luxury1

It may sound strange but I will soon take delivery of the LS without even driving it. I did drive the LS430 and this is an evolution, I feel no need to drive it. I realized that this was the same case with my E class and Boxster and will be the case with the '09 7 that I plan on buying. I guess I have a great deal of confidence in the engineering at this level but this is probably not a good idea for most people.

hybrids14

I will be taking delivery of a Black/Black SWB LS460 today. Not only did I haven't drove it, I haven't even seen any SWB around. The only LS460 I've seen was a LWB Executive version. I think I'll be happy though, since I'm one of the 5-6 people in Taiwan to take delivery right when it's out.(mine is the last SWB to be delivered, next delivery date is Feb., and I don't want the LWB model since I don't have a driver) Actually I took over some poor guy's order and is feeling bad for him right now. But I want to have the first LS460 in Taiwan with 22". I plan to update my stock 18" wheels with 245/30/22 22x9" Offset 33 Front and 295/25/22 22x10" Offset 35 Rear as soon as Motoforge in Taiwan is willing to make a set for me.


P.S. Correct me if I'm wrong with those sizes.

luxury1

Please post pic's when you get it.

By the way, how did you take that person's order? Did you just offer more money?

HiltonHead

I also special ordered a LWB on October 20th without driving the car. They had one in the showroom that you could look at and sit in but driving it was not an option as it was sold.

I currently own a 2003 LS430 that has been a fantastic car, so I had no reservations about ordering a Lexus that I haven't driven. It was love at first sight!

hybrids14

Sure I'll take pictures later today when I get it. Hopefully weather will be good here as it has been raining 2 days in a row. I really dislike the wood trim for the black interior so I have 2 options, 1)Repaint the interior wood trim piano like black finish or 2) Custom make them in real carbon fiber overlay(not sticker). Let me know what you guys think is better.

P.S. I took that guy's order since in Taiwan they allow first test drives at our private road (2KM of up and downhill 4 lane nice and smooth mountain road). You figure out the rest of the story as I requested to receive one immediately...

P.P.S. My family also have a GS430, LS430, LX470, and my brother is going to go with me to pick up the car today. He just told me earlier that he might want the LWB one immediately too.

encore888

Congrats on your new LS...where in Taiwan are you and what was the dealership experience like?

trentpa

I too bought an LS460L w/o ever having driven one. Have had several prior Lexus vehicles and did research dimensions, so knew I'd like the car.

hybrids14

Thanks, I'm located in Taipei, but picked up my car at Tao Yuan. After my brother looked at my car last night, he decided to buy the LS460L 5 seater model. Pulled some strings to get it for him at the same discount I got (about $4000USD off sticker) And Lexus Taiwan also confirmed that he can take over someone else's order for a Silver/Black LS460L on Wednesday. No need to wait!!

XeroK00L

Wow congrats! I'm from Taiwan too and I know how much more prestige it means to own an imported piece of high-end automotive machinery than it does here in the US. But man... Only 5-6 to be delivered until February? Are you serious? That's crazy!! I can't believe they're importing so few LS460's to Taiwan if it's true. The new S-Class has been selling well over 100 or even 200 per month since it went on sale. I fail to understand why Lexus isn't allocating more LS460's for Taiwan.

BTW, are you sure you're gonna swap on 22" to the car? That sounds like the quickest way to ruin the car given the pothole-ridden road condition in Taiwan. Think twice please. I would personally not go beyond 20" if I were you.

Congrats again. You're the center of envy in Taiwan now.

hybrids14

Thanks
Total they have is 60 right now, including the LWB and SWB models. Only 5-6 of them are SWB. Lexus Taiwan are getting a total of 150 LS460 until Feb. All of the 150 units they have are spoken for, therefore next delivery date for orders taken right now is Feb. I just tried some 20" Bryton's on Saturaday (so I can roll it out on Saturaday night without looking like a driver) and it fits perfect. The ride is still too soft for my taste though. I already took the 20" off and decided to go for 22" since 20" look a bit small for my taste. Also I still haven't figured out how I'm going to lower the car since my car have the air suspension. With the 20" I had... my car look like a off-roader sitting so high.... I can finally confirm that the correct wheel size is PCD120. The wheel size I put on was

Front 20X9.5 offset 38 (5mm spacer) Tire size 245/40/20 Correct wheels should be about 33 offset
Rear 20X10.5 offset 25 (no spacer). Tire size 275/35/20

Special lug nuts are neccessary to install these rims. Also need new center rings since these rims are made for the BMW.

mduffin

I bought an LS460L without driving it first. There are only a few alternatives including Mercedes, BMW and Audi. I knew I didn't want any of those, so driving the car wasn't important. I was going to purchase anyway. I've purchased seven Lexus vehicles (4 LS, 1 GS, 2 ES) since 1990. I guess I have confidence (plus the reviews were terrific).

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

I completely understand. We bought our 3GS without a test drive. We went there to buy the ES350, we test drove that car. I liked it but my wife didn't. She thinks it looks too much like the Camry. I don't agree but that's her opinion. While we were talking numbers my wife got upset and just didn't want to drive a car she hated...again. She hated all 3 years she drove the 99ES300 we were trading in. I understand that feeling and gave in. We bought the GS without driving it. We just wanted it to be black with tan interior. We haven't been disappointed in the slightest.
You can trust the LS.

bluex5

The sales person did not want us to test drive the car. I guess too many people wanted to do joy ride. He wanted to do credit check, loan application, etc. Shortest test dive ever (less than a mile). End up buying the car that we test drive.

encore888

When we got our LS there was also almost not going to be a test drive, but in the end we had a short one around the block. We'd driven the LS at Taste of Lexus when they had a larger, more extensive course, but generally had confidence in the car...turned out to be justified!!! The test drive was a formality.

luvthe460

Yea, I did a first when I took delivery of mine two weeks ago. I saw the LS460 in person for the first time when I walked in the showroom to fill out the paperwork. Quite honestly had mixed reactions at first site.

My salesman from my 2001 LS430 escorted me to the finance room and we set down to start the process when I decided that I should probably see the Blk on Blk that was waiting in the delivery area of the dealership. I then commented that mayby I should see the car before signing. The look on his face was priceless when he realized he was selling a vehicle I had not even seen yet. Of course I was immediately escorted to view the car and my excite was starting to rise.

I asked to skip the three hour "dog and pony show" on how to operate it and 45 minutes later I was in love with this car after only driving a mile down the road. It's been a constant love affair since then as the improvments are unbelievable.

Only regrets are that I have another black car that always seems like a good idea at the dealership. My LS460 isn't optioned with the Adaptive Cruise Control which I will severly miss. The auto parallel park is little overated but when everyone ask I would hate to say "Mine doesn't do that".