Telephone man

Sadly you will not fix it and its a reason why I will never own a Lexus again as they are just not experienced enough in prestige car management to help the owners. They seem to have a Toyota Yaris type mentality where it will stop rattling soon - turn the heater up - turn the stereo up - ignore it I didnt want this and they had the dash out in all 3 times and sprayed so much silicon it covered the VIN number !!! (craftsmen hey) Double Sadly I am stuck with an 05 GS430 for a while longer as its plummeting value means serious negative equity of a kind that makes a BMW 745 look reasonable! If its any help the external plate on the wiper shafts is also a guilty rattler - silicon spray helps. One plus.... they scratched a wheel on a 20k service and put a new set of wheels on no hassle - well done I guess

The car was a demo so paid £38k and the VAT was lost then I guess - anyway a further update is a possible reasonable trade in via Sytners who have a Lexus and a BMW franchise - waiting for the sales guy to comeback on it..........

UPDATE. Third call got the cust relations number directly - a quick call with the problem (of the GS430 being flooded in the market at £29,990) got a response of denial (I was astonished) and then that there was nothing they would / could / wanted to do. Just to make sure I was not dreaming I called Inchcape who have a list of cars at Lexus compound (so still owned by lexus) ex management / corp demo that they are selling. The cars are not owned by the dealer as yet they are still owned by Lexus. To sum up - paid £38k in Dec, wanted £28k in July (miles 16k) April 05 car - best offer is £22k from a used car centre - no Lexus dealer contacted (not been that many to be honest) wants it at any price. A scenario you would not readily associate with lexus - I have always managed to dispose of other cars to a dealer without hassle - moral is dont believe Lexus is any better than any others and in my experience they dont understand market management otherwise why claim they have not done it ??? I am getting the M5 so will drop the GS through Brighouse auction as a last resort.

Quick Update Three calls to Lexus CS now who pass it to Cust Relations who deem not to call or contact me in any way whatsoever - this is a bit of a let down as they could at least tell me to go away and shut up - but nothing ?? All I have asked is that they distribute my car to all the dealers to see if anyone wants it - not a lot to ask really? If none want it then I will take the PX price from the BM dealer - beat them up to £26k. Funny the cars never gone as well as it is now, nice clean whistle on gentle acceleration and a bit of a snarl (subdued) over 4k rpm - no rattles - everything works - lovely

Why should I have to keep a car for years ? I expect to lose money when changing them and luckily I can indulge my whim when I get bored and dont have to keep them for years however the GS scenario is unusual in that its 8 months not the usual 18 months and as it stands the GS is the highest depreciating most unwanted car I have ever owned without doubt. Plus from a maker / dealer attitude its poor as they just dont want it and have no problem telling me its worth £30k but we cant sell it so we dont want it. I have never had that problem with a BM or a Merc. Its a good car no problem there its just the cost to purchase and the perceived value differ a large amount - I mean would Lexus under value the cars they sell - I doubt it. If Lexus want £30k for a >12 month old car that is £47k new then its cynical poor customer consideration and probably the last time I buy Jap as I doubt the established quality manufacturers would do such a thing (so blatantly). On the 450h / 430 issues I have driven both (450 only 70 miles) and all I can say is a V6 is never going to be a V8 - and it proves it in spades, on electric take off its eery smooth but the V6 is (for a Lexus) far rougher than the V8

To be honest I dont give a toss about Lexus`s image I care about my hard earned cash far more. I got a padded offer of £28.5k against an inflated BMW (used as a yardstick to see if its the M5 causing the issue), the dealer was ages trying to get it underwritten. However real world is poorer than any car I have known and anyone buying new I guess its on a pcp or a company car.

Hi Rillo All the dealers say its worth £30k but none of them want it - full stop, I expect Lexus to find me a dealer who wants it somewhere - its the least they can do. I think I purchased on the crest of a slump for the 430, £38 ish for a 9 month old with 9k miles I THOUGHT was reasonable :o Live and learn - guess its a Porsche to beat depreciateion if I could fit in one................

Yes I have seen the adverts for the £29.990 GS430`s they are Lexus Uk cars that are being given away, this is a point I have raised with Lexus UK that if they have had a change of revenue expectation for the model then fair compensation should be payable - I am dreaming but I am not losing £18K + in 6 months without a fight. As for tuning engines and swapping bits - thats not my bag, I buy them - drive them - sell them, I stopped doing things up years ago.

Thanks for the input guys. No Lexus dealers want it locally - best (only) offer is from a used car lot who are doing me a favour. Car is just over 12 months old with 15.8k miles and is silver I have decided (as I want the M5 so much and will not let my poor judgement buying the Lexus cloud it) that I will dump the GS430 for anything I can get over £20k and learn from it. If Lexus dont help place the car within the network for £27 / 28 ish then I will feel let down but will bite the bullet (possibly throw it in the auctions) however a small crumb of satisfaction will be in writing to all the mags with the tale of loss It has depreciated twice as much as my 730 BM I had before and that had done 50k miles

I got a lovely 430 in November - it was under a year old and I was pleased to get it for £39 ish, delighted with the car and a converted fan. Cut a long story short I had a M5 on order with a 07 due date, got a call saying they had a cancelled order and did I want it - no brainer - yes please. Asked for PX on the 430 and they looked at the floor, called 2 dealers and was said it was worth £30ish (happy with that) but it was not wanted - hmm. To date the best offer I can get for a 05 reg GS430 is £22k a loss of £17.5k in 7 months :tsktsk: I am a bit upset about this, I am prepared to lose £1k a month for the 7 months I had it but to lose £3k a month in depreciation is poor. I have called Lexus cust services and am awaiting a call back - will update as it happens

Over xmas I put my sim in a Sony phone and it worked just fine - suggest all owners do this as its quick and hassle free. Now do the Lexus kick plates light up or not......... one day the truth will be known.

Had the GS430 for 6 weeks now (ran it for 4 weeks in the dealer for 2 weeks), last proper run car was a 730d preceded by a new 530i and before that a Merc E 220d (Merc was a company car) My 2p worth: GOOD - very very comfortable seats - agree nice and comfy - interior to die for - way off BM / Merc quality, black trim scratches easily, rattles from the dash and a cheap feel to the stalk controls. Int lights gimmicky and not that bright, switches poorly illuminated - quite disappointed TBH - gets lots of appreciative glances from other motorists - I find it quite low profile though it looks good in the silver when the wheels are dirty black :D - bling alloys :) - Need to be 19" look a bit lost in the arches from some angles - quick - very quick , Linear power delivery is deceptive but the engine could get you into situations the chassis cant help you with. - on a long cruise at 70ish it gets about 30 mpg - 22 my all out best BUT I do rag it everywhere - quite quiet - not upto LS standards (what is?) but still good - Lot quieter than anything else I have ever had, its like a library compared to the 7 - it looks a whole lot better in the flesh than teh photographs. - Agree and its growing on me - just needs bigger wheels - easier to park than the LS - little camera helps BAD - very stiff ride - crashes over potholes etc. - agree but very accepatble compromise, the handling needs all the help the ride can give it. - this causes no end of creaks and groans from the leather seats and any loose items over rough ground - mine rattles like a mondeo - after 2 days the Tyre Pressure Monitoring System died - didnt know it had one, must re-read the manual - fuel tank is quite small so range is limited to about 300-330 miles on a long journey - stupidly small, needs to be 50% bigger (its a 3.0 litre tank I guess) - bluetooth for phone works well but is very quiet - Lexus claim there is a simple fix for this - mine is quite loud and very workable, just cant trandsfer the phone book. better than the new 5 set up and miles better than the dual sim card 7 series - mpg on short journeys can be eye watering - 13 the lowest :duh: - don't even think about driving in snow - got stuck on a slight hilll and needed 5 people to dig me out and even on flat snow it was terrifying... Overall - very very pleased with the car. But wish they could have included a little more of wafty ride of the LS rather than go for the "Germanic Sporty feel" This is the biggest surprise to me, the ride (on normal) is (to me) very soft and wallowy, even on sport its way softer than all 3 German cars had recently and I like it for being so soft BUT the body does not feel so well controlled and I dont feel as confident in it -- YET!! Once (mis) managed to lose the backend in the wet and the dash lit up like a xmas tree, nice and easy to control though as the car just takes over !!! Overall I am a bit disappointed the "legendry" Lexus build quality is a myth but its a great car, a bargain for the high 30`s I paid for it and I LOVE the HiFi combined with an inaudible engine (no V8 thrum - nowt) This Lexus is going to stay with me for a while and I will rid it of all rattles and squeaks if it kills me.

New GS430 - every time I go to transfer the phone book from my Nokia 8800 it loses the bluetooth connection - also I cannot see how to transfer all my entrys ? Works fine in all other ways. Should the Lexus door plates illuminate ? (the RX loaner did) The switches on the wheel have the poorest illumination ever seen - normal ? The ML HiFi wont do surround - read the manual - any tips ? Can you get mudflaps / spats for it - cant be sure and the sides get filthy fast Any help appreciated Ta

From the outside (being a new owner) it seems the GS is reluctant to change direction, the wheels are happy doing so but the body seems to follow reluctantly if anyone understands what I mean. Last 4 cars were Merc E (prev model) BM 5 (latest), BM 7 and a 350Z and of all of them the 7 was nicest to drive sportingly. (forget the Z as not a fair comparison) The GS has more grip than the 7 (diesel sport) and is the faster car by far but my other half gets thrown about the place even with the little damper switch on sport. Its no matter to me as my throwing about days have gone and I crave the lush refinement that the 4.3 gives along with the nice build quality (both BM`s were shocking, the 7 sounded like an old sierrra internally after 40k) I am chuffed with the GS its a great car!

OK - Had it a week but actually HAD it 2.5 days heres what I think so far. Downers Its gloomy inside, light grey interior but feeble "spot" illumination requires the reading light on most occasions. The control screen is overcomplicated and my car before last was a 7 series with I drive !! Switch illumination is patchy - not even as good as a passat - door controls and other minor switches are not illuminated. The door kick plates dont light up (as in a RX) - this was a nice touch on the RX loaner. The auto sensing entry system is not always 100% but I think its something to get used to. The wheel (leather and wood apparently) feels like leather and plastic - not a nice tactile experience. It needs 20" wheels or 19" at least - they look lost in the arches When the stereo is cranked up you cannot see anything out of the rear view mirror its shaking so much The switches in the little fold down panel are neat and lit up nicely but a bugger to use whilst driving - major eyes off the road time. Radio is poor on AM, good on FM (not great) v disappointed with radio reception overall Uppers Love the serene take off from standstill - comparable to a Bentley IMHO Nice prescense on the road - when it came back from the dealers I thought "thats nice" before I realised it was my car!! Great HiFi makes me dig out old CD`s to have a relisten (cant see backwards though) Nice gearbox certainly the match of the BM 6 speeder Comfy seats, I sold my Z350 after 4 months cos it killed my back - this is a nice experience of comfyness. Sense of occasion when inside, this is a perceived thing and any car I buy that lacks it gets sold quite quickly. The overall (gloomy) ambience is very relaxing and a pleasure to experience. More to follow as I get aquainted with the beast - must have a play with the radar this weekend !!!