New LX-470 Fiasco - Need To Vent (1 Viewer)

[greynolds]

Good luck with the new ride, Geoffrey. I just took delivery on an 06 Land Cruiser. Black with ivory interior. I'm not too concerned on color as my trucks seem to get washed maybe once a year as it upsets the kids when their smiley faces get washed off with the mud, salt, and road filth. Christened the truck offroad this weekend in VT as well. I thought the Disco was civilized offroad. This thing is like wheeling from a comfy sofa...

I think I remember you from a few years back. LR-CSO list, Rovers North BBS or original DiscoWeb perhaps???

Another Land Rover convert. I was active on both the LR-CSO list and the Rovers North BBS for a while as well as the Yahoo lr-discovery and BSROA lists (I'm still the owner/moderator of the BSROA list), so you may have run across me on any of those. I never really got involved with DiscoWeb as I didn't approve of the ethics of one of the owners (KVT) who shall remain nameless .

If you went to any of the BSROA or VTXS events between 1997 and a few years ago, you may have met me there. I went to a lot of events for several years and just got too busy between work and other interests outside of work and didn't have the time to play with the Land Rover too. The sale of my Discovery last year is another sad story. The guy who bought it smashed the front end into a telephone pole the day he bought it from me while giving me a ride back home in it - we had a REALLY bad ice storm that day and he had never driven anything with ABS brakes before... Good thing he had already bought it, but it kind of broke my heart anyway as I had put so much effort (time and money) into getting it to the point it was at. The Discovery was drivable, the pole was broken. He has never really fixed it and has put it up for sale again.

Where'd you go up in Vermont? There are some really nice offroading spots and people (Peter Vollers, for example) up there. No idea at this point if I'll start taking the LX off road any time soon - need to enjoy it in pristine condition for a little while first .

 

[Kneel]

I'm a convert out of necessity, really. I needed something to fit a carseat and 2 boosters and still allow me to wheel when we are on vacation

Must have been the CSO list and RN BBS. I was pretty active on both lists back in the day. I participated in the early incarnation of DWeb but stopped for much of the same reasons you have. Roverfest and Greek Peak in 2000(?) were the last rallys I've been too. I don't recall who organized those. Tea Pond Rally, Twist Off in CO, MAR...all BC(before children).

Sorry to hear about the Disco. I know how you feel. I still don't know what the hell to do with mine. All that blood and sweat into getting it setup just right and 140k miles later I can't bring myself to selling it. It's still a great truck. If the LC is half as dependable and half as capable as the Disco I'll be extremely pleased. Toyota owners might find that hard to chew...

When in VT it's ususlly pretty tame. Typical ruts and granite that mountain fire roads have to offer, the old Land Rover Driving School trails from the Equinox(they have an H2 driving school now ), private land, depends on who is available to wheel with. Lot's of great people up there.

 

[greynolds]

If the LC is half as dependable and half as capable as the Disco I'll be extremely pleased. Toyota owners might find that hard to chew...

Nevermind Toyota owners - a former Land Rover owner finds the first half of your statement (half as dependable) a bit hard to chew . If my LX proves to be only as dependable as my Land Rover was (nevermind half as dependable), I won't be very happy. I'm expecting it to be far more dependable than the Land Rover was. The Land Rover definitely had the typical Land Rover "quality control" (a definite oxymoron). As to the half as capable part, I think you'll get at least that and probably much more. In stock form, I suspect our generation of Discovery was perhaps a bit more capable off road than the current LC/LX - if only due to the difference in wheelbase. Comparably modified, I would think they'd be pretty similar, though the size of the 100 series would work against it on some trails compared to the '95-'99 Discos (though that goes both ways given the right choice of trail).

 

[LXPearl]

Maybe for earlier years, but for the 2006 LX, that's not true according to Lexus.com, the LX brochure, or the dealer. The following are available:

Ivory or Stone interior - Crystal White, Galactic Gray Mica, Black Onyx
Ivory interior only - Sand Dollar Pearl, Cypress Pearl
Stone interior only - Classic Silver Metallic


GR, that is interesting because the 2006 LX ebrochure on lexus.com shows both ivory and stone interiors available with the silver exterior. Also, the reason I indicated the added flexibility in colors with LX has solely to do with my desire to have an ivory interior. All exterior colers were available.

Light colors in northern states - yes, I agree that the light colors hide the dirt and salt better. Keeping a dark color looking nice is a constant cleaning effort.

I liked the jade green LC I had (with ivory interior). Its metallic nature made it an interesting and bright color. I have seen some green colors that are rather flat to me.

 

[greynolds]

GR, that is interesting because the 2006 LX ebrochure on lexus.com shows both ivory and stone interiors available with the silver exterior.

I assume you're referring to:

http://www.lexus.com/assets/models/ebrochure/pdfs/lx/LX_Page_16.pdf

If you take another look, you'll see there's something fishy there as it says Ivory or Stone Leather in the text, but only shows Stone in the color sample - clearly one or the other is wrong. The printed brochure I have clearly indicates that only Stone is available for the Silver exterior. The LX photo gallery on the website indicates: "Not every exterior color is available with every interior color." - but doesn't actually indicate which combinations are available (I thought I had remembered that it did). Also, if you step through the "Build your Lexus" wizard, you'll find that it agrees with the printed brochure. The bottom line is that only certain combinations are available and one can only choose from those options.

Quite frankly, it would make sense to me to make every combination available. It would presumably be up to the dealers to order the combinations that they want or to place a special order when a customer wants something specific that isn't in stock or available from another dealer. Since they make both interior colors would it really be a problem to do this? I wouldn't think so - but they could even charge a slight premium for "non-standard" combinations if it did cost them extra. I think ivory would look fine with the silver - and is what I initially requested until the dealer and I realized it wasn't an available option.

 

[SWUtah]

What's the latest word on when your new LX will arrive at the dealership?

 

[hoser]

Another good resource for colors combinations:

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/spec_Colors.aspx?year=2006&make=Lexus&model=LX 470&trimid=-1

They show whats available for each year. In the case of Classic Silver, it shows only stone (gray) leather. That's okay because I prefer the darker colored interior. The ivory is too light to keep clean.

 

[greynolds]

What's the latest word on when your new LX will arrive at the dealership?

Nothing new to report. If I don't hear anything by mid next week, I'll call them and see if I can get an ETA.

I have no idea how long it should take from when the ship arrives to when it should be expected at the dealership. A few days to get through customs? A few days to make regional option additions (rear spoiler, etc.)? A few days to ride up on the car carrier to the dealer? Am I missing something or should any of those stages take any more than a few days? If my guesses are right, that all adds up to 6 days, so it ought to be at the dealership sometime early to mid next week.

They show whats available for each year. In the case of Classic Silver, it shows only stone (gray) leather. That's okay because I prefer the darker colored interior. The ivory is too light to keep clean.

I see no harm in making all the possible combinations available - it would have the potential to make everyone happy. Each person has his/her own reasons for their preference and no choice is wrong (though some color combinations might hurt resale value).

 

[r3run33]

hey g reyn i am getting to know your frustration with these service people on fri i spent 5 hours there fixing my mirror and i thought my sun roof i seen several people drive my truck so i assumed they were trying to find the rattle well i get it back and they say they fixed it; well to day the rattle is back so monday i will try to get a higher up. every time i tell them you have to take it out on the highway it only rattles from 50 or 60 on even on smooth several roads but no luck they do what they want. i think they also know that i would give them a bad review so they have not called so a survey.

 

[tech_dog]

I buy my vehicles for myself, not for the next owner. I ordered and waited two months for a Cyprus Pearl LX. It looks great next to the Emerald Green LS I bought 12 years ago. I get even more pleasure out of knowing that the color is unusual, and it looks more at home in the middle of an otherwise unaccessable location.

I'd imagine resale variations after 12 years are less than a single brake job, and how many of those have we all done?

 

[SWUtah]

I buy my vehicles for myself, not for the next owner. I ordered and waited two months for a Cyprus Pearl LX. It looks great next to the Emerald Green LS I bought 12 years ago. I get even more pleasure out of knowing that the color is unusual, and it looks more at home in the middle of an otherwise unaccessable location.

I'd imagine resale variations after 12 years are less than a single brake job, and how many of those have we all done?

That's the right way to do it. Owning vehicles that long and getting what you want oon them is what I often wish I would do.

 

[r3run33]

hey greynolds i was at my lexus place today and they have a silver one which i think you were after not sure how they go about getting trucks my truck was orinally for long island and they brought it down here to phila in a couple of days (its lexus of cherry hill new jersey) right across the river from philadelphia

 

[LXPearl]

Thanks for clearing up the info on the Lexus site - I didn't look far enough. I am looking forward to hearing what you actually get, and glad the dealership is working with you.

 

[greynolds]

Just about there. I called the GM at the Lexus dealer a little while ago to see how things are progressing. The replacement vehicle (white with ivory interior) has arrived so they just need to do final prep and get the paperwork ready. I should be able to pick it up tomorrow or Thursday. Woo-hoo!!!!

I'll post an update after I pick up the vehicle on how things turn out with regards to the free warranty / service / etc. that had been promised. I don't really expect them to still give me those, but it would really speak well for them (and generate repeat business) if they do.

It's been a long, frustrating process - I'm glad that it should all be a thing of the past after another day or 2.

 

[jjbodean1970]

just curious, are they unwinding the original deal or trading you out?

 

[e9999]

you should get some sort of goodie even if you get a new truck... Ask for it!
Oh, and watch out for any tax liability issue?

 

[greynolds]

just curious, are they unwinding the original deal or trading you out?

From what the GM said, they are going to do a trade where the VIN # gets swapped on the original loan so that an all new loan doesn't have to be done. To me, it's all the same in the end as I should have a loan for the same amount (aside from deleting the GuidePoint), so I don't really care how they handle it (as long as I don't end up owing more in the end). The way they're doing it, my 1st loan payment should still be due in mid March. If they unwound the original deal, my 1st loan payment would probably be due the middle of April.

 

[greynolds]

you should get some sort of goodie even if you get a new truck... Ask for it!
Oh, and watch out for any tax liability issue?

The only potential tax liability issue is the town excise tax (which is $25 per $1000 on their appraisal of the vehicle, so probably around $1500 for a 2006 LX). If the town tries to assess the excise tax twice (I wouldn't put it past them), there's a process for dealing with that.

In MA, you only pay sales tax on the difference when trading in. So if you trade in something for $20k and buy something that's $45k, you pay state sales tax on the $25k difference. In an even swap, there's no difference and therefore no sales tax.

No other taxes should apply.

 

[spressomon]

greynolds,
Kudos to ya for hanging tough. It, as you surely think, will be worth all your effort and hassle.

 

[mtycruiser]

I'll post an update after I pick up the vehicle on how things turn out with regards to the free warranty / service / etc. that had been promised. I don't really expect them to still give me those, but it would really speak well for them (and generate repeat business) if they do.

.

You should once again use your "nice manner" negotiating skills and at least get the extended warranty from them. You ended up loosing a lot of time and had a stressfull buying experience with them, so they will probably agree to it.