i'm surprised I haven't posted here...

Weirdly enough... even as a kid way back in korealand, I was always into executive sedans. When I came to the US in 1997--I started off by subscribing to Automobile Magazine (I subscribed to a car magazine in Australia too..), and later that year, the GS3/4 debuted--and what's more, a family acquaintance I saw regularly actually GOT ONE!!!@!@ though their color choice was poor, I really fell for the GS. Over the years, I saw the IS and was also smitten, and thought that it would be an "affordable" car when it was time for me to get a car (back in '01 I was a mere freshman in HS).
When I got my license...early fall of senior year, the earliest IS300s were still out of my family's budget, and I was "surprised" with a 1999 Saturn SC2, which was, in my opinion, a great car for a young inexperienced driver like myself. I babied it, I washed it religiously, and actually sold it later for more than I paid for it...when I got a 1993 Land Cruiser for my 18th birthday. I loved it. Loved. It. But gas prices started spiking, and with the weird work schedule I had in 2005, I was spending insane amounts of money on gas...so the Land Crusher was sold for a 2000 Mazda Miata.


I kept the Mazda Miata for a little over a year...liked it, much fun, had some dangerous moments in it, etc. etc. and then March of '07, University of California, San Diego--announced that it would accept my transfer application for Fall 2007. Totally unexpected (for me anyways), and quite possibly the proudest moment of my life...also with the realization that I would be driving back and forth from San Diego to my suburb in LA every weekend (out of choice, not parental obligation).

My parents decided that given my driving style, and the treachery of the socal freeways, I probably wouldn't survive in my Miata, so early summer, the quest for a bigger car for me began.

It really didn't get serious until my dad found a 1999 528i for a smoking deal about 2 minutes from my house...we were even prepared to do some DIY work for the cooling systems and whatnot if it meant that I could have a 5-series (my dad lives cars vicariously through me...). Unfortunately..the Miata couldn't be sold in time for the 528i.

Discouraged, I moved on with life, hoping something would roll along. The dad however, scourged cars.com, ebay motors, and local classifieds... in the months following I looked at a MB C280, the previous generation VW Passat, and on one really hot day...we drove about 30 miles to look at a 2002 IS300. I loved it. Sat inside the office of the dealer and was getting started on paperwork when my mom called...

mom: "You guys are out looking at cars aren't you?"
me: yeah....
mom: "how much?"
me: I think we're looking at like...$15,000?
mom: "no."
me: but, but... (listed things great about the car, handed the phone to my dad, etc. etc.)
mom: "no."

dad, to dealer: Sorry about your time. Wife says no.
dealer: AH.... yeah....it's ok man. It happens.



Disappointed, that week I also looked at a 2003 Acura TL Type S in that smexy electric blue with black interior. Too bad the dealer was an a-hole.

Then my dad found it on eBay. 1998 GS400, 106K miles. Imperial Jade Mica. The auction actually ended without a winner. Through ebay messages, my dad actually negotiated a price on a closed auction. Called me to his office, and we drove down to the dealer some 35 minutes away. The guy was nice to the point of apologetic, and actually showed us his receipt from the auction that he had purchased the GS from. He was going to make a total profit of maybe $200 from selling the car.
So after 3 years of pretending to be a Lexus owner here on CL... now I am.

 

my first lexus was a 92 LS400, i bought back in 1999. i was previously into small sporty cars but decided i wanted a change. i initially wanted an infiniti Q45 because it had more power but was still smooth and quiet, but after finding out th eQ45 was no where near as reliable as the ls, i went Lexus. it was diamond white pearl, beautiful condition. i installed lowering springs, 18" wheels, full body kit, massive stereo system and a few other things. i actually won 2nd place in it's class at the NOPI nationals in atlanta in 2000 with it.
well, after a year and half of owning it, i got sucked in by perofrmance cars again, so i sold it for a 3000 gtvr4. good car, but i couldn't quite afford the payment and the performance goodies i wanted for it, so i sold that and bought a eagle talon tsi awd. great car, fast, easy to mod, fun to drive.
fast forward a few years and several talons/eclipses later, and a galant vr4 and a galant gsx that i converted to vr4 spec, i decided i wanted out of speed cars again and just wanted something nice to cruise in and make pretty. well, of course, i went straight back to a lexus. another 92 LS400. drove up to chicago to buy it, they're much cheaper up there than here in louisville. drove it home and started modding. it's beena good car to me, someone did a lot of maintenance on it, so right now all it needs is a front main seal and ps pump. no big deal.
of course, i'm hookd on fast cars again too, and off roading, so i have a nice collection of cars in my driveway right now... see sig!

 

alright.....here comes a long story!!

it all began in 97 with a ES250....very nice car but always got criticized as being a camry, the car lasted me about 3 years .....the itch for a big boy lexus was starting, couldnt figure out which one...LS or GS.....said to myself wanna be a bear might as well be a grizzly bear...got a 95 LS in 2000....loved the damn thing had DVD player, tints and usual nonsense. Then came the bug for performance and i sold the LS for as supra.....since then been in love with a supra but always missed the comfort of a lexus so in 05 i decided to go back get a LS....got a 95 again....this car got exhaust, tints... lowering springs...wald lip kit....painted the bottom half the same as the entire car etc etc!!......come 07 and did the same thing i did before.....sold the lexus for a evo.....what a dum move!!! well, recently i went and got myself a LS430 and will never trade or sell for anything else!!

 

07 ES350 is my very first car and, of course, my very first Lexus. I got this car in July 2007, and before that I didn't pretty much care for Lexus. I originally wanted to get an A4 or CTS, but they turned out to be not suitable for my taste. A4 was too rough for me while CTS handled itself like a much bigger car than it is, thus making its every movement heavier. I also testdrove 3-series, which also made me carsick like A4 did. My last destination was Lexus dealer where I testdrove IS350 and ES350. IS350 was too rough for me as well, but I thought its ride comfort was better than A4 and 3 series combined. Then I tested out ES350. The moment I got in the car, I knew this was going to be my car. Quiet, smooth, comfortable, dynamic, roomy, powerful, large trunk and beautiful. I am planning to drive this car for around 10 years. Next time I'm getting an LS. lol

 

I have owned

1989 Toyota Corolla
1990 Ford Taurus (college beater)
1996 Honda Accord EX V6 Sedan
1998 Honda Accord EX V6 Coupe
2000 Acura TL
2003 Acura TL type S
2004 Acura TL
2007 Lexus ES 350

I work for an auto finance company and do get in and out of cars quickly, I leverage my relationships in the business!

Nevertheless, I gotta say the ES 350 has been a huge disappointment compared to my Honda/Acura purchases. I am not going into detail, but I feel it is the case of buying a car during its first year in production....."first year blues".

Overall, if the bugs would go away, it is a really nice car.

 

My first car ever was a RX300 that my parents had just bought, but in the end, they didn't like it so they moved on to a BMW X5. I thought the car was great, and it only had 1.5K miles on it when my parents decided to give it to me. My friends were totally jealous. I was THRILLED. A year later while my car was parked outside when I was at a party, I came out to a totaled RX300. Apparently, due to foggy weather and a drunk driver, he rear-ended my parked car causing a lot of frame damage. Luckily, my dad was getting tired of his 02 E320, so he bought a LS430, and gave me the E320. The E320 gave me a trouble-free 75K miles. However, a few years later, the new IS350 comes out and I am shocked. That car was everything I wanted, and more. However, financially it wasn't the best time for a new car. 2 years later, I started a new job that was 20 times better than my old job, so I bought a brand new IS350. Still driving the IS350, however, my next purchase will either be a LS460, IS-F, or M3 sedan. We will wait and see.

 

It all started with my mom, after suffering some minor whiplash, she took a chance on a brand new LS400 back in 1991. She loved it so much that 10 years later she upgrades to a LS430, a short while later I inherit the trusty ole LS. Blue on Blue with 120k on the clock made for a great high school car. Unfortunately my sister wrecked it...bloody new drivers... But that led us to a 1996 ES300 to add to the family as well as my dad's 2002 GS300 and finally after a short stint with a Cadillac STS my 1993 SC300. Future plans are to upgrade to a newer SC and build it up right.

 

Back in 2001 I bought a brand new Olds Intrigue. About 1 year later it started having problems. Little things here and there... just annoying the heck out of me. The car was very comfy and had a decent pick up... but there was always something that was not working correctly... but I decided to stick with it since I bought it brand new and always took care of it. Then in the beginning of 2006 I saw an IS350 for the first time and instantly fell in love with it. The mix of power, good looks and Toyota reliability was just perfect. It took me over a year but I finally was able to buy one in June of 2007. I love it and I would not trade it for any other 4 door sedan (well maybe the IS-F.) I'm the kind of person that sticks with a car for a long time so hopefully this IS350 will stay with me for a long, long time.

Also, my wife owns a 2004 Toyota 4Runner. That thing is pretty cool too... will go over pretty much anything.

 

No Lexus as of yet, but I have decided that my next car will one.

July 07 - I finish High School with better than expected grades and as a sort of graduation present, my parents give me the green light to purchase my "Dream Car" - An MA70 Toyota Supra. It was Rusty, slow and falling apart, but it was a 16 year old boy's first car, and therefore was absolutely perfect.

Dec 07 - Got paid one day, went to a local car auction for Ha-has, threw in a "joke" bid on an e34 530 BMW thinking I'd instantly be out bidded... Well I wasn't and ended up with it parked outside my house that night. It was my first "Luxury" car, and I was hooked. The supra was parked up for restoration, and the e34 became the daily.

March 08 - Made the biggest mistake so far in my life - I sold the Supra . I'm also starting to get bored of the BMW (I was trying to sell it within 10 days of buying it, haha), so why not kill two birds (The want of a "Fun" project car and the need of a Daily) and that led me to Lexus and Aristos in particular - The chance to have the monstrous 2JZ-GTE engine in the classy and stubble shell that is the MK1 GS300 is a bit too much to pass up .

 

My parents have always owned Toyota's (except for one Honda Accord and one Land Rover Defender) and have always been very pleased with them. As my first car I got my grandpa's hand-me-down 2000 Chevy Prizm (Rebadged Corolla) and was content with the reliability and ease to drive. I drove that for two years and finally saved up enough for my 95 SC300. Not much of a story, but being only 18 what more can you ask for....

Here's some of my parents past cars just so you have something to look at.
DAD:
1980-ish Corolla
1990-ish 4-Runner
1993 Accord
1994 Camry
1999 Land Cruiser
1994 Land Rover Defender
2008 IS-F

MOM:
????
1988-ish Cressida
1991 Previa
2000 Sienna

 

i'm a vtec man...there hasn't been a day in my life where a roaring vtec has not sat in my garage.

but this is my first lexus, my first v8 and many more firsts...God i love this car

 

92 Sc400 black ( thus blacksc400 )
92 SC300 1JZ Candy Orange
93 Sc400 blk
95 SC400 blk
95 SC400 silver
97 SC400 White
92 Sc400 Green
94 GS300 Midnight blue
01 IS300 silver
03 IS300 manual silver
00 LX470 tan
00 RX300 tan
01 LS430 UL silver
97 SC300 white
97 SC300 manual white
99 GS400 blk
90 LS400 silver
00 GS300 white
04 LS430 UL


so skip the middles, also skip other non Lexus brand cars, my first Black SC4

 

and now, the newest additon:

 

I was about 10 years old when I fell in love with a 1998 Lexus LS400. My dad bought a silver one in 1999 and I remember it like yesterday when he pulled up beside a '98 Mustang GT the first time I road in it and blew his doors away...

I think thats why I got so into them. The car was never in the shop...so quiet...so powerful...and so classy. - Well at least for its time.

 

when my sister bought her first car when i rode in it i fell in love.
because the smooth ride the interior the wood trim steering wheel
i was driving a cadilac