Hello! I've just bought a GS300, after 24 years of continuous German car motoring, ending with trading in my 1997 old model Audi A6 TDI auto for the GS300. The new car is P reg., August 1996, 59000 miles, well kept, officially classed as green but it looks more like grey to me. I now need to plan for the 63000 mile cambelt service. Can a decent independent do the service rather than Lexus Stockport? Or is it worth negotiating discounts at Lexus Stockport through LOC membership and various forms of begging, so that I know that I really am keeping it nice? I know you must have been asked this a million times - but not by me!
PS - to save itself some money the garage has put two "Nexen" tyres on the front. Anyone heard of Nexen? The two back tyres are well used European ones and will need to be replaced later this year. What is the thinking on tyre brands please?
Full Version: More Dumb Questions From Another Novice
Sounds like same colour as mine aspen green but looks grey/silver.i would let lexus do the cambelt if you can afford it ,better piece of mind and plenty of comeback if problems ,never heard of tyres but always had pirrelis on mine they are quite soft wearing but plenty of grip ,lasted me about 12,000 miles last time
Nexen..........never heard of them
i say always stick with known brands when it comes to tyres
i say always stick with known brands when it comes to tyres
If I recall correctly, Colin has mentioned on a number of occasions that in the event of cam belt snapping there should be no damage to the engine. So even if you got a local garage to do the job and it went wrong it shouldn't be the end of the world.
I use a little independant and I'd be suprised if any of the local Lexus dealers were as thorough as he is. The previous owner of my car used him as soon as the lexus warranty ran out and also gets him to service all of his work vehicles (30+).
After a service you always note that everything that could be greased and cleaned has been even though the main dealers often miss this sort of thing. The only problem to date is that at the 90,000 mile service he changed the spark plugs AGAIN!. He originally had been told by the local Lexus dealer that they needed changing at every 45,000 miles!
As for tyres I use Hankook 104 Sports - they are a soft compund tyre, reasonable quiet and stick like glue and represent a big saving over similar "Brand" tyres, they also look good too. I suppose that if I was only doing 10,000 miles a year I might go for the more expensive brands but as I do 40,000 I'll stick with the Hankooks.
I use a little independant and I'd be suprised if any of the local Lexus dealers were as thorough as he is. The previous owner of my car used him as soon as the lexus warranty ran out and also gets him to service all of his work vehicles (30+).
After a service you always note that everything that could be greased and cleaned has been even though the main dealers often miss this sort of thing. The only problem to date is that at the 90,000 mile service he changed the spark plugs AGAIN!. He originally had been told by the local Lexus dealer that they needed changing at every 45,000 miles!
As for tyres I use Hankook 104 Sports - they are a soft compund tyre, reasonable quiet and stick like glue and represent a big saving over similar "Brand" tyres, they also look good too. I suppose that if I was only doing 10,000 miles a year I might go for the more expensive brands but as I do 40,000 I'll stick with the Hankooks.
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