braindead

I did, I just find it annoying that I had to :tsktsk:

No reply from ChipsAway so Small Claims Court summons issued a week ago. They have 14 days to respond.....watch this space.

Malc

Anyone else been getting annoying texts from Listers (Lexus Coventry in my case)?

When you try to reply with "STOP", or anything else for that matter, the number is +44 79999999 which is obviously invalid. The sender is someone called Tania.

I thought this kind of practice was outlawed

Malc

In the GS, the flashing skid symbol means the traction control has kicked in. If it beeps at the same time the stability control has kicked in as well. From experience the VSC only kicks in on aggressive sideways slides - not that I do that regularly :-)

Malc

Still no refund from ChipsAway :tsktsk:

Rang them today and the father of the duo said that his son was unhappy that I wouldn't "let them have another go" (sic). Not as unhappy as a bloke with a messed up Lexus though!!

Time to play hard ball. No more phone calls. Letter going via recorded delivery asking for a refund by a week on Friday or face a claim through the Small Claims Court on the basis that the Supply of Goods and Service Act 1982 states that a service should be carried out with reasonable care and skill.

If I have to issue a summons it'll be for the full cost to rectify their poor workmanship plus court fees rather than a straight refund. Going to do it via www.moneyclaim.gov.uk

Let you know how it goes.

Malc

Here are some pics taken this morning whilst the car was still wet following rain last night.

On the vertical section of the bumper you can see white marks where the paint has absorbed water. These will go as it dries out but will return net time the bumper gets wet.

On the horizontal lip of the bumper you can see water but also discolouration, blistering and what looks like grit but it all goes as the paint dries again.

Make up your own mind about ChipsAway. This franchise trades as ChipsAway Darren and Keith Bennett

Malc

I thought the UK spec model had the Lexus ARRS ( Anti Rain Rejection System) which if it starts to rain with the roof down automatically activates a force field which prevents the rain passing through but still allows the rush of the wind through your hair

What a cracking idea... but I can't find the little green button mentioned in the manual...

On a BMW it's where the indicators should be

Bloomin "ROGUE TRADERS"! report them to Franchise Operators mate.

Col

I may well when I get the refund. No refund, we go to the small claims court.....done it before, it's easy

Malc

So the guy from ChipsAway has been round.

There followed a heated discussion. It seems they forgot to apply the lacquer coat! Yes, they forgot! There was no explanation as to why the whole bumper had been prepared for spraying yet only part of it actually sprayed.

Oh, and they sprayed over the parking sensors as well.

When they offered to have another go, I turned them down and explained they could practice on someone else's car but not my beloved Lexus!

He then tried the old "anyone can make a mistake" routine. Given that they forgot the lacquer on mine AND my neighbour's and prepared the whole bumper not just part of it, I make that three mistakes in one day and who knows how may others I don't know about.

I offered them the choice of refunding me or paying the bill for a body shop to put it right with the option to go to the small claims court. They opted to refund though I'll believe it when I see it. Given that my car is now worse than before they started I think I'm being generous!

It's now booked in at my local body shop which will cost a bit more but will be done to a high standard (hopefully). I won't repeat what he had to say about the Chips Away job.

In conclusion - The Derby North/Burton franchise of Chips Away are, in my personal opinion, an unprofessional shower. I wouldn't let them paint an Airfix kit let alone a precious Lexus!

Malc

Doesn't sound too good...keep us updated.

So, where they sprayed looks OK now but it'll be interesting to see how it looks after some more rain......HOWEVER.....

I finally looked at the car in the dry in bright sunlight. They were only asked to spray the left side of the bumper but the right side looks like it's been prepared for spraying as well. it has no gloss on it and feels slightly rough to the touch. Same with the underside of the bumper. My guess is that one guy preps it and another sprays it. And the bloke that cures it with a hot lamp must have been on holiday!

Spoke to the guy today and he's coming round tomorrow lunchtime. I have a large pack of cable ties so if there's an s**t then I'm going to imprison him in the garage tied to a chair till they sort it (not really).

If I had wanted a half a***d job I'd have done it myself!

Next instalment tomorrow evening...stay tuned.

Malc

I thought the Mark Levinson system came with the multimedia pack?

My Oct 2006 SE has it and I have to say it's excellent....even on Radio 2 lol

BTW, if you look in the boot and lift the flap on the right hand side you should find a thumping great Mark Levinson amplifier with more wires coming out of it than you can shake a stick at.

Malc

Cheers for the responses guys.

I think I'll get a couple of photos taken tonight and get in touch with ChipsAway and see if they can do anything.

Braindead - I'd be interested to know how you get on and what sort of job they do for you.

Well here's the first instalment...

It was dropped off in the dark last night but running my hand over it seemed to feel fine. It was darkish and raining when I set off for work so I went out for a good look at lunch time. I WAS HORRIFIED! :tsktsk:

The vertical wall of the bumper had what looked like white water staining on it. Th horizontal section had standing water on it and it had bubbled up like the orange peel effect you get when you get incompatible paints.

Anyway, come home time, I went to the car and it was fine!!! Feels slightly soft to the touch and there is what feels like over spray under the bumper.

They're coming to take a look at it but did say on the phone that it can happen when it gets rained on soon after the work is done. My neighbour had a simlar effect on his where there was some standing water so this looks to be the norm???

The touch up of the stone chips on the bonnet is not great but is better than I could do with a touch up pen. To be fair, they did say that this would be the case.

The car is backed right up to the house to protect it from further rain so we'll see how it goes.....I am not easy to please!

Updates in a day or two

Malc

My GS is due back from ChipsAway any minute now. I'll let you know how it went when I see it in daylight.

Malc

Add me to the list

Passenger side dips but returns to a position of it's own choosing. If I reset to my preferred position and memorise it then things seems to be OK for a while. Then it goes again. Thankfully the position of it's own choosing is not far off that of my choosing lol

Malc

I bought Sony Ericsson because it will upload in bulk....but that's the only good thing in it's favour. Borrow a Sony if you can and stick with your Nokia.

Malc

Proof Darwin might have got it wrong? :shutit:

Got it? Any good?

Malc

Dunno yet - I've only got through the first 200 pages of the manual. Must get to "starting the engine" sometime soon... I think the salesman wants me to go so he can lock up.

Seriously... it's cracking!! I'm really looking forward to our hols - lots of driving, and hopefully some lid-off weather! B)

Wait till you get to the sat nav - intuitive is isn't :)

Got it? Any good?

Malc

:winky: No where did you hear that? Yes - a couple more days to wait. Thanks for the avatar - that'll keep me going!

You see that car? That's yours that is! :P

Bet you don't sleep too well tonight

Malc

£13,530. GS450h SE. Oct 2006, 52K miles. Good condition.

Was investigating an upgrade recently and dealer said £16k top book.

WeStiffAnyone.com lol

Hi everybody!

I'm nervously awaiting the arrival of an IS 250C on Thursday .

Rumour is you're overdue and they're going to induce on Saturday!

Mwahahahahahaha :hohoho:

I had the same problem with my GS.

Last time I took it in they said that, because I was the only driver, the grease can squeeze out of the runners. All they did was run it back and forth up the runners and tilt it back and forth a few times. The squeak went!!!

I've set up a position in the seat memory that takes it to the extremes of travel so I can "exercise" the seat every few weeks ;-)

Who knows, they might be right? It's been over a week now and it's been fine.

Malc

There isn't a lot in it but the 460 is a little bit quicker to 60 (think it's 5.7 vs 5.9) but I think it's at higher speeds that the power of the V8 will be more of an issue when compared to the 450h.

I've been wondering about that one. I've never seen any 60-100 times for these cars. If anyone has the data I'd be interested. Would also be good to see som graphs of power output.

Given that the electric motor peek output is 200bhp and the V6 is 296bhp yet the combined system output is 340bhp I would reason that power output is spread better i.e. less dependent on a narrow rev range. Watching the power meter when you floor the throttle it flies up to 250KW (340bhp) and just stays there....at least till I bottle out

This is my theory, however, I'd really like to see some real figures.

Haven't driven a 450h but technically, yes I can't see why. However the argument against the 460 is a bit different as there you get the lovely V8, more power, bigger boot and a proper gearbox rather than the CVT so if you're not too worried about fuel economy it's a better choice.

Ah, you get the same argument from manual drivers who haven't driven an automatic and don't want to because they wouldn't like it. It's a matter of preference and I prefer CVT over a manual or an old fashion auto box and, yes, I've tried 'em all over the years.

I like the smooth, constant power delivery - it just keeps going. Floor it and the computers blend electric motor and engine power instantly, no kick down.

Not wishing to be picky but the 460 was 342 bhp last time I looked and the 450h id 340bhp. Less than 1% in it.

Finally, you are right about the boot. It's carp

You can find plenty of these GS450h cars on Autotrdaer website for just under £30k. As you say the don't have MM but do have a Garmin or equivalent satnav. I noticed they are all SE models and say 2008 in the title although they are 2009 59 reg.

Indeed there are loads of them at Lexus dealers all over the place - unless they are all advertising and competing for a limited central pool of pre-registered cars.

Think I may send some emails making silly offers. Who knows, as they get to month end.........

I've managed to find out more. A dealer tells me these are Irish Republic spec and have been bought over here and registered in the UK.

Malc