CB1300

Cheers Steve, I have actually had a mail back from the E Bay company and they are also powder coated see HERE under how we do it Not bad seeing the price included shipping both ways and you get your refurbed wheels up front. It means I wouldn't have to keep my Lexus propped up on breeze blocks for a week

Phew ! Just noticed the spare is a brand new wheel and tyre and not one of those stupid get me home jobbies .

My car is Mint.. Except the rear near side wheel as a patch of corrosion on it. On closer inspection I could see that the plastic that covers the wheels was coming away and salt and road grime had got to work on the alloy behind it. Like a fool I peeled it back to have a better look and the plastic being brittle just fell into pieces. The wheel now looks absolutely awful and is ruining the look of the car, as anyone else done this ? Or does anybody have a solution on getting the wheel looking nice again ? I have seen there is a company on E Bay doing replacements for £240 ( set of four ) they send you a refurb set, you get them fitted and then send yours back to them. But looking at them they just look like they have been re sprayed ? Has anybody used them ? I can get mine powder coated locally for £40 a wheel. Cheers Mark.

Road salt in the winter is the biggest killer of alloy wheels. One way of keeping your wheels protected is to give them a wipe with ACF-50 its the nearest thing to zero corrosion protection and was developed by the US navy to protect their aircraft at sea. Its not cheap but its brilliant, and because it has a creeping action a little goes a long way, I use it on the bike all the time. Just be sure to stay away from brakes and tyres.

Re: Autoglym Ultra Deep Shine. Iv`e used it on my bike, it gives a mirror finish but I have found it doesn't last. Im not a big fan of Autoglym products and I actually get them for free through my Brother. I had a black Saab and used their super resin polish, it always looked like it had thousands of tiny scratches on the paint work, I was told that this is on the resin its self . It would flake off too, leaving little dull patches over the paint work ?? Just my two pence worth

I know people who swear by neatsfoot oil. If you saw how it was made you wouldn't want to use it, but its meant to be the best Leather conditioner there is.

Phew! Had this happen to me this afternoon, thank goodness for this thread. I just wonder how many people have looked in the owners manual, checked their fluid levels, seen there was nothing wrong and taken the car off to Lexus for investigation. I straightaway thought that it must signal a bulb is out, and you can imagine my horror when it nowhere mentioned it in the owners manual. The owners manual says that it signals the hand brake is on, or brake fluid is low, otherwise there is a problem with the braking system and the car should be taken to a Lexus dealer immediately ! Lexus may build the best car in the World but their owners manual.....Mmmm...Thats a different story !

Stunning example.. A credit to you. You'll miss her !

I wonder just how many people on here have bought from a dealer, been shown "their" HPI check and gone ahead ? Did you know that around 70% of all cars in/on dealer showrooms /forecourts are on stocking finance. Before they buy a car they have it data checked so it shows clear, but in turn they then buy the car themselves on finance. But ! And its a big but.. If the dealership was to go under and they didn't clear the stocking finance on your car the car could be repossessed. Even if you buy from a dealer should should get it data checked, and yes if its on stocking finance this will show up. Before parting with hard cash make sure the dealer removes the car from any stocking finance or other legal incumbency

Did you have your Lexus data checked ?

Pete, They certainly do check the VIN number and you have up to 30 days to have it checked by them, if you don't have the VIN number. I tell you how I know because I have used their services myself. My son purchased a 2007 Seat Leon in November, he did a mycarcheck for £3.95. On deciding to buy the car he also had it RAC inspected, this also included a data check...It was absolutely no different in any shape or form or contained any other information that the £3.95 mycarcheck didn't. So not wanting to waste money I used it myself to buy my Lexus and yes I was able to input the VIN number,every thing came back instantly A OK, for an extra £5.99 I could have also had the mileage verified, but seeing my car had documented service history I didn't need to. Can I ask you a question Pete ? Did you buy your Lexus privately or from a Dealer ?

It doesn't matter who you use they all use the same four data bases, DVLA, Insurance, Police, finance. Now..You can spend at lot at AA,RAC, HPI etc or get it checked at mycarcheck for £3.95 with also may I add, a £5000 guarantee should any of the information be wrong. Pete is completely wrong when he says they just check the reg. Their Classic Check provides: * Finance Protection1 * Stolen (Police and Insurers) Check * Our unique Stolen & Recovered Check * Total Insurance Loss (Write-off) Category * VIN (Chassis Number) Check * 14 fields of vehicle information from the DVLA * Mileage Check (at additional cost)2 * £5,000 Guarantee Basically all the info you need if buying a car.

I guess its Horses for courses , I am completely satisfied that I would have put quality parts in my car. No main dealer would ever recommend you put anything other than "OEM" in the car, thats the nature of the car game. A friend of mine runs a Roller as a hobby, the OEM spark plugs are made by Champion and actually have Rolls Royce on them, they are in fact the same plugs that fit a Metro City or something. You can imagine the difference in price for the same product only marketed slightly different. Incidentally does anybody know who makes the timing belts for Lexus ? On inquiring about an OEM water Pump I was told by Lexus its by Lexus and I think they are actually made by Bosch. Was told the same thing for the timing belt, I bet its a Ferodo or something or maybe even a blueprint or at least from the same factory

Aido... My sentiments exactly ! I used to work near a Toyota dealership and I would see the Partco van going in and out at least a dozen times a day..Delivering genuine parts ? I very much doubt it! But would love to have seen what was on the customers invoice !

This is the trouble here... My car cost me 3K Its probably going to lose another £1k-1500k over the next few years, even servicing by the Queens very own mechanics isn't going to help preserve the cars value. It seems absolutely pointless in having such an old car serviced by Lexus, it may give some kind of peace of mind but I have had some very dodgy dealings with main stealer's in the past, top money doesn't always mean top quality. I completely disagree with you on ADL and QH being cheap parts, I got them cheaper not cheap by going to a motor factor. Three of my local factors quoted over £150 for a BP ADL cam belt kit, its called shopping around. In the States they seem to supply a lot of Gates kits as direct replacements, again non OEM, I don't know who actually makes the timing belt kits for Lexus but you can be assured it wont be Lexus themselves. The points I make when buying a car are valid and a Lexus should be avoided without full service. Of course if you are lucky enough to be able to afford main dealer servicing continue with it, but then again I suspect if you are you would driving a 08 plate LS not a 98 like mine.

12 months MOT is also always a good start,mine had 12 months and 12 months tax ! Service records are easy to forge, but see if they have the invoices to back up the service record, again mine did. This alongside old MOT certificates can also warrant the mileage. If not a call to lexus will also confirm if the car has indeed been serviced by an authorised lexus dealer. Check the tires especially on the inside edges, unscrew the transmission fluid cap and check the condition of it. Run the car engine dont be afraid of giving it a good rev look for all the tell tale signs of anything untoward. Take the car for a good road test check out the heating, even if its summer run the heaters on full blast,and the air con on cold even if its winter. Ask the owner lots of questions and ask to look at servicing invoices and repair bills. Also get the car checked out, mycarcheck, HPI etc When buying my lexus I was told walk away if it doesn't have full service,and a large number of previous owners is also not good.

A lot of people on here seem to search out the specialists in Lexus or American companies. It may also be worth your while giving your local motor factor a call. I got the Blue Print ADL cam belt kit with all idlers etc for £106 and the QH water pump for £63 from a large West Country based Motor factor. Many companies on the net are selling lexus spares as OE quality meaning its a patent part in any way. Blue Print ADL are renowned for exceptional quality as are Quinton and Hazell. I also called two of the well known lexus specialists and got quotes of £145/£149 for the CB kit and £89/£96 for the WP + Delivery, also timing belts had to be a special order with one company quoting up to two weeks. Granted the motor factors I ordered from also had to order it as a special , but it will be here today. American companies like Rock Auto where running at £146 for a WP with shipping, and thats not to say you won`t pay anything at the door either ? So it may well be worth ringing your local motor factor first.

My 98` series 4 is returning around 175 miles on £30 worth of fuel. Pretty darn good I`d say for such a big luxurious car, in context my wifes Fiat Marea 1600 Auto Estate did about the same !

I was about to go ahead with my local Toyota dealers quote when I queried their price of £250 ? Turns out the Woman on the service desk quoted me for belt only, I specifically stated cam belt kit !! Their price for full cam belt kit including the idlers was £470 ... £55 more than Lexus !! But my man has come back to me now, Full Blueprint ADL timing belt kit ( with tensioners etc ) + Quinton Hazell Water Pump for £315 all in( supplied and fitted ).

Cheers Aido. £84.95 from them for genuine part. Does the LS400 water pump require a gasket set ? Their pump doesn't come with one so they assume it doesn't require it ?

Anybody know of a good place or site in the UK to buy a water pump for a 98 ls400 ? I believe that the OE is made by Bosch ? They run at about £145 from the states ( at the present exchange rate ) with shipping and UK Vat.

Another tip is to use de-ionised or distilled water if mixing up screen wash. Most of Britain has hard water and it will clog up those jets in no time at all if added out of the tap to a screen wash mix. Living in South Devon I am lucky that we are one of only a few areas in the UK that has naturally occurring soft water.

Just wondering if any one has ordered from these guys ? How do they compare to UK prices ? Iv`e ordered stuff from the States in the past and its a real hit an miss affair. Sometimes you get charges and sometimes you dont, but the pound is very weak against the dollar at the moment and that doesn't help. Its just that Autopartsway have OE water pumps @ £99 or Patent @ £56. Taking the advice of other forum members I was thinking of ordering one and having it fitted during my cam belt change.

Cheers chaps for the answers. When replacing the cam belt what also usually gets done ? IE whats usually included in the cam belt kit ? Does the water pump have to come off when replacing the cam belt ? If so I guess it would make sense to replace it.

Just been quoted £415 by Lexus Exeter for a cam belt change, would have thought seeing my car has full Lexus Bristol SH it would have been done, but they confirmed earlier that it hadn't .BTW price quoted by Bristol £370 so a fair difference between stealerships there. Local ex Toyota dealership using genuine Lexus parts + Courtesy car.. £250 ! Just waiting for my man to come back to me now with his price. His system shows two special tools so he is awaiting a call to find out what exactly they are ? Anybody here know ? Its for a LS400 98 series 4.