Lexus ES 330
Lexus ES 330 questions and answers
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Q: 2004 Lexus ES 330 for $13,800.?
I belive this deal is too good. Retail value says it's worth 19 grand. What questions should i ask the owner. (private sale) The car only has 31000 miles on it. You think it could be in a flood or something? Any input will be appreciated. Thanks
A: that is at least $4,000 below the going rate.
it's possible that the owner is trying to make a quick sale but more likely that it has some problem.
this is why you should pay $100 and have a mechanic inspect it.
Q: any one update there gps map with out spending 400.00 at dealer.05 lexus es 330. uses tele maps in denso unit?
A: NO
Q: disabling automatic door locks on es 330?
When the Lexus es 330 is put into gear, all the doors automatically lock. Can this feature be disabled?
A: Yes, thru the personalized settings. you will have to take it to the dealer
Q: 75000 mile maintenance on lexus?
I have a lexus ES 330, with 75500 miles on it. How easy is it to change/flush the coolant/antifreeze, fuel injection, power steering, brake, and transmission fluids? Thanks!
A: Coolant - there's a stopcock on the bottom of the radiator to drain the coolant. Make sure to open the top of the radiator when you do this and do it when the engine is cold. It's not difficult.
Flushing the cooling system is easy, but time consuming. After you drain the coolant, replace it with water, drive around for 15 minutes to bring the engine to operating temp, let it cool, then drain it again. Then add a flush chemical (Prestone makes a good one) and follow the directions on the bottle. Drive another 15 minutes, let it cool, drain it, add water to rinse out the flush, drive 15 minutes again, let it cool, drain it one last time, then add your coolant. Add the flush, water and coolant directly to the radiator, not the overflow bottle. Make sure to dispose of the used coolant, flush and rinsates according to local regulations. You can't just dump it on the ground or pour it down the sewer or sink.
Fuel injection - there's no need to drain or flush anything here. It gets flushed with new gas every time you drive. You could add a fuel injector cleaner to your gas tank. I do this every 10, 000 miles or so. Valvoline and Chevron make good ones. Follow instructions on the bottle.
Brake fluid - unless you are having brake problems, leave it alone.
Power steering fluid - you shouldn't need to change this either, unless you're having problems with the power steering pump.
Transmission fluid - not too difficult in theory, but getting under the car and not spilling the fluid everywhere makes this a tough job. Unlike on the manual transmissions, there's not just a simple drain plug. You have to remove a cover plate and catch the draining oil, usually on your arms, shirt, pants and garage floor.
As far as materials are concerned, Genuine Toyota (or Genuine Lexus - same thing) coolant and transmission fluid is basically the same stuff as you can get at Kragen/Checker/Schucks with a bigger price tag. If you do the coolant flush and completely remove the old coolant, you can put in any ethylene glycol or propylene glycol based coolant.
Q: Whay are sports car steering wheels tight? What is their advantage, over a smooth steering wheel(like ES 330)?
All BMW cars have a tight steering wheel. Even the higher-end 7 series version which is supposed to be a luxury car has a very tight steerign wheel. For people who prefer luxury cars, tight steering wheel is not a comfort. Lexus on the other hand have very smooth steering wheels, and there is no difference in how you can handle the car, as opposed to having a tight steering wheel? I totally do not understand, why sports cars need a tight steering wheel. What is the big advantage of having this, and what is the disadvantage of having a smooth steering wheel.
I do understand that a tighter steering wheel will give you a quicker response, which means you don't have to turn the steering wheel as much to get the wheels to turn a given distance. But that doesnt mean that the steering wheel has to be real stiff. It can still be smooth (not stiff, i.e lesser effort to turn) to achieve the same responsiveness (lower gear ratio) as that of a sports car. Why does BMW have a stiff steering wheel? Why cant it be smoother and still have the lower gear ratio. The only thing that turns me off with a BMW is its stiff steering wheel (in all its models- cars, SUVs). Making it to be responsive doesnt mean, that it has to be so stiff. In day to day use in regular driving on streets, you find it very strenuos to be turning so hard, to achieve the same thing , that can be done a lot effortlessly with a smoother steering wheel. Believe me i'm not a rookie, and i do know what iam talking about. Please try to explain it to me at that level. I appreciate your time.
A: supposedly a tighter steering wheel is supposed to give you a quicker response time between the turning of the steering wheel and the reaction of the wheels on the car. in other words, if you turn the steering wheel on a sports car a fraction of an inch, you will get a response from the car as in a slight wobble on the road.
Q: Weird Question - Ipods and Lexus Car?
Well, I have an old ipod shuffle (my dad got it free at a party)...
He left his new Lexus Es 330 to get a second layer of paint on it.
I left my ipod in there. It was in a pocket in the passenger seats.
Will the service guys inspect the inside even if the gave it for another body painting
A: Good luck getting the Ipod back. Have your dad call the paint place and get it before it's taken.
Q: How do you safely clean the screen on an '04 ES330 navigation system?
I recently bought a pre-owned Lexus ES 330. The screen has a lot of splotches on it. I have never owned a car with this feature. I don't know how to safely clean the touch screen? What should I buy to remove the fingerprints, grime, etc. ?
A: Try to find a good quality one such as Meguiar's Supreme Shine towels. In fact, I don't use any liquid additive on my navigation screen for fear the liquid might get between the touch surface and the screen. I just simply take the microfiber and take a first gentle wipe, fold and wipe again.Takes the smears, finger oils and dust right off.
Q: Lexus or a BMW???? ?
In this day and age (falling economy and raising gas prices) what would be more practical an 06 BMW 3 Series or an 04 Lexus ES 330 and why?
Yea it looks like some people cant answer a question properly i want to know which things like maintainence gas and stuff like that please not what other car i shoulc get
A: Go Lexus.
BMW is so over done, I had a 325i and it was so expensive to fix that I sold it ... sure it was fast and stuck to the road like white on rice but man, those shop rates were killer!
Q: Better to keep good used car or trade in for a good new car?
I'm set to inherit a car, a 05 lexus es 330 lux sedan. It's driven a couple of times a month, and kept in good condition. has about 35k miles. So is it better to keep driving it until it wears out? or should i trade it in and get a fresh car of equal or less value?
A: Keep it.
Better the devil you know...
Q: What kinds of things will definetely, without a doubt, ruin my car's paint?
I recently bought a nice, brand new, Lexus ES 330. The paint job is amazing. :-P
Can anyone tell me anything that will absolutely, ruin my car's paint job? I mean ANYTHING, such as eggs, acetone, bleach, bird poop, bolonga, ink, WD-40, bacon grease, etc. I want to keep EVERYTHING away from my car (for as long as possible) that will damage my car's paint job.
A: If you park in a parking garage, and it has rained, sometimes the concrete will leak, causing lime and other acidic substances, to ruin your paint job. A coworker had that happened, the job covered the costs. But it was shocking how much damage occurred in the eight hours we were at work!
Q: I owe more on my car then its worth! I can't afford the car anymore! What are my options?
the car is 05 bought New (oops) and I owe 25k on it. Es 330 Lexus w/ 55K miles loaded, new tires. I don't have the 5 -6k that I think its upside down. I am as of today still current on payment. I need to get rid of this monkey! 55K miles,
655. mo car payment! 130 for insurance...I need out! HELP!
Thanks!
A: You are in the same situation a lot of people are. I would be surprised if you are only $6k flipped. But lets assume you are.
As others have said, you can keep it and keep making payments. You can sell it and hope you get enough to pay off the balance. If you do that, you will need to make up any negative in cash to pay off the note before the new buyer can take it. You can stop making payments, and it will get reposessed. That, of course, is the very least desirable option of all.
Then we come to trading. Trading in cars with negative equity is a slippery slope. You are a little buried in car A, so you trade it for car B. The negative from A gets added to B, so now you are WAY buried in car B. Whatever car B is, make sure you are in love, cause you will not be getting out of it for a very long time.
The problem with trading negative equity, besides burying yourself, is the bank advance. Banks will advance (or 'loan') up to certain percentages of the value of the car that you are buying. You will be looking for an over-advance - loaning more than the new car is worth.
When you apply for an over advance, the interest is usually higher because of the bank risk. Qualifying for an over-advance is trickier, because you have to have better credit for the bank to justify the risk. Let's say you do qualify.
I have seen some big overadvances, But a typical one is 125% of the car's retail value + taxes and fees. Since you are trying to do this, I assume you have $0 down (the slope is slipperier now).
You have to "hide" $6k in negative. So, at 125%,advance you are looking at a car MAX of $18k. Lets say that you get it. Add about 10% for tax, DMV, doc, and other fees, you have financed $26k on a car worth $18k. You are so buried a backhoe can't get you out of this new car. Not even considering that depreciation, you went from $6k flipped to over $8k. Add in depreciation, at the end of the first y ear you will be about $11k upside down.
A loan of $26k, with a rate of 7% (rememner over-advances have higher rates) will get you a payment in the $450 range.
So, is it worth it? Is it worth burying yourself completely in the next car, just to save $200 a month? Can you tighten the belt elsewhere and find $200/month without putting yourself in this position? Because if you get in this spot, 3 yrs from now you will not have this option again.
Q: My parents are trying to buy a new luxury car.?
Right now, we have a nissan quest, it's running great, but only one car, we are looking for a luxury car from a KNOWN BRAND. We are looking into a new LEXUS ES 330, A BMW, or a MERCEDES. Our price range is around $35,000. We also want decent gas mileage, at least 20 city and at 25-30 highway
A: I'd go Lexus it gets better gas mileage then BMW or Benz they get below 20 in the city and Lexus would most likely last longer even though we had our Benz since 1993??? if you want to go fast Benz or BMW its made for the autobahn but I'd pick the Lexus any day
oh get a demo its a car the dealer drove only 5,000 miles so its basicly new and its cheaper