IS300KK

Boddamloon says "the NHS is becoming a joke" - I agree. The pressure from management to meet targets is immense, especially when it will be my clinical decisions called into question if things go wrong. I still think that abuse of the system is the bigger problem though; everyone has 'rights' to treatment without necessarily having the responsibilty to pay for it through taxes, or even treat others with respect in the process - the milk of human kindness turns a bit sour when someone's calling you a "stupid f***ing c**t" as you try to suture their hand! The frequent attenders would be shocked if presented with a bill for their treatment - eg 'admission bloods' cost around £40 per patient; some patients I can think of have reached over 100 attendances, you do the maths - I firmly believe it would be helpful to make some nominal charge.

Really sorry this has happened - your car looks so well cared for in the piccies. Mine has battle scars from hospital car parks - of course, no-one ever leaves a note - and every time it happens I'm heartbroken, and my first reaction is 'right, that's it, I'm selling it'. As my boyfriend points out every time, I'd be more heartbroken seeing it be driven off by someone else. All the best Amanda

Car went in to Lexus today. Replaced rear discs and .........................................it's only slightly better!!! Unfortunately, I couldn't test it properly as the weather was appalling and traffic was heavy, but I think it's going to be heading back for further work. Really disappointed, as I was looking forward to having my car back to normal.

Well, I took it to the local garage, and thry think it needs new pads! No mention of warped discs, said calipers were working fine. It's booked in to Lexus on Friday, so we'll see what they say. Tom Cooper: They said that warping is a possibility, but to just watch out for any problems before jumping in and changing discs. All the best Amanda

I agree we pay too much tax / NI, or rather, not enough of us pay tax / NI. Working in A+E, I saw a huge number of fit young men (told me they went to the gym 5x per week) who'd never had a job, and neither did anyone in their household; these are the people who whould turn up week after week, drunk or having been in a fight, for free treatment. The monthly deductions from my salary would not pay for one shot of 'clot-buster' drugs for someone having a heart attack, so where does the shortfall come from? There is huge abuse of the system, at massive cost, but to tackle this (eg by charging £20 for an inappropriate A+E visit) would be extremely unpopular with the masses. The NHS will be privatised, sooner or later, and probably by stealth. The NHS is worth holding onto, despite its faults, but the government is doing a great job of destroying it.

The NHS is yet again in the news, and I'm just curious what people think about its future, and how they (as taxpayers) would rather the NHS be funded. Also, do people think the NHS as we know it will exist in 10yrs time? Personally, I don't, but I'd be interested to see what other people think. All the best Amanda P.S> Sorry, posting this went a bit wrong, haven't posted a poll before!

Well, I'm a junior hospital doctor, so, in line with other NHS staff, I got no Christmas bonus. I do get to work 56 hour on-call shifts, dealing with drunks / drug addicts / wife-beaters etc. With best wishes to all, for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2008 - LOC proves there are still some decent people out there after all!! Amanda P.S. I hope those of you made redundant find jobs soon

Really sorry to hear about what happened. I just can't believe such scumbags can roam our streets with no conseqeunce. Did you go to A+E? It might be worth it especially if you still have eye symptoms. Hope things settle soon and that these pondscum somehow get caught and taken off our streets. Amanda

i have the exact same problem on my 200, in last couple days ive noticed juddering, today i pulled over at a garage and smoke pouring off my passanger side front wheel and the disc was glowing bright red but only in 1 place, not all the way around, so i ashumed warped disc, was gonna go buy a set of discs and pads tomorrow, but if your saying its the caliper i'll take a look at it before buying new pads and discs cos these aint all that old... my brakes seem to work fine still not spongey or wierd and the car is drivaeble under 60mph its only when i go over 60 does the disc start to heat up and wobble... could it still mean the disc is warped from where its been heating up as the caliper is siezed? That's exactly what happened with my last car - got out to find front passenger disc glowing and pouring smoke, very scary! I think I ended up having new discs, pads, hoses and of course caliper (which was completely jammed, so that the wheel was locked). As for my IS300, the brakes work fine at low speeds, but very juddery over 70mph. I have also now started to notice a wobble in the steering with brakes off - balancing done last week - which now makes me think there is a sticking caliper. Won't be driving this very far until it's sorted, that's for sure!!! Sticking calipers do seem far more common than warped discs - will ask the garage tomorrow (if they're open) whether sticky calipers automatically mean new discs. All the best Amanda

I live in deepest darkest Mid-Wales, where our main problem is tractor-mud and sheep. Some great roads though :D, my commute to work is over a mountain road - don't really want stuck / failed brakes there!

I think I'll take it to the local garage for a quick check before I do any more trips to work - new brake system for my Corolla in 2001 was over £400, really dread to think how much the same mishap would cost with the Lex! I haven't got the know how to do it myself. All the best Amanda

I was wondering about a sticky caliper, this happened to my old Corolla once, when I was driving down the M4, judder gradually got worse until I had to pull over and the disc was glowing red! Cost a fortune, because it had boiled all the brake hoses etc, so I'm wary of this. Unfortunately, I'm absolutely dependent on the car for work, and skint after Christmas! It's going in to Lexus on Friday, and I can't wait to get it sorted. All the best

Hi folks. My car has an awful judder under breaking at high speed, took it to Kwik Fit and they reckoned the front discs were warped. Thing is, they were fine until about ten days ago, when I first noticed the juddering, so I'm wondering how this would have happened suddenly, after the car was parked up for 15 days whilst we were on holiday. Would you expect this to happen in a 5 yr old car which has done 45000 miles? I've never had new discs on any of my previous cars. Handling under braking is now terrible and really unpredictable, to the extent that I may have to start carrying spare trousers. Incidentally, I phoned Lexus Cardiff, who quoted a cheaper price than the local Kwik Fit, and who said that I shouldn't assume it was the front discs causing the problem, but that they would have a look at it and sort it out (Kwik Fit assumed it was the front without looking at the car). Problem with this is that Lexus can't do it until Friday, so I'll be driving around like a drunken snail until then! Have a happy (and safe) New Year All the best Amanda

It's not just ice either. My IS300 has a real issue with wet cattle grids!! Since there are four of these on my journey over a mountain road to work (the same mountain road where BF wrote off his 3 series 2yrs ago, and which is littered with road-side 'shrines') things get a little scary at times. It's really twitchy in bad weather - I woudn't even think of taking it out in snow unless I had some ambulances on standby! Still, at least it has character I suppose..... All the best Amanda

Definitely more events outside London please! Wallace has made some good suggestions for music - perhaps a mix of newly commissioned work and 'old favourites' would be good; hearing a familiar piece on a fantastic system is always interesting. I enjoyed the DVD, but would love to have the opportunity to see one of these concerts live - we have this new-fangled electricity in Wales now, you know, along with some fantastic venues! P.S. There are some great Shostakovich pieces that differentiate between adequate and excellent audio systems.

Thanks for the advice. I can wait a while for the right thing to come up, but I would like to get it done - I thought I could just learn to live with it, but........... Now also having to cough up for bumper respray; why are other people such @£%$£? All the best Amanda

"I would think that with all that torque, the IS300 could be quite a handful in the wet, " Twitchy in the wet, but a nightmare in frosty / icy conditions. It was -6 degrees round here last night, and I have to travel over a mountain road shortly, so if you don't hear from me again you'll know why!!! Amanda

Did you go to Lexus Cardiff? I was there about two weeks ago, and they were better this time than on previous occasions. My car was gleaming when I got it back, it looked really good, turned a few heads. (My 02 plate IS needed............a new windscreen wiper!). Dealer service makes such a difference to the 'ownership experience', makes you so much more likely to buy the same marque again. All the best Amanda

I contacted a trimmer, sent photos of the damage, and they said that they thought it would be too complicated to just repair, suggested I got one from scrap. I'm prepared to have a go, it's just a question of finding somewhere reputable, plus we live in the sticks so it's always a bit of a trek to get things done. I would really love to get it sorted though, because the car was in really good condition before I messed it up (saying that, some kind **** has scraped my bumper this week, which is going to need a re-spray). I should probably just buy a cheap run-around, so these things wouldn't matter so much. All the best Amanda

Don't get me wrong, the Potenzas are very good in the dry, I'm just a little wary in the wet - maybe this is more of an issue with the IS300, which tends to spin its wheels eg on uphill T-junctions / on manhole covers (well, mine has a mind of its own sometimes!). I like the look of the Potenzas, and they are pretty good for road noise and comfort, so I would never regret buying them, I guess I feel like trying something new. All the best Amanda

Thanks for that, I'll have a look. At the dealer they told me not to bother paying out, just to take the hit on trade-in, but it's bothering me to see the car looking sorry for itself! All the best Amanda

Thanks. Can stretch to two, just not four right now. Was quite impressed with the Toyos, they seemed much more 'grippy' than my Potenzas. They seem about the same price too, so I think I'll order myself a new pair of 'shoes'. All the best Amanda

A while back, I had a mishap with the rear seats in my car - the bottom of the seat is ruined. Lexus have quoted me £1100 to fix it . Is anyone, by any strange quirk of fate, selling a mint condition leather seat bottom (oakham beige) for an IS? Long shot, I know, but it's worth a try! All the best Amanda

At the moment, I have four standard Bridgestone Potenzas on my IS300. The two on the front are about two months old, and I am about to replace the rear two. I drove a new IS recently, and liked the Toyo Proxes on the car, so my question is: would it be detrimental to have Bridgestones on the front and Toyos on the back? (i.e. would it handle OK and would it look a bit strange?) Cheers Amanda

Sorry, Rsarin, wasn't intending to be "silly", just to point out that, whilst lap times etc are relevant, they are not the only thing that would influence my decision to buy or not. With new (better handling / faster/ prettier) cars coming out almost every month, I would have to be sure that I was getting more than just track-day speed from my ride. But then, I'm not a bloke. Cheers Amanda Wasnt calling you silly mate!.You are right,if i was only buying a car to use on the road,then i probably wouldnt be so concerned with track times etc and would probably select the car based on how it makes me feel etc.I just feel that nowadays track days etc are becoming an integral part of driving,due to the limits on the roads and the fact that most manufacturers of performance cars audi,porsche,bmw etc all offer 2/3 day driving courses included with the purchase of these cars and as a result encourages owners on to tracks.Ive only started to recently pay attention to stats but its mainly cos im competitive and the main idea behind the production of a performance car is to win,and be the best-so naturally you can understand why its mainly stat based which decided which car is best.BTW i kinda worked out you arent a blokey.lol No offence taken!!! :winky: I can see the attraction of track days - we have some interesting, challenging roads around here, but the surfaces are abysmal and there are an awful lot of those 'roadside shrines' as a result. I think the one thing I would add to checking stats etc is the sound a car makes. The YouTube clips Of the IS-F from the US sound promising, but I suspect the nanny state will tone it down for UK release (September 08, according to the dealer I spoke to today). Hope this isn't off-topic. All the best Amanda