julian1969

but 1) there is already a premium on buying a new car in existing and soon to be introduced ved rules - and saying the ved is going to be used directly on roadworks is a political sop to the masses who compain (rightly) about the state of the road network. There is no reason not to divert money for this purpose now as it (supposedly) all goes into one big pot. The running tax year on year would come from the ved component of the petrol duty so that is incorrect. 2) I don;t see the issue here either - unless of course you drive a £0 tax car for 50k miles a year - then, yes, you will be out of pocket. It directly relates your use of a car to how much you pay. Again, if you drive and pollute more you pay more, if you are more mindful of your driving, taking public transport if possible, driving in a more conservative manner the savings impact you more fully. I cannot see how this is a bad idea unless you are more interested in gaming the system to drive an pollute with impunity instead of being a responsible car owner. To put it plainly if your hypothetical fiesta driver drives enough to pay the £140 petrol ved and not have to pay £140 traditional VED how exactly is he worse off he's still paid £140 to the govornment. If his use of the car then increases for some reason in situation 1 he's be paying for the increased pollution and damage he causes to roads and in situation 2 he would not. Again, how is this a bad thing (from an overall point of view)? Of course from the owners POV it's costing him more but then he's using more of the countries resources in increased wear on the road network so it's fair.

do away with VED all together then 1 Add a new purchase tax to new car purchases based on emissions or whatever. 2 Add the VED shortfall to the duty paid on fuel. If you have a 5.0 v8 that churns out loads of CO2 / NOX etc with a a sub 10 MPG that you use every day then you pay more. If you have a fuel sipping diesel or hybrid that pollutes less, you pay less. Similarly if you do 1000 miles per year in your LFA then you pay for how much you pollute. Also cuts out a whole swathe of burocracy and cost at the DVLA and other institutions, come to think of it this is probably why it's not done - too many job losses in the old boys network.

Thanks for clearing up the XL question I wasn't sure and wanted to err on the side of caution knowing insurance companies can use any loophole to avoid paying. Mum not one to overinflate tyres preferring grip and my longevity to the tyres 😉 the avons are definitely on the list now.

Ahh didn't see that. Thanks!

I believe the discount is via gold membership.

The ZX7's look good however on the BC site they are listed as SUV but NOT XL rated - given the hybrids extra weight I'm wondering if this is a consideration - I used to drive a Seat Alhambra (VW Sharran / Ford Galaxy) and the tyres for that had to be XL rated ( AFAIK XL means the tyres have a reinforced sidewall for heavy vehicles or those that are rated to carry heavy loads). Might be a complete non issue but cant find any definitive recommendation one way or the other so erring on the side of caution at the moment.

It seems like my new (to me) 2007 RX400h is going to be in need of new front tyres in the very near future - I'm getting occasional buttock clenching under steer on roundabouts unless i'm very gentle with steering and throttle inputs and a bit of steering shake around 30-40mph. My usual go to place is black circles but I've not had to buy tyres for a number of years (various service plans etc. meant that it all got done at the dealers). I now notice that they are doing their own line of tyres for between 70 and 100 ukp per corner fitted. I was wondering if anyone here had used them or if people tend to stick to the big 'name' tyres. I've used budget tyres in the past and have generally had no issue with them apart from one set on a Peugeot that were very noisy.

Has my rx400 for a week or so now and just done my first 'normal' commute Bedfordshire to Rickmansworth and back. Most of the journey was m1 / m25 with stop start traffic and cruising up to 70 with a few bursts of 'warp speed' to overtake. Got 34 mpg on the way there and 33 for the round trip. This is according to the meter on the dash not calculated fill. This is about what I was expecting given temperature and driving type. I'm coming from a Nissan Leaf so maximising regen by coasting and maintaining speed with a light throttle is something I'm used to. There is something very satisfying about cruising along at 60+ mph with just the yellow arrows showing. im hoping that as the weather warms up I can improve on these figures.

Picked it up yesterday and love it already. The torque steer when you give it the beans is a bit of an eye opener but keeps you on your toes. There are a few squeaks and rattles over bumps but that's to be expected in a one box car. Other than that it's great.

Hi pcm, the dealer has already done a service on it. Obviously it's going to need the big 100k in 15k so It looks like the first one I pay for is going to be a doozy.

Just put a deposit down on an RX400 SE (with ML audio). After owning a mk1 LS400 'back in the day' I've always wanted another Lexus but either money or practicality meant it wasn't on the cards. It's having its brakes looked at / replaced as there is a judder when low speed braking and the tracking looked at as it pulls to one side slightly. Pick it up this weekend. Can't wait. List of things to do... obd solar charger usb / iPhone interface. Any other recommendations to ensure a long and happy ownership?

The boot size is a consideration but we have another car for shopping etc. and if i really need the room there's always a roof box :) if i can sneak it past the wife...

Thanks I'm looking at trade in, this seems to be around the 6-6.5k mark for my model, year and condition so it's something to think about. I've now widened my search to include the 450h model too as their reliability seems on a par with the 300 with the exception of the 'transmission pump' just wondering if there is any way of discerning if this issue is present or about to become an issue on an inspection / test drive? Any noises, vibrations or other tell tales that would point to this being or becoming faulty.

Thanks again everyone. Fozzy I spotted your car on eBay earlier today. Unfortunately I'm looking to take the easy option and use my existing car as a trade in so private sellers aren't really an option... Unless you're interested in a 12 plate new shape Kia ceed 2 ecodynamic? No? Lol.

I was looking at that LE. Just as an example what was poor about it? I was wary due to the history being from a non Lexus garage not necessarily a bad thing but a red flag. Is it bodywork or mechanicals. A closer look at the pics do indicate a few possible scrapes on one side. I've had chats with Lexus MK and they seem very accommodating on the sales side anyway. Thanks for taking the time by the way. Much appreciated.

Just noticed you are in Bedfordshire too, do you use Lexus (MK I guess) to service your car or do you have a trusted independent you could recommend?

Yes that one is in my 'saved list' on autotrader :)

To be honest I use my phone for sat nav duties all the time now so 'retro' graphics wouldn't be that big a deal.

budget is up to £8000 (dependant upon trade in value for the kia). There are still a few SE and LE spec cars with the ML audio system it just means a bit more travelling to get to them is all Ideally I'd go for the SE-L but there seems to be a drought of good ones at present. Plenty of 125k+ mile ones about but a decent 50-70k mile one? No chance.

Good afternoon, After 3 years of Kia ownership due to getting on the property ladder, I can finally throw off the shackles of banality and get the GS 300 I've wanted ever since I said goodbye to my beloved LS400. I'm looking at 05-06 plate cars to enjoy the lower tax rate if possible but if the right car comes along on an 06-08 then it's not really an issue. My budget won;t stretch to the 09/10 facelift / interior updates (much as I'd like the HDD audio system). I've searched both here and on other forums but cannot find a definitive 'buyers guide' for this model so was wondering if someone could take the time to answer a few questions for me. 1) Known problems. Are there any? I've heard some rumblings about piston ring failure and carbon build up being an issue on the 300's engine however this seems mainly reported in the USA where fuel quality is (or can be) low. There are also mention of leaking shocks and seizing calipers but this seems restricted to the 450h versions - or do these issues extend to the 300 as well? 2) Is the mark levinson stereo something to hold out for? There are a number of LE and SE cars around with low miles but without the ML audio, as a bit of a lapsed audiphile who always lusted after ML's home audio the prospect is appealing however I've again read that the amps and speakers can deteriorate after a number of years and are expensive / difficult to replace or get repaired. 3) Is there anything else I should know before looking at one of these cars? Thanks for taking the time to read this and any information (or links to articles / guides etc.) would be much aprieciated.

Hi, I'm thinking about returning to the world of Lexus so thought I'd check out the site and get up to date. I used to run a '91 LS400 and always regretted selling it even though it made sense at the time. I'm now looking at a 2005 / 2006 mk 3 GS300 se / sel as my next car as my yearly mileage has significantly reduced. I've done a bit of searching round the boards but there isn't too much information about what potential issues these cars have (which may be a good thing?) All I've found so far is. There was a problem with o2 sensors / ecu's with early mk3's. There seems to have been a recall on some and Lexus wasn't opposed to helping to pay for the replacements. Are there any other gotchas with ownership of this model? Any help / advice would be much aprieciated. cheers julian.