rich1068

I shall certainly take your comments on board. Didn't consider the battery. And you're correct, they are niggles. Not so long ago this sort of thing would drive me nuts but not so much now. For instance, a roll of Extra Strong Mints mints placed by the instrument cluster hides the warning And it's amazing how all the scratches and dents are invisible in the photos

Unfortunately not. No codes show up when you connect a reader to the OBD but there is a persistent Check Engine warning. A couple of suggestions so far have been an exhaust leak around the manifold or vacuum hoses. Had the exhaust checked yesterday and nothing. Then oddly the light went out on the way home yesterday but then came back on again this morning! Vacuum hoses next then.

A little update to the Swedish Saga. Scrubs up pretty well. And yesterday I had a run darn sarf to pick up some new boots. 100 quid with 4 decent tyres

Especially steep for a non-Lexus dealership. I paid top money for mine from Lexus Sheffield last year but it came serviced, MOT'd, taxed, new tyres, 1 year of Lexus warranty and 1 year of Lexus breakdown cover.

Bwaaaaap! #10brakemod

A few more of the Swedish Banger.

I should add that the kids loved it. Picked them up from my mum's after the jaunt on Sunday and my 5yo played it cool, my 7yo just waved his arms in the air and grinned, my 10yo played out a music video in his head. Coincidentally my wife has so far only seen pictures of it because she had an operation on her ankle a few weeks ago and has barely left the house since. Tbh she really know about Sunday. Amazing you can get away with when they're housebound.

Parts don't seem to be too much of a problem luckily. I think I might be needing one or two... No service history whatsoever other than the last service back in July which was oil, filter, air filter, plugs. And it's a chain not a belt so that's good. Nothing as far as I can see but it will be getting a once over in the coming weeks. Bulkhead cracks were one of the things I came across while doing my [ahem] research. No turbos on this old girl. A whole 130bhp of normally aspirated loveliness. It's 4 speed auto too. It wafts in a twisty turny scuttle shaky kind of way Nah, it's a Vectra underneath. £177 fully comp. Perhaps I wasn't clear. The heating/AC/ventilation doesn't work at all. As in, the fans don't work and the temperature knob is stuck and broke off in my hand

Quick update. Did the deed on Sunday. Exhaust blowing a bit, check engine light on, heaters don't work, 850 quid, love it A couple of not very good pictures. All the way back from Peterborough up the A1 to Sheffield with the roof down. Doing it properly 👍

1999 Saab 9-3 2.0i S Auto Convertible. Slow but uncomplicated. It's a birthday present to myself (50 in October) and will be (I hope) a high days and holidays car. Looks pretty good in the photos but obviously you never know until you see in the flesh. Cheap as chips so if it all goes Pete Tong I don't get too badly burned. No service history other than the last one but MOT history looks good, spoke to the testing station and they said there was nothing to really worry about and they did the last service too. And totally unrelated to the selling dealer which I always find reassuring. £140 for 6 months tax and £170 for classic insurance. If anyone is wondering why I'd choose something like that for a mid-life crisis car, I have a 5yo 7yo and 10yo. Anything smaller or with less seats and it would never get used! Anyone want to chip in with Saab related tales of woe? Bearing in mind I spent most of last light looking up hood faults.

Even better than that, it's the all petrol, all natural 3ltr 2JZ. None of that hybrid malarky

Deep pockets for the inevitable gearbox fail (though many out there have already had a rebuild) and shares in Shell are advised. The 2.5 is supposed to be a peach. The 3.2 is out there too but higher tax like the V8. Shame about the no diesel thing though. The D5 could tow the Ark Royal.

How big is the scratch? I got a little nick about half to three quarters of an inch long on my IS wheels and as it turned out silver Smoothrite was a perfect match 👍 You wouldn't see it unless you were looking.

Lexus Sheffield sourced an OEM kit for my '02 IS 300. Might be worth a phone call. Ask for Russell in Parts.

Agreed. There'll be one or two harumphing about the price but I'd certainly pay that for an as new "they don't make them like that anymore" motor. 👍

Gadgets ahoy! Might look into one of these.

Bloody hell. Am I jealous much? Just a bit! Enjoy your new motor. And more pictures would be nice

Neither did I! That makes things much easier.

I'm looking forward to trying my 400h in the snow this year. Hopefully we'll get some. But at the risk of awakening the car forum Kraken it's going to be all about the tyres. Put decent all seasons or winters on and you could drive virtually anything in the snow. Hell, keep the LS, put some skinny winters on it and post the videos here Vehicle aside for a second I ran Nokian winters for a couple of years and then Pirelli all seasons on our XC90. Like the 400h it ran FWD most of the time (Haldex) and with the winters it was unstoppable in proper deep you're-stupid-driving-in-that snow and never had any problems with the all seasons but just took things a little more steady. I'd imagine the 400h will be much the same Can't comment on the 300 but the 400 is a quiet, comfy cruiser but also has a nice V6 note when you give it some beans. But like most you'll no doubt become obsessed with trying to run it on battery and regenerate when you can. It's extremely addictive. If you ever see a dark grey one silently cruising around Sheffield at about 15mph and holding up the traffic, that's me

Are they getting their engines mixed up? Does the IS300h have a smaller sump than the 200T?

Agreed, a sad loss. One of my favourite not so serious actors. But rather than his various driving movies one of my favourites is the underrated Hustle. Worth seeking out even if it's just for Catherine Deneuve.

Back in the day I had the Corgi model of that.

Haven't really been following this but that's bloody deep for a saloon.

Well buy a load more and they could be free gifts with the Gold Membership My membership is due for renewal.