mmade22

You have a good eye for cars my friend. I actually did sell the car to my cousin for his son as a first car. She went to a great home who will maintain it by the dealer like we did.

I would say the car has got a good home since this is it in the driveway. It even had its own spot in the garage:



I didn't actually replace the RX with the Denali. I replaced the RX with a one owner last year of production on that body style 2009 Mercedes E350 Wagon. It was a hard car to find in the south but we finally did.









I never got to write in this thread but I ended up picking up a one owner 2007 Toyota Tundra Limited 4x4 that was loaded to the gills. I loved the truck and it served me well for the one year I owned it but we needed more space inside the truck for my dogs so I sold it in a day listing it on the web....



It towed this without an issue but we bought another toy that needed some power...



We ended up buying this toy and it required a tow vehicle since this is a 5500 pound 23 foot camper....




We got two Akita dogs and I figured let me get a cap and Bedrug to see if that would work but its too hot to keep them in the back in the summer.....





So the truck went up for sale and the hunt was on. Surprisingly Toyota just didn't have anything big enough like the Yukon XL so I found a one owner southern truck that was garage kept since day one and I couldn't pass it up. I know way too much about these trucks then I want to. I am all about this thing and I have done my fair share of work to get this truck mechanically up to speed and correct. The exterior and interior is flawless!! The maintenance is another story but she is 110% as of today!






LOADED!! Right down to the heated steering wheel and rear heated seats!





Like I said, I know way to much about this truck now!



I replaced all the suspension including the air compressor and air shocks. She sure rides amazing now!!!







I will add your name to the list. It's amazing how many people have said that.

I never did the mounts as it requires a car lift and tools that I just don't have in my garage. I pick my battles and this is not one of them . Sorry!

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

^Very nice, i was going to say that Denali is a complete switch from the RX. I know the rear leveling suspension in those has always had issues, dating back to the generation before that, but aside from that I have seen a bunch of them with super high mileage. As for the Mercedes, I've always loved the wagon of these, does the wagon have the rear leveling suspension as well? I almost bought a 2009 E350 Sport sedan before I ended up with my GS, but I after 2 Lexus, I was having a hard time switching brands. Anyways, don't want to stray away from the subject, enjoy your cars and the dogs ha.

Gs3500

Are they still the original mounts on the car? That's a lot of miles on those mounts. How do they feel?

gr8fulRed

i replaced both front and rear pads on my 09' GS over the Labor Day weekend. I was going to take the rear rotors to a shop to have them inspected and possibly turned (if need be) but they have some sort of locking collar that appears to hold them on. It screws onto a threaded shaft (about 2 inches long) and I'm not sure how to take it off. Maybe a very large socket?!?? Have you run into that on yours??

Ok, never mind. I did a bit more research and that nut is not holding the rotor on...I just THOUGHT it was, lol. The rotor opening easily clears that nut. DOH !!

gr8fulRed

how often are you/did you replace the rear differential fluid? Every 30k? 60k? I saw from previous owner records on mine that Grapevine Lexus (Dallas area) was "recommending" changing it basically at 30K mi intervals, but the owners manual just says to check it. I picked the car up with 74k and changed it immediately, along with complete tranny flush, etc....but was curious what you and others recommend. It's pretty simple and inexpensive...so I was thinking I'd do it every 45k or so?

gr8fulRed

sorry if you've already covered this....but did you ever run any kind of engine cleaner, etc through it....to reduce the carbon build?? Like Seafoam or any comparable product?? I drive a lot of miles per year (not at YOUR level) and would love to get 300k out of this car. I'm religious about my maintenance and have gotten older Honda's to over 300k before, so I hope to do the same with my first Lexus product.

Oh, and by the way....your cousin is living LARGE. Sweet pad !!

mmade22

I gotta say, all your questions are answered in this thread. I guess you didn't have the time to read though it?

i changed the differential oil at 100k and at 150k. At 150k it was way clean so I extended it to the 300k mark. It all depends on how you drive your car. I'm at cruising speed all day every day.

I showed a video on the seafoam treatment in this thread as well.

Give it it a read. I think you'll enjoy it!

L8Apex

I have 205K on my GS450 and my front bumper shows it. How is it your grill and front bumper have so few chips and scratches? Did you re-spray?

BTW- This is the best thread on the forum IMO.

gr8fulRed

Great, I'll go back and look for it. Thanks!

gr8fulRed

went back to re-read through the thread and had a quick question...

I saw you cleaned your A/C system with a 2 can Toyota product, but I couldn't make out what exactly it was. Was the process pretty simple to do? What differences did you notice after completing the process?

Also, did you replace rotors every time you replaced your pads?

thanks

mmade22

[QUOTE=02SDGS;9611173]^Very nice, i was going to say that Denali is a complete switch from the RX. I know the rear leveling suspension in those has always had issues, dating back to the generation before that, but aside from that I have seen a bunch of them with super high mileage. As for the Mercedes, I've always loved the wagon of these, does the wagon have the rear leveling suspension as well? I almost bought a 2009 E350 Sport sedan before I ended up with my GS, but I after 2 Lexus, I was having a hard time switching brands. Anyways, don't want to stray away from the subject, enjoy your cars and the dogs ha.[/QUOTE

It would be a complete switch and I've owned the Denali almost a year now and my wife has yet to drive it. It's a fantastic people/dog mover and it tows very well. I'm very happy to have it as a third car. The Merc wagon is a great car.....It's an absolute TANK! I can't get over how planted it is. If it rains like crazy, I love to drive this car. It will blow through it all without any feeling of hydroplaning. I didn't get this car with all the bells and whistles so it doesn't have the air ride. I figured I'd be better off to keep this car simple since it's not known to be that reliable.

I changed the original motor mounts at 150k. I decided to do it again at 300k. Fluid mounts never last past that many miles.

This car in its 10 years has never ever seen a body shop! I put a clear bra on it as soon as I bought it and I've replaced the clear bras FOUR times since then due to color fading and chipping. It is a must have for a guy on the road all day.


Yes I replaced the rotors each time I did the brakes. I actually never ended up cleaning the AC with the that can system. I still have the can setup today.

mmade22

All these years bringing the car into the dealer to get serviced, my service writer always puts me in a beautiful new Lexus to see if one day ill bite......

My car in for service......




All the lowners driven for the past years:

2016 RX 350:

Nice car!



2016 ES 350:



NT200T:



2009 ES350:




I got a 200CT that I never got a photo of because it was my least favorite Lexus. Not a fan of that car!


Then, my customer purchased a 2013 Lexus LS 460. He knew what a fan of Lexus I am. He asked how I like my GS and I explained as I always do......He threw me the keys to the LS and said, take this car for a ride and let me know what you think....... I stood there and stared at the key fob..... After a few seconds, I said sure. What a mistake!

I knew that the dealer would never provide me with their flagship car as a loaner..... Why would they? Well, I took the LS for a test drive and I fell in love!!





By far the best interior layout I've ever been in. A true flagship sedan! Oh man this was a good and bad thing!




To be continued.........

tayslexus

I saw you posted a thread in the LS forum looking to move on from the GS. Looks like you really loved that 2013 LS you test drove. I never drove that car but I bet it's a FINE car. Also a note to the pics you posted of the 2 ES's, the first one is a refreshed 2016 model year not 2015 and 2012 is actually a model from 07-09 model, I used to own one. They refreshed that design for the 10-12 model years.

mmade22

You are so correct on those cars years now that I look back at the thread. I fixed it. Thanks!

E46CT

Some nice cars.. and cute puppies in this thread. I love the GS interiors!