Anthony B

I don't know about coilovers, and I think would not have accepted the idea even if I had. At my age (77) and in my - our - position I need to reduce cost of ownership. I can no longer quietly overlook the fact that I was spending £2000 a year on fuel and £320-odd on tax. Also the fact is that maintenance, tyres and spares have been costing ~£2000 annually. I no longer have the energy to do any work on the car myself. So I can be thankful to have enjoyed 5 years of brilliant motoring - averaging 24.5 miles per gallon over 40,000 miles - and must now move on. No regrets either way.

I much doubt it - he's a mechanic at our local garage who seemingly belongs to a network of spares and repairs people, and he intends to progressively rob the old car until it's towed away.

I've just said goodbye to my 430 after five great motoring years. She failed her MoT on rear suspension problems and was just not worth saving. I sold her for spares/repairs to a local guy for £250. 130,000 on the clock, which is not much, but as so often happens the main mechanics could go on for ever - what lets you down in the end in the other stuff. I'm seriously thinking of getting a CT200h,, and am getting good advice from the CT club forum, so it's goodbye from me on this one. AFB

Thanks for both these helpful replies, and the useful screen shots. In fact I had thought to go to Lexus Swindon. Top of their current pre-used list right now is a CT 200h 1.8 Advance, going at just under £12000. Anyone have experience of this model? Next on their list is a SE-L Premier at £1000 more. I'd welcome guidance on whether the extra is worth going for. I don't do a lot of running around the rural lanes where I live (south Wiltshire), but medium to long journeys are our usual annual recipe - Scotland, France, that sort of thing. My 430 was a fantastic touring car, but that's now history. I certainly prefer to buy from a dealer.

Apologies - yes I was confused - it was Lexus Spares Direct. My garage have been talking to Parts Direct. I've decided I can no longer run this old car, much as I've enjoyed owning it.

Yes, tried you, but the ball joints you supplied were in worse condition than the ones on my car which failed the MoT.

My garage tried Rockauto and their price was certainly lower than the Lexus quote, but with shipping added was still too high.

I've been a member of the LS430 club for 5 years, but have now to write off my 16-year-old 430 which has failed its MoT and would cost too much to repair. I like the look of a CT 200h on sale in Bristol (Imperial Cars - Anyone know them?) which has most of the features I'm looking for, mainly I guess at my age (77) good fuel consumption. Can someone please give me an estimate of the total annual costs of running this car (I do no more than 9000 miles a year with the occasional long journey on the continent.)

Bad news, I'm afraid. The ball joints which Paul frost sold me are in worse nick than the ones which have failed on MoT. I now have to choose between buying new ones (v. expensive - ~£700 each) or scrapping the car. Which bullet do I bite on?

Does anyone have access to a set of (4) mounting bolts for the rear ball joints? Paul Frost doesn't have them because, I'm told, they corrode in place and are a brute to extract. I'm about to talk to Lexus for some OEM replacements, but if another solution can be found so much the better.

Near-side and off-side are different, of course, it was just my ignorance showing. In the outcome I've ordered two from Paul Frost, to be delivered Friday. He deals in what is nowadays called 'pre-loved' in other circles, but I hope none the worse for that. I paid £235 inc. delivery versus over £700 from Lexus, so I'm quids in. The symptoms were a knocking from underneath the car on turning rapidly or on a bumpy surface. The MoT test showed up the culprits, and it's a 'fail' issue so can't be ignored. Thanks to all for your advice.

Another query - there are two of these items in the car - are they identical or is one the mirror image of the other - the Lexussparesdirect site on e-bay confusingly shows only one

My LS430 requires new rear upper suspension ball joints (it's MoT time!) My garage are having trouble locating a supplier other than Lexus themselves - who may be expensive. Does anyone have info on an alternative supplier. I'm happy to have the garage fit Lexus parts but I also want to shop around. AFB

I'm glad to say, having launched this thread, that a month later the dash no longer looks like a set of Christmas Tree lights. And I can switch the VSC on and off at will. I'm pretty sure that the problem arose from a coincidence of two separate and unconnected incidents, the failure of a VSC inlet manifold valve and a low battery triggering a false reading somewhere in the ECU. At all times the car ran perfectly, although had severe weather arrived, with prolonged icing, I wonder whether I would have been able to recover from a wheel lock. We shall never know. AFB

It's a relief to be able to report that my concern about the VSC and its associated sensors proved to be a kind of false alarm. It seems that in replacing a sensor which had failed, below the inlet manifold (the fault which had caused the engine warning light to show) the workshop had triggered another when the car battery was low. This problem was easy to clear when the diagnostics were analysed. I'm unclear about the precise cause-effect sequence, but the complexity of the overall electronic system, even with its built-in diagnostic capability, is a reminder of how easy it is for the layman to get lost and to easily believe the worst. AFB

Thank you Herbie. But in the light of the procedure you outlined what's the need for 'Three Words'? You could have done all that without W3W. AFB

What 3 words sounds good, but do I have to remember the three words for every location I'm interested in or frequently visit? In practice how do I navigate from A to B?

Although I started this thread yonks ago I have in fact done nothing about the issue. The installed map is mostly still useable and in practice I mount my cellphone in a clip on the dash and rely on this for most navigation these days. AFB

Thanks for all the input. I'm not sure what the phrase bank 1 sensor 1 means, but no doubt the garage will know. I am persuaded by the idea that one of my ABS sensors may have failed. Where are these sensors located? At the wheels, presumably. AFB

Thank you for this suggestion - I'll have my garage look at it on Monday. I forgot to add that in all other respects the car drives normally, although I haven't had to test it under conditions requiring ABS. If we get a hard winter ahead I might have to be concerned. AFB

I and my garage are puzzled by a recurring fault indicator announcing 'Check VSC.' They have replaced a sensor (I forget what it is called) under the inlet manifold, which has eliminated an engine indicator warning light, but the VSC sign remains on. Is there an existing thread here covering this problem? In any event, what is the best thing to look at now?

It will be useful to learn what your average consumption turns out to be over several months. I get over 32 on motorways etc but year on year average of 24-ish on my LS430 (we're in a rural area, so not surprising.) I'd love to learn what a 600 will average - just in case I ever get the chance. Anthony B

Yes they were in good condition and they matched the car colour. Don't know about the bumper strips, but the guy breaks Lexuses so you can but ask.

Phil, Yes; have a word with Paul at paulnfrost@hotmail.co.uk It is easy to fit them. You'll find they clip into place, provided you've cleaned out the gully they sit in. I sent a photo to enable the supplier to get the colour right - although I guess you could paint them easily enough. He charged me £70 for two, including postage. Anthony

Thanks to all who responded - job done. Easier than I thought it would be, but I always hesitate to apply a lot of muscle until I'm confident I'm doing the right thing. Anthony