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A stolen recovered car could be a long term nightmare. My last stolen car was professionally fixed, but only six months later, valves met pistons and bang. I have no doubt that the car (which was immaculate prior to being stolen) was abused to within an inch of its life. I standby the fact - stolen - I don’t want it back. Now, if you could have a concealed camera that pinged back images of the scum stealing it..... now that would be great!

Whilst at Lexus Cheltenham yesterday got chatting with another customer who is a long term serial Ls buyer. All his cars are adapted for him by Lexus as he’s disabled, and they are going to do the same for him with a new GsF. So once the last 2 are gone presumably that’s it, i saw that the 66 Black Gsf on the forecourt has sold and finally someone has put a deposit on my old IsF. Big Rat

Your inability to find this silly button does not make you blind or stupid. It's very hard to access. You might want to put the seat all the way back so you can get properly inverted with your head right in the footwell. If you can manage to look up from there, it's on the underside of the dash.

I would agree that seats are an area where the GS (in Premier spec) reigns supreme. Will the ES Premier have 18-way adjustable seats? Will they be clad in lovely soft leather? Will there be a passenger seat electric ottoman? Surely these are far more important questions than mere trifles like engine size and performance! As an aside, I tried a new Prius Plug In yesterday. The ride quality was notably better than my GS - proper magic carpet stuff, without any of the roly-poly that blighted Priuses of old. If Lexus took that car, Lexusised the body but left it on 15" wheels, stuffed it full of soundproofing and gave it the full Premier luxury interior treatment to the quality of the current GS, I'd buy one in an instant. Of course, I'd be the only one - at least, perhaps, until others actually drove it and discovered the joy of abandoning stupid oversized wheels whilst relaxing into a driving style that doesn't involve thrashing as quickly as possible to the end of the next tailback.

My wife’s RX450 had a slight leak on a rear damper a few years back. This was only known to us when, upon collecting the car from a normal service, we were told that both rear dampers had been replaced free of charge. It’s that level of service that means she’ll buy another RX from the same dealer when she fancies a different colour one! She’s not interested in even sampling any other manufacturers. On an RCF as new as yours, I shouldn’t imagine you’ll have any trouble getting it sorted.

Win At last

Perhaps we could discuss this vehicle next...........it could take a while..... Big Rat

Years ago, when I sold the last in a series of fast cars in order to buy a nicer house, I actually bought a beige cardigan to wear ironically as a reminder of what I'd given up. I promised myself that within 5 years I'd be back in a serious motor. 12 years on, there's still no sign of anything 'interesting' on my drive, and I'm actually happy with that. I don't want the frustration of owning a powerful car and being constantly unable to enjoy its potential. The roads are just too full of 35-driving morons and angry people who want to shout at you just for executing a perfectly safe overtake. In my younger days I honestly never thought I'd lose my love for 'spirited' driving, but clearly I have. I still have the cardigan, and regularly wear it around the house. It's comfy, easy to get into and inoffensive to look at. Which is just how I like my cars, these days.

I couldn't agree more @Ten Ninety The obsession with 'power' and rapid acceleration leaves me cold, especially when almost every modern car is entirely acceptable in this regard. Part of the joy for me on any journey is making things as stress free as possible. Why rush when you can waft?

That’s what I use. It’s my jukebox and a tracker. You have to make sure you use the phone every so often. If you don’t some companies will cancel the SIM card after about six months of inactivity.

I agree fully with both @DAW and @Flytvr you’ve only got to watch any of the tv cop chase type programs to see how much abuse the cars get not worth getting it back, better they torch it after IMO. In fact there is an isF come on sale very recently on Autotrader that is a stolen recovered ....... Big Rat

Have to say I feel exactly the same. Its bad enough having your pride & joy taken in the first place. Wouldn’t want the added issues of having a car on record as being stolen from a resale & devaluation perspective. Still if you do want it recovered it’s certainly good value in comparison with the usual alternatives. A friend suggested something potentially even cheaper if you happen to have an old iPhone. Buy a pay as u go SIM card & use find the iPhone App - just need to hide it under a seat & conceal the power supply.

No, they could invest a few quid in one of these Kespon rollers that obliterates text with one swipe. I got one a couple of weeks ago and it works brilliantly. Quick and simple, it would fulfil the requirements of GDPR while still keeping service records intact.

Go on then... my 2p... I've owned three 430's both pre facelift and post, and a 460... my view, you need to drive them to make your own mind up... IMHO The 430 is very much the younger brother of the excellent 400, you can tell Lexus bought 10 Mercedes S class cars, ripped them apart and then built the 400... to me it drives like an S class and I've had three of them as well, I like the S class and I like the 400, and the 430.... Someone at Lexus has been out driving a BMW though...!!! to me the 460 is like a 7 series and I hate BMW's it feels like it is always trying to get away from you, the 430 feels like an old boat to drive, it will waft around all day long but if you want to give it the beans it picks up it's skirt and will show most things a clean pair of heels... the 460 constantly wants to be in front of the next car, it doesn't waft, it goes balls out after everything, it's like taking an excited puppy for a walk, always pulling on the lead.... To me it was no good, the technology was impressive but the build quality was yet another step down from the 430 (which is a step down from the 400) It is the last good looking Lexus though... For me the 430 facelift with an extra gear, reversing camera and bluetooth is the ultimate Lexus, a big old ugly bus that does just what I want it to do and is ignored by 99% of other drivers... What a shame they have made the new crop of Lexi look like they were designed by Zorro, hardly the understated vehicle Lexus owners were used to... Back to an S class next then...!!

Yes, but those articles won't have your unique translation of the principles.

Well I just spent a happy hour or 2 fitting a cheap camera. Easy job and it works a treat. Thanks for letting us know how to do this.

Hi all Well decided to give her a good wash and brush up pictures below the wright up. First i used my last off Meguires car shampoo after giving her the once over with water nice bucket off soapy water then towered her down only the best towel for her mind you, next decided to give her a claying as i had half a clay bar left so thought i might as well use it up, to be honest the paint was in good condition not like the usual sand paper effect that i have had previously, last owner must have looked after her so**s law says you will run out off the lubricant to use the clay bar so used water as i understand this is ok to use. Next had to use my Autoglym car shampoo to give her a wash again and rinsed with water and dried her with the towel left to dry and had a sit down and had my coffee Once dried used Autoglym super resin polish to polish her after that used the sealant which takes up to a hour before buffing off which while it was drying i used the spare time to pump up the tyres and use Autoglym rubber surface restorer stuff polish the wheels and polish the glass and top up the washer fluid When ready i buffed the car to a lovely shine looks like a tanner up a sweeps behind. Now knackered and need a sit down before dinner. See what you think. 65mike

I did mine today prior to giving it a wash. My wife won't let me put the cleaner round indoors, as she says I don't do it properly. What is the point of moving furniture ?, I ask .

@Big Rat do you know if any of those 10th anniversary models made it into the UK?

Think this is one of those threads where one person digs there heels in, bit like defending an indefensible position.......so all I can say further is........ Big Rat

All cars will squat under acceleration. Even AWD ones will do it. The fact that they do is irrelevant though. It doesn't change the fact that it (squatting) doesn't push a FWD car forwards. If anything it hinders performance since it's taking potential grip and traction away from the driven wheels.

The only things pertinent to the GDPR are personal names and addresses, not when a car had its last oil change or its VIN or licence plate. Any dealer trying to say otherwise needs to be put right. Even if the service records do contain such details they only have to obliterate them but leave the rest of the records intact.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5830347/amp/Son-buries-father-brand-new-66-000-BMW-Nigeria.html

The facelift just has a few more gadgets, I like the front lights more but think they should have left the shape of the rear lights alone... The reversing camera is worthwhile and the bluetooth works very well, the quality is better than any Parrot I have ever had... it's got a bit more wood if you like that.... It's slightly faster because of the extra gear and does a few more MPG... Shame they added an inch to the wheel diameter as that makes it less comfortable but I think the facelifted wheels look better... All in all I'm happy to pay the bit extra for the facelift. It's just my opinion, I like lazy cars and giving the 460 100bhp more than the 430 and a couple of extra gears has taken it too far away from Its roots.... an LS that is closer to a BMW than a Mercedes... I'm not having a go at it, it does what it does very well.... Drive a 400 or 430 blindfolded and you could be driving a Mercedes... they all waft.... drive a 460 blindfolded and it's far more like a BMW..... BMW call it the ultimate driving machine.... personally I find them annoying to drive as you can't relax, they constantly need input from the driver... I wanted to like it, it wasn't until returning home after many 100's of miles one weekend that my wife made the comment.... "You don't like this car do you..?" She could tell by the way I was driving that it was annoying me, I knew something was wrong but I liked the car so much it took me a while to realise what the problem was.... I'm sure there are thousands out there who will like it as there are who like BMW's, I was just trying to share my own experience.

This topic has gone all beige cardigan

Might be coating failure. Mine has started doing the same thing that Chris had on his car. It certainly wasn't there 1k miles ago as I actively looked for it. But since then, the coating is starting to come off in the exact same place as Chris. Seems to be a problem with the new leather that Lexus is using. Appears much softer than the one I had in my 3RX but the coating is a lot more fragile as well.

Does that mean we get tea, biscuits, a wash, and a courtesy car? John

Reminds me of Cricket st Thomas. Ours is on hols too. Got off the ferry in Santander yesterday. Sat nav was faultless in getting to our apartment in the Picos de Europa. Using coordinates that i’d converted from decimal to degrees/mins and seconds via a converter. Happy holidays everyone!

Lovely stuff

You must be very slim!

Here are some examples of mine. Cat Back and intake pipe only. Full details in the description on YouTube.

If my car is stolen, I never want to see it again. I’ve had cars stolen in the past - and I really wish they were never recovered.

I've a GS premier and can safely say it's the best car I've owned. I really look forward to driving it especially on long journeys. Always a pleasure to be in and always get out feeling relaxed.

I only got my RX a few weeks ago after running an IS since last August. If the VED is an issue then either go for an RX300 (but watch out for 23/03/06 on ones, they're £555 per year too) or a 400h. Here I'm assuming the RX450h is too pricey. RX300 is a traditional V6 with a regular auto. RX400h is a V6 with CVT and obviously a hybrid. I was told the RX300 could be a little sluggish and thirsty but the RX400h went like stink for a bus and the hybrid system took the edge off the poor fuel economy. I wouldn't have minded either because I don't regularly lap the Nurburgring and how a car makes me feel is more important to me than how often I have to stop at a petrol station. As it turned out I could stretch to a low mileage 400h and I couldn't find a bad thing to be said about the hybrid system's reliability. As was pointed out to me when I asked, if it's got air suspension it will have up and down buttons in between the heated seat controls and the ciggy lighter. No buttons, no air suspension. I never gave a thought to the CVT because I've driven plenty of CVTs and know there's nothing wrong with them. Lexus, Toyota and Subaru really would be struggling if everyone believed what a motoring journalist thought after spending an extremely thorough 15 minutes with a car. And unfortunately the internet being the internet this nonsense is repeated as fact on every car forum out there. Ever driven an Outback with the 2.5i and Lineartronic CVT? It's a lovely thing. I'm no expert on Lexus. I've been here less than a year. I'm sure someone else will chip in if I've got any of that wrong.

Ooooops. I loved mine too. It was strata silver I think (the dark metallic grey) with superb tan leather interior. It was the 1st car I did a hifi installation. It was also the 1st of 3 800 series Rovers. The other 2 were vitesses 2.7 V6 and then the 2.0 turbo. Loved all 3 of them. Oh very happy years.

Beautiful cars, loved every minute of owning it. My wife once had an altercation with a lamp post whilst reversing off her sister's driveway in it. It needed a new door anyway so I thought I'd have a bit of fun and drove it around like this for about a month before getting it sorted:

This has made for very funny lunch time reading. Maybe Noby you can explain the principles of 'inertia' to us uneducated ones.

The paint colour is fantastic (what a good choice) and fairly easy to keep clean. I love it! The sparkle when the sun shines is superb!!! Not a fan of the side steps as you know, but I look forward to the pics when you get delivery. Well done Ed.

The new link came in the post yesterday and today I had another lunch break at work rolling around under the car, to the amusement of my work colleagues. Once I've finished all the bits and bobs that need doing, maybe I'll do a post with pictures of all the mods and work done.

I'd tend to agree with the Lexus chap... I'm an engineer and do my own repairs. There were lots of problems with European cars and water pumps, but Toyota/Lexus are a different quality. Now it seems mechanics use this argument as a lazy response, without really thinking it through. The last change I did (Avensis), I was so impressed by the quality of the running gear.. I changed the idlers as I had them in my blueprint kit, but didn't bother with the water pump, everything was in great condition, no leaks, no rumbles, smooth and no play. My rationale was, if the original parts are better quality, and not worn, then replacing with sub-standard parts (by Toyota standard) is actually introducing a potential problem, as opposed to any preventative maintenance. to be honest, I was so impressed by my old Avensis, I refuse to buy Euro again .. opting for Lexus for the comfort!

Fair enough on your comments above Robert. I didn't realise that you're an engineer. I used to love working on my own car but I can't do it anymore now due to a back injury at work that was bad enough to force me into medical retirement. I can't confirm the torque setting off the top of my head but here's a link to a pdf version of the RX300 workshop manual. Just be sure to do as it says in the README file regarding how to open it and you should be good to go.

I won't say he's talking BS but... First of all, if you took it into a Lexus dealer for a timing belt change then that is all they would do. They wouldn't change the idlers, pulleys or water pump unless you specifically told them to do those items as well. The main reason why people change all those items at once is cost. It's a long job and the vast majority of the cost is the labour charge. Now then, the water pump and all those other parts live in the same area as the cam belt. If you asked them to change the cam belt, we'll say that the job costs £300 as an example. If you ask them to change the water pump at the same time, it may add on, say, £50 to the job, making it £350 in total. However, if you only have the belt changed and it costs you £300, if your water pump starts leaking 6 months later, 90 percent of the work to do the belt will have to be done again to get to the water pump, so instead of just an extra £50, you'll end up with another bill of more than £300 - which is why people have them done at the same time. Also, belts deteriorate with time, not just mileage. It may look perfect to the naked eye or to you and me, but there will be microscopic changes to that belt and it's just not worth taking the risk of it failing. Preventative maintenance is the operative phrase. Extreme example, but I remember a milkman who thought his timing belt looked perfect so he went beyond the recommended time to change it and paid dearly for that mistake. I can't remember the exact ins and outs but the van spent a lot of time idling while he was out of it actually delivering the milk. The odometer said something like 70k miles or whatever but the belt had actually covered the equivalent of more than 100k or something, due to all the time it spent with the engine idling but no wheels turning, so no mileage clocking up. Our 2005 RX300 had a new cambelt, idlers, pulleys, water pump and 10 litres of Toyota Super Long Life Pink Coolant for about £460 at a local independent place at about 80,000 miles and 11 years old. I just wouldn't risk it.

With all my daily driver cars I have worked out the mpg! My Summer toy is a BMW Z4 3.0i and I'm not bothered what mpg I get out of it but I still check it after every fill up, it can also sometimes warn you of an issue with the car.

Easy answer - no. Longer answer - search the forum because I know it's been covered before but for the life of me, now that I want it, I can't find it myself. Someone officially asked Lexus UK that very question and the reply was along the lines of no, because the headlight beams are flat and do not kick up to the left, so you won't dazzle oncoming drivers. Whoever it was actually scanned the Lexus reply letter and posted it somewhere on here for us all to see and print out to take with you if you want but like I said, I can't find it now.

Don't trust fuel gauges especially in hot weather get a taxi home and get your wallet or borrow a tenner

Check the upper control arms especially the ball joint ,way to check is jack car weight off the front wheel and place a tyre lever or bar at the bottom outside edge and push upwards at the same time clasp the ball joint ,if it is suspect you will feel it moving about.

Get it done! Really simple, and the sense of satisfaction will be huge. 😎

Unless your really ham fisted and break connectors there's not really a great deal that can go wrong. Hardest part is getting your head and hands in positions to get to the throttle pedal connector.

You make it sound so simple! LOL.... May have to give it a go!