Gbneil

Is way to and fro on the wheels front...my cars original alloys are immaculate which I believe is rare...it makes the car look stunning and original...but is like to see it on a set of big wheels....just to see....

Again I will issue my standard warning....don't think you will enjoy a brief affair with your car....they get under your skin, a lexus is for life not just a stopgap...enjoy...gbn

It was intended to be dylanesque...I'm working on another few verses but wanted to keep that short to make the point...

Inspired by the Palestine thread... God and the devil walked side by side, Looked down at the world and they both cried, One of them in laughter one of them in pain cos the people of the world were doin it again....and again Well you created them, then they created you So you cant blame me and I cant blame you Its you to blame but not the you I know Its all of the gods they made down below I can see why you cant see the gods that they all blame Its hard to see whats comin up on board a movin train I am on the sidelines here just workin on my tan But sometimes all it takes is one honest decent man So the devil stood up and said I will not stand by how many more decent folk are gonna up and die My gods good and yours is bad , youll all go straight to hell Well none of these folks are welcome there, Ive got it runnin swell Aint no place for religion in my home way down below Just honest sinners and decent folk who deep down still all know Religion takes an honest man and fills him full of hate And honest men should realize this before its way too late

Good effort...welcome

You make my point much more succinctly...these cars are chronically undervalued....I am in a relatively luxurious position where my daughter and mrs have cars so if I don't sell the big beast, it won't take up any more space than it does already....also, it owes me less than I think I need for it...I don't usually give a second thought to losing a few quid on a fun car, but hey, find another 67k miles ls with full history for less than 2k....realistically I know, as you do, that a lexus like mine is probably worth 1500-2000 to a lexus person who KNOWS what they are looking at....at your local auction, it would struggle to break a grand....a sad indictment when you consider these cars were designed and built not just to compete, but to BE the best in the world....now, how would I replace that!.... It will be no hardship to use this car throughout winter, though I suspect some of our university professors may cast an envious eye over it and wonder what ELSE I do to make money....especially of it ends up on polished 19s with a nice window tint haha

Valuing used cars is a minefield and as we all know, a god deal is where both party's are reasonably happy, ie a compromise. But brand snobbery plays a huge part. Before buying my ls400 I went to a local auction who was having a collectors sale. Listed was a one owner 1996 mercedes s280 with 50k miles. It was poverty spec, wheel trims, no radio fitted at the request of it's only owner and was, to all intents and purposes a new mercedes...not a sought after 500 or 600, a beautifully kept, unmarked 280. The car was advertised as estimated 3-4k which I thought strong even with the condition and I took 3k to auction thinking 'only I will pay this kind of money for a Jewish racing gold poverty spec Merc'....wrong...it made....6k! Really, I know the auction owner and it sold!! I would put the ls400 I bought at about 80% the condition of the old Merc! and having driven both! twice the car to drive. Same age, same colour, virtually same miles...i bought the ls for a fraction of the mercs price....does that mean the Merc was 'worth' several times the money....I don't think so. I am unfortunately having to advertise my ls and it is for sale for less than 2k....but here is the kicker...I don't think I could buy a significantly better car regardless of budget....certainly a newer 10k car would be nice, shiny, newer...but better?...offer the blend of attributes, serenity, un flustered competence the big lexus does...no thanks, il save my money in future....now, don't tell anyone about this, and for gods sake keep this forum secret....we don't want the prices going up now do,we?....I might want another next summer!! Joking aside, and I rarely do this with my 'summer treat' car...if I don't get what I want for the lexus I will mothball it and have another Ls next summer...the same one....these cars GET UNDER YOUR SKIN

I'm about to change my insurance...45 with loads of NBC and they are charging me £731 fully comp....dunno if we can slate insurance company's but mine rhymes with la viva!.....quick on line search dropped it to £300 or so....fair saving...

Nice car man, am down the road in dundee with an ls400 which am thinking about modding with wheels etc if nobody takes her off my hands before my uni term starts..

Enjoy mate, these are remarkable machines. I had owned mine two days when i made a 650 mile round trip and such was the cars aura of competent quality, it never even occurred to me that it would not make it...not many sub 2k 'bangers' I would have jumped in mid July and made such a trip...2500 miles later, it's still to miss a beat! I'm in a bit of a quandary with mine, I go back to uni in September and really don't need it. I buy 'treat' cars for the summer months then go back to being a poor student for the rest of the year...but I really don't wanna let it go....it IS on gumtree and I have tentatively offered it to a few members on here...but be warned....these cars GET to you...in a big way...

My ls came with a suitable golfing umbrella on the parcel shelf to prop the bonnet open...darn struts, you'd think they soiled stay tip top given how little times the bonnet needs to be open compared to the opposition....

A voice from history... First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. Pastor niermoller, former anti communist, Protestant, supporter of hitler, reformer who realised his mistakes, stood up for his beliefs and mistakes, survivor of concentration camps where he was put by the very regime he initialy supported. An inspirational quote with huge resonance. Gbn

1770 and rising...after another attack on a UN run school kills and injures more civilians...and this after the Israelis have been briefed as to where UN run schools and hospitals are...and the soldier allegedly kidnapped has been accounted for...died in combat, not kidnapped. This is mechanised murder and against the morality of any modern society. I thank the contributors, for and against on this thread, for their views. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I fear never the twain etc..I think that this is part of the problem. We live in a blame culture. Someone, or something, has to be apportioned blame before 'we' take sides. Who is to blame, historically, culturally, religiously does not matter here. What is happening right here, right now IS WRONG. Where are our pious politicians, where are the stars who stand up for UNICEF, and famine, and land mine charities? Where are the good people of Palestine, the good Jewish people,the good people of the world who must collectively stand up and tell, not ask, tell their leaders ENOUGH. There are no evil 'races', just evil individuals. One of the most iconic images of the twentieth century for me was the lone student in tianemen square standing up to the red army tanks. Edmund Burke said all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing. All it sometimes takes is one good man. Please let that good man appear soon. I feel dejected and sad that this, and other atrocities the world over are allowed. The hypocrisy of power changes Osama bin laden from a CIA funded freedom fighter in Afghanistan fighting the Russians to the most wanted man in the world when America invade the same country. Politics is mot my thing and i would be out of y depth discussing these situations on anything other than moral grounds. I ave said all I wish to on this topic, but like others on this thread, wish to applaud the mature and educated posting on this volatile issue. Peace, gbn

Lovely looking car man, enjoy

Perhaps we have no need for oranges or weapons of war....?....cynical, perhaps...but when you look at the conflicts we have intervened in they seem to have been underpinned by natural resources and political popularity...the west sat by for Rwanda....and Mugabe and his hatchet men...and now Israel...my point is regardless of blame, regardless of who threw the first rock....this is wholesale slaughter from a civilised country to another and one which should not be tolerated. One cannot and should not generalise but ****, this is murder of women and children, the targeting of hospitals and schools, civilian houses...by the fourth biggest army in the world, by a country that spends more per capita on 'defence' than any other...the minority extremists who mistakenly or otherwise fight these people with rocks don't sound like extremists so much as optimists.... This constant bombarding and brutal killing of a civilian people because of cultural and religious differences should have a resonance with the Jewish people and I hope and pray common sense intercedes before this escalates and we have a middle eastern genocide.

I have a theory regarding this....most people swing themselves out of their car by grabbing the wheel...in a lexus, this is sometimes before the wheel has retracted fully this putting lots of pressure on the retracting mechanism....therefore,causing premature wear/failure....be patient...plausible?

My ls is on 67,000 miles with history, it has a cam belt sticker from 2007 with 27,000 miles...only 40,000 miles ago but, should it be done on time, ie it's 7 years since changed....there seems to be a lot of info, misinfo with regards this some saying ten years, some saying miles etc...

Death toll now about 1600 plus inc 300 children to around 50....almost universal apathy towards this due to the political and historical sensitivities involved. This is a horrendous, embarrassing indictment towards our 'civilised' United Nations and a flagrant flaunting of human rights REGARDLESS who is too blame....I feel great shame to be a priveledge, educated westerner...

Some pics, may need resized?...

Does anyone have 19s on their ls...does the car sit very high, ie, does it need significantly lowered with these wheels...I am not looking for a slammed look but would like the car to still sit not too far off stock...appreciate it is going to be higher unless I lower it but how dongle proportions look without the added expense of a,lowering kit....any advice, picture etc greatly appreciated...gbn

Show was called sin city motors....aired on dave

My point was I wouldn't have bought a modded car, but I KNOW my car is a good one, cherished and looked after, so I don't mind modding it for cosmetics.. This way I know the mods have not been done at the expense of general maintenance.. Come resale, it would be easy to advertise it with the options above, ie returned to standard or lightly modified...either way, the non used parts could also be sold on....as I have said, I am undecided about this, but I love the look of the gold car in the link I posted...horses for courses, ....so long as I would not be excommunicated from these fine pages...ya never know when your gonna need help or advice....Re affecting value, I have tentatively offered my car for sale over last few weeks as I return to uni in September and won't need it...if there were no takers, the modding road would probably be the one I would go down....I could spend the money I save on fuel on cosmetics....realistically, even with the condition and miles I am under no illusions, this is a £1500-£2000 car, max....at this end of the market, modifying can alienate some traditional buyers, but may also give the car a usp for someone with similar tastes....still a £1500-£2000 car....it's a crying shame these cars are so undervalued, but then, it enables impecunious owners like myself to own and experience a car that was designed with one criteria..to be the best....this car knocks mercedes, jags and bmw I have owned into the proverbial cocked hat....it's getting under my skin!

We have the ones mans terrorist is another freedom fighter situation here....we must remember I guess, our own hands are not exactly clean here...the british were responsible for wholesale slaughter during colonial times, and we weren't alone...most European countries went to town on indigenous peoples in country's they claimed because, in the words of the inimitable, eddie izzard, they had a 'flaeg'...(flag). More recently The death toll in various Arab countries from American and British bombing has included many civilians, which we tend to forget...History is, after all, written by the winners. I am a fourth year philospher and perhaps optimsiltically tend to believe that people are inherently decent, along the lines Immanuel Kant suggested....the last few years are shaking my faith in humanity....at least when I shut the door of my ls400 the outside world disappears and I am ensconced in a bubble of quiet and peace to contemplate where we are going wrong!!....

Seems like quite a contentious issue...yes, my car is in really good nick and it's a low miles original....but as some have pointed out, it's my car...ironic thing, I wouldn't have bought a modded one, I specifically looked at this one whilst looking for another old jag because it was so original. I'm never happy buying a modded car as you often wonder how the car has been looked after if 'image' was all the owner craved.....but it's mine now....and there are a nice set of deep dish black multi spoke 19s local to me....and they would look good agains of the gold....with a dark tint....and a wee bit lower....arghh....stop me

Gotta be a bent 8...or, check out the welderup owner Steve darnell's cummins diesel engined rat rod... http://www.myrideisme.com/Blog/diesel-rat-rod-blowin-smoke/