bargain bucket big boy bruiser cruiser - Lexus GS300

bargain bucket big boy bruiser cruiser - Lexus GS300

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Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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Well the first train was actually quite refined. Got a seat, it had aircon and I wasn't sat next to a fat, sweaty, faeces odoured moron.

Getting across London on the tube was awful. It was like temporarily residing under the sweaty ballsack of a sumo wrestler.

Everytime I visit London I'm reminded why I hate it so much. Its just way too busy and rushed.

Oh well. Just about to get my third and final train....

CX53

2,972 posts

110 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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What a bargain, looking forward to hearing what it's like.

carinaman

21,292 posts

172 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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Good work. Seems an absolute steal for £700.

That A6 with the cable tie bumper was the red saloon with 50 to 60K on it? I quite liked the poverty spec. Interesting marks across the front bumper.

Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
carinaman said:
Good work. Seems an absolute steal for £700.

That A6 with the cable tie bumper was the red saloon with 50 to 60K on it? I quite liked the poverty spec. Interesting marks across the front bumper.
Yes. My guess is that whilst parking it was scraped against a bollard or something. Certainly no other damage beyond the black streak and broken clips. The black streaks would easily be removed with TCut... They started to come off with my nail.

Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
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Just arrived home! I decided whilst I was down that way to pop in to see my friend in Guildford for half an hour or so. The cd cassette was there and present. On the drive back I noticed a few things I hadn't noticed before. But for £700 in the grand scheme of things are minor.

1 - the back doors don't lock/unlock on the central locking. My guess is wiring or motor. Should be an easy fix, although as its both rear doors could be something more complex. Either way, they can be locked from the inside. No biggie considering the back doors will be used very infrequently.

2 - although the air com has some effect, ita not as good as I anticipated. Probably a regas needed. Again, no biggie.

3 - the washers don't work. At first I thought it was out of fluid. But I filled up and i don't actually think the pump is turning on, so it might be wiring or a dead pump.

Hopefully nothing major. Otherwise the sound system is amazing, the seats are mega comfy and it is super duper quiet. And has a fair old hoof when you bury your foot. That gearbox is soooo smooth.!

Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Friday 22nd July 2016
quotequote all
Ambleton said:
Just arrived home! I decided whilst I was down that way to pop in to see my friend in Guildford for half an hour or so. The cd cassette was there and present. On the drive back I noticed a few things I hadn't noticed before. But for £700 in the grand scheme of things are minor.

1 - the back doors don't lock/unlock on the central locking. My guess is wiring or motor. Should be an easy fix, although as its both rear doors could be something more complex. Either way, they can be locked from the inside. No biggie considering the back doors will be used very infrequently.

2 - although the air com has some effect, ita not as good as I anticipated. Probably a regas needed. Again, no biggie.

3 - the washers don't work. At first I thought it was out of fluid. But I filled up and i don't actually think the pump is turning on, so it might be wiring or a dead pump.

Hopefully nothing major. Otherwise the sound system is amazing, the seats are mega comfy and it is super duper quiet. And has a fair old hoof when you bury your foot. That gearbox is soooo smooth.!
Looking over all of this online it appears the rear door locks and the washer pump are common issues, and easily fixed. Replacement door lock actuators can be sourced from ebay for ~£25 per side, and the pump is again about £20 and located underneath the washer bottle behind the headlight and an easy swap.

Happy days.

TotalControl

8,058 posts

198 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
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Excellent. Hopefully with these easy fixes you should he able to have a trouble free wafting experience.

Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
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For all those who have been patiently waiting. Here are a few more pictures...

I think it has been stood under a tree for a couple of months and needed a bloody good wash. As today is going to be a warm one, and I was awake anyway, I got up at 6am to give HMS Lexustrious a clean.











One thing I didn't do, was prepare myself mentally. Having owned the C2 for a couple of years now, and getting used to its size. This really is A LOT of car to wash!



THATS BETTER!!





Under the boot tray there is all the standard stuff, correct and complete, looks unused too. It even comes with the original toolkit in the leather pouch and a tin of touch up paint.





Edited by Ambleton on Saturday 23 July 08:57

Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
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Looks like its had a recent set of Lexus car mats too. Very little wear! I bet these don't come cheap either!



Original Lexus moulded boot liner...



4 matching Conti tyres all round with about half tread...

The rear wheels are showing a fair bit of corrosion, the fronts are okay...





CLEAN





The headlights had frosted over slightly due to wear. Nothing a bit of Brasso and elbow grease cant sort out!






Edited by Ambleton on Saturday 23 July 09:05

Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
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Now, the pièce de résistance on this car is obviously its utterly wonderful interior. In fact, if nothing else, I'd say the interior was worth £700 alone.

Here's a few snaps....




















Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
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I don't think I'll ever get tired of this unnecessary gizmo!!

https://youtu.be/5SxHR0zssUc

CX53

2,972 posts

110 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
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Looks like it's cleaned up nicely. That interior looks great, a very comfy place to be!

I'm quite jealous, I could do with something just like this. Bonus that it came with decent tyres on as well.

Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
quotequote all
CX53 said:
Looks like it's cleaned up nicely. That interior looks great, a very comfy place to be!

I'm quite jealous, I could do with something just like this. Bonus that it came with decent tyres on as well.
i know! had a very minor wheel wobble about 75 - ill take them to be rebalanced when i can be arsed!

Thankyou4calling

10,602 posts

173 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
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Great stuff

I had a GS 300 it was a 2001 and I had it at 9 years old.

My overiding memory was how quiet the engine was, I often thought it had stalled.

For £700 you have done really well.

EddyP

846 posts

220 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
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That's stonking value!

How thirsty is it?

Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
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Ive not done any kind of calculation to work it out. I put £50 in at Guildford, which took it to about 3/4 full. Then drove 2hrs back home and it was just below half full as I arrived home...

Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Saturday 23rd July 2016
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Took my mate out in HMS lexustrious this evening. Every time I drive it I'm amazed by its smoothness and quietness!

Such amazing value for money!

Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Sunday 24th July 2016
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I've done a bit of trawling online and found the following:

1) Windscreen washer pumps regularly go and are located just below the washer bottle. They usually fail due to spillage when your topping up. The excess fluid runs down the side of the reservoir and soaks through the pump and causes corrosion. These are press fit on, and the pipes are also press fit. This sounds like a pain in the arse location wise, but further reading reveals that to get to this, all you have to do is remove the wheel and arch liner, and its tucked just under there.... The pumps are readily available on ebay and one is now on order for the grand sum of £14.95 inclusive of postage.

2) The door locks are available on Ebay from car breakers for around £30. I have looked around and other online users have been quoted £220 from Lexus PER LOCK (new) plus fitting! However, I might have the same issue in a few months with the actuators failing. So instead of forking out the £60 for used locks, I've simply bought replacement motors and a micro gear puller for £12. This does mean a bit of extra work though. This involves removing the door cards, speakers, exterior door handle, window, loosen the mechanism and finally remove the lock mech. Once this has been removed you then have to set about pulling apart the lock mechanism, pull off the gears and replace the motor, then re-assemble it all back together!

I'm hoping that it wont be a total arse of a job.

carinaman

21,292 posts

172 months

Monday 25th July 2016
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1. I'm surprised Toyota didn't mould a little porch or shroud into the side of the washer tank to deflect overspill away from the pump.

2. The door dismantling sounds like a chore. It'll be interesting to see how much of parts that need removing have been designed to be dismantled and replaced to fix the door lock problem.

Ambleton

Original Poster:

6,656 posts

192 months

Monday 25th July 2016
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There's a good video on youtube detailing the door actuator motor swap from start to finish. Doesn't look too bad, but its from someone whos obviously done it a few times and knows what they're doing. Looking at the video it looks like a couple of hrs job.