SW03ES

Don't take their sales figure as a representation of what you can get for it in the market, their car is certified pre-owned with the CPO warranty. Right now on the 2005's I'd think $2000 over invoice is a fair deal including dealer holdback. You'll find you usually wont have to take on Lexus salespeople, I reccomend you do all the negotiating on the Internet.

The car is 9 years old now. All materials, regardless of how high quality they are or how well put together they are they still have a life, time marches ever forward. Those lenses are subject to not only variations between hot and cold weatherwise but the drying effects of UV light and heat from the lamps being illuminated ESPECIALLY where you live in Arizona. They're going to age, Lexus or not. A big pet peeve of mine is when people come in here with approaching and beyond decade old Lexuses and rag on Lexus as a brand because they have begun to decay, its just not fair.

Do yourself a favor and stay outta jail ;) Not to mention the extreme cost of components like transmissions etc on the LS. If you can't afford to buy a new car you can't afford to replace the tranny when you blow it either.

We really need to do something about the size of these pictures, they're ginormous and take forever to load, even on cable. Download the free image optimizer from www.xat.com and use that to size down the pictures and compress them into a more manageable for the internet size. Photobucket will make them smaller visually but it still has to load the entire picture pixelwize and those pictures are probably over a megabyte each. They all timed out for me.

There are plenty of ways to install bluetooth into cars aftermarket. There isn't however a way to install the full integration kit with the nav system etc. But Motorola, SonyEriccson, Nokia all make perminant install Bluetooth kits. I just added one to my ES. Works even better than the Lexus system IMHO because it allows voice dial and has simpler operation.

You coulda stayed on as a member even with a Jag ;)

My guess is its because the actual tuner is designed to be used for several applications including add on controllers that have smaller displays. My guess is thats here to stay.

This is the steering wheel iff of your 98 LS400 This is the steering wheel you are trying to install, off of an LS430 As you can see the overall shape is similar, but not at all the same, its a totally different wheel. Plus you'll have the problem of wood matching as they changed the wood between the LS400 and the LS430. THIS is the steering wheel on a GS: If you want a wood wheel keep looking on ebay, they pop up ALL the time for the 98-00 LS in all colors.

This happens all the time on ebay, people don't know what they're selling: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...bayphotohosting Seller says the wheel is off an ES300 when its actually from a 98-00 LS400. It will not fit the ES300. THIS is the wheel off of an ES300 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...bayphotohosting This is its part # 45100-33463-CO that is in the proper Lexus format, the "45100" certifies a Lexus part, not a Toyota one. Whoever sold you that wheel or is selling it is trying to scam you, or he's just an idiot.

The part number is wrong then. If its an ebay listing then the seller is either misinformed or he's lying, I don't believe that Lexus part numbers differentiate the model anyway. These cars are my hobby trust me, that wheel is from an LS430 and trust me your airbag will not fit, they are a different shape. The GS uses the same steering wheel thats in my ES, only with two slight bulges at 10 o clock and 2 o clock and perforated leather. It is 3 spoke. It also has a different series of buttons on the side. There are PLENTY of 98-00 wheels on ebay, why not use one of those it is guaranteed to fit and match perfectly.

Its because of the CSI ratings that I'm in business, dealerships pay me to create custom customer retention programs to hold onto their long term sales and maximize their CSI. Most dealers are extremely poor at customer service and following up with the customer and even treating them with respect. I just left a terrible dealership today picking up our Prius from service. The service woman was quite clueless, errors were made on my invoice, the oil was over-filled by half a quart, they tried to stick me with a $40 rental charge when they were supposed to be picking up the cost of the rental (warranty work) and then argued with me afterwards. They were unable to duplicate the concern but it happened just as we were leaving so we turned around and headed back. The service manager (who I assume is the service manager he failed to introduce himself) was quite smug and insinuated that we were unaware of how the car or this car operates and forced me at one time to snap at him "This isn't the first car I've owned you know", was very rude to my fiance and she was trying to describe the drivability problem and even laughed at her when she said she knew people from her Prius chat forum who had the same concern. You can bet the GM of that dealer is going to get a letter from me. What you're missing is that yes you want to be sure that you don't seek to damage the CSI of the dealership or the service personnel unless its warranted but there comes a time when the dealership has just totally screwed off. If they don't make it right, they're going to have to deal with the reprocussions. They can make fun of me or talk about me behind my back all they want but they won't get the chance to keep from helping me in the future because they won't be doing any of my service. Now I don't think he's to that point yet, but I would be if that car either doesn't come back tomorrow or they don't offer me something for my trouble. 2 weeks out of a car for a sunroof is plain unnaceptable. We actually had a similar experience with a different Toyota dealer having the radio replaced in the Prius. Part came in, didn't call. I called, part was in. Arranged to have it dropped off when I could pick my fiance up the part is now the wrong part, ordered new part part comes in, nobody calls. I call, make an appointment to bring it in, bring it in and drop it off. It has somehow now got a big scratch on the face of it, order new part. Part comes in, nobody calls, finally its done. Took about a month and a half and Toyota doesn't do loaners for services that "take such little time!". In THAT situation the service advisor and manager were very courteous and apologetic about our experience and gave us a $100 gift certificate to the gift shop for our trouble, we used it to buy some winter mats. No reason to do anything to them as they took care of the situation. These people don't seem to have. I should have gone back there instead of to the dealer we did for this recall, but the first dealer didn't have the parts. Apparently the recall wasn't for that year Prius anyways like they said it was Lexus punishes dealers for bad CSI reports for sales but not service BTW.

Sorry, but I don't care for it at all. The ES has a beautiful dash and I think sticking any kind of aftermarket controller onto it is a real shame. Just my opinion. I definately would have either hidden the PNP somewhere like I did and dealt with the inconvenience or gotten the XM kit. Its too expensive a car to be too concerned about the price of significant add ons IMHO.

That steering wheel is actually from an LS430, not a GS. The airbag will definately not fit to that.

I'm gonna move this to the ES forum, it'll get more hits. The claybar isn't going to hurt the paint regardless of its condition. The real question is whether or not its clearcoated. Did you get any paint transfer when you used your cleaner wax (black on your pad or towel)? If its clearcoated then that clearcoat is pretty thin and you're not going to want to go over it with abrasive polishes unless a repaint is a possibility. If its single stage then you've got some room to try and improve the paint... Lookin good, especially for its age...

Cool, let us know.

No the airbag is completely different. The LS' wheel is 4 spoke and the GS' wheel is 3 spoke. If its a really old GS wheel thats 4 spoke then it won't work at all because of the new generation airbags in your 98. Even if it is 4 spoke though its a different sirbag entirely. That particular wheel is shared with the LX model and the Land Cruiser. A slightly modified version of it is used on the GX, new LX, 4 Runner, TUndra, and Sequoia.

What a pain in the !Removed!. Its the dealership, on the whole Lexus service is excellent but not all the dealerships are created equal. We have some REAL stinkers around here. We also have some excellent ones. Here's what *I* would do. Call them tomorrow and tell them that if your car is not ready by Thursday as they promised you want it returned in the same condition you dropped it off in and you will be taking your business elsewhere. This is actually what I do for a living, teach car dealerships how to get and hold onto their service business. You are an established customer with this dealership and they should treat you accordingly. At this point I would stop all communication with the service advisor and insist that you only speak with the service manager or the general manager of the dealership. I also would ask for some sort of freebie for my trouble, maybe 10% off my first friggin $200 oil change. They should have no problem with this as it will ensure your business. If they don't comply go to LeBlanc. Draft a letter stating why you have made this decision after your long relationship with this dealer. Copy it to the service advisor, the service manager, the general manager, and Lexus customer service. THATS how you get action from a car dealership. They'll jump like popcorn kernals every time you walk in the building after you do this. A dealership loses a fortune in potential revenue when they loose a longtime customer like you.

The manual on new Lexus' specifies that no break in period is neccisary. I'd take it easy for the first few hundred miles, but after that I wouldn't worry. Congrats on your cars Ashley and Rob, we need to see some pics! What colors did you choose? One thing I've noticed about Lexuses is that they tend to wear in like a really nice pair of shoes. It will continue to feel smoother and become more comfortable as you get used to driving it and the seat begins to mold to your shape. Mine has 30k+ on it now and it rides better than new ES' I get as loaners. It will definately "wear in". These cars are meant to be driven for years and years and anyone who doesn't do that is really cheating themself out of the experience. Even my dad who has ALWAYS traded cars within 3 years 70k miles kept his 98 LS400 for 5 1/2 years and 160,000 miles and hated to give it up even then but his company wanted him to get something newer and cheaper to maintain, so he got a new LS430. The new ES is also a very different car that your 94, its designed to feel heavier and more like an LS where your 94 was designed to be the sporty sedan in the lineup. As for the hesitation it'll always be there, but you CAN learn to drive around it by being smooth and precise on the throttle.

I would hardly call #2 in initial quality and #4 or 5 in 5 yr dependability horrible. Its clear that you despise Jaguar and my guess is thats making you less than objective.

Should fit fine but you'd obviously have to replace the airbag as well. Also don't bet on the wood matching because the GS and LS have different shades. You'll also loose the ability to control your message center which will be real annoying if you ever have a warning you want to cancel...

Actually thats not true at all. Jaguar has made literal leaps and bounds while under Ford's control. Jaguars of today are rated near the top of JD Powers IQS and dependability studies, beleive it or not. Its still not nearly as reliable as a Lexus with lots of little niggling problems. If you were buying a 1985 XJ V12 I'd tell you to be worried about electical systems etc but not a newer S Type. Personally I would never choose an S Type over an LS. I drove the S Type when shopping for my ES and found it cramped with a lower quality interior that seemed to have a lot of cheap feeling Ford switchgear. Styling is very nice though. I MIGHT consider an XJ over an LS400, but never an S Type. Just different classes of cars.

All ES' after 93 are auto ;)

But that voids the warranty. Several owners have tried that but Lexus won't do it because the canadian ECU isn't designed to be ULEV. I totally agree that the technology is useless if it hinders the owner's enjoyment of the vehicle, I can think of no purpose for these e-throttles that outweighs the hesitation issue.

I can see all the pics now ;)

If the only proof you can show is of the 15k and 30k maintenances then no, Lexus will not and should not pay for the repair. Every 15,000 miles is not an acceptable oil change interval on this vehicle. If the truck does have sludge at only 33,000 miles its about 90% chance that it did indeed not have those regularly scheduled oil changes when it was driven by the previous owner. Some people think its only neccisary to have the car serviced on the "major" services, this is not true. You said you just bought the car, like jbar asked did you buy it certified pre-owned from a Lexus dealer? This might be your only chance as they're supposed to check for sludge and previous oil changes before certifying the trucks for sale. If its not CPO did wherever you bought it from have any kind of warranty? The Lexus 4yr50k warranty that every Lexus comes with does NOT cover any damage or repairs due to owner negligence, failure to maintain the vehicle as laid out in the maintenance schedule is considered "owner negligence". Now, because that specific engine is predisposed to gelling Lexus has warrantied the engine against gelling to I believe 8 yrs 100k miles if you can demonstrate at least oil changes once every 10,000 miles. Now even this interval is much longer than the 5000/7500 mile interval laid out in the maintenance schedule as it is so Lexus isn't likely to pay for a repair stretched out any more. I'm sure they do in isolated cases though... I think jbar is on the right track, stay on them, try a different dealer.