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The reasons why some of us, who are still able-bodied, get upset at people who abuse Disabled Parking bays are manifold (to keep this on a motoring theme) But how about: 1. Many of us know people who have a disability and sympathise. 2. Today I'm fit and healthy - but tomorrow............ and 3. People who abuse Disabled Parking bays (probably) beat their wives and kids........kick their dogs.......and break wind in public! Just my opinion :)

You think thats bad? The other day I saw a 30 year old -ish woman park on double yellow with a disability badge and she was clearly NOT disabled. It was probably her father's or something She parked pretty close to the car which was behind her so I went and parked on the double yellows in front until the parking sensors went beep and I was only about 10cm away (parking space was so tight) - stuck my Doctor On Call badge on the dash and went on my home visit - safe to say she couldn't get out and was sat there waiting for me to come and move my car LOL She opened her window saying "why did you park so close - been here for 10 minutes waiting for you to get out" - I just said "serves you right - that disabled badge isn't yours you shouldn't be parking here" - she didn't say anything!

......... more tea vicar ? butted in Miss Marple to relieve the tension Malc

An interesting read on the car that started the Lexus brand http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/2014/10/31/the-lexus-ls-400-is-officially-a-japanese-nostalgic-car/

If you leave the alloys without washing them the brake dust will turn them that colour for no cost.

Just wondered how many on here ride a bike. I've ridden for longer than I care to remember, and can't imagine not having a bike of some sort in the garage. Current steed has taken me all over the place, many trips through France into Spain over the past 10 years or so, all very enjoyable....some very (very!) wet ones too! This photo was taken last year en route to meet the rest of the family down near Girona. I came hurtling round a sweeping left-hander on a deserted road south of Caen and was confronted by.....another German tank! Pete

hi there im Stefaans,im from S.A and this is my IS200 its a 2002 gxe10r its all stock accept for a 60mm lowering kit and 19' bbs rims will upload some more pics later on

If that had of been my car I would have flatly refused to pay the Lexus service price and only offered the Toyota price which is a considerable amount less! But then again I do love a barter for any old thing. One good thing about using the same dealer over the last 10 years is They know I'm serious wheather buying or selling When I bought my ct I was in there an hour over £4 a month and when eventually the previous finance manager came over I said I told you what I could pay its £4 a month too much over 5 years which is £240 Guess what 2 minutes later he gave me another £5 a month off I think that was one of the reasons he actually took the whole finance situation higher and in the end was able to match the Lexus finance offer but was sick as a chip when I said your 2 hours to late! The thing what probably sickened him the most was I only got them down a grand overall With the ct I ended up getting 3 grand off just about It just shows Don't believe them when they say there's nothing in the car for them or only a few quid profit!!

I once worked with a colleague (who happened to be a foreign nurse from a very hot country, shall we say) who, it wouldn't surprise me, passed her test by handing the tester a brown envelope stuffed with cash, because she was absolutely hopeless at parking her car. She caused damage to other colleages' vehicles on a regular basis because of her incompetance in the workplace car park. I know for certain she was NOT disabled. My point is this; one day to avoid further abuse over her abysmal parking, she miraculously began deploying a Disabled permit/badge, thus easing her predicament. I don't know to this day how she obtained it, but there is definite corruption and abuse out there. This is the kind of thing us fortunate able- bodied people are bleeting on about. Oh, and one more thing-- What many, many faults Rudy? My LS has been the most fault free car I've ever had!

My LS 400 is the only car I've ever owned that anyone has especially asked to sit in and admire.

Finally given up trying to get my electric aerial to work. The original was frequently reluctant to retract so I took it out and tried all sorts of solutions but the plastic 'tail' had either been cut short in the past or broken off. On Monday I fitted a replacement from the auction site....it seemed to work albeit stiffly. Not long after I gave feedback it too started to stick. In and out numerous times until this morning it jammed completely, broke the plastic tail trying to get it out. I have now done the same as I did with my broken Land Cruiser aerial, sawn the end off a telescopic radio aerial and fitted it in the hole. Moral? One gets what one pays for..... Mark.

I've posted this before.......The aerial insert is exactly the same as in a Toyota Camry (circa 2000). I took my 400 through a car wash - twice - and had to replace the insert. At the time, 10 years ago, Lexus wanted over 350 pounds for a complete new aerial. My local Lexus garage in Holland put a Camry insert in for 80 pounds.

Only just got to this section, I read as slow as I ride these days? In fact I don't ride anymore thanks to a stroke in 2005. My life on bikes started 'legally' in 1963 with an Aerial Arrow golden sports. Moving on to a BSA 500 Gold Star, BSA, RGS. Then went Japanese. Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha. Then MotoMartin CBX. Harris Magnum. (Still got the last bike I raced in the garage. (TD2B) Also have my Yamaha RD 500 LC sitting in the garage. Have to agree with Pete about Harleys. Riding one confirmed to me why I have never wanted one. But biking is extremely personal. If it suits you then its not up for discussion. As I still have 3 in the garage do I 'qualify'? Does that make 3 of us??? Bye the way, I used to sponsor Des Barry and Ray Stringer, Bought Ray 3 Suzuki GSXR 750's and an OWO1 Yamaha.

Rudy You do well to still have that car and have every right to be proud,I owned a Mark one that was a 1990 and had it for 16 years it was 21 when I sold it and it as now been scrapped as the new owner did not buy it for keeps. I like you have been lucky to own this Icon of the time and still enjoy the looks my Mark 4 gets as it wafts along with the classic style of a thoroughbred.The rest of its attributes are for me to enjoy, as the driver is the only one who can.

It is called no claims discount not no accident discount, I might ask them first what no claims discount you will be entitled to next year?. I was told by a friend that their premium went up because of an accident they reported to the insurance company, even though there was no claim, they organised and paid for the repair themselves. Honesty obviously not the best policy when it comes to insurance companies

What you say Gang, about taking a break is "spot on ", but it seems that a lot of people simply ignore the advice. I drive to and from Andalucia twice each year and rests stops are imperative, both to freshen up and to have toilet breaks. The drive you are taking seems wonderful, so please do let us have a full report in due course. Regards John I only tend to take 15 min breaks after 300 miles - seems to work for me so I dont think a Tesla would work for me, especially since I only did 200 miles before running out of juice. 2 issues - you can charge up to 100% but Tesla don't recommend it - they say 80% which gives you 264 miles theoretically but I only did 210 odd. Charging is frustrating at home - its dreary slow - Id rather fill up with petrol as my RX does 340 miles on a tank. The closest supercharger is in Leeds which is 7 miles away. I guess that will change when the 68 mile/h home charger comes out this year however. Ill be honest - I think the Tesla looks rubbish - I dont really see what the hype about the look is all about - I dont think it looks good at all from the outside - almost 1980's stretched VW beetle look Ill also say that its quite unreliable. Few things which I noticed - screen froze - major PITA as everything works from there. Sunroof wouldn't close and showed closed on the screen. Handles didn't open once. Also, the brakes stick a lot (due to being huge) in cold wet weather. And i wasn't too impressed with the interior quality - just didn't feel £50k worth, maybe on par with the IS but definitely not worth the price tag and I wasn't too keen on how everything is on show in the centre console eg the USB sticks, everything you put there rolls about etc etc. I think the only Lexus which has exposed USB sticks is the CT! And as for the price - its not just £58k though is it - you start putting options on that thing and the mid-range 85D costs circa £80k

If you have just bought the car then, by law the Dealer you bought from is responsible for sorting your disc problem, not you (for up to 6 months after purchase). The Sale of Goods Act covers this. Obviously all will be relative to the price paid but warped discs on a just sold car are down to the Dealer, not you. Worth taking the car back and asking them to sort........... For full details do a web search on car purchase and sale of goods act......... hth

Everyone to there own,but was brought up on deep dish chrome or polished alloy,so has stuck Black wheels are grubby wheels ;) ;)

It isn't bollix You like him are denying the evidence & he's trying to hide it by refusing to publish the deaths which occured AFTER benefits were withdrawn from the disabled As for the questions need to be asked, do you have any idea how difficult it is to obtain disability benefit. Apart from the many months (10 in my case) they contact not only your Dr but also your Consultant and still have another Dr examine you. This is AFTER you've completed a 39 page questionair which if you make just one mistake they'll refuse your claim. You can appeal but again that can take months before you're heard ..........unless of course you choose to believe IDS as in his world everything is fine and dandy

Free speech is for everyone not just the disabled & your opinions (with which I disagree) are as valid as mine. Working with the disabled the sick etc may give you some insight into their/our world but unless you're disabled with very limited mobility then sorry but you'll never be able to fully understand what its like. Its utter Carp and IDS has made it acceptable to attack/slander the sick the unemployed and the disabled. For Gods sake people are dying because of his policies. The man is a not just a disgrace to parliament he's also a disgrace to the human race. As a footnote it appears his CV ain't all its cracked up to be by that I mean its alleged that much of it is untrue ie Uni, Army etc etc So when he quotes statistics to justify himself and this governments policies they never stack up As for the survey I referred too as it was quite some time ago may I suggest you try Googling it ?

Just in case anyone is interested - I went with the Dension Gateway Lite, with a Lightening cable adapter (bought both off Amazon). It was really easy to fit - I used this video (which is for a different adapter box) for removing the head unit although I did lose two bolts inside the centre console (no suitable magnet I'm afraid) An iPod 30-pin cable plugs directly into the unit, but for a Lightning cable (as on the iPhone 5 and newer) you need the Lightning adapter (which plugs into the USB port and then you plug your own Lightning cable into the adapter). If you have an Android phone or your music on a USB device you can plug them directly into the Gateway box as well. It's only the newer iPhones that need this extra adapter. I plugged the Gateway box into the head unit (dead simple - unplug the CD changer, plug it into the supplied cable and plug the cable into the head unit and Gateway box), then fed the box through into the glove box. From there I ran my iPhone cable under the console and stuck my cradle (which I took out of my old car) by the gear stick with velcro. Nice and neat with all the wires hidden out of view. At first it worked fine - I plugged it all in, switch the head unit to the CD Changer and then started Spotify on my phone. Then on the second day the Gateway unit stopped responding to the next/previous track buttons on the steering wheel. I checked the Dension website and they had a firmware update. Download the zip file, copy the firmware file to a USB stick, then plug the USB stick into the Gateway box. 2 minutes later, the Gateway box had restarted, and so far, everything is working perfectly. And as the Gateway box charges the iPhone and I've got the phone paired with the navigation unit over Bluetooth, when I say "Hey Siri" I can even get the phone to read out text messages and reply, or initiate calls, totally hands-free (bypassing the rather crappy voice commands built into the navigation unit. ("Hey Siri" is set in Settings/General/Siri - when you say it, the audio stops, the Bluetooth unit acts as if a call is incoming and the microphone becomes active so you can tell your phone what to do). So I'm really pleased with things at the moment. Hope that helps someone.

I am just not a lover of black wheels, Silver seems to highlight the car much better. I'm old, cant help it. Mike.

Thanks for the advice chris/dennis. I think i'll go for the later 19" RX wheels as they don't shout "boy racer" (unlike many of the aftermarket rims available). I'm aware of keeping insurers informed ... back in 2008 I had a very modified Citroen AXGT on the road at the same time as my current BMW 730ise. The Citroen insurance was double that of the beemer! (But it would keep up with E38 540i's). Just for the record I'm old enough to be a grandfather, so don't start thinking I'm some yoof looking to bling up me ride.

I've heard of a few occasions where only the front three plugs have been changed. The rear ones are a real pain to get to, no special tools needed just time which people unfamiliar with the vehicle will underestimate.

A friend of mine warmed up some Wax Oil and dribbled it behind the chrome strip then wiped off the excess.