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hi. Ive owned an IS 200 Sport from new for the last 9 years, fantastic car. It will probably last me atleast another 9 years. Getting an itch to maybe upgrade it. Looking for the luxury, plus fuel economy too. The GS 450h seems to fit my bill. Looking to buy used, maybe 3-5 yrs old.

Any members who have a or have had a 450h give me some general info?

- general drive and upkeep.

- things to look out for when looking at used ones.

regards

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Jeffs - spooky but I am looking to change my is220d (2007) for an RX 400 or 450 - however I would probably have to look at a high mileage one as am not exactly made of money.

I would not change ordinarily but my is220d let me down badly last year in all the snow and ice - it was a monster wouldnt go anywhere and slip slided all over the place. :crybaby:

Just wondering if those that can offer advice to your post make any comments about the wisdom of a high mileage RX400/450

Sorry - put this post in the wrong place - I get easily confused with the model numbers and only just realised what I have done !!! :withstupid:

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Hi, the GS450h is a great car, just watch the boot space, I don’t know if you’re a family man, but 2 adults + 2 kids going on holiday for 2 weeks is probably a no no.

I am sure the only recall is for the “Valve Springs”, so just make sure that has been done, although its not the end of the world if it hasn’t, its all warranty work.

Pity your looking now, I intend on replacing mine next April when the new GS is supposed to come out, it will be 3 ½ years old, aprox 17k miles, mint condition, I will probably look at selling it on this site as I would like it to go to a Lexus enthusiast. ;)

Anyway good luck in your search, I am sure you wont be disappointed in your choice of car.

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Hi, the GS450h is a great car, just watch the boot space, I don’t know if you’re a family man, but 2 adults + 2 kids going on holiday for 2 weeks is probably a no no.

I am sure the only recall is for the “Valve Springs”, so just make sure that has been done, although its not the end of the world if it hasn’t, its all warranty work.

Pity your looking now, I intend on replacing mine next April when the new GS is supposed to come out, it will be 3 ½ years old, aprox 17k miles, mint condition, I will probably look at selling it on this site as I would like it to go to a Lexus enthusiast. ;)

Anyway good luck in your search, I am sure you wont be disappointed in your choice of car.

thanks for that wendle. Im used to the poor boot space with the IS, so wont be an issue. Usually end up taking the wifes car, which is some MPV or another. Im in no desperate rush, as i said more than happy with my IS, so will take my time. Ill look out for yours when it on. Cheers

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Hi, the GS450h is a great car, just watch the boot space, I don’t know if you’re a family man, but 2 adults + 2 kids going on holiday for 2 weeks is probably a no no.

I am sure the only recall is for the “Valve Springs”, so just make sure that has been done, although its not the end of the world if it hasn’t, its all warranty work.

Pity your looking now, I intend on replacing mine next April when the new GS is supposed to come out, it will be 3 ½ years old, aprox 17k miles, mint condition, I will probably look at selling it on this site as I would like it to go to a Lexus enthusiast. ;)

Anyway good luck in your search, I am sure you wont be disappointed in your choice of car.

thanks for that wendle. Im used to the poor boot space with the IS, so wont be an issue. Usually end up taking the wifes car, which is some MPV or another. Im in no desperate rush, as i said more than happy with my IS, so will take my time. Ill look out for yours when it on. Cheers

The IS boot space is so much bigger than the 450h's, you can litterally just about fit a set of golf clubs in the bag. Dissappointing for a car of that size and the only reason why I won't be buying one.

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I drove one of these for the first time at the Open Road event a few weeks ago and I really didn't like it.

It was far too noisy, and far too harsh - best to take one out for a drive if you haven't already and see how it suits you.

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I drove one of these for the first time at the Open Road event a few weeks ago and I really didn't like it.

It was far too noisy, and far too harsh - best to take one out for a drive if you haven't already and see how it suits you.

A GS 450h? "Far too noisy, and far too harsh"???? Are you mad????

It's certainly the quietest car I've ever driven (you can't beat 'silent' really can you?), and even with the suspension set to Sport it's nowhere near 'harsh'.

Now if you're talking about an IS diesel then I could possibly believe your comments - but surely Lexus don't make a car that is "noisy" or "harsh" in any respect?

Very odd...

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A GS 450h? "Far too noisy, and far too harsh"???? Are you mad????

It's certainly the quietest car I've ever driven (you can't beat 'silent' really can you?), and even with the suspension set to Sport it's nowhere near 'harsh'.

Now if you're talking about an IS diesel then I could possibly believe your comments - but surely Lexus don't make a car that is "noisy" or "harsh" in any respect?

Very odd...

Not sure if I'm mad ( :P ) but have to admit I was quite surprised by what the drive in the GS was like - perhaps it was a dodgy car, but it was brand new on an 11 plate and only a few k on the clock.

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A GS 450h? "Far too noisy, and far too harsh"???? Are you mad????

It's certainly the quietest car I've ever driven (you can't beat 'silent' really can you?), and even with the suspension set to Sport it's nowhere near 'harsh'.

Now if you're talking about an IS diesel then I could possibly believe your comments - but surely Lexus don't make a car that is "noisy" or "harsh" in any respect?

Very odd...

Not sure if I'm mad ( :P ) but have to admit I was quite surprised by what the drive in the GS was like - perhaps it was a dodgy car, but it was brand new on an 11 plate and only a few k on the clock.

I think I understand a little on what you mean by noisy and harsh . I thought the same thing the first time I put my foot down, when you accelerate hard the engine revs high and the gearbox seams to take a few seconds to catch up, but thats the way the CVT gearbox works. I dont no if you had a go at driving it in manual, but if you get a chance you would have noticed that you dont get that initial engine revving noise as much, it just flys. :P

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http://sniperslaststand.blogspot.com/2008/10/quest-for-quietest-car.html

The Gs450h comes in at number 47 on the list of quiet cars in the link. The article is a few year old though.

There is certainly more road noise in the GS450h than I would like, but way less noise from the rear than the IS250 I had before.

I found the previous generation of E Class merc was significantly quieter (27 on the list), in fact I was going to buy one until I found out about the reliability issues.

The GS450h has does have the smoothest transmission of any car I've ever driven. It's almost perfect, just a little surge of accelaration you wouldnt expect as slides into highest ratio at about 60mph, but even that isn't a jerk, in fact you probably would only notice that once its been pointed out.

What to look out for? The corroding wheels, they are a bit of a joke. They pit and blister, still, at least they don't crack like some of the BMW cars, and desptite the issue the wheels still look ok on mine.

Apart from the recall work, the only new issue that has required any work in the last two years, was a replacement of a sticking rear caliper under warranty.

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That's quite interesting, especially given that the GS350 is so much higher up the list - and also means that I wasn't insane :winky:

Can totally believe the LS600h being the top of the list, was unbelievably quiet in there!

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That's quite interesting, especially given that the GS350 is so much higher up the list - and also means that I wasn't insane :winky:

Can totally believe the LS600h being the top of the list, was unbelievably quiet in there!

OK, I'll accept that if you hoof your foot to the floor then the CVT gearbox does ensure that the engine revs like the clappers - which can make a bit of a noise - but that's hardly "normal" driving.

If I'm driving my 450h normally then the noise level and harshness inside the cabin is very similar to that inside my neighbours LS460, which ranks at number 5.

Seeing as, in that 'quietest car' report, the GS350 comes so much further up the list than the 450h, the difference can only really be the CVT nature of the 450h and hence the way the car is driven.

All interesting stuff...

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It is possibly to keep the wheels looking in good condition, this photo is the front near side wheel from my sept 2008 GS 450h, I must admit I do clean my car nearly every day, including the wheels, so they don’t get a chance to get brake dust corrosion. I also polish the with rim wax every 3 months

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/8331/lexus4sale007.jpg

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hi. Ive owned an IS 200 Sport from new for the last 9 years, fantastic car. It will probably last me atleast another 9 years. Getting an itch to maybe upgrade it. Looking for the luxury, plus fuel economy too. The GS 450h seems to fit my bill. Looking to buy used, maybe 3-5 yrs old.

Any members who have a or have had a 450h give me some general info?

- general drive and upkeep.

- things to look out for when looking at used ones.

regards

I was in a similar position to yourself, I had the IS300 which I had for about 6 years, no problems, fantastic car. I replaced it in June 2010 for a GS450h SE-L (07 reg) which is also a lovely car to look at, drive etc, however, in the past year the car has been recalled for replacement of valve springs, with no further problems. The left cylinder bank cam chain tensioner disintegrated twice. The car is now running as it should and is very quiet and comfortable at any speed.

To elaborate on the cam chain tensioner problem, I have no idea why it occured the first time but I am pretty sure that the second time was caused by the chain being streched during the first episode. The garage was very good with their investigations, but not having a new chain to check the length, and the chain looked OK and appeared to be serviceable (I examined the chain personally while the engine was dismantled). Everything appears to be OK now and the car is again wonderful to drive.

If I really drive carefully, I have achieved 52.6 mpg but back to reality, mid to high 30's is achievable without having to try too hard. mid to high 40's is achievable on longer journeys.

To summarise, now that problems are sorted, I am very pleased with my car.

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It is possibly to keep the wheels looking in good condition, this photo is the front near side wheel from my sept 2008 GS 450h, I must admit I do clean my car nearly every day, including the wheels, so they don’t get a chance to get brake dust corrosion. I also polish the with rim wax every 3 months

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/8331/lexus4sale007.jpg

You need to spray degreaser (Autoglym) into your inside arches, wash with a sponge then rinse.I then finish the job by spraying tyre shine up into the arches for that new black look. Other than that your wheels look great!

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