Parrot of Doom

So how does that work then? Well engines don't tend to be very fuel efficient when they're cold. And people in cold cars often want the heating on, which means the engine will be on. But driving around town with a hot engine, you'll see pretty good mpg on the 400h.

The thing is, that's almost all motorway mpg. In and around town, the 400h does far better than many other cars, even small diesels, basically because the engine is only on when needed. I've sometimes driven for almost a mile at 30-40mph on the battery, so you can imagine how little the engine is used in stop-start traffic.

I managed to get good indicated mpg today, on a journey from Nottingham to Manchester (A50 > A500 > M6). This was at a constant 65mph (with drops down to 50 near Stoke, and roadworks near Manchester on the M6), aircon compressor off. I think it's pretty good for a 3.3 litre box on wheels. Fuel is 97 or 98 RON, outside temperature about 12C. Perhaps others might post their results, with different driving styles, for comparison?

I got replacements for my LS400 from these guys: http://www.cargasstruts.co.uk/ Although the RX isn't listed, perhaps they're the same as a Toyota?

Disappointing that you've banned him, I was looking forward to his explanation of how he could claim the cambelt had been changed when I could not. In case the new owner googles his car's plate, I'll put it here so a search engine can pick it up: S327 SVR

Cruise control operation is a bit weird, but once you've pressed the button and the "cruise" light is lit, you move the stalk down to cruise at your current speed, away from you to cancel, and up to resume. While in cruise, you can also move the stalk up and down to raise or lower your speed. To remove the gear shift you have to first remove the cupholders, then get your fingers in the wood trim and lift it up. Once you've unplugged the switches and whatnot, you can then remove the gear selector unit.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301130771919 Have you noticed also that by updating the car's details in that auction thereby avoiding two individual listings, he surreptitiously avoids paying Ebay fees?

I dont think anybody questioned your story certainly not me. The sooner this guy is dealt with by the authorities the better but just how many times do you have keep reporting crimes? Mike Yep for the avoidance of any doubt what so ever please click on second link & just view the feedback comment from the buyer of this specific vehicle, this will explain what i am all about! I think that pretty much vindicates me! Please guys just chill out man & give me a break! Perhaps you would be so kind as to email the person who bought my old car and offer him a link to this thread. I'm sure he'd be very interested to know of the faults it has/had, faults you were aware of but did not list in the auction. Being a trade seller, I'm sure you'd put those faults right at your own expense, as dealers are generally obliged to do.

The invoice was for the timing belt kit only, and it was only for about £100 or so. If you know of a garage that will supply and fit a timing belt kit for £100 then I think most people in this country would be flocking to it. Presumably the person who paid the invoice bought the kit himself, and had the work done at a garage of his choice. On the test drive, I told you that I had only the invoice and you said words to the effect of "Oh, I thought it was for the cambelt change", and began to sound worried (despite the wording in my Ebay advert being quite clear). When we got back to my house, on discovering I could not find the invoice, you then gave me £700; £300 less than your offer made through Ebay of £1,000. I'm sure that placing cash in the hand of a potential seller is a good sales tactic, but you will no doubt recall that I insisted you take the money back and offer me a more realistic sum. I said £800, and you then started complaining that you didn't have enough money for petrol. Frankly, I let you have the car for £780 because I was, by that point, getting sick of arguing over a paltry few hundred quid, and with an impending trip abroad and the insurance about to expire, I just wanted to get rid of my old car. If circumstances had been different I could have gotten easily another £500 or so, from someone more honest and forthright than yourself. You're clearly not to be trusted, as proven by the differences in the wordings of the two auctions for that car.

For the avoidance of doubt, and in case anyone thinks I've invented some of the points I've made, here is the auction I placed on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151231521174&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:GB:1123 And here is the same car, advertised by Lexuschap, also on Ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-LS400-LPG-Converted-MK-4-Bronze-Service-History-Tax-Mot-Nice-1650-/301077146257?nma=true&si=7x3X+IF1E6pjXgmB3F4Ql4EasAE=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 I think most people will be able to judge, from the two descriptions offered, who was the most descriptive of the car's condition. I draw your attention to these points: "Its covered over 200,000 miles but considering its age of 16 years, however it has been maintained to the highest of standards" It had covered less than 200,000 miles, possibly Lexuschap has a standard script he copies and pastes to each auction. Yes it was maintained, but the servicing (oil etc) was done by me. Suspension components were replaced by a wholly capable back street mechanic. While this work was done competently and safely, I think most buyers would interpret "highest of standards" to equate to Lexus servicing. "Cam belt kit replaced at 128k at the dealers." I do not understand why Lexuschap wrote this, because I was unable to confirm the date on which the cambelt was last changed. For all I know, it might last have been done at 60,000 miles. The receipt I had was for parts only, from memory around £100 or so. Obviously that is not a receipt for work done, which would be at least three-four times more. And the receipt was not a Lexus dealer, it was a small A5 paper receipt from a motor factors or similar. And I could not find that receipt when I sold the car. "There are lots of invoices for major parts that have been replaced, anything that needed changing has been done!" Apart from the nearside front upper wishbone, which as a cheap interim replacement was beginning to squeak (offside was a new Lexus part). No mention of the patches of bubbling rust on the top of the windscreen. No mention of the rusty rear sills. No mention of the steering play. No mention of the failed auto-dimming door mirrors. Also, "Alloys with decent tires" - while the fronts were very good, the rear tyres had only a few mm left, another point I made in my description.

It may have been mine, in which case I can tell you exactly what to look out for (not much). The invoice for the timing belt change was in the folder you gave me, it was done at Nissans, ring any bells? No, it was an invoice for a timing belt kit. It was not an invoice for a timing belt change. And you know very well that I couldn't find that invoice when you collected the car, a fact you used to bargain the price down. So where did that invoice come from?

I've done business with you. You resold the car I sold you and neglected to mention some of the faults I'd listed in my auction. Despite making it very clear that I had only a receipt for a timing belt kit at about 120,000 miles and that I could not guarantee a belt change had been done, and despite my not being able to find that particular receipt when you collected the car from me, in your listing you stated that the belt had been changed. This was not a claim I was confident enough to make, despite spending an awful lot of money on the car's upkeep. I would appreciate it if you could explain how you felt able to state a particular job had been performed on the car, when I could not.

It may have been mine, in which case I can tell you exactly what to look out for (not much).

I use "suspend/resume guidance" as its safer than fiddling with the screen. I know of the temperature commands but not much else.

I bought those arms for my LS. Don't bother, they're *****. Go to your nearest dealer and buy from there (as I later did). Expensive, but they won't start knocking and squeakng in a year's time. You'll be lucky to pass an MOT with the Ebay parts, once the rubber fails (give it a few weeks).

I sold my LS to this chap. I took a hit on the price it could have made because the insurance was going to expire when I was out of the country working, so I wanted to sell it before I left. I wanted to sell her because some big bills were coming up and I'd spent quite enough already (no regrets). I'm sure some of you remember my advert in Ebay, which I think was pretty honest about the car's faults. When he re-advertised it, none of those faults were listed. Not one. In fact, though I'd stated that I only had a receipt for a timing belt kit and not for cambelt replacement at 120,000, and even though I couldn't find that receipt when he came to collect, his advertisement stated as fact that the cambelt had been changed at 120,000 when I could offer no such guarantee. That's very dishonest, in fact in my opinion it's grounds to return the car should the cambelt go. He also said that the LPG system had been recently serviced when actually an LPG service was due in only a few months time. Anyway, he paid in cash, the car was sold, and I went to work happy that its insurance renewal was one less thing to worry about. I've no complaints but I won't be selling to him again.

Perhaps the quote includes labour. To fit a new dust cover on my LS400 was a big job requiring the removal of the hub, so I never bothered (still got it in a cupboard somewhere).

I've always left my cars in D and applied the parking brake, to save the night vision of whoever happens to be behind me. This also saves wear and tear on the gearbox by not continually moving it in and out of drive (there's no wear on a gearbox by holding it in D while not moving). But in the RX400h, doing so means the electric motors keep trying to move the car, draining the battery and reducing mpg. Keeping my foot on the brake pedal means the engine and motors are off, but at the cost of having the brake lights illuminated. I'm somewhat surprised the car doesn't know the parking brake is applied while automatically removing all drive. Is there another way to achieve this?

Before you install your new panel/valance, I'd get some Hammerite on that chassis, and clean up that electrical connector.

Be careful, on my LS the strut rods were welded into position by corrosion, and had to be destroyed to be removed.

I have that :)

Well part of my reasoning was so you (the owner) could also keep track of things. Pistonheads has a similar service, over time you can add everything up and see just what it's cost to run your car. Most good owners will keep receipts and invoices, but they can also be faked.

Sorry, I meant to add let the parking brake off once the vehicle is in the air and the front wheels secure (safety).

How about enabling some kind of service history, so that we can keep track of what we've done to our cars? So if I changed the oil or bought a new part, I could enter it in my profile, and the forum software would time stamp that entry. That way, members buying from other forum members would have a better idea of what work has been done, and when.

Well it's at least two days work to install such a system professionally (there's a lot of work), and that doesn't include the LPG kit, tank, etc. I don't see how, paying £900, anyone could install anything like that to a good standard. Unless, of course, the LPG kit was second hand. I paid around £1800 to have my LS400 changed and the system was flawless over the 50,000 miles or so I did on it. There were other conversions posted in the LS forum - let's just say that some of them left a lot to be desired. I thought about having the RX converted, but to be honest, it's such a nice car and as it's more fuel efficient than the LS, the savings aren't as great.