fil4362

Hello. i just come to this thread very late obviously . Thankfully i read most of the post before i go to this point. I am a mechanic and mot tester from manchester area (wont say where exactly as i not advertising) anyway i know the owner of the place you bought the car from (depending on when you bought it, its changed hands many times recently) anyway chances are i know the garage/electrician who bodged it. THe loacal garage to where you bought it is certanly a person i know and the local auto electrician has been a mate of mine for some 20 years. when did you buy the car exactly and what was the sales mans name who you delt with?? i may be able to send you his mobile number so you can really get on his case. Also what garage name is on the mot certificate as i know most of them,personally, in the Hyde area !! oo i can see this being fun !!.

Crack them open and paint them,its alot easier than you would think. Also if your against angel eyes as they are a mod ,painting them is also a mod! any change at all to the standard car is a mod.

AA/RAC checks are nto fool proof my friend. Unless you have the car inspected by them as in actually pay them to come look at the car. All the online checks, ALL of them hpi the lot will not reveal a cloned car. You are only checking the id numbers (reg and chassis) as long as the car hasnt had anything on it then it will show clear. The problem with a cloned car is the id numbers your checkign dont belong to the car they bolted to. My neighbour recently bought a cloned Corsa. She had hpi and free online AA check (was free as a member). Nothing showed up on it. I even ordered and changed the gear linkages on it using the reg and chassis number. It was only when she came to tax it things went a bit wrong. The tax was a copy and numbers changed. The chassis number stamped into the floor was glued on over the origional one. AS the chassis number in the floor is checked through a little windown in the carpet, it was only when i pulled the carpet out that i saw the big stuck on cover plate. The chassis plate under the bonnet on a corsa is a sticker which any decent sign writer can knock up i bet even a decent comercial printer could do one,when stuck over the origianal its very hard to tell theres actually 2 there. Any just thought i would add that information that an AA/rac? hpi check doesnt reveal everything. Also with insurance being so expensive these days loads of people are not claiming after a crash and just having the car fixed out of their own pocket. This would show up on a hpi check either as no insurance company was informed of the crash. so the car could still be a write off.

It will all come down to the wording of the new rules Janey. If like ABS lights the rule just reads "check the light functions correctly" then your fine. If its worded like an an exhaust "check to see if any part of the system is missing" then it a fail. Pretty well much all cars since the late 90s have had atleast one airbag and vosa usually leave it to the testers discresion,it could still be a fail. . Another example of what could happen,, Ladas didnt use to have catalitic converters but still had to be tested in the same manner. The only way round it was to get a letter from Lada that read "the vehicle in question was never designed to meet the required standards". I never saw a single letter stating such like subsequently Ladas disapeared of our roads within 12-18 months. Vosa could give you the same option. This rule could be applied to your car Your arguement of not knowing if it was original design wouldnt stand up to this. Not having an airbag to me isnt a saftey issue i dont plan on finding out if mine work but liek i said its not my rules i just have to enforce them.Lets wait and see what the new rules come out as. As sson as i see what they new rules are anything else is speculation.

Personally joney i think it will fail as its been deliberatly modified and as such doesnt work. The car should have one if it hasnt then its a fail. What ever happens the new rules WILL change when in january if you havnt got an airbag then it doesnt work properly does it. If its part of the original design then its a fail most items under current rules can fail if "deliberatly modified" in such a way to cause it not to function correclty. I think taking it out all together will cause it not to function correctly wont be doing you any use sat in your shed should you crash, just as a thought does your insurance company know you have removed it?? Its a pretty important saftey device ok you might never crash but what next not wearing your seat belt why not take your seatbelts out as well afterall if you havnt got one you cant wear it. I think thats what the rule is going to say on the matter If it doesnt function correctly then its a fail. By the way vosa are actually looking into a scan tool the will check all onboard systems. They are in the market place trying to find a quick cheap reliable tool that will check every system as part of the test. If and when they find one they wil then try to get it in as part of the test. Dave1 it could just be a faulty bulb but if i fail a car for the light being on and the owner simply goes away and takes the bulb out does that then mean i have to pass it. Removing the bulb so it didnt light up is the oldest trick there is. The only way to have a simple pass or fail is to kep it simple if the light doesnt work as it should then theres a problem with the system and it should fail. To me its simple, the bigger problem i see is retest fees. If your car fails for a light not working you get to the end of the next working day to fix it and return for free rest. IF and airbag light is considered a light and not a brake component,then it should come under the same retest fees. Lets face it if your car gets tested at dinner time chances are your not getting it back next day repaired. Alot fo garages still dont have equipment to even diagnose the fault therefore your car would be in the dealers. You migh tnot get your car back for a week if it ends up in the dealer system. You will end up with a full restest just for a bulb!!. Most Abs systems dont activate (therefore register a fault) until the car goes over 5/6mph. In the case a carcould have its abs light turned of by the owner in the car park then when it came for test it would pass as i wouldnt have triggered the fault as i wouldnt have driven it fast enough to actually turn the system on. So theres ways round these light still passing the mot even when there is a fault. THe only sure fire way is to get the scan tool brought in as part of the test,the only down side to this is the increase in cost of equipment to test stations and theefore would mean a rise in test fee to cover the casts.

yes Dave1 it could just be a faulty bulb but if it was just a bulb how would you know if the airbag system was working or not. The warning light is part of the system if it doesnt work then it fails the test. If your oil light didnt work you would get it fixed as you wouldnt know if you had oil in the engine or not until the car stopped. Bottom line is if you have got a fault on your car get it fixed dont get round the fault with "fixes",especially when its an important saftey device. I seem to remember me being slated not so long ago for driving with "driver aids turned of" after i mentioned i had pulled the fuse on my abs system and turned the traction control off during the snow as i can drive without them having driven for years cars that didnt have them. I recall someone mentioning it was silly for not using them. Seems to me now theres a suggestion that a faulty saftey devise should be bypassed to keep the car on the road. I even seem to think that a senior member of the site admitted she would have to get hers fixed now, so its not currently working then. Now theres a good example to follow, 2 suggestions your abs/traction control/airbags (which ever it was) doesnt work so ignore it!! and the other suggestion was bodge it to get it through the mot test. My suprise was these suggestions came from a senior member and an mot tester!!.

ormi,s "fix" wouldnt stop the system working, the fact the light was on would mean the system wasnt working in the first place. As i mentioned if the lights on the system doesnt work, all ormi,s "fix" would achieve is to make the light work correctly. The rest of the system still wouldnt function,the air bags wouldnt go of in a crash as the system shuts down if theres a fault. The abs system work the same way. If the wanring lights on the abs doesnt work. This is my entire point about ormi,s fix. It would get the car through the test but it shouldnt have passed as the airbags dont work. All the warnign lights on your dash that come on with the ignition should go out whent he engine is started,if the dont come on or dont go out when they have been on then theres a fault on the system that relates to that light. Ormi,s fix would make it appear there isnt any faults. The airbag on 10 year old cars was discussed but as with the rest of the test the rule is if its testable item then test it if its not testable they will tell you about it. I dont see a problem with child seats in the front or rear of a car as long as the seat is strapped in corectly and the baby/child is in the seat corectly then there shouldnt be a problem unless theres an airbag in the way. The worse problem i se with airbags is (usually women) who sit too close to the steering wheel. The airbag is designed to inflate and give you a crashmat fluffy pillow in the event of a crash if you sit to close it will hit you on the way out as you come down onto it . In this case the airbag will do you more harm than good.

as a post script seat belt pretensioners are also coming into the mot test. If the seat belt pretensioner has been fired this is/will be an mot fail. It doesnt stop the seat belt working and holding you in the seat in the event of a crash but it isnt working as designed and is/will become a fail. Basicly from january next year it will be "harder"?? to past the mot if your car has warning lights that dont exactly as they should.

When my chidren were in "kiddy car seats" strapped into car seats some 30+ years ago they were automatically put into the rear seats of the car. I can't see the point of "front" kiddy seats. The fix Ormi suggested would not alter the operation of the airbag........the srs light not working could just as easily be caused by a blown bulb surely? Hi Dave1 i wondered when you would be along to play devils advocate. Anyway, if theres a fault on the airbag system the light stays on and the system shuts down, therefore the system doesnt work. If the light doesnt operate at all thats also a fail, no warning light,no warning of a failed system. Basicsly turn ignition on, light comes on,start engine, light goes out, anything other than this is a system fail and therefore an mot fail. The only reason for ormi,s fix would be to make the system "appear" to be functioning correctly. If your system was functioning correctly you wouldnt need ormi,s fix. The exact same test has been in force now for a year or so for the abs light. If the light doesnt function exactly as it should then its a fail. Ormi,s fix wouldnt work for the abs light as some lights stay on for 2 seconds after the engine starts with ormi,s "repair" the light would go out as soon as the engine fired(or at least as soon as oil presure was achieved). The new rules also cover brake fluid warning lights and main beem warning lights some stability control lights, epc lights (vag group cars) pretty well much any warnign light on the dash that shouldnt work as it should will become an mot fail. You could wire most of them to the oil presure switch but wouldnt it be better ans safer to just fix the problem. I was told on the night of the seminar that one mot tester commented that the new rules would just mean he would sell alot more black tape (to cover up the bulbs) he also failed to grasp that a light not workign at all was also a fail.

That would work ormi but is it a job you would do for someone??. I wouldnt ,can you imagine, big crash no airbags go off insurance company ask why , your name comes out VOSA find out your employer gets wind of it,,,, mmmmm i wouldnt risk it. Its all ok until it goes wrong i know i wouldnt want my name involved. Some short cuts to fix problems need to be cut and not used. I actually though about it myself when a customer asked about her passenger side airbag and her baby in the front seat (ford focus early one cant turn it of) for about 2 minutes i though, ye just pull the glove box out then disconect the airbag. Then thought nah not my problem get a car with no air bag or at least one you can turn off. Not my problem she had a 2 door car with a baby, personally i would have thought she would have got a 4 door car!!.

Last night i attended the latest round of VOSA mot seminars (2 hours of shear bordem and they charge for the tickets). Any just though i would share some of the changes that may affect some members. Theres seems to have been some talk about about hid lights fitted to car that didnt have them origianally. At present there is nothing abotu them coming into test to be a testable item. They are working on it, but there seems to be some confusion as to what a hid is. As with all mot testing,you are not allowed to dismantle anything on the car, so without seeing the bulb who says its a hid. Thats their concern. Also as hids have been deemed to be benificial they dotn want to ban them either, but do they need to have headlight washers and self leveling equipment on them or do they get tested purley on beam aim and pattern as any other headlight bulb would be. So hids, they are not coming into the test although they may do in future. ABS lights have been in the mot for ages now , as of january next year engine management lights will be included in the test as will airbag light, srs lights, brake fluid level warning lights and main beem warning lights. All will now have to function correctly to get a pass. Non of these have been part of the test before. Towbars are now included in the test but they wiring harness for them isnt, it doesnt have to function at all you dont even need one at present. From what i was told last night the old style 9 pin sockets wont ever be in the test as there is no standardised pin set up. The new canbus controlled 13 pin towbar sockets will be testable as soon as they find, test, approve and standardise a piece of equipment to test them. Ball joint dust covers track rod end dust covers will come into test, again as of january the first next year. If they are split they are a fail. MOst of the dust covers i se are split as the joint removal tool used actually splits them. So check your dust covers, if your car is going in for any steerign or suspension work make sure your garage doesnt use the wedge shape for for splitting the joints, if they rip your dust covers from january it will cost you a new joint,unless of course someone starts to sell just the cover. Inner c.v boots again are now testable from january next year,until now they have only been an advisary item. Battery security also comes into the test at same time, currently your battery doesnt have to be secure. Engine mounts also will be testable until january your engine can be tied in with string and your car will pass. Manuel head light adjusters (the switch on your dash to adjust headlight aim) might come into the test an eu directive says it has to be reachable from the drivers seat. Ye silly eu again when have you ever seen one that isnt reachabel from the drivers seat??. It might not come into the test, as your all probably thinking whats the point of that in the test one will never fail on that, which is why they are thinking of not including it in the test. Catalitic converters will now be in the test, again as of january next year. If you have removed yours it will now be a fail. Until now if your carpassed the emisions test it didnt mater if you had a cat or not.And before anyone quotes the section of the testers manuel that state reason for rejection " part of exhaust system missing" this refers to a part actually missing and not replaced with a straight piece of pipe. A cat bypass was considered replaced not missing piece. As usual there was talk of test frequency. The idea od cars needing test on a 4 2 2 basis has been rattling around for ages now. Basicly your car,from new, wouldnt need a test for 4 years then only needed one every 2 years after that. As i stated at the start of the post these are the items discussed at last nights mot seminar they are not my views on mot testing i dont agree with some of the stuff so dotn argue with me if you think dust covers being torn is a bad idea to fail its not my fault. I know of loads of cars with engine management lights on that run perfectly well and have do for ages, why the sudden need to fail them all on mot is beyond me.

Roof spoiler looking goood. I have one on my IS and the same again on the boot very subtle. BMW e34 in rubber. mine were £13 each from Tiland via fleebay. My lex is black so i ordered the un painted ones they polish up real well and you cant tell there not painted.

yes pretty certain thats what i explained i did. it was the previous poster that said he had never tried which is why i explained how to do it!.

I normally get 350-400mpg, if I'm not towing or carting heavy stuff around. And I definitely have a lead foot - typical motorway/A-road cruise is 85 leptons +/- 10. What I can't tell you is how much a "full tank" is; I've yet to actually run out (or even get to the hiccuping stage), despite the needle being off the dial a couple of times. Maybe I should do that one day, just drive until dry; add a gallon & see how far I go :winky: I just run mine light on to light on. I worked on £75 pound fill being 70 litres. The cost of petrol is pence diffrence from station to station so i just drive into which ever station is nearest when the light comes on. I know theres probably a gallon or so in reserve (after the light comes on) but even then i get 70 litres in. So 70 litres being 15.5 gallons and getting 314 miles for that amount works out at about 20 to the gallon. I wouldnt want to run till it cut out just to see the figures.

When did you last check your air filter? I happened to glance at mine recently for the 1st time since owning the car and it was minging. I've banged the worst of the dirt & leaves out, but I'll need to replace it. I've never managed to get an accurate MPG for mine ('95 facelifted Mk1, or what I'd call a Mk2), because I never remember to keep a tally of the miles when I fill up vs. the drive vs. the miles when I fill up again... I did notice that I got about 300 miles on a full tank, while towing an empty car trailer (at about mumble70mumble); towing the full car trailer back @ around 55mph I did the same trip in a bit over 1/2 tank. I have just got in from petrol station and have brimmed the tank and the filler neck as usual. My trip says i have done 314 miles on the last tank full. Thats just over 20mpg. I was on a run from Manchester to Cearnarfon on sunday so most of that 314 miles was motorway (aprox 250 miles of it). As most of the run is A55 i would say my aveage speed for the trip was 65 mph. So IS200 is returning 20 and a bit miles to the gallon. My emissions are perfect,i guess its just a thirsty engine.

Agreed.In my opinion the IS series is just not Lexus enough. They should've stuck with the top range cars! An IS would look more in place with a Toyota badge. Now that just sounds a little snobby to me!. My Lexus hasnt got a badge, i took it to off. To me its a car not a status symbol. I also removed, what has now become the boy racer style Lexus chrome lights. As mentioned before i have driven everything from Reliant Robin to Bently Continental, from MK1 RS2000 escort to ferrari 355. A car is a car its a way to get about for me nothing more. To me the Lexus is a educated choice resonable style good comfort great reliablity resonable purchase price. Whats the LS got that the IS doesnt have?? cruise control?? cant think of anything else. Must admit mines had a few bits added that like full closure windows and mirrors, just press the lock button and everything closes and winds in. Its got touch screen tv dvd sat nav reverse camera. so i dont see the spec up grade as anything special really from the IS to the LS. The point of my post was to see if a v8 LS is a cheap to run as an IS afterall who wouldnt have a v8 instead of a straight 6.

Sorry guys but my IS looks slightly less square than an LS. As a motormechanic/mot tester its drives like its still new. i keep it A1 tip top mint condition. (Going in for bonnet respray friday as i picked up a stone chip sunday on a trip from manchester to cearnarfon). It drives as straight and as quiet as anything else i have driven and i have driven just about every type of car on the road. Anyway The Ls is better spec than the IS and the v8 is a bit smoother. On the down side i havnt yet come across a manuel Ls !! Nothing against the auto just prefer a manuel. I maybe in for a trade up. or should i say maybe in the market for a LS and if they not better on fuel than the IS i may as well of load it again and keep the IS.

I am currently running a IS200 and getting 19mpg. Doesnt seem to matter how i drive, fast,slow mix of both motorway or a road,still only get 22mpg at the most. I dont mind this figure as i have a cheap runabout as well. My thought was whats the returns on a Ls400. I dont think they look as stylish as the IS but love the v8 sound and obviously the extra power. So my question is what mpg figures are people getting from their LS400.

Still classed as FRAUD. If you put your mates address as registered keeper then you would have to put his name on the V5 as registered keeper also which would make him the main driver in the eyes of the insurer. So you would be a named driver but actually the main driver. All these silly scams help to drive up premiums for everyone. Dont agree in the slightest my cars are registered at my units address i know for a fact i dont live there. Also isnt every company car registered at the company address?? so everyone lives at there office do they??.Registered keeper and pwner are or can be 2 diffrent things. My brother is curently driving one of my cars Its regstered at my units address but insured for him to drive nothign illegal in that at all. My place of work has 6 vehicles all registered in owners names at care of address So my foremans names is registered andy brookes c/o smiths autos nothing wrong in it at all. Registered keeper is nothing more than a mailing address. Not a single one of the cars i have owned in the last 10 years have been registered at my house and afterall thats where i live. I have a motor traders policy which is exaclty what i suggested in my original post. Think you will find every trader on the planet doesnt register cars at his/her own home address thats if they register to themselves at all. I dotn have to inform my insurance company of what cars i own once its owned by me (reciept will do as proof) its covered for me to drive, Of course i drive round with insurance in my wallet as non of my cars show up on anpr cameras as being insured. Bil of sale proves ownership not v5 log book. This is exaclty why i suggested a traders policy. Oh and not being a trader doesnt matter if you have ever bought and sold a car your a trader. Bought it sold it, thats trading isnt it! From various posts it appears that you always have a slant on how to try to get round legalities. You said your traders insurance covered you and your wife but now say your brother is also covered. You stated that you had a traders policy but did not actually suggest that the OP should take one out, merely that he should use a mates address....which would be fraudulent. The OP was asking for advice as to any potentially cheaper insurers, not asking for dubious scams to lower insurance quotes. Whats dubious about it i dont understand your comment. The insurance company want to know who the owner is. Thats why they ask "does the car belong to you" they dont ask whos name is on the log book as the log book is not proof of ownership. As for my brother being insured, whilst he is in my car hes driving it for me therefore works for me and is covered as an employee on my traders policey. Its a clause in the policey as,if i buy a car i have to collect it and cant drive 2 cars back. Non of my cars are registered at my address and their covered that was my point about using a mates address a bill of sale is proof of ownership not a log book. I also pointed out using a care of address was exceptable as all the cars registered to my work (day job) are registered at a care off address. Its evading company car tax not an insurance scam. Simply buy the car yourself, then register it as a care of your company address. That way the company pick up the tab for the road tax and any other running cost but as you bought the car yourself its not a company car as the company didnt purchase it. Non of it is a scam. My garage (day job) and my own company (Nothing more than a lock up where i do the odd job out of hours and buy and sell cars from) both use the system both were advised to do so by accountants, its called clever not scaming or dubious. Loop holes in the law and wording of contracts should be used to our benifit,Lets face it if theres a loop hole for the insurance to not pay out i bet they would use it!! Theres no reason at all if you have a detached garage,why you cant call that garage 22a (if your house was 22) and use it as a postal address. You can even register your car at a p.o. box address. You address is somthing the post office use to make sure you get your male,It shouldnt be use by insurance companies to bump up your policy if you have the wrong numbers in it. My earlier post refered to an M11 postcode and it being 2-3 streets away from my house. I have M43 postcode. I get way cheaper insurance than if i had M11. M11 is rough area, if a cargets robbed of my estate it usually gets robbed by someoen from the M11 postcode. Think you will find people in afluant areas genrally dont steel cars it the rougher area surrounding these areas where the car thieves come from. Bottom line if you live on rough estate your neighbours are rough as well so you would go knicking form better surrounding areas. Bit of a genralisation but you get my point, that it the nicer areas where people have nice cars and nice houses that are the victims usually so it should be the people in the nice areas that should have high insurance not the people in the rougher areas. Not trying to offend anyone from les well off area just making my point.

Or it simply got stolen whilst at your friends house,or can insurance companies dictate were you sleep at night. Insurance companies ask were is the car"usually" kept at night. Not always kept at night. Its not down to insurance companies where you go or who you visit. If your car gets knicked from Tesco car park are you not covered. You car can get knicked anytime night or day from any place insurance companies cannot refuse to pay out on the basis your car got knicked from an address other than your house! What about a holiday home ? would you need to cars one registered at each house?

Still classed as FRAUD. If you put your mates address as registered keeper then you would have to put his name on the V5 as registered keeper also which would make him the main driver in the eyes of the insurer. So you would be a named driver but actually the main driver. All these silly scams help to drive up premiums for everyone. Dont agree in the slightest my cars are registered at my units address i know for a fact i dont live there. Also isnt every company car registered at the company address?? so everyone lives at there office do they??.Registered keeper and pwner are or can be 2 diffrent things. My brother is curently driving one of my cars Its regstered at my units address but insured for him to drive nothign illegal in that at all. My place of work has 6 vehicles all registered in owners names at care of address So my foremans names is registered andy brookes c/o smiths autos nothing wrong in it at all. Registered keeper is nothing more than a mailing address. Not a single one of the cars i have owned in the last 10 years have been registered at my house and afterall thats where i live. I have a motor traders policy which is exaclty what i suggested in my original post. Think you will find every trader on the planet doesnt register cars at his/her own home address thats if they register to themselves at all. I dotn have to inform my insurance company of what cars i own once its owned by me (reciept will do as proof) its covered for me to drive, Of course i drive round with insurance in my wallet as non of my cars show up on anpr cameras as being insured. Bil of sale proves ownership not v5 log book. This is exaclty why i suggested a traders policy. Oh and not being a trader doesnt matter if you have ever bought and sold a car your a trader. Bought it sold it, thats trading isnt it!

Why would it be fraud?? log book states that it registered keeper not the owner!!. THe new red v5 document has that written clearly across the front of it

ok If it already on here somewhere theres no need to remove my door boards for pictures lol glad its already on.

Currently as i type this i am having full closure fitted to my motor. I am a mechanic, but its bloody freezing out and my auto electrition mate is a bit stuck for work hes doing it for me. Its going to work direct from the standard Lexus remote with no extra alarm fitted. The windows will close themselves and mirrors will fold in. The mirrors will fold out again when starting the car. The parts cost less than £30 and i will get pictures of what and where to conect at weekend so every one can do it. You need 2x latch relays 2amp for the mirrors. They available from Maplins at (Cant remember exact) under £5 each. You will also need one of these or a five way one if you wish it to work your roof as well. This will do each window in turn. Just waiting for the phone to ring to go get car back but between us we have come up with a way that will work perfectly. EDIT The link is for a 2 way system ask them for a 4 way one, they are the same price.

Where in manchesterare you mate. M13 post code is almost impossible to get a quote for. M11 is very high as well. I live M43 I pay £900 a year on motor traders policy covers me and the wife to drive any car. My house is 3 streets away from M11 postcode. Might be an idea to register your car at a mates house few streets away in diffrent postcode or use your parents house for a quote see what happens. I was watching The One Show last night on tv they was talking abotu very same thing. M13 postcode came otu as one of highest in country. Another tip is to put someone on policy thats older than you middle aged drivers bring policy down. My mother in law used to be on mine brought it down about 100 quid even though she never drove the car, the fact she could do brough it down because if she was driving i couldnt be.