Mallory H.

I have had to many problems with my LS460 and am now thinking about arbitration or cutting my losses and buying a Cadillac DTS. I never thought I would be looking at going back to Cadillac but I would rather have problems with a $50,000 car than a $72,000 car.

clambros

Don't do it .. take it from someone who's owned an '05 STS & '05 Corvette C6 .. both were replaced with imports (Lexus & BMW) ... you think you got problems with your Lexus .. you ain't seen nothing yet. Clearly, I'm not a big GM fan.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

if that makes you feel better, i say do it. maybe then you will see that the lexus is a better car after all

Rocman

If you get rid of the Lex, dont replace it with a Caddy! At least get a european replacement. Also, with the bath you will take on resale, your $55K Caddy ends up costing $75K.

350Dave

Someone has to buy those Caddy's - help GM pay for all their mistakes in dealing with the UAW - 16% of the gross cost of a GM vehicle goes toward supporting half of Michigan's elderly and retired auto workers. Combine that with some of the highest downtime ratios in the car world, and you are supporting a charity with every GM purchase.

vraa

iTrader: (2)

Honest feedback: If you could make any changes to your entire experience, what would they be and how would you try to implement them?

Mallory H.

I appreciate the feed back I am getting and am taking each one seriously.
I have owned Cadillacs in the past and I am aware of some of the problems that you can run into. One of the reason I left Cadillac was because of major problems I had with an 2002 SLS. My brother in law has a 2005 STS and has not had a single problem. I traded my 2002 SLS for a 2002 Q45 and my Q was problem free except for a transmission replacement 4mo after ownership.
I traded the Q for a 2005 LS430 and that car was problem free. I traded the LS430 for the LS460 and have had nothing but problems. The wind noise repair was a major improvement but with a little bit of wind you can hear it and the more wind the worse it gets, some interior parts were scratced in the repair. The glove box has been replaced 5 times and I am now waiting on the 6 glove box and the side of the center console was damaged when they tried to clean it, they took some of the paint off of it and the glove box.
When I test drove the DTS I could not detect any wind noise around the passenger nor driver side window and the glove box was looking better than mine and with no rattle.
I know the Lexus is the better and it has allot of features that the DTS does not have and the DTS has some that the LS does not have but when you look at wind noise an paint that will come off interior parts as easy as it will come off the interior parts of the LS it gets you to thinking.
If I could have done anything different I guess I should not have traded my LS430.
I just feel the only solution is to go through arbitration which I have already filled out the paper work or just trade the car in and in that I can get a GM discount I will get back money. I am not going to rush into anything and am really taking time to research and think this through.
When people who purchase the 2008 LS460SWB,LWB and the 600H start complaining about wind noise, rattles and poorly painted interior parts may be than Lexus will take some serious actions.

luxury1

Definitely don't go the Caddy route. If you are heading in any direction go to the 7 or A8. Both cars have been on the market for a while and so they have had most of their issues worked out. Also, both are comparable to the LS.

When I bought my Range Rover last month I also looked at the Escalade. There is a level of cheapness to the Caddy line (even in the key). Also, their service centers are also cheap. You definitely get spoiled with Lexus and you don't know how good you have it until you lose it.

My advice is to accept the imperfections of the LS and enjoy it. Even with the problems you have had it is still a great car and I know that you like it.

Mallory H.

The Cadillac DTS does have allot of plastic materials and the interior does leave allot to be desired and I guess cheap is the better word but I did not hear the wind noise and the material finish seems to be better than the LS460and yes I am concerned that I could get into the DTS and end up saying big mistake as there have been some who have traded out of the LS460 only to come back and get another one, I for one do not have the funds to do that this is the reason that I am really thinking this through.

Gojirra99

I'm sorry that you're bothered by the wind noise issues, plus the screwup's with the glove box orders, add to the fact they damaged your interior trims when fixing the car. All that adds up to a frustrating & aggravating situation for sure.

I am just curious, you said you already notice big improvements after the wind noise fix, but do you usually not have the stereo/radio on when you drive ?
I know ideally, you shouldn't have to have the stereo on to drown out excessive turbulence noise, but with just about anything, when you specifically focus to look for them, you will notice them more. When you get your mind off it & concentrate on other things, they will become insignificant.

I am interested in the LS460L myself, & with my own test drives of the 2007 LS460L's, I was specifically looking for anything unusual or excessive on wind noise, & I cannot notice anything unusual about the wind noise level at high speed with everything else turned off & the windows shut, it's among the quietest car I've driven.

If I have the stereo/radio on, which I do most of the time while driving, even a little normal noise from turbulence at high speed will become non-existent.

Johnny

Do some research in the Cadillac Forums. They have wind noise problems as well, among others. I had a Deville and there were no problems "the first few years" - they come later. My advice, if its worth anything, is make your decision based on whether you intend to keep the car, any car for a length of time. That's why I came to Lexus; I intend to have it for at least ten years. And I think over the long haul, it will be a superior automobile.

In any case, good luck with your decision...

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i also want to add another comment. is there another lexus dealrership close by that you can go to to have the problems looked yet?

aside from the wind noise problem, it seems to me that the other problems are "created" by the dealership. maybe worth a try to have a 2nd look

acecert

I'm with Rominl...it sounds like the dealership you are working through is not careful and may not have the skill level as well to rectify the wind noise to your satisfaction. I had my wind noise fix done 2 weeks ago and couldn't be happier. I do hear wind turbulents while driving but nothing I haven't noticed before in any vehicle I own or been a passenger. The "leaking" sound that comes from the both front windows in now gone after my fix and I am happy with it. I think that Rominl's suggestion is worth taking a hard look at before ridding of your vehicle. It sounds disappointing (and I would be as well) that some of the interior parts have been damaged but I assume they can be replaced and corrected with the right dealership staff. You've been patient but if you can give another try to a different dealer and ask them if they have had experience doing this specific fix, that might serve you well. The other thought is that if they have not, they they have the factory people come out (which was the case for my vehicle in part) which could also be a good thing since they probably have had several experiences with training others on how to fix it. I had a combo of techs and factory techs do mine because all the parts didn't arrive so 1/2 of the job was done w/ the factory tech, the remainder left to do with the dealership tech and I was skeptical. When I drove my vehicle after, I was completely satisfied with the result. I hope the same for you! Hang in there.

Luxofreak

Mallory I think your problem is your dealer, not Lexus. Service is people. Product is Lexus. I have had the same problems you did, except for the glove box and rattles, and Lexus of Seattle did an **excellent** job, with attention to detail that is light years ahead of any domestic dealer. I had my share of domestic cars, GM included, and I'm done.

In my case Lexus has been the best overall brand I ever owned. Not only the product is really good, the customer service I received so far has been absolutely top notch.

Mallory H.

The wind noise is the air turbulance on windy days and for this car that is normal, the wind noise repair did seem to take care of what I was hearing on a dailey basis and I could live with this car if it was not for some of the other issues.
If I do not trade this car than after the new glove box is installed I do plan to go to another dealer but will have to drive 45 to 110 miles for a different dealer.
Arbitration is still on my list because after 5 attempts Lexus has failed to provide a good glove box and some interior damage was done while performing the wind noise TSIB and had Lexus done the right thing from the start there would be no need to tear these cars apart.
I see where another poster is thinking about bailing.
I do not think Lexus appreciates such loyality from so many of you posters.
Once again a word of thanks to all of you as I continue to work through this,
I was to meet with the Cadillac dealer tomorrow to do another test drive and look over once again a car that they let me keep overnight but I am in the drivers seat on this one and have no intentions of making any hasty decisions.
It was my original plan to keep this car for as long as it would run, retirement is not to far away I considered my days of trading were done, I have had my fun now, it is time to think about the days of no car payments.