FatherTo1

Just got the car back and the hood looks much better now. I was in a Sentra for two days and of course it wasn't a great experience (smaller, buzzy engine, bumpy ride, etc.). Irony is that the Sentra was the same color as the LS and my Mom couldn't tell I was driving the rental. Sigh. The Sentra had a lot more rattles and the road noise intrudes so much that you can't hear the radio at regular listening volumes, and now I understand why you don't really get the option for premium, acoustically-calibrated audio systems in these types of cars as it would be a waste of money and effort. What bugged me most is the rattling that the front passenger headrest makes while going down the road when the seat is empty (even with the headrest in the lowest position). Had that rattle on the Sienna too but not as bad. The Sentra is a completely different class of car with different design goals. I didn't hate driving it, it was simply adequate as temporary transportation. I was impressed by the amount of interior space though. It is considerably shorter than the LS but seemed to have just as much legroom front and back, except not as much width obviously. The trunk is cavernous and bigger in depth and height than a base LS, it seems. The CVT is ho-hum.

I stared at the hood and couldn't detect color variations or blend lines in direct sunlight. Will need to look at it more in different types of light. On initial impression it looks good and I'm glad to have the hood back to normal. What really got my attention however was getting back into the LS and driving home. Just rolling out of the parking lot I thought, "oh yes, this is what I missed and love". the car is so darn smooth and quiet! I could feel the sensation of numbness and isolation on the road. Normally I can't detect the numbness that you read about in reviews. I am going to wait on applying Shin-Etsu just because I need to get re-accustomed to the new level of quiet after the Sentra. Right now the LS rides like a tomb coming from the Sentra, just the way I like it. I can imagine what passengers feel like the first time they ride in the LS. Others typically comment how smooth the car is but I just chalk it up to politeness because after a while I get used to the level of refinement and take it for granted. Love the LS and loved how the girl at the body shop said it is so "fancy" as she was checking over details taking the odometer reading.

SW17LS

Yeah you do forget how special a car it really is until you get used to driving something else for a while.

I love when we've been on a long family trip in the van and I get back in the LS to go to work the next morning.

FatherTo1

Yes indeed, Steve. A specialness that even our 6-year-old noticed. On her own, she asked why the Sentra is noisy and bumpy. She was very glad to have the LS back and now appreciates it more as my wife and daughter routinely consider cars as "boring". Even at four years old she commented on the level of comfort and quietness of the Sienna versus LS 430, although she does miss the sliding doors on the Sienna (I do too).

COOLIS

I'm late to the discussion here, but does Lexus no longer affix the VIN# stickers to each body panel? That has always been one of the ways I've made sure the pre-owned Lexus' I've bought haven't been repainted. Though, I assume they could repaint the hood without touching the underside where the VIN sticker is.

I'm super **** about repaints, even if it's just a bumper.A couple years ago I almost bought a CPO 2011 LS460 Sport and noticed the silver bumper was slightly lighter than the rest of the car. Sure enough, the dealer had repainted both the front and rear bumpers. I passed because of this. This was at Newport Lexus and apparently is common practice for them and many other dealers.

I recently had a lady back into my GS430 rear driver door and it left an approx. 4 inch dent. I've only had one paintless dent guy look at it this far, but he said the dent is too sharp for him to fix. I will get a couple other opinions, but otherwise the dent is staying b/c I refuse to have the door painted.

FatherTo1

Yea, I wasn't crazy about the idea to repaint but I don't think I had too many other options. The flaking was definitely spreading and repainting would have been inevitable. I was embarrassed driving around with that touched-up edge, let alone wait for it to grow larger.

COOLIS, would you pass on a car if the bumpers were mismatched due to age and exposure vs a car that had repainted bumpers but perfectly matched? Just curious.

Accidents unfortunately happen and will require repaint. Depending on how bad a dent is, I would be more bothered seeing the dent everyday than having it fixed and repainted. A buddy just got into an accident today. No injuries but feel bad that his rear passenger-side door and part of rear quarter panel will need to be fixed and repainted on a brand new, 4-month-old Accord.

COOLIS

I won't buy a car if the bumpers are faded or mismatched, even it is original paint. I searched high and low for my current GS430. It took nearly a year to find one that was near perfect.

My first car was a 2001 IS300. My mom backed into my car and I had to have the passenger door repainted. I sold the car shortly after because I could clearly see where they blended the silver paint and it drove me crazy. Might be slightly OCD lol.

FatherTo1

That is true, if it's a noticeably bad paint job then that's just as bad as a dent. I thought insurance/body shops warranty their work. Could it have been repainted yet again? Or do things get worse the more you re-sand and re-paint surfaces?

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

So did they paint the entire hood or just the peeling area and blend that into the rest of the hood?

Chuckinnj

The dealer where I purchased my CPO from has 3 guys working everyday just repainting bumpers only..... That is all they do every day.

FatherTo1

I did ask about that and they said they blended it from the edge to where the hood raises up in the center. They also blended into the fender. The guy that came to do the clear bra was very exacting and matched the existing line (supposedly they didn't remove the clear bra from the other fender, at least that was the initial plan). They did remove the bumper too.

FatherTo1

Maybe I should start a different thread but I have a question about orange peel. Steve (SW15LS) shared a photo of his LS with really great, flat paint quality. Going around our car, I noticed every reflection exhibits orange peel despite being factory paint. Can orange peel be due to uneven clear coat or wax? I had the car detailed in April by the same person I've been using for a few times. Could it be his work is not as good as it used to be? I did make a mental note during the most recent detail that he finished much sooner than usual (1.5 hrs vs 2.5 hrs before) and this was just exterior detail because the interior was already clean. If it is in the clear coat or the "wax that lasts 1-year" (which I've since learned is a scam) then I can try a different detailer next time or try to learn myself (although I don't want to "practice" on my car).

EDIT: It was $200 just for the exterior detail this time with clay bar, paint prep, and 1-year-wax. I don't know if he really did all of that though. If it held up I was gonna consider his $500-600 3-year-wax but he said that needs a clean environment whereas he currently comes to our home to detail the car. A buddy of mine recently detailed his brand new Tesla but that was with some $1800 lifetime nano wax. His black Tesla looks marvelously shiny and wet in photos (daily FB photos, lol). I don't know how long that nano wax will really last though, and that's a lot to spend on a detail no matter how good it looks.

SW17LS

Looks good!

theres Nothing that a detailed can do that would cause orange peel. It's in the paint finish itself. Can you try and post a picture?

FatherTo1

Here is a video of what I see as orange peel. The first half is on the wife's 2006 white ES 330, driver's side A-pillar, the second part of the video is the passenger-side mirror on the LS. The detailer did both cars in April, if that matters. Below is also a photo to try and show visible orange peel along the roofline of the ES's reflection. Just kind of odd to see this on all reflections on both cars.

SW17LS

Hey, that looks normal. I wouldn't classify either of those as a "lot of orange peel", although your ES is the same generation as mine which does have a lot of orange peel. My mirrors are a little smoother than that though, but that doesn't look bad.

Remember, mass produced car. If you want a car totally devoid of orange peel and a perfect finish you need to spend Rolls Royce/Bentley money.

FatherTo1

Thanks for taking a look, Steve. I don't know why I obsess about it so much. I suppose the LS just raises my expectations about everything and we didn't even pay new money for it, lol. You are right that the ES has more orange peel, yet I've never noticed it in 11 years. I probably just stare at the LS more and love seeing its profile reflected in store windows when driving. I think I will do Shin-etsu on the sunroof today as that area is looking pretty dried and cracked.