RFeldes

Thanks guys...she sports a 350 vette engine, turbo tranny, ps, ac, pb, front discs and panasonic DVD. I have fun freaking out the good old boys in their swamp buggies..

HA,HA.....I was thinking of getting a 460 and trading the 430 but you may be right in that charity begins in NC....LOL...By the way I just bought a restored, rodded 1947 GMC that was born the same year as I was. Now that's an "old" truck.

Thank you Dens, I hope you are okay and wish you a Happy Holiday Season and I wish you the best New Year. Ralph

Thanks Blake.. Happy Holidays..

Thanks DC.............. Ralph

Good News...........

India, my reply was not directed to you and only meant in genereal terms to all. I spent 3 plus years in India and feel I have a general understanding of your culture. Surpressed, is my best answer and you cannot ignore it. This has touched a nerve and I feel compelled to give it up, so to speak. India is built on a cast system and they have surpressed their people for thousands of years. Cast, to them is the color of their skin from Hindi to Brahman and family background and you cannot rise above it unless you leave that system.Death , reborn, next life. The darker the skin the lower your cast and social stature. I was not allowed to touch a person darker than I. I did. Some of my best friends. Hence my neighbor who rose above and is building a 6000 square foot home on the Lake next to me. He's in the USA and made something of himself and rebuilt his village back in India, sewers and garbage pickup by the way. Regardless of the color of his skin. You see them everywhere trying to break out of that yolk of culture. More power to them and that is why we are a free nation with every one equal regardless of color or culture. okhamr you seem to have a brain with no home..learn your subject before you expound on something you have no earthly idea what you are talking about. The mark of a true "Who It". This site has been hijacked by some real "dips" lately and i will continue to monitor it but must give it up to the liberals for now. You really bore, boar, sicken me with your ignorance and deprevity of knowledge. Keep talking as it it a true measure of American ignorance and a reason why we are in such low stature all over the world. Our "dumb !Removed!' will be our deprivation of our own freedom. Sorry to be so brunt but feel compelled to jolt you all to reality. We are the last stand and we will get our butts kicked if we do not wake up fast. I have every faith we will as we are "Gods" Nation.

Well simply put..do you believe in a higher order, be it God, Allah, Jehova, Bhudda or some other figure and sorry if I missed one. It really doesn't matter Christianity, Bhuddist, Hindi, Sunni, Jewish, Shia and on and on. We are one Nation, founded under God, indivisable with Liberty and Justice for all. It was not said by our forefathers "which" God and what we choose to call him. In all actuality he is the same God that the whole world prays to and has many faces and names. When we are periled we pray to God all over the world and He saddens that we are so distant from one another yet so connected in his Love for us all. If you have no relation to God then go out and seek a serene place and find his works, Your soul knows. I will not speak on this again, but must remind you that your butt is not here by your parents intimacies alone but conceived by a higher order. You will have to attest to your faith at the end of your tenure. Yes "option00002" you have shown your "!Removed!". Indiasfinest, persue your dreams and I'm sure you will do well. I have "faith" in you and our fellow Americans. Amen..."Means All Of Us"

Wow..you need a friend with a little mechanical savy. Not very difficult. 3 bolts both ways.

I think Denny is well centered and will figure this one out for himself.. and as was said, we don't know the "whole story" nor is it any of our business. Good luck Denny I have faith in that you will do the right thing. The decisions made at this age are ones we carry throughout our lives.

First off I would not consider air suspension for a long term ride..other than that it's a long term car. Keep looking and you will find one with the comfort package that will suit you fine for a long time.

Should be a normal part of working the air out of the cooling system after replacing the water pump.

Whether you are a Billy Joel fan or not, you probably remember his great song "We Didn't Start the Fire." Here it is, set to pictures---very very cool! Had to share this one. It's a cooool flashback through the past half century. Turn up volume, sit back and enjoy a review of 50 years of history in less than 5 minutes! Thanks to Billy Joel and some guy from the University of Chicago with too much time to Google! http://home.uchicago.edu/~yli5/Flash/Fire.html

Follow the wiring to the fans and you should come across a connector down there that has been disconnected by accident.

I would not be overly concerned other than corporate fleet. Sometimes maintenance is sketchy at best. Take the carfax and vin to your "nola" lexus dealer and have them pull up its maintenance history. Good Luck.

Hi Jainla, You did a fine job of critique and I appreciate your input for our members. I started this scenario a while ago about the 550 when my friend first visited earlier this year in his S550 after he lost his wife and I have been friends with these people going on 30 + years. He has always been a Lexus fan and I a Lexus fan in the last few years. Before that I was a Mercedes fan and have had a few in my lifetime. Fell out with the reliability and switched. I mentioned then that it was not fair to compare a 02 430 to a new S550. All seem to be mute points. I know for a fact, having worked in the CT/MRI field for 20 + years that the Germans have a penchant for over engineering and the Japanese have a copycat attitude while redefining the minutest detail. Thus I agree with you and we should each drive the other prior to more critique. I will say "hammer" the Mercedes and the torque will wet your pants. Having said that, on the way home my impressions steered [ play on words] to Cadillac. STS, DTS.. what jokes on the American public. We "can" build cars like the Mercedes and Lexus and don't because of ritzy CEO's bottom line profits. What a sad outcome of the great American auto that never even showed up in the end. The Harvard types, for all their education, are now making us pay the the "bottom line" price of losing the grandeur of the American Automobile. How sad for us all. Oh well back to my 430...AHHH!! Thanks Jainla

Oh boy!! The new S550 is superioor car to my 430. I have to admit it. Have had the pleasure of driving one daily for a total of 2 months on and off. It is back in Florida now. As far as the 460, I have not driven one but still have a hard time telling the difference between a 350 and 460. The interior cabin of a 550 is gorgeous, exceptional quality and imho puts a hurt on the 430. The drive is quieter and much more stable than the 430. Huge cabin, much larger than the 430. We will wait and see as to the reliability of the 550. It has gone into the Dealer for an air suspension problem at 12k miles. :whistles: The 460 has had a shaky start as far as wind noise and suspension and we shall let that play out. The only thing I worry about at the end of the day is reliability of the 550. The Mercedes is a Mercedes and Lexus is still trying to catch up as far as "Class Factor" , if you follow. Let's wait and see how the 460 matches against the 550 this next year when the reports come out. I love my 430 and have had no major problems other than the ML woofer ( ) and the soft leather that belongs in an Avalon and cracks like my Aunt Berthas face or jokes, not sure . Not like my old 400 that stood the test of time, darn good leather in those days. The 4 series Lexus are hard to beat on reliability. We shall see!!

Jalopy

Well Done!!

LOL ...Get the ES and save the LS for us old farts along with the cash for investment. I don't know if we could handle you in an LS...LOL

Correct Steve...here is the info..but my friend has no chips and drives 95 everyday..We know the lexus paint is softer from past experiences. http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=45

Job Well Done!..Dan.

The new s550 has a chiproof armour over the entire car. Amazing..and the car I drive and speak about is from South Florida. Lexus needs to catch up in that arena. No bull, just fact. We know where bras belong and I for one don't want one on my car even though she is pretty... :whistles:

Gas OOPS!

Ford's bread and butter....they will do fine with jd power ratings.