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Comments
Anyway, we have a '99 Lexus ES 300 that's been out of warranty for over 3 years - since January 2003. In that time, we've paid out a total of $500 to fix things that broke unexpectedly. These cars really do deserve their reputation for reliability.
That's where I bought mine.
Good people and very professional service.
You and she will love it.
We also appreciate the advice on the extended warranty.
Alan
The advantage to buying the warranty early is that the price later will be based upon the residual value of the vehicle at the purchase time (anytime prior to the original factory warranty expiration).
If you trade the vehicle before the expiration of the original factory warranty, the reverse is true. You will be refunded a pro-rated amount of the Lexus extended warranty based upon the residual value. 25,000 miles on the vehicle is equivalent to about 87% of the original dealer cost.
The advantage of the Lexus warranty, versus a third-party warranty, is, it is entered into the Lexus service program. When the service advisor looks up your car on the Lexus data system, it reflects the extended warranty. There is no hassling with deductibles or authorizations, it is just like an extended factory warranty.
As for getting the dealership to "throw in" the warranty to "sweeten" the deal: the dealer cost of the warranty is around $1,000 bucks for a 6-year-72,000-mile Lexus warranty. You're no longer dealing with the sales person and the finance person is not likely to "give" you anything below dealer cost.
Nonetheless, I just don't like service contracts - they really aren't warranties - because I view them as poor substitutes for money in the bank. If you're doing a good job of managing your finances - if you're maintaining a favorable savings-to-debt ratio - you don't need one. When a big repair bill comes along - as it will, at some point in your life - you'll have plenty of money in the bank to cover it. And if your household balance sheet isn't up to snuff - if you've got too much debt & too little savings - then you shouldn't be shopping for a new Lexus. You should stick with your current ride & concentrate on repairing your finances. Pay down your debt & build up your savings.
An old axiom of casualty insurance is that you should self-insure whenever possible. Don't pay others to assume a risk that you can handle on your own. I need insurance to protect me from a $200K house fire, but I don't need it to protect me from the occasional $2K car repair bill.
My ownership experience with Japanese cars goes back over 30 years, & I've never owned one for which a service contract would have returned its purchase price.
Some quick pics of my new ES.
http://www.carspace.com/psychdoc
Holy cow, if there's a more hideous color for a car (or pretty much anything else) I can't imagine what it would be. It's some surreal, horrific looking combination of pink and violet.
I think even Mary Kay cosmetics salesladies would be mortified to show up in a car that color.
Needless to say, as soon as I saw this nighmare I called up my salesman and told him that was totally off the table and that I'd accept any of four alternate colors (black, copper, smokey grey and ruby red). My first choice at that point was the ruby red and he was able to get me just what I wanted in the UL package.
I'm very happy with both the car and the color.
Make absolutely sure that you (those in the market) see the exact color you're considering on a physical car before ordering. The internet and dealer paint chips are deceptive. You can sometimes see the exact paint on another model (ie. the IS350 sports the same golden almond metallic as the ES350). But do see it in person.
My second choice is amber pearl but will hold out for the ruby. Let me know if you hear of a ruby/cashmere anywhere at all.
I know, I know....no one quote me from my previous post when I said red only belongs on a two door sports car.
I have to admit, I was partial to the ruby red all along and in real life it's just stunning. Just the right midway point between red and maroon.
Not at all flashy and very sparkly with all the metallic flakes in the paint.
Those UL rims are really cool.
I was surprised that the swiveling headlights really do what they're supposed to.
And you can really see them turn at night.
Very cool!
That Amber Pearl is a nice color too, amf1932, but my current car is Desert Mist and I want something different.
Still would like to see Grey Granite and Blue Onyx. Anyone have pics? Still waiting for the dealers to get them in.
Maui Lexus has the color that my wife wanted.
Quick question though - is the last picture in your series the Moon Shell Mica? It the first picture that I have seen that shows the pink / purple color (I have not seen it in person yet).
Thanks.
a Nissan Maxima (Model year 2000-2003)?
That sounds like the name of the gold Nissan
Max. I'm driving a 2002 Nissan Max. Color
is Majestic Blue. Great car! My lease will
be up in several months and after having no
interest in the previous model Lexus ES's,
I can honestly say I'm liking the 2007 ES.
I will be cross-shopping the Lexus ES, the
Acura TL and the 2007 Nissan Maxima. I also
like the crystal white and the ruby red on
the ES. I saw one on the road today with
the chrome wheels. Nice. The only thing I
think that needs to be made available is
some sportier, maybe meatier, thicker
tire/wheel combos? You know the ad that's
shown to the right of these forums, the ad
by Lexus of the Smoky granite version, the
picture makes it look as though the wheels
are larger. I think it looks good!
I must add that I saw the blue onyx at the dealership and wished I had seen it before I pulled the trigger on the gray one. I'm not much into gray interiors.
Glacier Frost Mica over to the ES. I've seen
that color on the GS and the IS. It's an
intriguing color where you see the bluish tint
to the common white color, whereas, the
crystal white has the pearl tint in it.
So far I like the crystal white, ruby red and
the amber color.
For those of you who saw the Blue Onyx, is it a dark navy blue or a dark royal blue? Can you only tell it is blue when the sun hits it or does it appear black most of the time?
The dealer was showing me last year's color of blue and trying to convince me that is the same color. I didn't believe him because it had a totally different name.
I may be blonde, but, by all means, I am not stupid. Already they are trying to play games with me. They don't know what they are in for. LOL
We were recommended by a friend from Audi, to check out the inventory at Lexus of Cerritos before making a purchse (found out later that he meant to send us to Longo Lexus).
Lexus of Cerritos is like a House of Cards when it come to making a deal. They will do anything to keep you there while they frantically try to find the car at another dealership. The sales people at Lexus of Cerritos conspired to lure me away from making my purchase with Lexus Santa Monica by making false promises on an ES350 that they didn’t have and didn’t even know if they could get.
This is what gives some dealerships a bad name. Too bad for Lexus in this case. Not true with Lexus Santa Monica though. Class all the way. The Lexus Engineers put all the power, comfort and durability into the Lexus ES350 that we needed. Its worth every penny.
The salesman said that the gray was the color they couldn't keep around more than a day, and they haven't gotten very many blue onyx colors. That was as of the end of May.
Even though there was that confusion on which was the actually blue color of the 2007 Lexus ES, I am willing to sit down at the negotiation table and see what he can do for me.
I am a little disappointed, if what you say is true, about the Blue Onyx being so dark it looks black. (Hence the name "Blue Onyx") I was hoping for a richer royal blue color. Of course, I will have to see it in person. There's always Aquamarine. LOL
I am I driving you guys crazy yet on my color flip-flopping? LOL (I am trying to build the suspense.)
Thank God there are no more colors to choose from. :surprise:
I can't wait because I think the ES350 will simply annhialate anything in its class or even close.
I think it competes on an equal footing with cars costing $10-15k more like the BMW530i, the M-B E350, the Infinity M35 and the Audi A6.
If price was not a factor I'd still take the ES over any one of the above cars.
With price as a factor, forget about it!
No access to address input in Nav system while the car is in motion (sigh.....Honda Navi was better at this....)
Voice recognition is very hit and miss and mostly miss...
Side view mirrors won't angle down on reverse if side view mirror switch is in neutral location...
But what a lovely car all around......I'm having XM put in on Thursday. Does anyone know where they are likely to install the antennae?
Thanks.
This is very common. I have owned and driven several cars that have similar feature. On some cars only the passenger side mirror tilts. Seems to vary per mfg.
Voice recognition is very hit and miss and mostly miss...
Agree that VR is sometimes rather fussy. I have just about given up on using VR for entering addresses. Not only do I have difficulty getting it to recognize the name, but it is cumbersome to enter the information. Same with the dial by number function on the phone.
But what a lovely car all around......I'm having XM put in on Thursday. Does anyone know where they are likely to install the antennae?
Agree with previous poster. Have the antenna put inside on the rear deck. I had XM installed several weeks ago with this configuration and have had no problems with reception.
for outside rearview mirrors. This looks as though it could be a problem with dirt and
moisture. My ES350 has up to a one eighth inch gap. I talked to my dealer and was told
they would investigate and get back with me.
My camera phone takes crappy, fuzzy pictures, but hopefully you can get an idea of the color from these:
http://www.carspace.com/cablondeblue/?50@@.59a5d311
In the third picture, the new owner didn't look too happy that I was taking pictures of HIS new car. LOL
You can hack this. If it's the same Nav as the RX350, this is what I do to enable all the functions while the car is in motion:
Menu button
Voice
Upper left corner (speaker icon)
Lower left corner (blank)
Upper left corner (speaker icon)
Lower left corder (blank)
A new set of menu will appear. Tap and hold on the override option until you hear a beep. Press back back (upper right corner) and you're all set!
Got this from the club lexus forum. They have hacks for other Nav versions too. Also, they warn against selecting other options other than the 'override' option coz some will hose your nav or worse...
Thanks for your insights.....after picking up my white ES350 I took it home and pulled out the owners manual to take a quick look. After skimming through it I put it back in my glove box. I problaby over looked it, but the comment you made about the side mirrors not tilting down unless you have the switch out of the neutral position I don't remember seeing in the book. Anywoo, thanks allot for your info, I tried taking the switch out of neutral and low and behold when I put the car in reverse the mirrors tilted down......
Sharing of info like that is what makes this forum outstanding!!!!!!!!! Thanks again!