Leaderboard

Not much point in having it, there aren't any police left to spot out of date discs. My Dad would be worried if he were still with us, I remember him using a Buckley's Brewery label for a tax disc for ages, partially obscured by a windscreen wiper, or the last resort, a note saying "tax in post" What they are saying is that the politicians and the bankers have ripped off ordinary folks off so much, that many of us can no longer afford to pay for six months tax, let alone twelve months. Truly the last person to enter parliament with honest intentions was Guy Fawkes

I do alot of motorway driving (150miles round trip commute) and the hybrid doesnt really play much of a role, exept if you get bored and want to overtake an annoying driver who cant decide what speed to stick to, then the hybrid motor also acts as a boost to the engines power and at motorway speeds it pins you into the seat and pulls effortlessly into ban territory before you know it! But then when you get off the motorway into a town, it comes in beautifully and glides along in stealth form! Mines about to tick over to 153k tomorrow, and as far as bettery life is concerened, it's still as good as the day I bought it 3 years ago! Lexus tend to be brilliant when it comes to customer service, they pretty much always bend over backwards to help you out. Only problem is with parts costs and labour, you can't seem to buy many aftermarket products, and if you car is out of waranty and needs a repair, it tends to be very expensive! I had a nearside rear hub carrier bush deteriorate and cause a bad squeeking noise from passenger side rear, ended up needing a new hub carrier and ABS sensor, as you cant get the bush separate and they couldnt get the old ABS sensor out! They also replaced 2 rear tyres (falken's), total cost £970!

Actually If I suspect like me this issue was not getting them to park but rather the pantograph arm on driver's side hitting bonnet edge; it is because you are assuming that as with most wipers you have to turn the blades to right angles to the arms to remove and refit them. With these you don't. - just as well as there is no room without fouling bonnet edge as you say. Simply lift off screen, press toggle on blade fitting and pull down off hook. Apologies if this was not the problem. Nick

Looks just like the salad I had for lunch!

hi switch on engine switch on wipers - when they get to the end of their sweep "12 o clock position" - quickly switch off engine You should no be able to life the arm and remove the wiper

It's the petrol price rise con all over again. When gallons changed to litres, the increases seemed a lot smaller at budget time. They are now introducing monthly payments for car tax, so increase divided by twelve seems far less significant. Bunch of shysters.

Two working days, Mike. Here's what Christian did on my Mk 3: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=267284 Pepe

Hi Shiner Rather than just giving you a name and address I will set out first what I did to my 'new' LS 400 Mk 4 so that you can see where the money went. I bought the car from my Best Man on 24.08.13 for £2,000 with 166,739 miles on the odometer. I bought the car because I knew personally the previous owners and the car had a FSH mostly from Lexus franchised dealers. The car, however, had the usual blemishes, little scratches, mismatched tyres, accumulated dirt . . you get the picture. tyres So here's what I did: 1. Replaced the timing belt, water pump and tensioners. 2. Gave it a major service, this includes changing all the fluids, new spark plugs, filters, etc. 3. Refurbished all 5 alloy wheels. 4. Replaced all 5 tyres with new AVONs. 5. Replaced the damaged rubber spoilers underneath the front bumpers. 6. Removed all stone chips and scratches by selective respraying of all the affected areas. 7. Had the entire car professionally DETAILED. This involved removing all microscopic scratches from the entire paintwork, cleaning the engine bay, treating the leather upholstery, cleaning all the nooks and crannies throughout the entire car, polishing and finally waxing. 8. Changed the gear selector knob. I could not stand the one that came with the car so I imported a new one from Japan. 9. New number plates--simple and elegant--no advertisements. 10. Replaced the cabin filter. Everybody forgets this! 11. Replaced the damaged door rubber seal on the rear O/S door. The bill for the parts that needed replacing, came to a total of £885.97 paid to Lexus Guildford after obtaining a 10% discount because I am an LOC Gold Member. So: 1. Lexus parts £885.97 2. New number plates 39.98 3. Labour--Repairs and respray to bodywork 750.00 4. Refurbishing 5 alloy wheels and fitting 5 new AVON tyres 939.37 5. Labour--Full service including fitting new timing belt, water pump, etc. 350.00 6. Parts: spark plugs, filters, oil, antifreeze and brake fluids 218.51 VAT on items 3 to 6: 451.58 Subtotal: £3,635.41 7. Detailing fee £525.00 TOTAL: £4,160.41 The chap who did items 1 to 6 is John Hill, of Hillson's Limited, Roundstone Lane, Angmering, West Sussex BN16 4AT. Tel: 01903 788 291. I had a word with John today and got clearance from him to give out his coordinates here. John is an excellent mechanic. I got to know him because he maintained my Mk 3 for its previous owner since 2007. He is very precise and businesslike. He gives all quotations in writing and then sticks to them without fail. His garage, a family business, deals in commercial vehicles and John works in Lexuses occasionally, but let me tell you, he knows our cars inside and out. I'm sure he could change a timing belt blindfolded. The detailing work was done by a very nice chap called Christian who trades under the name of INVISIBLE TOUCH DETAILING. He also did a wonderful job on my Mk 3. Here are the results: I hope to have been of some help. Good luck! Pepe

I agree entirely with the above remarks. I'll be 73 in December and this concentrates the mind. I bought my first LS 400 a 1996 Mk 3 in March last year for £750. The car had covered 221,000 miles. I was so impressed that I spent £5,000 giving the car a full service, rectifying minor faults, all suspension-related, touching up the bodywork and then having the car professionally detailed inside and out. The car is now in showroom condition. In doing all this I also had in mind an "El Cid" departure, as ambermarine so imaginatively and thoughtfully describes. Then, like macash48, I bought a Mk 4 over the bank holiday from my Best Man. This time I paid £2,000 for a car with 167,000 miles but serviced 100% by Lexus franchised dealers since day one and with only two previous owners. My plan is to also to make my Mk 4 as good as my Mk 3 although I'm sure that this time round I'll be spending far less than £5,000! As they say: "This is life, this is not a dress rehearsal." I should stress that my two LS 400s are strictly 'hobby' cars but I do hope that my condition, as a member of 'a certain age' adds another perspective as to why we value and enjoy these cars so much.

That's the thing. Jon has just spent 2K on an old car, madness some would say, I'm sure. But he now has a luxury car in excellent nick. Alternatively, he could have sold his LS for peanuts and spent his 2K on a ten year old blandmobile that MIGHT get you from A to B if you're lucky, and bore you to tears in the process. You're only here once people, might as well enjoy it while you can.