Lexus LS430 Slightly modified
Discussion
I insured with PZU again (reluctantly as they didn't pay out in full for our BMW when it was stolen) as they seemed to be the only company that would offer cover at a reasonably affordable price. (And my inlaws all work for them) Being RHD the third party element is double what it would be for a LHD vehicle, The AC - Comprehensive part comes in at around 700. Given how many people crash and how many cars are stolen i'm really not surprised at the prices. - Should go down next year hopefully. Some quotes i got were over 2k GBP third party only.
Language is coming along reasonably, I don't get daily practice as my wife speaks perfect English and we run our own business so in the office we have an English only policy so don't really get the interaction at work. I guess i understand about 80% of what is happening, Can read Polish and get a reasonable understanding of whats going on although i really dislike speaking Polish as some of the sounds are impossible to pronounce
Ah the joys of smog! Poznan doesn't get it too bad but it happens from time to time, I dread to think of what it would be like in Krakow or Katowice as opening your windows in the winter is nearly impossible. Hoping for a mild winter like the last 2 (Not really any snow)
Language is coming along reasonably, I don't get daily practice as my wife speaks perfect English and we run our own business so in the office we have an English only policy so don't really get the interaction at work. I guess i understand about 80% of what is happening, Can read Polish and get a reasonable understanding of whats going on although i really dislike speaking Polish as some of the sounds are impossible to pronounce
Ah the joys of smog! Poznan doesn't get it too bad but it happens from time to time, I dread to think of what it would be like in Krakow or Katowice as opening your windows in the winter is nearly impossible. Hoping for a mild winter like the last 2 (Not really any snow)
CDB1983 said:
I insured with PZU again (reluctantly as they didn't pay out in full for our BMW when it was stolen) as they seemed to be the only company that would offer cover at a reasonably affordable price. (And my inlaws all work for them) Being RHD the third party element is double what it would be for a LHD vehicle, The AC - Comprehensive part comes in at around 700. Given how many people crash and how many cars are stolen i'm really not surprised at the prices. - Should go down next year hopefully. Some quotes i got were over 2k GBP third party only.
Language is coming along reasonably, I don't get daily practice as my wife speaks perfect English and we run our own business so in the office we have an English only policy so don't really get the interaction at work. I guess i understand about 80% of what is happening, Can read Polish and get a reasonable understanding of whats going on although i really dislike speaking Polish as some of the sounds are impossible to pronounce
Ah the joys of smog! Poznan doesn't get it too bad but it happens from time to time, I dread to think of what it would be like in Krakow or Katowice as opening your windows in the winter is nearly impossible. Hoping for a mild winter like the last 2 (Not really any snow)
If I remember he brought over a car and converted it to LHD.. a mk1 octavia 4X4 , the grammar is the main problem but i grew up hearing it so understand 95% of it, interesting to hear you got a business over there is it to do with outsourcing? friend to is an ex pat with a business but the amount of tax they paid to ZUS :O would had been better of staying in the UK. How is the standard of driving over there now? I think from my last visit it has improved slightly back in the late 90s early 00's it was as if people were suicidal I suppose you got the right kind of car for the conditions. Language is coming along reasonably, I don't get daily practice as my wife speaks perfect English and we run our own business so in the office we have an English only policy so don't really get the interaction at work. I guess i understand about 80% of what is happening, Can read Polish and get a reasonable understanding of whats going on although i really dislike speaking Polish as some of the sounds are impossible to pronounce
Ah the joys of smog! Poznan doesn't get it too bad but it happens from time to time, I dread to think of what it would be like in Krakow or Katowice as opening your windows in the winter is nearly impossible. Hoping for a mild winter like the last 2 (Not really any snow)
It's always nice to hear about brits living over there, help stem the flow a little bit
Its a recruitment business dealing mainly with hospitals in the Middle East and yes ZUS is insane, Especially when employing people. The government seem hell bent on suffocating any small business however the cheaper salaries and office rental make up for it. Personally I miss the UK but the wife wants to stay here which makes sense in a way.
To be fair Poznan is a great city and I love the place. My wifes hometown where we will be living next year once the house is built (not so much) It has its benefits in that between the end of May and the end of September theres always a summer and decent weather. Winter is what they call "Pub Weather"
Standard of driving... Its still absolutely appalling. We recently took the camper to the south of Italy and driving in Italy was relaxing compared to here. Tailgating is rife,
Overtaking on blind bends or the brow of a hill into oncoming traffic is normal. Changing lanes at the last minute seemingly just for the sake of it is rife in the cities. Add into the equation the mentality that all Polish drivers are the best it makes for pretty scary travel.
The problem I believe is simply lack of regard for other people, They seem to get behind the wheel of a car and believe that they are invincible and suddenly the most important person on the planet and that their life depends on them getting there 3 seconds faster. (Ironically the locals are usually late for meetings :P )
I'm not sure if you've seen it but there is a youtube channel called "Polski Drogi" new video released every week and these incidents are far from isolated.
Heres this weeks judge for yourself
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmh_mzNWK-E
Language barrier aside and driving aside its a good place to live overall,
To be fair Poznan is a great city and I love the place. My wifes hometown where we will be living next year once the house is built (not so much) It has its benefits in that between the end of May and the end of September theres always a summer and decent weather. Winter is what they call "Pub Weather"
Standard of driving... Its still absolutely appalling. We recently took the camper to the south of Italy and driving in Italy was relaxing compared to here. Tailgating is rife,
Overtaking on blind bends or the brow of a hill into oncoming traffic is normal. Changing lanes at the last minute seemingly just for the sake of it is rife in the cities. Add into the equation the mentality that all Polish drivers are the best it makes for pretty scary travel.
The problem I believe is simply lack of regard for other people, They seem to get behind the wheel of a car and believe that they are invincible and suddenly the most important person on the planet and that their life depends on them getting there 3 seconds faster. (Ironically the locals are usually late for meetings :P )
I'm not sure if you've seen it but there is a youtube channel called "Polski Drogi" new video released every week and these incidents are far from isolated.
Heres this weeks judge for yourself
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmh_mzNWK-E
Language barrier aside and driving aside its a good place to live overall,
Only just stumbled on this thread, and read it from the beginning. Nothing beats driving a big v8 across Europe, good work!
I love the latest rims on the LS. Their chunkiness really suit the car.
I've LPG'd many cars myself over the years, but genuinely think it would make a good excuse for a roadtrip to Poland. From what I gather, you can pretty much get a complete conversion done there for the price of the parts here. We loved Krakow last summer - the buildings, the atmosphere, the people, and it would be the perfect reason to return (want to explore the north coast next time).
A chap at work has one of those 206's. Same colour, same leather interior. He bought it as a 1 owner car with 40k miles for £650. Surprisingly nice little thing to be in.
Many comments of the Lexus being too low. I have never understood this - large cars always look so much bigger and more imposing when they sit lower. Well, they do to me anyway. Such a great looking car...
Anyway, thread bookmarked, makes for a good read.
I love the latest rims on the LS. Their chunkiness really suit the car.
I've LPG'd many cars myself over the years, but genuinely think it would make a good excuse for a roadtrip to Poland. From what I gather, you can pretty much get a complete conversion done there for the price of the parts here. We loved Krakow last summer - the buildings, the atmosphere, the people, and it would be the perfect reason to return (want to explore the north coast next time).
A chap at work has one of those 206's. Same colour, same leather interior. He bought it as a 1 owner car with 40k miles for £650. Surprisingly nice little thing to be in.
Many comments of the Lexus being too low. I have never understood this - large cars always look so much bigger and more imposing when they sit lower. Well, they do to me anyway. Such a great looking car...
Anyway, thread bookmarked, makes for a good read.
Got new plates!
Bought a house as finishing ours was becoming ridiculous so moved to a different county and had to re-register the cars. (Stupid System)
Anyway for some reason the powers that be at the registration office gave us some pretty good looking 4 digit registration numbers. (Saves paying for a private one)
Been looking seriously at Air-ride systems from the states. Looks like thats the way we are going to go as the lane to the new house isn't the greatest but need a new kitchen and a few other bits for the house first
Just over 2 years ownership and many many miles and my total unexpected repair bill has been $24.50 for a lambda sensor (Aliexpress) Servicing and wear and tear parts aside.
The 2 front Uniroyal RS3's have created a vibration at around 130-140 KPH since I bought them despite having them balanced 4 times and having the wheels checked for straightness. A couple of frustrated emails later and Uniroyal replaced both fronts free of charge.
With the Hymer up for sale to finish paying for the house it looks like the LS will be pressed into towing duties in the near future as we are looking at caravans to replace the camper with. (Makes sense as driving an old ducato down to the south of italy each year seems crazy when we can just take the car)
Must admit its the only vehicle i've owned for more than a year and haven't thought about changing.
Still need that exhaust system though
Bought a house as finishing ours was becoming ridiculous so moved to a different county and had to re-register the cars. (Stupid System)
Anyway for some reason the powers that be at the registration office gave us some pretty good looking 4 digit registration numbers. (Saves paying for a private one)
Been looking seriously at Air-ride systems from the states. Looks like thats the way we are going to go as the lane to the new house isn't the greatest but need a new kitchen and a few other bits for the house first
Just over 2 years ownership and many many miles and my total unexpected repair bill has been $24.50 for a lambda sensor (Aliexpress) Servicing and wear and tear parts aside.
The 2 front Uniroyal RS3's have created a vibration at around 130-140 KPH since I bought them despite having them balanced 4 times and having the wheels checked for straightness. A couple of frustrated emails later and Uniroyal replaced both fronts free of charge.
With the Hymer up for sale to finish paying for the house it looks like the LS will be pressed into towing duties in the near future as we are looking at caravans to replace the camper with. (Makes sense as driving an old ducato down to the south of italy each year seems crazy when we can just take the car)
Must admit its the only vehicle i've owned for more than a year and haven't thought about changing.
Still need that exhaust system though
Finally got around to giving the suspension a bit of a refresh. As mentioned earlier the OEM air system died pretty much the second the car arrived in Poland. The roads here are very trying on shock absorbers and bushings.
I installed the Touringtech struts from the USA ($560 USD landed) The car looked comically high with a similar arch gap to our Volvo XC90. It looked utterly ridiculous in fairness.
Ebay.com item number 291818943480
Normally I would have preferred to go with the OEM spec KYB shocks however these came in at such a good price it was hard to overlook. Especially given they came with the top mounts too. They are allegedly made in the states and and seem to be quite nicely made. (Shock absorbers are pretty much a service item on most vehicles here in any case as the roads are appalling once you leave the Autostradas)
Ride quality was very similar to the OEM air system.
Ordered a set of RS-R Down Springs from Japan Used - 150GBP including delivery. (Delivery cost more than the part however these usually retail for around 300 USD new) Ride quality is ever so slightly stiffer however the car still corners nice and flat similar to how it did on coilovers but without any harshness. (Think e38 BMW levels of comfort for those who have driven an older 7 series or 5 series)
When I removed the coilovers I also found the problem - It looks like they sent the wrong ones for the car and I've been riding around on is300 coilovers for the last 65k miles. Still my wife managed to sell them for 400 GBP so recouped quite a lot of the money spent on the new shocks and springs. (She is a lot more thrifty than myself and sells pretty much anything we have finished with 🙂 )
Picture below of how she sits now. (Excuse the state of the driveway still waiting for 30 tonnes of gravel to be delivered once the temperature drops below 30c)
Overall I am very happy with how this has turned out. - Replacement exhaust next 😞
I installed the Touringtech struts from the USA ($560 USD landed) The car looked comically high with a similar arch gap to our Volvo XC90. It looked utterly ridiculous in fairness.
Ebay.com item number 291818943480
Normally I would have preferred to go with the OEM spec KYB shocks however these came in at such a good price it was hard to overlook. Especially given they came with the top mounts too. They are allegedly made in the states and and seem to be quite nicely made. (Shock absorbers are pretty much a service item on most vehicles here in any case as the roads are appalling once you leave the Autostradas)
Ride quality was very similar to the OEM air system.
Ordered a set of RS-R Down Springs from Japan Used - 150GBP including delivery. (Delivery cost more than the part however these usually retail for around 300 USD new) Ride quality is ever so slightly stiffer however the car still corners nice and flat similar to how it did on coilovers but without any harshness. (Think e38 BMW levels of comfort for those who have driven an older 7 series or 5 series)
When I removed the coilovers I also found the problem - It looks like they sent the wrong ones for the car and I've been riding around on is300 coilovers for the last 65k miles. Still my wife managed to sell them for 400 GBP so recouped quite a lot of the money spent on the new shocks and springs. (She is a lot more thrifty than myself and sells pretty much anything we have finished with 🙂 )
Picture below of how she sits now. (Excuse the state of the driveway still waiting for 30 tonnes of gravel to be delivered once the temperature drops below 30c)
Overall I am very happy with how this has turned out. - Replacement exhaust next 😞
This thing has been parked up since the arrival of my new car, 5 months give or take in the garage apart from a quick trip out to renew the mot and replace the anti roll bar bushes.
Still looks great, still drives fantastically and the build quality still puts my cayenne to shame however the time has come to part ways. Got a buyer interested so will have to wait for all this Covid lockdown bulls
t to end but it will be sad to see it go. We really don't need 4 cars
Still looks great, still drives fantastically and the build quality still puts my cayenne to shame however the time has come to part ways. Got a buyer interested so will have to wait for all this Covid lockdown bulls
t to end but it will be sad to see it go. We really don't need 4 cars Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff