Just something Id like to share with my new Lexus Family

I posted this on the caddyinfo.com forum site which I still visit......


What's up guys ? It's been about 5 months since I let go of my 98 STS. I do miss it. I did so much to keep it immaculate. Very little maintenance in the 3 1/2 yrs of ownership but psychotically kept it clean on a daily basis. I'm pretty sure I put about 50 coats of wax on it The cool thing is that I get to see my "baby" once in a while, since the new owner is within the neighborhood. I alway hound him to keep it clean when I see him!!! I will always respect Cadillac...

My new "baby" is an Onyx Black LS430. I've had no problems what so ever so far. I did my 1st oil change. I can't believe it only needs 4 1/2 qts for a V8!!! For mods so far I've done the 2005 polished stock 5 spoke 18" wheels (stunning), dual chrome exhaust tips, window tint, Euro air horns with stock horns and front and rear crossdrilled/slotted rotors. I plan to add a Tv tuner so I can watch TV on the stock Navigation screen!! and DVD player.

First thing off the bat I have a sense the Lexus members are younger and waaaay more into their cars. So much so that I can't seem to grasp the amount of money that some spend on mods. First off a Lexus is already expensive, There are several owners who upgrade their brake system and drop $4K+ !!! into Brembo brakes. Then another $4K on "luxury" rims. Then suspension mods, body kits, turbos or superchargers and Audio and Video. There are just way more vender available for aftermarket parts and new stuff for old and current Lexus models just continue to be developed on a daily regular.
The members seem more computer saavy. Alot of guys know how to use photo shop and create alot of "what if" photos for mods. Several guys have extensive photos of their vehicles. There is probably well over 10,000 photos in the gallery section so you definatle will know what a mod will look like. There are several forum discussions similar to Caddys of course like race stories or just the basic "how to's." What cracks me up is that Lexus guys seem to bad mouth and attack Mercedes alot!! Calling their cars unreliable and overrated!! They don't seem to think anyone else is real competition!! Members including myself is proud of the fact that Lexus has one of the highest resale values and always tops in reliability.
I will always have love and repect and root for Cadillac. These days I am just not getting used to the whole "Art and Science" theme ..yet. I think the classiness has gone away from the newer model Caddys. They don't even look like luxury vehicles to me anymore, mainly the exterior. Gees even the Chrysler 300c look more luxurious/classier. Those seem to be Caddys replacement in my neighborhood.

Caddys are great cars with alot of tradition, but if anyone jumps ship, consider a Lexus. These guys know how to make cars. All of my several friends who have Caddys are blown away by the Lexus style, luxuries, fit/ finish and performance.



Talk to ya later..

 

Just something Id like to share with my new Lexus Family

I posted this on the caddyinfo.com forum site which I still visit......


What's up guys ? It's been about 5 months since I let go of my 98 STS. I do miss it. I did so much to keep it immaculate. Very little maintenance in the 3 1/2 yrs of ownership but psychotically kept it clean on a daily basis. I'm pretty sure I put about 50 coats of wax on it The cool thing is that I get to see my "baby" once in a while, since the new owner is within the neighborhood. I alway hound him to keep it clean when I see him!!! I will always respect Cadillac...

My new "baby" is an Onyx Black LS430. I've had no problems what so ever so far. I did my 1st oil change. I can't believe it only needs 4 1/2 qts for a V8!!! For mods so far I've done the 2005 polished stock 5 spoke 18" wheels (stunning), dual chrome exhaust tips, window tint, Euro air horns with stock horns and front and rear crossdrilled/slotted rotors. I plan to add a Tv tuner so I can watch TV on the stock Navigation screen!! and DVD player.

First thing off the bat I have a sense the Lexus members are younger and waaaay more into their cars. So much so that I can't seem to grasp the amount of money that some spend on mods. First off a Lexus is already expensive, There are several owners who upgrade their brake system and drop $4K+ !!! into Brembo brakes. Then another $4K on "luxury" rims. Then suspension mods, body kits, turbos or superchargers and Audio and Video. There are just way more vender available for aftermarket parts and new stuff for old and current Lexus models just continue to be developed on a daily regular.
The members seem more computer saavy. Alot of guys know how to use photo shop and create alot of "what if" photos for mods. Several guys have extensive photos of their vehicles. There is probably well over 10,000 photos in the gallery section so you definatle will know what a mod will look like. There are several forum discussions similar to Caddys of course like race stories or just the basic "how to's." What cracks me up is that Lexus guys seem to bad mouth and attack Mercedes alot!! Calling their cars unreliable and overrated!! They don't seem to think anyone else is real competition!! Members including myself is proud of the fact that Lexus has one of the highest resale values and always tops in reliability.
I will always have love and repect and root for Cadillac. These days I am just not getting used to the whole "Art and Science" theme ..yet. I think the classiness has gone away from the newer model Caddys. They don't even look like luxury vehicles to me anymore, mainly the exterior. Gees even the Chrysler 300c look more luxurious/classier. Those seem to be Caddys replacement in my neighborhood.

Caddys are great cars with alot of tradition, but if anyone jumps ship, consider a Lexus. These guys know how to make cars. All of my several friends who have Caddys are blown away by the Lexus style, luxuries, fit/ finish and performance.

 

well, you made the right choice with the ls430, that's all i can tell you

and about the mb? i would to make myself clear. they are very nice car, and performance is getting better every day. also their exterior and interior styling are just stunning imho, it's easy one of my favorites. but its' also damn true that their quality is jumping off the cliff.... you just can't drive that car daily without problems.

my friend he's a sales guy at mb. he told me that every day he sees tons of sl, cl, s class, etc... coming in for service. no, most of the time it's not oil change. lights coming on, radio going off, windows dead, hard top not moving.... it tells a lot

 

Very nice Ls. Keep up the good work!!!!!!!!

 

Welcome to CL!! Just reading your thread, I sure miss my SC400!!
I'm not a big fan of caddies. They look wierd to me. Too boxy!! Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes are the only luxury brands that appeals to me. LS430 are really nice cars!!! Congrats on your purchase JLAWS!!!

~Josh

 

Congrats on your purchase! You're not kidding about the mods.

 

Congrats on your 05! Hope your LS will give you many years of great service.

 

SOOOOO nice. I love that It's beautiful.

 

I love the new and improved 05' LS. The redesigned LED tails and the more aggressive front end caught my attention countless times on the road..! I can't stop admiring it..

Your black LS is a prime example of a beautiful piece of machinery.

 

Sweet pimp-daddy-mobile!

 

Congragulations. The LS430, IMO is probably the finest car in production today, quality and refinement-wise. The Mercedes S-Class has the LS's refinement but not the quality.

Your statement that we CL members sometimes bash Mercedes products is correct...but there are reasons for that. We're not just a bunch of uneducated, redneck, anti-Euros. We don't post these things just to be wearing out our keyboards. M-B in many ways is gouging and ripping off the public with overpriced and unreliable cars, putting their company resources and money into insane amouts of HP / torque instead of quality electronics, especially in the AMG's. Salespeople and company reps often are arrogant and aristocratic. In addition, their service and repairs, when not free or warranty-covered, are outrageously expensive to the point of adding insult to injury.

$60,000 is more than I would spend on a new car, but for this kind of cash, you couldn't have chosen a better car, IMO. It is a quality masterpiece.

I would post the standard break-in rules but it looks like your car is already past that point.

 

Congratulations JLAWS! Very nice car, not my first choice of Lexus, but for those who like that style of car, I am sure it is hard to beat the LS in quality and refinement!

I will be the first to agree that MB cars are not reliable and also that they make some insane HP cars. I don't like the unreliable part (I had an MB E320 before my GS400), but love the insane HP.

What I don't understand is how you can equate the resources not spent on making quality products = resources spent on making insane HP cars. Do you have some numbers that you can share that prove this argument that you make so often?

Not trying to start a debate here, but I highly doubt that you can explain the bad quality of MB's in such a simple manner. There are so many other factors at play here, not just shuffling the money from quality control into insane HP engines.

 

I'm not the only one to make that arguement, Hameed...others at CL have as well.

Perhaps the best and simplest way to explain it, as I understand the car buisness, is that the AMG division and their expensive, hand-built engines with up to 600 and 700 HP diverts time, attention, and money away from other things desperately needed by the company....such as better hardware and electrical connectors for their cars.

Now...I'm NOT saying do away with the AMG cars. There are undoubtedly M-B enthusiasts who want them, but there has to be a balance here. M-B, like any other company, is not limitless in their resources, and they are going to have to make some hard decisions about where the money goes....whether more of it is diverted into better electronics, hardware, and quality control at the plants, or whether a disproportinate share of it is continued to be put into AMG engines with diesel-locomotive power and torque.
In fact, several studies have been done on this subject ( the increasing unreliability of the electronics in European cars ) ...and it has been found that one of the main culprits is the difficulty that European factory workers have in assembling and connecting the electrical components properly. Unlike Japanese-designed connectors, which plug in with a solid snap and have a loud "Click " sound to signal when they are securely attached, the ones used on many European (and particularly German) cars are difficult for workers who often have to work and fit these things by feel alone. So....then what happens? The car is not even six months old and everything from headlights to safety systems stop working because the connectors or bulbs fall out. A lot of this nonsense, IMO, could be prevented if German manufacturers just spent a little more on well-designed components instead of focusing on just HP and idiotic stuff like I-Drive and MMI.


You will also note that among four best and highest quality auto manufacturers, Toyota / Lexus, Honda / Acura, Infiniti, and Subaru, (and with Hyundai now right on their tails) none of them have followed the German way of doing buisness or do cars with 600 HP and up....so I don't need to bore you with a bunch of numbers....that alone tells the story.

Now...if you STILL diagree with me, fine....this is a free and open forum. But THAT is my position.....take it or leave it.

 

Welcome & congrats for the new LS430. Black LS is one of my favorite

 

Yes, that is what it boils down to my friend. It is YOUR position.

I personally think you made that comparison between the insane HP cars and bad quality simply because you feel insane HP cars are stupid and unnecessary. Well, that is what makes the world turn around. Different strokes for different people.

I don't see why MB cannot improve their quality and still make insane HP cars. Mark my words, that day will come in the next couple of years. MB will wake up (and they are already aware of this issue) and come back with a vengeance.