Sold the Acura TL and bought a Lexus GS 350..What a CAR!!!
#1
Pit Crew
Thread Starter
![Smile](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif)
Hello fellas!
I first purchased a 2004 Lexus RX 330 for the wife back in 2006 with 26k on the clock. It has every option minus the all wheel drive, air ride and glass roof. I bought it site on seen from a dealer in FL and had the car shipped. I realized then just how nice a Lexus is. It was by far, the best used car I had ever purchased.
I bought myself a 2005 Acura TL with 30k on the clock three years ago. At that time, my wife kept telling me to get a Lexus GS but I just couldn't spend the money on a car I put 60k a year on. You can do the math.....Long story short, I sold the TL with 215,000 trouble free miles and finally stepped up to a 2007 Lexus GS 350 with 46k on the clock.
The TL was a great car and I did all the work myself minus the timing belt work. I travel for my job across five states covering most of the South East territory. Traveling 1500 miles a five day work week, you need to be in a comfortable car. I decided to get away from the 6 speed lowered TL and get into a sporty luxury sedan. The GS was always a car I wanted to own. A friend of mine was selling it so I jumped on the deal. Here I am.....GS 350 starfire pearl white, Mark Levinson, park assist and rear power sunshade.....All the options that were important to me.
I do all my own work on my cars since I am a technician by trade so I cut down on the cost of ownership.
If anyone is interested, here is a link to a thread I started a while back on my old TL showing all the work that was performed on the car by me over the years. It was a lot of fun working on the car and people have told me, it's a good read..........
http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=704808
I plan on doing the same with the GS so please look out for an upcoming thread in the next couple of months.
Here is what my TL looked like when I sold it last week! She had 215k on the odometer..... It was a stock TL before I got it. This was in AL at the Kia plant....
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I bought the GS from my friend and then waited over a week to get my title in the mail. I drove the TL for one more week while the GS sat pretty in my garage.
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The GS all cleaned up with 20% tint in the side and 35% in the rear glass (20% when the rear shed is up
)
I sold my TL within one hour (a personal record) of putting it up for sale on the internet. I miss the TL but I sure do love the replacement.......
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I have to say, I love this car! I mean this thing is just sooooo smooth, so quiet, so quick and great on gas.
I took the car down to Charleson, SC on Friday for a day trip for work (430 miles) and took it easy on the gas to see just what kind of milage I can expect. My TL got 29-31mpg all day long at 70-75 mph......The GS.........DRUM ROLL PLEASE.......32.8 mpg!!! I even calculated it when I filled it up and the computer was dead on. What a car!
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While the car was layed up in the garage, I brought it to my local shop and had them take all the small dings out of the car and I ordered a clear bra kit for everything, lights, mirrors, hood, fogs and bumper. I didn't want the car to look like my last three cars. I did the 45k service.....Oil change, tire roatation, cabin filter, air filter and all around inspection.
Only OEM parts allowed in my garage!
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6 months supply of filters for me!
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Tire roatation....
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Cleaned and waxed the rims while they were off....
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Installed the new pretty F-sport air filter!
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With all of my traveling, I needed the much updated nav disk....
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Acura always allowed the user to use the navigation while on the move. With that said, I needed the Lexus to do the same so I pulled the nav out and did the mods to the VSS snesor wire, grounded the parking sensor and added the felt to the edges to keep the rattles to a minimum.
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I wasn't done......I made a custom mute switch in place of where the coin holder goes for my Passport 9500i and mounted the detector above the rear view without seeing any wires.
![](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b68/jmahler22/IMG_7730.jpg)
![](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b68/jmahler22/IMG_7761.jpg)
Ownining our own Embroidery business (gives you a hint on what I work on) I decided to do some custom embroidery for my trunk.
Doing the embroidery on my trunk straps.....
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The finished product.....Holding my fifty pound tool box in place in the left corner of the trunk. It's like the GS came stock like this......
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My parts supply kit needed a little custom embroidery and I love how this bag fits perfect in the passenger corner....
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Organization is key to success.....
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Thanks for reading this thread! Look out for me in the future with my mainenance threads on the GS.
I first purchased a 2004 Lexus RX 330 for the wife back in 2006 with 26k on the clock. It has every option minus the all wheel drive, air ride and glass roof. I bought it site on seen from a dealer in FL and had the car shipped. I realized then just how nice a Lexus is. It was by far, the best used car I had ever purchased.
I bought myself a 2005 Acura TL with 30k on the clock three years ago. At that time, my wife kept telling me to get a Lexus GS but I just couldn't spend the money on a car I put 60k a year on. You can do the math.....Long story short, I sold the TL with 215,000 trouble free miles and finally stepped up to a 2007 Lexus GS 350 with 46k on the clock.
The TL was a great car and I did all the work myself minus the timing belt work. I travel for my job across five states covering most of the South East territory. Traveling 1500 miles a five day work week, you need to be in a comfortable car. I decided to get away from the 6 speed lowered TL and get into a sporty luxury sedan. The GS was always a car I wanted to own. A friend of mine was selling it so I jumped on the deal. Here I am.....GS 350 starfire pearl white, Mark Levinson, park assist and rear power sunshade.....All the options that were important to me.
I do all my own work on my cars since I am a technician by trade so I cut down on the cost of ownership.
If anyone is interested, here is a link to a thread I started a while back on my old TL showing all the work that was performed on the car by me over the years. It was a lot of fun working on the car and people have told me, it's a good read..........
http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=704808
I plan on doing the same with the GS so please look out for an upcoming thread in the next couple of months.
Here is what my TL looked like when I sold it last week! She had 215k on the odometer..... It was a stock TL before I got it. This was in AL at the Kia plant....
![Name: IMG_7397.jpg
Views: 3795
Size: 93.2 KB](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/attachments/gs-3rd-gen-2006-2011/460610d1501791993-sold-the-acura-tl-and-bought-a-lexus-gs-350-what-a-car-img_7397.jpg)
I bought the GS from my friend and then waited over a week to get my title in the mail. I drove the TL for one more week while the GS sat pretty in my garage.
![Name: IMG_7656.jpg
Views: 2139
Size: 154.3 KB](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/attachments/gs-3rd-gen-2006-2011/460611d1501791993-sold-the-acura-tl-and-bought-a-lexus-gs-350-what-a-car-img_7656.jpg)
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The GS all cleaned up with 20% tint in the side and 35% in the rear glass (20% when the rear shed is up
![Stick Out Tongue](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/tongue.gif)
I sold my TL within one hour (a personal record) of putting it up for sale on the internet. I miss the TL but I sure do love the replacement.......
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I have to say, I love this car! I mean this thing is just sooooo smooth, so quiet, so quick and great on gas.
I took the car down to Charleson, SC on Friday for a day trip for work (430 miles) and took it easy on the gas to see just what kind of milage I can expect. My TL got 29-31mpg all day long at 70-75 mph......The GS.........DRUM ROLL PLEASE.......32.8 mpg!!! I even calculated it when I filled it up and the computer was dead on. What a car!
![Name: gas.jpg
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While the car was layed up in the garage, I brought it to my local shop and had them take all the small dings out of the car and I ordered a clear bra kit for everything, lights, mirrors, hood, fogs and bumper. I didn't want the car to look like my last three cars. I did the 45k service.....Oil change, tire roatation, cabin filter, air filter and all around inspection.
Only OEM parts allowed in my garage!
![Name: IMG_7701.jpg
Views: 1364
Size: 112.4 KB](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/attachments/gs-3rd-gen-2006-2011/460616d1501791993-sold-the-acura-tl-and-bought-a-lexus-gs-350-what-a-car-img_7701.jpg)
6 months supply of filters for me!
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Tire roatation....
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Cleaned and waxed the rims while they were off....
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Installed the new pretty F-sport air filter!
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With all of my traveling, I needed the much updated nav disk....
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Acura always allowed the user to use the navigation while on the move. With that said, I needed the Lexus to do the same so I pulled the nav out and did the mods to the VSS snesor wire, grounded the parking sensor and added the felt to the edges to keep the rattles to a minimum.
![Name: IMG_7692.jpg
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I wasn't done......I made a custom mute switch in place of where the coin holder goes for my Passport 9500i and mounted the detector above the rear view without seeing any wires.
![](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b68/jmahler22/IMG_7730.jpg)
![](http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b68/jmahler22/IMG_7761.jpg)
Ownining our own Embroidery business (gives you a hint on what I work on) I decided to do some custom embroidery for my trunk.
Doing the embroidery on my trunk straps.....
![Name: IMG_7740.jpg
Views: 1363
Size: 89.6 KB](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/attachments/gs-3rd-gen-2006-2011/460627d1501791993-sold-the-acura-tl-and-bought-a-lexus-gs-350-what-a-car-img_7740.jpg)
The finished product.....Holding my fifty pound tool box in place in the left corner of the trunk. It's like the GS came stock like this......
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My parts supply kit needed a little custom embroidery and I love how this bag fits perfect in the passenger corner....
![Name: IMG_7752.jpg
Views: 1396
Size: 165.0 KB](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/attachments/gs-3rd-gen-2006-2011/460630d1501791993-sold-the-acura-tl-and-bought-a-lexus-gs-350-what-a-car-img_7752.jpg)
Organization is key to success.....
![Name: IMG_7754.jpg
Views: 1459
Size: 130.3 KB](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/attachments/gs-3rd-gen-2006-2011/460631d1501791993-sold-the-acura-tl-and-bought-a-lexus-gs-350-what-a-car-img_7754.jpg)
Thanks for reading this thread! Look out for me in the future with my mainenance threads on the GS.
Last edited by mmade22; 09-28-10 at 06:49 PM.