their lot, the more it costs them in rental fees and insurance and that eats into the profit, thats why dealers have to sell the cars quickly. I can not imagine any reason to take a $6,000 hit on a current model year car though, that has to be BS. When I bought my car the MSRP was $39675 and I got it for $35k even plus tax and title. That was $4,675 off the list price and it was ALMOST invoice. That was an excellent deal and it was unbeatable in the DC Metro area at the time. I've seen nothing to make me think that the market for ES, especially the refreshed 05 is any softer now, I bought my car in January which is the slowest month in the car business.

Who knows why, could have been road forces in a different area finally popped the belt into that position.

Yep just priced it, fully loaded is $38,699. Thats before tax, taxes and tags on that car are like $2000. I would say THE BEST deal you could get on an ES330 brand new fully loaded is $36.5k taxes and tags included. Any less than that and the dealer would be losing on the deal. It depends on your area too, some areas don't have certain options availiable. He "bought his car" from Pohanka Lexus which is where I live, I shopped there (horrible dealer BTW, slimy salepeople) so a fully loaded car here would be $38,699.