jonthetourist

21 hours ago, IanA2 said:

It looks as though we have enough folks to start the "We used to be Merc Boys 'till we discovered Lexus". Club 🙂

Just a point about cam belt changes. Always best to do the water pump at the same time.

I'm in!  (R129 SL)

Just one thought on your first 430. Finding an independent specialist is very worthwhile for your maintenance.  It is a complex beast,  and a guy who knows where the potential problems are and checks them out for you is invaluable. 

On 4/30/2019 at 5:13 PM, royoftherovers said:

Looks a beauty with an MOT history  which suggests it has been used 12/13k miles annually by caring owners.Good find Pete..

Now on eBay for slightly less money.

So today I took my 430 to Osaka in Newport for its annual service, for the fourth successive year. When he calculated my bill, he said "It gets smaller every year, as everything comes back to spec". Paid £238, and the only expense / replacement I have to plan for next year is new handbrake shoes. I can live with that. ☺️

Or check out Tayna?

This was my vendor https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/fe.le66?ul_noapp=true

1 hour ago, The-Acre said:

Ooh, the link for these please, must have!

They are the only non-standard thing on my car, and get more comments than anything else!

On 5/5/2019 at 8:30 PM, 39buss said:

It may well be worth looking at a passenger seat as the squabs may be interchangeable and just unbolt from the frame. 

In which case swap them over??

So my annual service is coming up. 2004 LS430, 123,000 miles. After a couple of years spending big on fluids, belts etc. last year's service was cheap and routine. Quote from Osaka - " I would love to charge you more, but it doesn't need anything."

So my question is, should I factor in anything extra for this service? I am thinking control arm bushes, after seeing Haylands' on his recent build thread at a very similar mileage. There's a fair bet mine are past their best at this age and mileage.

It is a case of ordering things in advance and planning it in for time (Osaka are an hour and a half away), so anything else the panel think might be a good idea to order at this stage?

Cheers

Jon

Sorry to hear that Peter. Hope she gets a rapid and full recovery. My dad has just been diagnosed with his third cancer but I was up in Yorkshire this weekend driving him to Goathland for his 90th birthday party. He loves being driven in the Lexus 😊
 

So the boat plan is working out for you then? Good to hear.

Jon

Interesting, as always. Shouldn't you be island hopping in the Gulf of Mexico at the moment rather than scraping frost off the car this morning?

Jon

Courtesy to advise the new Battery arrived and was fitted by me today. I waited until this week to order it in case I needed to fit a new one while I was away for the weekend. I did need my powerpack to start it once, but that can go back in the garage now.

We had a heavy frost last night. Because my car was recently waxed, the beads of moisture had pooled before freezing, so I had mini icebergs on my boot lid. Which promptly slid off when I opened it. Very entertaining.

Thanks for all the input.

Jon

Thanks all for the feedback on the Battery. The current one is a Bosch 027, available from Tayna at £78, which seems keen.

Jon

7 hours ago, cruisermark said:

lovely car! mine is over due a valet

whats the story with the dealer - I noticed the car is not up for sale any more?

He postponed me on the grounds of a family illness, then didn't answer, and when I reached him said he had sold it. Full Lexus history wasn't full, and I am not sure the belt had been done. 

Mine is very sound mechanically, according to my man at Osaka, but there's a bit of rust coming through the driver's door, sadly.

32 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

What a beautiful motor, why would Jon wish to ssell this ?

Why thank you Sir.

The thought was to trade in mine for a younger 430 with half the mileage, as I am determined to be driving an LS430 for at least the next decade . . .

Jon

So after nearly trading in my lovely car last weekend (dodgy vendor, didn't happen) I thought I owed it some loving. MOT, new wipers, vacuum, wash and polish. Looks lovely though I say so myself, and ready to take my Dad to his 90th birthday party this weekend.

Only downside was I left it on the drive with ask the doors open for about three hours,  and when I went to start it I just got a clicking noise. Half an hour on the charger fixed it, so I reckon the Battery is on the way out. I certainly haven't changed it in 4 years, so not surprising. Any recommendations?

2 hours ago, Greer said:

Whats the VVTI untit & what does it do? 

I think it might be variable valve timing. My mechanic says it helps with accelerating, but you don't really notice if it's not working.

33 minutes ago, RgrWynne said:

I would call it fate 🤗👍

Yes, I wasn't totally confident after speaking to him on the phone, so I am not unhappy, but that colour combination is not easy to find. I have actually looked at grey 600s online, as thye are more common, but more pricey, of course.

Jon

Just to finish the story, seller messed me around re viewing date and sold it to someone else. Full Lexus SH wasn't full either.

So the search for a pristine facelift 430 in grey with a cream interior continues. Anyone got one to sell?

Jon

Yes, Yes, Yes . . . but is your old 600 for sale?? 🤣

3 hours ago, cruisermark said:

No I haven’t but it was originally advertised by private seller in st Neots for 5495 before this seller snapped it up - I believe he is a trader from home - originally it hade a couple of scrapes on the bumper 

Thanks for that. His story is the owner has dementia and eventually came to terms with not being able to drive it. Family then sold it to him. He has basically given it a spruce-up, an MOT and an oil change. But he will take a p/x, which helps with the logistics.

2 hours ago, cruisermark said:

John is it the grey 05 plate one on AT

It is. Have you had a look?

Hi folks

My 2004 LS430 is coming up to 4 years in my ownership (2 previous owners) and is currently at 122,000 miles.

Having fallen in love with the 430, I am contemplating swapping it for a slightly younger model with genuine 60,000 on the clock. Logic is I can't see myself ever driving anything else, and Low mileage examples will get ever harder to find. My mechanic (Osaka, know everything about Lexus) says mine is good for 200,000 without any further work, so it's pure indulgence on my part. Cost to change around £3,300.

Any thoughts appreciated, over and above - why bother?

Jon

On my facelift version, there are a pair of buttons for smart lock and tyre pressure warning reset. There is also a knob for adjusting beep volume. (Why not control it in settings I don't know.)

Jon

Instead of replacing the puddle light, you could upgrade to LED projecting the Lexus logo down. It's the only non-stock thing on my car, because I like the look. Simple push fit and about a tenner on eBay

Jon

I think the main virtue of the key blade is getting into the car if the electrics have failed for some reason. I don't *think* you can recut an existing blade, because it already has a set of bits cut out. A US key could be a cheap source for a blank blade, but otherwise useless as it works on a different frequency. 

You can get there in the end, and all these issues pale into insignificance compared to starting with a 2-button key.

Cheers