warminwisc

I have had a premium for 100 k... 140 total and see a nice 5 Ultra with 60 k for 25 g's CPO before dickering.

Not meaning to be a crook just wondering is there anyway to make the air susp fail say before 100 k? Same as mine silver, but gray interior, lighter maple wood I like and 15 Lexus dealer service records from FLA at a Lexus dealer West palm Beach Lexus.

It sounds like a pretty fair deal for 24 g's?

caddyowner

ULs in 04-06 did not have gray interiors: black or ecru (cream/light beige) for silver cars. (Rare saddle for some other colors.) If the interior really is gray, it is a ML at best.

caddyowner

Is it this one? That appears to be a CL, silver with an ecru interior. It looks like someone put on those stick-on chrome pieces that cover some of the black trim.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...standard=false

Lynzoid

Definitely stick-on chrome off ebay.

warminwisc

Ya I can always count on my friends. Now it is CL and price comes dowm 1k as it has been on the lot 12 days. It says air in the ad thanks Cadman. 23,981 CPO good deal?
2.9 percent financing.

Off for Mexican with the wife, of course "it will move fast" though the ML i was looking for with 47k 04 did sell for 20k ish fast. I have gotten phenominal service out of the Premium but the cl with the Levinson has my eye? Probably better as it has a pass through for my skiis as I was a professional skier.

warminwisc

Does that look like rosewood or maple?

caddyowner

It does not have the air suspension or other UL switches in front of the shifter - just the headlamp washer switch. It also does not have radar cruise from the grille pics. As a CL, it would have laser cruise, though. The trunk is also full-sized.

I would suspect that the description and pics don't match, but I think the dealer (Lexus at that) just doesn't know what they are selling. I would only buy it after a complete inspection, preferably in-person and by a Lexus mechanic.

caddyowner

That is the golden birds eye maple. Rosewood was not available in 04-06. The other interior wood option in 04-06 for UL and CL cars was antique walnut with black or saddle leather.

warminwisc

I would think it has to be a CL if the pictures are of the car with the washers are accurate. If it is certified do I need an inspection, probably wouldn't hurt from another Lexus dealer? 24k seem fair if it is a good car maybe get it for 23,500. Just need it proven it has no paintwork. I will ask about the radar cruise tomorrow

caddyowner

I blew the pics up on my iPad and it looked like some panels didn't match. But silver is very tricky. Post a request here and in the regional forum that includes FL asking someone to go look at it for you.

BTW, silver and ecru looks very classy in person. Remember that the seats get discolored easily though, if you have kids or drive a lot in jeans.

warminwisc

When you say ecru is that the color and/or an upgraded leather seating material?

caddyowner

Ecru is lighter in color than cashmere. From cars i've seen, it's a creamy beige - not quite off-white. I believe the carpets are a bit darker, almost cashmere. It wasn't my top choice since my then-current MKZ had nearly the same color interior and it tended to get dirty.

The UL and CL trim levels had upgraded seat leather - black semi-aniline leather and saddle or ecru comfort leather. (Don't know what "comfort" leather means.) These trim levels also had additional leather trim on the lower dash, center console, and doors.

My first choice was a CL trim mainly because of the look and feel of the black semi-aniline seats and additional leather trim. I've come to appreciate the power door closers and laser cruise control. I'm so-so on the suede headliner and laminated side glass. I don't care for the headlamp washers.

Personally, I think the two best trim levels are premium and CL. The premium had what I really wanted in the car - size, power, comfort, ergonomics, cooled seats (well, sorta), smartaccess, and it was a Lexus. For me, the only drawback to the premium was the appearance of the non-nav center stack (too Toyota-esque) and the desire to have integrated bluetooth. It turns out the bluetooth is lacking as it doesn't integrate very well with modern phones and there's the whole in-motion nanny circuits that can't be easily bypassed in current versions of the nav software. The voice commands are, for me, useless and the nav system is quite dated. Plus, I still don't care for having to use a touch screen for my HVAC and stereo controls.

If I were shopping today, I'd probably target a Premium in a light color (cypress or moonlight pearl) with a cashmere interior. I'm sure a cypress CL with an ecru interior would turn my head, too.

davelex

Interesting observation above about the bluetooth on the 430's. My recently acquired 06 430's bluetooth works poorly. Seems to take a long time to respond when answering and hanging up. This is very irritating to both me and the caller. Many of the calling options are locked out once in motion causing further frustration. It just seems to be so clunky and awkward as to be near useless.

I also agree that the nav is very dated. The low resolution screen and old fashioned scrolling, in particular, bother me. My current $180 portable GPS is a lot better.

I spent months searching for the right car and there are lots of them here in FL.
Moonlight Pearl with Cashmere leather and ML package, smartkey and 18's is how this 28K mile car was equipped. Always garaged, near flawless cosmetics, and complete Lexus service history.

I looked at several cars from the Lexus dealer cited above. Most were pretty nice but I'd still recommend a personal inspection before buying any car.

warminwisc

Interesting, Having the Premium I always wondered how good the Bluetooth and Nav really where having a hunch they where not perfect.

How superior is the Levinson to the Premium stereo? Now I may be targeting a 06 Premium with low low miles. I find the stereo to be OK, I was in an Audi 08 which a Bose system which was far superior to mine comparison wise.

I actually like the look of the Premium dash over the Nav. Thanks for the input!!

davelex

The nav wasn't important to me, either, but the Levinson sound sure was. It's noticably cleaner and more powerful than the standard "premium" system. Plus nav is almost a requirement nowadays and is very important for resale value.

I'm on the fence about keeping the 430. I kept my 400 and still like it a lot. At some point soon I'll need to sell one of them.