PH Fleet: Lexus LS400/TVR Chimaera 400
Broken aerials and a trip on a flatbed truck, a problematic month for the Garlick fleet
Garlick's TVR is running - ahem - perfectly...
At the car wash....
It was late, I was tired, the Lexus was dirty, I was feeling lazy, it was convenient and the dog ate it. It was for all of these reasons that I found myself relaxing, listening to music as the … wait for it …. roller car wash took away a few days worth of bird poo from the LS's flanks. Half way through I realised that listening to music and getting a car wash wasn’t a great idea and, looking through the rear window, I saw my electric aerial snapped in two. Serves me right I guess and, as I broke off the remains upon exiting the wash, the LS looked at me as if to say ‘look what you’ve done, happy now?’ Karma?
Nobody mention airport runs....
These issues aside it has been another trouble free month for LWE, still uber-reliable, completely rattle-free and excelling in getting me around the country in swift comfort. The girlfriend has started to use it since the MX-5 left us, and annoyingly she is falling for it too. This means I find the keys missing more often than not as she ‘borrows’ it for the day ... fortunately the weather means the TVR is back on the roads again.
Talking of TVRs
The last time I told you about the TVR I mentioned how I’d left the battery to go flat, meaning a new one was fitted and all was well once again. Only it wasn’t, as a week later it was static once more, just as we planned to head out for the day in it. I was annoyed, tweets and Facebook posts were made threatening to buy an M3 and local cats were found to kick.
Access was tight to say the least
A call to Adrian Flux Rescue and a Costa Coffee later, a man in a van arrived to take a look. A (beautifully sunny) hour later and it was agreed that he had no idea either and a recovery truck was needed. To be fair to the chap he tried all he could and we had a good natter about cars too, but I liked him largely thanks to his constant compliments regarding the condition of my car. We arranged for a flatbed to come and get the car on Monday (this was Saturday) and went out in the Lexus instead, ignoring all the convertibles on the road as we drove windows up with air con on ... grrr.
A brief but satisfying affair
Once again all is well in TVR land and the car has been used more often than not over the past two weeks without issue. The sun is shining and life is good. Swap it for an M3? You must be joking. But I must get around to fitting that aerial to the LS.
Fact Sheet:
Car: 1997 Lexus LS400
Run by: Garlick
Bought: Jan 2011
Purchase price: £1,800
Last month at a glance: Washed, broken aerial, being stolen by the Mrs
Fact Sheet:
Car: 1999 TVR Chimaera 4.0
Run by: Garlick
Bought: December 2009
Purchase price: £12,995
Last month at a glance: Recovery, sunshine, all is forgiven
Previous reports:
TVR lives once more, Lexus carries on regardless
MOT time for the Lexus and a reawakening for the TVR
Christmas car purchase comes back to haunt Garlick with an expensive month for both cars
Will tone it down
D D
D D
Previous owner of mine did the same. Mast retracts when playing a cassette, but not the CD 
Take the plunge & stratch that itch you know you want to - buy well & you won't be dissapointed
Look at it this way - in 2 1/2 years a bloke (who has no mechanical knowledge whatsoever) has had almost faultless reliability bar the last few weeks. That's not bad is it? From London commuting to Welsh hill hooning, all that's happened is what I've mentioned above.
I can think of a fair few cars that would do a lot worse. 95% of my time has been turn-key superb.
For example, I said I always use Fernhurst (and have done throughout my fleet updates). If a member wants to say the same it's fine. However, if they are attached in some way or if there is an explicit offer (that could be seen as advertising) like 'and all PHers can now get 20% discount' we will remove and ask them to promote in the usual way. It's been that way since 1998.
Otherwise, if you have had good service say so with no fear of removal.
Anyway, our fleet articles will always give links to those we use, but perhaps the links could be less obvious.
Can we move on now
At tickover the LS is silent, literally silent. At town speed all I can hear is the leather creak as I sit on it. In addition it really improves the sound of the excellent audio. At motorway speed it's wind noise only.
To lose all that for V8 noise would spoil the ambience, the very purpose, of the car. I forget that it is a V8 and that's great (for me). You may disagree, and plenty of You Tube videos show it can be done, but for me the TVR makes noise and the LS helps me to relax.
ETA: How many miles does yours have on the clock?
This looks great: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3768227.htm
ETA: Apart from the tints!
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