SW03ES

Yeah but theres got to be someone who runs the show, sometimes its the owner but then he's the "Owner/General Manager". Next time you call ask to speak to the owner.

Ow thats ugly, but not as bad as it could have been. Racer's brother's damage is worse because it compromised the fenderwell. No PDR guy is going to touch that mainly because its: 1. So close to the edge of the panel. They loose the ability to access within 3/4 of an inch or so. This isn't the case on newer Lexus as PDR experts helped with the design of the panels so they'd be easily accessable. 2. The panel is creased in several places, similar to a crumple. Basically PDR is only for dings and plain dents and works best at the center of a panel. They probably wont have to replace the fender, they'll pound it out, smooth and grind it, then paint and blend it into the hood and door. My guess probably $900 or so, couple hundred more if they have to replace the panel. You got some bald tires on that thing!

Yep, started in 2001. The UL package includes the air suspension and is NOT AVAILIABLE with the euro suspension.

They don't have a general manager? Huh? I do business with car dealerships for a living and EVERY dealership has a general manager. Maybe he's just not called the "GM" but has a different title, but ask to speak to whomever runs the show. They just tried to blow you off. Someone has to be in charge...

$350 including shipping = sold. Snap that puppy up.

There is absolutely no reason to worry about servicing the car where you purchase it. In fact, there is no reason to service it at any Lexus dealer and pay their rediculous prices, as long as you keep your reciepts you can service it anywhere you want, or service it yourself. I bought my Lexus at a dealer 40 miles away and either serivce it elsewhere or use Lexus dealers closer and I have experienced no difference in treatment just because I didnt buy the car there.

I read the forums at XMFan.com all the time

But then why is the "commonly held belief" that FWD is superior in the snow? Like I said before, RWD may be best for trained and very experienced drivers, but I feel FWD is better all around for people that don't know as much what they're doing.

The GS is also much bigger and 6-700 pounds heavier than the A4, plus there are lots of A4 models, the 1.8T the 3.0, the FWD and the AWD models. I'd guess that on the whole the A4 is quicker simply because its lighter and the GS300 isn't especially quick.

90- His car has 230,000 miles on it ;) I say buy the seat blake. Does he have the armrest too, its really easy to replace. I say go for it. As for the indents in the seat, they may very well go away, and a leatherique treatment will help that along a lot as it really smoothes out the leather. I see cars a lot That have people put breifcases and bags on seats and they look like that, but it does go away. What is he charging for the seat? As for replacing all the covers with new covers from an aftermarket company like Katskin you can do that, but its probably gonna cost $1000 or so. The seats will look band new though. 99- Thanks for the vote of confidence about being the authority! :D

ES- Keep looking on TireRack, they sell the ContiPremiums in the ES' size. Why am I interested in the ContiPremiums? They look like a good smooth tire and thats what I'm looking for. One thing about the results on TireRack about them, there are only 35,000 miles reported so the results may be skewed. Its not uncommon for tires on there to have 12-15 million miles reported and that always settles the survey results down.

Sure, the input isn't going to be as good as running a line, but its better than the FM modulator and you don't loose your CD Changer...

I still disagree with the assessment of RWD being better in the snow than FWD. Perhaps for trained and very experienced drivers, but for the 95% of drivers that are niether of these things I think the unpredictability of RWD loses out to the predictability of FWD...

I reccomend 303 Aerospace Protectant and 1Z Cockpit Premium, both of them are sold at www.lexuscarcare.com

Yes, if you have the nav system and you have the 6 disc in the console and the one disk in the dash behind the nav screen then you can run the XM straight through the input for that CD Changer. You will loose the ability to use the CD changer, but you'll have all the added programming on XM (with CD quality digital sound) and the one disk in the dash. ANOTHER option I've seen done is they actually hard install the tape adapter in, and hide the cord that comes out so it looks perfect. You get almost digital quality music and don't loose the CD Changer. With the ES w/ nav it would be perfect because the tape deck is concealed underneath the nav screen. Unfortunately the ES330s dont have tape decks. As for Sirius vs. XM, my only fear there is that while Sirius may be rated better they're definately the underdog, its a sort of Mac vs PC deal. I'd be afraid Sirius would go under and my equipment would be useless. Plus XM has made some changes (commercial free now) to kind of deliver the final blow to Sirius.

The nav systems always seem to give funky directions when looking at areas you know well already, mainly because it computes the route based on speed limit and physical distance, and doesn't have the benefit of the experience a driver has in an area it knows well. You'll like it a lot more in unfamilliar territory

Jeff- You noticed torque steer in the G35? You sure? The G35 is RWD. Lexfreak- The only issue with the New GS3 for modders is the fact that they're pulling the inline 6 from the Supra that has all the aftermarket support underneath it and replacing it probably with the 3.3 liter V6 which has little to no aftermarket support.

Not really, its an entirely new formulation. Its a really unique product and unlike anything I've used before, I think you'll like it.

I dont know, I had a brand new ES330 as a loaner with the upgraded HP and it had light to moderate torque steer, where my ES300 has none whatsoever. Lexus has been reluctant to get into the HP wars, and I believe its incredibly unlikely that you're going to see a supercharger on the GS. Lexus hasn't been interested in competing with the AMG and M models because they're not after that kind of niche market. And the AWD will NOT be aviliable on the GS430 only on the GS300 in 2006.

This is a detail I recently did for a customer, its a 1996 Mazda 626 with 155,000 miles. It was in HORRENDUS condition. I mean really really bad. I did the following: 1. Wash 2. Clay 3. Meguiars DACP polish with cutting pad and PC 4. Meguiars NXT Tech Wax with PC and finishing pad. Now usually you'd probably need another step in between the DACP and any final wax or sealant, but with NXT it wasn't neccisary as its basically two steps in one (best one step product I've ever used). Here are some pics. Before: After: Now obviously the bulk of the transformation was the claying, the polishing and the plain grunt work of scrubbing out the wheel wells etc, but the NXT really helped to bring out the last bit of life this paint had left...

Just wanted to post my findings after trying two new products from Meguiars. 1. NXT Tech Wax is Meguiars new consumer line of polymer sealant. It has some light cleaners and is quite good at temporarily hiding and filling scratches and swirls. Really a great and easy to use product that gives the novice detailer a much better one step result than anything else out there. 2. NXT Tech Protectant is from the NXT line and is their new tire/rubber dressing. It is also a great product, dries quick with a matte shine. You can get the whole NXT line at any auto store.

They're the same platform, about 20% of the ES' components come from the Camry (no body panels or interior components, just some structural peices and the engine which will soon also be in the GS and the IS). The RX is also on the Camry platform. What I didnt understand was the point of your statement.

And what car doesn't share a resemblence to another car somewhere, you can only be so original with the exact same basic design (3 box, hood, passenger compartment, trunk).

That was the whole point of the Platinum edition, the "Platinum" stood for the Platinum American Express card. If you look at the Platinum badges the font and background are the same as a platinum AMEX card. American Express and Lexus do a lot of partnerships. If you're an AMEX member and a Lexus owner you get all kinds of special promotions, double membership rewards points for Lexus service etc.

Huh?