gib

I was of the opinion that Superchips were very reputable.

Regardless of whether its true or not, how noticeable would such an increase be, on a small car?

Sorry, forgot to say its made by Superchips

Bluefin

Hi,

I recently bought a brand new Mini Cooper - which by the way is excellent - quite fancy a Cooper S

However, I am looking for some sort of ECU upgrade.

Bluefin do a bit of kit, which looks quite professional and you can plug the machine in yourself to do it - it gives a 10bhp gain and some other torquey gain, which I have forgotten............

It costs £299

Has anyone heard of this company - it looks a nice bit of equipment.

Cheers.

Sort of a diary I suppose, but not sure how long I will keep it up ( careful now :winky: )

Well I collected my new toy last Saturday, and had been expecting some sort of special attention / procedure would be Involved. Don't ask why I thought this.....I guess it is just because of the whole supposed "lexus experience", reputation, the 33k of my hard earned cash that I had just paid out in a single cheque,and the fact that I had previously spotted a seperate room with a sign on the door reading "handover room" - I had asked about this, and was told "Yes, when you collect your vehicle we will use this facility". The main sales manager had also stated in earlier letters to me that he was looking forward to "being involved" in my collection experience.

Well, frankly, - it was a let down ( It was a nice surprise for me however - see earlier thread)

I was taken into a salesman's office ( the salesman who had been dealing with me since day 1 was off sick)

asked to sign a registration form.....and the next I knew, the car was driven around to the front of the showroom. The same salesman then spent about 15 mins parked up going through some points about using the car. I asked acouple of questions - (to which he had not got an answer), and that was it "enjoy the car sir. goobye" in so many words.....

Never even got a look in the mysterious "handover room", never saw the sales manager or anyone else.

Had to ask for a coffee, and then wait while the salesman cleared the dirty cups away from the table, and not even a biscuit

Wifey and I set off for London for the weekend, and our IS experience began....

Impressions so far

1) It is a nice car...but then so were the BMWs and Mercs that I had as company vehicles

2) The MM system is not worth the money - for the following reasons.....

The POIs are crap. Not a single fast food joint included in the entire list. I am not a big burger eater, but when all you want is a toilet break and a coffee - the golden arches hit the spot. No BK, Pizza hut, McD, KFC.

But of course a large list of useless things like "schools" ?? Who the heck needs a list of schools nearby? Surely the only school /s you need to know about are ones you have an interest in, in which case you know where they are! The command "nearest fast food" is recognised by the system, but to no avail at all, as there are NO fast food establishments in the database!! How :tsktsk: stupid. I find the ML audio system good, with a nice sound, but no better than any good Pioneer /Kenwood / etc . Menu transition and commands using voice recog is labourious, the parking camera is over complicated, with green lines, red lines, curvy lines etc etc. :o but the real let down for me is the crappy data in the sat system - apart from the food / restaurants as mentioned, I also tried "nearest cinema" and was directed to a palladium cinema in the next town 4 miles away which has been a wetherspoons pub for over 6 years! I was actually parked outside a multiscreen complex at the time, and this "did not exist" Rubbish, very disappointed.

3) It was rainig today, and as we parked at Tescos to shop, when we opened our doors, both of us got soaked with water dripping off the tops of the door apertures, which continued to drip onto the new leather seats after we exited - whats that all about then in a 33k car???

4) Road noise is quite high ( bridgestone shod) on any but the smoothest of tarmac.

5) Why oh Why did they fit the catch / handle for the "ski hatch" in the small boot, on the boot side?- I can only just reach in and operate it - the small wife has no chance It would have made so much more sense to have operated it from the back seat side instead.

6) I have started to try and work through the manuals for both the car and the MM but they are not well written /translated. I was also given a CD which was supposedly to fully explain the MM system, but firstly, - it doesnt play on the in car unit !! and secondly when I fired it up on my PC, it was rubbish. No sound, just a few silly graphics, and brief overviews of things which I already knew from the original brochure, or regular quick start booklet.PLUS it also has erroneous data IE: "paddle shift the gears up and down of the 5 speed auto box" dont know about others, but mine is a six speed

7) So all the important functions for each driver setting are memorised in the system ? Seat, overtaking mirrors ( incorrectly named rear view mirrors) and steering wheel position. What about the interior mirror???? Wifey has to change that every time she drives, and so do I upon my return.

Anyway.....rant over for now...suffice to say it has not been the superb experience I was hoping for, and the car / dealer is leaving me distinctly underwhelmed so far, especially as I waited over 7 months for it.

Very disturbingly I find myself thinking....have I made a wrong decision with this car choice?

I remember being very impressed after the short test drive in the 320d - certainly from a "drivers" point of view anyway. Lovely colour, technically impressive, but "could do better"

Lexus are still "pursuing perfection" in my book, and have some way to go yet !

I shall be writing to Lexus GB.

Schools comment very funny, very 'Clarkson-esque'

P.S. when I picked up my 2nd hand Lex at Edinburgh I got to use the mysterious Handover room - quality man!,

"Has been in the family for years" and yet has had 7..... SEVEN !!!!!! previous owners !!???

So what? It's a 15 year old car, that averages out as a keeper change every 2 years. Don't forget that registered keeper is not the same as owner/driver. If it was a company/lease car originally, it will have maybe been pre-registered to the BMW dealer, then to the lease company, then perhaps to the private owner. If he passed it down within his family, it would be a keeper change each time.

My 99 GS has got something like 5 previous owners, but it's mint. On older cars, condition matters more than mileage or no. of keepers.

Ditto,

The number of owners of a vehicle is totally irrelevant - you can have 10 mint owners of a car, but you can have a one owner who has thrashed the a*** out of a car. Check out the car professionally and ecide on that only.

So does this mean the handbrake light wont work anymore??

Only kidding, I understand perfectly, ingenious tip.........

Today an odd thing happened.

Got a phone call from what I thought was a call centre. I usually han g up on these things, but it was caught unaware.

The asian-sounding male, asked me to take part in a survey, in which he asked if I had a mortgage and how long I had had it for. Then, thats it, he thanked me for taking part. End of.

The call took no more than minute. My phone number is not in the phone book and he knew my name.

He did not ask me to press any numbers on my phone or call back etc.

Cant help thinking it was something suspicious. Any ideas?

Dont try to polish it out yourself, you will make a complete **** of it!! I had some 3M cutting polish and made it look worse. Take it to a bodyshop you can trust - they will professionally cut/polish the mark out by machine. Believe me its worth it.

so currently i have the light on the dash saying that the rear bulb is out, so is this most likely to be the LR's not fitted correctly?

To check this i took out the Right hand side buld and replaced with normal light and it went off.

Any help much appreciated

Yes, you need another LR each side

More interesting facts:

I have tried the bulbs round the other way and it would appear to make no difference with regards to polarity.

Furthermore, if you dont have the sidelights on, the pulsing stops immediately after the brake pedal is lifted. If the sidelights are on, the pulsing continues for about a second and a half after the brake pedal is lifted -interesting (maybe)

I wonder if this is resolved with the further set of LR?

Anyone?

Mike,

Received the bulbs etc, so many thanks

Connected them this morning. Prior to putting the whole rear light unit back in, I operated the brakes, so I could see the bulbs - both side operated fine, with the full pulsing effect - rather impressive!

However to concur with others, if you have your sidelights on at the same time, the dash warning light will come on as if to indicate a rear bulb is out. It goes out when you depress the brake pedal, but comes on again a short time later. Not the end of the world I suppose, but annoying none the less.

Mike, if i require another L/R, then I will buy another pair from you, I think it is worth the effort.

Gonna accept a paypal payment mate, cause the Nationwide is MILES away.

Thanks again.

Gib

Came accross this "Game" ........HERE!

very amusing

Do it a few times and the answer will become clear

HOW DOES IT WORK??

Came accross this "Game" ........HERE!

very amusing

Do it a few times and the answer will become clear

HOW DOES IT WORK??

Worked it out

Guys.......I was not aware of the requirement to fit LR's across the bulbs as noted in previous threads in this post.

I've already gone out of my way to supply the LR's as soon as possible and they are now already to send out to you all. :D

I'll also take some pics and post them up here so everyone know what to do :D

Mike,

Everyone appreciates your efforts

I take it you wont be organising another GB soon !!!

:-)

Don't waste your money on dealer servicing. Any money you lose on a 'trade-in' value is more than made up by the fact you've spent less on independent servicing - find an independent you trust and stick with him.

Further more the fact that you get more for your vehicle with a full dealer history is completely false. Believe me, I know....

Furthermore, dont believe that Lexus only take trade ins with full LSH - myth. I got full trade in price for my last one and it had some independent servicing. AND if you look at the small print of Lexus GB for 2nd hand vehicles with FLSH, it only means the last major service was done by the dealer - and if the vehicle you trade in doesnt have one, they'll do it before resale. CON.

If your car is gonna be 9-10 years old before you sell, then what difference will it make? I would only buy a 10 year old car based on how it drives, looks and whether you have an honest face...

Oh yes, a stamped book would be good, but I wouldn't care if it wasn't main dealers or not...it's different if the buyer knows nothing about cars though!

At 10 years old your car will be worth only £2-3k tops, and you're looking to lose £300-500 of the value of a 10 year old car max by not having a FDSH, which you will have saved in one or 2 services between now and then...so I would go to a local yocal that I trust, and ensure you keep the reciepts!!

Well said..............

Rant over.

They way the stealers price their servicing really pees me off, like charging to fill the washer bottle when it's already full, replacing wiper blades when you tell them not to, charging a fortune for a 1/2 litre bottle of "top-up" oil when the car doesn't burn oil....etc etc

And like Maneesh says, they want almost £100/hour for the priviledge which prices a simple oil change at almost £200

Damn right..or the way they advise changing brake pads because they are 30% worn, and won't last until the next service, and they don't recommend customers economising on brake pads or charging 12 quid for changing the Battery in the key, when I can get the Battery for a quid!! The list goes on....stealers only make 5-10% on car sales, it's the parts and servicing they make up to 40% on!!!

I think you'll find that dependent on the vehicle make they make FAR LESS than 5-10% on new car deals especially. I found recently on an enquiry than a local Renault dealer was making around £40 on a new Clio deal and that a local Ford dealer was making a profit of £29 on a new Ford Ka. They do however make vast bonuses from the manufacturer if they meet deadline targets at the end of the month. Hence, you should buy a new car at the end of the month when targets need to be reached.

I doubt however if the same aplies to luxury marques as Lexus BMW, Merc, etc, where turnover of vehicles is not quite as important as retaining vehicle image.

All franchises make HUGE turnover on servicing and parts.

I have a good idea who was responsible......

There's a lowlife estate down the road and every evening a group of toerags hang around at the end of the road where the council have thoughtfully placed a nice bench. They hang around drinking cider and smoking weed and generally working towards an ASBO. I was actually planning on paying the police a visit tomorrow to voice my concerns!

Also tuns out that the house two up from me was burgled only 3 weeks ago.......they were in his house all night and helped themselves to pretty much all they wanted.

Mike,

Skip complaining to the local police and write direct to your local councillor - they administer ASBO stuff in liaison with other agencies. Any advice needed give me a shout.

Yep, scenes of crime officer came round but as the door and most of the furniture they'd moved is wooden, no fingerprints.

I'll have a look at some CCTV options. Now that the toerags have seen what else is in the house they may well fancy another visit.

Sorry - did i read this right?? the furniture is wooden and they say you cant get fingerprints from it?? This is totally incorrect - technology is so advanced there is almost nothin that cannot retain a print. Insist Scenes of Crime attend and carry out a proper examination.

I have read about swapping of the standard "milky clear" IS200 side wing repeater lenses (with the orange bit) to the properly clear LS430 ones.

I am not sure what models/years there and if the lenses were always the same - so those who have already done it, do I need to just ask lexus for LS430 side repeaters or am I going to need to specify a certain year or whatever?

Thanks

Yes, just ask for LS430 repeaters - you have to ask for orange bulbs too!!

B)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(T7RY B @ Jun 6 2006, 01:23 AM) ←</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->

If you tax it on Monday morning then you have "back taxed" it to the 1st. of June.

It's not like driving with no insurance or MOT and is not an endorsable offence.

I would drive the car for 48 hours without tax under those circumstances.

But as G.W says I would put pressure on the garage to tax it for you.

If you don't have tax, you CANNOT drive your car, without taking the risk. There is no period of grace allowed. There are two offences - driving without a vaild tax disc and driving without displaying a valid tax disc.

Its up to you. :-)

You CAN drive your car without tax. To be MOT tested and back from the MOT station.

Yes, but it must be a PREARRANGED booking.

There is no defence other than that. Sections 29 and 33 Vehicle Excise Registration Act 1994 apply.

So if you've bought your car without tax and drive it onto a public road, until you get round to buying the tax disc, you have committed an offence. If you don't get caught then fine.........

B)-->

If you don't have tax, you CANNOT drive your car, without taking the risk. There is no period of grace allowed. There are two offences - driving without a vaild tax disc and driving without displaying a valid tax disc.

Its up to you. :-)

Hi

I'm a new(ish) owner of a GS300 MkII and it's coming up for service time.

Even though the Edinburgh dealership couldn't be more helpful when I've asked them questions, I'm really reluctant to pay dealer prices for servicing. DIY is beyond me - too many sensors and tricky bits, so I'll have to get my beast services by someone who knows what they're doing.

Can anyone recommend an independent garage in the Edinburgh area?

Paul

Hi

I'm a new(ish) owner of a GS300 MkII and it's coming up for service time.

Even though the Edinburgh dealership couldn't be more helpful when I've asked them questions, I'm really reluctant to pay dealer prices for servicing. DIY is beyond me - too many sensors and tricky bits, so I'll have to get my beast services by someone who knows what they're doing.

Can anyone recommend an independent garage in the Edinburgh area?

Paul

Paul,

I get my car serviced at Star Performance which is just outside Kirkcaldy. My last service, including Lexus filters etc was £180 - Lexus Edinburgh wanted £350+VAT. The owner is Jimmy Curly, tell him I recommended him to you.

Cheers

yep, deffo count me in for a set please mike.

they look good :D

did i see correctly that they flash independently of one another (i.e the left doesn't flash at the same time as the right).

BB sounds awesome mate and looking very good!! :D

Why dont they work at the same time - confused.......

They do work at the same time, it's just the crappy video quality! :D

Mike,

I will have 1 pair too

P.S. JJ - your car sounds good - what mods have you done for this

Cheers

yep, deffo count me in for a set please mike.

they look good :D

did i see correctly that they flash independently of one another (i.e the left doesn't flash at the same time as the right).

BB sounds awesome mate and looking very good!! :D

Why dont they work at the same time - confused.......

How wide a viewing angle are you looking at it from. Most LCD have a very narrow viewing angle...

Not sure, but not that much - the Tosh. has quite a wide viewing angle, it says.....

Hi,

Right, now I am seriously fed up.

A couple of months back, i bought a 37'' LCD Toshiba TV. Looks the part I have to say and was the recommended set....

DVD playback is good.

TV picture is woeful. Installing Sky doesnt seem to have helped either.

The problem is that watching the TV straight on is good. But from any other viewing angle, it becomes brighter and facial tones very pink. I have reviewed other LCD's and I dont see a similar problem.

I have altered my picture settings a hundred times over, to no avail. Unless I am missing something obvious. Toshiba tv's are a bit like Lexus cars - they just don't break, so I am confident there is nothing wrong with it.

Can any professional help out? What have I missed?

Thanks

Mike,

This sounds like a great gimmick and the sort of cr*p I would buy

Register my interest, if I can see a video clip of your lights first

Thanks

Strictly Hugo Boss.......

Where did you get the wheels??