Mot Time

[cilgwynbaby]

It was mot time again last tuesday.Passed again with no advisories!! And my car is 18 years old,I have never owned a car that has passed its mot without needing work done on it.shows what fantastic qaulity these cars are.This year I am going to treat it to refurbed alloys.Anybody know of a company that could refurb them local to Conwy / Denbighshire?

There's a thread on here somewhere that Lexus offer refurb for £350 anybody tried this lately?

I love my Lexus,I will be in tears if I ever have to get rid. :flowers:

[Malc]

..... don't worry, you have at least another 20 years of excellent motoring ......... refurbed wheels or not !!

Malc

[Calders]

to have them done properly the outer rims need to be polished , at £350 this is obviously what lexus do as I had quotes of approx £80 per wheel, the cheaper option is to just get them refurbed by one of these mobile guys who come to you, they sand them fill and spray them in the back of a van. I went for this option as I just wanted the old girl to look a bit more respectable, more than happy with the result wheels came out like brand new and only cost £40 per wheel.

[Mybikes a cx500]

to have them done properly the outer rims need to be polished , at £350 this is obviously what lexus do as I had quotes of approx £80 per wheel, the cheaper option is to just get them refurbed by one of these mobile guys who come to you, they sand them fill and spray them in the back of a van. I went for this option as I just wanted the old girl to look a bit more respectable, more than happy with the result wheels came out like brand new and only cost £40 per wheel.

Only possible issue there is the corrosion can creep under where the tyre bead seals and give annoying very slow drop in tyre presure

[is200 Newbie]

I have not used them but heres a local doing wheel refurbs .... WS Wheels / West Shore Body Repairs / Herkomer Road / Llandudno / LL30 2YZ

Let me know how you get on ...

[dave1]

Lexus don't do the refurb. They will send them off to be done, although when I had refurb done via Lexus Coventry they ordered the wheels and swapped my tyres onto the refurbed wheels which they had ordered so I assume they must have a ready supply of Lexus wheels.

[colin4989]

How much did that cost Dave?

[dave1]

18" GS Sport wheels, I think it was about £90/wheel. That was about 5 years ago

[cilgwynbaby]

Hi guys,thanks for all the info.sorry I havent replied earlier,but with old age (mine not the car)comes health probs,nothing serious just time consuming.I have managed to find a company in Mochdre who will paint them for £50 a wheel so when I can I will have them done.Hopefully I will work out how to post before & after photos on here.

I am also looking to have an aux in,put in the radio ,been qouted about £120 for this.Seems to be the simplest solution to connecting other devices to it.

I dont have the code for the radio,is it the same method for resetting the code for 1996 Ls400 ,that just has the radio & climate control as the one mentioned in an earlier post?

Thanks again Steve

[Colin M]

Hi Steve

My 1996 (silver) LS400 has an auxiliary lead connected into the back of the radio, to which I can connect an ipod (and probably various other devices as well).

I didn't fit it myself, the previous owner did, as the CD player had packed up. From what I remember, when talking to him when I bought the car, there is a connection point in the back of the radio into which an auxiliary cable can be plugged. He routed the cable from the radio through into the glove box. I have connected an ipod to the cable a few times when I have been on long journeys and it works fine.

It could be a relatively simple job to do and, if it is, it might save you £120.

Has anyone out there connected up an auxiliary cable?

Colin

[cilgwynbaby]

Thanks for that.

if using this method are you able to control the ipod through the radio controls,or do you have to use the controls on the ipod?Also is it poss.to have some sort of dual line in so that you could still use the original cd player?

Sorry if these are stupid questions but I'm not the sharpest knife in the box.

Steve

[Cotswold Pete]

Hi guys,thanks for all the info.sorry I havent replied earlier,but with old age (mine not the car)comes health probs,nothing serious just time consuming.I have managed to find a company in Mochdre who will paint them for £50 a wheel so when I can I will have them done.Hopefully I will work out how to post before & after photos on here.

I am also looking to have an aux in,put in the radio ,been qouted about £120 for this.Seems to be the simplest solution to connecting other devices to it.

I dont have the code for the radio,is it the same method for resetting the code for 1996 Ls400 ,that just has the radio & climate control as the one mentioned in an earlier post?

Thanks again Steve

Have a look at this link if you want an idea of what's involved.

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/lexus-audio-video-security-and-electronics/269156-how-to-build-and-hardwire-an-auxillary-input-to-oem-stereo.html

Personally I find that you get pretty darned good sound my using one of those cassette adaptors and that this always give me control over wide range of volume.

The issue is that some MP3 players struggle to drive an AUX socket properly (as in my good lady's Jag) which is not an issue by using cassette adaptor.

Sure it is not last word in ultimate HiFi sound and you have a trailing wire into the cassette deck, but for £12 it works, and the Traffic Reports will still work, but it is good enough for everything from Baroque to Drum and Bass

There is another posting which slices tracks inside the radio unit, and looks neat when finished, but you need a ground loop isolator fitted otherwise you get hum.

[Colin M]

Steve

On mine, you click the CD button on the radio, which comes up with an Error code (presumably because the CD player does not work) and it then allows the iPod to play. I have to use the iPod controls to access music etc.

Sorry, I cannot tell what would happen if the CD player was working. I think auxiliary sockets just allow other devices to be connected and to play through the speakers, so it may well be that both the iPod and a working CD player can be used. But I am afraid I do not know enough about the technical side of this.

[Bluesman]

Got my Lexie MOT yesterday and she passed with two advisories 2 front tyres getting close for change. Have got a complete set of new Falkens I just need to get the wheels refurbished and the other advisory was all discs could do with replacing over the next year. These will be replaced on her next service.

So yet another year of fantastic, happy motoring to look forward to. Mike

[cilgwynbaby]

Tuesday morning,6 am get in the Lexus to go to work,flat tyre,no breakdown cover & need to be there before 6.30.No other option go & get my partner up,to drive me to work.Thankfully she is an absolute gem,no word of complaint even though she hasn't had a lie in past 6 am for the past week. Couldn't borrow her car cos that was booked into the garage,couldn't get out of work to sort the tyre,obviously no spare.As I work long shifts 6 till 6,& I was working tues & weds couldn't get to a tyre place.

After a bit of research on internet came across Tyres on the drive,ordered the tyre they came to fit it today(thurs) Didn't have to leave the house.I dont know if it was the best price for this tyre £70 for a Landsail 225 60 16,but certainly the most convenient.

Happy motoring again.

One thing they did mention was the rear discs are corroded.What are the best brand,cost effective ones & about what sort of cost to fit them.Am I better off going to one of these quick fit places,or local mechanic the one I use charges about £30 per hour.

Thanks Steve

[Malc]

... use your usual local guy, he's bound to know what to do ok and save you a lot with peace of mind too :luck:

Malc