Leaderboard

Driving down the M60 yesterday I think. Somewhere near Manchester, I was driving towards Cheshire. Spotted what looked like a classic Merc in the distance and thought, 'Oh, looks rather lovely just as a classic Merc should'. Got closer then realised it had an L on the badge. 'Oh', and then closer inspection confirmed I was looking at (IIRC) an X or Y reg LS400. Beautiful!! Naturally I couldn't contain myself and gave a little pap of the horn as I overtook carefully. Not satisfied I'd been seen in my less classy LS430, I then proceeded to try and wave (like a moron) with my lights/hazards. If it was you (I think I know who it was), then I'm 😞 sorry... 😊 I get easily excited.

Droming coming from one of the wheel bearings again. Pretty sure it's not the tyres (which are winter tyres so could be road noise) and also pretty sure it sounds like the bearing that was changed last month. Got an appointment at LexTec on Friday so will ask Dave to double check as I can't feel any play at any of the wheels. But, yesterdays job was a full interior clean. Daughter hoovered the mats and made em look immaculate. Despite having completed many other jobs over the year, it's always a good clean that always seems most time consuming but also most satisfying. Daughter (along with the family) got in the car today for eid and going to my mums. "Dad, feels like a new car"... Thanks v much, it does too 👊

Magic Tree tried................and failed as far as I'm concerned ☹️

Whilst driving (I mean, 'cruising') past I took a quick glance. White chap in his 60s or 70s. Well kempt and looking fit for the age, maybe a heart health of closer to 50. Bald head, probably in cruise control. My horning and excitement probably left him unphased more than anything. From my minds eye (I assumed) he didn't even notice another LS (albeit a common 430) going past in excitement. Oh well, I guess we'll never know. If you do ever come past on here Mr LS400 driver... 'hello and lovely kept car'. Looked mint ☺️ and the alloys unblemished (I took a glance) at 70mph.

Because of the rarity of these cars, they do tent to catch my eye on the road.

The Lexus website quotes "delivery within 4 weeks". Possibly only with certain models. Delivery must be better than the 1 year that I experienced 🙈🙈🙄

😀 👍 We may well be going later in the year.

Burgh Island Hotel 🏨 👌

You could fit a separate unit as here https://www.roadangelgroup.com/collections/road-angel-devices. Depends on how much info you want, if a lot, some people go for subscription package but basic may suffice. Because I find Sat Nav so poor on my third gen RX, I fitted a 6" TomTom that gives side by side road limit and Sat speed you are doing with free maps updates and free camera alerts. They also do a 5" that has the same features.

At risk of offending I can give you some background info. It's Ramon Bilbao - not a quality marque. It's a crianza - not a gran reserva which says that crianza wines are for drinking young and not really for keeping. So you are probably right, it will be well past its best. However, if it was kept properly it may still retain some of its character although it is more likely to be oxidised and taste more like sherry. Even a gran reserva is best drunk within 10 yrs, but some exceptional wines can change character and present interesting flavours, not necessarily nice ones. As someone once said " There are no good wines, just good bottles" Info from a good website- for boring mens club members only:- Crianza: The red wines in this classification are aged in oak for a minimum of one year, followed by a few months of aging in the bottle before release. The white wines spend only six months in an oak cask and age for an additional six months in the bottle before release. You’ll likely find plenty of Rioja Crianza bottles anywhere wine is sold, as it’s the most widely-distributed classification. Crianza has an excellent quality-to-price ratio; you’ll get some of the mature flavors of fine Rioja for less than $15 per bottle, on average. Like basic Rioja, however, Crianza isn’t considered an age-worthy wine. You can keep these wines in storage for up to five years, but it’s best to drink them young. Reserva: Producers are highly selective when they pick grapes for a reserva label. This classification is made from high-quality grapes during years when the growing season was favorable. Estates don’t produce a reserva label every year. In addition to selectivity, producers also have to age red Rioja reserva for at least one year in oak and two more years in the bottle. Similarly, reserva blanco must be aged for at least six months in oak and two years in the bottle. For this reason, these wines are potentially worth storing long-term. While not all Rioja reserva will age for decades, most of these wines drink well ten to 15 years after release. Aging reserva comes down to personal preference. If you enjoy fruit-forward, lively wines, try to drink your reserva immediately. If you prefer wines with a bit more complexity, or if the vintage tastes a little too closed-off, try keeping your reserva in storage for a longer period of time. Gran Reserva: This is the highest classification of Rioja and it has the greatest aging potential. Like reserva, gran reserva is made from only the most selective grape harvests. Producers are even more selective when they make gran reserva, however, choosing to label their wine with this classification only if the growing season was near-perfect. Red Rioja gran reserva must also spend a minimum of two years in oak and an additional three years in the bottle before it’s released on the market. Likewise, gran reserva blanco spends six months in oak barrels and an additional two years in the bottle. Estates like Contino, Marques de Murrieta, and Fernando Ramirez de Ganuza occasionally extend this aging process in order to bring out the best flavors in the wine. If you have a bottle of gran reserva in your cellar, treat it like royalty; these wines are exceptionally rare and are only released once every few years, on average. You’ll want to cellar the bottle for a minimum of ten years; however, most gran reserva drinks beautifully 20 or even 30 years after release.

It won’t, got a Disklok too as a visual deterrent. Not sure what else we can all do really. Even once Lexus roll out the fix (any time if they stick to their mid April promise), it could be some time before people stop dismantling the front corners to attempt theft.

It's obvious innit. Third party is always higher risk thus more expensive. After the first party you are at risk when driving, after the second party you are very much at risk but third party = downright dangerous. Simples.

"To think that when I got the LS430, I told her that it'll be the last car I ever own." Don't worry, behind every good marriage is a good liar. And of course she didn't believe you for a second.

Don't apologise for still being able to get excited it's nice that you still can. I had the same(ish) thing with a SC 430 seller. I drove from Preston to Heysham and back ,because I just really wanted to see the car !

I did the same exercise out of interest and found the same result.

Quick update , might have been a mistake buying these but the offer was too good to pass by , AMG GTR carbon fiber bucket seats with heating and cooling have been purchased , reason for choosing these are that they still have electric control on the side, should sit way lower than oem ones, would still give a premium feeling to the car instead of a race car feeling , and them being carbon fiber they weight under 20kg each , which should still be an improvement in weight reduction over OEM is-f seats AMG GTR are the only ones that have electric adjustment on the side instead of the door , and the only ones that are carbon fiber the only task now would be to make them work in a iSF , and replace the AMG logo with a custom made Lexus one

Ha ha you are the same as me.... I will never ever let any dealer wash my car following a service and they are always surprised that I refuse. I used to visit a local Aston Martin, Bentley and Lamborghini dealership to collect parts for one of my customers. That is the only place I have ever witnessed a really high standard of car cleaning. I had a chat with the two people who were working on a Bentley that had just been serviced, they had an undercover dedicated area, with a unit attached. They had so much equipment available like air dryers, blowers, paint depth checking tools they even used deionized water; They wore gloves and were clearly meticulous. They told me that before they worked on anyone's car they requested to know what work had been done on it previously and ideally spoke directly with that detailer concerned. They then used product that had no negative effect on the product that was applied on the car. There were two staff working at a time all day, 6 days per week. Obviously the cost was built / hidden in the no doubt exorbitant servicing or repair work bill but at least they were extremely professional.

Going to see another one on Saturday at Glasgow but with different salesperson. Wish me luck!

Here's something that also makes no sense in the UK insurance market, compehensive vs 3rd party cost difference is negligible. Why? Every other country I've insured in, 3rd party is considerably cheaper as the goverment mandated option.

A rather short sighted view IMHO. You bought a car not an app and the car functions very well regardless of the app. I'm sure they will iron out the bugs eventually

I’ve sent you a DM Ronnie

I’m sure some clever business somewhere has done that ……. wonder who 🤔 Malc

I agree that the weather has helped to increase range, but also it’s worth noting that last summer when I purchased the car the expected range was showing 41-42 miles and that it has steadily improved since.

That could be due to the weather warming at this time of year.

Huh? The LS430 is ULEZ compliant. Yes, you will get slightly better fuel economy from the Hybrid but will it be enough to cover the difference in purchase price?

Greenlight are highly recommended for modified car insurance. Certainly understand modifications and what they do.

I had a Ghost 2 fitted to my 300h several months ago. No issues works as intended. No battery drain issues. I contacted Autowatch who put me in touch with a local installer, who was great. I wanted a one man band to fit it, not a big national.

Norty

2013+ is more of a cosmetic facelift rather than any big changes under the hood. You want a 2009+ facelift model as that one has the better suspension as the earlier models had issues with premature bushing wear on the front control arms. You also get 6 pot calipers on the 2009+ models vs the 4 pot on the 2006+. Driving style doesn’t change much between the generations that much unless you go for the 2013+ LS460 F sport which has firmer ride and tighter handling (rare in the UK, more common in the US). Not too much goes wrong apart from the usual Lexus 5.0 V8 issues. (Valley plate leak *common, front control arm bushing *somewhat common, timing chain tensioner rattle *somewhat common). Overall it’s a decently reliable car. There’s a good video from the car care nut channel on YouTube with a recent video on the LS460 common issues. Pretty applicable to the LS600h as they share a very similar engine and pretty much the same body and suspension (LS460 had an RWD variant which is different to LS600h which is AWD only). If you do buy a LS600h make sure to listen for the timing chain rattle, it’s a costly job to fix (rattle doesn’t seem to cause any damage to engine however from what I can see on Club Lexus forums. It’s expensive due to the 21 hours book time that Lexus will charge you for it because it requires disassembly of the front of the engine.

Just as well Ken because you will need it to pay for it!

You'd need to ... to compensate for the depreciation the minute you drive it off the forecourt! 😉

Made it to Portugal.

Can't agree sorry! If you could bottle the smell of a new car you would make a fortune!😁

Malc 1 just got a stunning deal from greenlight insurance. All mods declared can add more if I feel like it. Can have track day cover for £45 per day if I feel the need to track day her 😱😬.

My fiancee did not want me to but I did go back however as I had raised the issue a couple of months after and there was nothing wrong with the work they would not entertain any form of redress. I contacted their UK customer services and remember the letter / reply basically stated that when their own body shops were extremely busy (it was 2005 and Carlisle had just had one of the worst floods in the UK ever) outsourcing work to other BMW assured / professional repair personal was acceptable rather than to have extended delays in repairs for the customer. They also questioned the cost and work involved that I stated but had to be careful / mindful of the fact that my friend had lots of work given to him by these main dealers and I couldn't drop him in it. For the past 15 years I have worked in Motorsport and also deal with components and bodywork parts for private cars like Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren for my customers sometimes. I have had Lamborghini electronic components that arrive in their Volkswagen group brown cardboard packaging, the part number starts differently but is EXACTLY the same as a part for a VW and yet because of them categorising it as a Lambo part number it is 10 times the price!!! It is crazy what goes on with the groups with a lot of shared parts that are 'dressed' differently for their more premium ranges but are exactly the same core parts - except many many times more expensive.

My 2004 Toyota Celsior (LS430) had fortunately been swopped out onto springs/struts before I purchased it from a fellow LOC member who used a Strutmasters kit from the USA. With regular wheel arch jet washing they still look as new and provide a comfortable but firm footed ride. I am so happy with this car given the price I paid and the money spent on it prior to purchase which also included the cam belt change I basically got the car for nothing!

I assume you went back to BMW Carlisle after obtaining that info?

As @McShmoopy said above

Me too! More like Arthur Daley than Lexus Main Dealer… Have you searched for Lexus Select vehicles from the ‘Pre-Owned’ offerings? These are supposedly subjected to a 150 point check before being presented for sale - the implication being that they are properly prepared and warranted for sale. There’s more information about these vehicles here: https://www.lexus.co.uk/pre-owned/lexus-select

Thank you Colin for these helpful observations. Mostly I avoid very short runs. In UK most are about 15 miles or so to do shopping. Occasional longer runs. Speeds are usually about 30-50 mph. In France runs are about the same for shopping and speeds a bit faster as the roads are clear. About 4 round trips of about 350 miles mostly motorway when speed is more or less constant 85mph. I haven't ever bothered much with fuel consumption. I think in terms of full or empty! Petrol is a relatively small part of the cost of running a car. If you buy and change new ones it's trivial. I tend to buy a good example at about 5 years old and keep it until it starts to cost more to service than it's worth, or even longer if I like it. The inevitable odd scratches neither matter not bother me. The first one on your shiny new car must be very upsetting. I dislike new cars. They smell horrid, everything is stiff and differs from its predecessor. My experience has been that they often go wrong soon after you buy them and depreciation is massive. Although I still enjoy driving I regard a car as a useful tool and instrument of freedom of choice. I like it to be comfortable, quiet, big enough to provide for my needs and easy to drive. A few bells and whistles are nice if they enhance safety or the driving experience.

Enter the details into webuyanycar.com including any damage or issues after it gives you an initial price. Everyone else will probably be within a few hundred quid of that valuation. if you want to sell privately, look at what dealers are looking for on Autotrader - then price somewhere between the dealer price and webuyanycar for a private sale.

There’s plenty of things on an LBX that any VW doesn’t have. That’s why there’s a choice. Buy a VW if you want those things but consider the following before you cough up…..

If you have always used ACC and then revert to ‘Normal’ CC then have your wits very about you😳

Saw one in use only yesterday! On the apogee of the bridge over the Avon on M5! WHAT a place to break down! No way to escape….

Honestly, Lexus would do absolutelly no preparation, I am not assuming I know. They would assume your car paint is "perfect", because the product is designed for new cars (even thought new car paint is usually nowhere near perfect) and their prep will involve washing the car (the part which I always ask them to skip during the service as they are just not good at it), then panel wipe (basically 70% isopropyl) and then application. They certainly are not hiring detailer to come over and polish the car, there is no way anyone would bother for £450. And when I said - they going to give it to their showroom cleaner... I was not joking either. This is literally what my local Lexus does - they have cleaning agency hired to clean the showroom, same guys wash cars, same guys would be applying the ceramic coating. No disrespect for cleaners, everyone have to do what they have to do, but car detailers they are not, even just washing the car they scratch it way more than even worse hand wash in my area. £1000 is a bit much to be honest, unless it is based on car inspection and your car is really rough. It used to be around £500 for "restoration detail", that is if your car was never detailed before. It would include few stages of polishing, the ceramic coating then costs £100-£200. Depending on area +/- £100. So we are talking ~£500-£800. If your paint is particularly bad, deep scratches all around, you are asking for stone chip removal etc. Yes they can price that on top, but usual price as I said should be around £650, then they wash your car and they may call you back and say "look here is the deal, now that we could see the car clean there are way more scratches etc. We can proceed with standard detail, but we may not able to take all the scratches in 2 stages, if you want to wet sand, and polish them out, then it will be extra X amount, else we do bet we could, but there may be some scratches left". My other guess - they may say "up-to £1000" as sort of the limit of how much it could cost without seeing the car, so ideally you should bring the car over to them for wash and then ask for estimate, because £1000 seems little bit arbitrary to me. P.S. - I have looked at few detailing places around me and it seems the price had climbed up a little bit since, so my estimates may be little bit 2019-ish. But even then I have found few places that would do 2-stages + ceramic coating for £600 on "Large" car. But seems generally prices have climbed ~£100, so you could say up-to £900 is realistic.

Yes, it is active in all modes. Below is for the NX but it's the same for any Lexus with AVS - it is always active. The AVS damping force control system consists of controls performed according to driving operations (vehicle speed sensing control, anti-dive control, anti-squat control and roll posture control) and controls performed according to road conditions( repercussion control/sprung speed proportional control, roughness sensing control and unsprung damping control). The AVS system optimally controls the damping force through cooperative control together with the brake control system and pre-collision system. A mode switching function is provided, which makes it possible to select the damping force control mode by performing drive mode select operations.

Not really a strange world - all you have to do is to accept that all insurance companies, utility companies and so on are out to bleed us until we squeak! When I first started driving in 1975 a "fully comprehensive" policy was just that; everything you needed in one easy-to-arrange package. Now, if you want X you have to pay for it; "You want Y sir? That will be an extra [sticks finger in mouth then holds it up to see wind direction] £85 sir" I don't want to meet the Grim Reaper for a while yet, but let's just say that I'm glad I'm on the last bus to his place because this world is going to Hades in a handbasket on all fronts.

Breakers maybe, but getting that bonded rear screen out is going to be a PITA. There's a video here of 2 young un's getting an intact rear screen out of an LS400. Not sure if the heated window will ever work again but maybe you could bridge some wires to it. Good luck

My local independent garage replaced my rear pipes last year for the MOT, I'll give them a call and ask what unions they used. They only charged me £40.00 to supply and fit them. You can buy the 2 rear pipes ready made and shaped from Lexus Tube Rear Brake No.9 part number 47329-50031 Nearside. Tube Rear Brake No. 8 part number 47328-50031 Offside. Priced around £15.00 each. The front to rear one has 2 types dependent on whether the car has traction control or not, priced around £50.00 from Lexus.