Spottedlaurel

You're right on the late '70s/early '80s model, then they brought out this 4-door Sapporo based on the subsequent FWD Galant.

A few more..... A friend owns this lovely JDM Mitsubishi. It has a 1400cc engine and has covered just 15k miles from new. He has it for sale at £4750, seems like good value compared to an old VW. I rather like these, and the previous 404. Very pleasing to see this Camry V6. I had a 2.2 Sport of this generation and it was a fine thing, a drive in a V6 showed it be a brisk and understated car. I'm very fond of Manta A and B models and this badge-engineered Cavalier equivalent. I had a rough A back in 1991-92 and a smart example is definitely something I would like to own someday (or a nice chrome bumper B). Smart Alfa saloon. There were several examples of 33 in attendance, and a 'Sud. This generation of Honda Jazz was only sold for a year or so in the UK. Really pleased to see this South African-built pickup version of my Datsun 1200. Always found these Granada coupes to be very handsome. This one is a European LHD model with a 2.3-litre Cologne V6, it's just undergone an amazing restoration which took the owner somethig like 1350 hours. Nissan Cherry Europe, the wonderfully unlikely combination of Japanese hatchback with Alfasud running gear. Cortina Ghia and Mazda 2000 demonstrating the fantastic gold and bronze colours available back in the early '80s. Nissan Stanza a rarity, but the Datsun 1000 in front is a fascinating car. It's the actual car that was imported amongst a very early batch before official UK sales began and was seen in many period road tests and ad's. It's an incredible survivor and is owned by a friend who is the perfect custodian for it. This Sunny SLX was somewhat posher the LX hatchback I had (and sold just last month). Daewoo Espero! Always liked the twin indicator set-up. Very nice Mazda 626. I find it fantastic that so many of the cars in attendance have survived against the odds and are being looked-after by either their long-term keepers or enthusiastic and often surprisingly young new owners.

My neighbour has just finished restoring this Imp Californian: He's more of a 1980s/90s VW/Audi person, but this belonged to his in-laws and he's done a really nice job on it. Back to FOTU, a friend on Flickr got this shot of me arriving: Thanks to Louis Brisdion for allowing me to post it here. In previous years I've taken my Datsuns, a 1980 Laurel and 1973 1200 (ultra-basic 2-door model) and a 1988 Nissan Sunny. The LS was rather grand by comparison, but I think it still fitted within the spirit of the event as something that would be overlooked at a 'proper' show. I got into converstion with a chap who owns a Mk4, he was equally enthusiastic about his. I'll pick out a few of my favourites here, with a focus on Japanese stuff but including one or two others that caught my eye........ This Daihatsu Applause was very popular with show visitors, an unusual and very rare thing with its saloon car looks but actually being a hatchback. It's owned by another Flickr friend, Alan bought it from the family who'd had it long-term and he has since managed to get another Applause in the same K...BSC series. Many of these Datsun 280Cs got banger raced. The owner had only recently bought this one, he also had some American classics. This JDM-spec Tercel came to the UK via Sri Lanka and it's been in the same family for many years, if not from new. There was also a UK-spec Tercel in the concours arena. We had an Avenger when I was young and it's the first family car I can remember, ours was just a GL though. An interesting comparison between these two. There were four of these Bluebirds dotted around the show. I've had a couple as daily drivers, tough and reliable things if not as sophisticated as the contemporary Accord or Carina II. I like these early models. Some interesting styling back then. This Sapporo certainly a rarity, never very common even when new. More in a moment......

As reported elsewhere, I was there in my LS400 Mk1 (visible on the video at around 8:25, along with me chatting to friends). I'll put some of my photos in this thread when I get them edited. It's a great show, full of stuff which is in a significant minority and often overlooked at 'normal' classic car shows. I've been to it several times previously since 2016, so far I've managed to take a different car each time. Edit: Only 40-odd seconds in and my car makes an appearance here...... In this video:

Only just got back and I have several hundred to sort through! I'll try and get some up later tonight/tomorrow......

Took my LS400 to a show today, Festival of the Unexceptional. It was held in Lincs this year, but still a drive of 90+ miles from me in neighbouring Norfolk. It seems like I was the only Lexus there year out of 500-1,000 old cars (mostly 1970s-90s 'normal' things). Some stunning and/or super-rare examples of once-common cars there. It was my longest journey in the LS, it acquitted itself very well.

Exactly what we used to in pre-children days. Most of that was camping as we were on a limited budget, but we never booked anywhere and just found somewhere at the end of each day, occasionally ending up in the luxury of a hotel if there was no campsite to be found or the weather was dire. We packed up the tent each morning, looked at the map to see what roads looked small/interesting and had some attraction marked and just drove where we fancie, with a vague of heading in a certain direction. One year we'd intended going back up thw est coast of France, but we ended up going east instead via the edge of The Alps.

I'm looking to keep my 2014 RX long-term, good to hear from someone a bit further down the line with theirs how happy they are with it. There aren't that many other RXs around here, but any I do see (including the previous-gen model) usually look to be smart and well cared-for. Saw local celebrity Rick Wakeman out in his 2005 RX the other day! I bet the 4th gen RX is lovely, so much so that I don't want to try one if that makes sense?......

I did a review of my French trip in the RX here: At the time I didn't realise I'd need to hold onto those pleasant memories for several years because we couldn't go again! The place we stayed at in 2019 was so nice we've booked it for next summer, maybe it'll eventually work out?.........

Should have been taking the RX to France next week for a fortnight, but we cancelled that 2-3 months ago when it was becoming apparent things weren't really going the right way, so we'll be using it for a drive to Malvern and back. Will be good to let it stretch its legs a bit. One of the reasons for getting the RX was how capable it would be on the French run, for me the driving there is as much a part of the experience as what we do and see on arrival, but sadly it's only made it there the once since getting it in 2019. May use the LS400 to attend a show at the end of the month, that's a 200-mile round trip.

It's raining and windy so I'm not going to go out just now and try it, but from memory you can press the start button without your foot on the brake and it'll then go into the equivalent of 'accessory' mode, with the "Ready" light not showing. However, it won't do that for long and I recall it will switch it off to maintain charge in the small 12v battery. If I'm sitting there like that, perhaps having stopped for lunch between visits, I just leave it in "Ready" - the engine barely kicks in, if at all, unless the hybrid battery is low on charge. The only downside is that the DRLs will be on.

I'd stick with it, it's the sort of car I'd happily own and you'll struggle to find a good equivalent. The cost saving over buying a new(er) car should keep it going for a while yet. All being well I'm looking to keep my 2014 RX for the long-term, applying similar thinking. For most of the last 15 years I've had a 1990s Toyota Camry estate, my first was a 10-year old example with high miles but well-maintained, then I got an older version with lower mileage. I still have it, although it's temporarily off the road after the MoT expired and I didn't have the need to get it sorted. A potential house move might see me get it in use again though, it's a far better loadcarrier than my RX. It has a quality feel that doesn't seem to be there in more modern cars, I imagine the same applies to the Sportcross. It's a real shame Lexus didn't continue with an estate version of the IS, or offer it on any other models. The German brands offer many non-SUV estates.

Sad as it may seem to some, there's often an IS or two at an unlimited banger race, occasionally a Sportcross. Surprises me as they're somewhat smaller than much of the competition, but as older RWD cars become less common they'll give all sorts of stuff a go. By the time they've got some value off the cat and other parts it's still worth them paying a reasonable amount for certain cars. Round this way they also seem moderately popular as a cheap rental car to American personnel off the USAF bases like Mildenhall and Lakenheath. Their favourite was the late '90s/early '00s Honda Accord, but there aren't so many of them now. Or it could just be someone like me! I knocked on the door and had a chat with the owner when I saw a Mk1 LS400, leaving him my number. Seven years later I got a call and it's now mine......

Sorry to read this Les, I've enjoyed your input and postings about your own RXs. But your decision is quite understandable. I've considered buying a Subaru in the past (Outback in my case) and will do so again in the future. Interesting to know about the value of yours, I presume this is due to the apparent shortage of decent used cars (which in turn comes from people slowing-up on buying new cars).

I can imagine that it must be a wondrous thing to own and drive in that sort of condition, well done for finally getting hold of it. I fear the list to bring my Mk1 LS400 up to that sort of condition would be somewhat longer........

I'm getting much the same thing on my 2014 RX450h. A shame to be quietly driving on EV mode in town with it then making an unpleasant noise. Lexus dealer's official advice was to replace pads and discs, but as there was plenty left on both their verbal suggestion to get the discs skimmed. I haven't done that yet, it's worked well on other cars I've had but I'm not sure how the transmission will take to being spun-up in neutral (which is how the on-car skimming works, I've had it done on a couple of other cars). I imagine the answer will be to remove the discs and skim them in a lathe, and the pad surface can be inspected at the same time to see if it's glazed. The strange thing is that when I've had this on other cars previously it's usually the case that the noise stops when the brakes are applied and there's more of the pad in contact with the disc, even if it returns once the brakes are released. With the RX, I've tried braking fairly heavily to a point where I think the 'normal' brakes should kick-in, but the squeak still occurs to standstill. Obviously no issue to get OE brake pads and discs replaced by a non-Lexus dealer, but will the non-standard pads cause any warranty issue?

Sounds good. Glad I haven't just taken out an extended warranty! I suppose the downside is having to pay for the MoT test and breakdown cover? Still somewhat cheaper than £995....... Wasn't there also the 'MoT cover' with the extended warranty? Something about it covering unforeseen MoT failure items. Doesn't immediately appear to be included. Even though mine was eligible for an Essential Service last time the cost difference was so small I still went for the full one anyway.

I don't have the paperwork with me to check, but I don't think it has to be faulty for an exchange. I had to use it when I got an RX, in that case there was something I wasn't happy about but that the dealership wouldn't fix or acknowledge as a fault, and it wasn't apparently covered by the warranty, so to save it getting a debate about it we agreed to go the exchange route and I ended up with another one (which I still have). In my experience the firm ride is exaggerated by noise from the rear seats/loadbay. Difficult to pin down exactly what is making the noise, I'm hoping a new full set of tyres later this year will improve things. With nearly four times the mileage and all sorts of issues my aged LS is more hushed and refined.

That's a shame. Are you within the 30-day period where you can exchange it, even if they may not immediately have the right LS as an alternative?

I think the ride of my 2014 Luxury is one of its least good aspects. I suppose trying to get reasonable handling and body control out of a tall, heavy car means they had to go for fairly firm springs. My Mk1 LS400 is much better in that regard.

I'm sure it'll do very well for you. We've had three Accords (and a Triumph Acclaim!) and all were good, they had a well-engineered feel that was a step up from the equivalent NIssan or Toyota of the time. My sister's on her second Civic and father-in-law has a 2002 CR-V which he bought for under £500 and keeps going happily. And we have a Honda mower too...... Interesting that you you think it has a more useful boot than the RX - coming from a roomy Avensis estate to my RX that is something I was a bit disappointed by. There's a local 4x4/SUV dealer who always has a few CR-Vs for sale, he clearly does well with them. I'd certainly consider one in the future.

I'm contemplating having my front discs skimmed, I've got an annoying squeak at low speeds and the local Lexus dealership put it down to a lip of corrosion at the edge of the disc. They say there's plenty of the material on the discs and pads. When I've had discs skimmed previously they did it on the car, effectively clamping a mini lathe onto the hub which spun the disc - is that advsiable with a hybrid or should the discs be removed? Also, if the same pads are coming out and going back in again is there any need for bleeding and therefore Techstream?

Would love to know more please, what did you end up with?

If you're in Norfolk you could try Power & Performance at Honingham, just outside Norwich (assuming they're still going, I haven't been for several years now). I've had several full stainless systems from them on older Japanese cars, it was cheaper than obtaining and fitting an OE mild steel system. There also seems to be a place doing Powerflow in Norwich, at Aylsham Way.

I'm not sure, they didn't grumble about it being a difficult job.