I know all of you are pretty tired of hearing news of Katrina (and now Rita) "victims", so I won't go into a lot of detail. I am from New Orleans and haven't a clue as to the status of my home. The mayor has set 10/5 as the date we will be able to return to our neighborhood to evaluate the damage. I do consider myself much luckier than a lot of other people affected by the storm.

I left N.O. on the Saturday before Katrina hit, along with a friend, his 91 year old mother and 63 year old disabled sister. We all fit comfortably in my '04 LS, with our 3 days of clothes in the trunk. For a couple of weeks, we stayed in a motel on the north side of Houston, then decided to rent 2 apartments to give us a little more room to get out of each other's way.

I think the worst part of this "adventure" is having to use my car for all the errands, since it's the only one my "temporary" family has. We've hauled TV's, groceries, clothes and some furniture in order to furnish the apartments. It's amazing how much stuff you can fit into an LS's trunk.

This past weekend, we evacuated Houston because of Rita and wound up in Oklahoma City for several days. We returned to Houston on Tuesday, although the trip was not uneventful. On a strectch of I-45 that was under construction, I picked up something in my right rear tire. As I was rounding a curve along side an 18 wheeler, my "Low Tire Pressure" warning light illuminated, along with a chime. Other than the warning, there was absolutely no indication that I had a flat tire. Because of the construction, I had to travel a couple of miles before safely exiting the Interstate. I was pretty shocked to see the tire completely flat, but not at all shredded and the rim appeared to be OK. Because there isn't a whole lot of civilization between Dallas and Houston, I changed the tire myself rather than calling Roadside Assistance. Again, I was impressed at the security and comfort of the LS in a potentially dangerous situation. Not knowing exactly how long I was riding on a completely flat tire, I decided to leave the new spare on the right rear, replace the damaged tire with a new one and mount it on the left rear and put the old tire (from the left rear) in the trunk as the spare. That way, I can keep the new and used tires (9000 miles) on the same axles.

Not being familiar with Houston, I call Sterling McCall Lexus, told them about my tire problem and asked about a tire replacement. I was told they did stock my tire (Dunlop SP5000M 255/55 17), but I probably wouldn't want to pay their price, since they only sold tires as a courtesy to customers. They recommended "Discount Tires" and was sure they stocked the tire. I called Discount Tire and was told my tire was not a stock item, but they could order it for $170. I checked on Wal-Mart's website and they could order it for $145 and Tire Rack was $135, plus about $12 for shipping. I decided to call Westside Lexus. They had the tire in stock and their price was $155 !!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was told to drop by the service department, at my convenience without an appointment and they would take care of me. I decided to call Sterling McCall back to ask about their pricing and was told $175 (still only $5 more than Discount Tire). When I told them I could buy it for $155 at Westside, the Part's guy went to talk to his manager. When he came back on the phone, he said he verified that Westside was selling the tire for $155, but he could only reduce his price to $160. Long story shorter........Westside changed my tire yesterday and I would give them a 3 out of 5 rating for service. On the plus side, they took me without an appointment and I was in and out in about 1 1/2 hours (Sterling McCall wanted to make an appointment for today). They washed my car and did inflate at least 3 of my tires to "about" 35 psi (my request). Minus....the new tire was inflated to 38.5 psi and the spare tire feels soft to the touch, so I'll have to pull it out to check and probably add some air. When it's time for my 10,000 mile service, I will probably try Sterling McCall because it is the closest dealer to me and my dealer in New Orleans recommends them. Do any of you guys from Houston have any recommendations?

I guess the whole point of my rambling is to say that when I bought my LS about 14 months ago, I thought I would be using it mostly for short trips around town and an occasional road trip. Because of circumstances, my use of the LS has become more utilitarian and I have driven it greater distances and much harder than anticipated. Because of that, I have grown to appreciate my LS much more than I would have in my former driving environment. It is an amazing car, that keeps getting better the more abuse (unintentional, of course) it gets. My LS has become a lifeline to get us to safety on several occasions and and has hauled as much as an SUV pretty often. I have tried to care for the interior and exterior as much as I did at home with much less use, but that has been impossible to sustain. I have owned many BMW's, mostly 5 Series, but not one of them has impressed me as much as this LS430. Kudos to Lexus and I can't wait to see what the '07 will be like.

Mike

 

Wow....very touching story. Glad you and your family are all safe. Your story reminds me of the a couple of marketing slogans Lexus has used for the LS430 and LX470 on their website, respectively:

"You don't enter the LS430. You escape to it."

"Just in case you don't outrun the storm..."

 

Sorry to hear you're a "double evacuee", Mike! Welcome to Houston - we wish it could be under better circumstances.

Regarding our local Lexus dealers: I haven't had much experience with Sterling McCall, except that when I went to them for my first RX, I got the same old glad-hand and high-pressure technique I'd always had from Ford and Chevy dealers. All that was missing was the white belt and seersucker suit. Friends have reported service that ranged from insulting to excellent, but I can’t say I’ve had any experience with them.

I've bought my RX's from Westside and have dealt with them for the past six years - finding them to be service-oriented, pleasant, and professional. Their pricing is no bargain, you can certainly do better elsewhere, but their service has always been outstanding. I went in with what I originally assumed was a tire pressure monitor malfunction, and after two hours of waiting was given back the car. They had found a tiny wire brad in a tire and a VERY slow leak, which they repaired at no charge and apologized for the delay.

I suspect supporting a large, well appointed dealership requires some pretty high margins, but the service I've received from Westside's new car and service departments has been outstanding.

We wish you the best of luck during your stay in Houston!

 

Thanks for the welcome to Houston and your comments about your direct dealership experience. I have to say the the service facilities and personnel at Westside were very impressive to a "one horse town" boy like me. I did check my spare this morning and the tire pressure was the same as when they removed it from the left rear (30 psi). The tech must have already placed the tire into the wheel well before I asked the service advisor (Sheana) to tell the tech to put 35 psi in the tires. As for the price of the tire, Westside was less than $10 higher than Tire Rack (with shipping) and Sam's, but at $155, almost $20 cheaper than Discount Tire. I suspect each individual will describe their service experience using different adjectives, relative to their expectations. My only disappointment was the 38.5 psi in the new tire...nothing major, but still a lack of attention to detail. Then again, without an appointment, I was grateful that Westside invited me to have my problem taken care of at my convenience.

Mike

 

Mike, thanks so much for sharing your challenging adventure and congrats for surviving it all.

I hope your life gets back to normal soon, and congrats on owning that wonderful LS.