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Hi chaps

Having owned my ls430 for a few months now I seem to have fallen into a trap that I'm sure you can sympathise with.

The lexus was bought for occasional use due to the highish running costs. I also own a Nissan sports car that was meant to be my every day car and the wife also has her car which was supposed to the second general option.

However every time I reach for a set of keys I find my hand gravitates to the lexus fob and a grin appears on my face.

A knowing smile also appears on the wife's face when I collect her from the station in the "wrong" car on most occasions.

It's just such a joy to be behind the wheel that my "proper" car hasn't moved for two months and it may well be sold and the cash used for running costs for the lexus. So much for my brilliant plan!

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Mark, I know the feeling. I've had loads of different cars before but I never tire of driving my LS. It's by far the most pleasurable car I have ever driven. Been in Mercs, BMTroublyou's etc, there's no comparison. Enjoy.

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I've been happily married for 40 years but I'm in love again - with my LS430. But seriously, just for a moment, I've asked my local garage, which I trust, to quote for a cambelt change. They'll tell me tomorrow. What can I expect?

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Depends if you're having the waterpump changed too ............... add £100 maybe ................ . to the possible £450 or so for the cambelt change stuff ................. it's a very very long job !

Malc

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I've been happily married for 40 years but I'm in love again - with my LS430. But seriously, just for a moment, I've asked my local garage, which I trust, to quote for a cambelt change. They'll tell me tomorrow. What can I expect?

About £500 ish I believe , if you have the water pump changed at the same time.

I use my "other" car so seldom that it had to have a new Battery recently due to inactivity. Actually, my excuse is a good one. My other car is an estate which I need for work, so driving the Lexus "preserves" the essential car for, well, essential work!

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You can never use a Ls too much ...................... just not possible .................... it's designed to be driven 24/7

Malc

....this....same thing happened/is happening to me...

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I know feeling we used to own vw polo had it for 15 yrs wasn't keen on driving it but since got Lexus can't keep my hands off it so my wife tells me that u didn't even look at polo now is220d gets driven more first used to drive taxi alot now can't help it either

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My Audi cab has not seen much action even with the sun out,or the RD400 which is sulking in the shed,all because the cheapest car in the household is such a gem to drive anywhere :-)

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I've been happily married for 40 years but I'm in love again - with my LS430. But seriously, just for a moment, I've asked my local garage, which I trust, to quote for a cambelt change. They'll tell me tomorrow. What can I expect?

The only reports mentioned here of cam belt failure is due to the water pump seizing- I would get that done, with the idlers and tensioner, as well. In fact, if I had to chose, I would have a new water pump with the old cam belt, rather than a new belt and old pump!

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I drive my Lexus everyday, I get an average of 24-27 MPG to work.

But it is still way cheaper than driving any other car I have ever had (be it diesel or petrol), for the simple reason than maintenance bills on the 14 year old Lexus are less than tuppence a year and you've got a car that was built to last for a second hand price that is half that of an German-mobile.

Next door neighbour tells me her new Mazda does 70mpg, what she forgets is that her previous Mazda (which cost £16K and lasted 5 years before engine blew up) cost more than I have ever spent in petrol over 5 years, and that her new diesel with DPF etc. etc. will probably be off her drive when my Lexus is still going strong, and so she will have burnt another £20K on a new car that is (admittedly) not bad, but is a money trap for the future.

We should all be driving LS400/430/460's if we really wanted to save the planet, but do not tell anyone that less than £5K (and in many cases a lot lot less) you can buy a good car and just get rid of all the others. (Unless unless you really need an open top for the summer, and an estate for going to the tip - though I have tow-bar for whenever I can bothered to nick my neighbours trailer to go to the tip)

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The other problem with " save the planet " new diesels is the cost of a new particulate filter........... . changed every now and again I guess,and on the new BMW ( small one I think ) is @£1400 .. yes one thousand four hundred pounds !!!

Makes our golden oldies just that .............. GOLD

Malc

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I am a bit of a tree hugger by nature...yet I have owned almost 200 cars , many of which were big engined or high performance...I think this is where quality of life etc...needs to balance environmental concern....yes, if I was seriously serious, I wouldn't have a car...or I would drive an old cinquecento or the like..(of which I have owned several...smart cars, the lot)... Yes, I CHOOSE to drive a sub 30 mpg car...but I drove it responsibly and by keeping an old car on the road, I contribute less to damaging the environment than if I bought a new Prius every three years. The real damage to the environment is caused from cradle to grave, with the most being done in the mining of raw minerals, assembly etc...I have never owned a new car, never will...for this very reason....four of us going to Edinburgh or Glasgow or the like from dundee is still cheaper than four train tickets return....not an environmental cost given, but if public transport was easier to use and cheaper, I would....but why would we when we can sit in air con splendour, in a car that cost peanuts, has done most of the damage to the planet it will do before it turned a wheel, and is so beautifully made it could run, and run, and run, thus negating the need for my myself or any of its subsequent owners the need to contribute to this needless supply created by manufactured demand that seems prevelant in the west

Incidentally, just watched al gore's an inconvenient truth and have never seen global warming discussed in a calmer, more rational, more terrifying manner...very worth a watch...an honest American politician?....I wonder how the world would have changed if he had beaten bush in 2000.... He introduces himself by saying, hi, I used to be known as the next president of America.....

If you have interest in these issue I implore you to watch this...no knee jerk stuff, very little schmaltzi Americanism, just easily understood analogy, well delivered speech....fascinating...

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Yes George ,the impact on the environment is diminished every hour that the Lexus LS400 is still available for use and we see no benefit from the government in rebates or anything else.They lauded the change to deisel fueled engines a decade ago but now claim they are dirty enviromentel scabs and Boris (future PM?) intends to tax them for the same reason in London.

The need to hang onto beuatifully designed robusttly engineered cars as always been the domain of officianado's and the members of this club can truly call themselves that and bask in the knowledge we were always right when it came to identifying quality.

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Yes George ,the impact on the environment is diminished every hour that the Lexus LS400 is still available for use and we see no benefit from the government in rebates or anything else.They lauded the change to deisel fueled engines a decade ago but now claim they are dirty enviromentel scabs and Boris (future PM?) intends to tax them for the same reason in London.

The need to hang onto beuatifully designed robusttly engineered cars as always been the domain of officianado's and the members of this club can truly call themselves that and bask in the knowledge we were always right when it came to identifying quality.

I recall in the 80's Ford were saying the future is learn burn petrol, rather than diesel, and maybe they were right.

A 4 litre car that does 35mpg on motorway is lean burn (IMHO), where as a diesel pushes out more sulphur particulate which when it hits the water in your lungs turns to sulfuric acid.

What diesel filter systems do is filter out the heavy particles, and leave the light ones to float into your lungs. Older diesel engines with their low pressure feed and slack tolerance in the bore did not crush the sulphur particles quite so small, so they tended to come out of exhaust and drop to ground.

Modern HDI engines which extract more energy from diesel crush the particles very small (what we call PM10 or PM7 - number = the micron width of the crud) and these particles float more easily, and recent research shows that the space from about 2meter to 1 meter above pavement surface is where all these PM7's are, going into our kids lungs.

And to think we went to the effort removing lead from petrol to then kill them with acid, is a little odd.

Here endeth another rant against diesel engines, and maybe more people should have supported the Ford view back 30 years ago, and let's not even go down the 'What the heck will we do with all these hybrid batteries when then exhaust'.

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I've been happily married for 40 years but I'm in love again - with my LS430. But seriously, just for a moment, I've asked my local garage, which I trust, to quote for a cambelt change. They'll tell me tomorrow. What can I expect?

I think main dealers do these for 295 on older cars

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I've been happily married for 40 years but I'm in love again - with my LS430. But seriously, just for a moment, I've asked my local garage, which I trust, to quote for a cambelt change. They'll tell me tomorrow. What can I expect?

I think main dealers do these for 295 on older cars

Cambridge Lexus quoted me just over - about £329 or so - but I never got a straight answer as to what the combined cost of water pump and cambelt would be.

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Parts for my LS400 from Lexus Parts Direct came to £496.28 which included a new bolt (£8.76 plus VAT - best to change) Belt, Chain tensioner, water pump, n/stk Idler cambelt x 2.

I was not too pleased, as even with this lot there was no gasket for the water pump nor was silicon sealant supplied nor water pump rubber seals. Mechanic had to stop job for two days awaiting extra parts. They claim no gasket is on the pump.

You can find a kit on eBay.us which shows a complete kit (repeat complete kit showing gasket) for $149.85 plus $74.55 shipping. Can't recall if import duty payable but check it out, picture shows name Mizumo Auto.

Ok you get what you pay for, but I expected to get all the parts necessary for this price.

Water pump was beginning to show leakage signs.

Bill for labour yet to see.

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Interesting to see that diesels are now being recognised for what they are; diseasels. LPG happens to be the cleanest, greenest way to go and for the time being, the cheapest too. As for Al Gore , I'm afraid I'm in the Jeremy Clarkson camp as far as the environment is concerned--- not really that bothered to be honest. Climate change is cyclical. It was warmer here in Roman times than now, followed by a mini ice-age. Must have been all those diesel 4X4 chariots they were driving!

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