SW03ES

I still wouldn't drive customers around in a Maxima, even a brand new one, unless I had no other choice. I totally agree about looking "too" successful. People like doing business with successful people but not neccisarily people who appear to be more successful than they are. Thats why I feel the Lexus is well suited to sales, its very comfortable and smooth riding, is expensive but not TOO expensive and it isn't flashy or concieted like an MB, Benz, Jag etc. My dad drives a new LS430 too, he's in sales and drives his customers around in it, he could have paid for it cash but his company actually bought it for him. I'll start critiquing him when I can do the same also ;) Like I said before, I'm sure it makes a difference the area in which you live. For instance you might not want to take people to see $150,000 homes in a $65,000 car, that may make them uncomfortable but I can't imagine the kind of people that buy homes here, $500,000 on the low end all the way up to 2Million being put off because their realtor, whom they know makes a 3-6% comission off of these properties, drives a $65,000 car. Odds are they have something similar, or could afford one if they wanted it. No doubt that your aunt is successful, but would she be just as successful driving her new LS430 to work and driving customers around in it? Probably, especially now that she's established. I remember when my dad got his forst LS400 in 1998, I took it to have something done at the dealer and I found a business card in it that said "Great car! I'm gonna have to raise my rates!" when I asked him he said it was from a merchant that he buys from who had parked next to it when they met for lunch. He was concerned that he would get problems from his customers about driving such an expensive (And foreign, he had a Cadillac before) car, but he didn't. The same question bodes for my dad, would he be as successful as he is if he drove a Maxima? Again probably. So, in the grand scheme of things does it REALLY matter, thats all I'm saying. Drive whatever makes you feel successful. For me, driving the expensive car, having the nice suits, and being able to buy the things and do the things I want to do with my family are what make me feel successful. The more successful I feel, the more successful I am.

In all honesty though you might be better off to upgrade to a 98 when you factor in the cost of the job and the negative effect it will have on the value of your car (nobody's going to want a 96 that has undergone massive bodywork to look like a 98). I'm not convinced you wouldn't come out ahead. Plus you'll get the benefit of the increased power and other goodies.

No idea where the link would be, it was a long time ago. By internal structures I mean mounts for the headlamps, the mounting hardware for the bumper, the hood latching system etc.

It is definately possible. I believe a couple of internal mounting structures have to be changed and the entire bumper assembly, including the reinforcement bars, not just the cover, have to be replaced. I know someone did it on another Lexus board, I think a body shop charged them $7000 to do it. So if you've got the parts for $1850 and you can find a place to do the tear down and install plus paint I'd say you could do the whole deal for $5,000.

It doesn't sound to me like the dealer is trying to hose you, but Lexus dealers are very expensive, I'm sure you could save a lot of money by getting it done at an independent shop that specializes in japanese vehicles. I dont see anything in there that doesn't sound plausible. 73k is very low mileage for a 96 and oftentimes low mileage cars can need MORE maintenance than cars that get driven a lot because they sit and components dry out etc. The timing belt is a very big job and they always replace the pump while they're in there as its cheaper than opening everything else up again down the road. It sounds to me like the car hasn't neccisarily been maintained (coolant leaking, tranny fluid never been changed) how often does the oil get changed etc?

I just don't understand why, especially when E&O coverage will take care of any lawsuits that may be filed against you, especially if they're frivilous. As long as you don't do anything wrong, let the people file their lawsuits and let your insurance handle it. Thats what doctors do. Doctors don't worry about keeping a low profile to keep from being sued for malpractice, they just make sure they do a good job and keep their malpractice insurance paid up to take care of any losers that might try and rip them off. Why worry about it? Drive whatever you want. Maybe its just different where you are vs where I am, but central CA I don't see how. My guess is whats gained in the appearance of being successful outweighs any risk of people being out to get that wealth. In the end I'm sure its the quality of the service your provide and the skill with which you provide it that makes you successful, not what you drive. That may be that one realtor's philosphy but to say that driving a luxury car WILL get you sued is a little extreme IMHO.

You definately will find a larger market more competative. Even in larger markets dealers don't discount SC430s much, but they will discount them.

That may not make a difference. You can demonstrate that it is your residence you just don't have a rent or mortgage payment. That was in 1982, interest rates and inflation are so different compared to now you can't even use that as an example. Back in 1982 18% was a really good rate, people were signing mortgages for 20% and not even batting an eye. Nowadays 9% is a high rate. My fiance financed her first car as of April of this year with no job, $26,000 car with her dad as a cosigner (who doesn't have very good credit) and got the loan at 9%. My guess is you can get in a car with a $5000 or so loan at 9%, gotta go talk to a car dealership and see what they can do for you. I bet they'll give you the loan without a cosigner. It will actually help you in the long run, you're going to HAVE to start establishing a credit history and nows the time to do it. This car loan and a credit card will go a long way towards helping you. Trust me, I'm 23 and I got my first credit card when I was 19. I had two years of credit history and I could demonstrate two years of back tax returns saying I had made 70k and 90k respectively in those two years. I STILL needed my dad to cosign on my Lexus for me because I didn't have enough credit, even though the payment would only be 7% of my gross income (with a credit history loan companies will finance you 30,40, even 50% of your income) . Start building it now so it'll be there when you want to rent an apartment, buy a new car, buy a house etc.

Mike- The gasket upgrade just came out actually, its a much thicker gasket. To cut down on the issue until you can have it looked at you can clean and lubricate that strip with some silicone grease.

Sometime before I got mine, so probably 2002. Not sure about the years but I assume its all of them, ES' and RX'.

I know how you feel LOL. I just spent the day detailing mine. As long as you park carefully though you'll be fine, but dings will happen. No biggie, just find a good PDR tech and the dings can be quickly fixed ;) One important thing to keeping the garnet looking good is to keep it waxed. If its waxed well it won't get as dirty as fast.

Thats one thing I noticed though, you don't want to do it for the money because you'll loose your love of doing it.

Actually with a medium cut polish and an orbital buffer almost all waterspots can be safely removed, one certain paints it can just be hard to do by hand. VB, you ever given any thought to picking up a Porter Cable DA buffer?

The only thing thats not normal for the LS is the leaky pump vacuum. The steering column is a simple lubrication issue and the creaky moonroof is a problem on all Lexus', I believe they have an updated moonroof gasket, I'm having it installed on mine at the next service stop.

Several outfits on ebay actually sell new ones, takeoffs from cars that have aftermarket wheels installed etc. I agree though, I'd never buy used wheels.

Tell me about it! I'm the same way, I do a few cars on the side but I draw the line when it cuts into time I'm working, my weekends, or the time when I want to be detailing my own car. Sometimes its really hard to tell people no, especially when they want me to do their car so bad...

Definately have them do that and make sure that it gets flushed every 15k from now on, shouldnt have any more problems.

I don't know actually, at first I didn't like the ES' wheels but they've grown on me. I guess I'd have to see some OEM chrome wheels in person to make up my mind.

No, but I'd like to. My guess is though its just as propagandist as Moore's movie, just the other way. The truth about Bush probably lies somewhere in the middle. My feelings about Bush began well before Farenheit 9/11 came out though.

But thats an extreme set of circumstances, again I don't see how driving a cheaper car would keep someone like that from filing a lawsuit. It may make you feel better about it but I doubt it actually makes it any less likely. If a person has a low 500s credit score and is jealous of what kind of car you drive they're just not worth doing business with in the first place. Anyways, if you have E&O coverage who cares? Let he file her lawsuit. Personally I feel a Lexus is about as low profile as you get in the "real" luxury car game, hence why its well suited for sales. Plus, most people don't care enough about cars to even notice what you're driving. You sit a typical person in a totally loaded Avalon or an LS I doubt they would know the difference, or even care.

Check out www.edmunds.com they have the invoice pricing and a true market value price which is *usually* high. You can also check out www.fleetrates.com and see some of the fleet pricing on that car, thats what I'd shoot for ;)

Chrome wheels are really hard to get up here, don't know why. They're commonly found in FL, CA, and Texas but for some reason not here. So I would have had to buy them aftermarket and I'd be afraid of the quality there. I'm constantly kicking the idea around about buying some OEM Lexus chrome wheels of ebay, they go for $800 or so a set... Check out the detailing forum for some how to on how to keep that thing lookin good ;)

My guess is both of those solenoids are going to have to be replaced. This is going to be expensive, hope the warranty covers it. Lotsa zeros. If the fluid was dark when you changed it 22k miles ago something's not right. First of all Lexus submitted an addendum to the maintenance schedule on the ES stating that the transmission should be flushed every 15k miles. How often was the fluid changed (if at all) before you changed it 22k miles ago? Sounds to me like this is caused by the fluid not being changed often enough.

Why would you and your dad do business with this person? Thats why most of the brokers and realtors around here I've been talking to do pre-qualification before they even start talking to clients so that they can make sure that their time and the client's time won't be wasted. If she had filed a lawsuit it would have been the failure to do pre-qualification and carefully choose your clients that caused it, not whatyou drove. I was told to refuse to do business with anyone without at least high tier two credit score (680 or so) because of the difficulty in getting a loan and the nature of the person (irresponsible, spending outside their means, etc) in question.

Exactly. Not all companies feel that way though, my dad sells commercial printing paper and he has a customer ( a printing company) that didn't allow their sales reps to drive luxury cars until recently when they changed that policy). Its really two schools of thought and its up to the individual salesperson which one they subscribe to. Personally I don't want customers to buy my product because they think I NEED the sale or that I'm starving or that they feel sorry for me, I want them to buy my product because its the best and I'm the best at what I do, and I am, and they do ;) There are plenty of ways to protect yourself as a realtor from lawsuits that don't involve pretending to be poor, keeping good records, offering home warranties and home inspections, having legal documents checked by lawyers to avoid loopholes and keeping everything in writing. If a customer declines something, they decline it in writing. That paired with good E&O coverage will protect you from underhanded lawsuits, Lexus or no Lexus.