wharfhouse

Recently on the M1 - the 4 Lane section - miles of artics and trucks occupying the first three lanes all moving hardly any faster than each other with a queue of cars trying to get past them all in the only remaining outside lane.... You might think that those in charge would have predicted that and perhaps limited heavy goods to continue utilising just two lanes when more than 3 lanes are available otherwise any concept of relieving congestion with extra lanes is nullified.

In the comparison sites, there is usually a tick box if you want to include quotes with a black box included. In general, for newly qualified drivers, it will be cheaper if you have a black box fitted (assuming that you are quite young) but once you have had your licence a few years it becomes cheaper without the black box (presumably because the insurance company have to pay to fit it and once their risk is less it's not in their interests to do this...).

And I thought it was just me...! Come up behind a car with my cruise control on and which is going just a bit slower than me - I pull out to overtake and that car speeds up leaving us side by side at the same speed - so I have to accelerate past and pull in dropping back to the cruise control speed and then they slow down and fall back so didn't want to be doing a faster speed anyway - really irks me as I just want to go on past minding my own way (giving them plenty of room) under cruise control...!

Best bet is to use the comparison websites like you have started on. Everyone is so different any comparisons to other people is meaningless. IMHO Admiral (there are other brands in the group) are generally good for newly qualified drivers. Also having a black box fitted may reduce premiums further.

I have a personal reg too - I created an account when I first got the car though and go through that. Not tried it without signing in.

In the past I also used to make a phone call and book a service or MoT - however the last time I booked a service I used the Lexus online system - I had booked a service and a courtesy car for a date that was free but had a call the next day from the dealer to say that they could do the service that date but that there were no courtesy cars free and so I changed the date on the phone to one where I could have a courtesy car. I then tried to book my last MoT through the online system but found there was actually no option to book a MoT, only a service, so ended up booking the MoT with a phone call! Interestingly today I received an email from Lexus Reading (Jemca) saying that "For your Convenience, we have moved to Online Bookings for Service, Maintenance & MOT." with a link to book online. I tried the link out and: a) it now allows me to book a service, a MoT or a hybrid health check b) the prices of the services are listed as per the Lexus website (i.e. the full and intermediate simple pricing) and also there are fixed prices for the MoT and hybrid health check (if the hybrid check is done without a service, otherwise it's included for free) So, the online booking system has recently been improved - whether the dates showing as available, especially with the courtesy car option, are valid I won't know until the next time I actually make a booking, but worth noting that Lexus Reading (and I suspect other dealers too) are certainly pushing customers towards booking online. I personally don't have an issue with this so long as it does actually work and the dates showing are valid. As I take the option of dropping off my car and having a courtesy car, I still get to talk with the service staff at drop off and pick up which I do think is valuable for retaining an on-going relationship.

I purchased my used IS 300h from Reading in 2016 (it was 2 years old and 40k miles) and it's been serviced and MOT'd there since - now on 123k miles. I've never had any cause for concern and they have dealt with a couple of repairs under Extended Warranty without problem and also an insurance repair through their bodyshop in Bracknell (as they are part of the Jemca group). I haven't any experience with other Lexus dealers to compare them with but been happy with them comparing to other brand dealers I've used over my lifetime. I've found the service dept attentive and been able to speak to the tech and go out on a drive with them over one issue that was difficult to describe. Also they haven't overly tried to "upsell" other add-ons and have given me some honest advice when they could have easily just taken my money for some work that I had queried. They offer courtesy cars (need to give a them a few weeks notice for a service date - £15 if you want to waive any insurance excess and replace any fuel used).

Did you have any symptoms of 12v battery failure? My I battery is now 8 years old (123k miles) but I can leave it 10+ days and the car starts without a problem at the moment.

Ah OK, yes, I'd forgotten you'd covered so many miles. Great to hear the IS 300h is going strong still though. I can see why the delay in your case would be more concerning in that case.

If it was serviced by Lexus wouldn't it now have the Relax warranty cover until 10 years or 100k miles old - or if over that you can purchase the 10 Year Plus Extended Warranty (which also applies to over 100k miles even if less than 20 years old) and is £480 per annum (inclf breakdown cover) for the IS 300h.

There are two things working in the UK. The first is the octane rating - so 95 vs 97/98/99 for Super Unleaded - when all petrol was E5 in the UK then there was a definate % improvement in economy going Super Unleaded but in my experience for economy alone it wasn't worth the extra cost per litre over normal 95 octane. The second is E10 vs E5. There is definately a loss in economy going E10 over E5 but how much is the matter of much discussion. However, in my experience in the UK the difference in economy between E5 Super Unleaded 97/98/99 octane is definately more than 5% and up to 10% over E10 95 octane.

Anything outside the normal service then they would just get you to book a new appointment I assume?

I get between over 5% and up to 10% better fuel economy with E5 Super Unleaded over regularly E10. I do some 15,000 miles per annum and similar journeys and so have been able to see the changes in a like for like situation. Also E5 Super Unleaded does give smoother running and in the IS 300h better low throttle response on ICE. If the price differential between E5 and E10 is therefore on the 5% to 10% range I'll choose E5 Super Unleaded.

I think that's just the way the suspension geometry is - being rwd it has quite a right turning circle and so when on full lock the wheels are well angled - more so that fwd.

OK - thanks - understand your comment now - interesting that the AA had no room for negotiation given your long standing relationship with them.

Ok - thanks - no worries if it's preferred not to be sticky.

That's what I thought but I guess it depends on whether one can take advantage of all that's included in the Lexus package.

The product purchased through Lexus and through the AA are, I believe, different products (in terms of the benefits on offer) - not sure the AA offers the same level of cover / benefits as per the Lexus web page referenced here or for the same price. Of course, if the AA product bought through the AA directly better meets ones needs then certainly go for that or if the LRA offer suits better go that route - horses for courses.

I don't think LRA is personal cover like you would have with the AA etc. directly - you are arranging with LRA for the car and so the car is the entity covered - I assume the AA will have set the fees with Lexus for their services based on reliability. The cover is then extended to any driver of the car and the registered driver and spouse in any other car. If one purchases a new Lexus it will have LRA for 3 years and if one purchases a used Lexus from a Lexus dealer AFAIK it has LRA for one year and so in both those cases no need to transfer the LRA. I'm not defending the T&Cs but just commenting on how they are maybe being applied.

Good thought - not sure how threads are made "sticky" - @ColinBarber is this something you can do?

That's good info - seems that there may be something of a gap between AA and Lexus with regards communicating with the Lexus customers. But from everything we now know the LRA is in place with the 10 Year Plus Extended Warranty and we know what it covers. I will keep the email I received (and posted here) in a safe place in case I need to refer to it at all in the future!

Yes the car is actually faster in just S (on the dial) and then plant your right foot rather than trying to do the simulated gears. The best use for the simulated gears in my experience is getting the car ready to overtake (so having the engine spooled up) but even that is only very minor over a good shove on the accelerator (i.e. past the detent). Or just use the simulated gears to have a play around with if you are bored. The user manual, though technically correct regards D and S, is poorly written. When some of the motoring journalists slated the simulated gears it's clear they had not read or not understood the user manual...!

OK - I would have thought that Lexus Guildford would know what to do - fingers crossed it all goes through without any hassle for you.

If you bought the car used and it came with the LRA as part of the used car 1 year warranty then it would expire 12 months after you purchased the car. Other than that if you don't have any other paperwork I think it will be a call to the dealer or you could try emailing lra@lexus.co.uk and quote your car registration number.

No I didn't get a prompt/reminder - I rang my local dealer service desk to renew as my current one had less than a month to run - my local dealer is part of a group and so my call went through to their central call handling - and initially the person I spoke to there didn't know about the 10 Year Plus Extended Warranty - but I explained that I had it in place at the moment so she said that she would get back to me. The local Lexus service person (who I deal with when I take my car in and so I know quite well) then called me back (so she must have passed the call to him) and he renewed it over the phone with no problem and the paperwork was emailed to me within an hour. So - moral of my story is don't wait for a renewal notice or call but make the call yourself - and not all Lexus dealer personnel know about the 10 Year Plus Extended Warranty so be prepared to do some education...!