Got an '08 LS today to drive around for a few hours "on my turf", and needless to say, I was really attuned to some of the issues I see mentioned on this board. And this is what I found:

Wind noise - There wasn't any. This car was a SWB, and it had the laminated side glass. I ran it only up to a little over 80mph (I didn't have my trusty radar detector with me ), , and it was blustery today, so it was perfect conditions for the dreaded side window wind noise, right? None. Just none. If I strained, I could maybe pick up a tiny bit of the sound of the side rearview mirrors slicing through the wind, but it was 'way negligible.

Rough ride - Well, I guess you guys haven't been riding around in SUV's and pickups lately, but if this is a rough ride I'm in good shape. Even though the tires were inflated to 36 and 38 psi, I personally thought the ride was pretty damn nice. Sure, I could induce some clunking over potholes, and some chatter over ripply stuff, but the ride quality was still better than 90% of what's out there IMO. All in all, a very comfy ride.

Wallowing - Okay, it's no Elise in the twisties, but this car didn't seem to me to do anything approaching wallowing or floating. I didn't take it through anything really challenging, but I did make a point to sling it around some cloverleafs and off-ramps, and I didn't ever feel like it was hurtling out of control. I guess wallowiness is subjective.

OTOH, there are some things I'm not crazy about. One is the artificial feel to the steering - the same thing I had on my IS350, although not as bad as the IS. It's almost like it's overboosted, but it's a side effect of the electric PS, which affects the feel. It's not a deal-killer, but it does feel funny after driving cars with more steering feel.

Another is the Nav. It's been talked to death, but the friggin lockout is almost a deal-killer for me. The only redeeming factor is the hope that the PS device will work with the v7.1, and that's really just a silly $300 band-aid that shouldn't be necessary at all. Damn you, Toyota. How in the hell can it be of any use to ask for nearby restaurants or hotels or whatever, and get ONE??? And pulling over and stopping every time you need to do a search like that is ridiculous and insulting. Okay, enough on that.

Another nuisance to me is having to turn on the cruise control every time I start the car. I use it constantly, every time I drive, so it's just an extra step I have to remember. With my Acuras it is always on until you turn it off.

I do like the door closers (maybe my wife will stop slamming the doors so hard it rattles my fillings). And the proximity sensors and display are good, since rearward visibility isn't the greatest. Rear seat legroom is terrific, as is trunk room. Seats seem supportive and comfortable.

Overall, I like it. Now we'll just have to see if I can come to terms with the dealer ... and I'm a tough case.

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Great synoposis. I hope you're able to work out a deal. I've had mine now for about 6 months and it gets better every day.

 

good rite up mike. let us know what kind of deal u make and which dealer. thanks, lots of luck

 

very nice post mike.....i recently to my car in for the smart card programming and they gave me a new RX to drive around with.......i very dissapointed in the 'feel' and 'ride' of the suv; OTOH, i was ecstatic that i had such an awesome car! i definitely took it for grant there for a while, and now appreciate my car much more.....and yes, i love not having to carry around the 'keys/fob'....

 

Raj - I just got a call from a dealer in the Mid-Cities offering $65,700 for his '08 SWB LS460, with ML/Nav, Comfort, Advanced Parking, door closers, etc. List is around $71,900 I think.

That's still "just" $6,000 off MSRP, so he's making a good $3k or so over invoice at that price. I'm working with a Dallas dealer as well, so I'm hoping to play one off against the other and beat that price.

PM me if you need details.

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try to get them to around 2000 or 2200 over. i think end of the year it should be achievable. they were charging 1500 for factory chromes . good idea let them beat each other up.
good luck

 

Car dealers are SO predictable, and sadly Lexus is no exception. They undercut me by a good $2k on my trade, so I let them know I'm in the position of really not caring if the deal works or not (and that's true - I'm not under the gun at all). They've gone back to the negotiating table and I went home.

If they don't come up with something reasonable tomorrow, I plan to tell them to just put the deal in their desk drawer, and if they need a sale before the books close Dec. 31, give me a call.

Frankly, dealers trade on passion so much of the time that they know they can play hard ball and people will cave in. That may even be more true of people who buy Lexuses, just like BMW's and M-B's. But even though I can afford it, I am not careless with my money, and I'm not going to pay more than I have to for my car. Call me tight, but I call it good business.

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I have owned my LS460 SW for about 9 months. Have had the two wind noise fixes (mirrors and glass). I too did not notice the wind noise on a test drive. I have owned the LS400 the LS430 and a GS400. The LS460 is by far noisier (wind). Lexus calls it turbulence, but it is just a spin to tiptoe around the problem. They may have fixed it for 08 - I don't know. But after having owned Lexi for 15 years, the ownership experience is not the same. My only advice is that you test - test - test - the actual vehicle you would buy before signing. Lexus knows they have a problem but are now calling it a feature.

I wished I would have kept my LS430 until they got the LS460 right.

 

Good write up!

 

I like the LS 460 myself. I've been thinking about getting the LS for a while.

 

You are just like me when it comes to dealing. Can I afford a new car, yes. Am I willing to pay what the average consumer pays, no.

I don't even go into the dealership. I e mail my contact over there. It's much easier to haggle over e mail as apposed to in person. I copy and paste numbers from websites to them and they hate me having all that data in front of me.

I read a post two weeks ago where the guy already cut the check for the price he wanted to pay and left it at the dealer. He said if you want a deal cash it and call me if not just rip it up and he says it works almost every time. I wish I could find that post as I laughed my *** off when reading it.

He said it worked every time.

 

That is how I bought both the RX for my wife and the GS for me. The amount of the check was inclusive of tax, title, dealer doc fees, destination charges, tint, less trade-in. I let them figure up the numbers on their side so that it equaled the amount that I was paying.

 

How much lower did you cut the check for from what they wanted to sell it to you for? What was the difference and was there any drama involved?

 

Also, when you do this. How does the bank who you finance cut you a check? Don't they need a bill of sale or something? How does that work, does anyone know?

 

Who cares what the dealer wanted to SELL it for? Write up the check for what YOU want to BUY it for. If the dealer wants to go for it or haggle, fine. If not, no biggie.

I suspect this only works for cash deals since you obviously don't have the financing check in hand. You could also write a check against a line of credit like a home equity line I guess.

By the way, last year I went to a dealer (Mazda, not Lexus) on NEW YEAR'S EVE AT ABOUT 5:30P.M. (they closed at 6). I had previously been in and test driven a car a few weeks prior and I knew it and some others were still on the lot. I wanted to pay invoice price and had all the data. So I walked in and basically said how bad do you want to sell a car before the end of this year. In the end I got it for $500 over invoice including an extra 2 yrs of warranty so I was happy. I was late to a New Year's party but at least I rolled up in a new loaded Miata for $28K out the door. Maybe this story will help someone.