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Lexie went in for her MOT today and passed with one advisory, Front suspension has slight play in a lower suspension ball joint offside. Only driven 7000 since the last test. Something else I learned was that if the car comes in running on LPG then it doesn't have to have the emissions test. Well here's to another year of the best motoring around.

Never seen silver on a isf before, quite like the look as it matches the grill and window trim. This is mine,think they`ve been refurbed though.

The Evo magazine has arrived, will scan and upload here tomorrow.

The reason for the following was because the front end felt wrong, it was very floppy (floppier than normal) and it wandered a bit... you could see the top arms were worn and you could twist them without much effort... It says in the workshop manual that to change the two top arms (the 460 has separate top arms as opposed to the earlier LS's wishbone) you have to remove the air strut assembly and to do that you have to remove the bottom arm and the track control arm so I thought I may as well change all four arms each side as at 116,000 miles and 9 years they will have seen better days... Well, as usual with official workshop manuals, you don't "have" to remove the strut so all the bottom can be left complete if you need to change the top arms...!!! The top arms were in the worst condition out of all of them... You start with this... First thing is to remove the clips that hold the brake pipe and wiring for the speed sensor, and on the offside, the pad warning sensor, then the two bolts that hold the caliper on and tie the caliper to the anti-roll bar with a couple of cable ties, then take the disc off, it doesn't have a retaining screw so is just held on by the wheel, they are very heavy 358mm discs so make sure it doesn't fall off when you remove the caliper as your foot won't like you for it..!!! Remove 4 bolts that hold the disc back plate on, best to take these off to avoid damage, they are aluminium so were in near perfect condition, just looking a bit aged... The front hub is a large aluminium casting, as is the front subframe that holds the engine and attachment points for the bottom arm and control arm, they are all beautifully made and are very light, the bottom arm and two top arms are aluminium but the track control arm is cast steel. It is a pleasure to work on a Lexus again, I remember doing my brothers top wishbones on his Mk1 400 and cracking off the bolts and nuts in the wheelarch and then spinning them off with your fingers, his 400 was about 16 years old at the time. The quality and design mean that everything comes apart with minimal fuss... Having said that the wet looking patches on the pictures were not leaks from anything but some penetrating fluid, force of habit made me squirt some around before I started but it really wasn't necessary... Back to it.. Remove the inner bolt that holds the bottom arm on and push the arm downwards, the subframe casting has a notch in it to release the arm towards the floor and not pulling it towards the wheel... then remove the track rod from the hub, a spring steel split pin (again, beautifully made and we reused them all as they were still in perfect condition) and a large flanged nut (the alloy hub has steel inserts where anything bolts to it so a large flanged nut is used to spread the loads over a large area of the aluminium encompassing the steel insert) Then remove the nut and bolt for the front track control arm, this was made easier by removing the plastic engine undertray. This bolt is a bit fiddly as when it is nearly out it hits the rack...!!! It's worse on the nearside, but if you put a pipe wrench on the arm and tilt it a few degrees you can wiggle it out (and get it back in with the new one) No mention of this issue in the manual... Finally remove the top two arms, two more splitpins and flange nuts. I don't like using balljoint splitters, they break and rarely work well, a few good blows with a large hammer and balljoints will yield... You then end up with a car looking like this And this.. You know the top arms are gone when they drop like this... You can see above that the two top arms are bolted to two small frames that are then bolted to the inner wing, the manual says you have to remove the frames to remove the arms. The two top bolts that hold the frames on are prevented from coming out by the strut, hence, removal of the strut. However, if you remove the other two bolts (front frame) and one bolt (rear frame) you can get a spanner on the top bolts to loosen them and then pivot the frame away from the strut, it is then "just" possible to remove the bolts that hold the upper arms on. This is a close up of the frame You can see the top bolt that is loosened, it then pivots forward like this... (Yes I know I should wear gloves, I really hate them though...!!!) These are the top two arms, you can see shards of rubber and a split all around the central pin It didn't take much to pull this out, it is supposed to be bonded to the rubber... Track control arm... you can see the splits starting and it was movable with hand pressure, the new one wasn't... Bottom arm, inner bush, again starting to wear and offset slightly... Bottom arm strut fixing, squashed a bit... To be fare the bottom arm had many good years left in it and the control arm wasn't too bad either... Big hammer again to remove the bottom arm and control arm from the hub and then the fun starts, removing the large ball joint that locates the bottom arm, it was a two man job and a very big hammer, a brass drift and some heat from oxy acetylene, heat the alloy hub up, being careful of the bearing which is pushed into the hub so not easily removed, they do provide a recess in the bottom of the balljoint to use a drift in, several large blows and it was out... The shape of the upright means it won't fit under a hydraulic press so we used a couple of large (52mm IIRC) sockets and pushed the new joint in with a large vice, again heating the alloy to get some expansion, with hindsight I'd have put the balljoints in the freezer.. Reassembly is, as they say, a reversal, I fitted the arms to the car first, a bit of faffing with the control arm and that bolt but it will go in without removing the steering rack, the top arms need to be bolted on in the correct alignment for when the car is at normal height, there is no way to tighten these bolts up with weight on the suspension so I had a "best guess" at this I was within an inch, so not too bad... Once all the arms are bolted to the car, offer the hub up and bolt it all back together... New bottom arm, Strut is bolted where the upside down R is, then moving right is the drop link for the ARB then the height sensor fixing and finally the connection to the front subframe. New control arm with the wiring to the hub attached, just out of focus in the foreground is one of the large flange nuts.. After putting it all back together it was onto the brakes, the old discs had seen better days... The brakes felt fine though... I opened the new boxes of EBC brakes, a full set of four new discs and front and rear pads in their basic range, these are excellent for normal road use and the pads are low dust ones so even better.... This is where I found out that there are two different sizes of front disc fitted to the 2007 LS460...!!!! and I'd ordered the wrong ones, to be fair it doesn't say anywhere on the EBC web site that there are two different sizes and it doesn't give the disc size either so how was I supposed to know...!!! I phoned them and they were more than helpful and put the correct set in the post for next day delivery but I did have to pay and then claim a refund when I return the wrong ones... The woman said "It happens all the time"... WELL PUT THE SIZE ON THE LISTING THEN...!!! Rant over... So, while waiting a day for the new ones to arrive I thought I would do a summers job I had lined up, luckily I had already ordered the caliper stickers so the following morning it was back to my mates garage with sanding and painting gear... It's easy to do the calipers without pads or discs, just bolt the caliper back on and away you go... I gave them a clean with some brake cleaner, excellent quality aluminium, these don't look 9 years old... First give the calipers a good sanding, I used a DA sander with 120grit pads... make sure you round off any sharp corners, it helps the paint stay on longer Then a light coat of Acid etch primer, just dust on a few coats until you have complete coverage, I used a hot air gun to warm the calipers up first, aids adhesion and drying... Then stick on the caliper stickers... (no I'm not going mad) Then paint it with your chosen colour, Metallic black in this case... again just dust on a few light coats until it is all covered, out with the hot air gun and give them a good baking moving the gun over the surface all the time, keep it in one place and you will burn the paint... Then, very carefully pick an edge of the stickers up with a sharp blade and pull the stickers off.. To reveal this... Then give it a good six coats of UHT clear coat drying between each coat... and the finished result is a well protected caliper and the stickers won't fall off...!!! Rear is the same with a different sticker I sanded, etch primed and stonchipped the back plates Forgot to take an after picture...!!! This is the paint I used, got it from halfords with my 15% club discount card, I had the clear UHT paint already but I think they sell that as well... You must etch prime aluminium or the paint will fall off in a short time... I love the metallic black, the 460 is not really a car that would look good with red or yellow...!!! Then sat about twiddling my thumbs waiting for the new front discs to arrive... they turned up at 4.30pm so my mate did one side and I did the other, discs on, pads in, wheels on, off the two post lift, settle the suspension then onto the four post ramp and fully tightened the lower arm and control arm to subframe bolts so the bushes are in the correct alignment... I didn't get a chance to take a picture with it all back together so you will have to wait... Mark asked above how it feels, well... better and worse...!!! let me explain... The tyres are badly abused, one has at least 10 large chunks out of the sidewall and they are well out of balance so the wheel wobble is even worse. The play in the front suspension was absorbing a lot of the wobble... on the plus side the steering is more precise and the front end wobble is much better... I took it for a four wheel align this morning, it didn't pull and ran straight but that was because it had 5 degrees of toe in on the front, even both sides the rear was 3 degrees out from the front, they pulled it back and got them all within half a degree, the tolerance is 1 degree, it now feels even more solid and drives nicely up to about 50 when the wheel wobble starts... So this afternoon 4 of these were ordered, and another mate will fit them next Saturday as they are coming direct from Dunlop and won't be here till Wednesday It says on the Dunlop website that these are 102 load rating but the ones I've ordered and all the adverts I can find say it's a 98 load rating which is correct for the Lexus, the 102 wouldn't matter much but it would be a tad harder.... So, a fair way towards sorting it out now...

Many thanks Michael , i think i have found one , all checks clear, 44k miles with flsh, one owner, excellent trade in for my ls430, going to view on Monday, I have had it checked by a friend in the trade and all the seller is telling me turns out to be true , even its previous private plate which i didn't know about. I will let LOC know what happens and post photos Thanks again Take care Keith

I bought a cheap ish system about a year ago , think it was about £160 from amazon on a deal of the day thing. 4 x cameras 720p , 1tb dvr and the payed an alarm fitter to fit them which cost me £80. It works perfect for what i need , motion capture , you can export it easily to memory stick , it can be wired to a network if needed .Runs about 10 days on the highest quality setting , you can always put a bigger hdd in it. Quality good enough i think.

The last 5 cars I have bought privately, I have bought the first one I looked at. This is partly luck, plus a bit of a rigid approach. You can cover a great deal over the phone and on autotrader. I always ask..... Is the car, house, logbook and you all at the same address? The reason is 'normal' people buy a car and register it at Swansea and park it outside the house. If any of these are not there, then it is trouble. 'I'm selling it for my brother-in-law' spells trouble, because it is not normal, it is odd. Remember, you are buying the person as much as the car. Rough people and rough cars go together. Is the guy a normal family man? Is his approach, similar to yours. Is he straight in doing business in a friendly, dignified manner. I like all the paperwork present, old MOTs (who would not keep them) and as much service history and receipts as possible. A new MOT is also goodish. Autotrader is good as you can see so many pictures and save a wasted journey. Always always, do an HPI check. £20 is peace of mind, and helps when you sell it. In the past, I would say walk away, there are plenty more out there, but with our cars, the pool is very small. All the more reason not to get 'car fever'. Happened to me once. I bought a Vauxhall Cavalier because I just just wanted it. All caution, and the above went out the window. Got my money back, but it was a close call.

Brake manufacturers are asked to put forward their best match to the specification that Lexus wants for a particular vehicle during the design stage they don't go out and build a one off design. They may have already have designed this specification for another car manufacturer and it will be tweaked if there is enough market for it in terms of numbers made. The shoes and pads are again made from materials tried and tested for durability longevity and cost production and the design of these components is complex with regards to materials used the research and development is key to a good product. There are companies that just manufacture the hardware such as rotors and calipers and carriers and they ask pad manufacturers to come up with materials that give those rotors a long life but also give the top braking performance ,so it is not a one party effort getting the right mix of components. There will have been numerous meetings with all parties to achieve the best product simply because reputations depend on it. After market companies are never at those meetings and their claim manufactured to oem specs is not precisely correct as they are simply ripping off the original spec without inside knowledge. I was reliably informed by a Lexus Executive that on consumables Blueprint come within 10% of original spec and they are supposed to be the best but thats not good enough for me ,I always use OEM parts.

This is the argument that gets most vexing, as one simply cannot know for certain it's correct. Yes the parts may well come from the same factory and quite probably the same production line but are they to the same quality? I know, from speaking with Michelin, that Mercedes 'MO' labelled tyres are manufactured the same as all other tyres of that spec but Mercedes require that a far tighter quality criteria be applied on tyres tested and only those that conform are allowed to be labelled 'MO'. It doesn't mean that a tyre without the 'MO' label doesn't meet the criteria but as a buyer one knows with confidence that the one that is 'MO' does... One can apply the same to other service parts.

Maybe it's a north/south thing; maybe we're a bit more frugal up here in the frozen north, but I think the majority of people, myself included, never go to main stealers unless we absolutely cannot get the part elsewhere. Maybe if the car is only two or three years old there's a case for it, but once it gets to six and beyond it's just a waste of money. As to your point about getting the correct spec at a consistent quality, you're getting the same spec and quality from the manufacturer of said parts as anyone else. For instance, lets just say that Lexus buy in brake parts from Blueprint (just as an example). Blueprint don't have special factories squirting out parts for Lexus - the Lexus-branded parts will come off the same production lines at the same factories that the rest of us buy from.

at £300 it's a snip for the parts for the Mk1 or 2 ..... the engine must be worth the best part of £500 min. ...... I quite like it ....... quick touching-up of the paintwork and it's " ready to go " Malc

Yes driven the C63 albeit in saloon form. Its definitely more of a muscle car than the IS-F as it doesn't really handle all that well IMO. Dont know about how you're finding it but it used to spin its wheels on every occasion including roundabouts, traffic lights etc. Maybe it was just my size 12 foot Ive only driven the later IS-F's and found the ride to be about the same. The build quality of Mercs of that era weren't great, huge slabs of plastic in the centre console and dash. The new C63 is really good though and built quality is better - would I take it over an RC-F? Probably not as Ive never been one to go with the crowd

Only ever driven them round the track at Mercedes world, which incidentally is good fun. Mrs Flytvr loves AMGs

Have Fun!

Every year I seem to read about the rising cost of insurance but I find it goes down! Iv'e just insured the LS with Saga for £165, seems like a good deal to me.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-LS400-New-York-Taxi-/302212206104?hash=item465d404e18:g:8ioAAOSwnHZYkdEg discuss? There was a winged variant some time back This one just seems cruel

I've had Pagid on Renault and Porsche and suffered, Mintex on Jag after initial noise have settled and are fine. Brembo discs on XKR with Jag pads stop so fast you have to check vehicles behind you. (As spec). lexus pads are ceramic. Why? They are soft and shed heat to lower brake fade. I'm wary of the "banking" factor where rubbish is passed off as OE and who is to say? Greed...££££ Bit like rubbish food full of fillers, sugar salt. That never happens. Misselling, fibbing politicians, cons. Life is perfect. So how can we tell?

No clue mate, just thinking of dampers in general. It is in the wheel well, where the spring sits.

Good work @Big Rat

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-f-2008-2014/351635-evo-magazine-m3-vs-is-f.html Hopefully this might work 🙃 Big Rat

Car returned, the aux belt was an order item so couldn't be fitted until next week so a £150 smaller bill than anticipated. They also fitted new number plates FoC, new remote batteries FoC, and 3x metal Lexus Edgware key rings FoC... hot chocolate was pretty good too :) I will place an order for new wipers and an aux belt from Amayama, together with some ARB bushes front and rear. Thankfully the whining I was getting from the engine bay has also gone, so together with fresh 5/30 (was previously on 5/40) I can really hear the engine now which is great in my opinion. Will give it a good thrashing later this evening ! It was a 1k bill in the end however they appeared enthusiastic about the car overall, so can't complain too much.

Love my CCTV. Streams to the cloud. I do also have CCTV signs to keep it all 'correct'

@Shahpor, ah are these shocks known to leak from the top? Is that still in the wheel well or under the plastic panels in the engine bay? @doog442, I'll call the service manager in the morning and see what the real story is here. I do hope they weren't trying to fleece me for 2 new shox and an extra TPMS sensor. I was encouraged that they offered to weld the leaky zoorst rather than simply order an expensive replacement. £150 maybe a bit steep but maybe not if the part is removed to weld.

It's gutting though isnt it....the hunt for an honest main dealer continues. Perhaps Lexus should introduce video recording of these mystery finds , like BMW do..or at least photograph the alleged problem. Things like this actively drive people away from dealership servicing.

It really seems to depend on where you live. I have moved since owning my IS, and during my time in London it was £700. Since moving to Hampshire, exactly the same policy with the same insurance company is now costing me £350.

mine with Saga has just been offered at £288 for 12000 miles limit ....ME11 postcode . seems to be going down but with the £350 excess they know i won't claim if it's dented even a little coz they will write it off ! and payout bugger all after the excess Can we ever win with insurance ? Malc

On mine, when I got the car it had the original 2008 sat nav disc that wouldn't allow inputs into the nav while moving. Upgrading to a 2016 disc changed this and I can now access all the functions on the move. Not that I input destinations on the move! It is tricky enough standing still On that note, does anyone know if the GS and IS use the same system or not?

The Mercedes auto-lights were quite clever. It had two sensors and would detect the approaching tunnel but also the approaching light at the end of the tunnel. So, if the tunnel was very short, or a bridge, the lights wouldn't come on at all. Never got it wrong in the 12yrs of using the system. The RC on the other hand is very quick to switch on the lights. Even on the least sensitive setting .

Yea, I was under the impression that they had been changed but wanted to confirm. It's popular with a lot of jap stuff as generally the lights are rubbish. Once I get to a meet I will be able to have a good look at other ISFs and see what's going on. The quality of the kick plates is very high, can only assume they are oem from another car.

All the cars I have had with auto lights have come on straight away in tunnels and under bridges. The Volvo system seems better as I think it can lead to false headlight flashes if you go under a bridge and the lights come on then go off.

Here we go, sit back and enjoy this positive Lexus ISF review from EVO in 2007......

Well, have a look at the MOT Inspector's Manual available as a pdf here and you will see the following:

Who,s had or at least driven one of these, this is my mates who is a very busy at the moment and doesn't use it much so I've been given the responsibility of exercising her once a week around the Mendip Hills. Now clearly I was very reluctant to get involved in this as it's a Mercedes not a Lexus and worst of all look at that colour, but seeing a grown 17st man on his knees begging for my help, well hay what are friends for 😏 Ive never driven one before and it's er loud for a start got a sports cat x pipe /cat delete exhaust by the same company that did @Mark G IS -F, infinity Near Bath. Its mapped to 500bhp + 620lbt torque with a lsd. The gearbox is not quite as good as ours it's a 2013 car with the later box, the ride is little more compliant than an IS-F, I have only my 59 plate car to go by the later ones I guess will be different. It's quick it's very quick but the sensation despite the figures is not of it being quicker than ours. I felt the engine did not rev quite so well in the upper reaches, ours rushes to the line. Roads a little greasy to push to far but it was a little more unsettled by mid corner bumps than my IS-F, both cars same mileage 39k. Build quality no, it's not there in my opinion. When the weathers dry again I'll give another update for its next run out............ yee hah 🤣 Sorry about the tools that's me fencing and gate building round his house🔨 Big Rat

My mate Barry who owns it, I've always wondered where all his money comes from ! Big Rat

I think the majority of people are fully aware of this these days. I also think the majority of people, myself included, prefer to buy from Lexus/Mercedes/BMW etc.. because we know we will be getting the correct spec part of a know and consistent quality. Yes, possibly (but definitely not always) more expensive than non-dealer sourced parts but peace of mind is assured and that to me is worth the small premium ...

You do realise, don't you, that Lexus/Toyota, Nissan, Ford etc., etc., don't manufacture parts such as brakes, batteries, exhausts and so on. They just buy them in from the people who do manufacture them and stick on a markup for the badge/branding that says Lexus/Toyota, Ford etc.

I'm on the U turn over parts - these will be fine btw. I want guaranteed quality now so I've used Gates and Blueprint but for brakes I'll stick with Lexus. Particularly as I now own up to loving the car and it's a long-term thing. I'd bite the bullet and source genuine kit - use your gold card or haggle as applicable. The original pads are very high quality with ceramic and have a good life span and performance. You might want to replace the hand brake shoes whilst you are there... Pays your money...takes your choice. Simon

A recent release of DVD already contains updated firmware (for dvd based systems).

Have PMd you, check your messages.

Ive got to say, taking a look at the C63 pic again, it has a drug dealer vibe to it. I think it must be the black rims! Stereotypes galore!

they might at least be correct on this aspect ! There's lots of info on here about gearbox oil changing or not ! Malc

+1 for a Range Rover, though my daily driver is the F, as my 1998 P38 has approx the same fuel economy, when measured in tanks of fuel per mile, Good for shifting kids to/from uni etc though

Shirish Lexus are doing whats commonly known as covering your *rse with *hithouse paper, The serpentine belt they are referring to as one tensioner but rarely needs replacing it is the main tensioner for the belt and is pulled back so the belt can be removed there are tutorials on several sites on the belt replacement the job takes about twenty minutes ,I have one I purchased in the states two years ago waiting to go on . They cost OEM about £50 from Lexus,The bolts on the undertray do rust and tend to snap off which entails a drill out of the broken bolts and a re-tap for new ones, thats where the cost is. Incidently I had my undertray removed last year for suspension work and that as cable ties fastening it now as the guys who did the job had the snapped bolt issue,I am not fussed as the ties do the job and can't be seen As for the rest, use your own judgement but the thing to remember is ,you are always covered for these anomalies that crop up because they know they will and thats why they warn you.

Been meaning to get myself some PoE cameras too. I plan to wire them into my home network, and record video on a PC I always leave running (media server). Fitted some HomeMonitor Y-Cam cameras for my parents. They have WiFi / PoE and dont need a recorder. They stream everything to the cloud and you can view them anytime from your phone (via an app) or online. I'd recommend the dome type cameras, bullet ones i've fitted need dusting weekly to keep them clear from cobwebs! Think little spiders are attracted by the warmth!

That looks like a bit of a weapon!

The Latitude are excellent. I am very pleased with them. I believe the Cross Climate have excellent reviews also but they are still very new... and consequently quite a lot more expensive still. Are you saying that the recommended is 33 front and rear, but you have had yours inflated to 38 front and 42 rear? Or have I misunderstood? Firstly, I believe that in a AWD/4WD vehicle, inflation should be the same for all 4 tyres. Secondly, I would say that your tyres are way over inflated! - You say yourself that you put a lot of importance on tyres, but by increasing the tyre pressure to such an extent you are effectively reducing the surface of little patch of rubber between the car that you are referring to and the road. It won't hurt economy, but it won't do any good in terms of grip... or indeed comfort! - You should check the recommendations in the car's manual and maybe increase the pressure by 1 or 2 PSI but no more (I think the recommended pressure for the RX450h is 32PSI but I am not 100% sure). Note that, should you be involved in an accident as a result of a skid, and an investigation shows that your tyres are grossly inflated, your insurance may not cover you.

In my opinion, The Click4warranty policy is not worth it. For starters, the Lexus policy gives you top level AA cover, whereas the Click one says it will cover up to £100 towards the cost of recovery, with no mention of anything else i.e. home start. They also provide only £30 towards the cost of a hire car while you car is being repaired, while the dealer gave me a new CT free while mine was being fixed. Also, you must consider the following: "Unfortunately, the catalityc converter is not a listed component under the terms of our warranty cover and therefore any claim relating to this part will not be authorised. " (Their spelling mistake). They also don't cover the following: exhaust valves [not burnt valves] cylinder head [not cracks and de-coking or porous heads] timing gears and chains [excluding tensioner] Coil springs, Hydrolastic displacers and hydropneumatic spheres, upper and lower wishbones, ball and swivel joints. (No mention of dampers or anti roll bar bushes, so not covered) map sensor [except injectors and heater plugs] Additional premium required for cover of Air Conditioning and ABS brakes You also have to contribute towards the repair cost depending on the mileage of the car: We calculate the betterment percentage depending on the mileage of your vehicle. - Up to 60,000 miles - zero - Up to 70,000 miles - 10% - Up to 80,000 miles - 20% - Up to 90,000 miles - 30% - Up to 100,000 miles - 40% - Over 100,000 miles - 50% Also, I am assuming the quote you mentioned if for the top claim limit of £7000? However, they then mention: "The maximum amount we will pay in total during the term of the policy is set at the Glass's Guide retail value of your car at the time of claim." Which I take to mean that if your car is worth £7000, then they will only pay a total of £7000 for ALL claims made during the year (or 2 years) the policy runs for. Is this worth the money you would save over the Lexus Extended Warranty?

Have had my '06 RX350SE for three years and love driving it fully loaded across France into the Alps. It has no air suspension which I would avoid like the plague. The 350 has extra acceleration on hand with an overall better fuel economy than the 300 and seems to be pretty much bulletproof. After nine years [40,000 miles] mine had virtually no rust underneath and no water ingress problems at the rear of the cabin. Would definitely buy another subject to a no rust survey and full Lexus history but when lightly loaded it does not provide a luxury ride and I do wish it were more like my LS430.

A GS300 is possibly....no, definitely the very best car I've ever run in my life. Go for a tidy low miles Mk3 and you'll have change from £6K and a car that will run on for years with good economy compared with an RX, possibly better comfort, certainly better road manners, better performance and more excitement behind the wheel if and when you want to use it. Oh....it ought to be reliable too with the main niggles being limited to exhaust and shock absorber replacements, usually within 80 to 90K miles, sometimes sooner. Besides this, they are genuinely bomb proof and the real gems in the Lexus used line up....imho anyway.

I did all the work on my MK2, and as you say, all very do-able. I think some people get the idea that a main dealer will plug your car into a very high tec computer which will be way beyond the scope and understanding of most, for that reason servicing can be a scary DIY proposition. Of course that isn't the case, a reasonable knowledge is all you need, and of course the aforementioned service schedule. If I had the space I would still do my own servicing/maintenance, especially as I enjoy it! However, since I stopped doing my own I can report that all of my knuckles have remained well attached to my fingers!!