maneesh

straight six cylinder engines are generally smoother than any other engines in most cars. see below from wikipedia There are four different forces and moments of vibration that can occur in an engine design: free forces of the first order, free forces of the second order, free moments of the first order, and free moments of the second order. The straight-6, flat-6, and V12 designs have none of these forces or moments of vibration, and hence are the naturally smoothest engine designs. (See the Bosch Automotive Handbook, Sixth Edition, pages 459-463 for details.) Engines with particular balance advantages include: Straight-6 Flat-6 Flat-12 V12

They are cheaper, but it's not being passed down to the customer. It just allows them to lower their cost base and generate higher profits in a more competitive environment. Call centres in the UK are not necessarily any different from the ones in India or America. It's mostly dependent on the quality of staff recruited as well as the quality of inhouse training given to those staff. Glad that the Lexus community helped you Anees.

According to this link, they ARE damping adjustable! HKS coilovers

Colin, Glass's guide lists part-ex values for your car as: Excellent condition £6470 Average condition £5750 Below Average condition £4990 Hope this helps. Are you staying with the brand?

Westfield motors in Rayleigh, Essex. I used them for my LS and GS. Ex Lexus folks who use Lexus parts and labour rates are MUCH cheaper than London! Oh they are happy to to fit your own parts, if you manage to find a cheaper supplier. I'm trying to think of anyone else in London. I know there are a few members who have used garages on the outskirts of London. Hopefully they will post up. Oh, you have JEM in Hendon, North London too. They are cheaper than main dealer, but it can still add up if you have a lot of work to do.

i would recommend, front lower balljoints and tie rod ends (inner and outer). Also TRD bushes (the ones that replace the ones in the suspension arms) You're correct, stiffening your suspension WILL transfer greater forces onto the softest parts of the suspension i.e. whatever is remaining as oem.

Lucky you were driving such a strong car, and not a tiny little corsa!

Logically speaking, you're considering a 7 year old Lexus 4 wheel drive with 85k on the clock, the current lady owner doesn't have a clue about the car, and there is NO evidence that will allow you to determine whether's it has been abused or cared for? If you do go forward, investigate the background thoroughly-even a RAC inspection doesn't really inspect much. If a car sounds too good to be true, there's probably an expensive bill waiting round the corner!

yeah man..i asked them for midnight (15%) on rear windscreen..it looks like they just carried on doing light smoke! that's what happens when you get a car tinted on a hot friday afternoon! have to wait till monday for them to open up!

People who are shelling out 50k+ for M5/M6s can probably afford to run the car regardless of how much fuel goes up or road tax rises. They tend to be in a very different income bracket from the majority of the working population! Bad comparison mate. Many people ARE worried about fuel prices or road tax. There are many people who dream of owning a Lexus, and save for years, and look to buy a 8-10 year old GS or LS model. THEY quite rightly are concerned that the OLDER luxury car they are about to purchase with their savings is not going to sink in value due to uncertain economic conditions. :winky:

Idiots! That's what happens when you get work done on a hot Friday afternoon! I hope they can sort it out.. Cheers Wozza..our resident tinting expert!

All older Lexus models tend to be in the same ballpark. You're looking at 25mpg or thereabouts in mixed driving whether you go for IS, GS or LS! Exhaust pipes from Blitz or Apexi would be expensive. You'd have to get custom made if you wanted a cheaper price.

Just got the car back from Pentagon. Light smoke on the sides, and midnight on the rear windscreen. Like kanjar says, it looks a lot darker on the pics than it does in real life! Pentagon say they do loads of light smoke on the front windows and they don't find they clients get hassled by police.

I love the center console on those cars, and the way the wood disappears at the press of a button! Quick in a straight line too!

wow..u got the facelift model with 6 speed auto box too...a lovely motor!

if we have managed to persuade you to look at IS300s (which are all auto), can we persuade you to look at an Aristo? Since you only do 8k miles a year, fuel won't be that much of an issue, and I'm sure that twin turbo engine would leave you grinning all the way home

Hmmm, interesting Dave. Thanks for the feedback. So all those folks sticking upgrading and sticking bigger (non lightweight) rims on their cars are actually going to end up with a slower car that doesn't handle as well as it should?

Got an email with the following blurb in it - are these statements true? "Loosing 1kg of rotational weight (ie wheel weight) is the straightline performance equivalent to removing 10kg from your car" 3 facts about lightweight wheels: A lightweight wheel doesn't simply increase straightline performance, when you hit the bumps and twisties they come into their own. A lighter wheel is much more eager to change direction. Less unsprung weight means that your suspension won't have to try and control 25kg of wheel and tyre bouncing around in the arch.

according to glass's guide, the part ex price of that GS430 is 6300 quid..so that dealer is making 1700 quid on this deal! HAGGLE harder..it's not the type of car that is going to sell fast in the current market!

Are you getting Supaglass or normal tints from Pentagon? normal.

Kanjar, what have you done to your front rim? It's kerbed like crazeee!

The tints do look good. Fair enough, some people will tag the car as "gangsta", but if you like them. Must look awesome at night! I'm going for the same black on black look as you, but my tints won't be as dark as yours. The car is at Pentagon right now!

I hope to be able to attend this...hope it's as sunny as today!

nope, you are exempt from fuel duty on the first 2500 litres you use, provided it's for personal use.

Regarding the bumper, 6 small bolts that hold the bumper on the body, plus the little screws underneath where the undertray attaches to the bumper. I've done it before.