guestm2008

I'm told that on the 2008 ES 350, in order to get the Wood & Leather steering wheel, I have to buy it with the NAV package. I'm told by my salesperson that Lexus now does this.

Can anyone confirm this?

The wooden steering wheel looks a lot nicer than ones without it. But I just don't think it's worth paying about $4000 more because I have to buy it with the NAV package included.

MD350

That is a first. I know these cars are packaged differently based by region. I would check around in CA with other dealers and see if they are saying the same thing.

Side note, I have only seen a non-wood steering wheel on a cloth ES 350. Very rare.

ng123ray

i dont know about the 2008, but my 2007 ES350 has the wood/leather steering wheel without nav.

unknown2

Ask your spare parts for the wood steering.. It should be a direct swap...

PaJaHa1

I'd rather have a leather-wrapped wheel. My hands are always sweaty and the "wood" wheel is hard to grip sometimes.

Vette2

[QUOTE=guestm2008;3519176]I'm told that on the 2008 ES 350, in order to get the Wood & Leather steering wheel, I have to buy it with the NAV package. I'm told by my salesperson that Lexus now does this. QUOTE]

The definitive answer to this question can be found on the Lexus.com website.

Just go to the website, click on "Build My Lexus", select ES350 of course and...here's the important part...enter your zip code. You can then click through to a page that shows the package versions currently being shipped to your area. It is true that all combinations of options are not necessarily available, and the availability of various combinations varies by region based on popularity within a given market. In any case, this is the way to get a straight answer that you can print and show to your salesperson if necessary.

codex57

The Toyota/Lexus websites are absolutely retarded in the "Build Your Own" sections. It cherry picks some packages and doesn't let tell you all possible options.

According to their website, it seems like you need a nav package to get the wood steering wheel in CA. I checked on Carsdirect.com and it seems you can get one with the wood wheel without Nav.

That said, I'm not a big fan of the wheel now that I have it. If you have a ring, it can get scratched or just makes noise when your ring hits it. Plus, on a long drive, the hard wood vibrates and isn't very comfortable to the hand like the leather part is.

I'd try another dealer (e-mail a bunch and ask them if they have one without Nav). Or, if you insist, just get a regular one without the wheel, then have the dealer install it afterwards. Should cost much less than the cost of a Nav package.

gatorcb

custom order solves everything...you wait 4 months like we did, but you only pay for what you want

guestm2008

Here are the problems:

If I order the wood and leather steering wheel after buying the car, the parts department is telling me that it will cost about $2000 alone!

If I special order this car and wait 4 months, I will miss the special lease rate that Lexus is giving right now.




Since the 2009 ES 350 is coming out soon, you guys think I can get the 2008 ES 350 with NAV, at a huge discount soon?

garsarno

Not until all of the '07 models are returned after lease and flood the market.

JPES350

actually my 2008 has the wood & leather wheel and i dont even have navi

codex57

In CA, you should be able to get a huge discount at any time.

Where are you located? In SoCal, Longo is good to deal with if you don't wanna bargain too much. Bay Area is a little tougher, but I was happy at Stevens Creek.

JPES350

I didnt go to longo because they charge you alot more than what the car is worth. If i were you, i would go to a car broker (if in Ca i recommend CarSource Auto Broker) because you can tell them what exactly what you want and they find you exactly what you want. Thats how i got my car

codex57

Interesting. I got a great offer from Longo. You may have to work a little bit (and avoid starting with the regular salesmen), but they will deal more than other dealers.

Auto brokers are just for the lazy who don't want to deal with talking to a bunch of dealers. Can be worth it if you've got more money than time. If you're on this message board, I doubt that applies to you tho.

YotaCarFan

If the cost to upgrade the steering wheel is $2K, you would be better off buying the car from an out-of-state dealer located in a region of the country that offers the wood wheel w/o the navigation. Shipping the car to you hopefully would be less than the $2K.