SW03ES

Check out this Explorer: http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.p...&threadid=47725 And thats even in a worse way than your car, thats clearcoat failure (checking) on the hood and he made it look much better. My Explorer has the same problem but its white and its harder to notice. Check out this LS400, same single stage Black Onyx as yours. http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?s...ingle+AND+Stage Its possible. The Black Onyx is super easy to polish.

I've seen many a car that needed a "repaint" brought back to 100% in the hands of someone that knows what they're doing. Even if it can't be brought back 100% I bet it can be made to look a damn lot better. If you're ever in the Dallas TX area I can point to you an awesome detailer.

Yeah, its possible but its also possible to put a washer and dryer in the trunk too. Its SO expensive and labor intensive you're better going with aftermarket nav. I agree with Jim though, MOST LS430s have nav. Hey Jim, you're coming to the DC area? If you've got the time I'd love to meet for a cup of coffee or something!

TireRack doesn't suck, the ratings system is not all its cracked up to be but thats because of the reviewers, not tire rack. Tire Rack has excellent customer service, good prices and a comprehensive interface that makes shopping and learning about tires MUCH easier. I always buy my tires from TireRack, except this time because they didn't have the tires I was looking for. You can't go wrong with the MXV4 line from Michelin, pretty overpriced but its a sure bet especially now that they just revamped the line (I'd get the new ones, the MXV4 S8 I had an RX330 loaner with them and they were good and quiet. I also am very satisfied with my Toyo Proxes TPTs and they're a little cheaper than the Michelins. My dad put them on his 04 LS430 and likes them too. The Dunlop is an okay tire, but as you've figured out they don't last very long.

Try www.aaarims.com you can buy one refurbished wheel.

The problem with a scratch remover by hand on black is that you're likely to induce more marring when trying to polish out the scratches that are there. Its likely you probably just can't see this marring on the silver. I'd go the PC route. Its an initial investment but with a black lexus you'll get your use out of it.

After my Lexus was damaged the past two times it was serviced at the Lexus dealer I'm starting to agree with RX in NC. The first time they washed it and put scratches in the finish they paid me $140 to correct, this time they backed it into a pole and did $700 worth of damage...and didn't tell me. I had to notice it when I got home. The service manager tried to strong arm me into letting him do the work because it could be done much cheaper. They can't wash it or park it, why would I let them paint it? I've never had a car damaged at a car dealership before, and niether have most people I know. You would think for $100 an hour I could be assured that my Lexus would at least be DRIVEN carefully. I didn't bang their loaner car into a pole. But anyways, Ihave no complaints about the work they do, they're always clean, I've never seen any damage or overfilled oil etc. Sure, Lexus dealers are all individual and I'm sure the quality of the work varies like anything else. The ones around here are pretty good about the mechanicals at least, I'll be changing dealerships after this past damage incident though. zamo- Thats not entirely true. Who is your lease through? My father has leased cars since 1987 and he has never been asked for service records when a car was turned in. Rx-Fan Thats a common sales tactic used by tire shops. Wheels don't have to be re balanced once they are balanced unless they throw a weight or a tire is changed on a specific wheel unless you feel some sort of vibration. In fact, Lexus doesn't reccomend that the wheels be routinely balanced because of how difficult it is to acheive balance on a Lexus (the place that installed my tires had to try three times, my dad has never had a tire place balance either of his LS's right on the first try) once its achieved they reccomend that the balance be left alone. Lexus dealers don't balance, they only rotate.

No, clay won't remove scratches. All clay does is remove bonded contaminants that are imbedded in the paint (what makes the paint feel rough). In order to remove scratches the paint will need to be buffed with some sort of polisher (be it a Random Orbit polisher like a PC or a rotary) and an abrasive polish to level out the paint and remove the scratches. Don't expect professional level results your first time out, products don't make the final result, process does. Detailing is fairly easy once you have the process down but there is a learning curve involved.

Where are the pictures of Neil's wheel? I've never seen it.

Now see, thats a tough one. You could get into an 04 with the same mileage in a lower package for $52k and I personally think the improvements made to the 04 are HUGE over the 03. With the UL package you have the air suspension which runs into problems at 150k miles +

I was told by a Lexus rep once that the plural of "Lexus" is "Lexus" ;)

Like anything else, the only person who can say its overpriced is you. I happily pay it out of ease really, I need the free loaner car and I'm assured that the work will be done right, and if anything is done wrong it will be taken care of professionally. Think of Lexus service like Nordstrom, you can buy the same suits at discount places like Syms but you're not going to get the personalized service or attention to detail you get at Nordstroms. For some people thats worth the cost, for some people its not. There's certainly nothing wrong with having your Lexus done at Toyota or an independent shop from the first oil change as long as you keep the reciepts. Joining the LOC gold program gets you service discounts at certain dealers also...

Actually the fact that the paint is a single stage doesn't really say anything to its longevity as long as you maintain it properly. The reason Blake's paint is so bad (and I STILL bet if you hit it with a PC it'd be fine, a lot of times single stage can be so oxidized it looks like it needs a repaint when it really doesn't) is because it wasn't properly protected before he got it. The black is very soft which means its actually pretty resistant to chipping, and like you mentioned its easily buffed out. All clearcoat is is paint with no pigment to add extra gloss, the single stage black has just as much paint as a car with clearcoat its just all colored. Its just when clearcoat is distressed its not as noticable as when color coat is distressed, as long as you don't let it be distressed then its a moot point. That said, if you've never had a dark colored car then understand that black is probably 200% harder to take care of than a lighter color. Mine is black garnet (almost black) and I love it, its beautiful when its clean but my next one will definately be silver or some sort of other silver based color. Not as striking that 20% of the time but much better looking the other 80. Plus I wont have to live in fear of someone brushing against it in a parking lot like I do now. Nothing looks better than a clean dark car, but nothing looks worse than a dirty distressed one as blake knows.

Trust me, check out www.leasecompare.com they'll have better leases on BOTH vehicles. The difference is in the money factor, Lexus just plain does not have a good lease. I found that leasecompare was $130 or so a month cheaper than leasing it through Lexus. Occasionally they have some promos that work out well, but usually their leases (and financing in general) are pretty poor. As for the sales tax, actually that varies by state. Thats called a "Monthly use tax" in Maryland we have no monthly use tax and have to pay sales tax on the full price of the vehicle when leasing just as if you were buying, it sucks.

Yeah niether of which should have made a difference, you can't get milder than those...

LS's take miles like no other car, you can drive them and drive them and drive them and as long as you: 1. Change the oil 2. Keep it clean and waxed 3. Keep the interior clean and free of stains 4. Keep the leather cleaned and conditioned It will look and ride as good at 200,000 miles as it did at 0. I've honestly never seen anything else that compares. Look at the LS' for sale on ebay, 5, 6, 7 years old and they still look great with nice dull leather and clean paint. Compare it to other cars as old, even Mercedes' and BMWs and they don't look as good. My dad had a 98 LS until last October when he traded it on an 04. It had 160,000 miles on it, hard miles. He always kept the oil changed but only spottedly had other maintenance done. It looked and rode like new the day he traded it, the only issue was that the air shocks were starting to loose a little air when it was turned off, but only in the last month or two. If it were his he would have kept on driving it but it was a company car and they didn't want the liability of something so high mileage.

As long as the body shop does a good job with the repair then it doesn't matter who does it. Most Lexus dealers anymore don't even have bodyshops they just send their customers elsewhere. Take it to a detailer though, if its just paint transfer and some minor scratches I bet they can buff it out to where it'll be barely noticable.

Yeah we almost bought a Mazda 3 5 Door (sport wagon) before my fiance decided she wanted the Prius. They're very nice, fully loaded with nav, HID headlights, 17 inch wheels etc for $21k.

What type of cleaner did you use to try and remove the white specs. Steering wheel leather is heavily coated, it looks like that coating has been compromised by something...

On the older LS generations the ride suffered with 18s, even on the 01-03 LS430s when you could choose between the 16s and 17s the ride was harder with the 17s. They must have made some changes because I drove 05s back to back one with the 17s and one with the 18s and didn't notice a difference really, maybe a little more tire noise but that could probably be fixed with higher quality rubber then Lexus ships with. I was surprised.

True, Lexus dealers don't like to discount their CPO cars, I've found that as with the new LS430, used LS' can go anywhere up to $9,000 or so less than the asking price, so that puts it in line with the residual used for leasing. The next generation LS comes out in 2006 as a 2007 model. The 2006 model should be identical to the 2005 with maybe a special edition like Lexus likes to do for the last year of a design (Coach, Platinum etc). Thats one thing about Lexus', you really need to buy them and then just not look at the new ones. I know thats almost impossible for us being that we're surrounded by these cars all the time as members of this club, but its really the truth. They last so long and age so well, its really a shame to keep trading them in to have the newest and best one because you're missing out on one of the car's best features, its longevity. Especially the LS cars, even LS' 5, 6, 7 years old (the 98s are 7 years old...wow thats hard to believe) or even older into the 95-97 models still look fresh and modern and run very, very well if they've been maintained. The real joy of owning a Lexus *I think* is the fact that you can drive it and enjoy it for 200,000 miles. Something you can't do in a Cadillac, or a Lincoln or something like that. You can drive them for 200,000 miles but you're not gonna enjoy it. So, that said, I wouldn't worry about buying an LS now and it being replaced by a new model in a year and a half. There's always going to be a new model out eventually and you're just going to keep waiting and waiting and waiting. The current LS is a great car, the best the LS has ever been, buy one and enjoy it. Even when its not the freshest and newest LS on the road, it'll still be your LS. I've been looking around at LS430s (2005 with the Custom Luxury pkg, Mercury with black interior and 18 inch wheels....mmm), especially because I'm thinking about getting into some real estate besides my business that I own now and it would be a great car for entertaining clients (something I don't have to do now) because its larger (the back seat on the ES is tight), but thats what I told myself. My Lexus is a great car, it only has 40,000 miles on it and to trade it now would be a real shame. I'll get into an LS in a couple years, maybe the new design and then drive it for 200,000 miles. If I dont like the new design I'll snatch up an 06 at the end of the year and save me some money...

I think that the resistance in the gas pedal can be adjusted, the brake may be possible too. As for tires, can't go wrong with the TPTs, I have them and like them. Michelin just redid their MXV4 line and they're supposed to be excellent as well.

Okay, I found it. It was removed because the member only has 4 posts, the rules in this matter are very clear. Our buy and sell section is for the use of members that have habitually contributed to the site, not people who join only for their own gain. Its the only way to prevent spamming and unsolicited use of the forum for personal gain.

Where was it posted? If a member who has less than 20 posts posts a for sale in another forum (since they cannot post for sales until they have >20 posts) then it is always deleted.

Well, a lot of the ride in a Lexus is dependent on the tires. What kind of tires are on there now? The Toyos are good tires but they're not the holy grail, they wont turn a poorly riding car into a great riding one and the most noticable change will be in tire noise not in ride. At 22,000 miles if it has certain brands of tires on it they may be ready to be replaced. As for the brakes, one way to know for sure is to drive another 2001 and compare. I think the ride feeling is based on weight, the 02+ is several hundred pounds heavier than the 01 and that makes a big difference in the ride. Thats partly why the LS series rides so well, its a heavy car.