SW03ES

There are very few cars that are as quiet as the LS...

dc- Seriously now thats not kosher here. Its important to me that lowbrow cuts like that not be made. I realize you're only joking around but I'm not. Comments like that aside from being simply stupid invite Internet flame wars and crap we just don't need. Plenty of other sites that allow everyone to jump on the bandwagon with that junk, its important that we stay on the high road here. I think an all other cars forum would be a cool idea, I'll bring that up.

Tell us all about it!

Some states will re-issue inspection stickers when windshields are replaced without doing an inspection again. Gladly Maryland doesn't require inspections except before sale. I need to have mine done too but I'm really dragging my feet. Have a small chip in the center. Glad to hear they replaced it well! If it were repaired he'd be able to tell, repairs aren't 100% perfect.

The E55 is a great sleeper commuting sedan.

Well that depends on how dark it dims. Some dimming is normal as the starter is creating a need that is drawn from other active electrical components.

"Wax as U Dry" is not a Meguiars product, its a Eagle One product. Do you mean the Meguiars "Quik Wax"?

On the whole Michelin is a good sturdy quality tire. BUT from the research that I've done and the people that I've talked to a lot of that quality is just hype. Michelin is usually rated 2nd or 3rd in product quality, good but not the best. I've found they usually aren't worth spending the money on with other as good or better tires in each performance class. Take the Michelin MXV4 sedan radial, heralded as the best passenger car tire on the road but in fact the customer satisfaction rate is only about 65%. Other tires like the Toyo Proxes TPT and Dunlop Sp5000 have much higer satisfaction rates, longer treadwear warranties and are half the price. As for SUV tires though I've had two sets of Michelin LTX M/S on my Explorer and the first set went 100k miles and still had room to go. Basic thing is like with everything gotta do your research. Goodyear tires however are consistently rated on the bottom of the scale.

The ride on the FX45 is really because of the 20inch rims. The FX35 with the base 18s rides much smoother. In all honesty it doesn't ride MUCH firmer than the RX, it just has much better handling.

Yeah thats one of two things I miss from the LS in my ES: 1. The power. 2. The little electronic goodies like the power steering wheel and power headrests/seat belt anchors. Other than that the ES is remarkably like the LS for its price. The fuel economy isn't great, I think a lot of the economy you'd expect from the smaller engine is washed out byt the fact that it has to pull around a 3600lb car. The V8 may suck gas, but it moves the car around effortlessly.

The new ES is kind of in between the 430 and the 400 in terms of headroom.

I've found Griots is really hit or miss, and its very expensive. Basically MOST of the products from Griots are simply rebadged products that you can buy elsewhere for cheaper. What you're paying for is the customer service, their very nice catalog, and their great money back guarantee on everything for life. Even empty bottles. They sell many products that are fantastic like the Interior Cleaner, the undercarriage spray, the Speed Shine, the leather interior scent spray, a myriad of towels and applicators, but some products that are just misses like the leather rejuvinator and the Best of Show wax. Basically though its safe shopping though because if its crap, send it back ;)

Try using a chemical cleaner like Klasse All in One and see what that does to the streaks in the paint.

Check out all our discussions about detailing clay ;)

Lexus dealers cannot ask more than MSRP its part of Lexus' customer service promise. Asking for a markup is underhanded for sure, and I would never do business with a dealer that would do that. HOWEVER Toyota dealers are not bound by the same principle, and Priuses are selling many places for $1-10,000 markups especially as cars get more scarce during the transition to 2005. This may not be the case in CA but that wouldn't surprise me as both Toyota and lexus have looser allocation limits out there. The wait in DC for a Prisu is 1.5-2 years now and the dealer we bought ours from in WV for sticker after waiting 2 weeks (got lucky) is now asking 5k above sticker. Dealerships all over the country are cancelling their lists and selling each car to the highest bidder when it arrives. I heard of one guy spending $38,000 on a $26,000 Prius. SO its unlikely that you would see markups on the RX400h but you MAY on the Highlander. Toyota has some of the worst customer service in the industry (which shocks me because Lexus' is so good) so if I were you I would buy a 400h. In fact I am SO dissapointed in Toyota and their dealer network over how they've handled the Prius demand and how they've treated us about a CD changer recall (apparently all these units fail and it took 5 months and 3 tries to get this repaired, tech smoked in the car etc, refused to give loaner, tried 3 dealers and they're all the same) that I don't know if I would ever buy a Toyota product again, a Lexus sure because its like night and day the difference in customer treatment.

I would always buy the FX35 for myself. My parents have one and its just a fantastic vehicle. Truly fantastic. Styling is a personal thing but I think its one of the best looking vehicles on the road, very very sporty and fun to drive for a vehicle with some utility its just a special car in a market filled with so many ho-hum entries. The RX is very very nice, but its no FX. If I were buying a vehicle for family duty though I'd pick the RX, its much more "minivanlike" with lots of cupholders and an interior crafted for room. The FX has room and utility but its more like a sports car in that driving dynamics and style come before utility. So basically: SUV for me? FX35 SUV for my wife? RX330.

dc- I personally don't see anything wrong with discussing other vehicles here. Our ability to fairly talk about other makes without cutting them down and blindly believing Lexus is the best is what sets us apart from Benz and BMW owners. "Caddy=Oldsmobile=Garbage" is just as ignorant a statement as Lexus=Toyota=Garbage. Save that kinda stuff for other boards. As for the STS, no doubt its a good car and a big step for Caddy, but they still could do SO much better. Corners are still getting cut, cheap plastics and carpeting etc. As always there are more gadgets than you can count but sales have shown buyers prefer quality over buttons and lights.

Lookin good! You'd never guess that car has as many miles on it as it does...

As a detailer SK that pains me! Dealers do crappy detailing jobs... What you need to do is check out www.autopia.org there's a huge contention of detailers there from all over the US and Canada. Post in the Professional Detailing section and you'll find someone.

at 130 thats bad,soft cars means worse handeling and also means that if u fealt liek ure gliding its b\c u hardly have any tractyion its so soft,so thats dangerious. I think you should talk to some pro drivers before you stay too married to that statement ;)

I really could have picked either as they leased out for almost the same price but I picked the ES because: 1. It had HID headlamps. The GS300 is not availiable with HID headlamps. 2. The ES has more interior room, partly because of its design and partly because of its FWD drivetrain. 2. The ES is smoother and quieter. The GS is tuned a little more taut and the exhaust is designed to give it a little more growl. 3. The ES has more comfortable seats, I've heard this from many but the GS has very unsupportive seats. 4. I prefered the styling of the ES both inside and out. 5. The ES is a newer design while the GS is at the end of its lifecycle. GS are also going to be harder to find and they have currently stopped making the GS430 unless its a special order.

Steve, how does your ES compare with your dad's 430? Is one noticably more roomy than the other--head and leg room? I agree that the 95-00 LS isn't all that big in the head room department, but it does(or it seems so atleast!) have a lot more leg room than my ES does which is what I was primarily concerned with when I was looking for a second Lexus. Sorry for the late reply Blake we were visiting family for Labor Day. In size? The 430 is definately significantly bigger than the 400 and it has a good bit more headroom. As far as legroom it seems about the same.

The very fact that Nu Finish dissolves the sap is precisely why you shouldn't use it as a car wax

I would probably always drive a Lexus too, an LS430...fully loaded :D I might flirt around with something different every now and then, but I'd probably always come back to the Lexus.

First mistake was taking the car. No way I would have driven off that lot until this was taken care of to my satisfaction. If the service manager isn't there, fine it can sit there until he shows up. In my opinion now what you deserve is another car, this car was beneath the CPO standards ALREADY and they have made it worse. Now you have to have more extensive paintwork done because of their carelessness that will lower the value of the car. Lexus will do this if dealers destroy cars (happens more often than you'd think). As for the wetsanding of course thats not going to change the color mismatch, what a bunch of !Removed!.