SpicedRum

Just picked up a new 2018 GS350 F Sport AWD in Ultra White here in Columbus, OH and thought I would join the forum and say hello to everyone. Been lurking on and off and now glad to officially be here and thank you to you all for helping to me decide on a GS.

This is my first Lexus and pretty excited to finally own a very nice car. I purchased with cash so she's all mine and plan to run her for 10 or more years and rack the miles up. After testing driving a similar used one that I didn't want, reading about it more here and test driving a few other cars that seemed to make sense (Mazda 6, Maxima, Avalon) I knew the GS would be a perfect fit for me. Which was a relief as I was agonizing over what to get for way, way too long!

So last month I called my Lexus sales guy who I worked with before but didn't end up buying. Was pretty picky about what I was looking for and a national search turned up what looked like a possible wait for the exact car. As you all know, it's not exactly easy to locate GS's in measurable quantity and selection. He called me back a few hours later and told me that the exact car I want was awaiting allocation. He wasn't sure exactly what the status was or when it would be here..if the car was still in Japan, at sea, or at the Los Angles Port. And there was another car in Seattle but I would have to ship it to Ohio and would eat that cost, especially if i didn't accept delivery in case of issues.

Two days later we negotiated price and they told me it would be here before the end of the year for sure as they did think it was at port. It arrived and I picked it back 2 days ago, Friday December 8, 2017, so just a little over 3 weeks wait. Not bad and glad it wasn't longer.

So the details of the car...oh and don't worry pictures are coming once the snow subsides and I can give the car the detailing it deserves.

2018 GS350 F Sport AWD
Interior: Black
Exterior: Ultra White

Options:
Mark Levinson Audio
Cold Weather Package
Heated Steering Wheel
Triple Beam Headlights
Heads Up Display
Power Trunk
Intuitive Parking Assist

Accessories:
Rear Trunk Carpet
Wheel Locks
Cargo net
Key Gloves

I have already done a few things which I tend to do with new cars....let's see...put a Battery Tender pigtail lead on (the battery did need charging), sprayed down the engine with Boeshield T9 (a waxy rust preventative), and mounted a magnetic cellphone holder (right above glovebox lock). I also adjusted the Triple beam headlights one full turn as I noticed the lights were kinda low on the drive home from the dealer. I turned the adjusting bolts counterclockwise for raising. I hope this correct, we'll see once the roads dry out from the snow and adjust more if necessary, Before turning them I marked the top of the bolt with a sharpie so I knew where it was in the rotation. I'll clay bar, polish, and seal the paint once it warms up. Most of the winter it will be covered and stored, I can trash the Tacoma and keep the GS looking good over these crappy Ohio winters.

Thanks for the great forum here and hope to contribute more.Feel like I made a very good decision!!

JDR76

Congratulations and welcome!

Pacman9270

Congrats! Welcome! And show us pics!

charley95

Congrats! I just picked up my 18 Caviar/Red F-Sport last Tuesday. I must say, I love this car!

charley95

Have you considered paint protection film to protect the paint after you correct it? I just finished claying mine and ready to start buffing next to make sure all minor scratches are removed before having ExPel brand PPF installed. Mine came with the 3M PPF on the hood and partial fenders. I'm getting the nose,mirrors,A pillars & rockers covered on mine. For what little of the hood & fenders is covered for the Lexus $429 option I don't think it was a very good bargain. The workmanship of the film installation is not very good. Why they don't cover the nose is beyond me, that's the most crucial area that needs covered.

SpicedRum

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

Charley--Yes, I saw your post. Congrats to you as well! That caviar looks pretty amazing and the red interior is really special. The car I test drove had the red interior and I really liked it.

I am considering the paint protection film, but haven't decided for sure yet. Now would be the time to do it though. My window tint guy can do PPF work so I may have both done at the same time. I imagine that film needs to be replaced every so often.

Hopefully it will warm up a little bit in the next few days to wash and clay bar so I can polish it out next. The paint is in very nice shape but there are some slight swirl marks that can be seen with a very discriminatory eye in the right light.

I'm looking for recommendations on all weather floor liners. I have Husky brand in my Tacoma and love 'em, but I don't see that they are available on GS's. I've had WeatherTech's and was not that impressed with them--kind of flimsy and I didn't like the texture of the plastic. That was years ago though, they may be different now.

BoeshieldJ

Congrats on the new purchase! Thanks for using Boeshield by the way and spreading the word about our product. I almost purchased an GS350 a couple months ago when searching for a new car myself. Enjoy!

AeroTect

Not a huge fan of the factory option either. Agreed that you will get a better value and better workmanship in the Aftermarket.

Film should last as long as the warranty provided. The standard warranty on 3M Pro Series will cover discoloration, bubbling and cracking for 10 years - if you experience any of this inside your warranty period, take it back to your installer and they should replace it no problem. You shouldn't expect to need to replace it regularly.

Let me know if I can help you find a qualified installer.
-Jason

SpicedRum

BoeshieldJ-- No problem, T9 is a very nice product indeed and has protected several of my cars from forming rust. It's pretty amazing how much better my (older cars, now sold) undercarriages looked compared to other similar cars around here. I use it on tools stored in the shed to lube and protect from rust as well. I like that it forms a nice waxy, glossy coating so you can see where you missed and doesn't affect any rubber, plastic or electronics--at least none that I've ever noticed. Good stuff!

charley95

Thanks for the offer but, a friend of mine has ExPel on his cars and I'm pretty impressed with his installer. I am not impressed with the workmanship on the installation of the 3M on my car that Lexus installed from the factory. There's some minor bubbles in it that I can't seem to work out. Would it be possible to use a hair dryer and squeegee to work them out? One thing I noticed is Lexus recommends not to use a clay bar on the film. I tried a small area with the clay and sure enough it scratched the film. I was able to polish them out quite easily though. What type of 3M film is Lexus using anyway?

charley95

This was my PPF for the drive home last week. It was 3M too! Painters tape on the bumper and packing tape on the headlights. It worked like a charm and I didn't get any chips or paint damage.

AeroTect

I had thought that program switched over to Pro Series, but as there is a newer version of Pro Series out, it's tough for me to tell what was sitting on the factory shelf. It used to be regular Scotchgard for sure, but you would see a slight texture in that film. Do you know if the dealer installed your kit, or if it was done before arriving to your dealership?

Heat wont take out bubbles from film. Poking with a needle would be a better move. Either way, if you are unhappy with the installation, you should take it back to your dealer. If these bubbles showed up after installation, it is covered.

SpicedRum

So I adjusted the Triple Beam headlights last night as I found them to be a little low. It's fairly straight forward to adjust:

Remove the two plastic panels in the forward part of the engine bay by popping the plastic fasteners in, then remove them and the panels.
Snap off the fuse box cover behind the left side light (gives more clearance on left side light)
Remove bolt holding on windshield wash fluid filler and lift, then move filler aside a bit. This gives clearance to the driver side (USA) bolts.
Locate 8mm bolt with galvanized "cog" ring on the back of each light assembly. I only saw one on each light.
Mark the top of the bolt with a sharpie for reference of "12:00" so you know where you are in the rotation.
Use 8mm ratchet wrench, turn bolt counter clockwise to raise.
Test drive, readjust then re-assemble once adjusted.

I ended up with 1 1/6 turns counterclockwise after several test drives and small adjustments. I didn't get anyone flashing at me on some dark country roads and can see pretty well, so hopefully it's OK. I'm not sure the triple beams are any better than other lights on low beam. My Mazda CX-9 with factory HID's seem to work better--whiter light, and a bit more penetration. This is not to say the lights are bad, just that I was expecting a little more. However, the high beams rock and lit up every critter in the next county. Also the auto-leveling feature is noticeable and seems to work well on hilly sections of road.

Be sure to orient yourself correctly before adjusting...turn them as though you were standing in the engine bay looking at the bolts in front of you.
Oh, and of course I dropped the %&$# wrench down into the driver wheel well since you can barely hold onto the wrench in the right space, but thankfully got it out by kinda banging on the bottom of the shields under the car until it bounced over to an open area. Best to tie a string to the wrench, then tie the string to your pants because it's kinda tight to hold onto the wrench so dropping it is way too easy.

There doesn't appear to be any left/right adjustments on the triple beam headlights, but it's hard to tell for sure. The manual doesn't describe the triple beams at all, and note that the non-triple beams are not adjusted like I'm describing.

Will get some good pics this weekend. The Ultra White paint and black interior look pretty sharp!

charley95

The triple beams are really sharp. I really wanted that option but couldn't find one anywhere. For some reason Lexus doesn't offer them for dealer allocation in the RWD format. Looking forward to seeing pics. of yours! You got a really high option GS. How do you like the HUD? As for the W-Techs, I have them in my 14 RX and pretty satisfied with them. They cover the carpet very well and I don't have to worry about any dirt getting on the carpet. The all weather mats Lexus offers are worthless in my opinion, especially the drivers side mat. Did yours come with the Lexus installed 3M PPF? You have the best color to maintain. Dr. Color Chip makes great touch up paint for minor chips that I use on my 14 that works really well you might want to consider. I'm holding off driving mine till I get my PPF done on mine. What products do you use for paint protection?

charley95

Not really plugging Adam's but, this is by far the best product I've ever used. This is an excellent product to use after you wash your car on paint that is maintained/corrected. You spray it on while the car is still wet and then dry it off as usual. Don't know what results you'd see on white but on my black it looks insane. I cannot recommend this product enough!