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Lexus ES 350
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Comments
Very normal.
about a month ago. so hard telling what
they have now.
car is more navy blue in the sunlight and
more black when overcast. when i took the
pictures it was slightly overcast - no
direct sun. i've never seen it in direct
sunlight as in so. calif it was overcast for
weeks. i ordered the car in this color with
light grey interior and is due in early october.
I was also told that black shows every little fine scratch and scuff.... is this true? If this is the case, that is going to drive me crazy and I am going to be a psycho-witch about people around my car.
I have a sand color now (kind of like the Golden Almond) that I am able to get away with not washing for long periods of time and it still looks good. The color barely shows the few fine scratches I have on top of my trunk from putting my purse down. Opps.
I still have to see the Smokey Granite in person. Maybe you are right robynl, it would be easier for me to maintain concerning my history with light color cars. The dark colors seem to appear more prestigious but the white is still a contender.
Hey, I am making progress. I have narrowed it down from 10 colors to 3. Black, White and Smokey Granite.
had mentioned before, my 2002 Maxima is
the majestic blue color (dark blue.) This
has been the most negative experience I have
had with this car. Every scratch, scuff,
ding, dent, paint chips, whatever else one
can think of shows up on the dark colors.
I'm trying to stick to my guns and getting
a light colored car on my next purchase,
even though a color like the smokey granite
keeps beckoning to me. I also like the
2006 Acura TL in the black. When they're
clean, they look so, so sharp!
Oh, well. I must be strong! No more dark
colors!
In the mid 80s I bought a black car because it looked so great sitting there clean at the dealers. I soon regretted it. Not only did it show dirt, but every little scratch. There was no recovery after just 6 months of normal wear. But even worse than that, I always lived in hot places -Phoenix, Ventura CA, and Tampa FL. The dark cars do get much hotter than light cars. I've been driving a white/tan Avalon for the last nine years and just went and ordered a white/tan (cashmere!) ES this week. I looked very hard to find something different but came back to the white for the same reasons I did last time.
BTW, the heat is one reason I didn't go for a UL package, although I would have loved to get the ML stereo. I couldn't take the glass roof.
I see you have been agonizing over the color. Good luck. But I'd advise against the black.
Interesting.
Do you think the glass roof generates more cabin heat than the metal roof?
I would doubt it. The "glass" that they use has all kinds of fancy UV and polarizing filters built into it and doesn't "pass thru" virtually any heat from the sun. The metal roof on the lesser ES' are notorious heat conductors, however.
Hmmm. :confuse:
'Inquiring minds want to know.'
BTW, Beverly Hills gave me the best quote (in writing) out of 5 dealerships. Of course, when I told my guy at Valencia that, he said he will beat any quote I have. We will see.
I haven't really been able to find much on the materials or properties of the glass roofs becoming more popular in cars. However, I do believe most manufacturers of sandwiched glass products with UV protection only list about a 40% reduction in heat build up compared to regular untinted glass, even with 99% UV reduction. But, since neither of us probably has any good data here, it would seem we need to turn to forum members for an experiment (Alas, I can not participate since my ES is still on order.)
A first experiment would require two cars, one white and one dark, to be parked side-by-side in the sun and have the internal temperatures monitored. My guess is the dark metal gets hotter. Next, a measure of a metal-roofed version side by side with a Panorama roof. My guess is that a white car/metal roof stays cooler than a Panorama roof. But only the experiment will tell for sure.
Let's see...you have a nice Ruby, right? That'll do for the dark color!
Does anybody have a source of reliable info on this roof's materials, safety, or heat transmission?
It would be fun.
Anyone else from the NY/LI area with a non panoramic sunroof up for an experiment?
I should add that my ruby red has a black interior so, in the interest of consistency and validity, the "competition" should also have a black interior.
Then after thinking about this modification I determined that I really like the slab sides of the doors without those strips to break it up. Body side moldings are really commonplace on just about every car manufactured today, so without it, it makes the ES350 very unusual...and these skinny lil moldings afford very little added protection anyway.
I would also like to see moldings on vehicles. However, it appears that factory installed moldings will soon be a thing of the past (if the current trend continues). There are just too many different sized vehicles for moldings to be effective. I also believe that design and cut-backs are reasons why they are no longer on newer vehicles.
couple of days. The newer cars have no
bodyside molding whatsoever. My 2002 Maxima
has it, but it still didn't save it from
getting a nasty door ding on the driver's side
about five inches above the molding.
I saw a Golden Almond Metallic 2007 ES parked
in someone's driveway near where I live. It
had fairly dark tinted windows and it also
had the "gold emblems" on it. I must say, it
looked very nice. I like to picture some of
these color choices, in my mind, with tinted
windows(as dark as legally allowed) mostly
due to the hot summers in Tampa and also
because I think most cars, if not all, look
better with tinted windows. I've seen the
Crystal White ES with tints and a Smokey
Granite also. They look really sharp!
Without tint, I feel like I am in a fish bowl and everyone is looking at me. :surprise:
I have pictured all these colors with tinted windows. Think of the contrast of dark tinted windows on the Crystal White. Oh Yeah!
I am still being stubborn about that black, though. I don't care if it is hard to keep clean and looks all scratched up after 6 months. LOL It is still repeatedly calling my name and luring me in. I have to be strong and somehow resist the dark side.
I am remorseful now. I wish I had that beautiful black, or the blue onyx, which looked black enough. I've been trying to figure out how I can exchange cars, but can't come up with any ideas. Maybe I'd feel better with the windows tinted.
I say go with the dark.
I have always had dark colors and these steps kept my cars looking great.
I do wipe them dry after a rain to keep the water spots away. But a black car is pure class. They are not hard to keep looking good with a LITTLE effort.
I have been considering getting a ES350 in July and this is a big concern for me. I like to hear you expereiences and comments.
Both of you are not making it easy for my to resist the black, as oppose to other people saying "Don't do it, I will regret it." I have never had a black car before so I can only rely on all of your opinions.
Psychdoc and Rocketdan, have you conducted that dark color vs. light color heat conductor test for me yet?
Sometimes I wish I had not gotten my Denali in black; you can only imagine how long it would take for me to wash such a large vehicle, claybar it, buff out any existing swirls (made a bit easier by using an orbital buffer), apply a few coats of wax, then apply a few coats of sealant/polish to seal the deal (no pun intended) in order to get my black vehicle swirl/scratch-free.
$300, $700, $900, these are huge differences in price quoted by different dealers. Something smells bad.
The following may be TMI (too much info) but...to truly minimize or cover up existing fine scratches and/or swirls, you really need to buff them out first; just covering them up w/ wax/sealant/polish only masks them...until the wax/sealant eventually wears off--and even then, more than a few wax products don't really do a great job of "covering up" those swirls/fine scratches.
Of course, if I did decide to go black, I would have someone apply the wax/sealant and buff it out for me. How often does this crap have to be done? LOL And can I take it to a regular car wash with mechanical brushes and towel dry or does it have to be hand washed too? Wait, let me guess.....
I hate when it doesn't come easy to get what I want.
Mechanical brushes generally will scratch your car, no matter what color it is. Towels can do the same if they are polyester or if they have grit trapped in them.
Personally, I use the touchless automatic washes and am quite pleased with them, but there are people who will tell you not to do that as well.
My two cents - I would never own a black car. No matter how careful you are with how you treat it, you can always get bombed by a bird, scratched in a parking lot, have to drive through a muddy or dusty road, get trapped behind a dump truck whose load is not well covered -- all of these things are a lot more consequential for a dark colored car than for a lighter one. These things are mostly unavoidable.
But when a black (or any dark color, really) car is clean and shiny and perfect, it sure is beautiful, no doubt about that! I understand your dilemma.
A black car can be harder to keep up if you let it slide for to long. But to wash a new vehicle once every other week is not that much trouble. When said it is important to wash and dry correctly that is true. You have to take your time and not smear or leave any water on after the wash or you will have to start over.
The Zaino will take me about 4 hours on my 250 diesel and about 3 on the BMW. That is claying,Z5,Z6,Z2,Z6,Z2,Z6,Z2,Z6,Z8.
Less is better, and it wipes right on and right off. It IS that easy. It will leave you with a wet look that looks right off the showroom floor.
The claying seems to frighten alot of people. But all you do is spray some lubricant (Z7) and slide the clay over your paint unitl you feel no more resistance and the paint feels smooth. Does not take no time to do a car.
But if you hate to wash your car and just let it go like my wife does if i don't keep it clean than NO a black car is not for you.
Most people don't even care for a showroom shine with no defects, they just want a clean car with no swirls. Zaino will keep that from happening with about 3 hours twice a year and a wash every other week.
good luck black is classy though
Also, even if I tried, I'm not sure I could
do it right anyway. I've taken my car to my
local car wash two or three times a year for
the real wax jobs. (The car gets washed every
week, if not every other week, except during
summer, due to afternoon rainshowers that pop
up in the Tampa Bay area) Unfortunately,
there's different types of waxes that they do
at my local carwash and they're at different
prices. I thought I had them do the most
expensive one, which is the two-step process
type that's supposed to take out minor
scratches and swirls, but I've been very
disappointed so far. It seems like every
day I discover a new scratch or scuff.
Stay away from dark cars! Unless you don't
mind waxing it about every other week!
I looked at a few black cars around here that I think have never been detailed and they look better than how you explain yours. They were washed and at a quick glance i didn't see any swirl marks.
One good quality detail will take out almost all swirl marks and if they use good products then a proper wash and dry will keep it looking good. If you want better then wash and wax more.
But a detail three times a year,a wash a week and you still have swirls then something is wrong. I would find another detailer. Maybe you could find a paint shop to detail your car because the car wash kids are not cutting it. Hell most that i've seen are high school kids and the older people who work their, well how do i say this, are not the brightest. From what i have seen i would not want them touching my car.
Also you might want tyo try a "brushless" car wash. From what I hear they seem to be a little easier on your car.
But i don't seem to have near the trouble you are having with a dark color. I have to say that it could be the products. The most trouble I have is keeping the break dust off the BMW rims :sick: But with Zaino that too washes right off. I just then can't bring myself to just wash the rims. So i end up washing the whole car once a week.
good luck
Does this mean that I must place a special order and wait for months or should I check other dealers. IF so, what is the best way to learn if this car is available from other dealers and is it a good idea to ship between states. I am thinking that it's very costly? I was looking for White w/ Black or Ruby w/ Black.
Does this option provide enhance your safety significantly, given its price ($1800 invoice/$2250 MSRP)?
Thanks!
I think you get the picture.
It's the paint chips, especially on the
front bumper and front part of the hood.
And then there's various scratches probably
about two inches in length in different
spots on the car. Actually, if you were
to look at my car, oh, say, standing 20 to
25 feet away from it, it looks shiny and in
good shape. It's when I'm right up on it,
especially at the front of the car that I
get really concerned. This is a leased car,
so I may have to try to get some feedback
from the Nissan dealer when I get ready to
turn it back in to see if they'll try to
charge me extra for some of these things.
Hopefully, it wouldn't cost me anything but
my security deposit. Hopefully, maybe
nothing. If not, then I'll probably get an
estimate to fix up some of the dings and
to do some touching up and go that route if
it ends up costing me less.
I got the ruby with black (UL) and it's gorgeous.
Best of luck in your search!
Hell, I can't remember the last time I ever used any cruise control in any car I've ever owned.
Frankly if they deleted any cruise control, I'd never miss it (and believe me, I'm a gadget freak!).
Actually I originally ordered the moon shell mica based on the color swatches in the brochure. The salesman actually had one allocated for me. So I went around to dealerships to see it "in the flesh" and (thankfully!) found one over at the Massepequa dealership. It was simply unspeakably awful and I decided on the spot that I wouldn't be caught dead riding in that 'Maty Kay reject' color. I called my salesman in a panic and told him that that color was simply off the boards and that, if need be, I'd wait patiently for a UL car in any of four colors with any interior. They were ruby red, the darker brown, black and smokey granite. This was on a Sat. He called me that Mon. and told me that he was able to allocate me a red/black UL that (as luck would have it!) was on the same shipment as the god-awful moon shell mica. As this was really my first choice, I was ecstatic! Two weeks later I picked up my car and I've been in heaven ever since!
Like I said, best of luck in your search.
Give it a try! Good luck.
Now that I can be certain that the color combination DOES exist in regular production, I can be a little patient and see if I can catch one nearby (even southern cal). I just checked the MerrillVile Lexus site but unfortunately it's a bit far from me in IN. It's just hard to believe that there isn't ONE single car like that on the whole West region. I hope there isn't any geographic factor when it comes to inventory distribution.
Also--just waxing the vehicle is not sufficient; w/o applying a sealant over it, the elements (sun, rain, etc.) will cause the wax to eventually wear off in no time.
With respect to cablondeblue, I'd prefer not to have to wash my car every week - or more :-)
I am still deciding. Glad you asked that question about the Ruby and Smokey Granite though. I was wonder the same.