Audi gets me from the grave....
10-18-2006, 03:21 PM
#11
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how far is plano, texas from where you are???
this is too bad.
boardwalk audi in plano texas is by far and away the best service i have ever had... lexus, mercedes, and bmw....
bobby rodriguez runs a top notch group and cat reyna (my advisor) could not be better....
i will buy again if only for this reason
how far is plano, texas from you
boardwalk audi in plano texas is by far and away the best service i have ever had... lexus, mercedes, and bmw....
bobby rodriguez runs a top notch group and cat reyna (my advisor) could not be better....
i will buy again if only for this reason
how far is plano, texas from you
10-18-2006, 04:12 PM
#13
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Damn near a 1000 miles and several weeks away at least..
But my car is already there ;-) I've been very happy with the service I've had there. Of course not having many problems with the car helps, in spite of having a very low vin number.
10-18-2006, 06:06 PM
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Question about Lexus GS
Did you get the AWD version and how do you like the car? I am thinking about that for my next car, although I have had good luck with my 2004 A8L and my dealer, Napleton's in Rockford, Ill has been excellent. I plan on keeping my A8L until it becomes unreliable. It is 3 years old and I have 53,000 miles. I have an extended warranty up to 90,000 miles. What do you think about the new LS460 and are they making it in AWD?
10-18-2006, 06:53 PM
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Interesting...my wife had her first Lexus service experience today...
...and was impressed with every aspect of her 1.5 hours spent there for a regular service...except for the trashy receptionists surfing the web but that's just par for the course for almost EVERY dealership I've ever been to.
I usually take care of these errands but couldn't today, so my wife brought the LX in with our 6 months old daughter and the waiting area even had a quiet room for nursing mothers and children, imagine that!
Our local Lexus dealer recently moved to a MUCH larger brand new facility with a huge indoor service reception area, full valet and well lit and spacious service advisor and waiting areas.
She was so impressed that she is swayed to consider keeping the car after the lease is up in 18 months even though she hates the ride in the back seat. We're considering the GL450 or the new X5 4.8 (if it has decent towing capacity like the GL or the LX) as replacements but if either one of their service experience is less than the Lexus, which sounds like it's almost guaranteed to be so, then I think we'll be going right back to a Lexus in the near future.
I usually take care of these errands but couldn't today, so my wife brought the LX in with our 6 months old daughter and the waiting area even had a quiet room for nursing mothers and children, imagine that!
Our local Lexus dealer recently moved to a MUCH larger brand new facility with a huge indoor service reception area, full valet and well lit and spacious service advisor and waiting areas.
She was so impressed that she is swayed to consider keeping the car after the lease is up in 18 months even though she hates the ride in the back seat. We're considering the GL450 or the new X5 4.8 (if it has decent towing capacity like the GL or the LX) as replacements but if either one of their service experience is less than the Lexus, which sounds like it's almost guaranteed to be so, then I think we'll be going right back to a Lexus in the near future.
10-19-2006, 12:49 AM
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Re: The A8 is a fine car! I sincerely hope you are right about your dealership...
Interesting theory about European service that, on the whole I would agree with. However, one interesting thing with Audi is that in many European countries they are separating VW and Audi dealerships for the very reason that they want to increase the quality of service for Audi owners.
Having had a couple of Audis on which absolutely nothing went wrong in three years I can only comment that regular servicing was quick and efficient. Similarly my current BMW has had few problems always dealt with politely and instantly. I am just waiting for a new A6 and have already had delivery delays and am not impressed by the dealer. However I will almost certainly get servicing done in a different one so we will see.
Living in Belgium you get used to horrible service but we always live in hope.
Having had a couple of Audis on which absolutely nothing went wrong in three years I can only comment that regular servicing was quick and efficient. Similarly my current BMW has had few problems always dealt with politely and instantly. I am just waiting for a new A6 and have already had delivery delays and am not impressed by the dealer. However I will almost certainly get servicing done in a different one so we will see.
Living in Belgium you get used to horrible service but we always live in hope.
10-19-2006, 02:54 AM
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Re: Hi Jeff! The LS460 DOES come in AWD and the damn thing parks itself!
Thanks Greenie! I'm going to keep going in my A8L (53,000 miles) until it becomes unreliable. I'll probably get either an LS 460 AWD or GS 350 AWD Jeff
10-19-2006, 04:50 AM
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The GS 350 AWD...
...First and foremost the GS is no Audi from the points of view of handling and interior. It's suspension is a bit "springier" than the Audi, the steering if lighter, and the interior is classic Lexus nice -- but pales next to the Audi interior.
Now for the good stuff:
The 3.5 V6 puts out 303hp and makes the car more powerful than the 4.2 A8 due to the lower weight of the GS. The engine is smooth and powerful across the entire power curve. My former A8 was not great at the lower end of the curve. The handling is more than adequate with almost no body roll in corners. The suspension is less firm than the Audi but more than adequate for the job. I have not had the change to experience the full capabilities of the AWD.
The interior is very nice. I think the leather is softer and has less of a sheen. The equipment stack is well organized and uses a large glass touchscreen which has a glare reducing coating. The electronics are vastly superior to Audi's but we all know that the Japanese do gadgets better. The Mark Levinson stereo takes audio CDs and DVDs, MP3 and WMA CD's, and will play a DVD through the nav system if the car is station. The system supports DTS and THX and sounds fabulous.
The interior lighting provides gradations of dimming under various lighting condition versus the Audi which has basically on and off with manual dimming. The car has xenon headlights with a left and right swivelling feature keyed to the steering input. The car also has the Lexus smartkey which works very well and as advertised. It does take some getting used to since it is a different paradigm than using a key. Lexus does have to recode the defaults for you if you don't care for the central locking defaults.
The nav system is better than Audi's in both presentation and guidance and supports voice control. One cool feature is the ability to find a business location by entering the phone number of the business. It works very well.
The car comes standard with Bluetooth integration which includes reading the phonebook from the phone and optionally transferring it into the memory of the car. Lexus also placed a power point within the armrest box so that you can charge your cell phone if you want. I also found a company that offers native iPod integration along with an additional aux jack for generic MP3 player output. It integrates directly with the stereo by making the iPod appear as a multi-disk CD player and gives you fill access from the touch screen.
All in all, the GS is a great car...and the dealer experience has been tops. They gave me a choice of an Rx, ES, or IS loaner when they installed my XM. The saleswomen also surprised me with a gift of Lexus winter mats for free which she knew I wanted!
The LS460 debuts tomorrow at my dealer and I received an invitation to a champagne reception and unveiling. The LS460 will be offered with AWD in the spring...Audi had better watch their backs.
Now for the good stuff:
The 3.5 V6 puts out 303hp and makes the car more powerful than the 4.2 A8 due to the lower weight of the GS. The engine is smooth and powerful across the entire power curve. My former A8 was not great at the lower end of the curve. The handling is more than adequate with almost no body roll in corners. The suspension is less firm than the Audi but more than adequate for the job. I have not had the change to experience the full capabilities of the AWD.
The interior is very nice. I think the leather is softer and has less of a sheen. The equipment stack is well organized and uses a large glass touchscreen which has a glare reducing coating. The electronics are vastly superior to Audi's but we all know that the Japanese do gadgets better. The Mark Levinson stereo takes audio CDs and DVDs, MP3 and WMA CD's, and will play a DVD through the nav system if the car is station. The system supports DTS and THX and sounds fabulous.
The interior lighting provides gradations of dimming under various lighting condition versus the Audi which has basically on and off with manual dimming. The car has xenon headlights with a left and right swivelling feature keyed to the steering input. The car also has the Lexus smartkey which works very well and as advertised. It does take some getting used to since it is a different paradigm than using a key. Lexus does have to recode the defaults for you if you don't care for the central locking defaults.
The nav system is better than Audi's in both presentation and guidance and supports voice control. One cool feature is the ability to find a business location by entering the phone number of the business. It works very well.
The car comes standard with Bluetooth integration which includes reading the phonebook from the phone and optionally transferring it into the memory of the car. Lexus also placed a power point within the armrest box so that you can charge your cell phone if you want. I also found a company that offers native iPod integration along with an additional aux jack for generic MP3 player output. It integrates directly with the stereo by making the iPod appear as a multi-disk CD player and gives you fill access from the touch screen.
All in all, the GS is a great car...and the dealer experience has been tops. They gave me a choice of an Rx, ES, or IS loaner when they installed my XM. The saleswomen also surprised me with a gift of Lexus winter mats for free which she knew I wanted!
The LS460 debuts tomorrow at my dealer and I received an invitation to a champagne reception and unveiling. The LS460 will be offered with AWD in the spring...Audi had better watch their backs.