Kremmen

Whatever you do, don't be tempted to fit seat covers as the built in seat airbags, if they go off, would have nowhere to go. Apparently some have on other models, without thinking :)

Since last Crimbo I've got a freeview box. Looking at the TVQuick I'm glad I did. What a load of twaddle on the main 5. No doubt 'The Great Escape' will be in there somewhere as usual, plus the 'best of' all those reality shows (that should be fairly short then). It's a bit off putting when the best entertainment is Mike Mason on bid TV !

Are we talking CDR's with sticky labels ? They can cause a problem, and will be slightly thicker, but I have been using the ones that are printable with my Canon IP4000 and they are OK (so far). It may also be cheaper quality CDR's bending or flexing, because it does get a bit warm in there.

Yes :) That's my boy !

Just out of curiosity I have had a delve into Parkers prices yesterday. Now I know the reaction but : Skoda 2.0 TDI PD Elegance 5d DSG 2004/04 has lost £5792 Lexus IS Saloon 2.0 SE 4d Auto 2004/04 has lost £7040 The Skoda started life at circa £19k and the Lexus at £21k so it's not as if the Skoda is a £10k car that has nowhere to lose it's value. What is the world coming to ?

I agree the seats are heated, but not instantly - when you climb in the car when it is circa -1C leather is considerably colder to the touch than cloth. I admit I am in the minority here but I had a car with leather a few years ago and the change to lexus escaine was a nice change and not so cold in the Winter. Again in the Summer, climbing into a leather seat which has been in the sun for a few hours and you have no shirt on - ooooooooh

I think those 16" wheels look fine. Don't like leather in the Winter - too cold Don't like leather in the Summer - too hot Don't like leather on tight corners - slippy slidy The basic IS250 Auto sounds just my cup of tea Just need to master that foot operated handbrake without banging the steering wheel or centre console to get my foot on the pedal and the jobs a goodun.

Just under 2 years ago when the western section of the M25 was normally 70mph queues soon built up from around 16:00 When the roadworks were due to commence they put in place a 40mph limit with roadside cameras in plain view. The roadworks didn't actually start immediately so we had the situation with a 40mph limit, enforced by cameras with no roadworks. For that period of time the motorway flowed smoothly and even a Friday evening when it was normally gridlock was running with no holdups. Other people I know also commented at the time that they should employ a well policed 40mph when necessary.

Hope everyone is OK. I'm 17 miles away near Heathrow but it woke us all up. We thought a lorry had crashed at the end of the road. Went to get my normal tank fillup at 08:10 when it is normally quiet and I had to queue for petrol !

Just for info PocketGPS have a downloadable series of 'safety camera' databases. >> HERE << The .csv version will load into Autoroute. It shows all known cameras by type and location and the .csv version will load into Autoroute via the autoroute data import wizard. The other versions of the database are for the various SatNav systems. I have loaded the .OV2 files into my TomTom and they work a treat with advance warning.

I'm still watching - thanks Any good recommended bodyshops around Heathrow ? I would probably leave it until the Summer anyway.

Thanks for the info, confirmed what I thought, if I could get it done for £350 I would probably have it done now but I think I will leave it.

Due to the M25 roadworks I have picked up quite a few stone chips. Whilst they had the car in for service this week I asked them to have a look at and quote on repairing the damage. They reckon that I will need the bonnet & bumper respraying plus the front wings 'flashing'. Ballpark figure £700 (no doubt minus VAT). Reasonable for a pucker Lexus job ? My current thoughts are to leave it alone as you only notice the chips when quite close up as I am using Lexus touch-up, chipstick and Colour Magic to keep on top of it.

I'm still averaging circa 32mpg :) I do however mainly use dual carriageways and motorways every day.

Similar to the first posting, on the back of a 'massive' artic : "YOUR SKID STOPS HERE"

Interesting replies : a) Yes it does (if I understand you properly) - you just need to purchase another windscreen mount or alternative mount system and the unit just slots in and out. B) measured by me ..... width = 106mm, height =85mm, depth = 28mm Mine does - On the M25 as I was approaching the M3 (anti-clockwise) the unit said to 'keep right' exactly as you quote. I have however downloaded and installed the latest software version. I was also considering whether I could mount it in the top tray so that I could hide the charge cable a bit better and just close the lid to hide from view.

Due to Argos bringing down the price of the Tom Tom One to £223 from £279 I decided to get some Sat Nav. Also got a free £10 voucher chucked in by Argos because I was spending over £100 which brought the price down even further in real terms. Very impressed. The unit needs an initial 2 hour charge, so being as I have a garage I positioned the unit, switched on the accessory position to power the cigar lighter socket and connected to the unit. Even though I was in a garage with the doors shut, it still connected to 5 sattelites and positioned me to within about 15 yards/metres of where I actually was ! There are more settings to play with than you could ever want and I managed to navigate round them without even referring to the manual. Interesting point this morning though was that whilst I was on the M25 doing exactly 70MPH on the speedo the unit was registering 65MPH. Wonder which is correct ? Another bonus is that I have downloaded and installed into the unit (free of charge) all the positions of the known "safety cameras" in the UK from http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/uksafetycameras.php The positions of the cameras are so accurate that on roads where there are cameras on both sides of the road, only the one in your direction flashes up as a warning and the one on the other side of the road is shown but not highlighted.

Loan car is indeed a IS250 SE Auto. And - I absolutely HATE the foot 'handbrake'. I can see lots of owners sitting at traffic lights with their foot on the footbrake as operating the 'handbrake' is so awkward and uncomfortable. It's almost like operating a very high clutch ! Other comments : The window controls are tucked so far away forwards that they are also awkward to operate. I also noticed that my left knee was continually banging the hard bit of the centre console. Good bits : Like the new dials that are light driven (like a sabre light) and not the old plastic needle type. Haven't had time to fully investigate the trip computer but it is showing a 25.4MPG average. I probably have the same car that Bobski had.

I suppose they have done their homework but it's like everything else - how do you know until it's available ? I would certainly buy a diesel auto. Wonder what the ratio is for Beemers on diesel auto/manual sales in the UK ?

Autobytel are also offering discounted IS250's. They have IS250's listed that look like specific models in stock and not just generic. If the main franchised dealers cannot get enough units and they are sold out for some months, as per Mr Mole then where are these ones coming from ? I'm wondering whether the sales are as brisk as we are led to believe, especially if a dealer has promised to match the discounted price. Like Mr Mole said some time ago - as long as customers are queueing up then there is little chance of any discount, which is understandable. I thought that now I had reached the first rung of the ladder that Lexus had now removed the next 2 but it is starting to look promising for a IS250 in March 2007 :) Base model, Auto, mudflaps all round minus discount = jobs a good'n :)

Looking at the SE over the base model though - what's the difference ? Base = £22,400 SE = £25,400 So for £3,000 you get : Bigger wheels & tyres - you are not paying for a complete set of wheels and tyres but just an 'upgrade'. Electric leather seats. I must agree with the above that with only one driver I'm not too fussed, the only time they get moved is at service time when a shorta*se must drive it into the shop :) As long as I can still adjust the tilt of the bit you sit on :) I just cannot see the justification for the additional cost of the SE or am I missing something ?

Desk Jockey

Wonder what I'll get from Guildford next Tuesday ?

As soon as you mention 'customer' I am assuming that this for many people and not just a record of your own personal annual service, etc ? If it is just for you then Outlook will certainly fit the bill but if this for many customers then I would be looking at Microsoft Access to build a database application with a front end form.

I have only had auto's since about 1977 and on the odd occasion that I take out a pool car it is invariably manual - and I hate them ! No IS250d auto then no IS250d for me. Looking like the basic IS250 auto for me in 2 years time then.