wharfhouse

Problem is if you can't get it any lower than the renewal using comparison sites and other insurance companies - that was my problem this year - the insurance renewal had gone up over 35% (for no change) but every other insurer was still coming in more expensive when I put in the same details. Each year I usually either find a lower offer or negotiate with my existing insurer based on what else I have found in the market - I think this is the first year that my current insurer renewal was a big hike but still less than anything else I could find...!

I had a not dissimilar experience - phoned up to insure my Mum's car and had a quote on the phone. Told it would be all online to pay when I was ready. When I looked online it was about 10% cheaper - so paid the online amount.

My IS 300h insurance went up over 35% this year on renewal for no change in risk. I couldn't find anything cheaper either on the comparison sites. My wife's Toyota Yaris insurance for same risk didn't (through the same insurer). I suspect the significant number of Lexus being stolen by CANBUS hacks are to blame for the sudden rise in premiums but in reality with insurance companies it's anyone's guess!

Not sure what might be negotiated but ES range now starts at £40,000...

I haven't claimed on Relax but have made two claims on the old Extended Warranty and both were dealt with swiftly by my local dealer with no arguments - in fact in once case they went over and above what I would have expected. I would hope Relax will offer the same peace of mind.

It's always been £15 excess waiver at my Lexus dealer. I always sign to pay it when taking the courtesy car but a couple of times Lexus have waived the fee when I've come to pay the bill for my service after returning the courtesy car.

I didn't think I had to either until a few years back when the insurance company I had renewed with called me and asked why I hadn't declared a windscreen claim after they had checked the central insurance database and found it...

Linas is correct in that you have to declare a replacement windscreen claimed on insurance when you are looking to renew insurance - there is usually a category for this if doing it on the online comparison sites. As you said though it does not affect you as per an accident claim so your no claims years stay intact. If you don't declare it and the insurance company runs their checks when you're renewing it will most likely show up and you'll be contacted about it (I know - it happened to me and they they may ask for an extra premium as it wasn't declared). As Linas pointed out insurance companies factor in replacement windscreens in their risk profiling and so regardless of the fact that the no claim years are intact it can still increase renewal premiums (they use any reason they can find...)

Yes, that's the difficulty comparing apples with oranges- just compared Start Rescue for my needs, which is myself and my spouse driving any car (we have two cars between us and occasionally drive other cars in the family) with full UK breakdown cover (3* on the Start Rescue chart), and that is £126.73 with Start Rescue and does not include European Cover which would be anything from an additional £44.00 for one day to £365 for 31 days. Hence for my needs the LRA (at £155) is by far the best value for money (putting to one side whether one is happy with it being delivered by the AA or not). But for a single person with one car to worry about and only needing UK cover then the LRA would be very expensive in comparison to the cover you have with Start Rescue at £31.70.

Yes, LRA is delivered by the AA. Other car manufacturers do the same with a relationship with one of the main breakdown companies (Audi for example use the AA but brand it their own). In my experience if you want the same cover as the LRA offers (full UK, two people, any car, and European cover) then getting this through Lexus LRA it is significantly cheaper than going to the AA (or anyone else). If you only need a limited part of the LRA cover (there is no choice with LRA to pick and choose) then going to one of the breakdown companies direct may be cheaper.

Mine often does this after being sat on the drive and it has rained or I have parked when the brakes have been wet - such as after washing the car - AFAIK it's the corrosion on the wet discs sticking to the pads and nothing to worry about.

Always worth a try? Looking at the state of the pads and clips I would have thought you'd have a reasonable case. That looks a lot worse than just normal usage.

How old is the car and what mileage? As a red point my IS 300h is 8.5 years old and 133k miles and the rear brakes (incl pads) are still original. The discs were reported as getting pitted last service but are still working fine and have plenty of pad life on them. Your mileage does seem very low however and this can have an adverse effect if the car has been left outside unussd for long periods. That picture does seem to show the pads in a very poor state even for that though and as above if the car was bought 11 months ago from a Lexus dealer you are still within the used car warranty period and so may be worth asking them - what's the other side like or the fronts?

The reason for the advice is to let the oil drain back down all the passageways and into the sump after the engine has been running to get an accurate reading based on how the dip stick was calibrated. It shouldn't be checked with the engine hot as if it looks low one may overfill the engine with oil which is not good. Checking cold is generally ok though - so long as the oil is somewhere between max and mid way between min and max then all would be fine. If below the mid point probably worth checking it again when the engine has warmed a bit and then decide then whether any oil is needed.

133k miles on my 2014 IS 300h and I've never topped up the oil between services yet. Unless there is a problem with the car or reaching very high mileages shouldn't be an issue. If an emergency top up is needed then an oil closest matching the spec won't do any harm. And it's OK for the oil on the dipstick to sit anywhere between min and max - doesn't have to bang on max - in fact an engine should never be overfilled. If I do ever have to top up any car I've always aimed for mid way between min and max.

Agreed - Jemca bodyshop in Bracknell repaired my Lexus IS 300h - it was an involved repair after I hit a lorry tyre that was on the motorway - did a great job and can't tell it has ever been repaired. I use Lexus Reading for servicing which is Jemca owned and also Toyota Reading next door, which is also Jemca owned, for my wife's Yaris.

I have for some years used a "dog hammock" on the back seat of our cars. Unlike just a seat cover, this has four high sides that cover the back seat and back of the front seats and door cards (straps go over the headrests and grab handles) with zip down sides to let the dog in and out. This way the dog can't scratch anything while on the back seat. The hammocks come in different sizes so you can choose one that best fits the UX, but we use the same one in both my IS 300h and my wife's Yaris as they don't need to be a close fit. In addition the ones we have come with a lead that plugs into a rear seatbelt and so if you put the dog in a harness it can be securely kept on the back seat and in the event of accident won't get thrown over the front of the car. We have bought ours off Amazon in the past (just search for dog hammock for car back seat) but plenty of places sell them with various different features.

Agreed in that different engines / drivetrains suit different needs. For very low mileages then a petrol ICE is probably the most reliable one. For very high mileage at constant higher speeds then a diesel ICE worked well. BEV is good for urban lower mileage and lower speed driving. The hybrid sort of sits in the middle of all of that and works for those doing reasonable mileages in a mix or urban and motorway where the average fuel consumption then makes most sense whilst limiting pollution in built up areas. And that is also why the governments crazy push for BEV for all is so flawed - they have a place but not for everyone...

Yes the issue is not driving enough mileage to properly charge the 12v battery which then throws errors on the hybrid health check. Do a decent mleage quickly over the next couple of weeks and get the health check done again and all will probably be OK.

There is a Lexus branded one available and fitted by Lexus dealers - unless they stopped it for the IS.

Yes you have to be a Costco member to get petrol there. On the E10 vs E5 when the new E10 first came out my petrol consumption was better but after a few months then got worse than when on the old 95 and that's when I started experimenting.

True - but then so was my wife and hers didn't change

My IS 300h insurance went up 37% this year with Tesco Insurance for absolutely the same cover - nothing has changed. Tried comparison sites and could not get tt any cheaper than the renewal amount. My wife's Toyota Yaris insurance also with Tesco Insurance and renewing on the same date did not go up at all (again no changes whatsoever) and again I couldn't get it lower on the comparison sites. My opinion is that the recent increase in thefts of Lexus cars has caused the significant increase in insurance for Lexus cars compared to my wife's Toyota Yaris as there is no other explanation that I can deduce.

Mine came back from the recall with everything just as it had gone in like - so no problem with the air con. If you press Auto and then power off and on does it come back on Auto or as per your photo?

Whenever you come to PX a car they have always become suddenly unpopular 🤔