SW03ES

Post pics of the scratches. Unfortunately deep scratching must be painted to be repaired totally.

Do not take it to Lexus. Independent body shops need the quality of their work to survive, you seldom get as high quality a job at a dealer. Do some research get some referrals and shop around. A good body shop can make any repair appear flawless. As for the difficulty it really depends. Some shops still like to blend into adjacent panels, some use high tech paint analysis machines so they can tint the paint so that it matches perfectly without needing to blend. One way isn't better than the other its just two different schools of thought. Take your time and do your research and you can find a shop that can do it so you wont notice.

I've never tried the NXT spray but I've heard people say the same thing.

I don't believe Mercedes has one yet... Like I said though, not everyone experiences it. it really depends on how you drive.

Weird, maybe they just don't have the build database totally worked out yet for the 05.

I also seriously doubt it.

Yeah I definately wouldn't buy a loaner car if the cleanliness and state of repair the loaners I've gotten is any indication...

If thats not the 05 wheel then why is it shown on the 05 car on the Lexus website LOL? I have a feeling its a pretty good image of the 05 wheel ;) As for the AMG versions, I've heard that but I personally don't buy into it myself. I think that its far more likely all the cars will have a hybrid version that will be higher performance. That would be more appealing to a wider market base than a AMG type specialty trim. Lexus typically doesn't do niche marketing.

Actually it has both. The 98-00 LS400s had a throttle by wire system and a backup throttle cable. As for the truck, don't know maybe it has something to do with the extra low end torque of the diesel compensating for the lag?

The Cadillac I'm talking about is the new STS: Nothing else Cadillac has made interests me in the slightest. The Escalade is overstyled, the CTS is ugly, the XLR is rediculously priced, the Deville is bubbly, old mannish, and poorly constructed. This car though looks great, I can't wait to drive one and see if its actually BUILT great like a Lexus. It already beat the BMW 5 series and Benz E class in comparison tests. Its a real second coming for Cadillac. Glad you liked the LS ;)

Thats terrible...good luck!

Nice! I look forward to driving one to see what the 17s do to the ride.

The Build Your Lexus feature on the Lexus site is dynamic, it changes based on region and cars availiable. My guess is this first run of 05 ES' won't have AVS with the AVS cars to be built later. They do this with colors too.

The increase in smoothness probably comes from driving in 4 instead of D. In my experience the 330s shift harder than the 300s, I always assumed it had something to do with them trying to re-gear it to compensate for the throttle lag.

I think jrag is onto something. Realistically you're not going to see 02 and 03 ES at those prices, ESPECIALLY not CPO cars. My guess is you may even see 03s with that mileage at $30-32k depending on their equipment. I'm not a fan of used cars either for a lot of the same reasons, unless you're buying one 4 or so years old over the long term you're really not going to save any money (have to factor in extra maint. costs, the cost of your extra warranty, gonna need tires and brakes sooner) the savings getting an 03 ES for 30k vs an 04 for maybe 32k is extremely negligable or nonexistsant. Now is the best time to buy a new 04 you could hope for, and you can get the color combinations and options you want. Dealers will be giving them away. There are very few changes between 02-03 some minor issues were looked at etc. The 04 has more power, the front seats were SLIGHTLY reworked and it has the new generation nav system (If you want nav).

No the DVD software is always a year behind. So if your car is an 04, it has the 03 software. Lexus used to do 1 free update but not anymore.You MAY be able to get Lexus to pay for this if you can talk your dealer into doing it to earn your service and repeat sales business.

I'm guessing $10-15,000. It HAS been done but it was something like 23 hours of labor, there are TONS of electrical connections and splices that have to be done. Consider 23 hours of labor at Lexus $90 shop rate, plus the parts which are at least $7500 themselves. It will definately be more cost effective to sell your RX and buy one with nav.

You can certainly negotiate the lease buyout price. Think of it as buying a used car, you've never owned this car before, Toyota Financial Services was the first owner, your lease is up so they will be selling the car. You can purchase it, or someone else can. Look around at similar cars and see what they're going for, and offer them slightly above that. Remember that you know the car's history as you have driven and maintained it, so thats worth something.

They would have refused. The tire may be cheaper but it would cost the dealer more as Lexus definately has some sort of deal in place for a really low wholesale price on the tires the cars come with such as the Michelins he got. My guess is they only pay $10-15 a tire or so, and they pay way less for them on the assembly line, a couple bucks a peice. The dealer would have lost money on the Toyos. The tires that come OEM on cars are always the cheapest for the car company to buy, thats why they use them.

You mean the black part between the front and rear windows? That oxidizes quickly, thats very common. Like TOG said a light cleaner like Klasse AIO followed by a wax is the best way of attacking it. Mothers is a good product line, we just tend to discuss more professional lines of product here. Mothers is a good alternative though if you want to stay in the car parts store availiable lines.

I'm sure it will.

I'm sure they will. In fact wood is probably an option on the 400h.

Yeah I'm not afraid of high mileage but what most people don't understand is a car is never going to be free to run. If you buy a new car then you don't have repair costs and nowadays with a lot of car companies you don't have maintenance costs as its all included, but you have payments. But then the car is paid for and you dont have payments, but the maintenance is no longer free and the repairs start to begin, you need tires and brakes, higher mileage maintenances. I leased this Lexus and I may or may not buy it out of the lease at the end. As it is now though I'll probably keep leasing them as I'd prefer to always make a payment then to have to worry about the car needing unexpected expensive repairs. That and I just like driving a new car LOL. I'll definately get another Lexus unless they don't offer free scheduled maintenance. If they don't I'll probably have to get something else, maybe that new Cadillac STS. I have a feeling they will though.

In other words yeah it will wash off ;) A product you might want to try out is Eagle One's Wax as U Dry. Works like a QD but it saves a step. I use it with every wash.

Don't expect it to be so few and far between. Lexus are very reliable but they are hardly bulletproof like some people seem to think, especially older ones. Also don't expect that something else is going to have parts breaking all the time. Tauruses are okay, but there are plenty of other cars in your price range. Accords, Camries, Maximas, all of these vehicles are going to be more reliable than a Taurus and be much cheaper to maintain than a Lexus. Not to mention they'll wind up being 5-6 years newer.