Bluemarlin

I used Click Mechanic for my last inspection and they seemed pretty thorough.

I can recommend Furniture Clinic's leather repair paint for the seats. It's easy to apply, just wipe it on with a sponge and leave to dry. Have used it on my current and previous cars and am very pleased with it. They do a colour match from colur code or send in a sample. I also use 303 protectant on the seats and plastics.

I've had my RX for almost a year now. All the usual service stuff is done by the dealer, but what things do I need to do that aren't part of the service schedule? So far I've lubricated the caliper slide pins and changed the transmission and diff fluid. I also gave the underside, brake and fuel filler pipes/lines a spray of ACF-50 last year, and will go over it again in the autumn. I see on US sites where they do stuff like change the PCV valve, but have no idea if that's necessary, so is there anything else I need to do in terms of preventative maintenance? Thanks

Mine just has a bit of surface rust, so last year I set about it with a pump sprayer and a bottle of ACF-50. Took about 30 minutes. Will do the same again before winter. I also use a cheap lawn sprayer attached to a hose to rinse/wash the underside during winter and every few washes.

I used 303 Graphene nano spray coating on both the car and wheels. Wheels seem to clean up easily with snow foam and a wipe over with a noodle mitt.

I'm with Direct Line and pay £400ish with protected no claims bonus. They were by far the cheapest quote I got last year.

I too have had excellent results, on both my previous and current car, with products from Furniture Clinic. They will colour match to manufacturer codes or from a leather sample, and the leather dye is very quick and easy to apply.

I agree, I've nearly been hit as a pedestrian too, and was more thinking about left on red (possibly a good idea for cars too), but obviously only when clear. Usually these would be signed, so not carte blanche, and so presumably wouldn't be allowed at busy pedestrian crossings. Actually, now I think about it, there are some junctions near me where the lights are seperate for bikes and cars, but usuallly when the cycle lanes are contraflow. That makes things a bit easier for cars and bikes, but I've seen some pedestrians confused by the fact that cars are stopped and so are not expecting bikes to be carrying on. I also agree that people need to relax a bit more (easier in a big Lexus😀), and don't think the media help matters by stirring the pot on either side and creating division. Bit like how panic buying only seems to occur after the media report on shortages.

Fair enough Maurice, perhaps I misinterpreted your comment about all drivers being wrong, and wrongly took it as a sarcastic dig at my earlier post. If so, or if I expresssed myself clumsily, then my bad. It appears though that on the details we're probably closer than it appears, and just have different communicating styles. If mine comes across as obsessing about being right, it's not my intention, as often I'm wrong 😀 Back though to the original point by Malc that I replied to yesterday, what are people's thoughts about cyclists running red lights? Pros and cons? As a driver it doesn't bother me, and as a cyclist and I can see some benefits. In fact at one time Boris pushed for a trial to allow it, but was pushed back by TFL, who favoured staggered lights, allowing cyclists to go first, which is more expensive and lengthier to implement, as well as a bigger delay to motorists. In Paris (along with a number of other cities), they allow cyclists to run red lights under certain circumstances, and have seen no adverse affects, along with an increase in both traffic flow and safety. For the record, I don't think cyclists should mindlessly plough on ahead at a red light, but left on red (if clear) makes some sense. I think I've said it before, but from a driver's perspective I find it safer, and that traffic flows better if cyclists clear the lights first, intead of all trying to go together as they wobble their way to stabllity. Perhaps that's different in London (and other big cities) though, where there can be a lot of cyclists gathered at a red light.

Highway Code Section 2 Overtaking "Cyclists may pass slower moving or stationary traffic on their right or left and should proceed with caution as the driver may not be able to see you. Be careful about doing so, particularly on the approach to junctions, and especially when deciding whether it is safe to pass lorries or other large vehicles."

Despite your fixation with thinking that people are demonising all drivers, when simply highlighting imbalance when others demonise all cyclists. I'll answer your question. To me there is no mystery, as some cyclists actually do (not just appear to) go out of their way to be as difficult as possible. I know, I've seen it, when both cycling and driving. They're given a bit of power and authority with the highway code, and abuse it to be a *****. Or possibly they feel victimised, and so stupidly think they're getting their own back. Probably the same mentality as those idiots who don't know how to merge in turn and so try to block both lanes, or those who sit in the outside lane at 70. Some people think they know it all and feel they have the right to police others. Youtube is full of people (not just riders/drivers) who take stupid risks, so I guess some people just don't think about the consequences of their actions. That said, I'm sure there are others who are trying to manage their own safety, or those who are simply ignorant of the right thing to do. I guess that depends on the individual situation.

I'm perfectly chill, and do accept it. I was just replying to a poster who didn't seem to accept it, and implied it was only cyclists who make up the rules. As both a car driver and a cyclist, I'm happy to accept stick where appropriate, as much as those who wield it should be happy to accept a rebuttal 😉

We all see examples of speeding every day. I bet you can't find a day when you don't see a car speeding. Perhaps you've even exceeded limit yourself in the past, I know I have. The numbers don't really matter with regards to the general point though, although I still think that even proportionately speeding by cars would outnumber light jumping by bikes. Given the number of speeding tickets issued, I'm not sure motorists are discouraged that much either. Even so, the salutary effect of death or serious injury is as much a deterrent for cyclists. Either way, I think it's a fair comparison.

Whilst it's wrong for the cyclist to have jumped the red light, it's not really accurate to single out cyclists for making up their own rules. I would suspect that, on any given day, a significantly larger number of motorists exceed the speed limit than cyclists jump red lights. That wouldn't make it accurate though to say that it's a well known fact that motorists can make up their own rules of the road. Some road users are good, some bad, regardless of their mode of transport.

That makes perfect sense Linas. I suspect it's aimed those types who insist on wearing sunglasses at night, indoors 😉

Never mind Northern Latitudes, saw a deer run out onto the M40 not far from the M25 junction a few months ago. Luckily traffic in the inner lanes was moving slowly and it quickly ran back off the road.

I assume the logic is that wearing inappriopriately tinted sunglasses is no different to an inappropriately tinted windscreen.

I've just used some Auto Finesses Lavish. It claims to give up to 6 months protection, so will see how it holds up. That said, it's just a top up for the 303 graphene coating I use. I applied that last September and it still seemed to be ok a couple of weeks ago when I applied another couple of coats.

Yes, but is it possible that an engine fault, for example, could be blamed on a non standard exhaust installation?

Would that not affect the Relax extended warranty though?

Very true.

I don't believe I said they're on my side. Those in power have always acted in their own best interests, since the beginning of time. That will likely never change. However, people are largely better off than they were 100 years ago, who were better off than those 100 years before. Sure, political leaders make decisions that might not always be as well intentioned as they claim, but they are scrutinised and held to account far more than they've ever been in history. Ironically that's largely due to the media and technology that you seem to despise.

And those jobs will simply be replaced by others. People are always moaning about technology taking away jobs, when it can often do the opposite. Almost 40 years ago we saw the introduction of mobile phones. Conspiracy theorists then said we'd all die of brain cancer. Instead we have an industry that globally employs millions, in jobs that people wouldn't have imagined in 1980. Digital is good. I can transfer money in a second, rather than having to go to a bank to pay in a cheque. I can do postage online instead of having to queue for stamps. AI is awesome, I can use Google Maps or Waze to guide me door to door to an obscure address in the French countryside, rather than faff about with paper maps. The world moves on, as it always has, and you can choose to either fear it or embrace it.

I had a similar issue with the pale grey leather on my car. I can recommend the Furniture Clinic, as if they don't have it in stock they'll make a matching dye if you send them a leather sample. I've used them for this and my previous car and been very happy with the results. You only need about inch or two square, but getting the sample can be tricky as I found there was no excess leather under the seats. However, I did find that if I removed the headrests there was sufficient excess in the cover to cut a piece off.

I've heard that Saga are ok, and it might be worth checking companies that don't appear on comparion sites. The bigger ones are Admiral, Aviva and Direct Line. The best deal I got was with Direct Line. Funnily enough my previous car was an XK8, and that was cheaper to insure.