Boomer54

7 hours ago, Littorio said:

Oh one odd one, have your windows tinted staying within legal tint limits and declare it, that lowers your premium by around £100

However have PPF (Paint Protection Film) fitted and your premium goes up! Go figure.

I think there may be more logic there than appears at first blush. For example, perhaps a glass tint is seen to reduce the probability ,hence cost, associated with theft from cars.

A PPF though one imagines raises the potential cost of a car repair following any damage to the bodywork.

I really do not know if the above holds true. Just me musing on it.

36 minutes ago, Nigel Coleman said:

Yes Stephen, after recolouring my leather interior I was seriously considering next taking the plunge and buying a machine polisher and giving the old beauty a medium compound cut and polish to remove 17 years of top-coat scratches and blemishes.

Have tried hand compound cutting before but you really need a machine to get good results. Lots of videos to watch on YouTube on how to safely do it which is what I did before doing the interior.

Yes, I read your labour of love leather restoration. Have to say I admire that level of commitment and attention to detail.

At this point I am assuming I won't need to compound, because this car has had a respray less than 2 years ago so I think whats there is going to be relatively superficial.

Todays wash and go was just a let's see what we have got here. What I leaned from it is that I will next do a full decon job on the Roof/Bonnet and Bootlid. Then I will build from there . On the face of it it probably looks good to most looking, but I wear variofocals and washing it at approx 9 inches magnifies everything for me and I see absolutely everything .I am just too pernicky to leave contaminants when with a bit of elbow grease they can be removed. Frankly , she deserves to look the best she can be so that is what I will attempt to deliver. Stew did such a great job with this car I would be letting the side down not to do my bit.

" The only thing that seemed to get lost in the process was my wife’s seat position "

So it's true ! Every 'cloud' does have a silver lining.

9 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Driving in foreign lands requires exemplary and sober skills ……. at least as much as here in the UK …… and great care to remember they ALL drive on the wrong side of the road too …….. I just sooooo enjoy driving almost anywhere and everywhere too 

Malc 

You can say that again !. try driving down from Avoriaz in winter in a BMW 5 series tourer WITHOUT snowchains. IF you were not sober at the start you certainly are by the time you reach the bottom. On the 7th day whilst resting god took 5 seconds to make an idiot who thinks it doesn't matter if his car is rear wheel ,or front wheel drive. Paah, snow chains, why bother this is a BMW, the Germans must know about snow !

So, LexiGirl just had her first groom under new ownership. Nothing like washing a car to see what you've got on the outside. She is a seriously, stonkingly, beautiful piece of engineering. On day 6 (of ownership) 'god' declared I can't do better than this so for all tomorrows I  rest. I am very confident at this juncture that Jeremy Clarkson, and his team of 'experts', whose major function is to seek controversy to boost audiences, are not fit to road test my toaster.

See if you agree below.

22 minutes ago, Glyn Jennings said:

Is anyone young on here?😂

Maybe we should have sub forum called Dinosaurs Still Rule

Anyway as we know, 'it ain't the miles on the clock that count ,it's the pedigree of whats under the hood' 😉

14 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

Gatwick to Porto 😁, sorry I didn't mean to suggest I drove there or whilst there. We were cossetted in an brand new air conditioned Mercedes (cough ) in our travels into the northern mountains then down through the Duro valley and down the spine of the country. Perhaps it shouldn't be  surprising as people generally are not that well paid, apparently the average  wage is just 750 euro a month.

Sometimes it's the only way to travel. I did it myself out of Naples right along the Amalfi coastline and back via Salerno. No way I would drive those roads competing with a zillion scooters etc. I imagine the Douro valley also has some challenging roads sans a hoard of mad Italians who think they are Fangio recreated.

10 hours ago, Malc1 said:

1971’ish ? 😂

Malc

Don't tell me ,he 'beamed there' !

"somehow I managed to learn and pass my test in a manual transmission"

Takes me back. I passed in a Austin Morris 1100, my first car. My Instructor warned me not to try it, but I ignored him and failed 1st time. The problem was it did not have synchromesh on 1st gear so you had to learn how to 'double the clutch' ! Anyone under a certain age has probably never heard of that and why should they have !

3 hours ago, Lexiguy said:

Hi Steven

There have been very positive reports about the rear camera kit which Calvin at SC430MODS.COM supplies.

It appears to be an easy fit, not having to remove the head unit to fit it.

After much procrastinating, I am on the verge of buying one from him and from reports, I would not hesitate to fit it my self. Especially as I have removed the boot linings previously to do a wiring job.

I don't know exactly where you are but I am just over the Pennines from Lancashire and would be happy to assist if you feel that you need some practical and moral support.

Regards, Anthony 

 

Incredibly generous of you Anthony ,but I must also 'fess up'. I was born just over the Pennines myself in the Aire valley, but have resided here in Preston so long now I may no longer have passport privilegies for 'gods own county'. Hey, thanks for the offer and I may take you up on it.

"Median house used to cost 5 times median annual salary, now it is 14 times... and trust me I am not on median salary." Now you trust me when I tell you that data is absolutely meaningless. I'll explain, the ratio of affordability needs to capture three things . One, the aggregate capital value of property, the aggregate income level AND then the one thing that is crucial ,but hardly ever gets mentioned, which is the cost of financing. That is why the best expression of affordability that asses that criteria over time is to look at the at aggregate percentage of income that is devoted to meeting the cost of housing. That ratio encapsulates all of the three criteria that we should be interested in.

Look this really ain't rocket science, you want to explain over 80% of the rise in house prices you don't need to look further than the base rate set by the BOE. That is what sets your cost of financing and that is what is very correlated to the rise in house prices. All other matters are relatively unimportant.

1 hour ago, First_Lexus said:

My gut feel - and that’s all it is - is that a detailer applied when the car is washed and dried lasts longer than those designed to be applied wet. The thing is though, the ‘apply wet’ and then dry with a drying towel such as Alien Magic Aqua or Gyeon Wet Coat are so quick that, especially during Winter, applying them more regularly negates the longevity aspect.

The above is totally unscientific I should add…but based on years of applying a great variety of products including high-end traditional waxes such as those from Swissvax which cost a great deal of money!

Good point, seasonality alone could support using a wet application at least some of the time.

Thanks for the feedback lads.

From a bit of reading I wondered if applying dry rather than wet might give extra longevity. Cannot find any really hard data for that. It's more parochial views on it from some users.

If you have tried both would you think there was a difference in longevity ?

1 hour ago, RONNIE W HODGEKINSON said:

This car was destined for you you Alister So It Isnt exactly what you Wanted !!!! I personally Like the black interior And think as already said a light interior shows up all sorts of marks ..

BUT, that isn't HIS choice. He made a choice, he paid a premium to get it. Each to theirown ,but I am a stickler for terms of contract. If it was me I would be reading exactly where there is a caveat in the small print giving them the right to vary. If it was not there then they would be getting me the car I chose and paid for. Moreover they would be furnishing me with a courtesy car until they did so. No discussion on those terms. I have never broken a contract in my life  and I don't have much tolerance for letting others do so. On the plus side everybody knows exactly where they stand.

I wondered if anyone had experience of using these as opposed to traditional wax for detailing their cars? If so, what is it and indeed if they were satisfied which brand did they use. Longevity of finish would be interesting also. There was a time I would not have looked for an alternative, but Arthritis in the hands makes the usual waxing a bit taxing (I was a poet and didn't know it). Any thoughts appreciated (about the ceramic and not a new career with the pen).

2 hours ago, Chrischesh said:

Hi it’s metallic grey with cream trim , 52000miles fish 

Gorgeous colour combination.

Welcome Chris,

One newbie to another. What colour etc you got there ?

1 hour ago, Glyn Jennings said:

Let me know if you get stuck at any point and I will try to help.

Much appreciated Glyn.

20 minutes ago, LenT said:

Don’t be too hard on yourself, Stephen.  Automatics have progressed dramatically over the years.

But despite the occasional need to drive one, it wasn’t until I came across my Lexus that I’d ever had to consider owning one.  There was no manual option, after all.

I’d always felt I was in more control being able to choose my own gear.  It was part of the joy of motoring….I thought.

Well, I’m an auto convert!  I’ve decided that having someone else choose the most appropriate gear is befitting of my status - apart from which it has coincided with developing arthritis in the left ankle.

I did use the paddle shifts when I first got the car, as a kind of compromise.  But frankly the Lexus auto is so smooth and efficient that I’m now perfectly content to just worry about the steering, stopping and speed.

The one thing I do miss is engine braking.  You can use the paddles to select a lower gear when going down really steep hills - but we don’t have many of them in Northamptonshire!  

"arthritis". Thanks Len, we won't start a thread on this because it would run and run. Suffice to say bane of our lives. Fell running, to long distance flat running to basically nothing. Not a regression I would recommend to anyone.

I am backing off the idea of double wrapping the car. Looking at reviews makes me aware that any 'portable' garage surrounding the car cover might just give rise to a greenhouse effect of excess moisture. So, unless I can find something that  convinces me it has adequate ventilation I won't follow through with that idea. Sounded good in theory ,less so in practice.

The video did make it look pretty easy. I think I might just buy the SCMods unit and give it a try. If I can't work out the wiring I'm sure I'll get some help.

Basic systems came back to show me what they would install. They install via an interface behind the Sat Nav screen. Probably works fine given they will warranty it so why am I reluctant not to go with it. I guess I favour the boot installation ideally, but it's finding someone to do that.

On another note I cannot believe it's taken me nearly 50 years to drive an automatic. So, simple and solves the problem on a bad RA day with the left hand when it comes to changing gears. I did wonder beforehand if I was being stupid buying an automatic when I have never driven one.  Not an issue as it works out.

Ok, so I have just watched the video of the SCMods camera installation which answered my questions.

In my experience most cars have stuff running in the background causing a gradual depletion. On that basis I would tend towards disconnecting to offset that depletion and then just reset the stuff in question. However, given the period in question is 3 months I suspect your Battery will be dead anyway so why bother disconnecting.