SW03ES

Oh, well then we agree ;)

Alan- This is a quote right off of the website you linked to ;) They advocate driving carefully, but not idling to warm up.

The LS is certainly the technological and performance equal or even superior to the S and 7. It all depends on who you're talking to. Benz and BMW people will snicker at the Lexus, but I've found that the dream of affluence includes a "Lexus" even more than it does a Benz or BMW nowadays. Just something I've noticed listening to people speak, what car is referred to when talking about wealth etc. I'll give you some examples: Lexus references abound in TV skits about affluence, public speeches on the subject of affluence and in movies. Moreso than BMW or Benz. They show BMWs and Benzes, but the TALK is more often of Lexus. They were going to allow people to pay to enter the HOV lanes here. The news media dubbed it "The Lexus lane" because it would appeal only to the rich. Not the "BMW lane or the Benz Lane". I can think of several TV shows about affluent families that drive Lexuses. The Hughleys for instance, D.L. Hughley's character drives an LS400. And just dealing with people I know. I know a Sociologist who wrote and entire paper called "The Dual Lexus Family" there's a book called "The Lexus and the Olive Tree".

The Lexus an old mans car? Only to someone who feels high quality, a silent ride with plenty of power and features at an undercutting price is something only old men enjoy. My dad just got an 04 and I've driven it several times, its a fantastic car. Nothing "old manish" about it., Its not some wallowing Lincoln or Caddy, its a highline luxury car. In a few years (maybe 2006) when I'm in a better position to afford one I'll trade up, and I'm only 22.

Thats exactly what I'm saying. The higher shift points warm the car up faster, you want to get to optimum operating temp as quickly as possible as 99% of engine wear happens while the engine is cold. It takes 2-3 times longer for the motor to warm up when idling then when being driven.

The Lexol isn't going to restore the seats. Might be worthwhile to try something like Leatherique though... Katskin makes a beautiful leather interior. They can also do a lot of custom stuff like stitching and piping etc.

I actually disagree. Thats the best part about coated leather, just keep it clean and you really dont have to condition it much. Some have found over conditioning wears away the protective coating.

Thats what I do, CWB followed by a waffle weave, then a finishing towel and a QD.

VB- The place I bought my 476 from sells IW by the bottle so you dont have to buy it by the case. Check them out, www.autofanatics.com. Did the Collinite detail, went very well, extremely pleased with the results we'll see how it holds up to abuse. I'm going to do one more coat tomorrow.

I lost 1,000 posts myself! If you look around the forums theres an explanation of what happened. The database got corrupted on the end of our ISP, and the forum database and all of the backups back to Sept 15th were lost. we're going to live and learn and stop relying on the ISP to do our backups for us in the future. By next week everything will be back to normal I'm sure. Matt and the other admins are feverishly working to restore all aspects of the site, this happened all across the LOC network, the US site, the UK site, the NZ site, the Toyota site...

Actually the insurance company MUST pay for ALL OEM parts when repairing your car. It is a federal law. If you specify that you want OEM parts (including the windshield) then they must pay for it. You're not required to come out of pocket. This is relatively recent and comes from a lawsuit involving State Farm Insurance Co. Just tell them you want OEM glass, they wont say I word I promise you. Make sure you take it to a highly reccomended glass shop acf ;)

I agree with Alan. The "D" position is overdrive. Shift it into 4 and back to D if there is no change in the tach readings, then the car is not going into overdrive.

Thats because you have coated leather, nothing conditions it much ;)

Ditto what all have said. Don't let the car warm up at all, start and drive. Modern cars are not designed to be warmed up this is a common misconception. It is better for the engine if you just take off. It'll be fully warm in a mile or two.

3100RPMs at 70MPH is not normal for a car with as much power and a 5 speed auto like the ES. If we were talking about a Manual Volkswagen that would be one thing, but 3100 RPM is WAY too high for the ES...

Better safe than sorry. I think the EX will last, but I'd have to re-apply it a couple of times during the winter. The Collinite sounds like the perfect solution.

I'm the one that told you that. I know people who have had the steering wheel replaced because of the cracking. They didn't know anything about it? Maybe it was only during the standard warranty period they would replace them and I misunderstood... I'll find out for you and post back.

How do you manage that Steve? What were you getting before the K&N filter?

They're really thick headed about the detail. The reason being thats one question on the Lexus Customer Service Index survey and if so much as one question is marked not acceptible they fail the whole survey. That CSI rating dictates their finance rates, car allotment, lots of things. Thats what I do for a living, I teach car dealerships how to get higher CSI ratings. You have to tell them if the car is detailed you will mark the cleanliness as not acceptable on the survey, if its not detailed as you asked, then the survey will be perfect.

Actually thats rough! That car isn't nearly as loaded as my father's, his has the Ultra Luxury package. That car is around $63,000 here...

Its not going to run as free as a manual when you come off the gas...

Yeah my dad's was right over $70,000 fully loaded 04. Its a beautiful car, best riding and driving car on the road no question.

Thats quite good mileage. I get between 18-20.

DON'T let them clay it, do that yourself its VERY easy. Just follow the instructions here and on Autopia. Claying is easy, but its also fairly easy to damage the car and you dont want them to do that. Congrats on the car! Hey alan, check out the detailing forum (if the threads are still there ) the plastic bag test checks for bonded contaminants in the paint. Claying is the only way to remove those contaminants. You just use carwash soap as a lubricant and slide the detailing clay along the paint surface. Afterwards the paint will be smooth as glass.

It could have been a lot worse. Apparently the hosting company was supposed to be backing up the site. If Steve didn't have this backup from Sept. 14th himself, we'd be SOL...