Benaywood

Not sure what's going with yours but Japex recommended Aro Exhausts to me in Buckingham and he was great doing a bit of welding to my blowing system, if you're Herts based it won't be too far.  He seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge of exhausts, is good value and a thoroughly good egg. http://aroexhausts.co.uk/

Apologies I did realise just after I posted but my fuzzy brain read it differently the first time(s)🙂....good luck with your search, and haggling! Mine (mk IV) has cost probably more than I’d bargained m/budgeted for but I don’t begrudge the spend as it’s such a great way to travel and it can’t possibly depreciate any more..

I think they'd take the extra £50 on the purple one if you haggled hard! (MOT history doesn't look too bad tbh)   I got mine for a similar commute, slightly longer actually and it was great for arriving home relaxed and enjoying the journey both ways. My journey was 85% motorway outside of rush hours so cost wise OK but I might get a bit twitchy if it was very stop start or really 'twisty'.

A change of job means mine's just going to be used for one long work journey each week and holidays but I'm hooked on it now so it's a keeper even if it's a bugger to park near my house.  I paid £850 for mine, the exhaust was blowing and alloys were awful, a couple of bits on bodywork need seeing to, a good history but also due a cambelt soon.  It's a 'rolling project' but I do love it..

Ben

Is that a velour/fabric interior? Surely can’t be many of those... isn’t that more highly regarded than leather in Japan? Will be interested in what you do, same colour as mine!

Thanks, I wish I had your expertise.. had a bit of ‘shake’ on the blast down to Dorset this weekend and thinking may be a sign that these may need attending to! I’m booked in to a major service at a specialist next week so will await their report..

Just to follow up this thread, I had great success with my exhaust and eventually and have just enjoyed a lovely journey down to Dorset with my exhaust just a distant whisper even during sport button blasts. ARO exhausts in Buckingham is actually one very good egg working out in the middle of nowhere and who’s got a lot of experience with our cars and really impressed me. He gave me a ballpark quote and I said if it goes over, just do it and we’ll discuss later.. he said, if it goes over then he’d have messed up and he wouldn’t charge! In the event, it sounds like there was a bit of welding and a fair bit of realigning the aftermarket exhaust that had been fitted a couple of years ago. All in it was £120 and I was very happy indeed, I’d thoroughly recommend and am booking in my wife’s Golf soon. Just got the wheels, service, cam belt, Battery, power steering leak, central locking to go...

Managed to get in, annoyingly it was my wife who somehow managed it in one go, though I had tried opening the passenger door for the first time prior her trying.  I was losing my mind as nothing was seeming to work. Lesson learnt, leave that key at home and never touch the blipper. Now on hols and fingers crossed all is well...

Many thanks, I think as it’s going off I’m pressing everything in my panic as I’m in a very quiet village b&b! I’ll approach it with a more measured approach tomorrow morning. So I should unlock with the blipper, then manually unlock and it should be ok... 

When I bought my car I was advised to use the ‘spare’ key as the main master key with the central locking and boot release doesn’t work correctly. Using the ‘master key’ to unlock but without the blooper works fine as a manual lock. 

I left my car locked but my wife went to it and used the ‘blipper’ to try and unlock it, eventually using the key manually and locking it I think with the ‘blipper’.

Now whenever I try and unlock it the alarm goes off. I don’t have the ‘spare’ key with me as we’re away. I just can’t work out the order to get it to go off. I can seem to make the alarm stop by locking manually and then ‘blipping’ but I can’t be in without the alarm going off!! Even starting the engine doesn’t make it go off..

The battery’s been checked in the key, it did this at the garage a while ago. Does anyone have any ideas? 

Ben

You're right Malc, and I rarely see anything else I'd rather be sat in on a day to day basis.  And regarding my exhaust guy having a garage full of exotics, he can't look at mine earlier than Thurs as he's got a couple of motability buses that he's prioritised! 

Thanks Pete, I'm going to try ARO close by but it's good to know about Infiniti.  I think I was a little worried by the 'bespoke' nature of the business and I imagined my poor old Lexus alongside far more jazzy and expensive things which might push prices up.. I'll get a quote over the next couple of days though and report back, if it's no good I'll enjoy a day out in the Cotswolds!!

I understand Malc, I’m actually from Kent originally and back to Herne Bay and Sandwich over the next few weeks but it would be tricky if I had to leave a car for a few days even with my enormous teachers holidays (soon to be no more!).  I’ll keep my fingers crossed that no nasty shocks come from ‘my guy’ soon..

That’s exactly the sort of thing my last exhaust place warned me I might be dealing with (before charging me £80ish for my month long fix).. mine’s going to an exhaust guy this week. If his diagnosis is ££££££ could I get the details of your chap? I think you’re in Kent aren’t you?

be 

You star! Thank you so much, I’ll try messaging you now.. 

Lower arch cladding, that’s what it’s called!! That would be great if you could have a look, that’s very kind. That must be some shed!

Yes it’s going to see a chap near Aylesbury, ARO exhausts. Hopefully he’ll put it right once and for all..

Another amateur plea I’m afraid.. I’m in the process of generally making my old Lexus a little more presentable. I’ve rubbed away a few of the ‘light abrasions’ and the wheels are going for a refurb in the next few weeks which will sharpen it up a lot. 

I want to sort out the exterior plastic trim, I’m missing the small bit of plastic trim that sits between the o/s rear passenger door and the wheel arch. I’ve tried a few eBay breakers and been largely ignored. I wondered if anyone had any good tips for sourcing (and then fitting)trim?

The same trim the drivers door is also just slightly loose at the back so it doesn’t quite fit flush with the passenger door. Again, has anyone had any joy in sorting that out? And finally there are a few marks from car parks and the like, I’d be tempted to t-cut if they were on the main paint, Will this be ok to try on the plastic or are there any other methods anyone would recommend.

Overall though I’m a couple of months in to ownership and am very happy. Glad I found the LS400 and this forum! It’s going for a major service soon (probably at Osaka), the exhaust is booked in too so looks like I’m keeping it!  Boot was being a bit weird yesterday though and took a few ‘thuds’ before it would shut..

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Ben

That the ad says they have one in the family with triple the mileage is the thing that got me! That’s 10 times mine on a mere 210k, I’m not sure I’ve clocked a ‘moon’ yet..

8 minutes ago, Mo- said:

No I won't keep it that long, I'll probably sell it after a few months or try and put it into storage. I have a habit of changing cars regularly. Nothing wrong with the cars I buy, I just get bored after a while.

I'd be worried about adding more than a quad exhaust...the weight of it may rob the car of power!

Well they do get under your skin, it could be longer than you think.. I'm a fan of that green and couldn't spare the cash at the time it was up on AT so do keep me in mind if you ever decide to move it on!  

56 minutes ago, Mo- said:

To be honest if I was going to keep it for a while I would change the wheels, wrap the car in matt black, stick on a quad exhaust, smoke tint the lights and tint the windows. However after that the car will be worth 5p so I won't do any of that.

You're not going to keep it for long?... Not that I'm suggesting you dig deep to wrap it in Matt black, surely just the four exhausts is a little too restrained?

Very jealous.. That's not the one that was on Autotrader for a while is it (Larry?!).. I didn't appreciate the bonus of a 'done cambelt' when I got mine so well done!  Hope you enjoy yours as much as I'm enjoying mine, and I hope for your sake you're better at parking it than I am (I'm terrible).

Thanks Pete, Bath's not too bad as I do a bit of work in Swindon each week so not too much of a push.  I've actually just had a chat with the guy Japex recommend and he seemed a good guy and put my mind at ease a little, asked if my car was a 'show car' or other so seems to be able to suit his work accordingly to budget/expectations (obviously mine's a little off concourse at the moment!!).  I can't see him until the start of July so will share my experiences and keep rumbling around in the meantime..

Thank you, it seems that these powerflow people are the ones to speak to in the absence of a welding Indy doing it for peanuts! That’s given me a ballpark and some confidence that a decent weld job can stave it off for a while longer! 

Hi,

I’ve managed to get my LS400 12 months of MOT. It’s still due a service and has a large cambelt due on the horizon.. I also managed to get the catalyst to Centre pipe flange plugged at an exhaust centre in newbury and experienced nearly a whole month of silent wafting around.. Now it sounds like a rumbling mid 50’s American towncar car with its blowing exhaust.   Japex gave me the name of an expert ‘fabricator’ to look at the exhaust but my instinct is their work, whilst being technically very good it could end up being rather expensive.  I’m sorry if this has been asked before but does anyone have anyone they can recommend who they’ve had recent success with getting their blowing exhausts fixed? The place in Newbury did suggest the corrosion is getting near the cats so warned that ultimately replacing them might be what’s needed so obviously I’m keen to delay that.  I’m based near Amersham in bucks but am up and sow the M4 most days so would appreciate if anyone has any recommends that are cheap in and around the south east and can give more than a months repair. 

All the best

Ben

Thanks for the advice guys and also for telling me where the ‘stash drawer’ is. The car is back on the road, I think it was 4 hrs labour for the brake pipes, parts were minimal and I got to discuss the health check which fitted with what most of you were saying. The Power steering oil cooler leak is an quick job and pain free whilst the rocker gasket is not!! I was advised to ‘monitor’ that but not lose sleep over it, I didn’t really discuss the suspension issues (did anyone have this done recently they can cost?) whilst a future belt, water pump etc was approx £9-950 all in. Mine was one of 3 LS400’s outside which I take as a good sign..

It’s good to be back gliding on the road and once my bone shaking Honda is sold on a Thursday I can start the rolling refurb..