My Irish Import

[jonthetourist]

I thought I would start a new thread following my lengthy discussion about finding and importing a car from Ireland, and the financial advantages, to talk about the car itself and my plans, coming to Lexus for the first time.

The car is a 2004 LS430 which has now done just over 1,000 miles in my hands and very nice it is too. On Wednesday it is going in to a bodyshop I have used before to get the bumpers resprayed, and a couple of scuffs polished out, plus the alloys re-furbed.

I have had a health check from an independent Lexus / Toyota specialist in Newport which was positive, and arranged to do all the servicing in one big hit, as with the mileage at 97,000 it is definitely timing belt time. However the oil is looking very clear from the last service in September so I am going to leave it for a couple of months. There is a little bit of judder under braking, but nothing serious and I can live with it for now. Carl also said there is a fault recorded on the little valve that allows extra air under acceleration, so that will be replaced, along with all the fluids and the V belt. Budget is £1k for everything.

I negotiated a discount because the car only came with one key, and Lexus have supplied a new master key for £138. Even though I had to produce proof of ID and Ownership the key doesn't work until it is coded in, which is also due Wednesday, at a cost of £25 from the dealer. Fingers crossed that all works OK.

I took three folks to the airport the other day and they were very positive about the space and comfort.

The only cloud on my horizon at present is the error message from the front parking sensors, so I am running with them switched off. Replacement looks like a rather pricey job. Several of them look like they have oxidised in some way.

So far, so good, in conclusion.

Jon

[steve2006]

Sound like a good one overall, the valve that needs replacing sounds like the VSV fault quite common I understand, cheap part wise but expensive getting to it with labour running into several hours, but integrated into a cam belt change maybe it will work out cheaper.

Same with the parking sensors get them replaced while the bumpers are off in the paintshop, not sure if they are OEM only or there are aftermarket parts available.

[jonthetourist]

Sound like a good one overall, the valve that needs replacing sounds like the VSV fault quite common I understand, cheap part wise but expensive getting to it with labour running into several hours, but integrated into a cam belt change maybe it will work out cheaper.

Same with the parking sensors get them replaced while the bumpers are off in the paintshop, not sure if they are OEM only or there are aftermarket parts available.

Thanks Steve

Yes, Carl said it's ideal to do it at the same time as you have already paid for the getting access part of the process, which is the expensive bit. He also said people tend not to notice when it has failed, but really notice when it has been replaced.

If anyone can suggest aftermarket substitute sensors which I would be grateful, as I know they can be much cheaper than OEM.

[messi]

The oem sensor is only £59 so best getting the oem sensor

[messi]

if you do buy an aftermarket sensor, and say if it doesn't last as long as the oem sensor, your gonna pay for labour costs again, so at £59, I wouldn't buy an aftermarket sensor

[jonthetourist]

I thought they were a lot more than that. When I go in for the key programming I will get them to see how many I need.

Thanks a lot

Jon

[messi]

Yeah vsv sensor is £59

[jonthetourist]

Yeah vsv sensor is £59

Sorry, talking at cross purposes here. I was asking about the parking sensors on the bumper, as per the last part of my original post.

[messi]

Oh sorry I thought you meant the vsv sensor. Yeah I'd go for aftermarket sensors on that one, the dealers will rip you off with the price on parking sensors

[jonthetourist]

Oh sorry I thought you meant the vsv sensor. Yeah I'd go for aftermarket sensors on that one, the dealers will rip you off with the price on parking sensors

Has anyone used aftermarket parking sensors on an LS?

[Mybikes a cx500]

Oh sorry I thought you meant the vsv sensor. Yeah I'd go for aftermarket sensors on that one, the dealers will rip you off with the price on parking sensors

Has anyone used aftermarket parking sensors on an LS?

I'm sure there was a there's a mesage on here somewhere, they can be fitted without removing the bumper with a bit of careful wire feeding