mink92890

the smart key technology is really great. i dont really like the color u had at ur dealer. at my dealer there was a black and a white one which looked really good.

daryll40

I agree on the wheels. I don't like the '04 look, although I was only going from the photo. That is one big reason I went for the '03 vs the '04. I also HATED the '02 and earlier base LS430 wheels...absolutely awful. The 17 inch '03 wheels (I think they were optional on earlier years) are great. Almost as nice as the best wheels ever...the directional wheels from 1990-1993.

Daryll40

VVT-i

Me, PM me if you like.

mink92890

vvt-i i have pm's off how do i turn them on

i was just wondering on the pricing of the 04' ls with ultra if u know that

VVT-i

At this point I really don't know the sticker price for the UL because we got about 10 of the 04 came in for the past 2-3 weeks, but all of them got no sticker price and it just said" Company Car" on the window. Those cars are just for training and display only.
You can look on top of the page and click' Tools', then ' Forum options' and look for enable private messagging.

LS007

Had a look at the 04 here in Bellevue Washington. A couple things surprised me. One was the larger single glove box as compared to the 01-03 split upper and lower box. This means they really did do a redesign of few major interior parts. The other was the trip computers display (Average MPG, etc.) in the dash display. It appeared to be a larger font with tighter dot pitch. The smart key and reverse camera are awsome, the new ML stereo had a DSP adjustment for front and rear seating positions. I had the tech flip the turn signal on and I was surprised that the tail lights clear lense didn't have LED's (as adverstised), but instead a yellow/gold bulb behind the lense. I couldn't tell if the other lights (running lights, brake) where LED. This give hope that maybe the 04 lense will fit on a 01-03.

LS430inTX

I just bought an '03 LS430 Ultra Luxury Edition last month at the end of year sale. The sticker on this baby was $69,807 (I did not pay this however) Drove it off the lot with 5mi on the odo.

The Dynamic Laser Cruise Control is NOT a new option. Mine has it. Its actually a very nice, welcomed option that works as advertised (unlike the spastic rain-sensing wipers).

exBMWowner

Just to clarify the point on the last note:

The LASER cruise control is not a new option, and will be available at the end of this month on the 2004 models.

The RADAR cruise control IS a new option, and will not be available until January. Included with the RADAR cruise control is pre-collision detection, which senses that you are about to crash and automatically applies full braking force and tightens the seatbelts in an attempt to prevent you from crashing into a car or other object in front of you.

If you want the combination of RADAR cruise control and pre-collision detection, you must wait until the January 2004 models ship.

LS430inTX

I just bought an '03 LS430 Ultra Luxury Edition last month at the end of year sale. The sticker on this baby was $69,807 (I did not pay this however) Drove it off the lot with 5mi on the odo.

The Dynamic Laser Cruise Control is NOT a new option. Mine has it. Its actually a very nice, welcomed option that works as advertised (unlike the spastic rain-sensing wipers).

mink92890

QUOTE]At this point I really don't know the sticker price for the UL because we got about 10 of the 04 came in for the past 2-3 weeks, but all of them got no sticker price and it just said" Company Car" on the window. Those cars are just for training and display only.[/QUOTE]

I went to the dealer last saturday and saw a black 04' with ultra and 1 white 04 with just nav/mark and smart key. do u have any idea when the cars will come at the lot so u can directly buy instead of preordering

sphereman

Saw a '04 LS430 in pearl white at South Bay Lexus in California.
As everyone else was saying, there was NOT enough distingtion between the 03 and the 04 in appearance (as I thought there'd be when I saw pictures).

I hate the new 18" wheels also

If I were in the market for a new LS, I'd definitely get a 03 with heavy discounts :P

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

Hello everyone. I went to a 3 hour 2004 LS430 training class yesterday. They covered the SmartAccess key, Radar Cruise Control, Bluetooth, 4th generation navigation, and production. The only thing they wouldn't tell us is the MSRP. Here's the official scoop:

The Smart Access key is really cool. You step within 3 feet of any door (while the key is in your pocket or purse) and the door unlocks/opens from the touch of your hand. Then you get inside the car and start the engine while the key is still in your pocket! They demonstrated how the key knows if you are inside or oustside the car and how you can customize it to unlock all doors, 2 doors closest to the key, or ony 1 door. Also you cannot lock the key in the car or the trunk. The car makes that beep noise like when you hit the lock button on your key and one of the doors is open.
The car currently has the Laser Cruise control and the Radar Crusie Control (which is supposed to be better because apparently radar bounces off any solid object regardless of size) will be available after January 2004. However, it will only be available on the west coast with the "Early Crash Detection" package (or whatever it's called) which from the radar determines a crash is unavoidable, switches the car to "Sport" mode, tightens the seat belt, and applies brake assist. Unofficially, I heard this package is about $3000, but don't quote me on that.

Bluetooth is available on cars with navigation. It allows you to make, talk, and receive calls from your cell phone via the navigation system. This is a wireless system (thus it's appeal) and works within a 30 foot range from the car. Bluetooth is the name of the technology and it was supposedly named after the first king of Denmark who united the whole country as one. You can now use a business telephone number for a POI search, instead of just the business name. Also the POI's have increased to something like over 8 million. Wow. Also, they stressed that there are only 4 phones out there that Lexus has currently put their "stamp of approval on" and one of them is a Nokia phone. In addition, the navigation has a "phone book" where you store numbers and you can dial right on the navigation screen. Amazing.
The 2004 LS430 will be on ground and availbe for pricing on Sept 24. All dealerships are equal on that aspect. Lexus has "locked" them out of our computers and we have no way of knowing prices or lease payment.

All in all, the new LS430 is a technological amazement....... and I'm not easily impressed. As far as looks is concerned, it still pretty much looks the same. If you are looking for the newest gadgets, then the 2004 is definately the way to go.


**I forgot one thing to mention on the new navigation**
You know how on the current navigation sometimes your address won't show up and it will say something like the address number does not exist, do you want to show the middle of the street or the nearest location or whatever it says. Now it reconizes longitude and latitude coordinates so in case you happen to know the coordinates, then you can use that and it'll pull up. (Althought I don't know how to read coordinates and have never known how to read coordinates!) Oh, and also there are now 4 (yup, count' em) screen background colors.




P.S. And for anyone who is interested, Longo Lexus has one in the new Flint Mica color on our showroom. It's a beautiful color on the RX, but quite something else on the LS!

Jasper2k

You ROCK! Thanks for the info, what a great synopsis.

Jayson

I agree 100% with what you just stated. I cannot understand the hype behind the '04 LS430. You'd think the date was 9/17/00 with the completely restyled 01 LS430 just hit the market. Just my opinion. I believe in purchasing on model years when the vehicle is virtually unlike the previous year.

Jayson

daryll40

That (buying the tried and true "better looking" '03 at a discount) was my thinking...so I did! I agree about the wheels...they are a big item. The '03 wheels are the best.