LenT

I think our village has only recently stopped paying Danegeld!

Is this because it’s an auto and he needs to take his test on a manual?

I can’t see a downside for you either, Herbs! I wish you both every happiness in your new Home for many years to come.

1865? Introduction of Red Flag act.

Sign spotted in Setem …Spetmen…Stempeb… August 2014…

I think you’re right! I had it applied to a new car ‘FOC’ as a special treat by the Dealer. I certainly wouldn’t have paid extra for it. These days there are much better, proven systems for superior paint protection.

Not an unreasonable expectation, Steve. Probably too late now, but I do believe some car park operators will allow the recognised owner of a stolen vehicle access to the video if it will help to track the thieves. After all, it’s in their interests to catch car thieves as it’s not good for business! Crude but effective Steve. The only problem with it, that I can see, is that it’s only when the thief has already damaged the car that they encounter the plate. Same with something like a Ghost Immobiliser - or a simple Kill Switch that isolates the fuel pump. It’s the principle of a layered defence. The thief overcomes the obvious devices but is then faced with wondering why the engine turns over but won’t start. Short of calling out the AA, or putting the car on a trailer, it becomes easier to look for another target. And of course being presented with all these barriers to overcome increases the possibility of a Tracker! And if you can provide evidence that you’ve taken all these precautions, it seems reasonable that you should see a reduction in your premium as you’re reducing the risk of theft. Well, you can but ask!

I would emphasise again that the car does have a very good quality baked on ceramic finish. One of the benefits is that it makes the removal of bird droppings very much easier and the paint surface much harder to stain or scratch. Something to consider if you live under highly incontinent birds!

Unless it’s a fresh deposit - for which I find that kitchen roll and plenty of water is perfectly adequate - I using a method recommended by a professional Detailer. I have a couple of maintenance sprays for my ceramic finish. I spray the avian gift and allow it to soften until it easily wipes off. The spray then also reinforces the ceramic coating.

I may have misread this, but you appear to say that you replaced the two front Nokias with new Michelin CCs. This may have contributed to the aquaplaning you experience. Firstly, it’s not a good idea to mix tyres with different tread and compounds because they will react differently under challenging conditions. It’s also the recommendation that the newer tyres always go on to the rear axles, irrespective of which axle is the driven one. If you still have this arrangement, you may find it beneficial to swap the wheels - bearing in mind that the Michelins are directional and the correct direction of rotation is indicated by an arrow on the outer wall.

Possibly you are…but it’s still a significant sum of money that you’re risking on what I would call a ‘pig in a poke’! At this end of the market, buying a car you cannot test drive - especially from a private seller - may well be a risk too far! Perhaps a test drive and/or an inspection should be your minimum requirement? So your search should be confined to respected local Dealers, where you’ll have a degree of legal protection; local private sellers you can check on; or better sources such as Autotrader (not necessarily Auto Car, as I absentmindedly typed in an earlier post!) It may also be the case that your model spec is too restrictive. These cars were not big sellers in the first place, so you may be waiting quite some time for the ‘right one’ to come on the market. There’s always the risk that you’ll compromise on your ideal purchase - only to have it turn up once you’ve bought what was available!. But thinking like that could mean you’re never going to make a decision! Once I buy something that suits, I stop looking!

I don’t know enough about this model to comment, but I’m sure someone will come along who does! But I would say that most sellers expect a buyer to negotiate down, so that may help you - as may all the comments already made. As for the ML audio, as far as I’m aware it was only available on the top spec models. Otherwise you got the Pioneer system - which was perfectly acceptable for most people. Good luck in your search….

If you’re saying that the registered owner is a garage that bought it less than a month ago, but you’re dealing with a ‘Private’ seller, then you could well be right that this is a ruse by the Dealer to avoid their legal responsibility. I can’t see the point as, according to the Ownership History you’ve already acquired, the Garage is the registered owner so it should be their Agent selling the car - so they are liable anyway. If the seller is operating without the Garage’s knowledge, then they’re stealing it! You also make a good point about any upcoming Service requirements that you may have to cover. As for price, have you looked on the Auto Car website and searched for similar cars for sale near you? It might even turn up there! At the very least, you might find another Lexus that’s less problematic.

This is an excellent suggestion - especially considering the considerably higher than average annual mileage. An alternative would be to take it to a Lexus dealer. Tom mentions the ‘paperwork’…ideally this means all the Service Records, Parts Receipts and MoT Reports. Armed with the reg. number, you can also check the MoT reports on the DVLA website. Check to see if it has all the original equipment / tools / spare wheel / manual that it was sold with. Things like jacks tend to go missing over the years and can offer a negotiating point as you will want to replace them.

Sound advice as ever, Ronnie. 🙂 (Hard to explain to my accountant, however.) The box illustration shows it horizontally across the top of the wheel - which didn't seem to work for me no matter how much fumbling went on in the driver's seat. (Stop that sniggering at the back there!) But as you rightly say, placing it vertically and near the passenger side, meant it embraced the top of the wheel, the centre spoke and the bottom of the wheel. Removal - given that the sturdy lock itself lived up to its claims - would require cutting through the top and bottom of the wheel and the spoke in-between. Probably generating enough noise for a long enough time to put off the opportunist thief. Yes, indeed. Otherwise I'd probably just fritter it away on non-essentials! 😄

Of course it could be a sensor detecting vehicle or pedestrian movement near the car. However, in a cluster next to the steering wheel, you may have a button with a large P on it, which appears to be transmitting to a small cone! This switches the parking assist sensor system on and off. Personally, I find the system very useful. Considering the age of the car, you may well find one or more of the sensors have corroded so they operate erratically. I expect a good auto electrician can check the sensors to see if this is the case.

In the ‘Old Days’ removing the rotor arm from the distributor served the same function. You just had to make sure you didn’t lose it!

If that’s the case, and presuming it’s the Bridgestone Potenza you refer to, then you might be interested in this Review. Among others, it compares the Potenza with the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6. It’s also a good demonstration of how to analyse the performance of different tyres. But again I think it’s important to apply comments to your own driving style and road conditions. There may well be negative observations that you feel will not really apply in your circumstances. Still, do let us know what you finally decide! 👍

I appreciate that, Ronnie. Despite the fact that you’ve just cost me £80! It was your enthusiastic recommendation of the Milenco steering wheel lock that finally decided me to buy one. It arrived an hour ago. I wasn’t going to bother for an eight year old car, but it’s coming up to my Birthday so I thought - what the heck - let’s celebrate! 🥳

Thanks for your interesting reply, but I'm not sure there's much more I can add. Of course, much depends on your driving style. At 10K miles I would expect to see hardly any wear, for example. But I wonder if you are worrying unnecessarily? Drifting to one side on notably cambered roads is what wheels tend to do - especially at higher speeds. I can sometimes get the same effect if I take my hands off the wheel. I suppose it can be mitigated by adjusting the toe-in, for example, but that might create other problems. I don't really understand this comment. No tyre, once at operating temperature, should be even slightly concave. What would be the point? Tyres are designed to be flat across the tread and so present the maximum amount of rubber to the road surface. After all, it's the only contact your car has with the road! If the tread is concave, the tyre's underinflated. I had a look at this article and I wonder if your confidence might be misplaced? It seems to me that his 'research' primarily consists of trawling social media sites eg Reddit for comments about tyres. As a scientific analysis, this is a non-starter! He's simply cherry-picking comments by posters about whom he knows nothing. He doesn't know how they drive, how well they maintain their cars, how knowledgeable they are? Or even, come to that, if they work for Yokohama or Goodyear! Nevertheless, his conclusions are definitive:. Customers have reported numerous Michelin CrossClimate 2 problems in product reviews and ratings – most notably, the tires are noisy... But two paragraphs earlier he states: While some customers experienced very loud road noises when driving with CrossClimate 2 tires (especially at high speeds), other customers were pleasantly surprised by the low noise output they experienced while driving. So is 'some' customers more or less numerically greater than 'other' customers? Is the claimed difference in road noise due to underinflation, road surface, tracking errors - he has no way of knowing! So on what basis has he decided to feature the negatives in his summary and ignore a significant positive? I respectfully suggest that without that data, the mere fact that you personally identify with one criticism does not mean that it was a substantial verdict of them all! These kinds of totally contradictory comments are typical of virtually all such 'expert' comparative sites, irrespective of the product. For a more reliable and considered approach, this is a good example. https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2022-Tyre-Reviews-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm Here, one professional driver takes a selection of comparable tyres around the same test track on the same car in the same weather conditions, evaluating each tyre's performance against set criteria. True, there is still a degree of subjectivity involved, but it is that of an experienced tester in circumstances in which he can make direct and immediate comparisons. Consider your driving style and priorities in terms of tyre performance. If they're more accurately reflected in professional tests like these, then that's the guidance I would be inclined to follow. But just to throw a little spanner into your selection...another poster has just ordered his new UX with....Goodyear Vector All Season Gen3. So there's a thought! 🙂

How many miles have you done on these tyres? The general recommendation is to change the tyre at 3mm tread depth. If there’s no signs of uneven wear and the pressures, tracking and wheel geometry are all correct, as you say, then when did these problems first become obvious? Did they develop over time? Not something I’ve heard myself! Have you tried swapping the wheels from front to back, to see if that makes a difference? The best tyres should be on the rears anyway. The Michelin CC is a directional tyre and an arrow on the outside tyre wall indicates the direction of forward rotation. So they can’t be changed from side to side, but maybe this has been done in the past? We have the Michelins on another car, and the Goodyears on the Lexus. They’re both excellent tyres - as the tyre reviews confirm. Subjectively the blocky tread of the Michelins looks to me like it would be the more effective in very wet and snowy conditions - but differences in tyre compound would also have an effect. So I’m very satisfied with the Goodyears on the Lexus. Frankly, if you fit a new set of Goodyears correctly - or Michelins, come to that - and still have the problems you describe, then I can’t see how it can be anything to do with the tyres! Maybe someone else has some other ideas? Still, all the best!

The Michelins are excellent tyres and the problems you describe would not be characteristic. The first thought that occurs to me is that you should check the tyre pressures. If you’re not sure what they should be, you’ll find a plate listing the pressures fixed to the driver’s door frame - from memory! Another possibility is that the tracking is incorrect, which would also contribute to the pulling effect. One clue is that the tyre wear across the tread will be uneven and you may even see ‘feathering’ on the tyre blocks. I’d be inclined to take the car to a good tyre retailer and have the tyres and steering/suspension geometry checked.

If you’re referring to the OP, I wouldn’t hold your breath. It was posted almost exactly three years ago! In fact the Asymmetric 5s referred to have now been superseded by the Asymmetric 6s. I have the 5s and they have proved to be an excellent choice, especially concerning their wet weather performance, I suggest you look at the many tyre reviews which compare the Goodyears with, for example, the Michelin CrossClimate. Mind you, one recent poster spoke very favourably of another, even newer Goodyear All Season tyre.

That’s the way to do it, Ed. But it was in the day when the English way was…Larn-seea. And probably still is! Oh how we laughed! 😊

In its defence, I had one as a Company car for, I think, a couple of years. Perhaps I didn’t have it long enough, but my recollection is of a very comfortable car that was a pleasure to drive and proved faultless during my ownership. I particularly recall an Italian neighbour commenting approvingly about it - and being especially impressed at my correct pronunciation of the name ‘Lancia’! 😊