LenT

The Lexus is the first car I’ve had with DLRs, so I still maintain my habit of many decades of driving in daylight with dipped beams. Mind you, I started this in the days when many drivers made do with sidelights - or parking lights as they were more accurately described! I recall an advertising campaign that tried to demonstrate how much more visible cars with dipped beam were in daylight. At the time much was made of the fact that this was common practice in Stockholm but rare in Glasgow - despite both cities being on the same latitude! Frankly, anything I can do to help make me more visible to a fellow motorist driving towards me, sounds like a good plan to me.

Well a directional tyre incorrectly fitted will pose a greater risk of aquaplaning, will have a generally reduced level of road holding and will be noisier. It might even be an MOT fail. Fortunately, it’s not something I’ve personally experienced but - as I suspect reflects your own opinion - if driven with restraint, especially on a wet road, should get you to a tyre shop. If anything, this scenario rather promotes the cause of the SpaceSaver!!

The problem with this argument, I suggest, is that Service periods are determined by either mileage covered or time past - which ever is the greater. So the stipulated Service Intervals and Schedules for your Lexus are either 10,000 miles or 12 months - which ever comes first. Now you may choose to ignore that, but the resulting unstamped Service Record will affect the car’s value should you decide to sell it. As it happens, it’s a situation I face myself, having covered less than 40K miles in eight years. But as Norman points out above, cars deteriorate even just standing still, so I don’t really have a problem with it.

Confusingly, retailers will use both forms even on the same page! https://cartheftsolutions.co.uk/autowatch-ghost-immobiliser-fitting/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvNeDz8Gs_wIV1drtCh3i6QE5EAAYAyAAEgIPefD_BwE It’s rather like knowing that WW11 didn’t come after WW10…

Excellent move with a new car, Steven. When I had mine done I did also consider having Paint Protection Film also applied just to the front of the car as an additional stone chip protection. In the end, I didn’t because although it was very low mileage there was still little evidence of any such damage. However, had it been brand new and with a larger, more vulnerable frontal area, I would probably have done it. The only downside of the Detailing was having to get out the buckets and snow foam and take up car washing again! 🙁

At the very least Steven. 😊 And hopefully you’ll return to let us know all about it. But looking back at the OP - and irritating though some elements may have been - I doubt that I would have castigated a Dealer because of, for example, the careless parking of a van driver. So perhaps I have a generally more relaxed attitude. As an example, at the last Service I asked that the usual complementary valeting should NOT include being taken through the car wash at MK on account of the car having been professionally detailed with a ceramic finish. I had used the.collection and delivery service, so was surprised when I got a call from the Service Manager to say that, unfortunately, that message hadn’t got to the young mechanic so the car had gone through the car wash. The Manager apologised and asked if I would examine the car and if I saw any new damage they would deal with it. Needless to say, there was none. But he needn’t have made the call at all. How would I have known about it? If any marks had been there, how could I prove they were not there when they picked the car up? What that told me about Lexus MK is that they were more concerned about having a satisfied customer than being embarrassed by a small oversight.

And where did you hear that, Steven? Not from me, that’s for sure. I bought my IS250 from them when it was a couple of years old and its had a regular annual service there ever since. So far the service I’ve received has been exemplary. I have three year service plans so that everything is organised for me. At the last MOT I had a video tour of the car to report on its condition and to identify the very few area that might - just might - need attention in the future. The few items I’ve ever asked them to attend to have never been a problem Every six months they contact me - possibly to see if I’m still alive - and if they can interest me in a new Lexus (they can’t). But should Lexus suddenly offer something that suits me better than the one I already have, I would have no hesitation about getting it from Lexus MK. Of course, that’s just based on my experience. Why do you think yours might be different?

Of course that could be because there appears to be only 37 Austin Allegros currently registered in the UK - and 22 of those are on a SORN. 😊

I think that’s still an excellent idea. When I had a Lotus Elan convertible, I often had to leave it parked around London. So as well as a bright yellow Disklok, I fitted an immobilising kill switch in the low tension line to the distributor. It actually consisted of a small threaded rod that screwed into a concealed tube and completed the circuit. I’ve not seen anything like it since, so I don’t know if they’re still available. But it was extremely effective. Whether anything as simple could be fitted to the advanced electronics of modern cars, I have no idea. But it was very effective because the engine would turn over enthusiastically without ever producing a spark!

The most surprising aspect of this information, John, is that we might expect VW to have engineers whose sole job was to steal the cars. And defeat the security systems designed by the other engineers. In much the same way that large enterprises use professional hackers to test their computer systems. As has already been suggested, no car is unstealable. if a car can be lifted onto a trailer without activating any sensors, it can be stolen. Which is when trackers prove their worth. Perhaps what’s needed is a Security Standard for the Motor Industry that defines a minimum level of Theft Prevention by built-in systems. Although, of course, if someone knows how to build them, then - rather like safes and bank vaults- someone else can work out how to break them!

You did well, Alex. I was actually looking for the TPMS reset button and my Manual told me it was under the dash and I still had to lie on my back with a torch to find it! P

The company that supplied my Blackview dashcam (Boros Technology) has just emailed me with details of the Ampire immobiliser - fully fitted for £379. This is claimed to be a worthwhile alternative to even the Ghost ll. Does anyone have experience of Ampire? https://security4vehicles.co.uk/shop/immobilisers/

Well, that could be you, Damian. I presume you’ve been paid out on your Policy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make the Insurers an offer to buy it back. The Insurers will probably get it checked for roadworthiness and then put it out to an Auction. You’re in a position to save them a lot of time and money. After all, they are not in the car sales business!

I’ve had two Service Plans and am of an age when renewing for a third time gives me something to look forward to. I’m sure it much depends on your relationship with your local Lexus dealer, but I appreciate the fact that they now take responsibility for remembering and arranging services- even to the extent of collecting the car. I pay the lump sum - which offers an additional saving - and of course the Plan itself provides a hedge against price increases. As I understand it, should I sell the car before the Plan is finished, there is a pro rata refund. Finally, it ensures that the car has a complete Dealer Service Record, which also helps to maintain its value.

I think Herbs has the answer. The working life of the sensors is reckoned to be 5 - 10 years, depending on usage. So if these are the originals then they have done well. I suggest you get a replacement quote from a good tyre retailer, to compare with a Lexus dealer. When I had one replaced, it cost me £65 including fitting. You could just find out if it’s only one that is failing, but it’s more effective to replace the set if they’re the same vintage. Maybe consider the state of the tyres if you’re getting this done, as they have to be removed anyway so refitting new ones could be a good move.

Enough of the vague hints, Malcolm. What do you REALLY think? 😊

They do claim to offer Members of Car Clubs a special rate. But they don’t appear to list the LOC in their extensive Car Club list. Might be worth checking if you’re going for a quote. https://www.chrisknott.co.uk/motor-insurance/owners-club-insurance/

It’s not an NX450, but it was a couple of hours driving on a damp A road that prompted me to fit a set of mudflaps. And I’d washed it only the day before! Plenty of aftermarket options available if you’ve missed a factory fit - although the Dealer could fit them prior to delivery.

I realise now that that is certainly the case. However, my reaction the first time it happened to me was consternation! I had just replaced my first car - an old Ford Anglia - with a Citroen DS. A few weeks in and I had a warning flash from another Citroen driving towards me. Thinking that the driver might have spotted something amiss with my Citroen, I pulled in and spent some moments examining the front.….counting the wheels and such like. But no…everything seemed in order. Gradually it dawned that it was a greeting, not a warning. Totally the reverse was the case with Ford Anglia drivers!

And if they didn’t wave, it was possibly to indicate that you were driving towards a Police speed trap! Or possibly you were driving so fast that the AA badge was just a blur. Anyway, they stopped doing it when it was realised that the motorbike patrols were spending far too much time focusing on the front bumpers of an increasing volume of traffic.

Were you tempted to wave at him, Martin?

If there’s one positive aspect to this dreadful experience, Lee, it’ll be that you’ll become the most effective advocate of these products they could possibly have. It’s a sad fact that products that make cars go faster outsell those that make them safer. But it’s experiences such as yours that make the most impact on the average motorist. I don’t mean this to sound over dramatic, but in the contribution it may have on the attitude of other drivers, I feel your post may be the most important one to appear on this site this year.

Vladimir makes a very important point here, Lee. Having celebrated the survival of the three of you, the hard-nosed reality of pursuing a full claim for compensation is the next priority. Despite the presence of mind you displayed in saving your daughters, I doubt you were able to search for witnesses. So you now rely on the Police to assemble a case against the other driver and it’s their Insurers from whom your Insurers - or Claims Company - will take action. If you’ve had previous claims you’ll no doubt be well aware of the process - and it does presume that the other driver was insured in the first place! Which brings me to my own particular hobby horse - did you have a dashcam recording the event? You don’t mention it, but in these circumstances retrieving and safeguarding such evidence becomes essential. At the very least, I hope that your dreadful experience will impress upon every driver here the importance of fitting a simple dashcam as their own independent witness.

Fortunately, mine came with a SpaceSaver. But this does seem to be a very comprehensive and good value piece of kit. The only reason I would use the injectable kit is if I was physically incapable of changing the wheel or the circumstances made it dangerous or impossible. I suppose the only remaining problem is fixing the SS securely in the boot..

What an appalling and traumatic experience for you all, Lee. Your actions in saving your daughters from a car on fire are surely nothing less than heroic. I can imagine that having survived such a violent encounter has served to reinforce your faith in Lexus build quality. But it takes time to come to terms with such a potentially life-changing event. I’m sure you’ll eventually be reassured to find yourself back in the familiar surroundings of another Lexus. All the best to you and your family.