plastic orange

£600 was what they said they (AA) valued my 1999 model at - market value they said, so I asked if they could supply me with 10 at that price. I did get it changed upwards, but I know if the worst happened it would be £600 regardless. I'm investigating agreed value insurance this year with one of the specialists. Pete

I wasn't greatly impressed with blueprint pads and discs - squealed and too much dust and discs warped at around 10k. Replaced with pagid discs and ferodo pads - much improved. Pete

Standard practise for plain flanged joints is just to smear silicon sealer between them and tighten up. Works just great on the stainless system on my V8 Morris Minor. In fact a lot of V8's don't even have exhaust manifold gaskets, just rely on sealer. Pete

I don't know what I'd replace my LS 400 with when I get bored. I've had it just over 6 years now and it's on 160k and still in pretty good nick, so should do another 3 years anyway. My wife has an RX300 and I really quite like it. Ok it's not as well put together as the LS, but it is still pretty good, and it's nice driving a bit higher up. If they came in a V8 I wouldn't hesitate to have one myself. I'm not keen on air suspension, so perhaps a GS430 may be an option in the future. Pete

I just buy the cheapo flat blades from ebay now and change then annually. They work really well, but on my wife's RX I left the auto wiper function on and the car was frosted and ripped one when they went off - no great loss at a few pounds, plus I keep a spare set in the boot (year old ones). I bought expensive silicon rubber blades for my LS once, but couldn't get on with them as I had to turn off wipers as soon as water cleared otherwise they squeaked terribly. Pete

I have a drivers side rear UCA that I took off a few years back which is hanging on my garage wall that you can experiment with if you like. Pete

Looks good, but how do you keep headlights dry (as suggested on demo clip) for a couple of days in this weather? Job for the summer perhaps - if we get one. Pete

I'd say your price is pretty good. I think a 430 is different to a 400 though. Pete

I've just had a rear bearing replaced - £120 for bearing kit plus I needed a new hub - £200 + vat. Rip off prices when you look at the price in the US. I should have ordered from there, but didn't have time to wait for delivery. Incidentally, my mate is a manager in a bearing supplier and could get bearings (Koyo) for £47 each but 2 week delivery. Pete

It's done 160,000 miles. Pete

Just had to fit a new bearing kit to the N/S rear of my MK4. Couldn't believe the rip off price in this country compared to bringing in from the US. If I'd had any sense (hindsight) I'd have ordered 2 sets and saved myself a fortune. I also had to buy a new hub - £200 + vat from Lexus - less than $50 in the states. Better planning for me in the future - my tip of the day lol Total cost of MOT this year was £825 - rear discs, pads, handbrake shoes and fitting kit, sensor wire plus aforementioned bearing and hub. Labour was mates rates at a friend's MOT station, otherwise it would have been a shocker. 2 new tyres needed soon too - again. I'm off to Florida in April, so I may investigate bringing back some soon to be needed parts. Pete

RX350 is in a much higher tax bracket otherwise I'd have opted for one too. Pete

I've been pretty pleased with the 2005 RX300SE that I bought for my wife in March. It compliments my LS 400 nicely and my wife loves it. We now use it exclusively to transport the grand kids. Downside is fuel consumption, best of 28 and low of 19, but it is an auto with 4 wheel drive and isn't exactly light. Underneath isn't very well protected, so have a look there, plus I went for the steel spring variant as I don't like air, nor CVT transmission of 400 models. Compared to the LS, it isn't as refined, but neither was it as expensive new - different story used though lol. It had a full lexus service history, but I had to replace a rear caliper, pads and handbrake mechanism after 6 months, so due diligence is the answer - discs were new though. Pete

No, 5w bulbs. Pete

To fit tail gate sidelights, the bottom trim had to be removed, then the top one loosened at the relevant side. Didn't need any tools, but it's a poorly designed way of doing - should have had removable panels like my LS. Pete

I forgot to mention that it's a 2005 model. Pete

Sidelight is out on drivers side on tailgate. Looking at how to replace, I assume I'll have to take all tailgate trim off (thought there may have been a hatch). Any tips on best way to proceed? Looked online for a how to, but nothing specific. cheers Pete

Best I've got was 28 on a 300 mile motorway run. Mostly averaging around 20 in town and 26 in countryside. Pete

I've been looking for a while for a replacement driver's seatbelt in beige/cream for my 99 LS 400 without success. For some reason the belt has become frayed and as MOT is looming this will be a fail. Does anyone know of any available? Cheers Pete

I thought that mine was a duff battery as the problem disappeared when new battery fitted - for 2 weeks. I got it fixed at a friend's garage - wasn't too expensive at about £120 if I recall. Pete

Repeated high speed (very) braking was my first attempt at curing shudder - didn't work, and believe me, I tried. Pete

I wasn't impressed with either the blueprint discs or their very squeaky and dusty pads - wouldn't use again. Pete

I just think that the brake shudder is intrinsic to large heavy automatic vehicles. They all seem to suffer with some more than others. In my Lexus experience it seems that judder appears after about 10,000 miles albeit lightly, resulting in replacement at 20k due to getting fed up with it. Neither original parts or aftermarket seem to be much different. I'm on pagid discs with ferodo pads just now - done about 5k and seem fine. With regard to deposits building up on discs, I get that when holding car on brake at a stop after heavy braking, but I've tried buffing discs surfaces with no improvement. I did think about skimming discs, but difference in cost compared to buying new didn't seem worth it. It's quite easy replacing discs, but remember to scrupulously clean the hub mating surface before fitting. I think you've done well to get 40k out of discs. Pete

I fitted 235/55 x17 tyres to my DHP rims instead of the extremely expensive original spec 245/50 x17's and found the speedo reading to be slightly more accurate with an indicated 73mph being a true 70 as per sat nav. In Scotland from 1st August for a 6 month trial, Police will be stopping speeders who are only just over the limit and issuing a formal warning. A subsequent offence will get 3 points and fine. We all see where this is going. What I can't understand is that any car I've hired in the US, the speedo matches the sat nav exactly - even Toyotas, so why not here? Pete