mhawkin1

R&B - glad you got a kick out of my post. I must say, Steve has given me a lot of sound advice since my joining this sight.

No they didn't. If they had done it right they would have matched and tinted the color and painted the entire hood. They only painted the edge and blended yours up into the top of the hood. Even that is okay, but for yours they didn't step the blend out far enough over the hood...so you noticed a change in color. They did a crappy job, which unfortunately a lot of body shops...especially dealer shops...do You are correct on all of the abovementioned fronts (and possibly a bit terse in your delivery :) ); I asked the dealer specifically to touch up a small chip and not sand anything, which I had in writing. They chose to sand and paint a portion of the hood and then lied about the repair. This all happened before I took delivery, thus I had a firm foot to stand on requesting the hood swap when I realized what they actually did during the repair. It’s the same paint, and now with modern paint booths it’s applied the same way. No difference. Are you saying they put the car in an airtight booth (so no particulates are in the air) and a machine powder coats/clear coats the affected areas exactly as they do in the Lexus manufacturing plant? Am I wrong to assume a human is painting the car? If I am incorrect in my assumptions, I apologize. If I am correct, human's and machines do not always result in the same application of paint. Regardless, there is no way I would have accepted a new Lexus with a hood that was repaired, even if that repair was limited to paint.

I should also point out that my car had 0 miles on it when the damage occurred. In hindsight, I should probably have refused delivery. It sounds like you have a good attitude about the whole thing. Keep us posted.

SW03ES always has a little bit more sound advice than I do and he tends to speak logically, whereas I have a more emotional stance. By all means, I would listen to him. With that said Lexus did repaint my hood using all of those fancy new techniques you all mentioned – I looked at it closely and did not realize it wasn’t perfect until two months later in the beaming sunlight at a certain angle. My concern is that I have had cars with aftermarket paint and the paint did match perfectly, initially. The paint did not wear the same as factory paint in the long run. To each his own on this issue, but if it were my car - there would be a clip being removed from another car. My hood, from the other car in Starfire - matches perfectly. (My dealer also had to pluck a front clip from another Starfire 350 because when my car came in the other dealer had installed the front plate - it also matches perfectly. I think the factory paint mixtures match pretty well if I can’t tell the difference.)

I am sorry to say I have a very similar story. When my dealer f'ed up my hood I made them pull a hood from one of thier new cars in the same color so I would not have aftermarket paint on my brand new car. I would have them pull the bumper clip from one of their new cars that is your color, put it on yours and make them fix the other car and put that 'repaired' car in their loaner program. I had to consult with my attorney before they would do this with mine. There is no way I would be happy with aftermarket paint on my new Lexus; aftermarket paint is not the same in my opinion.

LOL - my car rattles every time I close the trunk as well. Guess I will put that one on my list for my 10,000 service. Yes, LIST. Matt

This happened on my starfire 350 - I had the chip touched up and the entire front covered in a clear bra. 6,000 miles later – not another chip. I feel a clear bra is a must with this particular model.

Can you restate your question?

I am not sure if the satellite radio was XM or Sirius - but the quality seemed fantastic to me. So, you are saying the $700 sounds reasonable and consistent with other dealerships?

Last week I had a loaner car with satellite radio, when I returned the car I inquired about the activation of the satellite radio. The dealership told me it would be $500 for the parts and $200+ for installation. They did not mention a monthly charge. Is this standard? It sounds a little pricy to me since my car has a satellite radio button, which I assumed meant the service just needed to be activated? Any insight would be appreciated.

Look very closely for chips and or scuffs. My 350 had a small chip and it turned into a three ring circus trying to remedy the problem to everyone's satisfaction (i.e. swapping hoods as to not have aftermarket paint, et cetera.) Clearly my experience was not common at all; yours should be enjoyable.

Thanks rjt65! I must say - after seeing the pictures of the 350 without the emblems and my partner’s reaction to the emblem issue..... I think mine will probably stay on the car!

Is there an easy way to remove the ‘Lexus’ and ‘ES 350’ from the trunk of the ES? I saw a new LS without rear emblems and it looked really nice. The emblems just collect dirt and wax in my opinion. If I could easily remove them and keep them for the next owner I would probably do so. Thanks -

How long have you owned your ES 300? What exactly is 'a ton' of work? The Lexus dealer always seems to give me a nicer car than I have when my car goes in..... good marketing ploy! Do they keep up the unbelievable service when you own an older car? I wondered if I was getting special treatment because I just bought the car, if not that is great news!

I would contact your dealer - I think a circus monkey could push the button correctly. ;)

#1 Banker - the word guarantee was in reference to the ownership experience... not the cars themselves.

We have had Nissan's and Toyota's - much better luck with the Toyota's. I would guarantee the Lexus experience will trump that of Infiniti. The 350 and the G are very different cars; I feel the design of the 350 will age better than that of the G. The G's interior left something to be desired for me. If handling and such are of main importance to you – maybe the G is for you. Sorry - not a Nissan fan here. Good luck to you - keep us posted!

I have had a lot of experience with window tinting. If your son does not do window tinting professionally, I would not let him touch your windows.

I think the word 'leave' is the operative word here. Lexus does not want you to leave the keys next to any of these items. I don't think the keys being near any of these things for short stints will quickly drain the battery. I am happy to hear that you are worried about something that I would have never thought about….makes me feel less nuts. ;)

I have the Ziebart version... which I think is very similar to the 3M. The only thing I have noticed while cleaning the car is that bugs do not stick to the bra very well, making it considerably easier to clear. I waxed my car last week... and as they said at Ziebart "you can wax the bra." I tried to stay away from the edges, but really did not notice any build-up at all. I did take a rag/fingernail combo to the crease on the hood... but it worked just fine. (Mind you - my car is basically the color of glossy chalk!) :) I just couldn't be happier with the bra (which is a big deal coming from me). It was almost like I was not fully enjoying the car because I knew if I drove it on the interstate it was going to get chipped! I drove to my family's lake place twice (150+ miles away) and both trips resulted in small chips. I had the bra installed immediately afterwards and have not had an incident since. (I did get hit by a very large rock - large enough I heard it hit while Alanis was at volume 40! The rock put a mark in the bra, but nothing on the car's paint. Ziebart would replace it... the piece that was damaged, but it is not even noticeable enough for me to worry about.) As far as the shine - if you are very close to the car it does look like the front is covered in melted plastic.... but that is only if you are within about 2' of the car. It is totally worth the protection it lends.

I think you have read my thoughts on the 140 thread, but I have a clear bra and love it. I would be happy to answer any specific questions. I am not sure how the bra would look on black as compared to white?

My guess is the car you viewed with the clear bra was not Starfire Pearl? :) The Starfire hides the bra quite well – probably the best color for a clear bra. I personally had my hood covered about 12"-20" back, side view mirrors, front bumper and a small section of the fenders (and an area by the trunk – where a suitcase might drag across). In my opinion the most crucial area that needs covered is the front bumper. The hood does not seem to chip as easily; I am not sure if that is due to the hood being manufactured using different materials? I had all of my work completed at Ziebart. They offered a lifetime peal, fade, chip, etc. warranty which was worth the extra cost to me (my total cost was around $500 if I remember correctly). I have had work completed at Ziebart in the past and have been very pleased (Lexus would not cover the bumper, only the hood). Make sure whoever installs the bra, covers the entire bumper, including the intricate areas nearest the ground. Also - check their pervious work, the front bra's are much more difficult to install than one would think. If the car is not completely clean you will be able to see the debris under the bra. If the installer cuts the edges by hand, the imperfect cut will collect dirt and not look ‘professional,’ whereas Ziebart and some others have a pattern in their computer system for the 350; they do a machine cut which in theory should be perfectly cut to meet all edges. I would personally not have a bra installed if it were cut by hand - but I have OCD and am a bit of a freak. ;) If you check out their previous work and have any reservations at all - go elsewhere; do not let cost be the determining factor when dealing with the front of your new $40k car. Good luck! P.S. I live in Indiana; similar climate to Ohio - worse roads. :)

You sound a bit like me with the "Not a speck of chipped paint anywhere." I cannot stress the importance of getting a clear front bra on the front bumper, partial hood, etc. The paint on this car (IMHO) chips extremely easily. I was sick after the first couple of weeks with my car... then I had the paint touched up and front bra installed and have been happy since. Congrats on the new car.

The starfire is beautiful! I had my dealer tint the windows very slightly on my starfire and it really sets the car off...

Cabe, When you get the car back, let us know if that fixes the rattle. Matt