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Ok, it's Valentine's Day. I was feeling uncharacteristically romantic and lovey-dovey and instead of wasting money on bunches of roses or trinkets from Pandora, I decided to pop along to my local Lidl and get Mrs Mincey one of her favourite Apple Turnovers. She's very particular about her Apple Turnovers and only Lidl's will do. I know how to treat a woman, make no mistake. The nearest Lidl has a car park which is generally rammed. The clientele appear to not have those long bendy things which are connected to their hips that allow walking. What are they called? Yes - legs, that's it. Walking any distance from their car to the shop appears to be an alien concept for most. Some of them even turn a blind eye to the rules regarding parking on double yellows and in disabled bays without having a blue badge, but let's not go there. That's a topic for another day, and I have digressed far too much already. The one saving grace about this particular Lidl, which compensates for the store management's habitual failure to open up extra checkouts when queues are stretching from the tills to the fresh meat section, is that their car park has a section around the back where few people park, because it's too far to walk to the entrance. I am one of those few people who park there. It means I can park in relative safety, without the worry of any scroats parking next to me, flinging their doors onto my car without any due care etc, and I don't mind the extra steps.Today I parked in that area. There were five other spaces next to it. Five free spaces. Five! My trusty steed was safe, or so I thought. After completing my mission to get my dear wife some Apple Turnovers (they were on three for two, so I was well chuffed), I survived the interminable wait in the queue at the checkout, which was nearly back to the fresh meat section, paid and left. As I left the store and made my way back to my car, my heart, which had previously been soaring due to the three for two offer, sank. Someone had parked right next to my car. I don't mean "next to" as in "next to, but with enough room to open doors without knocking seven shades of [expletive deleted] out of the adjacent car", but "next to" as in "next to with a gap which only a Victorian Chimney Sweep could squeeze in through". I was not happy. I'm still not happy. The offending car was an ancient Passat or some other similar German shiessewagen. There was someone standing next to it, smoking a fag with an air of dodginess about him. An accomplice then appeared out of the bushes, also smoking a fag. I fear to imagine what he had been up to, but safe to say, it was more than likely no good. I am currently thanking the Gods of Good Luck that I was able to get out of Lidl as quickly as I did otherwise I am sure that they were preparing to jack my car up and use all force necessary to rip the catalytic converter off. The bastards. After squeezing my pie enhanced frame into my car, it was with a sense of great trepidation that I pressed the start button. Had I returned too late? Would it purr, or would it sound like a Massey Ferguson tractor or worse, a 1988 Vauxhall Astra diesel? Luckily it purred. As I drove out, I gently patted my car's dashboard and promised her that I would never, ever put her in such a dangerous position again. Next February 14th, my wife will just receive a card and be happy with it.

I'd be more interested in a pic of said turnovers.

After much research I take the plunge and buy the best LS430 I can find, an 04 with 70k, one owner from new, full history and 3 keys. My first Lexus. Driving it home there is a drumming sound, after moving all wheels around I change both front wheel bearings and it's fixed - silence! A small squeak developed at idle on cold mornings, changed the cam belt, water pump and accessory belt, fixed. Bought at huge expense a roof rack from USA, £300 ouch. But it is really good😁. A few minor bits like boot and bonnet struts, caliper dust boots etc fitted and it is the most beautiful driving experience, I look forward to turning that key every single day 😍 Owned it 3 months now (3000m) and next will probably be an LPG conversion. Any advice or hints for the LPG would be welcome.

thought the canoe was your other means of transport this coming weekend Malc

L.O.C. Meet Saturday 18th April at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon. Would be great to see as many of you guys & gals as possible 👍 Details - entry from 10am - LOC Members on the gate £10 (usually £14.40- concessions 12.50) Kids 5-16 £7 (usually £9) U5's Free this includes full entry to the Museum which has a great collection Address is: Banbury Road, Gaydon, Warwickshire. CV35 0BJ There's a cafe/restaurant on site which even does kids meal boxes This is LOC's first official meet in about 10 years so lets make it a good one, any questions either pm me or put a reply on here 👍 If anyone wants to peruse the venue website is here https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/

Another article on Pistonheads. I paid £15500 for my 2010 facelift usb isf in 2018. I'm pretty sure I could get that back easily. https://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features/lexus-is-f--the-brave-pill/41861 You can get 2008 m3's and c63's cheaper than the cheapest isf on autotrader. Whose car is it?

Welcome Nick and good luck finding a deal.

She's a beauty Ian!

Welcome to Europe's Leading Lexus Club! Please Enjoy!

I'll keep my winters till march or later this weather here can surprise when you least expect it. Just like snow storm @ Scottish borders on Tuesday. was a lot of it up there, but not enough for my 300h to struggle lol went to hunt the snow down and see what the car is capable of. Anybody saying Lexus is crap in snow is a tool, tires and know how to drive is enough to ram snow and even pull is200 on a strap up a hill lol

Interesting question. Until they force a massive increase on fuel and tax i will keep with a ICE vechile as long as possible. I have been in a few electric cars now and they are very souless.

Actually all new models had to have it from 2012, and then all cars from Nov 2014. For the MOT, any vehicles registered 1 Jan 2012 onwards with TPMS, will have that system included in the test.

In law you are innocent until proven guilty. It is not up to you to prove innocents or ownership. It is up to the shop keeper to prove guilt. If a shop keeper believes you have stolen goods he has the right to detain you, and call the police. However the shop keeper does not have the right search you or your goods. If he or she detains you without evidence of a crime they open themselves up to kidnap, and or unlawful detainment. Once you have paid for any goods you own them just as much as any item you have at home. Further if your still in the shop with goods not paid for no crime has been committed until you leave or attempt leave the shop. The receipt is your property for such things as guarantee or faulty goods returns. The shop keeper should have a copy of this on his or here own system, and should be able to verify purchases. It is possible to return goods without a receipt if you pay by card just by giving the date of purchase by witch the shop can trace the transaction. John.

you don’t heed to prove ownership, the retailer needs to prove you don’t have ownership. Invite them to prove it, they cannot, unless you didn’t pay, then your stuffed👀🤣

Anyone thought about wiring the cat to the hv battery? Thieves touching that would be fun to watch

I totally agree. There is no way I would buy a car with that sort of conditions attached. It's like going into a supermarket, and filling your trolley with items then going to the checkout for them to add the costs up. Then being tolled that will be £50 pounds for the paperwork. I would leave the trolley at the checkout, and say I have changed my mind. As a matter of interest I was leaving a shop recently, and as I neared the door I was asked to show my receipt. I politely declined stating the goods in the bags were mine as was the receipt, and they had no right to search my property. If they thought or had proof I was shop lifting to call the police. The shop manager was called, and after a short discussion about my writes the manager apologised, and I went on my way. John.

I thought the canoe was the roof rack!! You know what these Americans are like. Welcome Paul.

Not sure why a CT would require a flatbed recovery? As long as it’s on one of those trailer things that fold out the back of the van to lift the front wheels off the ground then it should be good to go as the CT is fully fwd. Will be interesting to hear what went wrong here as has been said, drivetrain wise at least they are the most reliable thing on the road. OP have you had a look at the cars history on the owners section of the Lexus website? If it has happened before it might be noted in the service and maintenance history.

Hi Colin, Are you refering to the A960E transmission fitted to the RWD IS250 Gen.2 as my understanding is that both a drain and a level plug are fitted to the pan. This is a job I intend to undertake shortly so I have been doing a little research. The diagram below of the A960E shows the two plugs fitted to the transmission pan. Regards, Declan

Looks factory fitted - very nice work👍🏻

you were.some have had to wait 8-9 hours.the ones that were really grumpy were ones that broke down on the motorway.they would send us to recover the car plus passengers to a "place of safety" even if it was just a flat tyre,this was usually the next motorway services.people then had to wait for a RSS ( mechanic) to attend. unless it was something simple they then had to wait for a few more hours for a recovery vehicle.as a recovery patrol we were not allowed to change wheels or other things apart from taking somebody to a petrol station to refuel.so when the advert says we will reach you in ...... minutes ? yes but not necessarily the right vehicle.unfortunately like other jobs it's all about figures.time from call to arrive.the vans do have a unit in the back that folds out to front lift a vehicle (CRT unit) but it takes so long to assemble and can only recover certain vehicles and faults that it doesn't get used that much.as for RTC's because of damage very rarely do they get used for that.

I do the exact same thing!

Well John i bet you are really het up about that have they said what is the problem is could it be a paint mismatch ? Hope you get her back soon Robert

I agree.An extremely enjoyable read, but it would have been improved considerably had he revealed how he managed to get into his own car without resorting to a limbo !

Brilliantly written James, a very enjoyable read.

When we can only buy electric cars where do all these people who live down tiny roads full of terraced houses and are lucky if they can park just a bus ride away from their houses so cant plug their cars in and anyway the local scumbags will rip out all the plugs to entertain themselves on their way home. I cant see how we are ever going to do away with the internal combustion engine but it will have to be a hybrid car with what working technology we have today.

I'm sure if you agreed a deal for the car, but refused to pay that they would waive it...get them on the ropes first (but make it the last piece of the negotiation, after any extras you want first)..

My car being a used premier has most of the gizmos and gadgets. Certainly I love the HUD. Not sure what you get in the safety pack, but I have rear cross traffic alert and blind spot monitoring, together with 360% camera. If I had to choose just between HUD or 360 % camera the camera would win hands down, as it makes parking really easy.

I decided to go for a low mileage early ISF (45k to be exact) and certainly did pay the extra ~£3k over one with >100k miles. I agree, the engine / transmission are totally fine up to much higher mileage. My justification for spending the extra was; 1) Suspension components / wheel bearings / general chassis components are likely to be more tired on a higher mileage car, and I would expect to be replacing some of those components on higher mileage vehicles during ownership - Labour intensive and unlikely to be cheap 2) Re-sale - not so much the value, but the difficulty to sell. Low mileage sells cars, fact With 45k miles, the car feels 100% tight, and looks / smells and drives like new 😀 Regarding your comment about 2010 cars, those you mentioned must've been high mileage 2010 cars at that price point. In addition, I was too impatient to wait! 2010+ cars are sooo scarce and when they do come up, with sensible mileage, fetch very strong money. Either way you look at it all ISF value is very stable with most the depreciation already gone (£60k 10 years ago). The cars are selling at their current pricing and the rarity keeps the market value stable, imo. Just my 2 cents.

I cannot stand these fees. I have noticed that Motorline do it, it just feels a bit underhand. My local Cardiff dealership does it and it honestly puts me off buying a car from them.

My RX came from a Motorline Lexus dealer. I eventually ended up with the right car for me, but I wouldn't say it was a very pleasurable experience and next time I shall be more patient and buy from my local dealer who aren't part of that particular group....

Ah, that's why you talk sense! 😂

I live near to Bristol and have had very good service from Lexus Bristol since 2005. Recently I noticed something had changed and that a lot of the staff I'd come to know had disappeared. Then I found out that they'd been taken over by Motorline. My most recent Lexus purchase was from the Cheltenham dealership. Nobody likes paying "booking fees" or whatever they call them and I'm sure that if Motorline noticed a decline in sales then they'd soon drop the notion - especially if car sales are hard to come by as we're told they are. Let's see if "power to the people" has any effect ?

Ah! The Group Hug reigns supreme: https://www.motorline.co.uk/lexus/dealerships/ Bristol, Cardiff, Canterbury, Gatwick, Tunbridge Wells and at our newest centre in Maidstone The company director names are listed on Companies House of course...https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/01848722/officers

Was a bit white here this week. Snow tyres on and I think they halfed the value of the car!

What does this fee cover?

Even the dog looks anguished! But better grip on dodgy wheels than no grip at all.

Well have updated successfully using the link above. The download file is quite big and a 64GB USB is needed. Takes about 90 mins to upload in car after entering the unique code supplied. Cost $99 approx £75 and is the latest version 2018 v2 just released. Well pleased and cost less than half the price quoted by dealer.

You could be right. When I was looking round for an RX I did come across one with the front sensors and the switch was in that area. I've had some for a while but it makes no odds for the terminally cack-handed I'd still break it.

Not sure that's quite right Richard. The AFS switch is a push button that's marked 'AFS OFF' like in the photo below. To me, a toggle switch is something that flicks up/down rather than pushes in/out. If I'm right, it's been discussed before but, of course, I can't find it now but it turned out that it was for turning the front parking sensors on/off. Front parking sensors were not a factory fit but a dealer optional extra, hence why a description of the switch and its use never appeared in the user manual.

While you've got the cover off you may as well take the opportunity to make the lights better (especially the reversing lights) by replacing with LEDs. Even if you don't want to change to LEDs you can make the reversing lights better by at least taking the shrouds off the bulbs, instructions below. I'm not sure who originally provided the pdf file or I'd give them credit but I know they won't mind me posting it again as it's been available on the forum for a long time. I'm not sure which LEDs you'd need for the number plate lights because I didn't do mine, but these are the ones I got for the reversing lights and they make a tremendous difference. Removing_bulb_cover_from_reversing__light.pdf

Should stress to the OP that the trim on the inside of tailgate is a swine. Or at least mine was. You're convinced it's going to break but then it just pops off with the coaxing you describe.

Hi, It should be the same as my RX300. You don't do anything from outside the car, it's all done from the inside of the tailgate. You don't disturb the camera as the lamp units are separate. The plastic trim has to come off the inside of the tailgate to get at the number plate lights. It just unclips but try not to bend the plastic too much in case it snaps. Once the sides are unclipped I tend to put my hand under the trim as close to the mounting clips as I can and prise it off. Watch out for the courtesy light in the trim, the wire for that needs disconnecting once the trim is loose. Until it's unclipped, support the trim to avoid snapping the wire. Don't let it dangle. With the trim off the tailgate, you can look inside the tailgate and see the top of the two number plate lamp units. The bulb holders just need a quarter to half turn to release the bayonet fitting and come out of the lamp. Then you replace the bulb and fit it all back together. Here's a picture of the tailgate with the plastic trim removed back when I replaced my camera:

Here’s mine to add to the AA recovery list, in my case whilst parked at the airport hotel for a fortnight one of the rear springs broke. With it being a Lexus it did break down in a safe place and not whilst being driven. The AA guy struggled to get it on the lift with the wide tyres but got us home safely. The reason for the failure was suspected as being the amount of the wife’s excess luggage on the way to the airport!

Only 3.5 hours for me so maybe I'm lucky.