Malc

are these specific to the MOT test then ? I can't see them mentioned anywhere or are they just something your MOT test station has dreamt up Am I missing something here ? Thanks Malc

ah ok, thanks, mine's the Mk1V 2006 model Malc

just checked these out and they seem to have very many variants on the size i might need 235/50/17 which variant do you remember having ? Thanks Malc

I hate the Pirellis on my Honda Legend ........... steer clear of those I reckon Malc

looks great for £11k Malc

well, removing the tape might look a lot better . and have a simple non expensive repair job done by your local guy ........... £400 seems a bit steep, try him with 50% of that Malc

contact Lexus HO to ask ................. if that fails then i would seriously consider a Small Claims Court summons if you're absolutely sure you would win with an on-line claim . there's a cost involved issuing the Court action Malc

just £30/40 to weld by someone competent ! .............. and replace the suspension stuff when it actually needs doing or becomes an Advisory on the MOT ....... there's many ways to mitigate the immediate costs............... my front offside UCA is still fine at 209k ........... the n/s was replaced a few MOTs ago And don't think that whatever else you buy that's " pristine " today won't need this sort of maintenance anyway a few days/months down the line Maybe you worry a little too much Malc

and then summat happens that writes the old girl off ..... notwithstanding all the money poured into her the insurers will have an upper figure at which they won't budge ... and that might be well short of what you think she's worth and the money spent on her over recent times to make her pristine Vide my Mk2 some 7 years back, fantastic condition, low mileage BUT vandalised to write-off and the insurers paid out a really fair price to me at that time which enabled me to buy my Mk3 and have £500 in the bank ! They went on OEM parts and stuff to replace ........... wiper mechanism, wipers and blades from Lexus OEM ........... about £1000 4 x new tyres about £500 ( anyone ) Total respray etc ....... mega bucks ( quote about £5k ) .................... you get the drift ? easy peasy to get way past market value at that time, they paid out £2k less excess of £100 for a vandalism claim and my Mk3 cost me £1400 Love her to bits and do all the preventative stuff that's good to go BUT it's only a car and there's always another just around the corner for one to buy ! Malc

wow ............. so what's the outcome and symptoms with the steering column .. one never hears of issues with this component on the Ls400 ! Malc

Looking at sometime soon replacing my Maxxis tyres and discovered that besides these wonderful Falkens no longer being made in our size, neither are the Maxxis now ! Malc

it's good to share Ls400lpg ....... so that we can all better understand concerns about using him ! Thanks Malc

that's the way to go Malc

I'm just maintaining mine as she goes really. 209k and 23 years young now . had her 7 years and 86k miles . and i had a Mk1 and a Mk2 prior ........... 17 years with an Ls400 now MOT times show likely spend the next 12 months and I simply factor that into the equation. This year i had the cambelt, pulleys and waterpump changed so that monster bill is out of the way for 10 years / 100k miles I reckon There's a new rear UCA due for the next MOT, about £300 all-up and maybe the MOT next time, May 2019 will show summat else major........ hopefully for the following year MOT I really enjoy driving my car, so reliable and comfy. Consumables like tyres and brakes, oils and filters are with any car whatever you have. Running our Ls400s is modest costwise compared to any new car or a BMW Mercedes or big VW or Jaguar I reckon Her bodywork and interior is quite OK for day to day use, no major dings or dents or scrapes or tears in the leather No immediate expense likely ahead of me to my knowledge. I know i'll never want to spend £100k on a new one even if I did win large on the lottery And for you, buying an aged Ls430 won't get you any closer to having a future classic like Mk1 GT Cortina ............ ordinary Mk1 Cortina's are quite crappy cars . I had one almost new 50 years ago ! I'm quite ok running our old technology car with zero depreciation and supreme comfort and reliability .... maybe I'm a dying breed, lots hope so ........... hahahahaha Don't try to get perfection, if you do some sod will scrape a key down her or you'll have some inevitable car park whack that will upset you hugely Enjoy her as she is Malc my 1932 triumph car has idiosyncracies that I hate and often fear the drive ahead with her ......... simple technology but often a real pain in the whatever . and hugely uncomfortable to boot !

John, just a friendly word in your ear ..................advising pandymo to sue in the Small Claims Court might render you personally liable for his costs etc if his claim should fail or indeed if any monies he recovers from Lexus fall short of what he is seeking ............. there is a certain cost to taking out such a Claim ! I'm in the middle of one now and the claimant is going to lose his £185 ? fixed and paid for court costs and doubtless wishes he hadn't started this business. Malc

Its of no use to you to know this BUT mine at 209k miles and 23 years exhaust is still performing well albeit subject to two minor welds over the last 7 years costing about £40 a time. You was sadly a tad premature in replacing the system .................. NOW ................. I would suggest you visit an exhaust specialist, there's a few mentioned in these threads, hope there's a good one locally, who can advise you on exactly what you might need to do to overcome any problem your system might have....... it might not be quite as drastic as your highly rated diagnostic specialist might have you believe ! AND get a good indy mechanic to temporarily, if he can, adjust whatever to get the emissions in better shape for the MOT . he might have a temporary simple slight adjustment to do I can't imagine for one moment that Lexus or any ombudsman is going to be able to help or comfort you with recompense for a replacement part that's now 2 years old. Good luck with whatever the solution turns out to be ............. it can't be £2k for sure. Malc

hahahaha ............ I must have forgotten more than I thought about my Mk1 and Mk2 cars ............. my Mk3 mirrors heat up and the glass moves too ... the Honda Legend does dipping and dimming too ........ The replacement glass mirror providers did a good job cutting exact to my template glass and sticky pads provided ... £20 all-up Malc

Stuart, if my memory serves me the earlier ( than mine even ) door mirrors were neither dipping nor heated nor auto moving. If you wanted a simple new glass to stick over the exisiting then I can give you the name etc of the brilliant small company in the UK that cuts to your drawn template if they don't have one already. My Honda Legend replacement glass cost £20 all-up and simply sticks on Malc

not sure why the specialist wasn't advising you exactly what the issues are and the cost for him to fix or am I missing something here ? Malc

I think you never had to re-grease anything then either, it's just that if you did, and where one can now, then longevity of the item might ensue just maybe good practice/housekeeping maybe Malc

nearly 209k miles here and 23 years and never had new calipers .............. just checked over and appropriately re-greased every year at the service and MOT I think it's just the correct attention to detail by your servicing guy tbh Malc

best ( in times past ) car I loved was the 1969 Hillman Imp ( the first hatchback maybe ? ) but sadly the clutch thrust bearing broke into pieces after about a year ( from new ). My father-in-law repaired it on his driveway , he was clever ! Best car ever is my now Ls400 worst car was the then quite old Morris Oxford estate ( 1963 ? ) with no power steering .... a tank to drive, even though I was young then ... blimey, that's a very long time ago Malc

I was asking my indy now, just servicing the Honda Legend, about the occasional slight pulling to the left ........... new front disks and pads put on by the Honda Main Dealer last year ( cheaper than my indy could achieve he said ! so i took his advice on that one ) AND he confirms nothing at all awry with any of the braking systems, steering stuff and whatever .. it's simply the Pirelli tyres having developed a slight hard/flat spot on a part of the edge ( of one or both fronts ) causing the effect. Sadly the Pirelli tyres still have quite a few thousand miles wear left on them and I cannot justify the inordinate expense of replacing all 4 with another make ( just yet ) So just to say that what might seem like a brake issue just might actually be a tyre one instead Malc

your number plate registration looks amazing ! how come ? Malc

I'm certainly not their target BUT I would buy a pre-owned one maybe at some stage ........................ that initial depreciation just would drive me nuts ! Malc