Mike_B

It used to be a lot busier around here, it's gone very quiet in the last year or so. There was a bit of a bustup between a few long term members. That said, the more technical questions usually get answered quite quickly, or at least responded to, it's the more social forums that have gone a bit quiet. Things are picking up a bit more now, though.

Unlikely, given that the GS430 is a V8 while the GS450h is a V6!

Yes, it definitely needs the cambelt done. The interval is 100k or 10 years, which is actually quite long. Most cars specify a new cambelt every 4 or 5 years. Cambelts don't have 'problems' - they are fine until they snap, and when they snap, you need £000s of work done to fix it... You could do worse than Albin B Motors, though they are in South London which is further away than you asked. I had a cambelt service done there in Feb which cost something like £700, though that did include some other work. A few people on here recommend them and I've used them happily for about 4 years now.

Chaps, Yesterday I discovered that the nearside rear window of my trusty GS430 no longer appears to work... :-( It doesn't operate from either the drivers door or it's own switch, and if I grip it firmly from both sides and push the switch, I can't feel it jolt or anything. I therefore reckon the motor itself has probably gone, as if it was just stuck I think I'd probably feel it 'trying'. Nuts... Before I take it to my trusted man to let him have a look, I thought I'd better ask the gurus on here first. I did wonder if the windows were separately fused, as that would be a nice cheap fix? And if it is the motor, does anyone have any idea what sort of price might it cost to have it replaced? Cheers, Mike

Yes I voted - Conservative. I have a feeling a lot of people on here would vote that way... I do wonder why I bothered though, for the simple reason that my local MP has a majority of over 12,000 from last time, and that is only likely to go up as he is one of the few who didn't get caught up in the expenses scandal, and is generally pretty well regarded in a solid Tory seat. Whilst I would always like to see a solid Tory majority, I can't help but feel that for a large majority of people in this country voting is a bit of a waste of time due to the way our voting system works.

Yes, I did. And they worked, in the ice and snow, extremely well. Now I have the Goodyear Eagle F1s back on again. Next question?

Depends what you want from your phone. I use the more 'serious' apps quite often - National Rail is quite good for the 'get home' button, it knows where you are and tells you what trains you need to get home. Also I like being able to read the newspapers on it - the Independent app is quite good as it doesn't rely on a constant network connection but downloads the stories in one hit. Signal coverage on my train lines is generally poor as there are a lot of tunnels and cuttings. The iPod is good too, and means I only need carry a single device. The other thing I use is the maps function, I can arrange to meet friends at a pub or somewhere unknown to me, and it will practically walk me to the front door - very handy! I would say, however, that if you just make calls and send texts, it's probably not the phone for you. I've had my 3GS since a week after they came out (ie July 09), and when renewal time comes around the only thing I'll be changing is the tariff.

Problem is it's a pretty rare car - not many of them sold over here. For $150 I'd be very, very tempted to get one in from the US.

My Dad saw the camera car going past, cos he was working in the garden. He saw it head down a cul-de-sac, so waited at the front gate for it to come back. And sure enough, he's there propping up the gatepost, face blurred but clearly visible!!

It's perfectly legal to do it, but it is what is known as 'business use' for the purposes of insurance - make sure yours has this. It is not 'commuting', what you are describing is 'business travel'. The mere fact it occurs during paid time as part of your working day is enough to determine that usage category on it's own. You must tell your insurance company, and they will expect an extra premium although this is unlikely to be very expensive. Mine is about £20 a year more to include class 1 business on the Lex, and roughly the same on my motorbike premiums. You will only need class 1 unless you regularly carry equipment on behalf of the company, eg goods delivery to customers. You should also make sure your company pays you a mileage allowance (maximum 40p a mile for up to 10,000 miles a year), and if they won't pay you that much, talk to HMRC about reclaiming the difference from them, though that will involve paperwork...

I deliberately span the back round in the work car park the other day - I usually park in the same spot each day, which means a 180 degree turn in the car park shortly after driving in. So I switched off the VSC, turned the wheel and gave the throttle a good prod. It came around just a touch more than the 180 I was after, but I was very pleased with myself as the positioning was otherwise pretty good! That was in the snow though, not sure I'd be doing it quite so easily in the dry... The car park was also almost empty!

I think certain countries mandate the carrying of spare bulbs, warning triangle etc, so it would be a good idea to get some of those. Also I think Switzerland might have certain rules on the use of winter tyres but that might only apply in the higher altitude areas. You will also need GB stickers if your number plate doesn't have them, and should consider the use of headlight converters. Otherwise it's just the usual stuff - check tyre tread and pressures, coolant, put properly concentrated screenwash in so it doesn't freeze in colder areas. These cars are reliable, and rolling down a motorway for a day or two is nothing to them.

It will help - enormously. I will quite happily drive my GS430 around now in the ice and snow, whereas before the winter tyres went on it was almost impossible to drive even in a straight line at 15 mph, so I used to use my girlfriend's Fiesta to get about. I should think the Scoobie will be unstoppable unless the snow is drifting 3 foot deep!!

Will it be RWD or FWD? If FWD then it really does look suspiciously similar to an Auris... I hope they don't go down the route of rebadging Toyotas over here. In the US there are now two or three Lexus models which are essentially identical to Toyota equivalents for sale alongside them. A Lexus ES is basically the same as a Camry, the GX is the same as a LandCruiser etc. Up till now the cars sold here are unique to the Lexus brand. It will be hard to keep saying that Lexus is what you get when the world's biggest car company really tries to do something well, if the cars are available in a British Leyland-style array of different badges on the same vehicles.

There is an old saying which I think, at times like this, it can be helpful to remember: "Never attribute to malice, that which can easily be attributed to incompetence" The people who maintain this site do so in their own time. Occasionally things go wrong. Throwing all the toys out the pram because either 1) someone f*cked up, and/or 2) there is a bug in the forum's code, doesn't solve anything. Perhaps the best course of action if you are having problems with the site would have been to drop a mail to Bazza or whoever and advise what you are seeing?

Easy enough, there is a date code on the tyres: True, but that's not much use if you buy them online and they've been shipped to a dealer ready for you to drop by for fitting.

AFAIK the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 has been out of manufacture for a while now, so it might be old stock they are trying to get rid of. They were replaced by the Eagle F1 Asymmetric model. I have the GS-D3 ones on my car and they are great tyres though, so if you can ascertain that they've not been sitting on a shelf for 2 or 3 years, they would be a fine choice.

I think it depends what you're picking up. When I've been doing some DIY and I'm picking up plaster dust, it clogs up and the suction drops off very quickly - just one session of cleaning up can do it. It's understandable that it happens, but the annoying thing is that they specifically advertise that it *never* loses suction - which it does. It's probably fair to say that when using it only for normal household dirt, it would take quite some time for it to clog up to that extent.

It is probably fair to say that new budget tyres and going to be better than worn-out 'good' tyres - so given the circumstances it would be best to change ASAP to anything. Actually, to be fair I have some winter tyres on mine at the moment made by GT Radial, who aren't really top of the heap. They function adequately enough in the dry - but in the cold, snow and ice they are flippin' marvellous...

Certainly when you read the adverts and they say 'never loses suction' - that is an outright lie, because they do lose suction. However they are quite easy to clean - basically take it outside to the bin and gently bash it and the dust flies off. As to how often it needs doing, well that depends what you're picking up with it!

No, they're not, and yes I have (was forced to on a company car being sold a week or two later). The tyres are the one and only thing sticking you car to the road, and therefore the one and only thing keeping you alive when you go round a fast bend. Buy the best ones you can afford!

If you've not had a Dyson before, be aware that they are very heavy machines. I don't have a problem using it, but my poor girlfriend really can't manage it. We still have it, but also bought a basic lightweight Vax cleaner and only use the Dyson periodically - there is no doubt it does a good job at picking up the dirt though, so it gets used every so often for a 'deep clean'.

9 times out of 10 when a Windows program has the date set to the wrong format, it's because the OS itself has the regional settings wrong. Try going into Control Panel, Regional Options and check every tab and button in there. Something is probably set to US settings, instead of UK.

Seeing as Seagram was asking about it more than 3 years ago, I'd say he's probably had it done now mate!! Or at least decided not to... :P

I had a brand-new Toyota Avensis back in 2004. When I received it the mats weren't available, so I had no problem. A week later I took it back to the dealer as the mats had arrived, drove it 50 yards round the corner and lifted off the throttle for a junction. Except I didn't lift off, the accelerator was stuck hard to the floor by the mat. :megaangry: I wasn't impressed.