Fido

My IS 250 is three years old today. MOT and service was done by my local garage. All well except the alloy wheels which have corrosion which is lifting small patches of paint on each wheel. Although effectively one day out of warranty, I have reported the problem to my dealer - Lexus Poole. I have been requested by them to bring the car in for photos to be taken and sent to Lexus seeking a decision on what they are prepared to do. If anyone has had a similar experience of corrosion I'd appreciate any information on what they achieved if they took it up with their dealer. In due course I'll post here the outcome of my experience.

I got a quote from Lexus Poole. This first service will take about an hour. Total including VAT and oil etc will be just under £200. My local garage are still telling me to get it serviced by Lexus for this first year because of the upgrades issue. So that's what I'll do. I still don't understand the significance of the upgrade issue so I will be discussing that with Lexus after the service on the day.

Thanks I am going to make further enquiries about this upgrade issue.

Forgive ignorance. I'm due to have my IS250SR auto with multi media serviced for the first time in January.Mileage will be about 5000. What should I expect to pay for a Lexus Garage first service? South Coast. Can someone also enlighten me about downloads/upgrades or whatever you call it. Is it done free? For my first service I will use the Lexus Garage, but in future I may have it done at my local garage. If I do this, can I still take it to a Lexus Garage to get downloads etc. free? or for what charge?

I use Image Cave to store pics for use on websites like this. I uploaded a pic with a max of 400 pixels. (Not sure of the max for this site) I then copied the EZ code and pasted it here. You could do a blog and post a link here. A lot more effort! http://fidoslexusblog.blogspot.com/

Since it does, I can add more in due course!

Just seeing if this works.

Just spotted this thread before I was about to post. My Lexus is sitting out in the sun alongside my Honda. The latter is clear. Flies are on and around the Lexus. I wondered if it was anything to do with my supaguard. Never noticed it on other cars.

An order will be placed soon.

Golf tested - wow! It may look unexciting but inside the 1.4 SE TSI Auto it felt like a smaller version of my Lexus. I sat in the back while my wife took it out. For me at 6.2 the back had plenty of room even with the armrest down. We quietly made our way to a short stretch of motorway and the car was a pleasure for me as a passenger and was obviously handling well. I took over and from the moment I set off I was hooked. The power of this turbo assisted 1.4 engine was amazing. The car handles beautifully. It is a much heavier car than the Jazz but the steering is light and responsive. There's no way we are looking at anything else. It comes in at around £17000 with no haggling. The What Car target price is around £16100 and it will be interesting to see how close to that my local VW dealer is prepared to go. So sometime this year a VW Golf will join the Lexus. And we may well keep the Jazz in the drive for general duties. I read somewhere recently of a guy who bought an Audi without a test drive. Based on looks alone I would not give the Golf a chance. Having sat in it, been driven in it and then driving it myself I am now a fan. I drove a manual Mark V golf across Ireland last year and was not impressed. The new Golf is a sheer delight and will be a worthy mate.

Thanks for these responses. Funny thing about my situation is that I am encouraging my wife to buy a new car and she really doesn't yet seem too keen! She has a 4 year old Honda Jazz which still looks like new and loves it. She does not like the latest Jazz redesign and has never liked the civic. She's not keen on Mercs or BMW. She had a look at the new minis and hated the interior. Although I was not interested she is considering a new VW Golf and is having a test drive tomorrow. Our nearest Audi dealer is quite a trip but there is not much enthusiasm anyway. I have a feeling that she will stick with her Jazz for a while and keep the money in the bank. Why are some people so sensible? I suppose I should be grateful.

I'm looking to replace my wife's Honda Jazz within a budget of £20,000 with a better quality automatic that will take up about the same width. Not too keen on the VW Golf. Ideas for other options appreciated. Would be happy with 2 doors and no great need for too much boot space.

Many thanks for these comments. I have bought three sets of plates. One is a strictly legal set. The other two have a space between the first two letters and the two year numbers. One of these has the legal font. The other is a bold and clear font called 'impact'. I'll probably use all three from time to time depending on what I'm doing. Since I did my first post I have become more aware of the background to this isssue and the experiences and views on both sides of the divide between eccentrics like me and those that don't understand us. No fair minded person will think I'm trying to deceive anyone. But I will quite understand and will not complain if I do get picked on by the police. They have their job to do. Time will tell.

Just to come clean on my reasons for wishing to pursue this. The first two letters of my new number are my wife's initials, the last three are mine. The number will effectively be it's date of birth so it seems a good one to keep. To display it in the way I wish will make it a bit special for us since we only intend to use the car for special days out and travel. I have no intent to deceive. The number will be clear and unambiguous. It will be a hard hearted bugger who seeks to stop me doing it. So perhaps I will go for it. I may not live until the MOT comes up anyway. And just to complete this - I have ordered two sets of plates. One in the style I want. And one strictly legal. The latter will be kept in the boot as insurance. Will report any problems.

I am obliged to display my number plate thus: HJ58 WCY If I display it as HJ 58 WCY (space between HJ and 58) am I likely to be warned/prosecuted/MOT failed etc? I'm changing the plate and I wondered about how rigidly the new rules are enforced.