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New plates are on 👍

Here's the first Photo ........ it does need a clean already !!!!!! I have owned two other Lexus an IS200 and a RX300 both were great and after a play with German made vehicle and two Range Rovers we are back with NX300H Luxury with the panoramic roof , Sat Navigation and the protection pack ........ i wouldn't have chosen the pack but the boot mat is very useful and i end up being one As normal the whole Lexus experience was super from first viewing, test drive and the pick up were all smooth and painless even switching over the private plate was easy everything apart from paying for it of course here are my thoughts on the first 100 miles it looks great inside and out , the inside is typical Lexus ........ pure Class ......... everything is in reach and laid out well , the dashboard is clear and really effective , the seats are well just Lexus ....... adjust once and you love them ......... never really got comfortable in the Evoque so this is great Stereo is fine ........ although a little complex to use but that will improve with time The sat Nav is fine i have only played with it Adaptive cruise control..........is Wonderful Driving position is perfect , lots more visibility than before i drove it for the first two days in ECO and was a little concerned but tried the sport mode and it's perfect, then after reading on here about using normal mode and that is fine for me ...... the pick up and Auto box is exactly what i needed the diesel manual Evoque was a little slow on pick and you were always changing gear ( or so it seemed ) Overall very pleased , it certainly looks the business and there aren't millions of them on the roads of South Wales I haven't had chance to drive in the dark but hoping the headlights are fine do i miss the Evoque well for the first day or two .......... now no way this suits me much better

Due to the travel policy we have at work we can't use our own cars for journeys over 100 miles. This ends up meaning I have to hire a car and this week it was a 16 plate Ford Focus which leads onto this post. You see when I was considering changing my car earlier this year I had the option of going the brand new route with the likes of the Focus or picking up a "premium" model that was a year or two old. Given the fact I became a member here last month you can probably tell which route I went in the end Before this week I hadn't actually driven the latest generation of Focus although I had put quite a few miles on the previous gen with an old employers pool cars. I was quite pleased actually when the Enterprise guy pulled up in the Focus as we usually end up with previous gen Astras from Europcar which are fine but nothing special. I'm not 100% sure if it was Zetec or Titanium as it wasn't just the straight model spec (had satnav and 17" alloys) and the Ecoboost 1 litre 125PS engine. The engine was of particular interest as the CT200h takes a different approach to fuel efficiency. Now for comparison sake it also helps I did an Edinburgh to Stafford run in my CT200h just a fortnight ago and this week I did Edinburgh to Sheffield in the Focus so similar mileage (530-560) over the same kind of roads (A class trunk and motorway). Well purely on the trip computer readout, which are often up to 5mpg too optimistic, the Focus did 47 MPG whereas the CT200h did 56 MPG. With the help of the electric motor the CT200h feels similar to the Focus in terms of pulling power although with the CVT the CT200h is more relaxing in stop-start traffic queues. The 3 cylinder thrum in the Focus was well insulated so at higher engine speeds it was quieter than the CT200h. Overall the CT200h probably wins but there isn't much in it, in my opinion and if you were doing that kind of mileage regularly then the IS300h or a diesel of some kind would probably be more suited than either of these. Driving dynamic wise the Focus wins. Well I could elaborate and say the CT200h feels slightly more planted, probably due to the additional weight and lower seating position, but the Focus wins on the fun factor with better steering weight that varies with the speed and suspension which soaks up bumps better although it did have slightly higher profile tyres too. Keeping in mind this was a back to back on motorway miles the CT200h is definitely going to beat the Focus in town with a quieter cabin and CVT saving your left arm and foot (or right). Equipment and cabin wise is where I find it harder to decide. The Focus had lumbar support which should be standard in the CT200h IMO and the armrest was in a better position. Probably due to being a newer model the entertainment system in the Focus was a touch screen affair with decent SatNav that also showed the next turn in the colour display of the trip computer, which I found particularly handy. The responsiveness of the Sync2 system was just as frustrating as the CT200h however with obvious lag between selecting something and the screen refreshing. On the other hand the plastics and seats in the Focus, while not horrible, definitely felt lower rent in line with the price tag. Overall I think I prefer the cabin in my CT200h and the rotary dial system while, perhaps some might say old fashioned, is fine as saves annoying fingerprints which showed up on the Ford's screen. All in all I'm satisfied I made the right choice with the CT200h but it was an interesting experience to compare it with another manufacturers C segment effort. Has anyone else had a similar experience or perhaps switched to Lexus having owned a one of the high volume mid size hatchbacks previously?

22-25 hours?! That's dedication for you. Looking forward to seeing the results.

Another 9 hours work when into the spoiler today! First coat of fiberglass: After lots and lots of rubbing and a second coat of fiberfill boot lid looked like this: First coat of filler: After a couple more skims of filler and several hours of rubbing and sweating it looked something like this: At this point the spoiler has pretty much got the shape I wanted, filler work is not my strongest point but I am really happy with it, I had 2 options at this point I could either apply a coat of stopper or spray fill it..... needless to say being a painter by trade I decided to spray fill the boot lid, this stuff is superb for jobs like this. So after a full day of rubbing and filling this is how it looks, basically what it needs now is a load more sanding, then high build primer a load more rubbing then painting Once home I covered the entire area with bin bags and tape just in case it rains tonight as filler is porous I didn't want the bare metal below to begin to rust. Tomorrow I will be back in the garage 8am rubbing this down and fingers crossed if everything goes to plan I should get it in colour and lacquered by the end of the day! In total I will have spent 22-25 hours from start to finish smoothing the spoiler in to the boot lid, so anyone thinking of going to a bodyshop to have this done expect to pay over £1000, this may seem expensive but hopefully seeing the work like this helps you understand just how much work goes in to body work! The labour rate is often only about 60% of what an electrician or plumber will charge but there is some serious work involved to earn it!

Oooops sorry copied over the image link for the purchased wheel by mistake - will find shortly and show. http://www.ebay.com/itm/191882429007

This is a 1996 Crown Majesta. Looks sort of similar to the Ls

looks more like an early ls400 to me - i googled crown majesta and nothing came up looking like that

Sadly the iPod 30 pin to AUX connector wasn't recognised by the system :-( However, I had a little dig around behind the stereo and found that the iPod adapter fitted (Connects2 CTATYIPOD 002) has a 3.5mm AUX socket. Very happy indeed! The iPod connection cable had also become detached but I forgot to try the adaptor again. Doh! I'm more than happy with the performance from the 3.5mm AUX link. Obviously no steering wheel controls but I can live with that as I've got lots of long playlists! Hopefully this info might help others in a similar situation and I promise not to take the thread off topic again! :-)

After our much loved 2001 RX was written off in January we tried to "make do" with a different car instead. That lasted four months!! Picked up this lovely 2002 114k today and wow - it was good to be back! A 200 mile trip back with it was a delight, had forgotten quite how good they are! Realised it's not two tone - is that unusual?

Going through the bills this evening I see that in 2015 he paid £48 for 2 wiper blades at Lexus (wonder if he'd like to adopt me!) , put 4 michelin primacys on at £420, spent £470 getting the brakes done all round (though the parking brake needs adjusting) as well as regular servicing! Gee I hope he got a good trade in cos this cost us less than £2k So far I've found that the tailgate handle sticks but works and locks, there's a very very very slight wheel wobble "at motorway speeds" (I know from previous experience how sensitive the RX is to having the tracking absolutely spot on), a bulb has gone and worst of all, and I hate to say it, there's a scratch on one of the alloys. I will get it in to my friendly independent in a few weeks to service and check over pre mot in August, but I think this looks like a keeper! Mind you the last one was until a little old lady ran into the side of it!

I have run on LPG for the past 17+ years and had all my cars converted and never had a lubrication system fitted on any of them. If it runs on Unleaded then LPG will not do any damage to your engine. LPG also has far fewer contaminates to hurt your engine over petrol. LPG also burns at a lower temperature to petrol. You will not regret it just be sure you can trust 100% the people who are going to do the conversion. If you have any doubts about them stop and go somewhere else. If your buying a car already converted BE VERY CAREFUL and check first that there is no smell of gas inside or outside the car, if you do smell gas don't take any excuses just walk away and quickly as you are looking at a bomb. Next make sure that they have the LPG certificate for the car if not walk away. After that look at the conversion and satisfy yourself that it looks like a professional installation. Finally check with your insurance company that they will accept your car being converted if not you will have to find one that will, its getting rarer that they wont accept you but always best to ask first. Profess in South Wales have done my last two conversion at £1400 which has now dropped to £1200 inc VAT and the bonus of using them is they will do it in a day and lend you a car for the day. I have never seen anyone post anywhere they have had a problem after using them. Both our cars haven't missed a beat. Before that I used a company called Duelfuel in Woking Surrey they always wanted a week and wanted nearly £3K to convert the Lexus which is why I started looking round for a better deal. £1200 and Car loan for the day, its a no brainer. If you pay someone ten grand to have a system fitted if they do a bad job you have wasted your money. Other suppliers and installers do not like sorting out other peoples problem so your stuck with it. Finally ignore anything UKLPG have to say, they are just a self appointed sheriff who like you to think they are a government associated body that over sees the LPG industry and its complete rubbish. This also goes for those that say they are affiliated to UKLPG. Good luck with whatever you decide. Mike

Look what arrived in the post today.

Cheers Rob, and no worries! Just wanted to point out that my adapter doesn't have the USB or SD in, it's got bluetooth and AUX in instead. The USB port that I have for mine is just for charging other devices only, which might come in useful when the kids' DVD players are attached to the cigarette lighter. Yatour make all different adapters, in any combo of AUX / SD card / USB / BT, so do look around as to what types of music in you would want. The AUX in only costs around £25. Agree completely, if only the RX had an AUX in, I'd be more than content. (I think they came fitted as standard from the 2009 model?). Regarding the "limited music / track navigation facility", with AUX in, you can only control the volume using the car's controls; with BT, you can play/pause/move tracks up/down as well. I too saw the review for the Volvo adapter, but was put off by having to format the SD card and put songs in a particular order. (edit: and also not being able to play internet/streamed music to it, like spotify or amazon music or internet radio). Good luck with the jack adapter / X3 player! cheers