steviej

yes you can. many of those niceties can be adjusted to your liking. Either the dealer can do it, or if you are lucky, find someone with a shop manual. steviej

to think someone actually paid money for them?! looks like an accident waiting to happen. that is just not right. Sadly to say, there is absolutely no accounting for other people's tastes. steviej

what is in there now? I would stick with Toyota Long Life Coolant. steviej

the 45k is not really a full tune up, it is just fluid service. Spark plugs aren't replaced. It is the same as a 15k service. The $425 is kinda high. My 15k serive was $310 and that was with tax. You may get a lower price at a Toyota Dealership and it is acceptable to go to them. I just did my 45k myself and it cost me a total of $75 and 3 hours. The suggested list of stuff is in the supplemental owners manual, but this list can vary from dealer to dealer. For my ES it would have been/was basically Oil and filter change, Tranny/diff fluid drain and fill, Replace air filter, repalce cabin air filter (if needed) check levels on brake, coolant and power steering fluid, top off if necessay rotate tires steviej

Two very good body shops: Virtas Garge in Norwell MA and Cohasset Collison Center in Cohasset MA. 3M film place: Cochoran Auto Detailing in Braintree MA. Ask for Ben and tell him I sent you. steviej

JellyBean: PM function (in or out) won't work for you until your post count is above 20. Mr. Frank: keep the law on your side should this guy be somewhat of a psycho and return your resentment with his. Also, if you are in insurance like you say, does you company not have auto as a branch? If is does, run the plate in your own company. Pick him out of the lineup, get your copy of the entire police report, file your damage claim, get your car fixed, and let justice take its course. Take solice in that the police will bring forth appropriate charges, his insurance premiums will go up, your car gets fixed and he will get his in the end. 1990LS400: I couldn't agree with you more. steviej

Three options: A 1. make a list of everything that happened from the day you decided to look at the car (not pruchase the car). Detail everything, dates, time, people, what was said and who said it. You made a choice to go Lexus and the decided to offer you CPO. Refer to all you posts her and on CL to refresh you memory. 2. make a chart of all the things that needed to be done to the car: column 1: what needed/needs to be done (then and now) column 2: what, if anything, was done to fix column 1 column 3: whether or not it meets you satisfaction 3. Call Lexus corporate and request that they set up a meeting with the GM of the dealership (not Sharky), the Lexus Northeast regional representative and yourself. 4. Bring the car to BayRidge with a list of the stuff that they did not do to make the car satisfactory. Ask BayRidge to give you a quote for what it would cost you if you had them do it. 5. Show the GM and the regional rep the quote. Request that they reimburse you to have the work done there. 6. If they say no, then ask them to buy back the car for exactly what you paid for it and you both walk your separate ways. 7. If they say no to that, then inform them you will pursue arbitration and even legal action. At this time, you should be armed with any documents that deal with legal rights or the process of arbitration. A blank complaint form from the Better Business Bureau may help too. B Walk away from the dealership, put a For Sale sign on the car and hope for the best from some unsuspecting college student that needs a ride at school. C Suck it up. Learn from you experiences. Take the car to BayRidge and get things fixed a little at a time. Use the CPO to your advantage, get Lexus to pay for what it while under the CPO terms. Mention to BayRidge that you had a bad experience at Sharky's place and that you are looking for a new service shop. Any item that is not part of the warranty, pick off one at a time as your budget allows for it. Take advantage of the bodyshop you spoke of that will do the whole thing for $400. Learn to do some work yourself. Don't starve yourself because of a car, a noise, a scratch, or a rattle. ___________________ Whatever route you chose, even if it is a combination of a couple of them, you may find some closure just in a nicely worded letter to the Better Business Bureau that is cc'd to Lexus Corporate and the Dealership. It all comes down to: What you believe is due to you and how bad you want to achieve it and how bad Lexus wants to maintain their "Total Customer Satisfaction" fulfillment. good luck. steviej

what about having the front end touched up professionally, then installing the clear 3M film type bra? May be more expensive, but you will retain the beauty of the pearl white. steviej

Are you saying that you suspect the car was involved in a DUI accident? Like bartkat stated, why don't you run your own search on Carfax.com. It is only a few bucks. Did you test drive it, what was your gut feeling. If you really like the car, see if you can take the car to a good body shop and have them inspect it for structural damage and hints of major body repair. If you like I will give you the name of several shops in the Boston Area (South Shore). steviej

I guess this mislead me. sorry.

Dodge has been having problems with the Durango, too. steviej

It should say Pioneer. Pioneer was the manufacturer of the sound system offered in the 95 ES. Mark Levison is the top of the line sound system in the ES but was not offered until 2002. steviej

sk, I respect your thoughts on the red and the green. However, I do not believe coolant color is the issue here. Regardless of the coolant color, the coolant is not staying in the cooling system. There is some mechanical reason (not chemical) that is forcing the coolant out of the cooling system. In addition to having the cylinders pressure tested, have the cooling system pressure tested. It only takes a few minutes more. There is a restriction in the system somewhere. The coolant expands somewhat as it gets hot, hence the hot and cold marks on the coolant overflow bottle. As your engine gets hot, the coolant should flow freely and thus be maintained at a steady temp. I'm guessing you got a blockage or partial blockage somewhere so when expanding, the easiest place for the coolant to go is out the overflow jug. What is the temp gauge reading when the overflow happens? Why do you say it is not overheating.....is the coolant that flows out warm and not boiling? If you base this on your temp gauge, maybe you have a faulty coolant temperature sensor so the temp gauge reading is not true. bear with me, I and thinking out loud. sj

60 grit sandpaper! no no no no, I'm just kidding. might I suggest you call a shop that paints pinstripes and find out what they use to remove old or damaged painted pinstripes before they repaint. steviej

you can subscribe to the Lexus magazine on www.lexus.com register under "owner" and then you can request a free subscription. steviej

factory installed navs started in the ES in 2002. steviej

those sound like the charcol evaporation canister codes. This should be covered under the emission warranty with I think is still in effect on the 2002. Check in your supplemental owners manual, it will list the items that are covered or check with your Lexus dealership. steviej

Page 46 of my 2002 Lexus Owner's Manual ES 300. sj

help us out, what are you looking to do and what are looking to spend. looks (spoilers, body kits, eyelids, etc), suspension, engine performance, wheels and tires ????????? treat it as a work of art that is ever evolving.....don't rush it. Bring it around a step at a time. steviej

unless the racing seats are power and heated then yes. steviej

you seem to be computer proficient, search the web. try different places like www.autozne.com. www.summit.com, www.jeggs.com most online autoparts stores carry them, they should be able to ship international. check them out. steviej

is there a passage way through the back seat? if so, reach in with a coat hanger or something to hook the keys. My trunk has an emergency release lever inside, maybe the 92 is too old for that innovation. dumb statement to follow but here goes......I take it you don't have a second set of key (master, valet or wallet) anywhere? steviej

I'm sure you could find a sharp looking set of hubcaps for the steel wheels. Keep in mind, the nice wheels don't look any good with salt and snow on them either. I like you thinking on the dedicated set. Just rember to do all four as snow tires not just the drive wheels. good luck and let us know what you find out. I have always had good luck with Sullivan Tire (any near you?). They don't carry Toyo though. blizaks are very reputable. steviej

where did you find this thead, its almost 2 years old. :o anyway, I like the 2002-2004. Haven't seen and actual 2005 yet. steviej

the fuel gauge is set to read empty with a few gallons left in the tank SO YOU WON'T RUN THE TANK DRY. Lexus has electric fuel pumps and the residual gas in the tank will insure that the pump is immersed in the gas. Being constantly immersed in gas cools the pump so that it does not overheat and burn out prematurely. It is very poor practice to let your tank get below 1/4. As for gas mileage questions, it would help in the calculation if we knew exactly how much gas was used. Fill the tank, drive until you fill it up again. Divide the total number of miles driven by the number of gallons used to fill it up again. This will be accurate. :D Don't assume that full to the empty light is 18.5 gallons. You won't like the mileage you get. :( steviej