2nd copy of car keys and fob?

While they do not have to be, but often the exhaust pipes that run from the engine down the outside of the car under the doors are what is often called lake pipes.

The lake pipes are usully a larger exhaust system than the factory and could have a way of by passing the muffler system.

"lake pipes" - look them up. Fake lakes are just that - decoration only.

OK - so they are selling the decontented Lexus as the Avalon now instead of rhe strretched upgraded Camry - Was not aware of that, as they sell SO few Avalons.

Ytpical "lake piles" are straight through pipes, sometimes with "waffles" like the OEM early Z28 exhausts, connected to "cut-outs" to bypass "legal" exhausts. Historically, they were 2 inch chrome pipes with removeable end cap plates - some with louvered end plates that acted somewhat as baffles for street use.

Surprising that they don't sell more. The Avalon is a very nice car at a decent price.

I guess Lexus owners have no problem forking over all that extra dough for the "prestige" of driving a "carjack me/follow me home for a home invasion" bait-mobile. They probably also like the rub-up they got from the faux-snooty Lexus sales droids in the showroom;-)

Bring a heavy wallet for Lexus post-warranty repairs or service...

The '13 Corolla dashboard is badly done. It's like they turned that job over to the new grad who had never heard about ergonomics or the concept of user-friendliness. I'm average size, but I'd like the seat 2" higher than its max, and putting a pillow there moves the lumbar "support" bump to the wrong place.

If I didn't need a practical car, I'd get a Honda S2000. Best car I've ever driven for 20 miles down a twisty mountain road. The Lexus on the same road was very nice, but not that nice.

Mom had hers serviced (farm usage) quarterly by the dealer. I looked at some of the bills -- if that much work needed to be done on a new car the manufacturer should have every single car produced recalled. They also offered her a ridiculous amount (possibly because they knew the quality of the service/repair given) as a trade-in, so she just gave them to me. The 78 blew a rod out the pan at under 100K miles. The 88 (which I junked last year) developed pathological non-repairable throttle problems and tried to kill me several times.

Friend lives behind a gate overlooking the ocean. Much envy.

Hubby's former boss during the 1960s bought a Lamborghini (or equivalent

-- the James Bond car at the time) and sold it as soon as he found out that a simple tuneup (we remember what those were, right?) cost $1,000.

Other friend only drives a BMW because his kid is a BMW mech and the repairs are free.

What are Fake Lakes... Answered already.

I once installed a "dummy" hood release, under the bumper or the grill.

It wasn't connected to the hood and the only thing it did was turn on the burglar alarm.

On Tue 25 Jul 2017 07:18:35a, Ralph Mowery told us...

Thank you!

On Tue 25 Jul 2017 07:49:41a, told us...

I remembr seeing them but didn't know what they were called.

'Simple tuneup' and 'Italian engine' in the same sentence is an oxymoron waiting to happen. You're probably thinking of the Aston Martin DB5 though. That's the iconic Bond car although others showed up in the movies over the years.

I don't know what the inflation adjusted cost for the '60s DB5's would be but the new models are about $200,000. Pay that for a car and a $1000 oil change is just chump change.

Free? Does the kid steal the parts or buy them for Daddy?

That sounds like the old "If he can afford that much yard, he can afford to have someone mow the lawn" argument.

Of course you realize that that is not a valid argument.

DB5 has triple carbs which need to be synchronized, which makes a tuneup a bit of an adventure. $1000 seems excessive, but it's a couple hours work to do right. Nearly as bad as an XK-E, but not in the same league as the Lamborghinis. In part because there is actually enough room to work inside the engine compartment of the DB5.

--scott

And yet it is. Which is why I've always maintained "of you cANNOT AFFORD TO DRIVE A NEW ONE, YOU CERTAINLY CANNOT AFFORD A USED ONE" WHEN IT COMES TO THOSE "EXOTICS"

Why are you yelling?

(And "afford to drive" is not the same thing as "paying $X for a car", which is why the use of "chump change" isn't valid. I'll leave it to you to figure that out.)

Many years ago I had a boss than had a BMW. Barely could make the payments and did not have it serviced very often. I was with him when it broke down in NYC. I took the train home.

No, I do not realize that at all. The rich are different, or so I've heard.

Figure this out. Who will feel a greater impact, Richy Rich paying $1000 to have his $200,000 ride serviced or Joe Sixpack paying $500 for his Kia service?