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Just to update on the rust it was caused by a leak around the aerial where it met the bodywork, the previous owner had replaced the aerial and in doing so must have dented the bodywork. Pushed the dent out and sealed with a clear silicone mastic which was applied to bodywork and aerial body then a bit more on the inside, I doubt that will leak again. Welding was done by a local mobile welder for £60 and he did a very good job and admired the car so I gave him an extra £10!

Here you go https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

Hi We have just bought are selfies a 1 owner Lexus CT200h in pearl white with black roof and we absolutely love it! Traveled 60 miles for it. We sold our mini clubman and were considering a 1 series or A3 but have owned other makes like audi, vw, bmw, Why did I not buy a Lexus sooner? Hope to use the forum regularly for any tips etc. regards Antony

Hi The GS450h is a very well equipped car - on par with the LS430 in terms of toys including keyless entry/start and radar cruise on selected models. However it does have a few common faults - perhaps some due to age. 1) Calipers are known to sieze 2) Shock absorbers are thought to be under-rated and tend to start leaking - perhaps as early as 50K miles - the only replacement available is the dealer part 3) At around 100k the hybrid batteries start to fail - this is normally one or two cells rather than the whole battery - the lexus dealer will only replace the whole battery however a there are a few companies available who will re-condition yur battery pack for around £700 - £800 4) Some of the cars tend to suffer from creaking dashes - there is no real solution for this 5) There has been some incidents of corroded exhausts - at least one members silencer dropped off. 6) There has been a handful of incidents particularly on higher mileage cars (circa 150k) of failed hybrid pumps - This is normally down to a couple of bearings and can be fixed cheapily if you are handy with spanners - there is a full right up on this site ny member Hayne I have been thinking about the gs450h for a while but cannot fully justify why i would want one compared to my 430. If you decide to go for one - do all the usual checks - at the minimum I would say I would want a Lexus Hybrid Health Check Certificate - this guarantees the hybrid components for a year. If you can get one which has had the failed components replaced then that is even better. there is atleast one on AT which has had the Hybrid batteries replaced at Lexus for £3k - I would say if the rest of the car is ok then that would be a good proposition. If you buy from am dealer - you can take it to lexus and get a full inspection done - if there is any failing parts you can go back to the selling dealer and ask him to rectify. If you buy one which is less than 10 years old and under 100k miles (i stand corrected) you can buy a 2 year Lexus extended warranty for £995 which covers pretty much everything on the car. I look on AT everyday - these cars are slow movers - so you have an advantage I hope this is informative and good luck with your search Now tell me do you still want one and why??lol

✗ Untaxed Tax due: 01 June 2007 Vehicle details Vehicle make LEXUS Date of first registration April 1993 Year of manufacture 1993 Cylinder capacity (cc) 3969 cc CO₂Emissions Not available Fuel type PETROL Export marker No Vehicle status Not taxed Vehicle colour SILVER Vehicle type approval Not available Wheelplan 2 AXLE RIGID BODY

Seen this IS300h for sale at a well know garage near me - just wondered what peoples opinions on it were? I toyed with the idea of a front splitter myself (my car is white splitter would be black) Not got around to it yet. The car for sale has front and side splitters, rear diffuser and twin exhaust upgrade. The wheels look pretty good too to my eye - a similar spindle design to F Sports but more racy perhaps? Or is it all overkill and ruined a lovely motor? Advert here : https://redlinespecialistcars.co.uk/used-cars/lexus-is-300h-2-5-f-sport-e-cvt-4dr-knaresborough-201701301820726/

It's only just March, but I collected our new (to us) RX450h yesterday. The contributions on this thread helped me a lot, with particular thanks to Rayaans and Glover. Only had it a day, but I agree about the warm up time of the engine, I'd say half the time of the IS. The seating position in the GS is not very different to my Convertible, but the RX requires a slight step up to become seated instead of a fall into a bucket !! No meaningful mpg figures yet, but I'm fascinated watching the graphic telling me where the power is coming from, hope it doesn't become the guide to my driving. After collecting it from Wolverhampton yesterday, I rang Mrs Ledzep from Newtown (halfway). She of course asked about the car, I replied "It's like driving an armchair". It's a 13 plate RX450h Luxury in Garnet Red with black leather, Lexus fsh and 55k miles. Looking forward to my day off on Saturday so I can have a play with the car. I'll take some photos so I can prove it really happened.

They do say the reason Land Rovers are so good off the road, is because, they're always off the road! Just saying......

Need to cut. Very easy.... and ... the first front fender is ready :)))))

😁 Lexus is becoming a lifestyle choice not just a car.

Yes you are right I've been temped by some Mercedes in the past a C63 was on my short list with the ISF it's easy to be justifiably seduced by the C63's engine it's a beaut but again overall it had to be the ISF. I made the right decision. 🐀

I guess if you did you research you will never get it wrong... problem is that people are irrational creatures and they sometimes by used cars knowing that the price if too good to be true, or the car model is definitely one which is not only going to go wrong, but will cost fortune to fix as well e.g. old MB CL's lovely cars, but you know you in trouble if you buy one for £2k. anyway back to the topic .. at least IS-Fs are reliable ...

I've done some research my self in the past as regards the appropriate time to buy, buying new and selling to early is obviously a killer as regards residuals. But you get the car, spec, model you want and only you have driven it fine if it's a long term thing. i guess second hand buying is always going to have attached to it the luck of the draw, just make sure you gen up on it, saves a lot of expense and heart ache in the long run. 🐀

one more point ... my father from experience at that company worked out that there are 2 best times to buy used car after 3 years and after 5-6. After 3 years car is generally drops in value a lot, but usually is still latest shape, yet at the same time it is still under warranty, but it won't breakdown, because unlucky owner from new would have fixed everything under warranty by the time. Similarly 5-6 years old would be super cheap due to the risk breaking down outside of warranty, but yet in tip-top condition due to being fully service under warranty up to that time. But the worst car is new one - you pay full price, it's value will drop like a rock and in the end of the day you will get used to drive around in courtesy all the time. That obviously mostly applies to company workhorses like golfs and fiestas, but I guess one can found some relevance in personal life, especially buying used ex-lease cars.

The RS4 was a quick car, no doubt, however they are known for issues with coking up and therefore power loss of up to 60hp. The ISF is either a faster car in general or my RS was down on power because the IS definitely feels quicker. It could also be because you don't really have anything to do in the IS other than put your foot down and no real lag from changing gear. I came from an from M3 and hadn't realised how reliant I had become on the 4wd of the Audi, the Lexus has reminded me on a few occasions in the last few days that my power is being put down at the rear wheels again! Both are fantastic cars in their own right but as you say, the IS makes me feel more comfortable with regards to running costs. I'm not worried about tax and fuel as these kind of come with owning a 5.0l V8! There is a good American comparison between the two on you tube where the ISF comes out on top which doesn't seem to happen very often!

maybe British (or Japanese) version of this:

I had a Mk5 Golf R32. That needed a new gearbox (under warranty).

Yes you are right as regards pricing they give him the ' not required to pay invoice ' covered by warranty stuff each time. He is getting a courtesy car each time, he did try and reject the car at the beginning but they were having none of it. I see he has a courtesy car again today I'm working there again from tomorrow no doubt I'll get the gen on that over tea and bikkies 😂 🐀

I am not sure if that is related to VW but my father used to have company which run ~ 30 company cars for sales managers. At some point he had 30 new Golf 5s, 24 of which were out of service because of breakdowns and in for warranty service at local VW. At the time they had policy not to provide courtesy cars unless it takes more than 3 days to fix the issue. As you can imagine that didn't cut it because it is impossible to run business when only 6 out of 30 new cars are on the road. That resulted in legal action and VW started providing Polos as courtesy afterwards. Side note - those prices obviously are the representative value, not the price it costs for VW or dealership to do it... I am sure it is same for Lexus.

or pizza................

Well if they did we'd could have a bit of surf and turf action going 😂 🐀

I know one other car with d4d engine which would benefit from such swap.... that is IS220d...

Not fan of fish sorry, please PM when they open steakhouse in UK

The thing with carbon build-up is that.... it is continuous process. I mean you can take completely new engine and in first 5 miles it will accumulate some carbon build-up. That is normal. The thing is while driving you creating some build-up and at the same time burning it off. Even if you use premium fuel it is the same, just that process is slower due to fuel being cleaner and having additives to tackle this particular problem. There is no point to clean like cylinder (something everyone checks before and after as a prove of successful procedure) as it is as mentioned - carbon deposits there burns and accumulates at the same time. If there is no particular problem with car cleaning procedure won't help. Cleaning cylinders will only last like 5 miles. The reason to use service like terraclean or similar is to clean places where carbon build-up cannot burn e.g. valve push rods, injectors, inlet manifold passages etc. which sits outside of high temperature cylinders and therefore carbon doesn't burn of them. That means that unless you have particular issue you won't see much difference. Obviously, it is not bad to do it from time to time and I would personally recommend save money on service like terraclean rather then wasting it on premium fuel which at best does just half of the job and would still require engine to be properly cleaned sometime. In my personal calculation it is wiser to spend £100 on terraclean once in two years than spend ~£250 extra for premium fuel for marginal results.

Yeah, the LS400 was to me the first American-styled Japanese-built car that made sense on UK roads . They lost that trajectory a bit in more recent LS revisions, but give me an LS430 interior in an LS400 body and with some of the more contemporary LS460 gizmos and I'll not ask for more. Not going to happen though.

Where's the photos ??

Well done, enjoy. There's no need to fret about part lifetimes, you just bought yourself a Lexus 😁

I was mortified when I got a letter from them at the end of November to say my Volvo wasn't insured. We changed our email address and didn't think about my insurance renewal coming via email, 3 months I drove without insurance, including a trip to Cornwall!!

140k miles and £1095

Yep, the manual IS250 does indeed have a DMF. If you want to be sure the clutch is slipping, drive in it a high gear at near 1000rpm and put your foot down. If the engine spins up too quickly, then it is time for a new clutch. How many miles on it? Unfortunately, clutch slippage is not a failure, it is simple wear and tear, so it is irrelevant where the car was brought from if it didn't slip at the time of purchase. It is annoying that most modern cars with manual transmissions now have DMF's that wear out. The most you would have to do with the old solid ones was give them a skim. I wouldn't say that the flywheel is a weak link, rather that it is just designed to be replaced due to wear eventually. As for if yours needs changing, it would depend on how worn it is. When I had mine changed, it was quite worn out, but my car had almost 110,000 miles on it at the time. I wouldn't recommend a solid flywheel conversion if you like your car to be smooth. Modern drivetrains are designed with the shock absorbing qualities of the DMF in mind, so it may end up causing problems with things like engine mounts in the future if you covert it. Normally, a worn out flywheel will cause some juddering, especially when moving off. This is not always the case though, and it is because of the labour involved to remove the gearbox again to replace it in the future which leads most people to change it at the same time as the clutch. If you don't mind waiting a little longer (and presumably the garage don't mind), you could always get them to remove the gearbox and have a look first? Most places will now deliver next day on parts, so if they call and say it is knackered, you could always order one for the following day. If not, get them to fit the clutch and leave it.

I agree if it is not going to affect your own insurance premium. As with regards to workshops: Lexus may not have its own bodyshops, but it uses Lexus approved bodyshops. This means that the work will be carried out to Lexus' exacting standards, and that if the work has not been carried out to their satisfaction, they will send the car back to the bodyshop before you even get to see it. It also means that, if you are not happy with the work, you will be dealing with your usual dealer who will be far keener to keep you happy than any bodyshop staff will. In my instance (see above), I had to pay for the repair myself as I did not want to go through my insurance. I still went to Lexus, who got a quote from their regular bodyshop. I was not happy with the quote, which I deemed far too expensive (they wanted to replace the bumper) and Lexus obtained a second quote from a different bodyshop that they use for "older" cars and non-insurance jobs. The work was carried out and inspected by Lexus before they handed it back to me. Oh, and I had a brand new NX as a courstesy car for a week while my own car was being repaired.

Another good one is askmid for insurance... https://ownvehicle.askmid.com/

Dont think so. Its an IS300h which is only available as RWD It looks fine apart from the F badge and the wheels. The wheels themselves look cheap (yes I know they're not if they're really vossen). They need a bit more concavity on the rear IMO. Not sure that the style of wheel suits the car either.

Looks like a nice example & welcome to the club. I'm sure you won't be disappointed with the car. Bought my F in 2014 and it hasn't missed a beat. I had a B7 V8 S4 before the ISF, which are not supposed to be quite as temperamental as the RS, but it still managed to need a new tiptronic gearbox (manufacturing fault) at £6.5k. Also had an issue with the mass air sensor which affected the gear changes on the new box, so for a while I thought I might need a 2nd - deep joy!!. Shame because I loved the car, but when it became clear that the V8 was also prone to the chain tension slider issue, which I had already experienced with my previous B7 V6 quattro (£4k), that was the final straw for me. At the time I thought I was probably just unlucky, but time has shown that these issues are all too common and the other German manufacturers are no better. Couldn't fault the way the Audi dealership handled the issues though, they were brilliant. I did a lot of research before buying the ISF and nothing then or since has changed my view that you won't find another car of this type and performance that is as reliable. Fingers crossed I haven't just ginxed myself

Thanks everyone for all your help. I'm going with the Ebay shop recommended by Sorcerer above. Just one more question. Can the key open and close the doors and start the engine without the electronic remote. I ask as when the battery has run out before I've been able to use the car via the key? Thanks all.

Is there a new thread for the wales blast ? I'm a couple of day behind

Correction! Citroens look like this normally! They do sink, when parked, but at operating level, they do rise up quite a bit. (DSs/CXs/early XMs/GSAs....) My current XM stays up much longer-designed that way- but doesn't waft as much as the DSs.

Engine drives the rear wheels and the tarmac drives the front wheels 😃

Try menu, setup, navigation, connected service. Scroll down to change username and password. Think I had to do this when deleting the previous drivers details to allow me to access my portal account. If you have the Nav manual its on p393

I do agree, the LS400 is very easy on the eye! I agree about the later body shape too, and for me the LS430 was the last of the "classic" limo shape from Lexus. And as I'm nearing the stage where I want to slow down with work, I'm guessing my pocket will confirm that it remains the last classic shape for me! It really was my first ever sighting of an LS that did it for me, I thought it was American, and having always loved American cars the next step was an obvious one!

My previous IS had a road rash on the plastic probably from stones & debris thrown off the wheels. imho the plastic does save the paint from chips. Unless they really bother you imho leave on. No manufacturer fits parts which are superfluous.

I have that^^^^. It was called "Eprance" when I bought mine many years ago. Still going strong, it's moved from car to car.

UPDATE: Hello again everyone, I have more news- As I believe I said earlier in the post, the car was booked in a while back with a mechanic we know (non Lexus). On examining the car, he soon said that it was indeed the mounts that hold the pump for the air suspension in place. Congrats to the members who pointed this possibility out, you are right The good news is - they cost around £10, which is fantastic. The bad- its a good few hours job to get to the pump and will involve disassembling lots of the front of the car (poor Lexus) and therefore the cost of labour is looking pretty hefty unfortunately. Poor wallet, too The car is booked in for the procedure after the easter break and I have some brand new ( I think original) headlights for it which he will put in while he is at it because I'm pretty sure they don't shine as far down the road now. It could just be me, I am a perfectionist after all Apologies for having kept you all waiting for this update, but as usual life is hectic. Lastly, this post isn't over yet, I'll keep you all updated closer to the time of the appointment and possibly sneak some pics. If he goes ahead and puts in the new OEM headlights then there will be pics of those as well. all the best to you all, Alex

Lexus will just put a "1" in front of the reasonable quote you mentioned. :)

Excellent, keep us posted.

Crikey, you are going for it then. It will be interesting to see how it pans out. Looks like a lot of hard work to me, but if you enjoy doing it then that is good.

No, it's not possible to do in the sense that if the key you got from Ebay only cost you a couple of quid, the likelihood is that the metal is very hard and can cause damage to expensive key cutting machines, hence why most places won't do them. Also, they don't like cutting things that they haven't supplied. However, all is not lost because this guy on Ebay will sell you an empty case that you put your own electronics into and he'll also cut the blade to either your key code if you have it or a photograph of your existing key. I've no affiliation with this guy, just a very satisfied customer

Yes, the camera came with the usual cigarette lighter to USB adaptor which I bastardised (if you do that ensure you retain any fuse etc) but I know that hardwired versions are available and there is room for the little box to fit above the headlining. Some cameras work on straight 12v input so check first. Sorry, just escaped from hospital after spinal surgery so I can't even get to my car let alone climb around it to take photos. LOL