GMB

I had a gear lever lock on my convertible sports car in the late 60's. Two attempts were made to steal it in 6 months, one in Liverpool city centre and one in St James' London. Neither was successful. Mind you, the Maserati air horns linked to the ( Selmar ) motion sensor alarm helped too.😃.  It would probably still be very effective if used today.

5 minutes ago, NemesisUK said:

Where are Lexus cars made?

Mine were allegedly made in Japan ( The ISF being especially well made too, so I have heard )  and there is supposed to be a plate somewhere that says so.   BTW It's not an import - sold new by Stephen Eagell Cambridge.  However, the only ID plates I can find say "Europe" all over them????🤔

1 minute ago, larryadler said:

Thanks chaps, but not for me I’m afraid, declined to quote !

It sounds like things are getting worse by the day. I have been testing the market for when the ISF comes out of SORN  June 1st and prices have settled at about £600 -cheapest -  from a lot more ( £800 plus )the month before  ( £450 last year ).  I just hope prices aren't going up again.🤞I was hoping maybe things had settled down a bit🥲 .

My expensive thatcham tracker with subscriptions only saved me £40 per year on insurance quotes, so I stopped paying £175 per year for the subscription and stopped declaring the tracker and saved £135 per year. Right or wrong, I don't really want the car back after it has been ruined by a thief.

55 minutes ago, Spock66 said:

I went from LV to Hastings Direct.

Me too - they were the cheapest better known company.

For me the noise was a piece of gravel stuck between the disc and the inside weather guard. But that was a helluva screech! Simple to get out.

The big question is why has insurance gone up so much.

I suggest 2 simple answers ( like it or not )

1   Insurance companies just want to make a load of money and have got together to rip-off the public, 'cos they can.

2  ( probably more fact based as opposed to opinionated )  For many years the Police have refused to investigate burglaries and car theft and they normally just say claim on your insurance, here's your crime number. This has exacerbated the rise in thefts and therefore claims and therefore insurance costs. Plus the crimes are not investigated or solved and continue to rise and increase premiums.

OK you are now free to shoot me down in flames for my opinions.😆

The car looks in nice condition.

Last Autumn we did Madrid and while there got a rail card to visit some great places nearby. I would highly recommend a visit.

Avila, Segovia, Toledo, Escorial, Aranjuez. 70€ for a travel pass for the week covers all of it.

Oh well - worth a try before it gets expensive. If it was me I would try disconnecting all the cables to it which would fully power down the radio, but it sounds ominously like an internal issue.  Sorry.

When I worked at a large broadcasting company we had a usual last resort fix before it got too complicated and expensive. It was called the "engineers walk".  We took the offending unit out for a walk and put it down and picked it up firmly a few times, in other words gave it a bit of a beating. Then plugged it back in. Amazingly it sometimes worked, but usually only for a limited time before it finally died.🤓.

PS switch cleaner can work wonders too.  Just one example off google below-

8 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

in case the bill is bigger than expected

The bill is always bigger than you expected. Best of luck!   It's the Lexus motto  -  大きいほど良い    " bigger is better" especially where bills are concerned.

1 hour ago, Mossypossy said:

Certainly not Lexus standard!

May I have the temerity to correct your statement  - " Certainly not old Lexus standard!

When we lived in France I used to wonder why people used to say "Jerry built" when you see the build quality of French houses???.

They don't even use bricks or foundations or gutters need I go on.....

On 4/24/2024 at 1:57 PM, Ivacerk said:

The 2011 Cat S which was 15.9k yesterday is now at 13.9k , which makes me regret buying my 08 😭😭😭

That one is parked at newton auctioneers in hyde according to a supplied photo.  Get your sherlock holmes hat on and do the necessary due diligence.

It sounds like a selector button is stuck , like when a keyboard key or command key is constantly pressed.  While the car is switched off - Maybe try giving all the relevant buttons a good workout i.e. press firmly, press press many times to see if it releases?

Just a thought, may help?🤔

They don't get it do they. Even a £200 banger can raise millions of pounds worth of liabilities if the properly insured driver kills someone.

44 minutes ago, Mossypossy said:

Still she waits in her lair....tomorrow, I promise.

Looks suspiciously like she's thinking of throwing a con rod.     That's an old fashioned joke for our younger viewers!🫢

10 hours ago, Starlight said:

Happened to a friend on Nissan Qashqai. Modern headlights come as a unit. Cost to my friend upwards of £1750 including ECU for just one unit not pair. Rare incident the dealer said but when it happens, ridiculously expensive to put right. 

Crazy isn't it? I just wish we could go back to simple things like - bulb gone=replace bulb £10 max. Car won't start - it's either fuel or spark =simple diagnosis and fix. The old Yankee V8 muscle cars got it right, trouble was the build quality on those.

Pontiac GTO The Judge is a car that has a 2 door coupé body style with a front positioned engine powering the rear wheels. Its engine is a naturally aspirated petrol, 6.5 litre, overhead valve 8 cylinder with 2 valves per cylinder. In this application it develops 366 bhp (371 PS/273 kW) of power at 5100 rpm, and maximum torque of 603 N·m (445 lb·ft/61.5 kgm) at 3600 rpm. A 4 speed manual 'box delivers the power to the wheels.

Funny isn't it how the people with the real knowledge choose the right cars. My son has  a Subaru Legacy estate - Jap import rust free, the one with the WRX  2.0 turbo blueprinted engine ( quite rare ) - runs beautifully and quick too. He swapped me his ISF 2 or 3 yrs ago.  Sept 2012 facelift 61K miles Full Lexus SH. Dark Grey metallic. In great condition. H&S catback, currently SORNed after winter. Due out June 1st. Goes like stink but never abused.  I considered selling as it does very few miles and is expensive but I just can't bear to lose it. I hope you find a nice one. The Autotrader facelift ones look OK but are a bit pricey.  Best of luck, if you find one you will not be disappointed.🫡

1 hour ago, Mossypossy said:

Life here.

Life here

Wake

Clear neighbours cat poo off back garden

Watch tele news

Go to Aldi

Keep an eye on dogs ( with owners standing by as if nothing is wrong! )using our front garden as a toilet

Evening - Glass of german beer

Nice home cooked dinner with a good wine

Watch Tele

Go to bed

Get up for a pee

Back to bed

Get up for breakfast and pills

Start all over again wondering if it will ever stop raining

But hey, I'm an optimist I wonder what the miserable folk do every day

On 4/21/2024 at 6:57 PM, GMB said:

On 4/21/2024 at 6:51 PM, VFR said:

Yes it’s a funny old world as most on here (so I read) who use Stoke give the place a thumbs up.

I bought my car from Stoke and they were very helpful with a document issue that they sorted out for me.

Can't really complain, overall they have been helpful and easy to communicate with and the car I bought has been absolutely 100%   ---   On the other hand they refused to put any more petrol in my new (used) car as it was showing empty.🤨. But maybe I got too good a deal and there was no more money left in it?🤔.  Cost me £80 only 5 minutes after buying it.🥲

2 hours ago, Mossypossy said:

Always put a cap of £60 a night max, averaged out

The last time we toured Spain ( 2 yrs ago at about this time of year ) we had an arbitrary 100€ per night budget. We got 4* hotels, sea views, breakfast sometimes and large double rooms/ suites usually well under our budget. Having checked recently that is still realistic nowadays out of high season especially away from the beaches and city centres.  It's a shame what has happened to holiday/ some hotel prices in the UK, we rarely do any UK trips anymore. Spain still represents good value for money IMHO.☺️.

PS Night out in a very good restaurant with excellent food  aperos and quality wine usually came in at about 50/70€.

But if you are really looking for value for money try Andorra, it's a bit of a beggar to get to especially from the French side but the scenery is beautiful

2 hours ago, Localhero said:

£37 per night for a French farmhouse???, i watched 4in a bed recently god knows why😗 one was glamping in a posh shed the double bed touched 3 of the walls, make your own breakfast on a gaz stove, however there was a hot tub, £196 per night 🌙 the world's gone mad 😠 Stew

I think the solution is the same as it always has been - Vote with your feet - Works for me!🫡

Both Churchill and LV refused to re-insure my Lexus this year, after many years no-claims.

Actually visited the town. Not a lot to see, all rebuilt. Could not find a parking spot anywhere!

42 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

Well, as I miss my planet I will spend 70k on a ticket to MARS

Slight logistic problem with the ticket to Mars. I don't think £70K would cover it. Maybe £70M? Anyway, there's nowt to do on Mars...or is there? I heard this morning that the house of Lords have passed the bill to send illegal immigrants to Mars and that trips start in about 12 weeks?  Time to start packing methinks.