Finally taken the plunge!

[scott-o]

Evening,

I've been signed up for quite awhile now and have wanted to buy an ISF multiple times but it's never worked out.

A very nice one popped up at a local classic/ prestige sales place owned by a friend of a friend. He'd invited me over to have a look and no pressure, not many seem to venture up north so he'd suggested I take advantage to at least have a look around one in person at last! Before I knew it I was out for a test drive and then discussing a deal for my current car ( a Golf R Estate)

This all happened very quickly, I went from being happy with my golf to owning the ISF in a day! 

First proper drive out was my favourite 110 mile loop in the North Pennines which I tend to do quite often in my second car, an old BMW. Really impressed, I don't agree with the write ups on them about the suspension being harsh and not well damped, which most seem to say! The roads in the north Pennines are a good test for compliant suspension, my golf wasn't great at speed over continuous bumps but the Lexus ate them up! Great fun! 

Ill get a couple of snaps up from the drive when I can. Looking forward to reading more of the forum (and trying to ignore the threads with large expensive problems!) 

Thanks,

Scott 

 

 

[Texas]

well done that man...just a little bit green (envious) over here right now.👍

[NothernDan]

Well done mate!! 😁😎😁

[F.A.]

Congratulations. How does it compare to your old Golf R?  Was it a Mk7?

[Killysprint]

Great cars - and a great choice of road. (A686) 

Went over the tops a couple of weeks ago for the first time in ages and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and lack of traffic.

ISF is very different to the anodyne German hot hatch offerings, in the initial lack of torque, top end power delivery, noise, character, Reliability and almost Zero depreciation  (mine was) and bank vault build quality.......

enjoy your time with it - and post some of the photos of your 2002!!

 

 

 

[Mark6pot]

Well done, for as long as you have it, it will be a joy.

[Toothy]

Lovely. Enjoy.
Suspension might be the newer version if it's a 2010 plate. Which definitely rides better.

[Cactus]

Nice! Neverlateforv8

[PCM]

Happy days!

[C.B]

Enjoy! I dont find much issue with the suspenion myself, I think theres some models with some tired suspenion about personally exagerating the issue. It doesnt ride like the wifes SUV but I've also had more back braking rides from fast Honads and Audis.

Dont worry too much about major bills, they really are a rarity.

If the car is not 10 years old yet you could still take out a very reasonably priced lexus warranty, if it is some preventative maintenance with a new radiator would mitigate the main risk. Still this has only affected about 5 cars thus far in the UK as far as I know.

[scott-o]

17 hours ago, Texas said:

well done that man...just a little bit green (envious) over here right now.👍

 

17 hours ago, NothernDan said:

Well done mate!! 😁😎😁

Thanks Guys

14 hours ago, F.A. said:

Congratulations. How does it compare to your old Golf R?  Was it a Mk7?

Thanks and yes it was a Mk7 estate. It had the Mountune engine and gearbox software on it and was a really quick car, in a straight line it just gripped no matter the weather, not sure how it managed in all honesty! It was good at everything but just not exciting to me. I enjoy driving out in the hills and it couldnt quite keep up with the undulations when going quickly and became rather crashy, which is where i couldnt believe how good the ISF did!

6 hours ago, Killysprint said:

Great cars - and a great choice of road. (A686) 

Went over the tops a couple of weeks ago for the first time in ages and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and lack of traffic.

ISF is very different to the anodyne German hot hatch offerings, in the initial lack of torque, top end power delivery, noise, character, Reliability and almost Zero depreciation  (mine was) and bank vault build quality.......

enjoy your time with it - and post some of the photos of your 2002!!

Excellent, you cant be all too far from me, im just south of Durham. I will keep an eye out for a black GSF!

Thank you and here you go, the 2002 in the same spots:

IMG_20200719_160451 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

IMG_20200716_193352 by Scott Osborne, on Flickr

5 hours ago, Mark6pot said:

Well done, for as long as you have it, it will be a joy.

Thanks Mark, i hope so!

4 hours ago, Toothy said:

Lovely. Enjoy.
Suspension might be the newer version if it's a 2010 plate. Which definitely rides better.

Thank You and its a 58 plate, albeit a very well looked after 58 plate, definitely top of my budget. I couldnt get into a facelift one i dont think!

I found the suspension really crashy on my Golf R which is what went to be replaced by the ISF and my old BMW 2002 is like getting dragged around on a shovel 😆 the ISF has Michelin PS4S tyres all round which maybe helps a little, they did on my Golf R and previous R32.

4 hours ago, Cactus said:

Nice! Neverlateforv8

 

4 hours ago, PCM said:

Happy days!

Thank You both!

1 hour ago, C.B said:

Enjoy! I dont find much issue with the suspenion myself, I think theres some models with some tired suspenion about personally exagerating the issue. It doesnt ride like the wifes SUV but I've also had more back braking rides from fast Honads and Audis.

Dont worry too much about major bills, they really are a rarity.

If the car is not 10 years old yet you could still take out a very reasonably priced lexus warranty, if it is some preventative maintenance with a new radiator would mitigate the main risk. Still this has only affected about 5 cars thus far in the UK as far as I know.

Thanks, i hope you're right haha and it's 12 years old now and has a mixture of Lexus and specialist servicing, the last few years have been via Lexus. I'll be keeping an eye on the radiator and look to maybe get that done like you say. Im unsure whether the water pump has been done but there's no tell tale signs just yet, i've found the old owner on social media so will ask him soon if he knows more about preventative work.

[C.B]

Lovely turbo!!

Just be aware there is no obvious signs of failure on the radiator as the corrosion and failure can happen internally.

[scott-o]

15 hours ago, C.B said:

Lovely turbo!!

Just be aware there is no obvious signs of failure on the radiator as the corrosion and failure can happen internally.

Thanks, it's a Tii with the turbo arches on though (turbo models are basically collectors items and run to £110k+, crazy!), it does have more power than a turbo model without a turbo though!haha

I'm surprised no one has come up with an auxillary cooler for the transmission and to blank off the ports on the radiator that the transmission oil lines run to. I'm sure its not quite that easy but you know!

[Killysprint]

6 minutes ago, scott-o said:

Thanks, it's a Tii with the turbo arches on though (turbo models are basically collectors items and run to £110k+, crazy!), it does have more power than a turbo model without a turbo though!haha

I'm surprised no one has come up with an auxillary cooler for the transmission and to blank off the ports on the radiator that the transmission oil lines run to. I'm sure its not quite that easy but you know!

https://www.rr-racing.com/Radiator-Transmission-Cooler-Package-for-Lexus-ISF-p/isfradpck1.htm
 

Like this !!

[scott-o]

33 minutes ago, Killysprint said:

https://www.rr-racing.com/Radiator-Transmission-Cooler-Package-for-Lexus-ISF-p/isfradpck1.htm
 

Like this !!

Yes like that but without having to spend £800 on parts 🤑 maybe the standard rad with an auxillary cooler may be possible looking at that.

I think the larger rad is probably a good idea in the USA but dont think it gets anywhere near hot enough ooop norf!

Love that GSF of yours by the way, definitely havent seen it out in the Pennines but hope to!

[Texas]

$799 is £595 today but dunno how much the VAT man will spank you for?

[scott-o]

51 minutes ago, Texas said:

$799 is £595 today but dunno how much the VAT man will spank you for?

There's $130 postage and you have to pay tax on products+postage once it turns up. I buy quite a lot from the usa for my old BMW and basically whatever it costs in dollars for products and postage is what it ends up costing in £ when it turns up, it'll be £8-900 by the time its landed sadly.

[Texas]

👎☹️

[Northern isf]

Good choice and another BMW fan I'm not jealous of the 2002 honest 😍

[scott-o]

On 8/17/2020 at 11:45 PM, Northern isf said:

Good choice and another BMW fan I'm not jealous of the 2002 honest 😍

Thanks, appreciate it! Im getting radiator anxiety on the ISF after the recent threads though!

Also got the plate 'V88 KCL' with the car that i'll be removing if anyone fancies a V8 related plate for a decent price. 

[Northern isf]

1 hour ago, scott-o said:

Thanks, appreciate it! Im getting radiator anxiety on the ISF after the recent threads though!

Me too but apart from the current issue and the water pump I've yet to see anything else crop up enough to call them issue's. 

[hockeyedwards]

Congrats on joining the club 😉 I am jealous of your classy BMW though, I am on the hunt for a classic and fancied an LS400 or an old BMW as they are the only cars I admire from zee German manufacturer!

[Arth_Vader]

Congrats on joining the isf club.  I love ours and it does everything we need.

we moved from a b8 rs4 and I can hardly remember it. 

[Womble72]

Congratulations, I know that car very well and it’s previous owner Karl, you’ve bought a very very good example with H&S system and the fact that it’s NEVER been tracked or driven hard, obviously the odd blast BUT Karl would always wait until there was 3 bars on the oil temp.

[Womble72]

5 minutes ago, Womble72 said:

Congratulations, I know that car very well and it’s previous owner Karl, you’ve bought a very very good example with H&S system and the fact that it’s NEVER been tracked or driven hard, obviously the odd blast BUT Karl would always wait until there was 3 bars on the oil temp.