Chris Skelton

Apologies for the 'dig' about stuff earlier (made with a smile!). The tale from Aido is a cautionary one! Modern cars are so complex. There's been a string or several about this on Petrolheads etc.. We lucky folk who had LSs from 93-00 seem to have unearthed a gem of a car. I'm often tempted to look out for a Soarer to continue my Lexus life, for the same reason. (A friend had his Peugeot (806?) written off...because the Wiper computer couldn't be fixed!) 2CVs suddenly look attractive?

Even the mechanic had a hard job loosening the nuts! Imagine on a wet night...... Now have full set. Inflated tyre. Jack.Tools. Locking nut. Nuts that don't need the Hulk to loosen. Coffee flask/Brandy...later.

Near neighbour thought I'd hexed him when he had a flat this morning! Off to get my nuts loosened (not by the neighbour!) (-:

Was watching Mike Brewer (dull TV choices!) and he drives off in his new purchase, then, gets a FLAT TYRE! Thought; would be ironic if the spare was useless! Got me thinking; how often do we - ever? - check our spare, and/or the wheel nuts? So today, dug out my spare...it was nearly flat! Never used. Inflated it. Then....after locating the tools.....tried to loosen the nuts. Impossible! Have booked in to my friendly (down the hill from me) garage, to get all my nuts loosened. Where the security nut? Do I have spare nuts, as the spare is steel, not alloy, and needs different nuts..... It's not easy! My neighbour pulled in. Had recently had a flat/wheel bend on M5; had great difficulty getting nuts off....... I noticed she's still on the spare though! Maybe I'll look out for a spare alloy....... Drive safely, folks!

Attention needed? You're obviously new to Lexus. Nowt!!.....this isn't a Merc; enjoy the quality! (I think -it was in the LS400 ser 4 - the dvd is in the boot)

Suited to Japanese frame? Not the larger German/u-ess-A one then? Lardy seats?

Imagine the hacking possibilites!

Going back to an RX.....just shows how the 'lure of the new' has got into your psyche? We're surrounded by ads trying to tell us to buy 'new' stuff. Why should a car be 'out of date' at 5 years old/60K miles? Cars CAN go on to 200K -see ads. If you worked out just how much you spent......ludicrous! 'Even' a 10 yr old RX is more than enough, and has less complexities to fail.

THE LS 400 rides well. A bit of history background? My old DS23 was SOOO smooth.

Toyota spent years selecting leather from cows kept in barb-wire free environment (no scars). Get Yamaha to select special wood....... But they STILL paint cars black! Lots of good work here though. I found a great low mile (original) Smart Forfour recently. It was ....black! Still looking......

AS I've referred to before....The old ad for a 2CV had a list of (othercar's) features that the 2CV didn't have. At the bottom it said "nothing to go wrong"!

Being a fantasist (masochist?) , I fancied the last big one, a 2.8 XWD limo! One used to live in Clevedon where we walk every so often ('Walking'? It's what legs do, besides getting to the car!) Like an LS, you'd wince at the repair costs?

" All of that aside, it is without a doubt the quietest LS I've owned"..unlike the Wife, then? Ta-da.....

Isn't thsat 'little voice' called.......a Wife?

Ser 1 V Ser 2? The front, side lights have a 'line' across them on the Ser 2 ......is how I tell! plus you can check plates on the Gov MOT site, which gives you the 'birth' date.

There's a nice deep purple metallic on sale!

He needed that BEFORE he bought the car? (-: judging on his ''I'll never buy a Black.....".etc., comments!

When I read "taking the carpets out", I thought of the little 2 sq foot thing in our Micra, that's under driver's foot! Not half a car! Intense stuff! Saw an SC briefly the other day, here in Bristol/Shirehampton.....revived my interest (just after swearing NEVER to drive long distances again!)

HAH! You think you joke! 1980s. I DID once put a cylindrical-type old paraffin heater in my Citroen Dyane, overnight, when it was about to snow. I have always regretted not photographing the scene in the morning (6 a.m.) when the whole street - cars and all - was snow covered .....except this Dyane, sitting there, pristine! It had heated the whole car, body and all. Meharis aren't too drafty, despite appearances, and the heater pipes (cardboard tubes from heat exchanger!) are big.

Each to their own-I like light interiors for the uplifting effect it has, psychologically-in the same way as light house interiors lift your spirits.. Having driven South on Friday down the M5 from Carlisle, I saw the Northbound lane was jammed almost solid from Preston to Cheltenham!! That's 150 miles!!! We decided then and there to give up driving long trips! Trains may be less than 21st century, but anything's preferable to THAT! (Thinks; gives me an excuse to buy a Mehari for local trips?)

Rumour has it that guys with super hi-fi additions to their cars will be given an extra 'Audio annoyance tax'? (That's Neil sorted.......) I always looked for those few Ser 2 cars that were early '06. But, as I'm +50 (stop laughing!) I think an RX might have to do, having just fetched wife back from Chiropractor!

My last Lexus was sold 7(?) years ago. But, like you, I still look ...... After 2 LS 400s, I'm thinking of an lpg RX 300. Read some awful things about the Merc eqivalent, for example. Get something you are content with.

Comfy seats? If you're ever at a Classic Car show, try sitting in a Citroen DS23 Pallas. Even the FLOOR has foam underneath!

OK. The Tax regime changed in 2006 (April, I think.) So cars BEFORE that date are (now) circa £305, later ones +£500. There is a lovely 'low' tax 6 month period in 2006 where you can get a Ser 2 SC430 at the cheap (!!) tax rate, for example! Autotrader usually have the tax rate in the details below -when they put them in. The tax rate is SUPOSED to deter people buying bigger cars; it may be a european thing. For example, recent rules banning domestic halogen bulbs in favour of LED bulbs reckons to cut electric use equivalent to Portugal's total electric useage!

My Traction trip was meant to be about 7 weeks, but a broken driveshaft allowed me to extend it by nearly 3 weeks! (Insurance paid!) The trip through Extramadura to Frigiliana, then back up centre to Picos.....9 weeks! Addiction warning. Don't read 'Andalucia' by Nicholas Luard, or you be off (order it from your local library, NOT t'bay! Keep libraries open!) I did get to hire a Citroen Mehari and whizz about in Cork forests/medina Sedonia for 2 days once. If only Meharis didn't fetch ludicrous prces nowadays....£18K!! As to 'best car'? Once in Citroen CX Auto (Air-con failed!). Twice in '90 Jeep Cherokee which was great.