atrac7

Hi all,

Glad to be on this forum as a new member, been lurking for a bit while doing research, and have enjoyed the content on this site. Some info about me:. Last two vehicles have been the 3rd gen TL and the last gen TL w/ SH-AWD. I've had two Toyota's back in the college days (Celica GT-S, Camry), but other wise no recent exposure the dealerships in terms of services under the Lexus and/or Toyota umbrella.

I know certain features of these cars have can be done "Dealer only". For instance...Honda/Acura allows you to hold the remote unlock button to roll down all windows when approaching vehicle. For GS350, apparently we have to get a technician at a dealer to allow for this? If this is the case, how convenient are policies from Lexus for adjustments like this. Will I get gouged? Is it pretty inexpensive? Appreciate the input on this matter.

Additional background if you're curious:

I test drove 4 different models of the GS 350, most of them being the F sport. Then I test drove a luxury package model, as well dealer appraising value of my TL at an acceptable figure to me. I was hooked. This is a lot of car for the money, as far as I am concerned when cross shopping against the German 5 series, E class, A6/S6 etc. Hell, even if they were all the same price...I think the GS 350 hits the nail in every category with the right amount of balance.. On the Japanese side of things, coming from Acura I have always respected the cars to be well equipped, very driver oriented (specifically their sh-awd technology). But this is on a different level. The smallest details like the seat belt click triggering the memory position. The fantastic yet simple HUD display that blends seamlessly with the windshield ( honestly thought this would be gimmicky until I experienced it during the test drive. I am forever spoiled now). The Flaxen leather is beautiful, and against the sun looks even better.

Enough rambling, here are some pics, including some with my previous TL:

DallasDave

iTrader: (1)

Good choice! I did the same thing about a month ago...fell in love with the luxury package. I like the color of your interior a little better than mine, but otherwise it's perfect.

DallasDave

iTrader: (1)

I can't tell from you pic, is that the Dallas skyline?

Dallasguy1

Luxury package is the best in the GS lineup in my opinion, wanted one but couldn't find all the options at that time and had to go for Sports.

atrac7

Thanks Dave, good to see already another Dallas owner chiming in! I glanced at your previous car list...how is this car for better or worse than the 550 you had beforehand?

Add Edit** Yes it is the Dallas skyline, I live and work in the the city (transplant from Michigan, hence why I had the SH-AWD on the old acura for all that snow)

dchar

The dealer allows for the programming of the dealer-only features on the first service (6 months/5K miles) for new car purchases. I assume it's a similar policy for when you purchase a pre-owned car; just let them know that you are the new owner. It's under the dealer/service advisors discretion of whether to charge you after that period, but from my experience with dealers, they don't mind to do it for free since it only takes a few minutes.

Here is a checklist:
http://www.lexus.com/pdf/service/GS_with_nav_LPS.pdf

teezee1000

Welcome to the GS world! you are correct you won't need the AWD here in Dallas except for the 2 snow/ice events a year, LOL. As for the dealer only changes you can get a carista or other OBD interface to change the options yourself.

DallasDave

iTrader: (1)

The 550 is a GREAT car. The sticker on my 2014 was around $83k, so it's not really a fair comparison between it and my 2015 GS350. Most of the things I miss are: horsepower, active cruise control, and being able to open/close the trunk from ANY button or with waving my foot under the rear bumper (lol). But mainly horsepower. I realize I could have looked into the GS-F, but I had a strict $40k budget for my car this time.

Unfortunately my experiences with BMW were overshadowed by reliability issues. That in combination with wanting to lower my vehicle cost moved me towards the GS. I don't know how you could find a better car or value than the GS350 right now.

Carista

Yup, thanks for the mention! With Carista, you can configure almost all of the "dealer-only" settings, plus a bunch more that are not even listed at the dealer. For a sample list, go to http://www.caristaapp.com/#supported_vehicles and pick your car from the drop-downs.

Sevn86

Congrats and Welcome! My car was purchased used at a non Lexus dealer and the first time I went in for service at Lexus I told my advisor I wanted to activate a few dealer only programmable options and they did them for free. There was no hesitation or talk about being charged to have options activated. All I had to do was wait a few extra minutes and that was it. I was even told to bring in my other key fob so they could program that as well the next time I was in for service.

islandbeef

+1
^my owner experience is almost identical as yours.

atrac7

​You know, i figured with all the Lexus drivers out here in Dallas, that there might be a good amount of members on this site. But damn it is like a takeover here hah! Pretty cool there will be that many local guys posting here.

Yes, I would easily like to rock a 550 if I could manage the upkeep on it...for sure out of range of what I was willing to spend to just buy the car for low enough miles, let alone try to maintain it. But man that power must have been nice.

Quick question: Did you have the luxury pkg wheels on your car? If so, how much more dramatic is the difference with your 19 inch wheels around the roads here? Those are the F sport wheels correct?

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Sevn86 and Island: Thanks for the input, that is reassuring. Glad to know it's a relatively hassle free option. I have a Sewell next to me, hopefully they will be cool (even though I turned down buying a car from them).

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Carista: I looked briefly into your product while reading through the forum...really cool what you guys have done, but honestly my only real need is the remote window feature on the car. Everything else I am okay with or can adjust. Maybe down the road when I am bored and want to experiment around a bit more...

teezee1000

I have heard nothing but good things about Sewell, I turned down buying a car from Park Place as well, but when I brought my car(s) in for services they treated me like I
was part of the family.

Seize

Congrats on the GS and welcome to Club Lexus