Hard to believe your dealers are yanking your chain on model availability. But it is true that the dealers pass on to Lexus NA what they would like to see in their allocations, by region. So, in a given region, certain combinations may be relatively scarce. And, sad to say, some dealers are indeed beginning to sound like "I don't have what you want, but I'll sure sell you what I have.......oh, don't want that, well, go get a Subaru or something..."

Willard is insatiably curious about everything, nearly as I can tell. And his circumstances as far as AWD are concerned do produce worst-case scenarios; were I living where he lives, I'd want to know precisely where the compromises were made (and there are always compromises) so that I could know what NOT to do in order to get where I want to go. While the compromises Lexus has made in their AWD are not exactly "the emperor's new clothes", they are indeed there and I can understand Mr. West's frustration in dealing with Lexus non-tech responders. It certainly reads like double speak. But this doesn't mean that the AWD system (even w/o TRAC and LSD) is a wad of crud, either. Most of us have AWD simply because it works damn well when it rains (I have left a dozen posts on how much more stable my wife's RX with AWD and LSD feels in the rain compared to my previous SC and ((not as pronounced)) my current GS) and deal with very little snow. But even given it's limitations, we had no problems during two huge ice storms here in Arkansas last year, WHEN it was not glare ice everywhere. The most important component of ANY vehicle's drive system is behind the steering wheel. NO system can compensate for dumbass behavior that ignores physics.

I'd go with the AWD even if there was nothing other than rain to deal with; I've driven 01s with LSD and TRAC multiple times in wet weather and they STILL don't offer the same seat of the pants feel and tracking of the AWD versions. The cost is not much more, the mileage penalty is negligible, the performance more so (buy a GS430 if you want performance) and the resale is better, partially offsetting the initial cost difference. To me, it's a no brainer.

And I'm glad Willard experiments. There is no such thing as TOO MUCH knowledge. The recurrent appearance of his explanations is due to repetition of the same questions. We don't mind answering the same questions over and over regarding the attributes of L-Tuned, SRT, etc, etc. Maybe some things need to be added to FAQs; regardless, I vote for knowledge.

 

I disagree with you Moore because there's a difference between useful knowledge and just plain ego. ***** has not demonstrated useful knowledge. He just likes to hear himself talk.

 

Okay, let's see...

If I send my shop manauls over to Harold at 4X4ABC.com and ask him for a written analysis, would that suffice?

 

Still no news on our situation! One of the dealers said that he has one in a shipment that will come in this week, but is refusing to budge on the price (approx. $2K over invoice). However even that availability is not guaranteed.
Carsdirect.com has located one for me in the bay area, but their "non-negotiable" price is also $2200 over invoice!!
I was almost tempted to get the FWD, but I think we will stick to our guns and get the AWD.
To add a wrinkle to this, we did locate a used (2001) RX with the EXACT same combo we want!! It has all that we are looking for (4WD, NAV, Black/Ivory, Htd Seats, etc.). The dealer is asking $36K for that. It has 14K miles on it.
However, we really want a new one. Moreover this particular used one was a corporate vehicle, which means that everybody and their brother drove it and probably streched it to it's max!!

Stay tuned.

-chatrathi

 

Once you get your RX300 AWd you might want to invest in one of these, IMMEDIATELY!!

http://www.airsept.com/eed.html

 

Hey Willard, I have a 2000 FWD RX, this will be my third winter with it, never had a problem with defrosting the windows ( Ihave to deal with Chicago winters). There are no odors coming out of my vents. Maybe something crawled up your vents and died or is this just another item to add to your list of complaints on the RX300?

 

Actually I haven't had either of these problems myself, at least not with the RX, but look around at other threads...

 

Sorry, your right, wrong thread.
Bill

 

Absolutely DO NOT pay $2K over invoice unless you like wasting money. Go to a different source, best source I've found is to get hooked up with a car broker in your area that has a relationship with the feet manager, often times you can get the car at $500 to $1000 over invoice easy. We got our fully loaded '99 for $34,500 that way.

Car salespeople suck...

 

Accoring to the dealer, as of the past Saturday,
the coach edition is due out within 30-45 days with
a lerger price tax ($1500-2000)!

 

RX300's??? coach edition... wow i would like to see that...

 

Dont pay more than 1000 over invoice unless you have money to throw away (and in that case let me know so I can wait outside your window to catch the falling $$$)

And do get the heated seats if possible. Apart from being very comfy, I have even heard (from a roadster board) that they are romantic!

Senthil

 

Heh... I don't need no stinkin' heated seats to generate heat in a car!:eek:

(but yes, the wife does love them... she has a cold tushy

 

HAHA..the first time I sat on heated seats was on a Intrepid in SUMMER (May/June) from LA to PHOENIX(!!!) had the AC on and heated seats on...was very relaxing for a long drive.

And here in Seattle (I dont have heated seats in my RX) when I get loaner cars they always have heated seats and I find them comfortable

To each his own

Senthil