lexus owners - what did we drive before?

Spacewagon52 · July 10, 2017

9 minutes ago, Eame64 said:

Like a few people on here i started driving in 1981 and have had numerous cars over the years including about 10 motorbikes and scooters of which i still own a mint Gilera 180 FXR which i still ride every week.

My first car was a mini but some of the better ones were;

Granada Ghia MK 1,Datsun 140j fastback,Renault 21 Turbo(fab car back in 1988)a mint vauxhall VX490,cortina mk3 and 4,opal manta sr,ford capri mk2,vw Golf gls,Bmw 5 and 3 series,Land rover discovery 3,Freelander 2.Some recent year cabs have included BMW Z 3 2.8,AUDI A4 2.5TDI,PORSCHE BOXSTER 3.2S AND CURRENTLY SLK 200.There have been many more including some awful ones.

Lexus wise we have owned RX300 SE-L,NX 300H and are RX450H.

A few pics i found.

Super photos! I love the Datsun! My neighbour had one, said it went like stink.

July 10, 2017

Yes it was a cracking car but heavy on the juice about 22mpg if i remember correctly,i eventually sold it to a work buddy who then got rear ended on the motorway so that was that for the poor Datsun.

Malc · July 10, 2017

a few great cars there, if only one had hindsight and the money to have kept one or two eh ! ..... super classics in the making then and definitely would be now

Malc

Spacewagon52 · July 10, 2017

If I had pots of money there are a few cars I would like to put away for a few years.

PCM · July 10, 2017

What a great thread. So many memories.

It reminds me ... one of my best cars was a Vauxhall Cavalier SRi. Great fun.

And a Fiesta XR2.

But no a/c back in the day.

I couldn't survive without it now.

One of my first jobs... I had a Cortina, a colleague has a Capri. He mislaid his key.

No problem, my Cortina key fitted it perfectly!

Spacewagon52 · July 10, 2017

4 minutes ago, PCM said:

What a great thread. So many memories.

It reminds me ... one of my best cars was a Vauxhall Cavalier SRi. Great fun.

And a Fiesta XR2.

But no a/c back in the day.

I couldn't survive without it now.

One of my first jobs... I had a Cortina, a colleague has a Capri. He mislaid his key.

No problem, my Cortina key fitted it perfectly!

I had a Mk2 Cortina. Parked in a dark multistorey and opened up a car that did not belong to me! Same colour!

The-Acre · July 10, 2017

39 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

I had a Mk2 Cortina. Parked in a dark multistorey and opened up a car that did not belong to me! Same colour!

Oh yes, been there. The fact that you could open them with a suitcase key didn't help!

andydckent · July 10, 2017

1) 1998 Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 GLX

2) 1998 Mitsubishi Legnum VR4 Type S

3) 2014 Lexus IS300h (Current)

knocker1980 · July 10, 2017

1) 1.3 Ford Escort - my first car, only thing electric on it was the radio. Slower than a dead slug but my first wheels so I was happy with it.

2) Citroen AX GT - This was a proper little go kart with the structural integrity of a crisp packet. The entire thing ended up rotten and I ended up scrapping it only to pull up behind it at a set of traffic lights a few months later :)

3) Vauxhall Omega 2.5 V6 auto - Huge, very comfortable and very thirsty also very ulgy but I quite liked it.

4) Vauxhall Omega 3.00 V6 auto - As above only more thirsty but with more toys.

5) Alfa Romeo 156 - Absolute best car i've ever owned, black leather interior was a lovely place to be. Cambelt gave way whilst on the drive and I ended up selling it for parts (if i'd had the storage space Id have kept it and repaired it)

6) Nissan Pathfinder 4x4 - Huge tank of a vehicle with 7 seats Slow, doesn't handle, very thirsty but I enjoyed almost every minute of owning it and due to it's sheer size it was mega useful for carrying stuff. Gearbox went kaput which cost me £4000 was the only downside.

7) Lexus IS300H (current) - Enjoying it so far although there has been a few occasions where i've missed having my Pathfinder (usually involving 3 kids and multiple bikes which were a problem with the Nissan)

I've had a few bikes aswell,

Kawasaki AR50 when I was 16

Gilera Runner 125 which was converted into a 180 so spent most of its' time on it's back wheel

Suzuki GS125

Yamaha Diversion 600 & 900

Honda CBR 600

Suzuki Bandit 1250

Spacewagon52 · July 10, 2017

6 minutes ago, knocker1980 said:

...........the structural integrity of a crisp packet.

Love that expression!

Farqui · July 10, 2017

^ +1 to that, fair made me chuckle.

Such a perfect description.

Spacewagon52 · July 10, 2017

6 hours ago, andydckent said:

1) 1998 Mitsubishi Colt 1.3 GLX

2) 1998 Mitsubishi Legnum VR4 Type S

3) 2014 Lexus IS300h (Current)

The Legnum/Galant - they are super cars. Had 5 Galants over the years. The new Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross looks like an NX/RX! Talk about pinch the styling!

The-Acre · July 10, 2017

I passed my driving test in 1972 and I've had sooo many cars, some for just a few weeks. Interestingly, the car that I've kept the second longest was my 92 LS400. The car that I probably loved the most was a 1959 VW beetle, a marvelous little thing that cost £125!

Alf Hucket · July 10, 2017

Well here goes

Austin A40 Farina (Age15)

Suzuki GT350 ( age 16)

Mk3 Cortina

Mk3 Cortina eatate

998 Mini ( passed driving test)

Mk2 Escort

Mini 997 Cooper

998 mini

Land Rover series 2

Mini 998

Honda TL 125 ( passed bike test)

1275GT mini

998 mini Cooper

131 1600 Mirafiori

131 Mirafiori super sport ( hooligan tool)

Mini cooper Mk11

Renault Fuego

lada riva

mini cooper S

skoda estelle

1430cc Mini (home made)

Rover SD1 V8

TR 7 the worst car iv'e ever owned

Triumph Dolomite sprint

Fiat Strada twin cam

Mini Cooper S

Fiat Panda 4x4. amazing go anywhere machine,(even through 4' snow drifts), probably the best fun car Iv'e ever owned. as long as it didn't rain

Land rover series 3

VW camper

VW beetle 1600 (1962)

VW 1600 Baja Bug

VW Golf

Yamaha 650 XS

Kawasaki GT750

Kawasaki GPZ 1000RX

Land rover Discovery 200tdi

Land Rover Freelander TD4

Land Rover Defender 110 TD5 HD Utility

Peugeot 206 ?

Saab 93 very reliable(yawn), paid £1300 and never replaced anything in 3 years, including the oil.

Audi A6 (nice)

Range Rover P38 ( it was cheap)

plus a Pug Expert 9 seater Eurobus?? 270000miles Ex Taxi Sorry! I was drunk when the wife bought it

Lexus RX300 ( impressive build quality)

and the ever faithful Defender 110 TD5 HD utility (The most amazing machine that's never failed to take me to some amazing places despite the abuse and neglect)

and the RR P38 pending disposal ( possibly)

Looking back at some of these, i could have been quite comfortably off if i'd still owned just a few !

dutchie01 · July 11, 2017

Memories Memories. 17 yrs old and driving from Holland to Spain in 1978 in a 2 door Cortina - yes brown of course - with the tent and luggage in the boot. Car was so tail heavy the frontwheels barely touched the ground which gave a total different meaning to roadholding ( not that it had a lot of course with worn out shocks and a steering wheel you had to hold firmly to prevent the car from taking a left turn..). we placed the tent on the back seat which made the car more driveable reached spain were drunk for 2 weeks and drove back home. Glorydays!

steveledzep · July 11, 2017

Err.....that's a Capri

dutchie01 · July 11, 2017

i know but its the atmosphere in the pic and the right timeframe that made me dream off. Capri's were and are still beautifull by the way, too expensive when i was a student!

July 11, 2017

7 minutes ago, dutchie01 said:

i know but its the atmosphere in the pic and the right timeframe that made me dream off. Capri's were and are still beautifull by the way, too expensive when i was a student!

i actually swapped that capri for a Granada MK2 2.8 manual back in the day.

PCM · July 11, 2017

I also has a Toyota Supra.

SO easy to loose the back end, but a lovely looking car.

Alan Plummer · July 11, 2017

Ford Fiesta 950 cc Mark I
Ford Fiesta 1.1 Mark II
Ford Puma 1.4
Ford Puma 1.7
Ford Focus 2.0 Mark I
Lexus CT200h
Toyota Auris Sport Tourer
Lexus IS300h Sport

Cracksta · July 11, 2017

Not had much but all Jap so far:

1998 Honda Civic 1.4

1996 Mitsubishi FTO GP (My avatar)

2004 Honda Civic Type R EP3

2010 Lexus IS250 F Sport (Current)

Looking to replace my IS250 near end of this year because insurance wont insure my wife when she passes her test in a few months time, shame as there is nothing wrong with my IS250. 2 cars on my list so far are 2012-2014 Lexus CT200H (but i need big boot for buggy) and 2014 Nissan Qashqai Tekna model.

julian1969 · July 12, 2017

OK from memory,

Pre car test: Suzuki OR50, Kawasaki AR80, Yamaha RD125LC (fell of all of them, no more bikes for me)

MG Metro, Fiesta XR2,

Moved to the states: Chevy Day Van, Datsun 200SX, Geo Metro.

Moved back to the UK: Fiesta XR2, Hyundai Sonata, Citroen BX TZD, Peugeot 406 coupe 3.0v6, Lexus LS400, Seat Alhambra TDi, Honda Accord i-CTDI, Mitsubishi JDM GTO twin turbo, Peugeot 407 coupe 2.7 diesel, Audi A6 2.8 quattro, Kia Cee'd, Nissan Leaf, Lexus RX400h.

Can't really see myself in anything other than a Lexus from her on out - I'd love another LS but it's not really practical so will probably get another RX of some sort in a few years time unless I win the lottery in which case it'll be an LC and i'll make it work lol.

andydckent · July 14, 2017

On ‎10‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 6:13 PM, Spacewagon52 said:

The Legnum/Galant - they are super cars. Had 5 Galants over the years. The new Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross looks like an NX/RX! Talk about pinch the styling!

Yeah I love the Legnum, just wish it wasn't such as gas guzzler.

fooby · July 15, 2017

Started with a 2001 Golf 1.6 because I thought German cars were reliable. It was disastrous. After that it went as follows:

2010 Citroen Nemo 1.4TD

2004 Subaru Legacy 2.5

2001 Nissan Micra 1.0

2002 Peugeot 106 1.5D. This was fun, like a tractor. Very slow and noisy but tons of torque for a leaf weight. Crisp packet thing definitely applies here. Purchased with a fresh timing belt which fell off eventually as they stripped a bolt.

2005 Nissan Micra 1.0 (crapheap)

2003 IS200.

First_Lexus · October 3, 2017

From the beginning...

1988 E Lada Riva 1200L. In beige. Mmmm, nice. Bought for me by my Father to learn to drive in so I didn't have to use his car or my Mum's car. Not cool, despite my "Street Machine" magazine "awesome" sticker on the back. An early attempt at irony...
1980 Vanden Plas 1500. An Allegro with a big grille and a leather interior. And walnut picnic tables. Far too cool for school. 36k miles but terminal rust in the chassis. Shame. I rather liked this one.
1988 Mini Mayfair automatic. Given to me by my Mum when she upgraded to a new Nissan Micra (mainly because the Vanden Plas above failed the MOT). Went to Mini 30 at Silverstone in this one. She was a bit slow for the track though...happy memories even so.
1985 Austin Montego 1.6HL automatic. Great car. Loved it. No rear seatbelts, and you could fit a surprising number of people on the rear bench when needed. My first University chariot, I had some 'fun' times in that one...
1991 Rover Metro 1.1C. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Everything in the world went wrong with this one. Gear linkages. Paintwork. Electrics. Seats. Rubbish. Still the only car I've ever crashed. I didn't want it but my Father decided it was more 'sensible' than my Montego. Sigh.
1993 Daihatsu Charade CXi 16 valve automatic. And the "16 valve" was so important it was in red letters down the sides. An absolute peach, I loved that car. Should never have sold it, but my (now ex) wife wanted something more practical, so we bought a...
1996 Hyundai Accent 1.5GSi automatic. Very good. Reliable. Practical. But never as good as my Charade. And very dull. Nothing more than an appliance.
2000 VW Polo 1.4S automatic. Nearly as bad as the Metro. VW took it back and replaced it due to all the problems. Hopeless.
2001 VW Polo 1.4S automatic. VW provided a new replacement for the previous pile of poo Polo. No problems with this one, but by then I wanted a...
2001 MINI One automatic. The demonstrator from the dealer, so no waiting list for me. British racing green, with two tone beige and black leather and lots of options. Wonderful.
2004 MINI Cooper automatic. Still have this one in the garage 13 years later, and with only 12k careful miles. Every extra ordered except the John Cooper bodykit, and I went to Plant Oxford to see it built. She's only been driven in the rain twice. Sad? OCD? Guilty on both charges. My second car for the weekend.
1974 Mini Clubman automatic. A genuine 12k mile, one owner, classic and I still regret selling it again 5 years ago. This was a third car for other weekends!
2005 Renault Scenic automatic. Practical and cheap, I needed an everyday driver to go in and out of London so I didn't have to use either of the Minis. Lots of bits fell off, but my niece had it for years after I traded up, and it is still going in the Aylesbury area despite some pretty severe punishment.
2009 VW Tiguan automatic. Never again VAG, never again. Ever. EVER! Good at first, but then kept going wrong, ending up destroying the gearbox in the third lane of the M1 after just 40k miles. Had a hole in the drivers side carpet, the touchscreen was patchy and the paintwork quality poor. If only everything in life was as reliable as a...grrr.
2012 Honda Accord i-DTEC EX automatic. Brilliant. Just brilliant. One of my better decisions...a truly superb car. But a change of job meant that after 50k miles it had to go as I didn't need a diesel and potential DPF issues.

2015 Honda CR-V 2.0 i-VTEC automatic. An odd one this. The Twilight Blue paintwork had an issue with 'bleaching' noticed at just a few days old. Honda replaced it, almost straight away. I'm not sure how many other manufacturers would have done that.

2015 Honda CR-V 2.0 i-VTEC automatic (take two). This time in White Orchid Pearl, I had a happy 22k miles in this - a really excellent car - until i fancied a change.Which brings me to my Lexus NX Sport. I don't think I've missed any out...