Scribe

I cracked open a bottle of bubbly recently when the smart passed its MOT without work or advisories. I was amazed - it's 12-year-old plastic, after all. But yes, after driving the Lexus around all weekend it does seem rather firm on the old springs...

Wasn't my first choice, Mike, but colour wasn't the most important thing. And now I really like it. It suits the car, I think.

You know the way some small dogs get ideas above their station and start sniffing the bottoms of bigger dogs?

Welcome to our world!

The only thing I can suggest is that you set the computer to show 'current MPG' and then put your foot down a bit... Otherwise, there's no hope I'm afraid!

You are a wise man. Most of us who aren't thinking of getting rid of our cars are worried about what we'd replace them with, so my advice to anyone who doesn't have to get rid of one is: DON'T! Yours has a better history than many. And it's not going to lose much, if anything, in depreciation from now on. It might even be worth more!

Just heard that a friend's 2014 Audi A3 has been off the road for five weeks while the dealer waits for parts... What parts would be necessary after five months (maximum), I wonder?

Did you include a link to an advert? I can't see it. There was a post on here recently about bonnet struts, so do a search and you'll find the name of an online supplier that a number of members have used. I was quoted £50 per wheel (+ VAT) for a refurb but ended up buying a set of unused wheels (on EBay) for less than that. They come up rarely, though. (Incidentally, I have a free set of wheels needing refurbishment if anyone local wants them.) Both of these issues are normal for an old Lexus, and they wouldn't put me off buying an otherwise good car. Can't comment on the rust, though. Anyone else?

I'm all for badge snobbery - it leaves the old Lexuses for us!

Yes, congrats. We always like to see photos and have a drool...

This seems to go for Minis as well as 'proper' BMWs - they cost a fortune to maintain when old. I'm interested to see what the really old cars on the road are. Most of them are Corsa Bs, Micras and Toyotas. They must have been made well.

I think I'll just keep opening a door, or making sure I leave the key in the boot lock!

When I unlock mine (with the remote) and then open the boot with the key, the doors re-lock after a few seconds. I sometimes open a door to stop this - in case I put the keys in the boot by mistake and close it.

Yes, more to go wrong, especially if it's not as well made as it used to be. But then a new car is sold on its showroom appeal, and its list of goodies, not on how tough it'll be after fifteen years' use.

I imagine the 430's nicer to be in. But I'd only buy one with a cast-iron service history (especially re suspension and transmission) because otherwise I'd be living in fear of bills. And a decent one with that kind of history still costs a lot more than a good 400.

After yesterday's posts I was wondering how much I would be willing to spend on another 400 rather than a 430. Would I spend £4000 on a nearly mint, low mileage 400 or on a decent but average mileage 430 a couple of years younger? I'm still not sure.

If nothing else, it shows that we won't have trouble selling our cars (not that we want to, probably).

I drove more than two hundred miles to look at mine (plus another one) on the day that it was listed on EBay, and wondered at the time if I was mad. Fortunately it was worth the effort, and I didn't bother looking at the second one, which would have involved a detour on the way home. There are even fewer around now than there were then, and so what seems like very high prices for low-mileage examples. But there are no market values, as such, for cars this old. When average-mileage examples go for £1500 or less, £3-4000 seems a lot, particularly as high mileage doesn't seem to affect them much. But ones like this don't come along often. Unfortunately Malc's right, because to the insurers it will be just another old car that they'd write off after even a small bump. That's something that all 400 owners face...

I get the same problem in hot weather when the car's sitting in traffic. I can hear a creak when moving away from rest - it comes from the front of the car. Half an hour after parking up (and presumably cooling off) the noise has gone.

Nice to see you back on here!

1) If members can't make a serious point without being aggressive and antagonistic they're best ignored. That kind of attention-seeking says much more about them than it does about the issue itself. So Suman, good luck with your claim, and ignore members who are unsympathetic and/or downright rude. They're not the reason why the rest of us belong to this Forum. 2) A long time ago I handled third-party motor claims for a big insurer, and although a lot has changed in the car insurance business since then, I imagine that the principles of dealing with claims are similar. Needless to say, my company wanted to minimise their payouts as much as possible, but there was a general sense that they gave people the benefit of the doubt rather than finding any excuse to wriggle out of paying, like some of the old Lloyds companies did in those days. Nevertheless, the basis on which we negotiated claims was that the third party is always under a common law duty to minimise their claim. For example, if someone was having their Escort repaired and hired a Granada to get them around, they'd be paid only the cost of hiring an Escort or smaller car - on the basis that they only needed to get to work (or whatever), not be paid to drive around in more style than they were used to. What's more, a mileage charge would be deducted to cover the wear and tear that their own car wasn't clocking up while it was off the road. The point is that no one is supposed to benefit - make a profit - from claiming. This discourages fraudulent claims. The situation is simpler now that repairers supply loan vehicles, but Suman's claim will still be gone through with a fine toothcomb. I think the minibus insurers will argue that they won't pay for a Lexus loan vehicle if he can get in and out of a cheaper alternative. It's only his basic mobility that they'll be concerned with. Equally, I doubt they'll negotiate much over the value of his car, and probably won't pay for anything else except his injury claim. Insurers are wise to false whiplash claims these days and are very suspicious of rear-end impact histories, but if Suman has records of being taken to hospital he should be okay. In general (I think), they'll only pay for things that can be quantified, which is why they probably won't offer more than a token £50 for distress or anxiety etc. resulting from the accident. And this might be only because he hasn't insisted on claiming for other things. I don't want to sound negative or discouraging, but the fact is that we're not legally entitled to much compensation for the annoyance and inconvenience and distress of being involved in an accident like Suman's. And although the market value of our cars is much less than they're worth to us, insurers will argue that it's the only 'official' guide to what they're legally required to pay out. But maybe there are other members who have more up-to-date experience of how claims are handled?

Problem is, there are hardly any non-Premium Pack models for sale. They're all early ones, I think. I suppose the people who bought them new went for all the goodies, not worrying about faults/repairs all these years down the line. Personally, I'd opt for a non-Premium Pack if I had a choice, because there's less to need fixing.

Don't know who it was but a forum member worked out that a prius will be more costly than a 400 after regular maintenance etc. I can imagine that's right about the Prius. After you've bought new batteries it's not going to be cheap to run. Nor very green when you take into account the carbon footprint of the battery manufacture. Is it true that solar panels also have to be replaced after a few years? Re the LS430: someone on here (was it Malc?) suggested that Lexus felt they needed to update the 400 with something a bit flashier and with more toys, and that quality was compromised in the process. Which was okay for company cars bought new (and under warranty) but not so good after several years' hard use. But couldn't the same be said of other luxury makes? Mercedes seem not to have the quality they used to. I believe I'm right in saying that all right-hand-drive Mercs and BMWs are built in South Africa, not Germany.

As I just waft around in a stately fashion, rarely getting above 2000 r.p.m., I'm sure a 460 would be more than adequate for me. And I'll work out for myself when I need to brake, and how hard! Trouble is, I don't think it would fit in my garage. (A 430 would because the length and width are about the same as the 400.)

'probably a Ls600 the way the prices are collapsing' - collapse away pleaseI 'I'm just an old fart in a quaint old barge' - you and me both!