caddyowner

I would advise against them. They are brand new (dealer put them on) and ride OK for now. If they are like the GY RSAs that were on my SRX when new, by 12K miles they will be noisy, thumpy, and have lousy wet traction.

tcbted

Congrats on bringing her "back to life".

I had similar scratches to your quarter panel scrapes when I picked up my 04 LS430. They were all below the beltline, at different heights and depths.
Because they were all low down, I just had a mobile paint shop repair them.
Not as professional as your approach, but it still worked out fine.
I was on a very tight budget.

I often wondered if my car was simply too large for the previous owner.

I very much respect your efforts to properly restore the finish of a beautiful car.
Well done!

SteveM

Glad to see that this turned out nicely. I like the Flint Mica more and more as I look at it (not that I ever didn't). Contrasts nicely with the chrome also. This car is analogous to a great family pet saved from a neglectful owner. They always love you that much more for saving them.

AlexusAnja

Looks to be a nice job, how about some full body pics? Was this a full paintover, or just the panels that needed work? If just panels, did the paint match up nicely?

Ventura

Nice looking car. You were very smart going with a known source for the repairs. Saving a few bucks and winding up with grief is not worth it. Nice mileage also. The front looks super without the license holder. Wish we could do that here in “The Peoples Republic of California”.

caddyowner

Painted:
- Front bumper cover
- RF fender (because the other three panels on that side needed work)
- RF door
- RR door
- RR quarter panel
- Rear bumper cover
- Trunk lid

Color difference, if any, is undetectable where repainted and non-repainted panels meet. They said the left side had some paint in the past, too. (There was a dent removal in the service history.)

LS430inDE.

CAR LOOKS FANTASTIC! Now with the total fix-up will probably come the nervousness that comes with parking in PUBLIC AREAS. If I can quickly comment on the GY RS-A's...I agree they are JUNK. My parents had them on their 2005 Buick Century. They will also last about 1/2 as long as other tires costing similar. (their treadwear on 245/45/18 is a lousy 260.)

I've always thought GY's were the worst of both worlds---overpriced AND underperformed (quickly wearing, noisey, medicore wet/dry grip). I concur with your assessment on them.

Congrats again on the rehabilitated LS! Curious...any plans on tint?

Ay-nako

iTrader: (25)

wow, the car looks fantastic! glad to see how well the car looks after all that hard work!

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

That Trunk just kills me. Out of all things that could be damaged, "she" damaged the trunk.

My 2003 only has one ding on it behind the drivers side rear door (probably from a Walmart parking lot). No scratches, no dents. Makes me wonder how some people do it, especially with parking sensors.

caddyowner

Thanks to all for the kind words. I haven't really considered tint, but I doubt I'll do it. The only exterior mods I plan are a set of silver painted winter wheels and winter tires. (probably Michelin X-Ice) When I buy those next fall, I will have the tire store swap tires on the scratched LR with the clean spare wheel. I'll live with the bit of curb rash on the other wheels. If the car would have come with silver wheels, I would have put the winter tires on those and bought nicer wheels for the summer. However, running chrome wheels in the winter is just asking for them to look awful, even if I do leave the car home on the nastiest days.

The interior will get the center console box installed, probably after Easter.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

Looks great!

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

Your LS has a new "bill of health" now that it's under your care

I agree
CA is getting desperate so I finally installed my front plate. Just another excuse to get a petty fine

xuserx04

iTrader: (6)

WOW $1,163 for 30k service

anyways car looks great now

caddyowner

The $30K service was about $470. I also had the dealer replace the left steering wheel switch (station up / band / down); provide, cut, and program a new master key; and change the cabin air filter.

SteveM

Caddy,

Just a quick question for you. I'm getting my front plate holder (CA car) taken off soon and will also want to deal with those holes. Do you know what process they use to do this? Is it just the holes filled and painted over somehow or is it going to require my whole bumper be painted?

Thanks