SW03ES

Nope, its supposed to be totally flat and straight. There isn't enough support in there so over time the eurathane sags.

Sanding too?!?!? Oh man, be really careful Amanda. Sanding a car is a VERY delicate procedure that requires a lot of products and machines to bring the finish back up to gloss afterwards, products and machines frankly you dont have. Products I dont have like a rotary polisher. I wouldn't come within 100 feet of my car with spray paint or sanding supplies no matter what the blemish. Its your choice though. If it really bothers you try talking to a body shop about airbrushing... And the AutoSharpPen site is talking about a complete sanding and repaint of the entire panel.

There's a Mothers kit you can buy at autozone that has a nice little bar. It'll come with a bottle of Quick Detailer to use as a lube. Usually the way people clay is they start with a dry car, spray on the QD, clay, and wipe dry. I think that is tedious, thats why I wash the car, rinse it, then soap each panel again as I clay, rinse again THEN dry. Dont have to dry twice, and the soap lubricates the claybar better than the QD. Its really easy to do.

Dawn actually wont remove a sealant, but it will remove wax. Yes, dont wash all the time with dawn, only this first time.

The idea of spraypainting a chip is entirely foreign to me, never even heard anyone consider it before... I'll have to mention it on Autopia and see what they say...

I'm not at all knowledgeable about audio so I suppose what you're saying could be correct. I've just always heard from people in the business, reviewers and such that while the factory systems in the Lexus (the Nakamichi and the Mark Levinson) are without a doubt the best stock systems out there, the aftermarket holds even better components.

I've never heard of spraying paint chips on the car yourself before. Pros use airbrushes to touch up chips, but I've never encountered anyone doing this until now... I've used normal paint to touch up a metallic silver LS400 with good results, and the pen to touch up my VERY metallic ES with great results, you just have to be careful. If you go ahead with the spraying, you're gonna need this www.langka.com And actually, white touches up very poorly, even more poorly then metallic cars because white darkens quickly as the car ages. White is also the hardest color to do bodywork on, its almost impossible to make the paint match. I have a white Explorer.

What he's talking about is the bar that makes up the very bottom of the mumper, see how it sags in the middle?

Thats really common on the old ESs

Please post in our Lexus Dealer review system! Link is on the top of the forum page.

Mine were all over the place too Alan, I also run them around 29-30. Spraying on touchup paint? I dont reccomend it lol. I think you'll be.....quite upset with the result. Check this thing out: www.autosharppen.com

Check it out guys: http://wieck.com/public/*wieck_search?ws4d...&URL=index.html Just keep scrolling through the pages, also shows the new navigation system. Sharp...

The GS wheels will fit the LS, but I dont believe the RX or ES wheels will because they wont clear the calipers, the RX and ES are FWD.

You can still easily do better on a quality (not loudness) scale with aftermarket components. I'm perfectly happy with the ML though.

I missed the part about the fuel and oil additives. You dont want to use those, either of them. Modern gas has plenty of detergents in it, no need to add anything. As for the oil, anything that would improve its performance would be in it already.

Does the hesitation bother you? if not, then I wouldnt get the transmission update. As for the moonroof, what was broken about it?

Well no, its not "neccisary" just like its not neccisary to buy Exxon gas over "John Cheapo" gas. I truly believe that synthetic oil is better for the car, i think it resists sludging (which is a problem in the ES) has a higher (synthetic) breakdown temp, and it flows better. I use it. If you want them to use synthetic oil, then take it with you, just make sure they dont charge you for oil.

My dad gets a company car up to $40,000 every 3 years or 50,000 miles. He's driving an LS400 now that conveniently came off lease when they initiated the program, so he just let them buy it off lease but now its time for a new one. I keep trying to talk him into letting them buy him an ES330, because honestly the only thing I think you loose over the LS is the power, a little rear seat room and some prestige (although in my experience 80% of people see "Lexus" and its all the same, they dont know its not a $65,000 car) but he's still hung up on the "flagship" bit and it going to cut a deal with his company to go halfsies on a new LS430. Seeing that I own my company, I'm viewing mine as a company car I gave myself lol

This is one thing that I've never really been comfortable doing myself. I do let a detailer do it from time to time though... Most people use a neutral cleaner like Simple Green that wont harm plastic parts, then spray down and go to work with a rag.

By hand you might want to swap Meguiars Scratch X for the SMR, the SMR will work fine though. You can apply it with a microfiber or terry towel and remove with a microfiber. I just got some Scratch X and find that it works better than Meguiars SMR by hand. Only thing, you have the wax and sealant backwards. The sealant wont bond onto the finish if its already been waxed, thats the purpose of the dawn wash, to remove the old wax and let the sealant bond. You should seal with a couple layers, then wax it with the P21S. Good luck!

Try calling them...they may just not have it on its website.

Dont wax in circles! You'll put swirl marks in the paint. You should wax up and down in straight lines also. Also just a tip, I simply wash the car once, rinse, then soap each panel again so I can clay that way as opposed to using a spray lube, its a lot easier.

Awesome. Unfortunately they've stopped making the Pioneer controller! So I'll have to see what else they have. I've seen some sweet installs from Circuit City/Best Buy etc too, but I've also seen bad ones. Its a crapshoot really. Thanks!

Like for instance, my dad has a 98 LS400 he's had since new that I've always loved. Its what made me want a Lexus. When I was shopping for mine, I almost got a 2000 LS with 30k miles instead of a new ES. now, the 98 and 00 LS are exactly the same, no changes. There was a Platinum Edition in 00, but thats it and this car was the same. Except for the color it was identical to my dad's. However, it was just better! For one, the motor in the power tilt wheel had been improved to be better. Now, before I drove the 00 the motor in the 98 seemed fine. They improved something that wasn't the best, but the driver didnt even know needed improving. Just a little example/

Yep, all LS wheels are interchangeable from all years.