SW03ES

SRK- Thats not fair at all. All viewpoints and opinions are welcome here, as are aficionados of all different types of vehicles. I agree with you (as do the facts) that Audis are nowhere near as reliable as Lexuses, but that wasn't the point of his statement, he was simply comparing the interiors. You can debate him all you want on his views (and I will) but please don't tell him what he can and can not speak about on this board as he's welcome to speak about whatever he wishes. That said, I don't see how a Lexus interior is nowhere near as nice as a Mercedes or Audi. I personally find Mercedes interiors cheap, cold, and hard (unless you're talking about a $130,000 S600) I sat in several the other day as we were car shopping for my fiancee. Even she commented on how the interior on my entry level Lexus is better put together and uses richer looking materials than a $65,000 E500. I agree with her, I find nothing attractive or appealing about a Mercedes interior, in fact they're enough to make me not even consider the cars. This has been a hot point in all comparisons that pit a Lexus against a Mercedes. IMO Mercedes is probably the most overrated car on the road. I see no appeal in them whatsoever. In a BMW you have the excellent road manners, but a Benz is just a hood ornament for 30% more than the competition. Not for me. That may not have been the case once, but it is now. To make the S Class for instance compare to a loaded LS430 in feature content you have to lay almost $110,000 down on an S500 designo edition. An Ultra Luxury LS430 costs 70k, rides better, quieter, quicker, more modern, better interior, and much more reliable. No brainer there, what does that $40,000 buy you? A hood ornament. If the Lexus ride isn't for you (some people like sport and the LS has none) then get an A8 or something, but the Mercedes is a waste of money. Or buy an LS and spend that $40k on a sports car. Now an Audi is another animal. Audi makes a BEAUTIFUL interior. Again, I wouldnt say its a "better" interior than a Lexus but its different. Audi interiors have more glitz and more flare. Very well made, great materials and great design. With Audi vs Lexus interiors its really what you like as opposed to a question of quality but a question of style. The Lexus is more practical, understated, and luxurious. But the Audi is glitzier, sportier, and more flamboyant. SRK is right though, Audi reliability is dismal at best. As for the RL, I looked at the RL vs my ES300 and chose my ES300. The RL is nice, its just outdated and doesn't have the attention to detail, resale value, or brand recognition of the ES. The RL is definately better suited as competition for the ES and doesn't hold a candle to the LS. A Maxima or an Avalon no, those cars are nothing like the RL, the ES, or the G35, but the ES and the G35 are definately comparable to the Acura. The RL has some of the lowest sales in the industry (right ahead of the Q45 which is the lowest selling luxury car on the market) and resale for both is TERRIBLE. Good for the used car buyer though!

Alan- According to the TSB from Lexus the wheel alignment is done by adjusting the wheel ;)

Not actually. Whenever you break the factory paint surface you instantly lower the value of the vehicle by several thousand dollars. For instance a Lexus cannot be a certified pre-owned if more than one panel has been repainted this makes a huge difference in the resale value of the car. Paintless dent repair (which he also charges $150 a ding for, but he's really good) is the same deal, fixes the problem without lowering the value of the car. Plus you dont have to worry about paint matching etc. He does chips, bumper scuffs, all 99% perfect. Actually most insurance companies will pay for that chip repair and PDR and waive the deductible because its in their best interest.

loco- My service rep definately did not think it was operating as normal. He's a good guy and I have no doubt he can get to the bottom of this. Its going in on Wed. and they're going to do a complete check of the brake system and perform the brake vibration TSB (replacing the rotors and pads in the front) and see what that does. I'll keep everyone posted. iammi- Mine never did this either until recently, and I have 17,000 miles so you should keep an eye on yours also. The wheels were never submerged but it does feel as if they had been, its almost like the pads get no traction on the rotor and then all of a sudden they do and the right front wheel lets out a TERRIBLE audible and sensible grind and finally you get some braking power back. My fiancee was in the passenger seat asleep and it was enough to wake her up and ask what the hell it was. It sounds like a truck's jake brake if you've ever heard one of those. Its NOT subtle in the slightest. It also only happens at highway speeds, like slowing from 80 onto an offramp or something. At low speeds braking is normal. Drive carefully in the rain and give yourself plenty of stopping distance when you're at highway speeds in the rain because its definately VERY dangerous. If I hadn't gotten on the brakes to gradually slow for a curve and waited for an offramp or a critical situation to realize the problem we could have had a very serious accident. If this is a chronic ES problem this is DEFINATELY safety recall complain to the NHTSA type of stuff. We were out in the car all evening, dry weather and the brakes are 100% normal. Damndest thing...

A Technical Service Bulletin or TSB is basically Lexus telling the dealer how to solve the problem. They're not always free, and if they're paid for they're usually only paid for during the warranty period. Any shop can perform the TSB as the TSB includes full visual instructions. Check out www.alldata.com, for $24 you can have access to all of the TSBs and recalls for your vehicle. You can then print them out and give them to whomever you want to do the work.

I have a pair of RayBan polarized, I think they're called Highstreet metal square wrap or something...

Cracking wheels is very common on the LS, only way to fix it is to replace it.

Ah okay! Scared me ;) Actually that black is black paint and confirmed what I already assumed, your car does not have a clearcoat (most Lexus black does not). Any product with abrasives or solvents will remove paint. When a car is clearcoated you don't get any color transfer to the polishing medium (towel, pad etc) because the paint you're removing is clear (the clearcoat). Whenever you have color transfer that is the color of the car (in your case black) then it means the car is single stage paint and has no clearcoat. What this means to you is that the surface damage you see on the hood roof and trunk can probably be removed, if not with a PC than by a professional with a rotary buffer. To the untrained eye it probably looks like clearcoat failure which is why the bodyshop guy told you a repaint was needed. It also however means that the car is going to be more difficult to care for as single stage black is THE SOFTEST and EASIEST TO SCRATCH paint there is because carbon (one of the softest elements) is used in the pigment. So proper washing and good microfiber towels are going to be really important. As for the duster, I wouldnt use it if the car has been rained on or if there are bonded contaminants in the paint. Its great for dust, pollen and the like.

Nobody has any thoughts huh? I called the Lexus dealer and he thought it was very strange. He said what I already know, that usually when you have grinding brakes the rain actually LESSENS the grinding as it acts as a lubricant. He suggested I drive it a few more days and see if it returns, if it does he'll replace the front brakes and claim it under the vibration TSB and see what that does. Dry today, no grinding. Washed the car, no grinding.

I'm going to reply to this here, as it also involves a tech question but you should check out our detailing forum and e-store, LOTS of good information and great products in there. 1. The Lexus leather products are simply rebadged Zymol products that can be purchased at Target, Wal Mart, Advance Auto Parts etc. They're good products, not great. I actually reccomend making a simple solution of Woolite detergent and water dilluted 5:1 and use that to clean the seats. The seats are coated so you can't really condition them, and the Wollite solution will clean them and leave them nice and soft. 2. Sure go right ahead! 3. I suggest you don't use anything to clean the headliner. The headliner is really just a felt with padding underneath glued to the roof. If the headliner gets wet then it can fall down VERY easily. Once it starts to fall down then it spreads like a cancer and becomes a real problem. 4. There is a TSB out on all 97-04 ES' that involves the type of bumper hook used to nestle the windshield and the rear glass to the car, this rattles. The dealership will simply remove these clips and the noise should go away. 5. The mechanic is more or less right, it is difficult to make the steering wheel straight if you're not willing to spend 15 minutes on it. There's a TSB on this out as well. The alignment is fine they simply have to loosen and reposition the wheel. You could even do this yourself.

Its totally up to you what to use, both will look great. In my experience the Collinite lasts longer than the NXT.

Blake- I wouldn't use a "scraper" to get rid of the pollen ;) What you need is a california car duster, they work awesome, ESPECIALLY on pollen. I use mine everyday the car is clean before I back out of the garage. http://www.lexuscarcare.com/vk-110.html For $20 sure, replace the cluster lens. I figured it'd be a lot more than that... The Lexus black is probably single stage meaning it may LOOK like it needs to be painted but in reality it doesn't. Did you get any black on your pads when using the AIO?

They SHOULD fit but you may require spacers in the front.

Well said on all counts I think. It comes down to this, certainly no harm is being done to the vehicle by using synthetic oil and regularly changing fluids, so if it makes the owner feel better, then its money well spent even if it does nothing to the car. The synthetic oil debate is as old as internet forums themselves (and older). EVERY car forum has a synthetic oil debate, and most are hundreds or even thousands of posts long...

I wouldn't expect that buffer to be able to remove sanding haze. I'd just hit it with the DACP and see how it does. Work the DACP until its almost gone at high speed on small sections. I'd follow it with the Color X applied the same way.

Actually paste metal polish works GREAT on headlights...

Wowo! What a transformation!

Collinite is definately a carnuaba. We sell the PC buffer for $199 but that includes the backing plate, a cutting pad, a polishing pad, and a finishing pad. I've seen the PC as low as $130, but then you have to buy a $20 backing plate and the three $15 pads so its a decent deal, one stop shopping.

Blake- Looks great! Can you post some close up pictures of the hood and roof for me? I don't think it needs new paint, it came out so well... I dunno about that body shop, you PMed me with him saying he doesn't buff or compound which can't be true as you HAVE to buff and compound new paint to make it smooth, its part of the bodywork process. I think he's just trying to get the $3,000 out of you. You may want to try some Novus plastic polish on that instrument cluster and see if you can get rid of some of that hazing.

I think comparing the GS to the Maxima is foolish, you're talking about two totally different types of cars in two totally different price classes...

Actually Infinitis are slightly more reliable than Lexus' based on the latest dependability studies. Infiniti is #1 in both 3 year and 5 year dependability and Lexus is #2. That place is only reversed in initial quality where Lexus is #1 and Infiniti is #2. The Q45 really doesn't compare to the LS. Its nowhere near as well engineered and its built to a budget, which the LS is not. I drove a lot of Q45s both used and new and compared them to LS400s and LS430s and the two cars really are completely different.

Good touchup is really an art form. A detail shop by me is soo good at it they charge $150 a chip. BUT you'd never know it was there. How happy you'll be with the touchup also depends on the color, silver and that oyster pearl are the hardest to touch up, white is the easiest. You've got to be patient with the pen and just keep putting those layers in there.

Stevie- Yep our stickers are static cling and go INSIDE the doors ;) I'll have Matt send you some. There are several styles. Bran- BUT is that mental anguish worth taking a bath on trading it in? Driving a used car vs one used by you since new? Adding on extra payments? Not for me, not for superficial damage like that. If the car were in a severe highspeed accident maybe, but not for damage like that.

That hesitation is NOT the infamous transmission lag. Thats because of the electronic throttle and is present on ALL Lexus vehicles. There's no way to fix it.

The ContiPremiers are the ContiPremiums, it seems Continental changed the name. Thats them though. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compare1.jsp...ng=ZR&x=11&y=13