So, what's the story here?
01-25-08, 09:31 PM
#1
So, what's the story here?
Tell us of how, and when you received your car, and what has happened to it so far. I'll begin =]
My first time was when my Dad told me of a fellow co-worker of his selling his Lexus. I was like WOOOOOAH. When he brought it home, I was driving around the corner, and he was pulling in. I fell in love. At that time, I was driving a 1994 champagne color V4 saturn that was falling apart. She was dirty, disfigured, many dents, and out of tune! My family and I stared, sat in, and test drove it for the night.
Picture: BEFORE major construction
The following week, my Dad took it to a body shop out in Brooklyn. I waited roughly a week and a half, maybe more! I couldn't sleep ahahah. Then, finally, my Dad, my younger brother and I drove out to Brooklyn to pick up the car. The car hadn't arrived yet, so my brother and I were about to leave the lot of the body shop, and I look in the rear view mirror, and I see this.... Beautiful, concrete, sparkling GS400 roll in! We backed up, dropped jaws, and left.
My Dad came home roughly 10pm after having major engine construction done to it. All fluids flushed and all! The next morning, My Dad took it out to have the interior shampooed, and conditioned!!! WOW did it smell fresh!! Had to wait another 2 days for it to DRY!!! >_<
Then, finally.... keys came into my possession, credit card in my wallet, and detailing on my mind.
AFTER!!!!!
Current:
After months of detailing, trying to get every swirl out of my paint, every rough surface out, I'm proud to call this my sweet heart. My blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this monster machine. There's more to come for this car.... trust me on that!
My first time was when my Dad told me of a fellow co-worker of his selling his Lexus. I was like WOOOOOAH. When he brought it home, I was driving around the corner, and he was pulling in. I fell in love. At that time, I was driving a 1994 champagne color V4 saturn that was falling apart. She was dirty, disfigured, many dents, and out of tune! My family and I stared, sat in, and test drove it for the night.
Picture: BEFORE major construction
The following week, my Dad took it to a body shop out in Brooklyn. I waited roughly a week and a half, maybe more! I couldn't sleep ahahah. Then, finally, my Dad, my younger brother and I drove out to Brooklyn to pick up the car. The car hadn't arrived yet, so my brother and I were about to leave the lot of the body shop, and I look in the rear view mirror, and I see this.... Beautiful, concrete, sparkling GS400 roll in! We backed up, dropped jaws, and left.
My Dad came home roughly 10pm after having major engine construction done to it. All fluids flushed and all! The next morning, My Dad took it out to have the interior shampooed, and conditioned!!! WOW did it smell fresh!! Had to wait another 2 days for it to DRY!!! >_<
Then, finally.... keys came into my possession, credit card in my wallet, and detailing on my mind.
AFTER!!!!!
Current:
After months of detailing, trying to get every swirl out of my paint, every rough surface out, I'm proud to call this my sweet heart. My blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this monster machine. There's more to come for this car.... trust me on that!
01-26-08, 08:15 AM
#3
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Ok my turn.
Been in the market in 1/2004 for the GS model and ONLY wanted the white ext/black int with nav. Took me 1.5 years to find that model with low mileage (in Texas). Purchased and shipped the car to nyc without looking at it and it's exactly what I wanted. Since then its gone through some minor changes.
Big plans for 2008? We'll see.
Sorry no pics of my slu t.
Been in the market in 1/2004 for the GS model and ONLY wanted the white ext/black int with nav. Took me 1.5 years to find that model with low mileage (in Texas). Purchased and shipped the car to nyc without looking at it and it's exactly what I wanted. Since then its gone through some minor changes.
Big plans for 2008? We'll see.
Sorry no pics of my slu t.
01-26-08, 10:08 AM
#4
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My lexus has been around since 2000 when it started out with only 14,000 miles. I was only 14 when my father pulled that car into the driveway and told my mother that we had sold the durango, and that this was her new car. I just remember hopping into the car, staring at the gauges and drooling. I remember thinking how comfortable the seats were, and how cool it was to be in such an expensive car - my father works so damn hard and he wanted to prove to my mother how much it was paying off. From 2000 until 2005 my mother drove this car everywhere. She would take it to visit my sister at Roger Williams at least once a week and I would always go with her so I could ride in it. I used to love just laying back and falling asleep because it was so comfortable. It reminded me of when I was little and I used to fall asleep in the car. In 2005 my father became the president of the NAAA and was given a brand new '06 Navigator in December
That summer (2006) I decided to sell my old car. I loved the neon too, but it was a cop magnet, it was a pretty harsh ride driving every day, and just wasn't what I wanted for a daily driver anymore - I was going into my junior year of college and wanted a change. I started looking at everything - used WRX's, SRT-4s, SC300's, 300ZX, everything. I then realized that what I really loved was sitting in the driveway never getting used anymore. Sure it had a few dents and dings in it, but I had loved driving that car any chance I could whenever I could. It was so much nicer than the neon inside, and its beautiful.
I sold my neon and gave the money to my parents as a down payment, and I'm still paying them back for it. It's been worth every penny in the end, and I'm very happy I was able to find what I was looking for sitting right in my driveway.
I know that was long winded, but I figured I would share. It's kind of interesting how one car can be so connected to your life without really even noticing.
Article Excerpt
Byline: Arlena Sawyers
Tom Caruso knows how to grow a company. He also knows how to grow with a company.
Caruso, 46, last weekend was scheduled to take over as president of the National Auto Auction Association. He is vice president of the Northeast region of ADESA Inc., overseeing the operations of 10 of the company's auction sites.
Caruso also is general manager of ADESA's Boston-area auction - a job he has held since he was 25 [and before that started out as a car washer].
Byline: Arlena Sawyers
Tom Caruso knows how to grow a company. He also knows how to grow with a company.
Caruso, 46, last weekend was scheduled to take over as president of the National Auto Auction Association. He is vice president of the Northeast region of ADESA Inc., overseeing the operations of 10 of the company's auction sites.
Caruso also is general manager of ADESA's Boston-area auction - a job he has held since he was 25 [and before that started out as a car washer].
That summer (2006) I decided to sell my old car. I loved the neon too, but it was a cop magnet, it was a pretty harsh ride driving every day, and just wasn't what I wanted for a daily driver anymore - I was going into my junior year of college and wanted a change. I started looking at everything - used WRX's, SRT-4s, SC300's, 300ZX, everything. I then realized that what I really loved was sitting in the driveway never getting used anymore. Sure it had a few dents and dings in it, but I had loved driving that car any chance I could whenever I could. It was so much nicer than the neon inside, and its beautiful.
I sold my neon and gave the money to my parents as a down payment, and I'm still paying them back for it. It's been worth every penny in the end, and I'm very happy I was able to find what I was looking for sitting right in my driveway.
I know that was long winded, but I figured I would share. It's kind of interesting how one car can be so connected to your life without really even noticing.
Last edited by Joe C; 01-26-08 at 10:14 AM.
01-26-08, 07:40 PM
#6
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well as some of the NELOC members in NY know me. i don't own a lexus. i know, its blasphamy. well since i was a kid i've always been into wanting an old school car that i could fix up. well in summer of 07 i got my dream fulfilled. i aquired a 1991 BMW 525iA from a neighbor who was gonna junk it. me being the person who hates throwing away perfectly good items, saved it. i immediatly searched for aftermarket mods i could do to the car. i first ordered a whole new coolant piping system from a performance shop in Florida. I then went on the search for wheels. I then went on craigslist where i found a set of E39 M5 wheels that need refinishing w/ Falken Ziex tires that were in decent shape. i then did a blackout kidney conversion along with a shadowline which is still in progress. after completeing the kidney conversion i smoked the sidemarkers with VHT paint which was good because i could give them a very dark tint to the lights and make them virtually invisible in low light areas. i plan to do many more modifications to the vehicle in the next few years and maybe hope to own a lexus in the future and modify that.
01-27-08, 09:04 AM
#7
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01-28-08, 07:32 AM
#8
This seems like fun...
My first car 04 ES300 enlisted on CL as JLAM1017 back in 03
rookie to CL
(Mommy wanted white I had no choice; she was paying the bill)
Please excuse the rims. They were ugly
My 2nd car 97 SC400 I mean... the batmobile enlisted on CL as batmobile back in 05
Enlisted 37th in NELOC back in 06
Rookie to NELOC
(MY CAR!!!!!!!)
My current car 07 IS350 as of last year still proud to be apart of CL and NELOC
not an OG to NELOC... there was a crowd WAYY before me
just official NELOC member cuz i got my stickers
(still the batmobile; if your saying the batmobile doesn't have 4 doors... it's actually a 2 door coupe with gadgets that open when i want them to open. LOL)
My first car 04 ES300 enlisted on CL as JLAM1017 back in 03
rookie to CL
(Mommy wanted white I had no choice; she was paying the bill)
Please excuse the rims. They were ugly
My 2nd car 97 SC400 I mean... the batmobile enlisted on CL as batmobile back in 05
Enlisted 37th in NELOC back in 06
Rookie to NELOC
(MY CAR!!!!!!!)
My current car 07 IS350 as of last year still proud to be apart of CL and NELOC
not an OG to NELOC... there was a crowd WAYY before me
just official NELOC member cuz i got my stickers
(still the batmobile; if your saying the batmobile doesn't have 4 doors... it's actually a 2 door coupe with gadgets that open when i want them to open. LOL)
01-29-08, 07:31 AM
#9
ok, ill have a go at this.
When i was 16 in 2002, my father sold his white 4Runner and bought a 93 Lexus GS300 in Blue Slate Metallic, that really dark gray that looks uber sexy. He wanted that luxury feel, leather seats, and power. Before his 4Runner he used to have a red 90's celica and he'd love burning out in that thing, ripping gears on the highway and in general just having a crazy time. The first day he brought the lex home, i was floored. I was one of those kids who didn't care what car they had or what other people had and never really looked at cars with the "enthusiasts eye", but after i sat in the lex the first time, the first words out of my mouth were "can i have this???? please!!!" and all he said was "maybe, we'll see".
My father passed away in 2005 from skin cancer and we had a hard time as a family for a while. He also had a kidney transplant which had complicated all forms of therapy. We miss him everyday.
He left my mother, my brother, and I stuff to be split between us, but each of us was given one thing specifically meant for our own. And the thing given to me, recently turned 19, was my father's lexus, because he knew of my whole family that I would love that car like he did.
And I very much did until last year. My daily driver was my toyota corolla 96, my first car bought by me and loved to death by me. Unfortunately i was skimping on buying new tires for my corolla and they were bald as a babys bottom. My mother, being the caring woman she is, took my corolla one morning because she thought it was too dangerous for me to keep driving around like that and told me to take the lexus to work. I did so, but on the way home I was hit by a minivan and my father's lexus was totalled. I came out with only airbag burns and some slight whiplash but I was so upset about the car I couldn't be consoled. I lost the last thing my father gave to me, but my mother still swears that my father was protecting me and that for some reason she was compelled to take my car that morning. If I was in the corolla its true, I probably would have been in a lot more serious condition cause the 1st gen Gs is a tank and protected me far better than my little toyota would have.
A good friend of mine, car enthusiast from birth, offered to buy what was left and try fixing it up. As of right now, he has done just that and brought it back to fully functioning condition. But a year spanned during that time and i had decided it was time to sell my corolla and look for something better. I looked at mr2s, supras, is300s, 300gt vr4s, sc300s, etc. But i had something of an epiphany and decided I'd look for a 1st gen GS ( sorry 2nd gens, i just don't prefer that body style ). I found one in the correct price range that looked real nice with everything I wanted. It is black/gray two tone, gray interior, stock system (prime for being changed), stock everything (again, perfect for modding). I was bit by the modding bug that year and had started on my corolla, but doing it to this lexus was going to be so much more fulfilling, I felt.
My current projects completed on it are:
Clear Modded Headlights,
Tinted Tails,
JL 500/5 Amp,
JL 12IB4 Sub,
Direct Ipod Interface,
Valor TS DDIN indash,
Black carpets,
LED Cabin Lights,
Marble Wood Dash Kit
-------------------------------------------------
I plan to do rims, a paintjob, viper security, halos, lowering springs, tint, and NA-T.
I spoke to my friend that bought the original lex and I've bought a lot of parts from that car for mine, so i have lots of pieces of that original in my car now. I'm conciously and unconciously trying to resurrect that car and make it how he and I would have both enjoyed it.
I was also planning when i first got my car that i was going to paint it black. But now i've decided I'm going to get it in the blue slate metallic my fathers was. It was a striking color, rare for this car (on top of the fact you see none of these cars around anyways), and its again something of a tribute to what he gave me and how much i miss him.
Phew ok. That was my story for my lexus
When i was 16 in 2002, my father sold his white 4Runner and bought a 93 Lexus GS300 in Blue Slate Metallic, that really dark gray that looks uber sexy. He wanted that luxury feel, leather seats, and power. Before his 4Runner he used to have a red 90's celica and he'd love burning out in that thing, ripping gears on the highway and in general just having a crazy time. The first day he brought the lex home, i was floored. I was one of those kids who didn't care what car they had or what other people had and never really looked at cars with the "enthusiasts eye", but after i sat in the lex the first time, the first words out of my mouth were "can i have this???? please!!!" and all he said was "maybe, we'll see".
My father passed away in 2005 from skin cancer and we had a hard time as a family for a while. He also had a kidney transplant which had complicated all forms of therapy. We miss him everyday.
He left my mother, my brother, and I stuff to be split between us, but each of us was given one thing specifically meant for our own. And the thing given to me, recently turned 19, was my father's lexus, because he knew of my whole family that I would love that car like he did.
And I very much did until last year. My daily driver was my toyota corolla 96, my first car bought by me and loved to death by me. Unfortunately i was skimping on buying new tires for my corolla and they were bald as a babys bottom. My mother, being the caring woman she is, took my corolla one morning because she thought it was too dangerous for me to keep driving around like that and told me to take the lexus to work. I did so, but on the way home I was hit by a minivan and my father's lexus was totalled. I came out with only airbag burns and some slight whiplash but I was so upset about the car I couldn't be consoled. I lost the last thing my father gave to me, but my mother still swears that my father was protecting me and that for some reason she was compelled to take my car that morning. If I was in the corolla its true, I probably would have been in a lot more serious condition cause the 1st gen Gs is a tank and protected me far better than my little toyota would have.
A good friend of mine, car enthusiast from birth, offered to buy what was left and try fixing it up. As of right now, he has done just that and brought it back to fully functioning condition. But a year spanned during that time and i had decided it was time to sell my corolla and look for something better. I looked at mr2s, supras, is300s, 300gt vr4s, sc300s, etc. But i had something of an epiphany and decided I'd look for a 1st gen GS ( sorry 2nd gens, i just don't prefer that body style ). I found one in the correct price range that looked real nice with everything I wanted. It is black/gray two tone, gray interior, stock system (prime for being changed), stock everything (again, perfect for modding). I was bit by the modding bug that year and had started on my corolla, but doing it to this lexus was going to be so much more fulfilling, I felt.
My current projects completed on it are:
Clear Modded Headlights,
Tinted Tails,
JL 500/5 Amp,
JL 12IB4 Sub,
Direct Ipod Interface,
Valor TS DDIN indash,
Black carpets,
LED Cabin Lights,
Marble Wood Dash Kit
-------------------------------------------------
I plan to do rims, a paintjob, viper security, halos, lowering springs, tint, and NA-T.
I spoke to my friend that bought the original lex and I've bought a lot of parts from that car for mine, so i have lots of pieces of that original in my car now. I'm conciously and unconciously trying to resurrect that car and make it how he and I would have both enjoyed it.
I was also planning when i first got my car that i was going to paint it black. But now i've decided I'm going to get it in the blue slate metallic my fathers was. It was a striking color, rare for this car (on top of the fact you see none of these cars around anyways), and its again something of a tribute to what he gave me and how much i miss him.
Phew ok. That was my story for my lexus
Last edited by Lexatlast; 01-29-08 at 07:51 AM.
01-30-08, 12:10 PM
#10
Ok heres my story. I got my first Lexus when I was 17 it was an 90 es250 with 80k on it 40k on the motor. I smashed it a few months later. Next I found out my gf was pregnant with my son while I was looking for a sc400. So my search changed to a 3rd gen es300 which would be cheaper to maintain anyways with a new baby in the house So 2 summers ago I got my 97 es300 with 190k on it and I haven't been happier 
So 2 summers ago I got my 97 es300 with 190k on it and I haven't been happier
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