Brad's Lexus LS400

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Very Tall Brad
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Post by Very Tall Brad » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:22 pm

I was offered "about £1500" for the Lexus last week - in part ex for another car. I don't want to sell it as I've had it so long and have become attached to it. I thought I'd double it's value this weekend...

As it's 10 years old this summer, I thought I'd treat it to a polish - it's first since I bought it as a three month old car! What a disgrace - "Sorry" to 47P2 John whois going to be really disappointed in me.

I found a bottle of unbranded, organic, spray trigger car 'polish' in the bargain Halfords bin for a pound and an old vest in one of my drawers at home. And away I went. 30 minutes later and it was finished. What a fine result! I was really pleased.

This morning...iced up, shat on by a bird and 4 miles in the slush it looks exactly as it did before I started.

What a waste of a quid. :lol:
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Post by CHR15E » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:24 pm

Pretty pointless washing them at this time of year.

What's the new car going to be Brad another Lexus?
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Post by Very Tall Brad » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:57 pm

CHR15E wrote:Pretty pointless washing them at this time of year.

What's the new car going to be Brad another Lexus?
Not sure...I do have some thoughts...

Vauxhall VXR8 auto is a car I really like (great value as a used car and room up front for my long legs, expensive to run I would guess)

Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit III (1996/7) is a car I have always liked but be careful where you park one. Zero depreciation as long as you buy at the right price - something about the price of a basic, new Mondeo, I reckon)

I have had a Citroen C6 before and now they are really cheap I am tempted by another - I have heard no bad things regarding reliability etc but still worry about the standard of the service back up via the British dealers we have here - which are really not up to scratch.

My shortlist is, therefore :

Lexus LS 460/600 (Lexus deserve my business as both my LS400 and the dealers have looked after me so well )
Citroen C6 (the brave choice when you consider dealer inadequacies and depreciation)


Short list innit?
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Post by CHR15E » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:59 pm

I'd have the Vauxhall myself out of those. If only for the noise. :lol:
Chris
19 Vauxhall Astra 1.6T SRi Nav Estate
08 Vauxhall Astra 2.0T Design Twintop
02 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 4.7 V8 HO

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Post by Very Tall Brad » Sun Jun 20, 2010 10:46 pm

Lexus is booked in for an alternator belt change as the one on the car is showing some fraying at the edges. This also has a tensioner on it. Having that replaced too, as a precautionary measure. A snip at £245 plus VAT.
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Post by RoastBeef » Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:43 am

Belt around £10, tensioner £40 max = £50 if you do it yourself.. What is the point in paying the stealer for a simple job like that?
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Very Tall Brad
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Post by Very Tall Brad » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:05 am

RoastBeef wrote:Belt around £10, tensioner £40 max = £50 if you do it yourself.. What is the point in paying the stealer for a simple job like that?
Because I can. And because it makes more sense than getting messed up doing a job I won't enjoy. At the same time, my car is valeted and checked over. I get a written report on the condition of everything - tyres, coolant strength etc.

The price sounds high (which I suppose it is) but I always look at what else I am also getting - service and reassurance the job is done right on a car which has never seen a spanner from anyone but Lexus since I bought it in 2000. As a result, it has never failed to get me where I wanted to get.

Everyone deserves the Lexus experience to see just how bad other dealers and garages are.
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Post by 47p2 » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:34 am

Very Tall Brad wrote:"Sorry" to 47P2 John whois going to be really disappointed in me.
............and an old vest in one of my drawers at home.

Better using an ex's g-string :wink:
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Post by Richard Moss » Mon Jun 21, 2010 10:04 am

I've only seen one broken down car on the roadside in Al Ain - an LS400.

That probably doesn't mean anything, I just thought I'd let you all know!
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Very Tall Brad
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Post by Very Tall Brad » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:22 pm

Yes times are hard but £240 spent is better than getting it horribly wrong and paying twice.

I will keep my nails clean too.

:lol:
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Post by MikeMedford » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:25 pm

Seems a bit steep for what should be a relatively simple job, will they be topping up fluids and doing an oil change etc as well?

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Very Tall Brad
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Post by Very Tall Brad » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:38 pm

MikeMedford wrote:Seems a bit steep for what should be a relatively simple job, will they be topping up fluids and doing an oil change etc as well?
No. But I'll get a croissant and a coffee... :lol:
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Post by MikeMedford » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:41 pm

Very Tall Brad wrote:
MikeMedford wrote:Seems a bit steep for what should be a relatively simple job, will they be topping up fluids and doing an oil change etc as well?
No. But I'll get a croissant and a coffee... :lol:
I'd expect a 3 course meal chucked in for that :lol:

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Post by Very Tall Brad » Thu Jun 24, 2010 3:34 pm

If you drive long distances (Vienna, Paris or even just 100 miles to London) as I do and want to be sure you are going to arrive fresh, cool, relaxed and in a certain frame of mind, a Lexus is the only car to fit the bill.

People that knock them as being boring to drive haven't driven one, obviously. I agree that the lower end models like the IS220D I was lent today, are no better than a Nissan from yonks ago, but the top end cars are superb. They do hold the road and cushion out every ripple and never fail to surprise you with their turn of speed - 300bhp in what was the world's most aerodynamic saloon and the quietest of all production cars is something worth trying.

By the way, this is what happened today.

10am - Drop off car at Lexus Cheltenham. All the staff I meet are told my name and each address me as "Mr Bennett". The courtesy car (free and freshly cleaned and tanked up) is brought to the front door. Andy, the driver, explains the controls.

I am told to pick up my car at 2pm. And off I go for a few hours.

1.45pm. phone call from the Service Manager to say car is ready.

2.05pm. Return courtesy car to Lexus. A valet driver (Brian) is waiting and relieves me of the car and key. He carries my papers and other bits and pieces to reception and diisappears to get the courtesy car washed and checked for the next customer.

2.10pm. I walk in to reception. One of the two receptionists greets me with my name, "Mr Bennett". How she knew it, I don't know as she wasn't there first thing this morning when I dropped off the car.

Meet the Service Manager who explains what they have done and tells me of a couple of things they have noted.

"Wheel wobble at 55mph" - wheels need balancing. No charge and is already done - how impressive is that?

"Rear tyres need changing as they are close to the limit". £211 each is the price which is trade price for Pirelli P Zero (they make no money on tyres) and cheaper by about £40 than I can get them.

My old Lexus appears as if by magic into the handover bay. It is spotless as it's been washed, vacuumed, dried and polished. Wheels cleaned and tyres dressed. The glass is so clean it looks like a new 'screen. All free and included in every Lexus service/repair.

Total cost was exactly as agreed up front. To the penny.

As I leave, three or four staff say "Goodbye, Mr Bennett" as I walk outside

My drivers seat is back in it's original position together with my rear view mirror and door mirrors (little things like that impress me) and I drive away.

Perfect.

Now try getting that standard of service time and time again, year in year out for ten years from Mercedes or BMW or Jag - it just won't happen. That's a big part of the reason why I drive a Lexus LS.
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Post by whitelion58 » Thu Jun 24, 2010 4:06 pm

I am with you, Brad, in thinking that good customer service is important. So few encounters with people who are supposed to be offering a service are so pleasant! Of course, all that car washing and stuff does cost money, but courtesy should be free!

A sharp contrast to my experience with a Ford main dealer it must be said. This is a few years back when I had a brand new Galaxy VR6 Auto Ghia company car. The most expensive car you could buy from Ford at the time, worth about £25k. Furrows really could not give a t*ss though! Rude and disinterested counter staff was the usual experience. After a major service it came back with a misfire - they had replaced the HT leads and broke one in the process. Clips on the airfilter were broken and missing and several fasteners under the bonnet had vanished completely. They told me "that does not really matter" and tried to charge me for another set of leads!

What a bunch of cowboys.

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