heartburnron

Happy days John! I'd say I was celebrating with a few beers and whiskies, which I am, however that's somewhat misleading, as said alcohol consumption is a regular occurrence for me on a Thursday night! 🤪 (Friday is my day off) But yeah, I'm not convinced they're contacting the DVLA at all. I'm calling BS on that. Pretty sure they just use that as a cover for their ineptitude and to buy time.

The garage only got in touch today to confirm the warranty claim was fully accepted for the air conditioning compressor and suspension height sensor. I did still have to pay £250 for the initial diagnostic and the work then did to temporarily fix the suspension pending the new part being fixed. Can't really complain to have all that done for £250 though can I?

Victory at last! You would like to think they would have the sense to do a blanket update for all LS430s, at least of the same year, but I very much doubt it...

I don't know if there is a difficulty or restriction for certain types of wheels for diamond cutting however, The Wheel Specialist definitely do diamond cutting all the time. They are a franchise and have locations all over the UK.

So am I right in deducing that the original air suspension lasted you up to now? Over 300K miles? Gives me a lot heart if so, with mine being at 131K. I just had the rear RH height sensor replaced under warranty so hoping it will all be grand for a few years yet.

Exactly John. I don't believe it either. Not for a single second. They've clearly seen the post 2006 for petrol cars general guidance and taken that as enshrined in stone. No critical thinking, just double down regardless which, seems to be the way of the modern Western world doesn't it? But then all the ULEZ schemes are complete bull for me; they made up the 'science' to justify the schemes so why stop there!?! What a time to be alive eh?

Yeah, I only heard back from the office that updates the checker database at the beginning of this week. They asked me for some details so that they can enquire with the DVLA. Again, their apparent inability to use any sort of initiative was on show as all the details they requested were already included with my original email! I'll let you know when I hear anything further from them. I am relaxed about taking my car through the Scottish LEZ zones now though; I have the tribunal decision document to share now and if need be, I'll take it to a tribunal every time. As silly as that is!

I do you wish you the best of luck John. I would have suggested showing them a screen shot of your car complying with the London ULEZ database too but these people don't seem to be able to be reasoned with! It's fairly ridiculous that the only apparent way of getting them to update their database is to incur a fine, appeal it and then appeal again to a tribunal!

The staff in the Glasgow LEZ office are complete idiots! I got a penalty charge for driving though Glasgow city centre in my 2005 LS 430 earlier this year. I appealed it with them, sending my V5 certificate which shows the emissions for the 3 measured toxins. I also sent a link to the RAC website that lists the parameters for each Euro standard. They informed me that as my V5 didn't explicitly state that it was a "Euro 4" engine, that they were rejecting my appeal and the case was closed. I then appealed it with Scotland's General Regulatory Chamber, First-tier tribunals, Transport Appeals. I requested a telephone hearing and The Adjudicator told me right at the start that he was granting my appeal. I've attached his decision for you to have a look at. The bottom line is that you don't need to be paying £75 for the certificate of conformity as it clearly states your emissions on the V5 document. These LEZ offices same incapable of reading a V5 document! I've since contacted the department responsible for updating their LEZ checker database, forwarding the tribunal decision and asking them to update their database. Apparently that still isn't enough for them to just update it, although they have said they will contact the DVLA for further details. There's no way their database has been compiled from DVLA provided data in my opinion; they've clearly just went 'petrol car before 2006 = not eligible'. Here is the Adjudicator's blurb about the decision to grant my appeal extracted from the attached document: 11. The appeal is allowed for the following reasons: the Euro 4 emissions standards are, for a petrol vehicle: CO not more than 1.0g/Km; THC not more than 0.1g/Km; NOx not more than 0,08g/Km. The Appellant’s vehicle emissions are, as vouched by his V5C documentation: CO 0.19g; THC 0.05g; NOx 0.02g. All of these are significantly lower than the requisite levels for Euro 4 standards. 12. I accordingly prefer, on balance, the unchallenged position of the Appellant to that of the Council. I am at a loss to understand the position of the Council who seem unable to read and apply the information contained in the V5C document. 13. As I have allowed the appeal, Appellant is not required to pay the penalty charge. Any penalty charges for subsequent contraventions which have occurred may have been overcharged within the 90 day period of the LEZCN forming the subject matter of this appeal. Refunds may, therefore, need to be provided to the Appellant. Decision_5464_LZ00037-2403.pdf

Lol. See what you did there! I almost bought a Volvo V40 or a Saab 95, but given my daughter is turning 17 later this year, I thought I'd buy something I can hand over to her and that she'd have a chance of being able to insure. Ended up with a Chevrolet Aveo - never heard of one before but it ticked all the boxes...

Protected my Lexus today by buying a second car! The Mrs is getting a puppy next week and I was freaking out at the idea of a dog being in my beloved Lexus - hence I was inspired to purchase a cheap 'dog car'. The new car allegedly gets 60 MPG too so hopefully that will incentivise me to drive the LS less as I've done over 7000 mile since I got it in November and that's with no daily commute to work; I just love driving it!

Picked the car up today, air suspension back to normal, air conditioning blasting icy cold air and the mini fridge has been re-stocked with cans! Now the scary part - so the claim was accepted subject to photos of the sensor (only learned that part tonight) and air compressor being provided - if they deem there is no evidence of impact damage then all good, otherwise, I'll be looking at a bill of close to grand! I expect to get confirmation tomorrow but the parts that came off the car looked fine to me so fingers crossed.

Sure. The first 6 months were offered by the car garage I purchased the LS from in November. I understand this cost the dealer around £650. My understanding is that they use the RAC warranty for all their customers as apposed to offering one themselves. The cover I was given was their Platinum cover and this is the policy I've had the height sensor and aircon compressor accepted on. A few weeks before my policy was due to expire, I received and email from RAC Warranty offering me to continue my cover, this time at Gold level, for 12 months for £450. From what I can ascertain, the only difference between gold and platinum is a max spend of £1000 vs £2000 per repair respectively. It does seem though, that the only way to have this cover for older cars is through a used purchase from a car dealer. I say that, as I just went to the RAC Warranty website and it's saying the cover offered there is only for cars up to 10 years old. Sorry for any elevated hopes; I didn't realise it's exclusivity!

Left my LS430 in to get the driver side rear air suspension height sensor replaced tonight. I got quite a fright when my car started violently bouncing me in the car as the air suspension filled up to the max once the warning light came on. Thankfully the actual struts are absolutely fine and the height sensor, which cost over £600 is being covered by the 6 month RAC Platinum warranty I got with the car! The warranty has also agree to cover the air conditioning compressor that has failed; they have just asked my mechanic to strip it down and send photos as evidence (the actual part is obsolete buy my mechanic was able to source one for me). Really pleasantly surprised with the quality of the warranty cover. They offered me a further gold policy for 12 months for £450 which I've accepted.

Tried a new tyre dressing that I seen in some online videos; VRP by the Chemical Guys. Nice new tyre look...

Thanks for sharing that Malc. Very and reassuring and comforting to read. Guess I need to calm down a bit! 😁

My problem is that I live only a few hundred meters from the beach so I'm really paranoid about rust. I've had the car for 2 months now and I'm so loved up that I'm getting passion fuelled urges to spend money on it! I can't imagine ever wanting to get rid of it but I know that corrosion may ultimately take that decision out of my hands long before the engine. I had £600 left over from my insurance settlement so the plan was to spend that on trying to protect the car against the elements.

Waiting on a quote coming back to fix/respray the passenger side rear arch which has a semi-circle of rust about 2 cm in diameter and, some bubbling just above the chrome strip in the middle of the driver door. Depending on price and available funds, I may also get the rear bumper which has a few scuffs, resprayed. What joy this car has brought in to my life! I feel blessed to have found it. 🥰 Ouch! That's twice my budget. 😔 I can live with the bumper and could probably touch up the arch myself. I'll maybe just get the door done and a machine polish...

Waiting on a quote coming back to fix/respray the passenger side rear arch which has a semi-circle of rust about 2 cm in diameter and, some bubbling just above the chrome strip in the middle of the driver door. Depending on price and available funds, I may also get the rear bumper which has a few scuffs, resprayed. What joy this car has brought in to my life! I feel blessed to have found it. 🥰

Lexus and their higher level of customer service aside, it's an almost an old school thing now isn't it? Every car I've purchased in the past 20 years have had the petrol light on when I've bought it (all used) but I remember working for a Ford dealership (parts department) in my teens and they had their own petrol and diesel pumps that they used for customers making purchases.

Got my alloys refurbished by The Wheel Specialist yesterday. After spending hours looking at different finishes I went with the safe option and went for a high shine metallic silver (TWS sport 1). I previously had a sliver Alfa 159 and got its wheels done in their black chrome finish but I always thought they were a bit dark for the car, so I chickened out of the bolder and/or darker options this time.

Got a new steering wheel tilt motor fitted today (£200 of ebay + another £50 for customs & import taxes - Japan) . It hadn't been working since I got my LS 430 so I was really looking forward to having the car present herself to me when I turned the ignition. I must admit it made me blush! 😉 Threw in a cheeky wee oil change too, to get me through to August MOT.