SW03ES

Last time I checked we didnt have Lexus as State Trooper vehicles here in MD lol. They're either Crown Victorias or Explorers, all of them. They're also not silver, they're ALWAYS dark green and black.

LOL, I think it all had to do with keeping up with the Joneses, Lexus, BMW, Mercedes all used alphanumerical names.

No...they pulled the switcheroo on you. Two VINs means two vehicles. The one thats coming is not the one they said you'd be getting. Could mean they never ordered it (my guess) or they ordered the wrong car (happened to me).

If this stuff works like people say it does, then this is something everybody who lives where it snows, or in an apartment, or wherever hoses aren't a plenty has simply got to have. Its a product called Protect All Quick and Easy Wash. Now, supposedly with two capfuls of this stuff, a gallon of water, a wash mitt and a microfiber towel you can wash any car anywhere without a hose. Think about how cool this would be for those of us who dont want to use carwashes during the winter but can't stand hose washing when its 30 degrees out. You can wash the car in a garage or in a parking space. How cool is that? Supposedly it creates no suds and envelops the dirt and encapsulates it in solution. You just dip the mitt in the bucket, wipe down a panel, dry it off with the towel. The polarized nature of the product supposedly even pushes the dirt down to the bottom of the bucket so the water never gets dirty. People have said its a little scary to use the first time (seems like washing with only water) but the sources that I'm hearing say its totally safe. Several of them are pros, one of them uses it to wash Bentleys, Lambos, the works. A lot of them dont even hose wash anymore... I ordered it this week and it should be here any day, I'll post a review once I've used it but I'm fairly confident that it will be a fantastic product...

My knowledge and expertise are surpassed I promise, but I'm happy to share what I've got! Same goes to you if you're in D.C. ;)

No problem Touring I'm more than happy to help!

Hope it works well for you

Excellent! Remember, dont let it dry. Wipe on wipe right off.

Get Smart starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon (she played agent 99) Great show lol, produced and created by Mel Brooks.

Agreed. One of the great automotive blunders has to be Acura dropping the name "Legend". For one thing, the "Legend" had more name recognition than "Acura" itself. Even today I talk to people who ask me what ever happened to the "Legend". Something that Acura will never recover from, even IF the next RL is badged the Legend (which I hear it will not be). I wouldnt hold your breath about AWD or RWD either, I'm hearing it will remain FWD just like the TL. Everyone hoped the next TL would at least be AWD, no go. Acura and Infiniti both will always be a cut below Lexus who plays with the big boys. Not for lack of being a good car. My parents just got a new FX35 and its an awesome car, way more fun and interesting then anything Lexus sells, cheaper too with more equipment but it'll never have the name recognition. You say "I drive an Acura" or "an Infiniti" and people look at you funny, most people dont even know how to spell Infiniti, but Lexus always gets that recognition. Even from people that hate it. People dont hate things that they have no respect for. It takes a certain amount of respect or fear (fear is a type of respect) to drive people to hate. Nobody hates an Acura or an Infiniti, but there are plenty that hate Lexus. "Mercedes" "BMW" "Lexus" they're all symbols of wealth. The names have a cache that go with them, Acura and Infiniti have no such symbolism or cache. They may stand for quality, but so does Toyota. I remember when I was shopping for the Lexus, I brought the Acura TL home one day for my fiance to look at (my mother was there too) niether one of them know anything about cars and the first words from each of them "I thought you wanted a luxury car?" no joke. The Acura didnt come across to them that way at all. The Lexus however got a much different reaction.

Rattles in the doors on the ES are a common problem. Its caused by the design of the sound absorption material it gets loose and rattles around especially when its cold. Call Lexus, you'll get a free loaner and they'll secure the sound absorption material repairing the rattles. The moonroof is also a common problem with ALL Lexus vehicles, the dealership will clean the seal and apply some lithium grease and that noise will be gone. Rearview is news to me, however I'm sure Lexus can fix that one too. As for the ride, the ride of all Lexus vehicles is very dependent on the tires installed and their inflation. On something like a Lincoln you can put any old tires on the car and it really doesn't make a difference, but the Lexus isn't like that. It needs good well balanced tires inflated properly. What PSI do you run in the tires? Lexus specified 29PSI and I feel that is the best pressure. A couple pounds to heavy and it rides rough, a couple pounds too light and it rides rough. I check my tires weekly to make sure I'm always getting the optimum ride. Lexus dealers and all garages always over inflate the tires, this is probably the issue. Also, the ES can come with one of three sets of tires. If you live where it doesnt snow then you get Toyo Proxes summer tires. If you live where it snows like I do you get either Michelin Energy MXV4s or Bridgestone Potenza PE92s. If you got the Michelins good for you, great tires they cost $150 a peice to replace. Good smooth quiet tires. If you got the Bridgestones then like me you got screwed, they're some of the loudest, harshest, lowest rated tires in their class. With some new tires it'll ride perfect, but even keeping the Bridgestones inflated properly makes a huge difference. Lexus has a knack for putting the crappiest tires on their cars. Why, I'll never understand. Have you had the car since new? Did it ride right for you then? What I see a lot in Lexus owners is they get used to how the car rides and it no longer impresses them until they drive something else. Whenever I get back into my car after driving something else I'm ASTOUNDED by how beautifully it drives. I also know people who just expect too much, it is a machine and it isn't totally silent, but it sounds like you aren't one of those people... Definately check those tires and definately get Lexus to look at the door rattles, they should be well aware of the problem. They'll offer you two options, remove the offending sound absorption material or secure it with something like electrical or duct tape. You want them to secure it. I think once Lexus takes care of that and you get the tires inflated right you'll be a lot happier with it. Welcome to the club!

Drive a Camry and drive an ES300, they're very different automobiles. For one thing the only body part shared between the two are the door handles. Only interior components are some minor switchgear shared between all Toyota vehicles, and they share the same navigation unit that folds down. Different transmission, different gear ratios, different suspension components and underpinnings. Plus on the Camry no Mark Levinson option, no Lexus warranty or service, and no Lexus prestige. All said, the ES isn't even that much more money than a loaded Camry, and IMHO that money is very well spent. Plus, the Camry is made here and the ES is made in Japan, totally different plants. In fact in Japan the Windom (our ES) and the Camry are sold alongside each other badged as Toyotas. They're different enough to warrant being sold side by side under the same nameplate. The Japanese dont do redundency. Overall only about 25% of the ES' components come from the Camry. I liked the ES so much and thought maybe I could get away and save some cash with a Loaded Camry, its nowhere near as smooth quiet or solid feeling as the ES. You will get teased by a couple know it alls that will say its just a Camry (they'll say that about any Lexus, not just an ES) just smile and realize what they're ignorance causes them to miss out on. Another reason for the spread of disinformation is Toyota salespeople will tell customers the Camry and the ES are the same car to sell them on the "value". Trust me, they're very different vehicles. They share a platform. Thats all. Same platform as the RX330, Sienna, Solara, Avalon, Highlander. They're NOT the same car any more than an RX330 and an ES330 are. Platform sharing is very common in the car industry, it just so happens Lexus and GM get the most flack for it.

Yeah the Meguiars swirl remover is very mild. I think you would also do well to order the DACP also as you might now or down the line need the extra bite. I've never used Blackfire but I've heard its an excellent product, carnuaba look that is quite durable. Poorboys EX is an excellent product as well.

What type of swirl remover did you use and what type of pads? What you're probably looking at is oxidation, and oxidation is something that an abrasive swirl remover is going to have a hard time removing. Something like Klasse All in One or Poorboys Pro Polish are great on oxidation. On top of that a "swirl remover" like Meguiars #9 or #82 or 3M SMR for Dark or Light cars isn't very abrasive. Generally I use those products as either finishing step products or not at all when removing swirls. You might want to look towards something like Meguiars #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish or the 3M Perfect It line of abrasive polishes. I have great luck with DACP and 3M PI-III-MG. Here's what I would do. Wash Clay AIO or PPP with a polishing pad DACP with a Yellow pad 3M PI-III with a white pad PPP (If you choose it) with a white pad Wax.

Its all a matter of preference. As long as you follow the correct basic steps (cleaner, polish, protectant) there are thousands of different combinations of products you can use. Some are better than others, but thats really all opinion. If you're waxing it for the first time in a while you really need to prep the surface otherwise you're not going to get very good results. If you decide you do want to use the Collinite you would use it on top of the EX. The Collinite IS a carnuaba wax, its not a polymer sealant or a sealing glaze. The Collinite simply contains some of the polymers and resins that make a polymer sealant so durable. You would want to wash, clay, Poorboys Polish, EX and then top with Collinite (or any other pure non-cleaner carnuaba wax) if you wish. The reason Collinite is so hot around here right now is that its winter and its really durable stuff.

Oh its a very nice car, I just agree its not up to par with the LS. With the discounts and deals they run on them I shopped it next to my ES300, still picked the Lexus.

I think its a fake but still funny lol

And the nav updates can be had for arund $300 if you find them wholesale somewhere and install them yourself. Even though its a hard drive system its fairly easy to do. The LS isn't expensive to maintain at all as long as you dont have it serviced at the dealer. No reason to. Find a good independent mechanic that services Japanese cars, buy genuine Toyota parts online at wholesale prices (remember Lexus marks EVERYTHING (including bulk oil) up as much as 300%). Places abound on the Internet where you can buy parts from people willing to deal with a reasonable profit margin. My Lexus dealer charges $19 a quart for synthetic oil that can be had elsewhere for $5.30. Lexus CD magazine? $80 at the dealer $25 online. Lexus dealer should be used for warranty work only unless its worth it to you to pay extra to get the free loaner or the pickup/dropoff service (to some people it is).

To be honest, I would rent something just because its bound to be better in the snow than the LS. Have you driven it in the snow? It doesnt like to be driven in the snow... As for salt like others have said its not that big a deal as long as you do a real thorough cleaning when you get back. The Collinite wax is excellent at resisting the salt. Its nasty as hell here today and I sprayed my car off real well at a self serve spray booth just tonight.

If I'm not mistaken R&T was able to do under 6 with the GS400... I remember reading that not long after the GS came out, could be wrong though. For the LS however Lexus states it is "Electronically limited to 149mph".

The RL is a better comparison vehicle to the ES than the LS.

The Acura isn't up to par with Lexus in general, let alone the LS. I seriously looked at it, but next to the ES and the LS it was like night and day.

Lexus says it was 149...

Don't buy it, the vehicle still comes standard with H rated tires. They wouldnt put H rated tires on a car that can do 160. The car would need Z rated tires. Now, maybe its possible with the new sport package but I doubt it. I find it seriously hard to believe that Lexus would go to the expense of deigning two completely different ECUs for the sport/nonsport model. It would also mean that the sport model was not ULEV, which it is. It is impossible that the vehicle is goverened above 131MPH. You can print any picture on Kodak paper for $.70, even digitally enhanced ones. If its legitimate then he should have no problem, if its not then I agree he won't let you. Suggest to him that he join. Even BMWs wont do 160. Very few cars on the american market that aren't goverened or that are governed over 150MPH. Thats precisely why Lexus governed the original LS400 at 149, because thats where Mercedes and BMW were governed.

I didnt see anyone say their Lexus was worthless... Oh Lextech, a dealership here has a service demo LS400 with over 500k. If you maintain it properly, the cars will last a long....long time.