Ian D

I do have one consolation though. I told my wife we were never going to use them again as I didn't like their attitude. Skip forward a year or 2 and she's now my ex-wife and just because I said not to, she takes her car there for an MoT & gets hit £80 for number plates as those on not have make's name on - serves her right as she ignored my warning as law had just made requirement (for her car, but not all, I think, but I'll be corrected if I'm wrong!). :P ps Nice car, Ormi

"you dont check the spare on a mot.its not part of the mot." I checked - you're right, tester only has to tell presenter. Will **** me sideways. About 4 yrs ago took then car (a Honda) for MoT, tester said that spare was down to limits and had failed test! Cost me a new tyre (went on front, but still had to pay for new one) and a retest fee. I've been done. I feel even worse now. Ian

Went to see my dream IS200 this afternoon, an SE limited edition. 'Mint condition', 'you won't be disappointed', 'just serviced', 'full history', warranted '49,000 miles' were just some of the words from the seller. He's asking a fair price for the car described Did reg check, completely clear but current owner registered in end-Aug, so bit strange for 2 and a bit months ownership. But he assured me on 'phone. Went over there but seller delayed at work by 2 hrs, so sat around drinking coffee and reading paper. Finally got to see car. Seller says some bloke coming down from Birmingham to see it and he has to be off for meeting in 30 mins time - so he's not trying to pressure me then. First check tyres: different types on front axles, spare is frayed so much on inside edge that has worn completely through canvas (yes, it had a big hole in it). Not a good start then. Let's check bodywork..... Had been resprayed front and rear nearside quarters. 'Forgot' to bring service book with him. 'Recent service' turns out to be 20 mths & 10,000 miles ago. Shows me MoT chits - there is a 7 month gap between Mar & Oct this year, and how the h*ll did it get through an MoT with that spare - puts doubt on the car. Claims that actually had car for 6 mths and previous owner 'forgot' to send off docs to DVLA. Alloys kerbed, front discs well-worn & due replacement. Still might be worth a gamble, so I said "2 new tyres, front discs & pads would cost £500, service another £400, so that's £900 of work to put it in condition you described, let alone the respray" and he said "I'm not coming down in price, there's a bloke coming down from Birmingham......" so I said 'It's not the car I thought it was, I'll give it a miss........" Cue one unhappy viewer (5hrs of my time wasted). Cue one unhappy seller. What is it with sellers? Most of us aren't idiots and will check documentation, so why lie? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr :tsktsk: :tsktsk: :tsktsk: Ian

Hello all, :D I've been away for a time, having had to sell my IS300 at the end of last year (long story) but I am at last free to choose my own car. I'm looking at a few IS200s around the 2003 mark. My IS300 had the Navigator fit but I found it frustrating - input by joystick, disc out of date but cheaper to buy a stand-alone sat nav than a new disc. Anyway, my current car is a Vauxhall Zafira which has a multi-function display at the top of the dash. I was intending to take a sat nav such as the TomTom 520 and fit it in the MFD's place and put the MFD in the roof just behind the driver's mirror, following the route taken by several others. This sort of set up interests me as I've had the car broken into by some scroats who smashed a window just to get into the glove box for an old sat nav with security code worth at most £25 (decoded) on eBay. Replacing the window cost me over £100, a great deal of hassle and half the skin on my knuckles. Has anyone done anything like this on an IS200/300? I did a quick search but couldn't find anything on aftermarket fits (for the Zafira, you can get an all-singing all-dancing unit for about £600 fitted that has CD/DVD/satnav/parking camera facility/......) - is there anything like this for an IS200? Now I think about it, anyone fitted a parking camera, parking sensors etc:? Thanks. Ian B)

Don't judge the mechanic too quickly. I have an official manual, and setting the adjusters at the disc iaw the manual gives a lever that is very high when it bites.

B....y cheek though. He's only spent £66 (albeit for 6 months), nothing like the £210 I've had to pay...............

HIDs: Read Dept of Transport note on HIDs Quote: "In summary it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs ...." Of course, what the law says and what you can get away with can be different things. I have enough of a problem with people in loaded cars not adjusting their headlights without adding to the problem with illegally-fitted HIDs (the beam pattern is wrong from a HID in a standard headlamp - a HID headlamp has different grating patterns). Ian

Don't knock it until you've driven one. I've driven several of the more powerful ones (no 1600s please), and they were great fun with a bonnet that seemed to go on for ever and 'hoppy' handling (dontcha love leaf springs) from all but the 2.8i version. One year the 2.8i version was the sports car/hot hatch recommended as the car to buy by all the car mags (around 1986 I think). Ian ps If you don't know what a leaf spring is, look it up - more than 50 years of motoring can't be wrong.

The impact is pretty complex, as there are all sorts of factors involved, and varies with time. Any bets on what inflation is going to do? The BoE base rate isn't the rate that affects mortgages. There are loads of different rates that reflect the cost of borrowing by mortgage lenders. The BoE rate does have an effect, but, most certainly, lowering it by 1.5% doesn't lower the banks' costs of borrowing by 1.5%. Of course, what's good for borrowers is bad for savers, such as pensioners using savings interest to supplement their pensions. Wasn't it cheap lending that got us into this mess in the first place? For me, I'm being shafted on my savings (I have no mortgage as I saw house price falls coming) and my service pension that is fixed (so that inflation screws it). Inflation is going to shoot up, so I'm going to lose out even more in the future........... On a last note, don't be fooled by some of the c**p you hear. For example, the idea that the banks are being bailed out is a bit of a laugh. Gordon Broone is lending the banks money and gets 12% tax-free whilst borrowing at 4-5% from pension funds and the likes. I'll have some of that! Ian ps I work in the insurance industry helping manage funds numbering in the billions, so do speak with some idea pps there's only one solution, emigrate, but not to the US, Europe or Russia!

The prosecution of the law on plates is nothing to do with common-sense, it's all to do with making sure we do as we are told and hitting easy targets. IMO, the fine is harsh. Your plate is easy to read, and if anything is easier to read than the legal version. I was recently fined £30 by a motorbike cop for an illegal size plate on my bike. :tsktsk: The fine annoyed me less than the sanctimonious twaddle I had to listen to while he checked my details and wrote his ticket. Plus, having being burgled 3 times in 10 years and had no interest from the Police (I identified the scroat who nicked my wallet and used my cards, but even with that the Police weren't interested), I was angry that they find it easier to nick a law-abiding motorist than a burglar :tsktsk: . OK, the plate was smaller than that required, but it was perfectly readable in all situations. I have no sympathy with funny fonts, colors etc. I also had grief from my ex-wife when her MOT tester said the spacing was wrong on her/my other car (the gap between the first letter and first number was 1/4" too large!) and this cost £60 and lots of hassle to put right so we could get an MOT. As from next year (not far away) you need to have the maker's name on the plate or you will fail the MOT, so beware. As for HIDs, unless you have a self-levelling system (eg IS300) then they are illegal and dangerous to other road users. I have no sympathy there. Keep you eyes peeled. Ian

Best I saw was a lovely picture of a BMW M3 mirror, lovely write-up about the mirror, with bidding getting over £35 with 3 days to go. I was looking for 3-Series mirrors, so was tempted. Then I saw in small print 'You are bidding on the M10 bolt in the picture'. Wonder what the winning bidder thought of that later............ Ian

All PMs gratefully received. My ex-wife checks her car underside with a mirror every morning.......but she's safe as I'd never risk blowing up my boys by mistake. She'd better watch out for the pressure-activated shotgun cartridge underneath the driver's seat though. One of my lads did build one for a motorbike but we persuaded him it was a bad idea to put it on his own bike as he might forget to flip the arming switch off one day (it was pretty spectacular when we set it off on his test bike) Cheers, Ian

Full spec of Sportcross is pinned on one of the boards - in my view, it is an IS200/IS300 sport with a different body shell (hatch instead of boot).

I spent 20 yrs as an engineer in the RAF, specializing in later years in weapons and explosives - don't annoy me, I know 100 different ways to re-unite you with your creator. Now, I do something a little different. My main job is as an actuary in life insurance determining how much money we need to keep the company solvent and meet all the rules. If you don't know what an actuary is, and most people don't (the remainder regret they do), it's effectively an accountant who's very good at maths and has no personality. There are a few jokes about actuaries. E.g. what does an actuary use for contraception?; how do you spot an extrovert actuary? See below for answers. We actuaries are useful though. I can tell people how long they can expect to live and how many years they can expect to live gibbering in a rest home, or the size of Gordon Brown's pension in multiples of that paid to the average pensioner and how much he takes from every litre of fuel. Bet you regret reading now, eh? I have some other jobs, such as free babysitter for my boys when my ex-wife wants to go out, free business adviser for my ex-wife, bank-rolling my ex-wife in her 5-bed house while I live in a rented flat in an Asylum (honest). I'm thinking of packing it all in, living off benefits and replacing my maintenance payments with unpaid work for my wife (seriously). Ian His personality! He mumbles at the other person's belt not his shoes.

Me, I'm a practical and sensible bloke by outlook, and I just can't understand why so many people are so biassed against Hamilton. Sure, some people including me don't like the guy for perceived arrogance and self-interest in running off to a tax-haven so that I have to pay more in tax. Driving a better car? Look at the constructors championship! Glock deliberately slowed down? He was the fastest out there on slicks, he was behind Hamilton when the latter pitted, have a look at Raikkonen letting Massa through earlier in the season. Massa won more races? Not when you reverse that perverse penalty earlier in the season. For me, the only other driver that comes out well this season is Massa. What a wonderful example of sportsmanship he was yesterday, even in these PR-sanitized days. As for the insults from Spain and Italy that I've seen on websites, why do they hate black people so much? Anyway, well done Lewis and commiserations to David Coulthard, his last race ruined by some prat (again) barging into him.

Congrats. If the posts below can't sort it for you, First try RTM as my mate says, Secondly try letting me know and I'll send a pic from my manual through to an email address (it's too large to load here). Good luck, Ian

Bad luck. Aren't badgers a protected species in order to stop those nasty farmers killing them? Mr Plod will be after you........... Will be expensive if new engine required. Saw engines on eBay (yes!) at £1,000-£1,500 used from Japan (excludes ancillaries), so with fitting in a back-street garage you're looking at around £2,500-3,000. At a Lexus dealer, buying a new IS200 will be cheaper. If you're comprehensively insured, you may be lucky and someone else will pay, although there are normally exclusions to void this sort of damage. Good luck. Ian

As a point of fact, the cold fuel in the morning is right. I was an engineer in the RAF, and cold fuel always allowed us to put more in the aircraft....which would then sit on the ground and slowly discharge fuel out the vent pipes as the wings and fuel warmed up............. ...............and remember the fuss over the F1 team fuel temperatures?........... Cold fuel also performs better. The half-full tank makes sense too (wasn't an issue for aircraft........) as does the fuel rate, but whether or not you want to wait or not or run the risk of the guy behind thumping you, that's personal taste Cheers, Ian

eBay is a great source for updates - less than half the price from the Lexus agent mentioned above (£50 for all-Europe 4 disc set anyone?). However, you must be careful and double check that the disc(s) are the right ones for your car and that they are the latest versions not earlier ones. The only way to do this is to look on your disc (go to unit under boot cover right hand side, take out spare wheel, remove cover on left hand side of unit, ignition on, press button to eject disc, read numbers, replace disc, cover on, wheel back......). The code will be something like 65241 - 04561 and there is a (longer) part number reference too. I think on my version the last of the 10 digits refers to the year, so 04561 might be 2003 and 04565 might be 2007, but other versions may differ. Good luck, Ian

I agree with Ollie. You have to declare any modification - it's not just cost of replacement, it's also risk of theft. Any change that you think improves the car is likely to make a thief think the same, so it's only fair. Just write them a letter telling them what you've done and what you propose doing. Better to face up now than later when you're making a claim......... Ian ps there is a letter on Honest John's page in the Daily Telegraph on this subject (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/caradvice/honestjohn/3254162/Honest-John-towcars-key-cutting-and-insurance-premium-problems.html or www.telegraph.co.uk then search).

Flat Battery symptoms!

Dan, Yep. There are some loony bikers out there. I once got caught out with a smoked visor at night, and had to leave up all the way (in winter!) so that I could see where I was going. Don't see many car drivers doing that. I've got a CBR600RR, lightly modded with a Scorpion exhaust (loud & a few extra bhp), K&N air filter & seat cowl + removal of rear footpegs. Plus some unscheduled customizing from a car driver trying to take me out where the only escape route had gravel sprayed all over the tarmac.....but at least I wasn't going fast. Living in Surrey where they have 20 potholes and sunken manhole covers per mile, I don't get much chance to use it's full performance but it's great when I do. I did think of getting a bigger bike (I've had several 750 & 900 sports bikes in the past) next year, but the CBR is fast enough to scare me s**tless on the SE's roads as it is. If only Lexus did motorbikes! What bikes have you got/had? Ian

Dan, IMO valid comments - but only so far. Additional car tints only in bright conditions - most people don't wear sunglasses in poor visibility, which is when I've had the most trouble from car drivers (although that could be because we've had poor light for most of this year). And, in my experience, people with extra-tinted windows often wear sunglasses too (what's that all about?), at least the **** that tried to T-bone me a week ago did! As for bike visors, I find a smoked visor essential in sunlight otherwise my eyes get washed out (no roof or sun-visor to protect them, no sunglasses to wear and take off easily), I switch between clear and smoked visors depending on the weather and the one with the tints is taking most of the risk of injury and death............ Ian

Guys, I have to take issue here. I ride a motorbike and it's bad enough already with drivers trying to kill me because they just don't see me. Anything illegal that restricts a driver's ability to see me only puts his vanity ahead of my life. I think it's no coincidence that you were pulled over by a motorbike cop. So, please, get rid of the illegal tinting. Ian

Me, I'm a simple man (at least my ex-wife says I'm 50% right), so I get confused by all these electric gremlins. My cigarette lighter isn't working on (and I presume wasn't when I bought) my IS300. Absolutely everything else is fine. I now need it to charge a satnav so I can take it on my bike. I got my multimeter and checked that there is 0 volts at the supplying wires. So I got my manual out and got the fuse box location from it - next to the battery. There aren't many fuses in there and they're all fine. So I scratched my head for a while. I've spent 45 min going through my service manual which tells me just about everything except where the fuse box(es) can be found, but it shows too many fuses for the one box I've seen. So, is there a second fuse box? If so, where is it? Thanks in anticipation. Ian