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Widening the geography a great deal, I'm fortunate enough to be able to spend a lot of time in the Middle East and can happily confirm that the 430s are genuinely everywhere. I also see a large number of 460s daily and depending on which country you are in there are quite a few 400s. In Oman in particular, there are so many 400s and 430s its completely jaw-dropping, I'd estimate at least 1 in 10 ratio! Across a lot of the ME, the locals love them and often they will be kept and used for for long journey's/commutes because they are so comfortable and reliable. Even if you have new cars and large 4x4s there is frequently a 400 or 430 kept alongside them for the longer distance journeys or even run of the mill day to day work. In UAE the 430 is nicknamed the "F16" because its the one that often comes behind you in the fast lane and flashes you really quickly to move over. The 400 is known as "The King of the Road". I often get approached to sell my restored gold 400 (The Golden Goddess) over here because they are much loved.

After the huge turnout has been number crunched I went with the consensus and ordered a spare!

AFAIK from other cases I've looked into the problem with this is that they claim admin in dealing with the non-display of the ticket which just happens to be £100. They have precedents that courts have agreed with them (that £100 is a fair amount) and so although you may win in principle (you paid them) as you still broke the signage T&Cs (not displaying a ticket) they still get their £100...

https://futurecrunch.com/goodnews2023/ 66 Good News Stories You Didn't Hear About in 2023.

Forgive the cut and paste. "With many breach of contract claims, establishing legal liability is more straightforward than being able to prove loss." So, you did not display, if so you are liable. However, if you paid and can prove that then please tell me where is the loss? Cut and Paste "Just because you have been the victim of a breach of contract, does that mean you are entitled to breach of contract damages?" "Damages are usually awarded to an injured party for losses suffered as a result of the defaulting party’s actions or non-actions. The purpose of an award of damages for breach of contract is to put the injured party in the position it would have been in had the contract been performed." So, if you can prove you paid did the parking company suffer any loss from you failure to display? Come on Boomers do a Churchill and 'fight them on the Car parks' 😉

More ho ho ho;read recently if you still have any crackers left 😎 A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel after a large chess tournament. Rather than going straight to their rooms, the group stayed together in the lobby discussing the day’s events and their recent victories. After an hour, the manager of the hotel entered the lobby and asked them to disperse. “But why?” they asked. The manager answered, “Because I can’t stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.”

Following RCF's video above,I was parked in the local supermarket car park a few months ago.A guy pulled up near me in a F430,got out and had great difficulty getting the car to lock from his key fob.After a short while he started swearing at it and eventually it locked.As he walked past me,I suggested he learned to swear in Italian and the car may understand him. Some people have no sense of humour as he stomped off in disgust.(He was wearing a Richard Mille watch which,if genuine,was worth more than his car).

Talking of Europe I've been watching this Dutch chap restoring an LS400, very interesting. I recommend his channel to you https://www.youtube.com/@ArnoldsRepairs

No, how it works is you get 3 years manufacturers warranty from new and then it changes to Relax Warranty for each year after that, Relax warranty isn't as comprehensive as manufacturers warranty.

Don't you mean jumping ON something red ............etc

This will probably equate to putting a lit cigarette in the petrol tank..but here goes... I've just read in the Nov. Issue of Motor Sport that the organisers of Extreme E (the all electric off road racing series) are about to start Extreme H,a new hydrogen powered series.They say that it is likely the E (battery) series will just disappear. Is this further evidence of the fact that battery power is the wrong approach?

So I was wondering if anyone has got up close to an LS430 anywhere in Europe? The reason that I am curious is because I've lived on and off in Italy since childhood and done lots of European driving since getting my license 5 years back. In all that time I'm lucky enough to spot an LS430 in the UK for a start, however I have never ever seen one on European soil. Looking at car ads in Italy and some other EU countries they do seem to be out there but in even smaller numbers than over here. Often when I'm abroad I'll see an old barge a few cars ahead and almost think it might be my lucky sighting but it turns out to be an old E class Merc or something like that when I get up close. So has anyone seen any when on their travels abroad? Or any LS series for that matter? Even better do you have pics?

Thanks for the responses people. I was granted another 7 days to settle at the reduced £60, and I've paid it. My heart was telling me I should fight them and pay nothing, but I'd rather just take my lumps and get it over with since the reason why I parked in that ****hole in the first place, was not exactly a happy one (a funeral). For reference, should any of you find yourself in Falkirk...avoid the Callendar Square car park at all costs. 🤬

We need more of this!

not always quite so clear cut ……. where those individuals might have been common directors whatever to other businesses their prior addresses might be on public view …….. might be worth a punt that direction up the swanny 🤔 ….. murky waters often run deep Malc

Yes , we hide behind our cobbles and high hedges .

I bought my 460 from the Lexus dealer in Breda in 2013. It had been the garage demonstrator then the MD's personal transport, so it had been very well looked after. Cars, in general, are in good condition over here - second-hand prices are pretty high. The conditions of the roads has, in my opinion, a lot to do with it. In a recent survey, the roads in Holland and Switzerland were considered to be the best in the world. The Louwman museum in The Hague is really great. I've been there a few times when friends and relatives are visiting. As I said, the 400 on exhibit is the first one sold in Holland.

I could go on, oh do said the crowd, if the penalty is to cover admin, please tell me how. Did the company incur an extra cost that was not already on their payroll to deal with your penalty charge? I doubt it. Indeed, most of it was probably computer generated. The actual cost would have been to cover postage as all other costs were actually already incurred as part of the companies fixed costs. The only variable cost would be postage. On that basis here is £2 and keep the change. NB I am probably going to win The Boring Mens Award for the month with this.

Absolutely brilliant 🤩. Just the other day I was at BP in London and got approached by a Lebanese man calling me "boss" and complimenting the car, wanting to look at it. He told me about his late Father's Merc in Lebanon that the family still keeps locked away. I think he said it was an old E class. Even at Newland's Corner I was approached by a couple of young JDM fanatics who complimented the car and asked me loads of questions about it. Can't go anywhere really 😉 My Dad actually has a gold 430 but it's enjoyed occasionally, rest of the time pampered in the garage. 20 yrs later it still smells like the day we got it. I've always known about the huge love for the LS and Lexus in general in the Middle East and an ophthalmologist from somewhere over there actually told me at an appointment that oftentimes, Lexus are inherited and left as legacies in the family over in UAE. Love the F16 nickname, the engines in these are so utterly brilliant that you just don't realise the speed that you've got to. Best feeling in the world.

Yes if it's a private parking company then it's a purely contractual matter and so either party can offer/accept whatever they want as there is no legal process until the parking company decides to go to the small claims court. I feel the same way as you - I was going to allow my first one to go to the small claims court to make it as difficult as possible for them (given that the additional cost of losing is only some £250 compared with the full £100 they are claiming) but unfortunately other personal issues meant I couldn't put the time needed into it to have any good chance of winning and so in the end chose to settle at the £60 after a few months of back and forth with them.

I would suspect this is probably a "staged" sign, partly redacted for those of a delicate nature.

Not quite that cut and dried. The signage that payment must be made has got to be clear, So in this case there must be enough of it and it must be visible not lurking in the shadows unlit. The lettering must be clear telling you what to do and the conditions as to what happens if you breach their requirements. The signage must be of a certain size. etc etc. If I was he in the situation described I would hop along and take a few pictures indicating the company failed in their obligations to make clear that payment was required. If I felt my case was weak I might even make a low offer of £20 under strict "without Prejudice" to cover their admin costs in full and final settlement. This in itself becomes a hurdle for them in taking it to court because the court may take the view the offer should have been accepted as it is more than the court might award. There all sorts of means of making this so difficult for the parking company that it is in their interests to just drop it. I hear the comments about angst etc for the money involved, but I have to say if I feel I am being wronged it is to me less about money and more about making sure the other party does not win an unjust reward that serves to enable them to repeat it in the future. I think at the next monthly meeting of The Boring Men Society we may even table a project to see how many different means we can come up with to fight a parking Notice Charge.

For that length of trip its worth it for the peace of mind. Not so much for the hassle of a flat, but imagine the grief you'd get from the wife if you got one and didn't have a spare (wheel I mean, not wife).

In my experience it's tough to appeal these things and win. Not impossible, but you have to weigh up the aggro vs £60. As for the 15 days, whenever I've gone over the allotted period and given up on fighting it, I've just ignored the demands for £100 and sent the original £60, and have never heard anything back.

What a fabulous post !!

I’m having same knocking/ banging on full lock same side, although mine is standard suspension from past experience it feels like a cv joint issue which I need to check out, my wheel was physically wobbling on watching while wife pull out of driveway.

I would appeal on their website stating that the letter was received after 15 days to no fault of your own (Christmas holidays, postal backlog etc etc). They should reduce it to the lower amount. At that point just pay it. Parking eye have and will take people to court, sometimes it also ends up on your credit report if not paid and they issue proceedings.

I think I’ve just grown a bigger tank 😉

John personally although it goes against all I stand for especially with " Rip Off Britain " I would pay it, to me its not worth the hassle and aggro, many years ago I had a £30 parking fine become £115 as I contested it and it went to court and judgment was made against me. Then there's the potential issue of a CCJ against you if you just ignore it. Call me old or whatever you like, but if you are the registered keeper then you are sort of liable except you can prove otherwise

Hang on James, its only money? Who cares about trivial things like cars, houses, holidays? You have to go through life and have seen the dark side to realy appreciate the positives. Cars are not part of that. Its about health, children, family safety food nothing else.

True but i can remember my bike rear tyre did not last over 3000 km. Could be me though...

Todays figures are 47.4 (up 0.1) and 42.7 (down 0.5) but still 42 in the car still had range of 21 when I did the top up

Porsches do have a strong appetite for rear tyres.I don't remember any lasting over 10,000 miles.I found a fair number got punctured before they got worn...back to the correlation of purchase price and running cost..only tyres twice normal width are twice as likely to get punctured. Still,I had always wanted one,so saved up and specified it to my exact choice of options.I thought Porsche were very generous when they didn't charge me any extra for deleting the rear badging.......

For my part, I find dash cams with screens annoying. I've got the Lexus Nextbase kit installed with the rear view camera as well. It is dealer installed, and they've fitted the rear camera on the parcel shelf, so the rear shade isn't an issue. I've used black tape to hide the white 'Nextbase' logo on the front of the camera, so it's unnoticeable from the front. It sits right up against the car's centre camera, and doesn't interfere with the passenger's view at all, and doesn't have a flickering screen. If I needed to see footage immediately, then I can use a tablet or a phone to communicate with it and watch or download, not that I ever do! I've put a high endurance 128GB card in it. Every few months I remove the card and reformat it, clearing the autosaved stuff it's saved when the car is switched off and it detects vibration. It just gets on with its job without bothering me, which is what I like. If you're looking for a dashcam, you should make Steve an offer! It's what I'd recommend, but each to their own. : o )

When you are in the area and have some time to spare. Definately worth a visit. Private collection family Louwman original importers of Toyota, Suzuki and many many other brands https://www.louwmanexclusive.nl/en/louwman-museum-2/

Spare wheel essential a bust tyre from a pothole isn’t reinflatable and can’t be fixed and RAC etc cover can’t get you going again with a tube of gunk …… neither when your tyre blowout happens with bad timing and no tyre place open to get anew …. Sunday. In the night. Bank Holiday etc Spare wheel, even a spacesaver essential Malc

I used to drive over much of Europe holidaying in my Ls400 from time to time and been pulled over by traffic police fascinated to “ explore” my car having never seen one before In France Spain and Italy …..specifically last driving holiday there in 2019 maybe 🤔 Malc it’s now rare to see a Ls430 here in the uk too

I just drove a Lexus loaner with a digital rear view mirror. I did not need to adjust the mirror. The view was clear and bright. Looking into replacing the mirror in my 2019 Lexus.

Was very surprised to see an LS400 Mk1/2 in France back in 2019: I certainly can't recall any 430s from my French holidays.

I find the whole RZ story painful to be honest. The above remarks are just unbelievable and makes me think both the Toyota and Lexus models are underdeveloped and brought to market in a rush. The BZ4X seems to be an average car and comes to the bottom of almost every EV statistic. The Lexus, beeing a premium product, should have been one step up but it isnt. Even the introduction of the BZ was a disaster plagued with wheels coming loose, airbag and software recalls. Toyota corp basically ignored the BEV market and still seems to do so. Lots of marketing speak but the reality is they want to produce 250.000 BEVs in 2026 from a total of 6 million cars. The plan is for Lexus to go full BEV and one can only hope they up their game with at least 800v charging and a wltp of 450 miles. Not even sure if the current first generation BEV will be supported/developed further as i would not be surprised they will be replaced in 2026 alltogether.

I agree Paul. For a 2 car household I think the best route is a nice EV like the Lexus UX as the daily driver. Then a hybrid for those times you need to go out of range from home charging. The best of both worlds. I can’t imagine going back to an engine day to day, after 6 plus years of EV driving it’s just a more pleasant experience. Short range EV’s are getting pretty cheap (relatively) now. But for a one car household that need to do long trips it would have to be a PHEV I think, or an EV and hire a car as you say 👍 A Genesis Gv60 / Kia EV6 / Hyundai Ioniq 5, with their 800v charging, would make long trips ok, or the Tesla route with the supercharging network, but as we need two cars the EV and hybrid route works best.

Could possibly be a top suspension bearing, Lexus will only change the complete strut however there is a place I believe in Gloucester who can refurbish them. The level indicator light is always illuminated on my 2010 RX450H showing the current position of the suspension.

Great idea. Let's do this. Happy to support in whatever way possible.

Yes i understand put perhaps all ES300H owners round up from this forum & nominate a lead to send a collective email copying everybody in, raise it as a concern to the Lexus head office to get their attention & request them to do something before going to the press. Failing this surely can get them custom made plates from a reputable garage thats willing to do it. It will work out cheaper in the long run on insurance premium increase & the excess when a claim is submitted, etc

Steering locks are virtually no deterrent to organised crime.

I think electronic security such as Ghost is a better option, many of these steering locks offer little protection as the thief simply cuts through the steering wheel causing even more damage.

I(and a few others here)have viofo cameras which are both excellent quality and reasonably priced.Make sure you get front and rear coverage. Fitting...either an auto electrician,or as I did ,hardwire it in yourself.As Frank Spencer was modelled on me...if I managed it... anybody could.

On my long term ownership 95 Ls400 now at 247500 miles and as sweet as a nut 😇 Mac

I’ve only occasionally stumbled across TV transmissions of E-Races, but I think these two comments neatly summarise the underwhelming nature of E-Racing. I don’t know if this is always the case, but the ones I’ve seen have all been street circuits. The problem there seems to be that the racing is mainly confined to nose-to-tail circulation, punctuated by the occasional collision or off-circuit excursion. All the time the degree of spectator involvement and emotive association appears to be akin to that of an electric lawnmower as they hum around the circuit. Mind you, I’m also losing interest in F1 for similar reasons. These days the place to see really competitive on-track racing is at a Touring Car event. Better still, a Classic Car meet with the heady aroma of Castrol R!

This will be my third SC 👍🏻👍🏻