New RX 400h owner saying hello!

[rich1068]

So we're a two Lexus (Lexi? tee hee) family now.

And the best bit

2006 and full Lexus history from new 

[royoftherovers]

very nice indeed.congratulations.

[Farqui]

Well found that man, low mileage for the year 

Is it all tickety-boo or does it need any work?

[rich1068]

I can only find cosmetic stuff at the moment but I've got Lexus Sheffield giving it a once over next week. Hopefully they shouldn't find anything too serious as it was last serviced by Lexus in September. This was a major service and included a Hybrid Health Check and cam belt.

[royoftherovers]

2 hours ago, rich1068 said:

I can only find cosmetic stuff at the moment but I've got Lexus Sheffield giving it a once over next week. Hopefully they shouldn't find anything too serious as it was last serviced by Lexus in September. This was a major service and included a Hybrid Health Check and cam belt.

So, you did not buy it from Lexus then Richie? Have you considered purchasing a Lexus Warranty, assuming it is not more than 10 years old?

[rich1068]

I didn't. And unfortunately it's a 2006.

[royoftherovers]

3 hours ago, rich1068 said:

I didn't. And unfortunately it's a 2006.

Looks pretty sound notwithstanding the private purchase. I hope that it is all that you wish it to be. If it is only half as good as the IS, I imagine that you will be very pleased.

[rich1068]

I do like the reassurance of buying from Lexus but in this case a comparable 400h I looked at was nearly £4k more. I was willing to take a warranty gamble given the history of this one.

[rich1068]

Fleet's in.

Averaging 30mpg too which is a bit of a change. But I have to say I do like having the IS as a bit of a garage queen. I'll make the most of it while I've got it.

[acer54]

My two, Lexus RX400h for Winter and BMW Z4 for Summer - Perfect!

[rich1068]

Lovely Z4. My mate's just bought one. Nice straight six auto.

RX passed its inspection which was a relief. At least it's not various cars welded together. An advisory on the state of the front pads and discs plus a tyre that I'd already noticed. 2010 and going on the sidewall cracks looks like it's been run underinflated. The spare is unused and recent so that'll go on the front with a new one.

[acer54]

58 minutes ago, rich1068 said:

Lovely Z4. My mate's just bought one. Nice straight six auto.

RX passed its inspection which was a relief. At least it's not various cars welded together. An advisory on the state of the front pads and discs plus a tyre that I'd already noticed. 2010 and going on the sidewall cracks looks like it's been run underinflated. The spare is unused and recent so that'll go on the front with a new one.

My Z4 is the 3.0i Automatic with sports mode, needless to say it's quite a handful in sports mode lol

Good news regarding the RX400h, not too expensive to put right, mine RX400h is due it's major service and MOT in November, hopefully the bill will not be too excessive (I will be going to a friends garage who maintains all my car's and knows what he is doing).  

[rich1068]

So I got the tyre sorted Friday plus the car got a good scrub. It has obviously been valeted prior to sale but now I've been up close and personal it's clear that it's never been washed from one month to the next. At least these are the jobs I don't mind doing. It had a clay (paint so rough I could hear it), polish and seal. Lovely.

As mentioned elsewhere I did take the IS300 out the other night and ignoring all the practical reasons for changing I did wonder if I'd done the right thing. Just a little bit. But then over the last couple of days I've got more used to the RX and it really is an extremely satisfying drive. Hybrid malarky for when you feel like setting yourself a challenge and a lovely V6 throb for when you don't. Big thumbs up from the kids too. Took everyone out for Sunday lunch and it was glorious.

I also took the Thule roof bars off the XC90. Perfect fit!

[rich1068]

A couple more with the box on.

Going to do something about the Volvo badge obviously! It's a re-badged Thule box (and bars) so I've got replacement Thule stickers to go on.

Just having a play really. The thing is there's a chance we'll all be going away in the RX in July. We've got an S-Max on order but it seems to be delayed, if the Volvo's already gone then that only leaves the RX 

While I've got you all, does anyone's passenger seat belt look like this?

Compared with the driver's side

I ask because with the passenger buckle facing that way you have to twist it to wear it. It's like the whole thing is on backwards. The buckle should be next to the seat not next to the B pillar. Or is it me?

[sorcerer]

YES!! The passenger seatbelt in our old RX300 was exactly the same and drove my wife absolutely batty!

I never got round to doing anything about it to be honest but no idea how it got that way.

[rich1068]

Phew! Not just me then? It was actually my 10yo that pointed it out. Pretty much the first time he got in it!

One of those odd Lexus quirks maybe? Like the trip reset/display thing halfway down the dash and hidden by the steering wheel. Or the Open and Close buttons for the centre cubby. Or the dual control climate indicator that's lit when it's off and off when it's on. On my IS I always liked the button next to the clock that rounded up the time to the nearest hour. Why on earth would you ever want to do that? lol 

These thoroughly engineered quirks are one of the reasons I like these cars. Sod teutonic efficiency. It's boring. And usually not that efficient.

:edit:

As if by magic!

 

 

[sorcerer]

Brilliant, cheers mate 

[rich1068]

Another little job sorted today.

The car being 12 years old there are little scuffs and scrapes that I can live with but one or two I can't. A local car trimmer recommended Pro Systems in Chesterfield for a small rip on the NSR door trim and one or two other bits including a hole about the size of a 5p in the roof lining over the luggage area.

Before

After

All done in about half an hour, they came to me and the best bit

65 quid!

Recommended if you're in the Chesterfield/Sheffield area.

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, rich1068 said:

Another little job sorted today.

The car being 12 years old there are little scuffs and scrapes that I can live with but one or two I can't. A local car trimmer recommended Pro Systems in Chesterfield for a small rip on the NSR door trim and one or two other bits including a hole about the size of a 5p in the roof lining over the luggage area.

Before

After

All done in about half an hour, they came to me and the best bit

65 quid!

Recommended if you're in the Chesterfield/Sheffield area.

That looks to be an excellent job at a very reasonable Price Rich. You must be delighted.

£65 used to pay my monthly mortgage.How times change!

[rich1068]

Chuffed is the word.

The headlining looks great too. I didn't have a "before" shot so didn't bother with a pic.

[sorcerer]

What a great job he's done there, excellent.

[rich1068]

Father and daughter too which I thought was rather nice.

[oldgreybeard]

Looks great same colour and age as mine but much cleaner!

How on earth did you get result? Know little about cleaning car other than spraying with snow foam and rinsing off.

We even have the same trim fault except mine has a small cig burn - shame really as lets it down.

Am living with damp drivers side seatbelt at minute, just another water ingress issue.

Well done with yours

[rich1068]

Thank you!

I'm not a car cleaning obsessive. Been there, done that, had children, can't be arsed. But I do like my cars to be presentable. This one was OK when I picked it up but I think half the fun of getting a new/old car is pouring over every square inch and getting to know it. There's no better way of doing that than cleaning it. It's a bit like digging behind the seats and seeing what you find 

So this time I used a G3 Clay Mitt with AG Rapid Detailer as a lubricant. This really is the amazing bit. Mine was so bad you could hear the clay removing the God knows what off the paintwork. If you want to know what your paintwork is really like find a cellophane (ciggy wrapper?) or plastic bag, put your hand inside it and run your had over the paintwork. Then clay it and use the bag again.

Then it had a quick once over with AG Super Resin Polish and a coat of AG Extra Gloss Protection. 

It's not perfect but it's good enough for me. I might do it again in a year or so. I might not...

[rich1068]

In other news I got Bluetooth audio working yesterday  How I hear you ask? Well, I remembered I bought one of these when I got the IS but never used it because it turned out the cassette player was broken. Since then it's sat in a drawer. As you can see from the reviews it's about a 50/50 split between those who thought it was rubbish and those who gave it 5 stars. Works perfectly for me. I don't use it as a hands free device because the car already has that but for Spotify via Bluetooth on my phone it's perfect.