sorcerer

Great write-up Stuart, glad it all worked out in the end.

Thanks guys. I'll be changing the fluid at about 10 years/100k miles as I've never believed in "lifetime" fluids, but to not provide a dipstick is just stupid. How else are we supposed to notice when or if things start to go wrong if you can't see it or measure it? Absolute folly!

This is an embarrassing question for me to ask given that I used to love doing my own repairs and maintenance on my cars, even down to stripping/rebuilding engines, alternators and almost anything in between, but I can't seem to find a dipstick for the transmission fluid I've a long journey tomorrow (Preston to Cranbrook, Kent) so just been doing the usual checks and can't seem to find it anywhere - or do I have to take the engine covers off?

My argument exactly. People seem to think that supermarket fuel is somehow inferior but they fail to understand that the production of petrol is very closely controlled to a very high standard. The tankers all get the same stuff to carry irrespective of where they are delivering it. That's correct. The ethanol is there to cut greenhouse gas emissions and I don't think pumps need to be labelled as such. However, since 2013 a revised BS EN228 has allowed oil companies to supply E10 (10% ethanol). I don't think many are using it yet but pumps that dispense it do have to be labelled thus: UNLEADED PETROL 95 E10 Not suitable for all vehicles: consult vehicle manufacturer before use. BS EN 228 This is because the ethanol acts as a solvent and can destroy some seals, plastics and even metals. I remember reading that first-gen direct-injection engines have some aluminium content in the pumps and it's incompatible with ethanol.

When you say "not through the eBay route" - you do realise that there are other dealerships on eBay don't you? Lexus Birmingham have a very good reputation for being both cheap and very helpful and you can find their eBay store here.

Aha, brilliant, well done Lee - I just never thought of scrolling down as I've never had to do it in the past

Look for anyone breaking one on eBay, ring up and see if they have the part you want and if so agree a price, then they list it and email you with a link to the listing and you Buy It Now as normal.

The Super Unleaded is there for people who have more money than sense and it'll make no difference whatsoever unless your engine is tuned for it, which yours and mine are not. I've never used anything else except supermarket normal grade fuel or LPG in my cars and never had anything bad happen to the engine, even running an old Ford Granada (that I bought at 86k) up to 175k miles. Some people like the overpriced fuels because there's more additives and detergents in them but if that's your thing, it's probably better and cheaper to chuck some Redex in every now and then, or convert to LPG which is the cleanest fuel of the lot.

Why have we lost the nice, full-colour, animated emojis and gone on to something more akin to what a kid draws in class?

Yes, hideous thing 😠

Sorry it didn't work out for you Roy, good luck in your quest. John

Welcome to the club 😂 Sorry I can't answer the question because mine didn't suffer that problem but, having owned an 05-plate RX300 myself, I look forward to seeing the pictures of yours!

I don't live in that area so I'm afraid I don't know. One name that gets mentioned a fair bit is Paul Frost. I'm not sure if he's just a breaker or an actual mechanic doing repairs but if it's the latter, it may well be worth the trip as he's not a million miles from you. Give him a ring and have a natter - if he can't do it he may know someone who can. PAUL FROST Autotek Lexus Spares Direct Cottonhall Street Darwen Lancashire BB3 0DW 07590 072646

I used Dodo Juice Supernatural Leather Cleaner and Supernatural Leather Sealant on the interior of my 05-plated RX300 and it was brilliant. I fully intend to use the same again on the interior of my 63-plate RX450h Advance sometime in the next month or so and there's no reason to think I'll get anything other than the superb results I had before. Of course, I haven't used every product available on the market so I can't say it's the best out there, but the results are excellent and if you've got some left, you may as well use it all up before buying anything else to try.

Probably http://eurocarparts.com or http://carparts4less.co.uk

Something else that has just come to mind. We all know that a condition of getting the extended warranty is that we must also have servicing carried out at the Lexus dealers. We also know that the warranty purposely and categorically excludes some items, so if a need arises is it OK to have those items dealt with at an independent garage or do all repairs have to be carried out by Lexus dealers as a condition of warranty as well as servicing?

I have a copy of this book I could lend you 😂

@steveledzep @chris_fletcher @Ala Larj All very good points and you've finally made our minds up to go for it, cheers guys

But would it really have cost you nearly £800? Given main dealer parts prices and main dealer labour charges then yes, it probably would. However, as you'll see below, you can get condensers for a reasonable price and get a local indi garage to fit for reasonable cost. So, was the cost of the warranty really worth it or only worth it when compared to a main dealer?

Another thing to consider is that to have the warranty you also have to have servicing carried out at the main dealer, which adds a lot more cost on. My local trusted independent garage/mechanic charges £40/hour as opposed to Lexus who charge triple that or more.

Goes to credibility M'Lud. I think I'd rather trust a multi-national company with an R&D budget of millions and qualifications coming out their ears than one person with a dubious reputation, BSc (Hons) or not.

Ah, The Lexus Paradox - people are drawn to the brand, in no little part, because of their legendary reliability, then spend thousands of pounds on warranties because they may not be reliable It sort of depends, and on a few things. I've only ever had low-value cars before, never spending more than £5,000, so warranties either weren't worth it or excluded. I was also physically able and knowledgeable enough to do almost any job on my cars myself, partly because they were less complicated then and had less electronics in them. A couple of months ago we spent £25,000 on our new-to-us RX450h and it came with 12 months warranty, but we are very seriously considering buying another two years warranty, along with a service plan - partly because after a back injury I can no longer do my own work and partly because they are so complicated. Only you can really decide if it's worth it to you.

Given that the mirror came from a breakers yard, is it guaranteed working or could the motors have seized before you got it?

Apologies folks - that link above does indeed provide some info but the link below is the one I actually meant to post but now that I've spotted my error above, it's too late to edit that post. This is the one I should have posted http://www.lpginfo.co.uk/golpg.html

Oh dear, do you mean this Steven P. Sparrow: http://www.lpginfo.co.uk/golpgcourt.html