OldTrout

She is indeed fabulous at cakes but I had not wished to push my luck too far. Getting her to come at all was an achievement. She had no trouble hiding her disappointment when I told her I got the dates mixed up. I have 2012 maps but can find no way of getting the AV8 GL7 6BA into the satnav. Even tried by map but can't see any roads. Will print a bit of Google maps. The place in Chipping Sodbury is new so no chance of finding that either. Google Maps does not have it. Satellite view shows building site BUT Apple maps does have it. When did Lexus satnavs enable destinations by postcode only? John

I'm so glad you mentioned Sunday Ratty. I had in my mind and diary that is was Saturday. Thus I also arranged to visit an old friend in Chipping Sodbury afterwards and it was because of this visit that Mrs OldTrout was coming. If I can reassure those who were worried that a WOMAN was coming that this will now not be the case. John

I'm coming for the repartee. The sight and sound of ISFs will be a bonus.

Oh its one of those meetings. J

It's hard enough persuading her to come without Big Rat coming in a diesel van. I promised her at least a nice silver ISF. Red ones would make up for it. John

Ordered a pait at 1024 this morning with free one day delivery. They came in van about 3hours later. Haven't tried them yet. John

I tried this afternoon on the M40 from Oxford J8 to Warwick. Set zero at metro station about a mile from J8, set CC to 65. (This is 60MPH according to my OBD reader.) Motorway very busy so sometimes the radar brought me down to 50 or below though not for long. MPG gradually climbed from <30 before joining motorway to 46 just before I turned off. By time I returned home which included 10+ miles non-motorway A road and unclassified back roads and traffic it was showing 42.3. It's hills, >75 mph, cold engine and faffing about in town that drops the MPG. I wonder what the Mk 4 engine would have done under the same conditions? John

Shahpor, Me too! John

What time and do guests get cake supplied? Mrs Trout will probably skip the cake. John

I'm very envious. I assume this was on the flatter and slower part of your journey. Economy goes up on mine if I can get it into its higher gearing above about 55mph and then starts to drop again above about 75mph. How long does these wonderful figures hold up after hybrid battery solutions have worked their magic? John

My 2007 is red. The touch-up kit I have is Red Mica Chrystal Shine 3R1 and it is not a perfect match John

Love the Welsh number plate. V6 would have been even better. John

Many years ago Jaguar were 10 years and 150k miles. Not sure about Aston Martin. Average AM annual mileage is <5k so design life probably never comes up. My neighbour works in the industry and he says 300km now. I think my dampers are both poor quality and expensive. I agree about the warranty. Over 100k miles and say 8 years many more parts get excluded by wear and tear than they would at 30k miles and 4 years. I wonder what warranty work does get done on our older cars? John

I would like to believe that the design life for a Lexus is at least 10 years and 150k mile. It is for many other brands. John

I better come in the silver car then

Ken, Welcome back. Couple of things struck me as I read about your return purchase. 1) Engine starts using the HV battery so the 12v one is not subject to same punishment as non-hybrid. i.e. battery need not be the highest quality. 2) "floaty barge feel"? I had a Camry 12 or so years ago. That was a floaty barge or sofa but my 450 is not. Are your rear dampers shot? Front ones too for that matter. Dampers are an issue on 450s of this age and mileage. Perhaps this ties in with knocking noises? If the dampers are shot the sport mode will not stiffen them. John

There is also a cafe at Swansea airport which allegedly does very large slices of wonderful cake. Perhaps flying increases the craving for cake. Or even driving IS F. John

Excellent, although I may skip the cake. I believe you meet at a cafe somewhere near Kemble. Is it the AV8? John

When is the August meet? I have never seen an IS F but would like too. Are second class Lexus owners are allowed to come? John

braindead, Can we just be sure you are talking about the Lexus Extended Warranty and not just the warranty on a specific item. My comments assume the Extended Warranty. If you mean just the warranty on a specific item then you are on much less certain ground. John

Failure in 20k is appalling. This must be done under warranty. This extract from my battle earlier this year may help.. A Mr. Paul Robertson, Lexus Claims Manager, rang me on 15/12/2016 to try and explain the decision not to replace my shock absorbers. I mentioned other people who had have shock absorbers replaced and whilst he could not discuss these claims without specific permission, they were claims occurring before 100k miles and usually for one shock absorber. He further explained that in his experience of nine years a claim for one shock absorber at less than 100k miles seemed very different from a claim for all four at 113k miles. One looked like a manufacturing defect as the other three dampers were OK; the other a case of dampers having "reached the end of their useful life". (My italics here.) I eventually wrote to Lexus UK CEO who dealt with it in 48hrs rather than the many months or so that the dealer took. The agreed settlement was that I would pay for the rears and Lexus would pay for fronts. Feel free to quote my exchange with Robertson. A failure in 20k is a manufacturing defect. John ps My repairs were done and I asked to have the replaced dampers. They gave me the rears but said they needed to send the fronts to Lexus to prove they had changed them. If I had some fronts I would offer you one so that you could get one of the LOC members to refurbish it.

Yes Dacia really is top. However the main text specifically mentions the Duster. It's a "Don't buy" due to its poor performance in crash tests and lack of safety features. John

Just received my annual Which? Car Guide. Top of the reliability table is Dacia with the comment "Impressive reliability, both new and used. But then there is very little equipment to go wrong." Next is Honda followed by Lexus with the comment "Another stellar result from Lexus. Less than a third of owners of older models reported a fault, and costs are manageable.". My favourite though is Tesla at the bottom of the table. The comment reads "Battery and electrical issues are the most common faults, but with no 'engine' as such, other problems are infrequent." John

Andrew, I went to Summertown Garage (now in Kidlington) with my old GS for the 10 years I owned it. I am presently on under Lexus warranty so have to go to Lexus for service but when that expires I will be returning to Summertown Garage. I have been a satisfied customer for a very long time and earlier this year they did my 50th consecutive MOT at no charge. I am sure you will find them as helpful as I do. John

Thanks Shapor. In the absence of any comments about Milton Keynes I will be going to Reading and speaking to Michael. I see from the Gold Member Discounts that Reading offer 15% but MK only 10%. John