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Just spoke to "Simon", the finance manager at Toyota Towne of Simi Valley (CA) at 805/526-7500. As a finance manager, Simon is in charge at this large dealership of selling extended maintenance plans to anyone he can talk into it...For the record, he stated that Toyota dealers do NOT sell extended warranty plans for vehicles that they do not sell from their own new & used lots. Period. And I believe the original question on this board had to do with a potential private LS sale, not a dealer sale.
ToyotaUSA.com only mentions new and used Toyotas as candidates for their Gold and Silver plans, very similar (duh) to the Lexus plans that I mentioned previously.
Speaking of (fool's) gold...if you want to spend your golden retirement years as one poster here does, suing Lexus over a windshield that doesn't defrost quick enough, re-wiring his LS electrical system, complaining that the Nav system isn't perfect (uh, gosh, no one said it was...) and putting an RX300 up on blocks to check the AWD technology versus that of a Jeep, go for it.
Personally, I only have time to play on the web all day.
But it might be clever to call a Toyota dealer and ask if it's their company policy to actually be IN the 3rd-party extended maintenance market before suggesting here that it's readily available and it's a better deal $$$ than going direct to Lexus.
By gosh, sure, that would make sense, to pit two internal divisions of the same corporate giant against each other for the same Lexus maintenance dollars.
Hey, there could very well be a Toyota dealer somewhere that sells an extended plan of some type for cars they themselves have not sold or leased; after all, these are Toyota dealers we're talking about.
But before you bite on one to save a few bucks, I suggest that you check with a local Lexus Service Manager that will have the final say over accepting your vehicle for work paid for by that plan.
And let us know what he/she says.
And to the previous poster, don't you worry about this gentleman being anal retentive - I don't think there's anything retentive about it.
Wouldn't you agree that selling extended warranties, Lexus or Toyota, must be a profitable venture, individually, or they wouldn't be doing it?
Their major competition is other third party vendors of extended warranty contracts, even on the internet, mostly at substantially lower cost. Why do you think Toyota wouldn't look the other way in order to take even more money for the same services.
And no, I wouldn't walk in and ANNOUNCE that I bought the car elsewhere, like you did, I would understand that would be the best way to scotch the deal. Everywhere you go where you find PRINTED policies you will often find unspoken workarounds. MONEY talks LOUDLY!
Pitting two corporate divisions against each other for the same maintenance dollars. NOT !!!
Many Lexus and Toyota parts are interchangeable, read some of the posts on this very board, the equivalent Toyota parts are almost always cheaper.
Even right to the top. You don't think the introduction of the highlander took sales away from the RX? You bet it did! But Toyota Motor Company decided that the two offerings gave them overall a bigger piece of the pie.
And by the way, Lexus is a (sub-)division of Toyota, they are NOT parallel entities.
The last I knew dealer's service managers were modivated by PROFITS, and any that weren't are out looking for a new job.
If you can find me a Lexus service manager who is unwilling to take the money of ANY third party extended warranty contract provider, including Toyota's, I'll show you a person who will soon likely be out of a job.
Dealer service shops are typically more profitable than vehicle sales, and they don't stay that way very long by being selective about the "color" of someone's money.
Sep:
LS -- 2062
S-Class -- 1980
7-Series -- 1062
Q45 -- 381
Aug:
LS -- 2743
S-Class -- 2497
7-Series -- 1356
Q45 -- 474
Jul:
LS -- 2260
S-Class -- 1935
7-Series -- 1213
Q45 -- 449
Jun:
LS -- 2724
S-Class -- 1829
7-Series -- 2077
Q45 -- 543
May:
LS -- 2807
S-Class -- 2245
7-Series -- 1494
Q45 -- 686
Apr:
LS -- 2744
S-Class -- 2074
7-Series -- 1528
Q45 -- 565
I too am very surprised at the Q's sales performance. It is a hell of a good value given its luxury appointments and powerful engine,and in the end when not fully loaded it sells for about the price of an MB E-320. I've not been in the new model but past models I've ridden in were impressive cars. If I compare it to an MB E-430, which I was not the least bit impressed with when I drove it this past summer, it would seem the Q has so much more to offer. Articles I've read and my own past experience shows this to be a real lux car - so what's wrong? I've noted on the Q board I would not switch to it from an LS430 - the experience is just to good to move away - but if I was up and coming I'd run to it. I guess it's just bad marketing and image.
The Maxima is a good example. Consistently promoted on its PERFORMANCE, not the fact that it's actually a pretty nice family car. This has worked pretty well for them.
However, they've also been promoting the Q45 on its performance again, saying "it's fast" (said by that annoying British female voiceover, and before I take flames on that, I grew up in England). Yet the numbers don't back that up, and buyers in the 50K+ performance arena are going to be VERY picky AND often image-conscious, and the Q ain't going to cut it. The chance of a BMW 7-series or MB E430 fan buying a Q are almost zero.
Then of course it gets compared to the LS430 and MB S-class whose buyers aren't looking for a 'hot rod' like the Q is promoted as anyway... so they lose there. The other big problem there is the new Q has those boy racer headlights, and has a CHEAP looking front end because they felt with those lights the car didn't need fog lamps to the lower front lip looks like a Hyundai.
The car is quite nice, but the message and positioning are hopelessly confused.
Strangely, they haven't promoted its value, which several here have commented on. Instead of plugging its performance, how about a side by side ad comparing it to an E430, DEFINITELY an Jag S-Type 4.0 (ridiculous price), and perhaps even an LS430 or S430 if the positioning is right.
The Q45 has several problems. First, it's an ugly car. Secondly like post # 2012 stated it's being billed as a performance machine, yet for all it's 340hp it isn't any faster than anything else in the class, especially a few cars with LESS hp. Then Infiniti's silly 1990 start-up advertising is still hauting them today, they never became as much of a household name as Lexus has. Combine that and who's thinking about a Q45, not many.
M
As for model year changes it was only the Lexus that changed in September. If I remember correctly MB changed in early August,the Q has been out for a while and you know full well about the 7. So yes it was only Lexus that would have been affected anyway. Audi's A-8 wasn't even noted and it barely registers anyway.
Good JOB!
We may just win this "war" by simply rattling sabers and supplying food to the Afghanistanians.
Are you saying what our President has done over the past weeks isn't working or isn't likely to work?
M
Everyone here knows that this not a political board in any way, and these kinds of conversations just don't belong here. Obviously the events of September 11 demanded that the "rules" be relaxed for a bit, but - at least for now - we need to try to keep to the Town Hall's mission.
Please? I would really appreciate it.
Pat
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Sedans Message Board
LS 430 -- #1 most appealing premium luxury car
GS 300/430 -- #1 most appealing mid-luxury car
ES 300 -- #1 most appealing entry luxury car (IS 300 was #2)
The APEAL study measures what excites and delights new vehicle owners with their vehicle's features and designs. The study includes over 110 attributes consumers like and dislike in the following eight categories:
1. Exterior styling
2. Engine and transmission
3. Comfort and convenience
4. Ride, handling and braking
5. Seats
6. Heating, ventilation and cooling
7. Cockpit and instrument panel
8. Sound system
So, follow this way:
1. Go to http://www.jdpower.com
2. Click on "automotive"
3. On the left side, click on "I'm looking for news"
4. Under "Study/Report" (first heading), click on "Customer Satisfaction & Product Quality"
5. Click on the 2nd study -- 2001 APEAL
There are three links, one each for the press release, winners and summary.
Another item that would prevent me from buying any Infiniti is their willingness to discontinue models with no replacement on such a frequent basis. In only 11 years they have dropped the M30, the J30 and the G20 (although this was brought back after a few years).
This practice alone would scare me from buying any Infiniti.
Lexus has never dropped a single model from its entire lineup.
I just returned from a long trip across "regions" and the DVD system worked flawlessly. IT was even useful in some small towns where "turn by turn" guidance (remember those "gold" roads?) was not available. Less useful, sure, but useful still.
Has anyone spent any quality time in an SC430? I have read reviews that suggest that it squeaks and rattles in unchatacteristic ways for a Lexus. Any experiences?
The ES 250 came out in September 1989 and was sold through September 1991. At that point, the ES 300 was introduced.
Even though the engine was enlarged from 2.5 to 3.0, the car was still the ES. Just like when the LS 400 became the LS 430 with its redesign. It's still the same car.
sfmartin, thanks for the clarification. It's been over a year since I looked at the S Class when preparing to buy. I remember that setup now that you've reminded me.
Did you ever buy that telescope? If you're still in the market I'll give you a couple of websites that discount a bit (rare in scope shopping) and offer free shipping.
Flint350 - I would kill to get the nav system on my midnight pine car. My only mistake. I'm pushing 14.5k miles on the pine and it is flawless and spectacular. I've gotten used to the Pioneer radio and its damm good until you hear the ML. I've got the nav on the silver (8k miles and also flawless) But I can't get my wife to switch cars with me and worse yet she rarely uses it. The problem is she won't be without the ML. I drive the silver on weekends and have the nav programmed to the hilt. I think if I was buying today I'd definitely go with the custom lux and quite possibly the ultra lux. Is the air suspension what it is hyped to be?
Trying to remember my years at Pease AFB but don't remember it being much worse than Seattle.
Did you folks read the yellowbrix piece on the new 7 linked to Edmunds' front page? Comes in for some fairly harsh criticism. I hope it is undeserved -- always rooting for anyone advancing the state of the art -- but as i have said before, I have my doubts about i-drive
From reading the manual and this board, there appear to be lots of features of the car that can be changed from default settings, either directly by the user or with some programming by the dealer.
I for instance changed the behavior of the unlock on the remote to unlock all 4 doors at the first click instead of requiring 2 clicks. I also followed the tip on the steering wheel groan fix (#1601, remains to be seen if the fix is permanent)
What kinds of such things have you done/had done? For what purpose?
Thanks.
For instance, I would follow the guidance to a certain street, make a right turn as instructed, and then notice that the Me-icon had jumped to show me on a street 2 blocks away. After a bit more driving, it jumped back to where I really was.
Could it be that the GPS satellites are not always visible in the northwest?
I also noticed that the Me-icon sometimes pointed in the wrong direction, like when the car was pointing North the icon pointed East. Again, it cured itself after a short while.
Another anomaly, though not necessarily a glitch, is that it selected different routes from the same location to the same destination at different times. Does it know traffic patterns as a function of time-of-day? I wouldn't think so.
wwest, I kept thinking of your posts. I sympathize. I recommend you move to Southern California.
Other than some problems I inherited, typical in a used vehicle, that the dealer fixed under the original 4-yr, 50k mile warranty, no unusual problems.
The '98 was the first year with the higher-output 4.0L V-8 and this box really moves for a big sedan.
One generic problem I can report, as others have done in this forum and also on www.clublexus.com (check it out - great info & very little interference by PC hosts), is that the "tip-in", or initial throttle response when starting up from a dead stop, is a bit hard to modulate cleanly. In other words, the response isn't very forgiving in trying to make smooth starts.
But it's a great vehicle with much better handling (for a LS) than previous generations.
Just don't compare it to an LS430!