It’s decision time. I am about to retire soon on a reasonable pension.
I want to buy a high quality car to last me 15 years or more. My neighbour runs the first Lexus model ever brought out in this country. The car looks a bit like a brick and I think motoring journalists gave it a bashing for being ugly to look at with overlight power steering. He has done 630,000 miles in this Lexus. He tells me he has never ever had any trouble with the car apart from normal servicing. That's all he has spent on this very durable car. Tell me, did Lexus make this first model extra special bombproof? Was it because the car was new to this country that Lexus made it that good? You don't see many on the roads now, do you? Are all Lexus, as good as this early model? And has Lexus kept up the build quality? My current car is a 2003 BMW 530d, which has been a super car, except the inlet manifold swirl flaps broke up after nearly five years ownership. BMW replaced the engine and I had to pay a token payment £2,000. The engine problem left a nasty taste in my mouth and I said to my wife, when the time comes to replace it we will consider another make.