Bob Karly

On 3/11/2019 at 10:19 AM, BigBoomer said:

WhoopWhoop! 
Congrats Bob, smooth looking car and sounds like she has won over your In-Laws 😎
Welcome to LS ownership.

It is a pleasure being member of this nice team. 🙂

3 hours ago, rich1068 said:

Driving gloves ftw!

Love driving gloves. Not only nice (IMHO) but also great for the grip. And yes, I was for sure strongly influenced by the movie Drive! 😂😂😂

Update:

Guys, I got my Lexus. What a machine. What a pleasure getting in the car every morning and driving to work. Loving every second. My father in-law asked me to get him for a ride and really enjoyed it. Said that it is very comfortable, quiet and it seems like a Boeing with all lights and instruments. He was very impressed and was asking during the whole ride to drive faster! 😂 My mother in-law want to get her ride this week.

Some pictures to you, since you love pics. Thanks for all the support, Lexus Lovers!

3 hours ago, cruisermark said:

Good news - we love pictures btw! - Good luck and enjoy

They will do the service and repair a sun shade, which was not working properly. I should post some pictures in the next days. 

Just signing the papers to get my LS 460. Guys, wish me luck. I have really hugr expectations with this car. 

On 2/23/2019 at 3:41 PM, LexusIS300h said:

I have family in Austria who were totally underwhelmed when I told them about my new Lexus. They drive BMW and Mercedes, as do most of the people in their town.

A Lexus is a foreign car there and as rare as hens teeth. Myself, I quite like that, having something different from the rest of the sheep. We were the first family with a Prius on our estate and also the first with a Lexus, although one appeared a couple of months after ours.

They say jealousy makes you nasty and that is the case with your father in law. So what? It’s your life, your money and the only person whose view you should respect apart from yourr own, loves the car too. Buy it and be damned and just for good measure put extra blackout on the rear windows and pimp your wheels. Happy motoring with your big Lexus 👍

Hahaha. Putting the pimp kit would be gold!

On 2/23/2019 at 8:25 PM, aido said:

My stepdad is German and he's never really been a fan of Lexus either - he did used to love and drive Ford's like the Sierra Cosworth back in the day and then had a VW Golf estate for years through his work which went all over Europe with minimal fuss. A few years after I had the IS and then the Aristo I bought a Passat as a stopgap and at the time he went through a couple of 320ds and he was impressed by the Passat.

He did comment at the time that a lot of German's drive VWs and that it's seen as the national brand of Germany - he does have an E class at his place in Germany though for when he's there but says he prefers the VW and only bought the Merc as it was sold via the family to him for a low price. 

Fast forward a bit, I had a Passat CC GT that I did 110k in and really loved and he's a few Passat Estates in and mostly loves them but they certainly have had their own quirks. 

After the CC I went down the Volvo XC90 D5 route which is about as good a family car as you'll ever find (it's just a pain in the arse in most car parks due to it's large size) but otherwise it's brilliant in all weathers. My stepdad really doesn't like the Volvo though.

I'm 40 now with 2 kids and that's one car you can easily fill with prams, changing bags, and yet still go to Costco and fit a full shop in the boot with cubby holes for wine bottles etc in the back 😄

I got a high milage LS460 as a motorway cruiser with comfort in mind and to keep the miles down on the Volvo. 

I had a few shocks initially when the radar cruise module failed after it was serviced and that cost me a lot to get sorted but I've got to admit I've cleaned it today and love it in a different way to the Volvo - it just wafts along and you have the great Mark Levinson system in there. 

70km a day is going to cost a fair whack compared to what you would be spending in say a 2 litre modern diesel but no car of any brand is perfect and the LS is a very nice place to spend that time. 

My commute is a 160 mile round trip so I just tend to drive down one day, spend a night in a hotel and then drive back the next day when I'm done.

I'm carrying a couple of injuries these days so wanted something easy to drive and the LS ticks those boxes nicely - at the end of the day you'll be the one driving it so spend the time in whatever makes you happy.

I was thinking about getting a Volvo before, but they are quite expensive in Germany and most  of them are Diesel, what is a no go for us since most towns in Germany  are about to ban Diesel. I am totally aware that my cost will be higher than some Skoda (my wife wanted one), but I will invest money in the pleasure of driving one of the best cars ever made. And thanks God at this point of my career, the money is there.

I will most probably make some trips with my son to watch races on Hockenheim, Nürburgring and Spa, so I would like to have something nice, reliable and enjiyable for my day by day and trips. I am convinced that I am making the best decision and whatever what others will say/think. 

On 2/23/2019 at 12:54 PM, i-s said:

The psychology of nationalities is interesting. 

In the UK the "debadged" option is usually applied to bottom-end models. We want to hide the fact that we were so cheap as to buy a 316i and hope that everyone thinks it's a 328i.

In Germany the opposite is true. Debadging is applied to top-end models. They're embarrassed to shout about success and about having something that is more than they need, about standing out. They hope that people will think that their 760Li is a 730d or even mistake it for a 520i.

Then there's the nationalistic side of it. There is a large tendency to nationalism in european car purchasing - In spain there are a lot of Seat, in italy there are a lot of fiat, lancia, etc. In france there's a lot of PSA and renault. In germany, of course, it's more still - the germans are very proud of their car industry and there's a very good chance they they know someone who's livelihood is linked with the car industry. 

Motoring has a peculiar position in german culture - driving is, although we might perceive as aggressive, generally of a higher technical standard than here in the UK. Unrestricted autobahn has a position similar to the second amendment in the USA - there's not a good practical reason for it anymore, but trying to take it away will be over the dead bodies of a large amount of the electorate. 

Think of the Golf - that deeply competent, "classless" car. It does what it does very well, very quietly without drawing particular attention. It doesn't stand out. That is the archetype of where your german in-laws thinking lies. 

And here you are - wanting a big, flashy car with oodles of chrome. People are going to notice you. People are going to talk. Oh dear, it isn't german, it isn't even european! It has a big V8 and it is ostentatious! 

In the UK the equivalent of what you're doing is turning up on a primped middle-class newbuild housing estate talking about changing your sensible demure car for a full-on pimped RX7 with bosozoku exhausts and doing a few donuts in the cul-de-sac. 

However, I think that your in-laws are wrong (shock, horror). There's no point confronting them on it - simply do what you wish to do. It is your life, your car. The car itself will win them over when you take them out for dinner or to the airport or something in it. HTC (the almost-forgotten maker of phones) had a tagline that could so easily have been applied to the LS - Quietly Brilliant. Let the car speak for itself. 

Word, mate! Funny thing about what you said: my monther in-law has a Golf. 😂😂

Update

My wife was p**** off to hear the whole soupd opera and her parents freak out. Of course, as a good German, she is always thibking about the 460's fuel consumption, but she admitted that the car is very confortable as f***. Just because I love her I went to a Toyota today to test a Avensis Station Wagon. Drove 40 minutes with the car. No. Just no. Not after driving the 460. Funny thing: they have the exact same price. Of course the 460's running cost is higher. Around 40% but the pleasure of driving one is 200% higher.

Funny thing is that my mother in-law heard today that I would test a Toyota and said "Hey Bob, of course you can buy you a Lexus. Sorry for the mess the other day. My husband was very rude and overreacted when he heard your decision. He is nuts sometimes. Don't make any thoughts. Buy what you think is the best for you." Well, I think somebody has googled "LS 460 overview" and watched some YouTube Videos. 😂😂 

Will most probably get the 460 next week!

4 hours ago, jdanielca said:

First and foremost I assume you live with these people? If not why do you care? Letting your in laws dictate what you should or should not do first mistake.. ignore and do what you like seriously life is too short to have your gonads squeezed by your in laws. 

I don't live with them. Thank God. Live is indeed too short to ignore my own desires. I just want see their faces during their first ride with me. Well, if they are invited after all. 😉😎

5 hours ago, harrylime said:

I meant to add that, in my humble opinion, buying a Lexus at any level is an intelligent and discerning choice. Lexus themselves showed a level of intelligence when they ditched diesel engines before their inherent problems and public perception changed for the worse. Perhaps your in laws are not at the same intellectual level as you and simply can't see the up side of owning such a car. 

Exactly. I educated myself a lot in the last three months. Saw a lot of video, read a lot of articles and this forum. A argument "this car is for dumb, stupid and irresponsible people" will not erase the fact that Lexus kicks *****. Hey, I love to drive. Always did. Fought my battles to get a good qualification, career, job and salary. Why not to give myself a nice gift with my OWN money? 

5 hours ago, harrylime said:

Most unlike the Germans to impose their views on someone else. Their response sounds disproportionate, intrusive and rude (again, hard to believe). On the one hand, I might tell them that it's my money, hard earned and that it's f**k all to do with them. I might add that not in the too distant past, millions of men in Britain and elsewhere fought and died fighting fascism and won the right to have freedom of choice etc that we enjoy today (including their freedom to criticise, I suppose). On the other hand, I might explain that 70km is a significant commute and demands a level of refinement and comfort that only a large car can provide, and none can match the LS. I might add that reliability is of the utmost importance and that the Lexus is miles in front of the over priced pieces of s**t produced in Germany. I might also mention that the LS is one of the most aerodynamically efficient cars on the planet and is probably surprisingly economical over long distances.

As for what a car says about you, who gives a crap? People criticise anyone over 45 for having an MX 5, which is bull****, they get the same level of fun out of them as anyone else.. Buy what suits you, life is too short.

Either way, I would not stand for that crap and would politely put them in their place one way or another, or your life will be pretty miserable in the future. I can't think of a single relative or friend who would react like that.

Thanks for the nice words, mate. I also do believe that 70 Km a day is a significant commute. They said is a short one, but hey, who is going to seat with the a** in the driver seat is me. So, let me give it a nice treatment! A drove the LS for about 30 minute and can't wait to drive it again. I will try to get it next week. 🙂

5 minutes ago, Vlady said:

Listen to your wife, she loved the car that is all that matters!

Welcome to the forum by the way!

 

Before I bought L:exus I considered Jaguar XF and Merc E-class and my wife said you are not that old (I am 38 with 2 kids) to drive a Merc! this was it, I never even went for a Merc test drive! Lol!

No regrets with Lexus at all and I consider myself a BMW man!

Look how funny. We have the same age and aldo 2 kids. This can only be a sign! Getting my Lexus asap! 😂

5 minutes ago, Vince Donald said:

Wow,can only assume a jealous response there.

 

I used to do a commute of about 84km each way in my 230BHP Saab, smooth relaxed drive.

 

Vince

Hahaha, mate! They were also saying yesterday that Saab is for arrogsnt people! WTF?!? I do reslly start believing it is jealous at its finest. Because there is no logic in thinking that a Lexus is worst than BMW, Mercedes. Worse, as my parent in law said: the Lexus I want is for dumb, idiot and irresponsible people. Wow!

25 minutes ago, talaipwros said:

How about divorcing?

No, man. My wife is great but my parents in law can be very silly and superficial. Like "small town" mentality. 

2 hours ago, doog442 said:

As above. Perhaps they are worried about the practicalities and running costs of something they know very little about.

I agree it can hurt. I remember buying a few cars back in the day that might have seemed a bit odd with a young family but I got support from my in laws and I still remember that now.

Do you have another car, a runaround or similar or will it be your daily driver. You sound like an enthusiast or you wouldn't have stumbled across this car . Explain that it will be a safe / reliable car. I bet they would change their mind if you took them out in it. 

Its a head / heart thing that I still go through now that will only be satisfied when I eventually get that RCF. 😉

It will be my main car for a 70km daily commute. Iam a motorsport fan, but to be very honest I dind't know Lexus until November last year. I really got deep in my research and matter what people say, I do believe Lexus will be the best choice. This is what I see/read from the happy customers. German cars = a very expensive headache. Lexus really got into my heart.

3 hours ago, Normski said:

It's your money and you will be the one driving it. If it fits with you and your own family it really doesn't matter. Just make sure that the car has been checked over and all the maintenance is up to date - they can still have big running costs...

1 hour ago, Malc said:

BUT please please please don't get caught out after the 12 month warranty with the gearbox going " pop " coz you haven't dealt with the radiator issue 

Malc

Thanks for the hint! Just got an Email from the Lexus dealer. The cooler was changed in 2016. With how many thousand km must they be changed?

Thanks for the feedback, man. The auto will be bought from an official Lexus resellet. It is fully checked and the only big thing in the history is that the suspension was changed 1 year ago. Otherwise I would get a 12 garantee from them.

Best

Dear Lexus Lovers,

after months and months researching to by my first Lexus, I found a beautiful and full option Lexus 460 from 2007. I made the test drive yesterday and I have to say: what a machine. The best car I ever drove. No comparison with some Audis, BMWs and Mercedes I had in my hands. I was very convinced to buy it...until I told my mother and father in law.

My father in law asked how many HP the car had. When I told 381 HP he just FREAKED OUT big, big time. Started saying that such a car is for dumb, idiot and irrational people. He did not even bother to ask me to see the pictures and videos of the car. Not even bothered to hear why I would buy such a car after researching  every day in the last 3 months to find the best, most reliable and safe car for the budget I have. His "argument" is that buying such a car to commute 70 Km a day to work is ridiculous. I was shocked.

My mother in law was at first mad at him because the words he used against me but afterwards said that such a car does not fit to a well succeed young professional and young father (I am 38 and 2 small kids). That such car is for old guys with rolex. Then they said I was just waiting for: that in Germany (yes, we live in Germany although I am not german; they are) having such big cars is bad perceived by others. Like, it is car for guys from third world countries coming to Germany, for pimps, show-offs and so on. That in town people would find very strange and would make thoughts. What would my colleagues at work think  of me. When I asked then what car would "fit" to me, my father in law said it was not his task to tell that (even because he is ignorant in this topid)  and my mothe in law said that a BMW would be way better ignoring the fact that they are money pits.

I was shocked, big, big time and my day was destroyed. It felt like being bashed and considered a low life for choosing for my dream car. Important fact: my wife was totally against having a Lexus mainly because of the fuel consumption, but she was amazed after the test drive. Like, wow!

Sorry for writting such a long and personal case here, but I would really like to listen if you guys also had the same experience. If Lexus is really so bad seen in Europe/Germany and having one is related to bad things, like being a ignorant pimp.

I really don't bother what other thinks of me as long they don't pay my bills. Because I know people buy money pits like BMWs and Mercedes because of status and not because they are good. But boy, oh, boy I was shaked. 

 

Thanks guys