Mr Pants!

My wife has a 2002 Honda S2000, and I see the age distinction has gone now so we are looking at £415.... Gutted about the RX400h going up so much, is that because the band we are in has gone up?

How loud is this noise and are you sure grinding is the sound. Mine made what is almost a hissing metal on metal sound not a grinding. I think some modern hard wearing pads are just generally noisier than others and its something you have to accept. I had mine skimmed and it made no difference, having an RX400h there is a certain amount of motor noise as well when I am braking and slowing down.

I always say to the wife, "shall we take the milk float...."

I missed this bit on the post, hence my late reply. When I was buying my RX400H I had an IS250 to trade in, which was nice, but just lacked a bit of room for me. So I went to Audi and BMW and I have to say the Audi sales man was a joke! I won't name names as I am sure it is not allowed on this forum, but I went in and said to him and I quote "I have £40k to spend on a car, I would like to trade my IS250 and want something with a little more room, possibly and A4 or A6 estate and I would like something with a bit of oomf?" He just did not seem interested! I thought to myself, well I guess he has people all day long with £40k to spend!!! BMW was a different experience, the salesman was fantastic, worked at Barons in Farnborough, unfortunately for him the RX400h was the winner, plus the salesman at Lexus Bracknell is a good bloke and always looks after me! So he should as I am on my third Lexus! Point being, I was shocked how bad the Audi rep was, he never called me back despite me forcing all my details on him. I should perhaps visit his sales manager one day with the RX400h all polished up and explain to him what happened. I thought these guys were on commission....?

Fair play then mate. Only just really realised the awesome power to weight ratios of superbikes myself. Just got an R6 (first bike!) - WOW! Sorry. Nice bike mate, yes they are stupid things to own really....

I really don't think you will be dissapointed. I think the main thing is you need to make sure you are buying the car for teh right reasons, I wanted more loading space, comfort for 4 people. I had an IS250 before, really nice, but the loading space and back seat room was terrible, hence the change over, but it had its advantages over the RX, like better looking IMHO and had more feel through the steering wheel. Another point I did not put in, is the handling of the car. Whilst there is not a lot of feel through the steering wheel and it feels wollowy (Spelling?) round corners, it actual corners and sticks to the road very well indeed. It took me a while to find the confidence at first, but the car is remarkably good! Also I did some practice emergency stops in the wet and dry in the test model (as requested by the sales chap to do), on an open road I slammed on the brakes and took avasive action to avoid an imaginary obstical and the car performed extremely well. I was waiting to see if it had the characteristics of a discovery where you feel like you are about to end up on your roof, but it did'nt! I do appreciate a disco is set up for off roading, so much softer shocks, but being a high up vehicle I wanted to make sure it was safe for the road. Its like any car Unity, you can always find faults in them. Overall the RX really has a lot more ticks than crosses.

Hmmm dont think I would get away with that, I have the Fireblade to run as well.... My wife could get a little annoyed....

That really annoys the hell out of me! The government goes on and on about taxing for a greener environment. The car manufacturers come up with new ideas and the government treat it as them using a loop hole, so it slaps tax on it! I am willing to lay money if Lexus made an electric only car that could go a week on one charge with no emissions the goverment would introduce a "tyres on tarmac" tax which means if you car as wheels, it has to pay for the wear and tear to Londons streets! Funny, when I brought the RX400h, I said to the chap I remembered having a very similar conversation when I was buying a diesel about how it was the future, low tax bands, cheap fuel and servicing!

I did not hear about this announcement! So I have three questions perhaps you can help me with: 1. Whats the announcement? 2. Does that mean after 2010 the RX400h does not qualify, regardless of if you claim before or not? 3. What has changed about the RX400h to lose its qualification for the 100% discount, have they now determined its not as wonderful to the environment as they initially thought? I guess if we are going to lose that discount, potentially our road tax could go up....

Hi Unity, I have had an RX400H for about 7months now, over all it is a brilliant car and I am very happy with it. Slightly negative points: -Torque steer can catch you when you are off guard (Now I am used to it, its fine and I catch it every time. Only sometimes happens under hard acceleration) -Noisy brakes (they are, but only when the windows are down, although some of the noise is definitely the elec motors helping to slow the car) -Squeeky centre arm rest in the back seat (Fixed by leaving it down, which I prefer... ) :) -The electric lift boot motor restricts the head room for the rear left passenger a little, being 6'4" I sit on the right if in the back. -on electric drive I have had two padestrians step out in front of me as they could not hear me behind them! (not really a negative, but it could have been if I run them over!) Positive points: -I have a very heavy right foot, love the acceleration and power and still managed to get an average of 27mpg! -Its such a nice car for long journeys with 4 people in it, loads of room and comfort -Excellent loading space -sound system is amazing!!! -looks stylish and cool, already have been a wedding car for a friend! Personally, again with my height, I would definitely get the one with electric steering column adjuster, the one without the adjustment really was not right for me! I think it was the SR model? Not sure.... In terms of the battery going flat, yes there is a possiblity over a 3 week holiday, I have left mine for two weeks without an issue. I guess if you have a garage, leave it on trickle charge if you are away.

Is there a limit to how much you can use this? I put it in B on the motorway and the engine really rev'd when I came off the power, so I clicked it back to D and braked instead. Is there a speed limit you can use it can you damage the car like the effects of putting a manual in 1st gear at 80mph...?

Well I had an IS200, quite some time ago, updated to an IS250 and now drive an RX400h... today I was being followed by an IS200 that was identical to my old one and I have to say, they are still really good looking motors! I miss my IS200... Just thought I would take the time to post it up!

Yeah, I had the same, the dealer talked me through it, windows and sunroof... It is so the windows can locate their stop points...

I had a retro fit system put in by a company in Reading, it was all through Lexus so they sent it off before I picked up the car. Its an Alpine system that the dealer felt was better than the original Lexus system. I have to say IMHO it was a wonderful job the done, they are fitted flush in the head rests. Not only that the wireless headphones are brilliant quality, very impressed. I had the same concerns as you have mentioned here. I looked at a 335 BMW and wanted the rear entertainment system which BMW would not fit and the one they could get fitted by a company was horrible!! It was sort of plastic mounts that sat behind the headrest and was bolted off the back of the seat!

What form must the N.I.P take? It can be :- a) given verbally at the time of the offence, or b ) by a summons being served on the offender within 14 days of commission of the offence, or c) a notice of intended prosecution, specifying the nature of the offence and the time and place where it is alleged to have been committed, must be served on the offender, or the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time of the offence, within 14 days of the offence. These provisions are deemed to have been complied with unless or until the contrary has been proved (ie you will have to raise it). If you have not been given the notice within 14 days (ignoring the day of the offence) then they cannot proceed against you unless an exception applies (see below). Exceptions & Get Outs a) No such notice is required if a full or provisional fixed penalty notice has been given or fixed under the Provisions of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 b ) A notice sent by post must be dispatched so that it would reach the driver within the 14 days within the ordinary course of the post. If this is the case then it will have been deemed to have been served even if it is delivered outside the 14 day period. c) If there is an accident involving the vehicle in question, of which the driver is aware, then the police do not need to provide a Notice of Intended Prosecution. d) Failure to comply is no bar where the police could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained the name and address of the accused in time for service of the summons or notice within the 14 day period, or the accused contributed to such failure. [These are our highlights - might apply for example if you drive a hire car, company car or you were not the registered keeper] e) Service of a notice at the last known address of the accused will suffice for good service. Do you need to respond to a Notice of Intended Prosecution? Under European legislation and now our own Human Rights Act, the answer was thought to be "No". But this loophole now seems to have been closed by the courts

NOIP has to be sent out within 14 days, unless there is a postal strike! Which is just my luck. I would not go down the route of arguing over who was driving now as there is a possible 6point penalty to be had there! I will take it, hey whats 3 points.... Perhaps I will get myself one of those Radar things.

I totally agree with what you are saying, especially about the school bit. I am not trying to say I am innocent, as I am not, I was speeding. The point I am making is I made a mistake I did not flaunt the law and think to myself I know there is a speed limit here, but stuff that I am going to speed. I accelerated on an open motorway with minimum traffic, no road work men and a few cones on the hard shoulder to 75mph, which is a standard motorway speed for me as I am sure my real speed was 70mph and I completely forgot I was still in the average speed limit. So I felt it was a small lack of concentration and a stupid mistake, all humans make mistakes. Now if there were human interaction involved, this could be taken into account, the conditions, the driver, his track record. But no, its just snap, £60, 3 points done... Now if I were speeding past a school, then I deserve every bit of what would be coming to me, no arguments there. I feel there is a distinct difference between passing a school at 50mph and doing 70mph on a 3 lane open stretch of motorway with very little traffic and no road work men. Do you know since all these cameras have come about, near on 9% of the country is now on the verge of a ban!!! I just feel it is a little unfair thats all. Like you say though, I was speeding and I will take it on the chin. If I were a danger to anyone, that remains open to debate!

Agreed.... To be honest it is scary how the government are funding the police. I was a Special for a little under 3 years with the view to go permi one day, give up IT and go out there and make a difference! After what I saw, I decided against it and will stick with the IT industry. You will be seeing a lot more PCSOs with no powers other than basic detaining powers where they are not allowed to use force, less police, more cameras... Its just crazy! Scary as hell in fact.... I just wish they would simplify processes, lower the amount of paper work and put more police on the streets. Funny isn't it, to improve the amount of police on the streets costs the government money and gives a better public service, to add more cameras and lower paid PCSOs makes them money and gives less of a public service.... Wonder what we will see more of over time.? lol

Thanks guys... I always felt when I was doing speed enforcement, I was making a difference, educating people and having common sense in the job I was doing. I assessed the danger the persons driving was to the conditions of the road and if I felt that someone was in excess of the speed limit, I would use the laser to record their speed and act appropriately. Where as a camera does click away at 10% plus 2mph, no questions asked. One thing that we had to get 100% right in court was to "Form the opinion the vehicle was speeding" before we track the speed! We also had to prove that in court that we formed the opinion before we were even allowed to lift the laser gun to our shoulder. This has to be written on the ticket and evidenced. Yet these civilians who sit in the back of a speed camera van, and most are civilians, have exactly the same laser LTi20.20 device, on a tripod with a camera bolted to the side and just sit there clicking away at every driver who comes into sight, processing anything up to 50 cars an hour in some hot spots! You do the maths!! So I argue that where do they form the opinion the vehicle was speeding? On what basis do they feel that there was a genuine reason to record the speed of the vehicles they trap when looking through a small window out of the back of a van. Sorry Keith, but I do feel that it is revenue driven and is not promoting road safety at all. The government have already said that none the funds will be going to the councils any longer, you watch how the camera vans drop off all of a sudden. I feel getting more police out there doing the job I did is promoting road safety, educating drivers and giving us all a safer driving environment. I stopped so many people with no insurance, over the prescribed drink/drive limit, stolen vehicles, laser jammers, vehicles containing stolen goods, illegal tyres, no tax, using mobile phones, driving dangerously, failure to have their vehicles under proper control, you name it, where does a speed camera offer any where near that sort of pro-active policing or road safety?? Like you say though at the end of the day, I will have to take it, I was wrong and should know better. Just feel miffed that it is so black & white..... :(

I think I am going to receive a NOIP in the next 14 days, or more possibly now there is a postal strike on! :( It is rediculous, I drive around in an RX400h, very rarely pass 80mph on the motorways, very careful driver. There I am on a Saturday afternoon, driving off the M25 on to the M3, went through the first set of average cameras on the slip road, doing 45 mph in the 50mph limit, I was chatting to my friend I just picked up from Heathrow about her holiday. Hardly any traffic on the road, no signs of any road work men at all, as I was getting near the end of the road works I started to accelerate and move to the middle lane settled at 75mph and then bang, just realised I was still in the average speed limit as I passed under the second set of cameras! I used to be in the police a while back and did a fair amount of speed enforcement, stopping true road hooligans, youngsters thinking they were on a rally track, business men in big cars doing double the speed limits and totally flaunting the law. Where do us normal, careful drivers fit into that category. It really aggrevates me that someone like myself who is 99% careful, makes a small mistake, a simple mis-judgement or lack of concentration and you are done, without common sense or and human interaction at all. Total revenue driven nonsense! Soap box packed away. Bottom line I was speeding, not a danger to anyone, but I was speeding, so I guess I have to take it on the chin! :(

Where did you get this done, I am very interested in that? Can I also ask how it is docked, is it just a cable you plug into? Or a proper dock?

Yes, just brought a late '06 model and I was told exactly the same thing, higher resolution, Mark Levinson, 11spks. I was also told the ICE is no longer available from Lexus as it is close to £3k to be fitted, however, I had an Alpine system which is supposed to be a lot better than the Lexus one fitted for £1.5k It is nicely done as well!

Yes, just brought a late '06 model and I was told exactly the same thing, higher resolution, Mark Levinson, 11spks. I was also told the ICE is no longer available from Lexus as it is close to £3k to be fitted, however, I had an Alpine system which is supposed to be a lot better than the Lexus one fitted for £1.5k It is nicely done as well!

Nope, no sign of that option..... :(

Ah, that is a relief and yeah you are right about the rear leather seats noise. Mine is all down to the arm rest, up or down it does it. I put it down and wrapped it in a clothe to see if it would stop and it did!