Vlady

Tony I used Meguiars Car Body Scratch Remover Ultimate Cutting Compound last weekend on my black GS, very happy with the results. Apparently it is one of the best polishes just now.

Phil, as a Scratch remover/polisher I used Meguiares Ultimate Cutting Compound too, it is one of the best based on reviews and actually very good for black cars and 2nd coat (not sure it was required though) I used Auto Glym Polish Resin. It was raining today, the waters beads nicely of the polished panels. Weather permitting I need to do a bonnet and the roof and may be another go on other panels and then apply Carnauba wax on top and that will be me until next season.

Over yesterday and today I was polishing the car, using DA polisher that I received a few days ago. It takes practice I would say but results a very good, I should buy one of these ages ago, it is not easy but much less tiring than doing it by hand and as I said results are so much better! Most of the swirl marks and the haze has gone, I still have scratches but I was getting used to the machine this weekend and didn't want to over do it plus it was pretty sunny in the afternoon which is not great for the polish. I still need to find a polish with rougher compound to get rid of the dipper scratches but even the results I have now are amazing, my wife was shocked when I have shown to her half a panel polished and another half not treated, it is so good! I would say, to do that you need time, to do it right, especially when you do it first time. Once it is done you can just maintain it or do couple panels at the time. Now, I need to find a good scratch remover and work on these areas but I am still happy that I have done, well, I still need to do a bonnet and the roof, I would do it but the sun came out and the car being black is pretty hot! I tried to take photos but they do not show how good results are. 😞 Also I wish I had a proper size garage or a box to work on the car without being afraid of the rain/sun/dust etc!

Let us know James how it goes. Good luck! By the way, my seats are cooled and heated as well, so do not let Lexus guys scare you away or let them justify the high price they might ask! £400 for GS450h all in from Lexus Glasgow.

Hi James, I have similar issue with the seat, I went to Lexus Glasgow and they quoted me for the seat foam £200 and £400 all in i.e seat foam and the labour. What I am saying, try your local Lexus first, I have tried local seat upholsterer and just wasted £100, he tried to make the seat better but I still feel it is not right, well, I know that the passenger seat feels firmer and distribute my weight more equally.

2 friends of mine have Mercedes, an E-class (68 plate) and C class (17 plate), and they say they had no problems so far, fair enough the cars are quite fresh and new. I thought W124 was one of the most reliable car! As above, I had a BMW E46 3 series, which at that time (based on internet search at that time) was more reliable than C-class, X-type Jag and Audi A4 (not the Lexus IS200 of course) but I was really disappointed with it reliability wise, may be it was just that one model - temperamental, who knows!

Most unreliable cars I had: 1. Renault Laguna 1.8, 1999, even Renault garage couldn't find the problem with it, it was draining battery, not starting and electrical issue constantly! 2. BMW E46, 2.0d Auto, 2001. great to drive but every 3-4 months had to invest £400-500 on it! I also had BMW e39 and then E60, both were not too bad but e60 was a little more reliable. Now, 2 years into owning the Lexus and fingers cross it was fine, apart from issues I had with brakes, juddering/pulsing.

Send me a link John where I can get it! 😉

@Shahpor how is it going, what have you decided?

Didn't do anything to the car today but took a plunge and ordered a DA polisher kit, was thinking about it for years now! I noticed that the car's black colour has a few scratches and swirl marks even though I am trying to look after the paint it's not in a great condition!

Chris, 2 nice cars! I never drove a TVR but read a lot about these cars! I think it is ideal to have 2 cars like that, Lexus for leisurely every day driving that is comfortable and economical and TVR for a blast, adrenaline rush ride! I have a Honda bike for it, it is not the fastest bike but totally different experience to a luxury that Lexus provides! I like the BMW you had, can't agree more - Lexus is totally different experience to a BMW, you need to get used to it and to the way it drives. Funny enough, this morning I read about BMW 5 series x-drive 545e, well, this will be tempting in a couple of years time! 🙂

Welcome to LOC Chris, another person who escapes BMW land! :) I have done it myself couple years ago after an ownership of 4 BMWs! Chris, why Lexus and not another BMW if I may ask? Add some photos!

Does it men that they are worn?

Shahpor, I never disconnected the battery doing front or rear brakes, when working on the rear ones I jut made sure the hand brake is released and that I have something under my front wheels to prevent the car rolling over. I am not saying this is right the way I did but it worked, so the garage you phoned just tried to justify higher price they charge. As @Britprius says any machine shop will do it for £50! When I couldn't fix this judder issue I was so upset with the brakes, especially after coming BMW 5 series, that I was looking for another car and not a hybrid. After the brakes were fixed it was a different story, I am still not fully impressed with the brakes but not due to judder but due to it being a hybrid and the way brakes designed to work! So, do not let your brake saga go for too long, get it done before you get disappointed in the car! Good luck Shahpor.

Thanks John, I usually do not write that much, unless I experienced it myself which is in this case I did. I also would not suggest above if the discs brakes were worn close to a minimum but I know Shahpor's discs should be almost new, so little skimming won't heart them, well, unless you have money to pay for all new discs and pads. 🙂

Shahpor, you are right regards the price of the new discs, our cars have massive front discs and they cost much more than lets say GS300h would. If you remember we were all surprised at the price Lexus charged you initially, it was a very good price. What I want to say, I had a very similar issue (I think I still some times do) with brakes - pulsing, and whatever I did it didn't help, I tried a few hard stops, I lubricated pins and slides, I changed pads and at the beginning it was slightly better but then judder was coming back, actually it got worse after a few hard brakes. So I phoned a couple of places in Glasgow regards skimming the front discs, the price would be just under £100 per disc, the main reason is that they are massive! So, some company have you remove the front discs and some can do it while the brake discs are on the car, bare in mind. Anyway, none of the companies were able to help as one of them had a broken machine and a 2nd one i can't remember tbh. So I started to talk to my wife, preparing her basically that I need to spend quite a few pennies on a new brakes hoping it will fix the problem, bare in mind, at that point I already had 4 new sets of pads all round, when she said that her workshop at work (she works in a big factory that do pumps) might help, next day she phoned me and said that the guys can do it and they do brake discs ALL THE TIME but they need to be removed. By then, for me to remove both front discs (I re-lubricated them twice within 2 months) would take 20 minutes, so I removed both discs and the guys skimmed them, I tell you, these brakes were never that good, it actually made me stop thinking of changing the car as by that time I was really ****** off with the quality of braking! So, it was all done about 8-9k miles ago, when I said it sometimes comes back, I was not joking, I am not sure why it is though, it is mostly at slow speeds, just before stopping but in most times the brakes are fine. May be yours do need to be lubricated, cleaned and put back together, now I do it to Lexus brakes this procedure every 4 months or so, last time it was done in April, took me couple of hours. So, if your discs have plenty life in them, take them to any machine shop around and get them skimmed, with the mileage you do they will easily last another couple of years! Especially if no one can promise that new discs won't have the same issue, get more out of your old ones! Do check any machine shop 1st, before you go to people who specialise on it, you might pay half the price and for a distance cnc machinist it is a pretty simple operation! Shahpor, keep us updated and good luck, I do hope you will sort the brakes! By the way, I do hold the car as well by brakes while stationary at the traffic.

Thats one clear car! Look at the carpet at the rear, this is how photos of the cars to sell must be done! It looks like it barely used too! Very nice exapmle!

Picked up the car from Lexus Glasgow where it had Battery Health Check, it is good to go for another year, all green! Only one suggestion was on rear brake discs, they are pitted slightly which is no wonder as I barely drive my car. Treated her to a good Shell (not supermarket that I was using for the last 4 months) fuel too! So far mpg on a last tank was 35.15 So happy chappy I am! 🙂

I see it now, so no filters, just a washer. Even though, if it was £69 I would go for it but more than a £100 for this job I think this is a bit much.

I was quoted by Lexus Glasgow for diff oil change (only) is £103.20 and this is with 10% discount included! What filters did you change?

Or a new Camry!

I already have a plug, I bought 6-off from Lexus a few months ago. I am still thinking about it, this is not a pressing job that needs to be done now, I can wait. @Farqui sent me a photo of how engine needs to be to have an access to that plug, there is a significant amount of screws needs to be removed. As much satisfying it will be if I do it myself I have not yet decided on it. 🙂 I have another 1.5-2k until my next service and I need to do battery health check as well which will be done at Lexus and all the service parts (oil, filter, trans.oil) I will be buying from Lexus as well, I will discuss with them if I can get a discount on changing one plug.

Mr Vlad! Welcome back! Was it 18 months already? No way! Time flies! Congratulations on a new car! Will you miss Mondeo interior space, economy and driving experience? 🙂

Other spark plugs were fine, so I will be more upset if I brake a few plastic clips while doing the spark plug as if just leaving it alone! lol! I might give it another go. This is embarrassing, I have change spark plugs on a few cars in my life so as my dad (who is still here, thank to lockdown) but this one is proving to be the hardest to change! 🙂

Phoned Lexus Glasgow to find out how much will they charge me for changing 1-off spark plug (other 5-off I did myself), it would cost me £93! Apparently manifold partially needs to be disassembled to get access to coil and spark plug! So, what did I do to my Lexus? I opened a bonnet, removed the engine cover, looked at it, confirmed that it looks complicated, put the engine cover back on and closed the bonnet! I need to do though Battery Health Check and also buy engine oil, oil filter and diff oil for the next service.