SW03ES

Yeah I like the parchment, I almost bought a GS300 in parchment. You'd actually be surprised, white hides dirt very well.

Oh yeah, it happens very fast. Its not uncommon for these cars to loose the air when they're shut off then pop right back up once they're started.

Now is definately the time to buy, January is the slowest month in the car business.

Thats kind of a misnomer, I know many people who don't get 6 months out of zaino and many people that do get 6 mos out of carnuabas. SOME carnuabas last only a few weeks, but to say that all do is simply not accurate. There are many Carnuabas that last a significant amount of time, Collinite 476, Collinite Insulator Wax, Meguiars #16 etc. ON THE WHOLE the Zaino will last longer than carnuaba, but the tradeoff is the ability to polish and hide swirls underneath, the look, and the complications of use.

Actually no, I've done the math out and when you figure in the cost of the loaner the service comes out to not be that expensive really. For instance I pay $160 for an oil change/tire rotation. At a normal shop that would cost $60-$80. A loaner car of the class of the Lexus loaner would cost about the same per day, so its really not all that expensive. Now, if you wanted to take it to the Exxon and drive a Kia for a day then yeah its more expensive, but I don't want to drive a Kia...

Yeah this is the beginnings of strut failure, big $$ those shocks cost between $2500-$3000 just for the rears. What happens is that the seals in the air lines get old and brittle and start to leak, its not a leak in say the bladder like in a Lincoln that would cause it to just drop and stay down. You can retrofit the air shocks with regular shocks and its much cheaper. I've never seen much of a ride difference between the two.

I do believe that the setpoints for heat and A/C can be changed through the dealer. Is this your first car with automatic temp. control? Its a little different than having standard controls and takes some getting used to. The system is designed to guard against abrupt changes in temp. that can be annoying so the change is more gradual. Its like the thermostat in your home, if you set it to a comfortable temp (I leave mine on 73) and just ignore it it will reach and maintain a comfortable temp. Sometimes you have to change the temp to get the heating/cooling desired then turn it back down. In GA it doesn't get that cold, my guess is that you're asking it for warmth when it doesnt think you need warmth. If thats the case than the dealer should be able to change the threshold.

You're not gonna get it for invoice, but in CA you could probably get $500 over invoice. Welcome to the club!

No he did say that it includes the markup for freight to Alaska.

No, the site Stevie posted ;)

I'd use a synthetic on the metallic white. You're really not going to be able to achieve a lot of depth out of it with a carnuaba. The type of pre-wax cleaner depends on the condition of the paint. I'd reccomend Klasse AIO followed by either Klasse SG or the Zaino line of sealants.

I usually spray the mats down with Febreze as they dry, helps keep them from being musty.

No Concorde costs $41k, that includes the dealer freight markup for Alaska.

Cool site! I'm gonna bookmark it. I say yes to the chrome trunk bar, no to the visors.

Yeah but supposedly they have new technology nowadays that will make it more effective. I still see it as a gimmick more than anything else though.

I'm sure they're fine, you can rub them on a CD. If they don't scratch a CD, they won't scratch the car.

40mph ;) That depends on the acceleration demand, load, etc though.

Jim- January is also the best month to buy a car though, car sales hit the floor in January to the point where some salesmen make no money at all. If you're gonna buy a car, Jan's the time. Maybe its because everyone's off funding their IRAs :D I get paid depending on how many cars my clients sell, and I have to plan my year around January. ECU- There are LOTS of low mileage LS400s in our area you've just gotta look for them. We've got lots of retired people that just plain don't drive that much.

I think thats probably an isolated incident though, I know several people who have had their wheels done by AS and this is the first problem I've seen...

No, that is not legal. As long as you follow the maintenance schedule you can have the work done anywhere you want.

Now thats more do-able (the massaging seats) Honestly, if you can buy a new one I would buy a new one unless you're going to buy deeper into a 2000 or so. Like you said, the depreciation curve is pretty flat and if you're set on certain options and equipment buying new will be much more satisfying. Your LS is just a phone call and 3 weeks away in whatever form you want it to be if you buy new, and dealers deal on LS' pretty readily nowadays. The car lasts a long time and that makes something like a 2000 with low miles a great deal but an 03 with 7k miles etc over a new 05 in the refreshed style still in the box? I wouldn't. Have you seen the analine interior on the UL and CL cars? Its not actually suede. Its a higher quality softer leather and you get special wood options (like the cool antiqued wood on the black interior) but thats it. Jim- I gotcha, I'll catch you next time! Have fun!

How do you like the Falken's Silver? How's the ride and noise?

Yes, the black is VERY easy to work with. Its one of the few colors that you can REALLY get EVERYTHING out of and thats because its single stage. On a clearcoated car you have to work within the depth of the clearcoat and the clear is much harder than pigmented paint (except for white which is the hardest paint color) the PC just gobbles up swirls and oxidation on the black onyx. I've done several of them myself and the owners are always amazed. I'll send you a PM with his contact info but I still suggest as Silver does that you spend the money on your OWN PC, pads, and products. He and I have plenty of PC knowledge and we can walk you through what to do step by step. The black is very soft and even with the most careful owner it will have to be polished out every 4-6 months. Mine needs polishing every 6 months and its a clearcoat. Honestly, I swear to you up and down there is extremely little chance you can hurt the car with the PC. Thing is, there's really no equivelent to the PC. You could get a Cyclo (which I want actually) but its twice as expensive or you could do a rotary and risk burning into the paint. The guy I'm going to hook you up to has a PC and a Cyclo and he's done some great transformations on cars that looked really, really gone.

silver's description of the Dunlops is right on, the rubber is very soft which makes for a good ride and a quiet ride with good dry traction but not great wet or snow traction and they're short lived.

Oh they always do the balance, but its not neccisary. If a wheel needs balancing you will definately notice it, especially on a Lexus. Balancing costs them very little and the cost of that warranty is a big profit for them. Rotating costs them nothing and it takes the tech 10 minutes if that. The road hazard is the same way, when was the last time you had a flat tire? Its just not all that common anymore. Sure they'll replace the tire, but that replacement becomes pro rated as the tire ages and they only pay for one. Once the tires get worn you need to at least replace both tires on an axle for safety, still gotta come out of pocket for one tire, and most likely some % of the other tire. So for the extra $100 or whatever the warranty costs you get balancing which isn't neccisary, rotating which you can do in your own driveway with a set of jackstands, and a road hazard warranty that might save you 20% of the total cost of having a tire that needed to be replaced (which wont be $100), or a free $15 plug. They're definately getting the good end of that deal. Plus I have yet to find ANY mechanic that inflates the tires to the proper pressure, usually they're all at 50PSI or they'll all be different pressures, I always request that the tire pressure be left alone. Its good for peace of mind, but like extended warranties its really not worth the cost in most instances. If it were worth the cost then they wouldn't make a profit on the plans and they wouldn't sell em.