Red_Panda

Thanks for the input guys. This has been dragging on for a while though (since August really, yes thats right - you have no idea how many complaint letters I have sent these people - Swift.Cover) mainly because the insurance company wanted quotes from the Lexus garages before approving work. They then turn round and say they never received the quotes from the garages, trying to stall me I guess as every time I was being reminded that I do not have to wait for approval from the Insurance company's technician if I used their approved garages instead. The problem i am having is that there is quite a difference between the Insurance company technician's repair estimate and the ones given by the Lexus dealers, and the insurance people are refusing to budge from their estimates saying that the only reason the other estimates are that high is because of the labour charge. I dont want to fork out more money out of principle as I am paying a lot to have the car insured as it is so for them to deny paying out for the repairs saying that its too expensive is just not right, but, by sods law, thats the way it has to be I guess. As for warranty issues, the car was 3 years old in August, so the only warranty still valid is the paint & corrosion, as far as I know. Also I noticed that the paint on the bottom sections on the sides of the car (i.e. the body panels below the doors) is starting to get some serious orange peel syndrome. Is this normal or should I be worried? Can't tell you how much I want to get the car back to normal. Thanks for the help again guys.

Hello, My IS200SE, Strathcaron Blue, is going in for repairs to the driver's side front and rear three-quarter panels. The damage was done at local supermarket car park when some :tsktsk: decided my car would look better with dents and damaged paintwork... Unfortunately I was not present to beat down on the moron that ruined my car and no witnesses came forward. So the insurers have approved the repair but their stipulation is that I have to take it to Heartlands Ford in B24 to get the damaged repaired. They don't have any Lexus/Toyota garages on their 'approved bodyshop' list. Is this wise and should I go ahead with Hearlands Ford or should I dispute it and pay extra out of my own pocket to have it repaired at a Toyota/ Lexus Bodyshop. The insurers did have a word with two different Lexus dealers but they could not agree on the repair estimates, apparently, due to the labour charges involved. Thanks for the advice guys and gals.

Hope no-one here is affected. You may want to pass the message on. Article can be found at whatcar.com Mothercare recalls 17,000 child seats • Seats could have sharp point • Point created in manufacturing process • Travel Tot and Vortex seats affected Mothercare is recalling 17,000 child seats over fears that a sharp point created during the manufacturing process could cause injury. The nationwide chain wants to inspect all Travel Tot and Vortex Travel System seats. Unsold stock is being checked, and anyone that purchased a seat since last September is being asked to bring it back to any Mothercare store for a two-minute check. A sticker on the base of the seat carries a style code above the 'Made in China' description. Style numbers X1319, V3133, X1363/X0715, A1006, S1188, S1190, V2918, W0799 and X0406 are affected by the recall. All other seats sold by Mothercare are unaffected. For more information, call the Mothercare helpline on 08453 304030. Lines are open between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Update: Sent a complaint email/letter to the manager at Lexus Coventry. In response, I received a phone call from them, they apologised and, lo and behold, they are able to have my car serviced much sooner. So why not do this without wasting my time in the first place instead of telling me that I would have to wait for 3 weeks for a service? I just hope that they don't mess me around with the service...

So I rang up Lexus Coventry over two weeks ago (mid september) to book a 30k 4 year service with courtesy car. Spoke to them several times between then and now to confirm that everything was ok. The car is due to go in tomorrow morning at 8am. Guess what happens next? I get a phone call at 7pm today telling me that i will have to reschedule my service because they are behind schedule and haven't finished their servicing of other cars and so it will not be possible for me to have service done. And then they have the cheek to ask me if the 24th October is good enough because other people have booked their cars and that is the earliest date they have available. The 'lady' on the phone then tells me that my car will be booked in for the original service requested of 25k miles... :duh: :tsktsk: Lexus Coventry have certainly got the 'pursuit of perfection' nailed down to a t. :tsktsk: :tsktsk: :tsktsk: Bloody morons. Who gives these people jobs and how can they still be in business???

Congratulations Fidgits and hope it is all you ever hoped it would be! However, there was a two page article in Autocar some months ago about buying a 2nd hand 996 and things to look out for. If I am not wrong the article talked about the most common issue with the engine being a leaking rear crankshaft seal. It went on to mention that it was an engine-out job to replace the worn down seal. The article also mentioned that the cylinder head gaskets can go with the result that water gets into a cylinder so that when you start the engine the liner cracks and the rod bends - a new engine please, 10k a pop. There is no pattern to the engine failures and can happen to low-mileage just as well as high-mileage cars. There are other issues as well, such as with the gearbox sometimes jumping out of 2nd - but this is not a common problem. However, if this does happen it means a new gearbox because apparently Porsche don't replace just the layshaft bearing. Of course I am hoping this is not the case with your baby since you said you have done your research and so I wish you all the reliability that German cars are (were) famous for.

I am a Schumi fan and always have been. I cannot agree with this statement because Schumacher did more than any other world champion has. Senna and Prost had their battles, on and off the track - I still remember Senna decking Irvine...but then the Moron did deserve a bashing. Schumacher was disqualified in 1997 - you don't see him whining about it unlike Senna with his contract bull all the time. What other driver has stayed with a team for 11 years and turned the team's fortunes around? Let's see Villeneuve with BAR - ummm NO. Or Hill with Arrows...ummmm NO AGAIN!!! He arranges charity football matches and does alot of work outside F1. He even gave a tonne ($10 Million) of his own money to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. In fact, his donation surpassed that of any other sportsperson, most sports leagues, many worldwide corporations and even some countries. Schumacher is a special ambassador to UNESCO and has donated US$3 million to the organization. He has funded projects for the construction of a school in Senegal, a clinic in Sarajevo and a centre for street children in Peru. He has even taken the rare step of visiting Sarajevo to see how his funding has benefited child victims of war. For his contribution, he was named a UNESCO Champion For Sport by its Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in 2002. What has Jacques (the A S S) done for the sport? Was he actually missed during his 'off-year'? Or Hill for that matter - opening a BMW dealership and doing some useless tv crap hardly qualifies as beneficial to the sport? Schumacher actually attends FIA meetings and helps raise safety standards - he has become a committed spokesman for road safety, most recently in support of the Make Roads Safe campaign. Compare this to Alonso - who says he is contracted to Renault and he does his press conferences and media obligations and that is enough... Michael Schumacher has won the coveted Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award in 2002 and 2004, for his outstanding performance in the 2001 and 2003 seasons respectively. He joins a select group of sports personalities to win the award - golfer Tiger Woods, cyclist Lance Armstrong and tennis player Roger Federer. In its 7-year history, no other sportsman has been nominated more times than Schumacher, who also received nominations for the 2001, 2003 and 2005 awards. There is more as well but this is not meant to be a thesis on the man. I do not want to step on anyone's toes or get into an argument, but do your research first please. What more do you want him to do with his other responsibilities?

My IS200 SE is 3 years old tomorrow and the standard warranty is going to expire. Got a phone call from the Lexus dealer asking if I was interested in getting an extended warranty. For 1 year - £610 For 2 years - £1110 The extended warranty is the same as the standard warranty offered for the first 3 years but it will NOT cover water ingress, interior trim and corrosion. I can even spread the cost of the extended warranty over 10 months without any interest/additional charges. what do you guys think - worth it or not?

Well just got back from having 4 new SP9000 Lexus' fitted and it was a mere £348 all inclusive at Tyres R Us in Birmingham. The old tyres were off and new ones on in about half an hour. While I was there a Ford Galaxy, Renault Laguna and Ford Transit were also getting new tyres fitted. Excellent service by Andy and the gang. Looking forward to some happy motoring once MOT is out of the way tomorrow morning (fingers crossed).

Is it just me or have the pictures on the guide gone missing. It would be nice to have the pictures back on Mr Morse's post to actually see the steps involved, especially for a modding virgin like me.

Looking at getting new 4 x Dunlop SP9000 Lexus (215/45/R17) fitted before MOT gets done. Was quoted £348 all inclusive (valves, balancing, fitting, disposal of old set and VAT). Is this a good price or am I bending over... They can be found at http://www.tyresrus.co.uk/home.htm Originally checked with Lexus B'ham - £580 :duh:, (and that was with the LOC discount!!), mytyres.co.uk/yourtyres.co.uk couldn't confirm their tyres were the Lexus version, Black Circles was £460. The next best price I could find was etyres.co.uk, quoting £413. What do you guys think? Has anyone used Tyres R Us before and if so how was your experience? If I am the first then I can post my experience on here if its wanted.

Hi all, I am sure that I should have posted this in the wheels and tyre section. However I decided to post my question here instead so that I can get a higher response rate (or so I hope). Thus, I apologise if I am offending anyone. Well it's been 3 years and 30,000 miles and finally the time has come to change the tyres on the Lexus. I am looking to replace them like for like - i.e. with Dunlop SP Sport 9000 Lexus. Problem is I need all 4 replaced and the dealers are quoting ridiculous prices. I can get them much cheaper elsewhere (Blackcircle.com etc). So does anyone know of a reputable place/garage that will fit and balance the tyres for me and perhaps do a geometry as well in the west midlands area. Also has anyone used eventmobiletyres.com and if so how good was the service? I am not sure how reliable a mobile service can be with the balancing etc not having used a mobile service before. And I definitely don't want the alloys to be ruined by some 3rd rate machine when fitting the tyres on. PS: On another note, can anyone recommend a good MOT centre - yes it's time for that too! I have been using Lexus dealers till now to keep from voiding the warranty so I have little knowledge of other garages. Thank you in advance.

The Article can be found below or at http://www.whatcar.com/news-article.aspx?NA=218700. ===================================================================== A What Car? investigation into car servicing costs at 200 UK dealers shows it can be cheaper to employ a barrister or a doctor than a mechanic. The survey reveals that consumers are frequently paying more than £100 per hour for labour at franchised dealers. Hourly rates vary across the country, from £49 for Vauxhall in Scotland to £140 for BMW in London. A locum doctor charging between £350 and £500 per day is cheaper. Even a criminal law junior barrister will charge as little as £30 per hour. What Car? group editor Steve Fowler said: 'Consumers could save hundreds of pounds if they shop around and do their research. Quite simply, dealership labour rates for repair bills are just too high.' What Car? researchers discovered that advances in technology have made previously-simple jobs fiddly and time-consuming, and it's the car owners who are bearing the financial brunt. Replacing a main-beam bulb on an Audi A2 can cost as much as £66. - with the bulb costing just £3.96. 'The What Car? research clearly highlights that there are huge price differences across the country. There are so many options available to consumers; they need to consider franchised, non-franchised dealers, local or not so local. 'One option I will be considering is to book my car in at the cheapest garage, even if I have to travel to it - the savings I can make will pay for a night in a hotel and a decent meal,' said Fowler. Consumers should also be aware that they can use non-franchised dealers and still keep their warranty. To protect the manufacturer warranty the service provider must be VAT-registered and should use manufacturer's parts and follow the recommended schedule of work. ===================================================================== I am in the wrong profession....

Congratulations to you and your wife!

Hi guys, Thanks for the information. So I rang up Lexus B'ham and Lexus Hanley. B'ham quoted, wait for it, £240 while Hanley said £100. Now I am worried...Is the £100 too good to be true? Will it be done properly using appropriate quality products (eg fully synthtetic oil) and without cutting any corners and dodgy service. I have not used Hanley before so if anyone could reassure me that they are reliable and honest folk so that I can sleep better at night. Thanks once again and I am greatly grateful (<_< )

Hello, Can anyone let me know what's the best pricing (i.e. cheapest) I am looking at and where for having this service done? Also let me know if you have had a bad experience and what dealers to avoid. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hello fellow Lexus owners, This is my first post and I apologise in advance if you find it overly long to read and confusing because of the amount of dates/time involved. So here goes, I bought an IS200 SE in December 2004. The car was practically brand new as it had only done 35 miles since it’s registration in May 2003. Anyway, in April 2005, I booked the car in for a Vehicle Safety Report as I was about to embark on a three week driving holiday and wanted to make sure that everything was ok with the car. Unfortunately, it turned out that the car had not had its first service, which should have been carried out in May 2004 (i.e. before I bought it) and I was told by the customer service representative that I was in danger of having the warranty on the car voided. Suffice to say that I was not happy and a rather animated discussion ensued with me actually having to explain to the customer service representative (at the same dealership where I bought the car) that I was not in possession and ownership of the car in May 2004 and therefore it was their responsibility to have done that service. Eventually the car was booked in for service, for free, and because the car was technically almost two years old a combined minor (1st year/10,000 miles) service and major (2nd year/20,000 mile) service was done. The car had actually done 7,000 miles at the time. At present, the car has covered 17,000 miles. I was wondering what service I should have carried out. If I am to follow the service book then it will be a minor (10,000mile) service. If I follow the actual mileage of the car then I should have a major (20,000 mile) service done. What do you think of the situation and what service would you recommend that the dealer should carry out? Should I just continue using the car and then book it for a 20,000 miles service when it has actually done 20,000 miles or should I just book it in for a minor service as it has covered 10,000 miles since its last service (which was a major 20,000 mile service)? Once again I would like to apologise for the tedious length of the post. Thank you in advance for your kind attention and opinions.