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Hi, So I spent the last 3 months looking for brake replacement and also where to buy the parts from. At first I queried at Lexus Croydon and was given the following prices: Replace front discs and pads inc Labor - £961 Replace back discs and pads inc Labor - £798 Bringing this to a total of £1759 This is a barbaric amount where most of that price comes from labor. Now to how i saved a lot of money. Firstly took a lot of time to find somewhere that sold the parts. Front Discs Front Discs I went OEM Brembo. Bought them from Shipley Motor Factors (www.shipleymotorfactors.co.uk). They arrived within 5 days and had good customer service. Price for 2 discs - £155.86 inc free delivery Front Pads Front pads are Hawk Ceramic Pads, i bought them off a seller on ebay and they arrived within 2 weeks from the USA - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hawk-Performance-Ceramic-Brake-Pads-IS-F-CLK55-AMG-CLK63-AMG-SLK55-AMG-/371249714168? Price for 2 sets of pads - £176.72 inc Delivery Rear Discs and Pads I bought these from Kam Racing (www.kamracing.co.uk) and just told them the part numbers over the phone as not listed on their site due to not being a part they stock a lot of. They had to back order them to Brembo Italy and they were shipped as soon as they hit UK waters. Customer service was good so was not worried about waiting. Price in total for both rear discs and pads - £341.42 Fitting Now fitting can be done at any respectable garage, there is no need to get this done at Lexus. I had mine replaced at a close friends garage and it was 2 hours work (£60 per hour), but knowing the place and having been there before I was only charged an hour. Bringing the total for changing all discs and pads to £60 Total Paid Total to replace all discs and pads including labor - £734 I am disappointed Lexus overcharge so much and this makes them lose customers when basic parts need replacing, I am not too fussed doing all this leg work but others may not have the time and end up paying silly amounts of money for the same work. I thought I would put this post up so people can see that there is other places to buy parts and save £1000 if you dont go through the dealer. Just to point out, all parts that are easily replaced and not major engine work I get done at my mates garage, everything that is engine or recall or even service gets done at the dealer.

................ I think you might find the air suspension is prone to just collapsing when it is due to go !! From what I read on here ....................... I'm lucky, I have a Ls400 Malc

Apart from anything else, I fully understand what you're saying. If my car has something not working it spoils everything, and AC is a big one for me. Good luck with it.

Bet you they actually change the air filter tho, and not just "inspect it"! PCM, badger is in the post, have used Hermes, so no guarantee it'll be moving when you EVENTUALLY get it! ;) Good to hear yours is clear for another year tho!

thanks for the responses chaps, and the suggestions. It appears that the pipe is available, having called a different Lexus dealer and given the same description. I then sent photos to both dealers who confirm it is available. I pick it up on Wednesday, although it is fairly extortionate at around £70, plus fitting charge and recharge of the system. I took a look last night after dark with my UV torch and there are traces of the dye used elsewhere, but I don't know if they are transfer or old leaks ( I had my independent change some seals previously). I'm hoping the condensor is not leaking but my only option is to replace the pipe, recharge and see where we gp from there. Whether you have had problems with your aircon or not, I would recommend taking out the battery tray and checking underneath for corrosion. I found some surface corrosion only and have treated it with Finnegans number one, which will kill it dead and protect it, although I will paint it again with hammerite. A few years left left alone, as it is out of sight, may have been a problem. I do wonder whether water can collect there, or perhaps a little battery acid has leaked, removing some paint

I claim my badger ( see above ). MOT and service at Lexus Hatfield today. No advisories, no extra work needed. Just great service and hospitality.

Hi James, to be honest whichever model you buy, it will probably depend on how well it has been looked after. The previous owner of mine bought a high mileage but chauffeur driven LS460 in the belief that it would be ok. It came with a full 12 months MOT from a Midlands garage. He had bought from an, as it transpired, reputable dealer, because the first thing he did was MOT it again to find quite a few thousand £s worth of suspension problems and an MOT failure. The dealer paid for remedial work. The one you are looking at is a one owner, and if it has full Lexus Service History, get it checked but could be a good buy. I also think that the gearbox oil contamination and cambelt change are not enough to put me off a good LS 430 if one comes along. They are relatively inexpensive to prevent, I will fit a new rad next year. Rgds and good luck, Roger

Looks great, I really like the contrast with the white. I have used plastidip on all three rear badges and like Stu says it adds to the stealth of a black car. Never used it before but got it looking reasonable on the second attempt. I did it a few months ago and it still looks fine. The best bit is if you ever change your mind you can just peel it off! (EDIT: sorry Ace just said that!) Here's a quick snap I took the day I did it:

I use a trickle charger when it's parked in my garage for weeks as mines not used much and then when I use it to go away on holiday, when left at airport I plug in my solar panel in to the obm socket under dash and have never had problem.

I have the same firmware as Zotto which, according to my dealer, is the current version. If anymore has a more up to date firmware can they please advise. Cheers Peter

I reckon that these sub standard upper control arms all come from the same source. If you have to fit these, then spend another couple of quid and replace the rubbers with a better one. My test rubbers are still as good as when I got them over a year ago - still sitting in my toolbox, but then the new crap parts destroyed the rubbers sitting on my garage wall, so it's a similar test. I bought the replacement gaiters on ebay - just measured what I needed. Pete

Well, here's the "Raybestos" (oops sorry, made in Taiwan) "quality" part which was fitted early March 2015 and has done under 2000 miles. Absolutely shocking. Why waste time manufacturing a part and putting a piece of rubber on that will have such a short life, saving what? a couple of quid for a quality rubber gaiter? - I just can't fathom these Taiwan mnfrs nor the Yankjs for allowing such cr*p to be sold under what was once a respected brand name.. As I may have said earlier, having spotted the situation I have banadaged the gaiter with black cling film, balck nsulating tape and a couple of tie clips in the hope of stopping ingress of dirt and water. I did remove the gaiters from the old Wishbones and nbo doubt come the MOT they won't be happy and I'll have to pay to have the Wisbone removed and giater replaced.

Thanks fella, looks like I'm getting dirty tomorrow afternoon now! Then she can sell this thing and get a Skyline again :D