Harrier

Taking delivery of a silver/black ultra-luxury LS430 this coming Monday. Traded in the RX for it. I'm really sad to see the RX go (it was my favorite over the GS), but sitting in the LS made me forget all my sorrows. I'll take some pictures and upload soon as I can. Does this mean I'm no longer qualified to be RX forum moderator??

Manaray

And you have to come up with a new Logo!

That's dope that you're getting the UL package. Hey, does anyone making a lowering kit for the Air Suspension system yet?

What mods are you going to do? You can't leave it stock!!

How about....

Manaray

Good choice by the way on the colors...I LOVE black interiors! And Silver or Black for exteriors...of course, the Blue is PHAT as hell, but if you have to repaint something, FORGET IT. NO ONE will be able to do a perfect colormatch on that paint...NO ONE.

The Exclusive UCF31 kit....

Stephen

Congrats Jon! Mine will be here in June. Thats a really good point about the blue...I'm thinking of going black on black instead.

My LS400 is silver on black and I've really enjoyed the combination. You'll never tire of the black interior.

iWashDishes

Hey jon,

Don't forget to give us a nice write up on the ride ; ) I hear the back seats are more sought after than the fronts! God bless Japanese enginerding.

Speeden71

Took delivery on my LS430 today. Millennium Silver with light charcoal interior, Levinsen package, 17" wheels. Was ordered Jan 2 and came in April 6. What a car! Can't get over how quiet it is. Have to watch the tach when starting to tell if the motor is running.....just can't hear it! Still reading the book to figure out how all the features work.

Ride is incredibly smooth but not mushy. Was worried the 17" wheels with standard suspension might have too much road feel, but it is just right for me. Glad I did not go for Euro tuned suspension.

Will post more detailed reports as I get some miles on the car.

First luxury car I have owned. Even my non-technical wife is impressed. She's ready for a long trip.
RV

Stephen

Beautiful car!

Harrier

Manaray, I really like the Auto Couture body kit. If I were to do anything to the LS, I'd be looking in that direction. As for mods, nothing will be in the works for the LS for a LONG LONG time. That car's already nice as is, and I've got the GS to worry about. I'm getting out of school soon enough, so I'm looking into getting some work done on the GS400. Depending on how big of a salary I manage to swindle, I'm aiming low for the moment (steering ECU, 2001 taillamps, blue parking lights, HID foglamp conversion). In time, I'll consider what Mo has to offer along with bodykit and wheels. I've always loved the L-Sportline model I and IIs, so I'm keeping my eyes on those.

BradLS430

Great news, Harrier.

We now have just over 11,000 miles on our 430 and still love it. What a great car!

People will fight for 'dibs' on the back seat to feel the massager...

Brad

Harrier

I agree totally with you, Brad. The backseats ARE much cosier than that front passenger seat. How many cars can you say THAT about? No problems whatsoever with the LS then, huh? Extremely glad to hear that.

Manaray

Actually...I hate to tell you this, but you should know...

When the LS430 first came out, my friend's dad (who is a state commissioner) heard from the firechief (who's a good buddy of his) that a few of them had caught on fire while parked. Something about the heaters in the rear seat. They were all UL packages. No one was hurt. He told me this because both of us were going to get LS430 UL's and try to get a "package deal" with a dealership...but I ended up getting a GS430 and he got a SC430....go figure!

Anyone notice the "dead spot" between when the first LS430's were being put on the streets and the recent availability? I'm SURE Lexus has fixed the problem (what's the build date on your car, it should be on the VIN plate on your driver side door...and it should be something like 09/00, 11/00, 02/01, etc...)

I wouldn't worry about...though, I'm sure it was a few freak things (does pay to be an early adopter! )

Harrier

Just picked it up a couple of hours ago. It took over an hour just to set the Lexus Link up and have my salesman (Thomas Quinn - Excellent!) explain the different dohickeys in the car. We sort of glazed over a lot of stuff, too, since I'm already comfortable with many of the features from having a GS. All in all, I would have to say that this car is amazing. Ride quality is so soft. I was going 60 and I wanted to speed up because it felt like I was only going half that speed. The new navigation (screen and software) are much, much nicer than in the GS. They use the same lady's voice, though (such a pretty voice, no?). Lexus Link was awesome, too. My salesman, Tom, is a rather old man with a softened voice, and the extremely helpful lady operating on the other end of Lexus Link could hear every single word he spoke, despite his window being down and an occasional car and truck passing by. Simply amazing. No detail was overlooked. Each time I go to see that car, I learn something new about it. For instance, I just found out that it had automatically retracting sideview mirrors. How ingenious is that. Okay, enough already. My only qualm about this car is the ugly 16" wheels that it came with. The sales manager (Mitchell Cook - great guy) told me that the 17"s don't come with the UL package, much to my dismay. Oh well. I'm the type of person who cares more about the interior of the car than the exterior. And to that end, I have absolutely ZERO complaints.

Francis K

Sounds great harrier, but what did you do with the poor poor gs? Well Congratulations!

LexRX

Congradulations on the new Lexus addition...the LS truly is an amazing car. We have a 99 and I can only imagine how awesome the new version is.

BradLS430

Congrats on picking up the new LS, Jon. I know you'll love the car.

I may have told this story here before, but one of the first trips we made with the LS was a 6 hour ride back home to Michigan for the Thanksgiving holiday. My brother is a car fanatic - his garage is packed tight with an Impala SS, a Jag V12, a Bimmer, 2 Corvettes, etc. Several of his friends have S500's, MBW 7 series, and newer Jags.

His comment after taking the LS430 for a spin: "This absolutely is the finest automobile I've ever been in!"

My thoughts precisely. I couldn't nail down the exact reasons, but when comparing the MB S500 to the LS, I definitely felt the LS had the upper hand. Interior comfort and quality of materials make the LS a superior auto, IMHO.

I don't recall paying extra for the 17" chromes, but I may have. Our is an UL and it seems to me the list was about $73K and change. I'd check back with your dealer to see if he can retrofit yours with the chromes and 17" tires. Makes for a much better looking exterior.

Take care,
Brad