Teatowel

That's a cracking post - thanks for your help mate :)

Can't advise much on GAP insurance, sorry ;) Supaguard, while there is nothing wrong with it, costs about £20 on ebay, and goes on like a polish. It is NOT worth the money for the dealer to do it, as they make a huuuuuuuuge mark up on it, offsetting all the discounts you have bargained for. Don't got for it! Lots of decent towbars out there, again, Lexus will charge over £1k for their own ones, which is ridiculous, and they also require the car for a full day (or so the two nearest dealers to me say). Somewhere like Towbars UK will do one for £350 ish including fltting, which takes about 90 mins. HTH!

Anecdotally, both Nissan and Honda charge similar amounts and take a week or two to issue new keys....

Hi people I am slightly confused about the towing capacity of my Mk2 RX300 (2003 model). According to the instruction manual, it has a towing capacity of 1500kg. However, when I went to one of the caravan websites (not a place I usually go, I hasten to add!) people there swore blind that it was safe to tow 2000kg. I have previously towed approximately 1900 - 2000kg without any problems. I thought it was safe, and the trailer guy did too. Essentially the trailer I have access to is about 450kg, and the car I want to put on it is about 1550kg. I did this for about 500 miles without issue. Is this really a bad idea? Can anyone clarify? Cheers :)

Either mate. In the first instance, pads/discs/fluid and lines might be enough, but if there is an easy enough upgrade, along with better pads/discs, then that'd be better in the long run. This is a car I'm going to keep till it dies :)

.. although I didn't lap the ring whilst towing the car :D I meant to post this up back in October, but was trying to get a photo of it first, but cannot find one :( I took the RX on it's first cross European trip in October. My usual ring car (an E36 M3 with a few bells n whistles ;)) was left out there due to a mechanical problem, so I got a tow bar fitted, hired a trailer and then hammered (legally ;)) across Europe. My first port of call regarding the tow bar was a Lexus dealer, as I know nothing about them, I thought it would be a good start. I phoned the two nearest dealers and they both gave me the same price - £1050, with a 24 hour delay to get the car in, and they would need the car for a full day. I phoned a mate and asked if this was really how much they cost, and he nearly had a stroke. A bit of searching round on the internet found me a place near Northampton who only needed a few hours to get the right tow bar in, saw me that afternoon and did the job in two hours for £330 fully fitted (looks smart too!). Then on to a trailer company in Micheldever who were kind enough to hire me a car trailer (brand new!) for a week for £140. They were also good enough to wait 45 mins after their closing time to allow me to get down there! The trip to Nurburg was dull and comfortable, towing an empty trailer. Having picked up the car the following day, being near the end of October, it was a rare sunny day and the ring was remarkably quiet. Having done over 150 laps of the ring up to that point last year (best lap on a t/f day 8:30 BTG), I thought ... hmmm .... I wonder what the RX could do round there? So, I gave it a go :D I did a total of five laps, unofficially timing the last one at 12 mins 10 seconds :D That doesn't sound like a great time, because it isn't, and, to state the obvious, a standard RX300 does not make a great track car :) It was huugely entertaining in an "I'm going to die" kind of way, corners like the Karrusell were remarkably smooth! I managed to get up to 125mph before Schwedenkreuz, just the lack of cornering ability! The RX made an excellent tow car on the way back. Not masses of torque - it isn't a Touareg V10, but has plenty enough to cross the continent carrying a load at a reasonable pace. Fuel consumption took a hammering - somewhere between 12 and 17 mpg :o Since then I've been across Europe a couple of times in the RX without a load, and it makes for the most stress free journey. On the derestricted bits of the autobahn, it accelerated happily up to 115mph before petering out - I saw 125mph on the speedo (120 on the GPS) when the needle barely moved higher. So all in all, 13k miles into ownership (in 7 months!), I am as pleased as punch :D What an all round car, for £5k :) Top tip - not a great car to lap the ring in :) BTW, if anyone can help me with better braking HERE, it'd be hugely appreciated :) Tt

Hi people I have a 2003 RX300 SE (Mk 2). While the brakes are generally fine for day to day use - I have changed both pads and discs / fluid with OEM when needed - they aren't really up to the (relative) pounding they often get when I am towing a car or hammering across the continent. What options do people use for upgrades? I have had a look and I can't seem to find braided lines, although next time I will use better 5.1 fluid. What better pads and discs have proved to be effective? I have noticed that the calipers are only single piston - has anyone does a big brake kit for the RX? Are there easy options for upgrades from the rest of the Lexus range? Cheers Tt

Thanks everyone for your welcome! As you can see I am useless in following up threads on forums (I think I am a member of about 12!). Turns out that this car has a full dealer service history, so I have ordered a new book and have sent it off to the right place to get it stamped! So, all in all, a complete bargain! I have done about 5k in it with no problems whatsoever :) Just need to get the SatNav sorted from the guy in the link above! Out of interest - how good is the OEM satnav compared to say TomTom (which I think is great)? Cheers!

Hi everyone! Firstly hello - been lurking for a while without registering! A great forum - lots of very clued up people around! I picked up a 53 plate (Mk2) RX300 SE a few days ago, 85,000 miles, for only £5000! It was cheap as the service book was lost, so the owner (who I know personally) could only vouch for the history for the last 10k miles (one A service). Still, I had it checked out and it is in terrific condition :) A few questiosn though ;) The satnav doesn't work unfortunately - pressing the buttons doesn't do anything unfortuntely (and there definitely one fitted!). The previous owner said a main dealer quoted £2k for a fix! Can a 3rd party system be fitted and integrate with the climate control/vehicle info? Secondly, in view of the missing history, I assume a B service is in order, with a timing belt change? Who is the best person to do this - a main dealer or a good independent? Are there good indys around in the Bham/Gloucester area? Lastly, anything else I need to know? ;) Cheers Teatowel