ltd76gold

Well, I did it. I went online and searched for a new to me, Lexus. Never have I bought a car from pictures and service records.

Bought... Without actually seeing or driving, a Mercury Silver, LS430 2006. Modern Luxury package. Great service records, new timing belt, battery, brakes etc. Pretty car.

First question...
I was able, with no problems, to connect and upload my phones contact list. OK... How to make a call? Pressed the speaker button and heard a pleasant voice telling me I was selecting a radio station when I had asked to "call Anna". No where in the two owners manuals does it say what to press for making a call that I could find.

Second question. A few of the plastic twist clamps that hold the engine compartment covers down are missing. Where might I purchase those?

Third question. Under the car and in front of the rear tires is a rubber strip / deflector that is not connected on the very outside ends... Either side. It appears that the small bolt that should affix the rubber strip, while in place, simply was not put through the holes in the rubber strip?

One more. The Mercury Silver touch up paint. I see it on Amazon but with a brush. Is there no "pen" type available?

Thanks folks for any help. She drives like a dream. I had her shipped from Kentucky to South Padre Island. No where down here had anything close. Nearest dealership is San Antonio. I can handle all maintenance but hoping to find one of the Toyota Toyota stores for anything about my skill set. Washed and waxed all day today after the off load.

Did I say she was pretty?

Thanks again!
Doug k

Tom57

Congratulations and welcome, Doug! Sounds like a sweet find ... (I have a Mercury Metallic too.)

Q 1: The phone does not work with audible commands. Once you've uploaded your phone list, you must call by pushing the phone icons on the screen and selecting the phone number you wish to call. May be easier to hit a button on your phone and then bluetooth to the car.

Q 2: The plastic clips for the engine bay I've found on eBay. OE Toyota clips. Get 10 or 20.

Q 3: That rubber air dam piece is in front of all 4 tires. Two bolts with a washer and metal sleeve attach. You can remove the bolt(s) and add a larger stainless washer (if necessary) to re-fasten. Sometimes, those pieces get pulled down by a high parking curb in the front tires.

Q 4: I don't have a source for a paint stick, sorry. I've seen the brush applicator and spray. The pen stick type should be available though, especially from an auto paint specialty store.

Congrats and safe motoring!

ltd76gold

Outstanding!

​​​​​​​Great data and I truly appreciate it!

ltd76gold

btw...
I've had a few panther platform vehicles, a town car and two Mercury Grand Marquis.... All named "great white".

My bride of 3+ decades named the LS.. "Serenity"
Dang near the same color too!

Thanks again Tom57.
​​​​​​​Doug k

burrben

Hi. Can I ask how much you paid and how many miles were on it?
I just got a 2015 RX350 for a song since it had a salvage title and just cosmetic front end damage.
I don't like the new LS460, so I'm looking for a quiet solid LS430.

ltd76gold

$12k

110,000 on the clock and I picked that number as the many under 100k units had not had the timing belt/waterpump, and other service issues addressed. It is, after all, ten years old. Any moving rubber part might need to be replaced. I just wanted it to have a good service history with a clean carfax showing no major incidents.

I had found a few with salvage titles but I am a rookie Internet car buyer. Logic directed me to select the LS430. Great reviews and I mean the best I have ever seen. Superb service records and the folks that bought these knew that keeping them up to snuff was important and they did so.

We just get these fine rides for a fraction of their original cost... About a 10th in today's bucks vs 2006$.

Just made sense to me as the last New car I bought was a 1976 BMW model 2002 in Inca orange. Great car but my wife had it eat eating clutches like croissants.

Hope this helps!

​​​​​​​Doug k
​​​

2KHarrier

Congratulations on the new car! There are a number of touch up pens on the market and this is who I prefer;

https://www.paintscratch.com/cgi-bin/order-form.cgi


Good color match

Johnhav430

Congrats! Mine that I purchased in Oct. was also my first used car (bought 3 new in my life), meaning first that cost "real" money, of course all my cars were used when I was 19....

Also been a BMW fan since I was probably a toddler, own a 2007 purchased new, but think it's a shame what they put out today.

That's an interesting point, a typical LS430 with ML had a list price of 75k 2016 dollars. Yet, what would 75k get you today? The rise in car prices, along with the cost-cutting, makes me wonder if cars or college costs are rising more rapidly....

btw those clips if you want OEM list at $0.95 ea, part # 90467-09087-22. My dealer way back in Oct. had only 2, and I think I got 4-5 online. I tried to order 36 @ $0.6x but they said they don't have that many.....

Daspyda

iTrader: (1)

Lowe's has a selection of OEM auto clips in their fastener section - try there first.

ltd76gold

Southmost Texas....the stores around here are limited in scope and helpful personnel, generally speaking.

Found these clips and a removal tool at Amazon...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Looks to be ok. I will report back if they do not work.
Thanks Again all!
Doug k

Johnhav430

Hey guess what I did.....I ordered a used 1978 BMW 320i catalog on eBay....when I was a kid, I was fascinated by the way the tool kit dropped down from the top of the trunk lid....thanks for the trip down memory lane!

Legender

Congrats on the purchase and great deal... there is a similar one with 119k for sale here in DFW area.. a 2006 if I remember correctly for about $11.5K. But they did not state they had the maintenance done yet. Wish I was in the market.
Great find and deal and welcome to the 'serene' life.

ltd76gold

Searched here quite thoroughly but found no specific answer to this...

Mine came with a Sirius Onyx fitted to the dash. It appears that it is an FM transmitter type (but not connected directly to the FM radio with their add on kit).
The question... How well have any of you found the FM modulator Sirius Sat radio regarding quality of sound? Personally, I have tried, on other vehicles, to use fm mods to send mp3s from my phone to the fm radio... with limited success. Does the Sirius xm radio have "the juice" to pump decent audio through the factory radio?

I have a hunch that I may well be on the path to installing either of the available bluetooth options out there (grom or vias) and just dump the Sirius altogether. But, if the thing has worked well for you that have similar situ's, Sirius is an option worth exploring since the thing is already installed.

Thanks for any data!

Doug k