royoftherovers

And I`m off through France to Sunny Southern Spain too on 4 Septermber via Eurotunnel, migrants and French Unions permitting ! I will be in the Merc Estate though , which one will you be in Michael, the SC or the GS? Regards John

Try http://www.rockauto.com/Newsletter/index.html Regards John

Well said Mike. Its should be it`s Mike LOL !! Regards John

Where did you buy it from Ray? Regards John

Well done Ray. I`m sure that you will enjoy it very much. Photos please if possible. Regards John

Now you've just given them some new ideas - Maybe they'll start advertising 'just for Londoners' prices soon :) Good luck on the securing a deal. They probably will and all LOL! Oh well, I live in Yorkshire so no problem for me :P Ive put an offer of £21000 and my wifes car (trade value £2700-3000) on the IS300h in Chester. Their asking price is £24490 so I feel £23700 is a decent offer - only £790 less than asking price and I said id collect which will save them £250 odd (they advertised free uk delivery which we all know is not really free at all). Will let you know what happens! If you buy from Chester Ray, they will give you a free car wash every Saturday morning.....for life ! Your wife can then spends loads of money in Cheshire Oaks, next door! And we can talk cars! Regards John

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 am in Hooton on the Wirral Robin and my Excess is £400 .My personal accident figure should have £100,000! Regards John

Seems reasonable to me too Robin. I am in Edinburgh at the moment and cannot access my current cost, but I will post it when I return home at the weekend. Do enjoy the 300h.......it is considerably more than just a car! Regards John Hi Robin, My cost for this year from 5 October 2014 to 4 October 2015 has been £210 plus £17 for European Cover and £17 for £100,00 personal accident cover ,totaling £244. Fully comp for me and Margaret my wife for a GS 450h. Regards John

Seems reasonable to me too Robin. I am in Edinburgh at the moment and cannot access my current cost, but I will post it when I return home at the weekend. Do enjoy the 300h.......it is considerably more than just a car! Regards John

LS 400 rEGARDS jOHN

Welcome Robin and I`m sure that you will enjoy the Lexus. I use LV and have for several years. I have been more than happy with their premiums and claims processes, although not all members on here will be able to agree with me. We can only speak as we find! Regards John

It is a cracking and demanding course Jon. I play at Harlech. Let me know if you want a round and I`ll treat you if I`m available. Regards John (19)

Sadly Mike, us Dad`s would like to be as good as our wives, WHO ALWAYS KNOW WHAT`S BEST! Regards John

Have you played the golf course,yet Jon ? Regards John

Very good indeed.Thanks for the reports Chris. Please let us all know how the wrapping bears up against the elements. Regards John

They used to patch up aeroplanes with Duct Tape......................miracles can happen! Good luck Regards John

Thanks Mark for the full and frank explanation.I do not think that I shall be going there. I bought from Chester two years ago and they were then and have been since, fine. Regards John

Lovely car Mark.I`m sure that you will enjoy it. A big step up from the ct? Are you able to expand upon "Liverpool didn`t give a monkies" please as they are local to me (as is Chester) ? Regards John

I`d say it`s the aircon too,but if it is leek under the car then it is welsh! Regards John

How about a TESLA , sh one t of a shovel and it does not have an engine !! Regards John

As per notes 4 and 6 above. http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/62339/suggestion-for-an-mpv-with-high-seating- Regards John

An interesting point, like most issues that are well documented as obvious failings on different cars and obviously items which could be argued as being not fit for purpose due to the number of reported failings by owners, the manufacturers will just ignore it, hoping it goes away. I would hope that in the event of failure any item covered by warranty would be replaced without question if there is no obvious evidence of third party damage. The difficulty comes in that the older the cars get and the more miles they do the greater the chance that they will encounter some form of knock or damage that the less scrupulous companies could subsequently cite as being a contributing factor to a parts failure. I have owned cars for over 40 years and have never yet had to replace a wheel bearing on one, yet I am expected to accept that a Lexus with only 55,000 miles should have a bearing fail and it just seems to be considered normal as it is quite common. It seems that if a large number of vehicles fail with a particular fault the dealers have the right to call it normal for that model. I call it a part that is obviously not fit for purpose or a manufacturing/design fault yet despite the fact that neither the dealers or manufacturers can survive without the consumer, the consumers opinions, experiences and concern counts for little if anything so long as there is money to be made on the repair. This is where buying low mileage used cars can be an issue, cars covering higher mileage experience such faults early in their life, often while still under warranty and are therefore resolved whereas a low mileage car doesnt encounter the fault until later in its life an out of warranty. This is where the morality of the manufacturer comes into play. While digressing slightly I have to say that Diahatsu seem to be the best manufacturer for supporting its customers. My wife had a Diahatsu Copen, very low mileage, the rear exhaust box fell off, quick google search showed it to be a known fault that Diahatsu replaced under warranty, our car was out of warranty but one email to Diahatsu and they arranged replacement free of charge. At 6 years old we had rust bubbles appearing on all 4 wheel arches, they had been repaired once under 6 year anti corrosion warranty and started bubbling again. We wrote to Diahatsu asking if, as it was a known issue, they would consider extending the bodywork warranty to cover re-occurrences of the issue. Within 30 minutes we received an email reply advising us to book it into out Diahatsu dealership where they woulkd arrange to have all four wings replaced and sprayed at no charge.which I know cost them £1,600 plus vat. No heavy handed complaints from us just a polite email raising the issue. Now thats what I call customer care. Unfortunately, the Diahatsu dealership (Maple Garage in Hull) tried to rip us and Diahatsu off by claiming to have replaced all the panels but actually just resprayed the originals and kept the panels for themselves. They actually lied to Diahatsu submitting an invoice for having replaced the panels and spraying them, weeks before the car was even taken in to them. Again an example of the lengths some dealerships are prepared to go to to rip you off, they even had the audacity to charge us for waxoyling the panels (that they hadnt actually replaced) saying that Diahatsu had refused to pay them any more money to cover the waxoyl. So my advice, be wary of any dealer but avoid Maple Garage in Hull like the plague, amazingly they have a number of dealer franchises, I dont think Diahatsu any more, but they even do all the servicing for the local police vehicles. Lets just hope their experience of Maple Garage is a more honest one than ours. Sorry for ranting off topic... We (UK motorists) are a sad lot really. We put up with second or third class service and/or get ripped off and do nothing about it. Warranties in the USA are significantly better (all manufacturers), presumably because their consumer market is bigger than ours and the customer is held in higher esteem than we are. If they did not react to consumers demands they would lose sales. We however, pay up,turn to Indies, or back street garages, or d.i.y or do nothing. There is evidence that some manufacturers (Kia, Hyundai and Toyota for example) are beginning to wake up and this will encourage those of us who pay for their vehicles personally (not Companies) to buy reliable cars which have longer term warranties. Company car buyers will continue to be seduced by the so called attractions of German cars principally, which is why their sales remain high and warranty periods relatively low. Daihatsu incidentally is a division of Toyota and is no longer imported into UK due to falling demand and sales. Interestingly, I have had to replace one wheel bearing in 50 years of motoring and that was last year in my (then) 12 year old, 197,000 mile E Class Mercedes. In my view it is about time that we more senior and other responsible citizens woke up to the fact that "customer is still king" and used the power of forums such as this and made more extensive use of social media to express our dissatisfaction with the level of service that we receive. Rant over! Regards John

I think that this is an excellent contribution that will be accepted unreservedly by the majority of members here and if the first 5 paragraphs could be sent to Lexus HQ in UK supported by us ( A CLASS ACTION OF SORTS?) we might see progress towards ending malpractices within the Lexus Dealership network. It might also provide some unexpected adverse publicity for Lexus, which if received in the spirit in which it is meant could well prove benficial. I have absolutely no connection with WILLDOIT or JAPFEST. Regards John

Phil, If you have not done so, then look at Honestjohn.co.uk and under "car by car review", you can see the pluses and minuses of each of your chosen cars The conventional Torque Convertor auto seems significantly more reliable than the more modern electronic twin clutch autos in the Ford and the Volvo and he seems fond of recommending the CVT AUTO IN THE AVENSIS.I have a CVT box in my GS450h. Look also on and http://www.avantgarde-automotive.co.uk, both of these are respected contributors on MB forums and would be able to offer advice on the purchase of Mercs. Mine incidentally has done 200,000 miles with one electrical problem. Good luck. Regards John