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I know it’s not in the UK but looks impressive all the same, that isn’t an Orange Carbon with a sunroof is it ? Must be an Orange car with a wrap as I didn’t think you could fit one to the carbon roof. Big Rat

I'm going to carry this on from my post in the 'new members area'..... Hi and good evening I wanted to join the forum and introduce myself, my name is Michael, 33 from North Lincolnshire. I have just become the 3rd owner of this very very tidy IS250 SE-L that I bought from my local Marshall's Honda garage in Hull. For an old motor, wow has this got some kit! I have recently learned that it is the top spec model or very close to, it has every gadget I could possibly ask for and more. This car was bought as a 'stop gap' between other cars and I had planned on selling it after approx 4-5 months, but after under a week of ownership I think I'll hang on to this gem 😁 A few details and spec: 42K miles 2 previous owners Full and comprehensive Lexus service history Sat Nav Reversing camera ML premium sound system Electric everything Xenon's etc etc The very first thing I did was give the exhaust trims a sorting out and polish, they clearly hadn't been cleaned since new 😳🙊 I am fitting a new pollen filter tomorrow as I suspect that needs doing, I have also just ordered a set of boot gas struts as mine are clearly worn with the effort it takes to open the boot 🤣 I am also on the lookout for an updated sat nav disc. The dealers photos: And I took these when I went to view the car The car was faultless on the test drive and I was immediately impressed with it, would silver have been my first choice....no not really, but the car does look well in it and with the car's history, mileage, condition and spec there was no way I was going to let it go. I am a professional detailer by trade so please forgive how ridiculous I am with the cleanliness of my cars 🙈 but it's my hobby, passion and business and thoroughly enjoy making my cars beyond immaculate. Ok so the car is home, there are a few surface scratches here and there I need to take care of, paint correction and ceramic coating to be carried out but these will happen once I've moved house and have my own garage in a couple of months. First job, sort out the awfully kept exhaust tips 😳 Before and after There was some staining around the tips also which I have now removed. The first thing I actually bought for the car was a new genuine pollen filter, fitted today and took less than 5 minutes Before / after Not too bad but worthwhile replacing it. I gave the housing a clean up too while it was out I have been on a buying spree today, my first jobs are to ensure the car has everything it should have from factory, in my case it does apart from its missing the fabric wallet with the tools in which is kept with the spare wheel, I've now got one on order so that's that sorted, it is also missing the polystyrene holder that sits on top of the spare wheel, struggling to locate one of those. Apart from that the other parts I've ordered are as follows: • Upgraded xenon bulbs to 8000k • Boot liner to protect original boot fabrics • Complete LED interior light kit • New number plates • 2 new batteries for both remote fobs • Genuine Lexus first aid kit • x2 new rear boot struts I will be removing the 'Lexus' and 'IS250' badges from the boot, just personal preference really I prefer the less cluttered look, I'll be updating every bulb on the exterior too to LED. That's it for now, I'll keep this up to date as things happen 😁 Michael.

I knew there was another one somewhere so this has come on sale at Lexus Chester........ https://usedcars.lexus.co.uk/en/used-lexus/Lexus/RC-F/Carbon-50-u3bsdg7 No pictures of it as yet but not to be confused with this one which has been for sale for 2 years........ Big Rat

And she’s gone, collected this evening by her new owner. He’s a petrolhead who had a look at the E90 M3 saloon but decided on an ISF instead. I told him about the forums and he said he will sign up in due course. Sold it via eBay in the end, had a few of the traditional time wasters with lowball offers but this chap drove up on the weekend, test drove it and left a deposit. I think that’s me done with the F’s for a while. Might consider a RCF in a couple of years but for now it will be something mundane for everyday duties and then something sillier for high days and dry days. I’ll be in Japan next month and I’m trying to resist the urge to pick something up whilst I’m there and get it shipped over.

Shades and canons

@NothernDan Lexus Derby just so happens me and @Warrington guy Dave we’re there last Thursday to meet up.... nice place.... before we had a blast over to Lincolnshire. To meet up with @Comedian 😁 Big Rat

After owning my ISF for a while now I've never really been happy with the suspension especially on long distances and cornering at speed, I was dedicated to go with the ohlins setup but after a few recommendations of teins I did a bit of research and decided to go with the flex z with edfc active pro and GPS which basically means I can control the damping rates manually on the control panel or set it up via GPS which allows whatever preferences you prefer such as stiffening up during acceleration and loosening when travelling at a slower rate. I've ran a lot of different suspension setups in the past on various different performance vehicles but I've always considered tein to be a bit of a cheap option however on first impressions I'm blown away by the response when changing damping rates its instant, the GPS setup is amazing you can feel the car gradually tighten up as you accelerate it corners superb I'm only two days into setting it up but I'm already over the moon with how it's transformed the ride. Had a nice three hour test drive home from fensport on Saturday using b roads all the way, was also great to meet Adrian who owns fensport a top guy with a lot of nice machinery knocking about not to mention a lot of knowledge about motors I'll definitely be using their services again.

Aye, 32k part exchange as they want your business on another car. They would also make an offer to buy the car outright which I imagine will be 30k ish and they will then list it for 35ish. As such for a private sale you are at around 30k. It may well be in very good condition but these cars are toys for many and it has high miles compared to many. I’m not trying to be rude here just some objective thoughts. These cars are hard to shift from dealers let alone private sales.

Ok so I was about right at 30k private sale then. You may be better off asking what Lexus will pay to take it as opposed to going down the private sale route. Good luck with the sale.

Absolutely love it mate! The car looks awesome and as you say, the stock suspension ain’t great. Have Tein springs on the front on mine and even they are night and day versus stock. looking forward to seeing the car in person at the Derby dooooooo!

Mosesgate has closed, with a proposal to strike off at companies house, Stellar Motor co was created in June of this year, Each company had one director only, different first names, both with the surname Khan. I would be a bit careful about who actually owns the car, in case it's an asset of the old company (not sure whether this would be a problem, or not)

Those are the correct alloys for the 2010 facelift version of the 450h SE-L, the SE getting 7 spoke 17" alloys with these 18" being an optional extra (although prior to this all trim versions of the 450h were fitted with the previous design 18" alloys) but they would have been silver. FYI the info below indicates the level of equipment you can expect to find on this model but they relate to the 2008 facelift and a couple of things did change for the 2010 model As you can see there were four trim levels available but for the 2010 facelift only SE and SE-L were retained. The '06 to '08 cars have the most standard equipment (the SE-L having ACC/PCS and sunroof as standard) but these became options from 2008. However to 2010 cars did get, amongst other things, DAB radio and the deletion of the cassette tape, a redesigned front grille and alloy wheels and I think also improved safety features. Enjoy your new car, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Hey Michael, its good to see you starting a build thread so soon. Such a good looking car. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for updates.

Picked it up today. Wow, I'm impressed. Just need to get used to it, played with the paddles and it nearly spat me out out changing up on a damp road. Left in auto after that. So happy being back in a rwd auto again.

Some of you may remember I posted up pictures of my Rcf a month or so ago having had the wheels refurbed and finished in Matt black and the calliper repainted in Brembo Yellow. Well there was a paint reaction issue with callipers which necessitated it going back to Lexus Cheltenham for them to be removed and sent off again to be done, to cut a long story short unfortunately in the paint removal process used all four callipers received damage to the piston seats. A decision was made to simply supply and fit all new callipers and pads at Lexus expense rather to attempt further work to rectify as all reading this can imagine this is not exactly cheap. It is to the credit of all concerned at the dealership DP Tim Huxley, Service Manager Sam Holdway and techie Paul for resolving the matter for me, I was also giving the choice of OEM Rcf Black as per the Originals or the Orange from a GSF, I went with the Orange. For those who didn’t know the part numbers are exactly the same for all components with just the paint code that differs, I’m immensely pleased with the work and the look. Big Rat

What mode do you drive your F in? and why? Do you adapt to mood and circumstances? Or is it one size fits all? Clearly each F car has its own version of hot or not, for me in the RCF - I go normal most days. Eco for long journeys and Sport+ when I’m feeling like a mentalist. The reasoning behind putting the transmission into manual is a little more complex and down to the road, the mood I’m in and sometimes just purely to hear the blipped downshifts... Traction control is left as factory intended on the road and I haven’t found a need for slalom or snow yet. The other F cars probably have a similar but different set of driving options. Which do you use? When? and why?

Interesting watching a debate between two people. One selling, understandably wanting the best possible price and the other, buying, desperate for prices to nosedive!

No offence ... I understand you feelings. Hardest car to sell is the one in good condition... Let me explain - nobody cares or trust your word for condition, everyone only ever going to look at mileage and compare it with other cars at that mileage. As such, knowing your car, might well be right pricing it above other cars, but good luck (and I mean it) finding another person who will buy car in disadvantage with given mileage. Offering finance on niche 37k performance coupe is massive advantage. I have seen Blue RC-F being offered for £28k private sale without finance and then few weeks latter being flipped by some dealer at £32k... so it was "no-sale" for £28k private.. yet sold for £32k with finance presumably. As for colour - I said that in the beginning, I believe it is best looking Carbon colour combo.

I’m sure anyone wanting a rcf carbon that views this grey one will want it as it really goes well with carbon on grey exterior

This car is pretty much same as buying from a dealer as it’s been fully prepped by Lexus few weeks ago only difference is I don’t offer finance.

Indeed. And getting the actual part is far better than wrapping as the wrap will peak and fade over time compared to the own part. When the time comes it might be best to have all the chrome replaced with the black edition car parts.

Yeah, had a gut instinct on the orange one.... woman’s intuition maybe 🤣 Loving our car! Had some fantastic comments from people while out and about in it. We’ve always gone American muscle in the past which I loved but hubby wasn’t keen on the LHD for his daily drive so the RCF is a fantastic compromise.

@Stuno1 Thanx yes matey according to the parts dept guy the code says it’s black as well, no doubt you’ve noticed as I have that you can’t tell for definitely from pictures. Big Rat

Thanks very much....

@Big RatLooks great Paul in orange and really suits the black. Btw did you find options for de-chroming the sides?

They grey one is mine I had new rear brake pads and new front Pilot sport 4s tyres fitted. Good service guys at Cheltenham Lexus

@Mattmech Yes I agree with you I prefer it myself, I was looking at it from past use I guess it suited the previous car I had it on the 911. But this time I was wrong using the yellow, the Orange really does look fantastic and is linked in with the indicators. Big Rat

Cheers, Paul 🤗

The other one (at 40k?) has been for sale for 2 years!!!! Mental.

What a fine gathering of beasts..... Nice cars too!! 😀

I'll do that in my other thread. @DarISF nicked the one from this thread before I got to it.

Ps - lots of pictures 😉👍🏻

Thanks for that First_Lexus, most helpful your car does look stunning which is why a chose the colour in the first place, unfortunately mine will rarely be that clean🤔

That oil certainly doesn't look clean enough. Possibly they didn't leave it draining for long enough or drained it when cold. I assume that the level shown is after the car has been standing for an hour or more .... if so then that level is too low. I used to do all my own car maintenance but apart from my tractor I leave it to garages now....either my local or else the appropriate dealer , and I've never seen evidence of such shoddy work.

Car looks like a very nice example, Mike. [emoji106] Silver wasn't my first choice either, but its really grown on me. It looks fantastic at night, or on a bright sunny day. Regarding LED indicators...Yes its possible as I've done this to my car (plus the reversing lights), but haven't updated my build thread yet since the job isn't 100% done yet. I still need to find the time/weather/courage to remove the front bumper so I can swap out the front bulbs, but the rears are done and look great. I used these Osram W16W bulbs, plus I had to swap the flasher relay to prevent the indicators from hyper-flashing due to the LEDs drawing less power. The relay is only a few quid on Amazon. Anyway, great start to your build thread. I shall be looking forward to future updates. [emoji3] Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

@Northern isf Adrian is a top bloke he prepped the gt86 that the Tim Huxley the DP at Lexus Cheltenham raced, and they supply the TRD parts from japan for many of the Lexus line up. I had a gt86 for a couple of weeks whilst mine was in for some work loved it....... Big Rat

The facelift cars, post 2005 hold their price better. 6 speed, led rear lights, suspension upgrade and changed wheels. Only one model all with ML and Sat Nav. The latest maps available are 2017. Tax on face lift is £500. Bluetooth is phone only. Little things i've had on mine, spiral spring (no horn) £300, power aerial not working £60 both DIY. I test drove loads before purchasing, they should be silent, rattle free and feel solid and secure. Every car I looked at had bonnet chips, must be the shape.

I ended up going for the Mesa red on my Luxury NX, and it really is a lovely colour when the sun shines. When the sun isn't shining it does indeed look rather dull. Even so, it gets plenty of compliments - and sorry about this, but the courtesy NX I had for a couple of months in Sonic White is the same. Nice in the sun, but looks like a flat 'normal' white otherwise. I had a couple of colleagues question why somebody would buy such a nice car '...and have it painted like a cheap van.' Quite. They wouldn't have said that if it had been clean and the weather sunny though...much like the Mesa red. See photos - in the sun it really sparkles - otherwise it looks like a flat deep red. IMHO the best colour for the NX is the Mercury Grey. For a car that won't be cleaned or detailed regularly you can't go wrong with silver. Hides almost anything!

I have just read through this entire thread, so impressed with your attention to detail, a really excellent read and looking forward to future updates.

bottom 95cm top 70cm

Sunroof..... slight sarcasm😀 Only this week I have been speaking with a Lexus dealer about a car. Only after several email messages were exchanged did I spot said car had a sunroof. I apologised for wasting the salesman’s time and explained that I thought sunroofs were only useful in floods 😜

You mean: he who shall not be named...was right about something???! Personally I can’t do sunroofs. Combination of being folically challenged and having pale skin that burns at the merest hint of sunshine!

Maybe you are right - but something is missing............ maybe I need a........ SUNROOF!!! 😳

First and reverse gears only

I leave mine in normal mode till I get three bars on the oil temp, then into sport and then manual. I leave the tc alone though 😳

Sorry to gate-crash, not driving an F but for me it's Normal around town and Sport on the country/open roads. Never use Eco, turns the car into a slug on mogadon ....

You definitely need to see colours on a drab day. When I bought a Toyota GT86 I was going to go for the metallic orangey colour as is really sparkles in the sun. On the drab day I went to see one at the dealers it looked flat and orange-brown in colour. I ended up going for red in the end.

Yeah I got a Mesa Red IS, I actually went to look at one on a dull day and decided against the colour. Then after more looking, I decided, no, I like the colour, and in the sunshine when its clean, it simply gleams due to the gold flecks in it. On a dull day, it can almost look burgundy, and yes it does show up the dirt, thought red wouldn't. Vince

Update to exhaust. Went to Cybox/power flow in bromborough on the Wirral. Supplied and fitted a new stainless steel backbox for £215.

I have one on mine and the second intake sound is very much still there. IMO it's even more noticeable.