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Used to have speed camera detectors, but now I use a free app on my phone called Waze. I'm sure many of you have heard of it. It's primarily a navigation app owned by google, with very up to date traffic info obtained from everyone else using the app. It will monitor the road ahead even if you don't have a destination set. Showing your current speed and limit, speed cameras and more. It's community driven, so all the speed camera sites are kept up to date. You will also get notified of police (potential speed trap), broken down vehicles, accidents, etc. too.

I've had mine just over a week now and am very happy. However, I've been thinking about the characteristics of this hybrid system. For 99% of driving, I can't see a problem, but... Let's imagine I'm on the Autobahn. Start off with a full tank and hybrid battery full. Foot down and KEEP IT DOWN. Fantastic performance until the hybrid battery is exhausted. So, will I find my top speed is limited below 155mph??? After all, I'll only have the ICE, and that will presumably be diverting some power to recharging the Hybrid stack? How long between setting off at maximum performance before the hybrid stack is exhausted? Before people get their dander up - I'm not being serious - just wondering

So pretty much 6 months to the day I SORN'd the LS400, she is back on the road. Car failed its MOT back in April and I decided to focus on the ISF and tuck the LS away in a local storage place. My intention was to go and turn the car over every two weeks and take it for a brief run around the storage site which is obviously not on the public road, however on my first visit the battery was already flat! So for 6 months it hasn't moved a wheel, my local mechanic sourced a new battery, fitted it at the storage site and then took it back for another MOT which of course it failed and then he set about sorting out the various parts it needed along with some minor service items, so on top of the battery he fitted a front coil spring, rear brake discs and pads, rear shoes, brake pipe, hand brake cable, NSR shock absorber and then oil/air filter, pollen filter and the oil itself. After all that obviously the MOT was not an issue although there is still a long list of advisable items although I am told none of these are that serious. Was great to get back in the car tonight, obviously feels very different to my ISF but it is incredible that after 6 months off the road, a 19 year old car with not far off 300k miles on the clock still goes and rides like it does - they really are incredible motor cars. My intention is to run the car alongside the ISF through winter, the LS has the winter wheels/tyres on it so if the snow comes I will be able to remain mobile.

So its insurance renewal time again! Currently on an Admiral Multicar policy which was £756 for the 2012 RX450h and IS300h. And I paid about £60 including the £25 admin fee to change over when I got my 4RX. Still waiting on renewal from Admiral As Directline and Aviva can be done 60 days in advance, Ive done those and Directline is showing £1400 for the Multicar - £200 more if done separately. Confused.com is showing much higher for both at the moment. And biggest joke of the day is Adrian Flux - "computer says £4000 for the RX" at which point I ran out of patience and put the phone down. Dreadful company to deal with and stupid prices. The search continues......

Also worth noting, their place of choice HAS to be registered as a camera position, they can’t just set up at any point, as they are “safety cameras” and not “speed cameras” they can’t be seen to be entrapping the public, the locations they can set up at are on the Webbsite for all to see

It is indeed still a lot of money for such a big hit on the residuals, if that’s the level they are having to discount to get a buyer. Still probably means they will be a good 2nd hand buy in the not to distant future - sounds familiar!!

Lol, sure, will Get a few pics when I have given the car a wash and clean, it's been up and down the motorways this week and is looking more cardoxan grey than the white it is meant to at the moment!

The 10% +2 was applicable to analog cameras, afraid this is not necessarily the case with digital ones 😔.......but a calibration cert must be in date and available to be seen

@s_a15 Sorry seemed to have duplicated what you’ve said on another post relating to @Kritter car search, my bad. Big Rat

@Kritter Kristian the ‘X’ Fensport car has been on and off sale once or twice in the last year or two the car was run by Adrian at Fensport as far as I can remember the only mods to it were an Apexi throttle controller and coil over suspension. Again good luck with the Wiltshire car, feel free to pm for my mobile number if you want any more advice when your with it, I could do with a break from slabbing patios 😊 🐀

From my observations birds are smarter than the average driver!

As far I remember while I was doing max speed which I assumed was 155mph speedometer was showing almost 160. There is also one more benefit of showing you that you are going faster - consumption. If car thinks it is going faster then it assume too that it travel further which then influence fuel consumption indications. It is always better to burn 10L of petrol and do 150km rather than 140km :)

This one has done its rounds at 3 different dealers in the Manchester area over the last 8 months, starting at £18,995. Looks good in the flesh with the ceramic paint coating. It was the owner of Fensport's personal car for a few years (and can be seen on the fensport website), it has a rear entertainment package fitted, the suspension has been upgraded to ride a little softer, (my last 58 plate ISF was only noticeably hard riding on seriously badly maintained roads, and no where near as bad as the UK journalists wrote in the early reviews) and it did also have a blitz throttle controller fitted while owned by Fensport so it may need careful inspection by any potential buyers, especially the electrics where the throttle controller was removed from. Also not sure if the non standard suspension would be an issue adding a lexus warranty?

They've quoted for the serpentine belt ("auxiliary belt") but not the serpentine belt idler and tensioner (timing belt tensioners are different.) Not essential but nice to do when the front is stripped down.

@Big RatGlad it all went so smoothly. Sounds like a very pleasant few hours wait as well Wow 20k off a new GSF - does that mean they are going to be as rare as the ISFs I wonder?.

@Chuckie478 So I had mine done at Lexus Bristol yesterday and they valeted not just cleaned her inside and also the outside was gleaming. I didn't want a loan car so myself and Mrs Rat were taken into the city centre and dropped off by the cafes bars and restaurants I won't bore you with next predictable 3 hours........... and our driver picked us up at the prearranged exactly on time thereafter. Big thanx due to Simon Lisa techie Stevie and John at Lexus Bristol........ oh and they did guide me towards a Black pre reg GSF 66 Plate 300 miles yours for 53K that's 20K off the price of a new one anyone interested 🤗 Big Rat

Yeah. It might work. Maybe I was too subtle.

I thought the drain was on a spring seal John? Ie remove that cover piece and screw in the drain hose. When screwed in, it pushes a plate off the seal and allows the oil to drain out, but needs the piece in place in order to do so. This is purely without foundation though, as don't have one, never seen one and no experience of one. What drives it is common sense, and that one of the American sites said that their plug needed to have a part turned after being fitted to allow it to drain, but this could be built into their part vs the housing I guess.

This is the problem, I can't remember the last time I seen any speed enforcement in 30 zones. Most of the roads up here are winding country roads with multiple tractors elderly driving slow with their nose glued to the windscreen and just some bad drivers. There are few places to safely overtake and where the safe places are ie big open straights they build a special layby and plonk these camera vans on them. The A90 Dundee to stonehaven dual carriageway has average cameras now because six people have died since 2014. The fact that there are very few flyovers a tractor/ truck and trailer can still pull out in front of you , sit in the central reservation with a trailer blocking both lanes while making sure it's clear to go from the other carriageway is completely ignored. Literally drives me nuts.

Great news! Looking forward to getting these.

Indeed! Hoping it will be delivered on Friday. Paid up my import duty etc yesterday afternoon. Will keep you guys posted. Cheers. Peter

£7500 buys a lot of tax insurance fuel and suspension parts...

It is utter garbage and completely incapable of understanding anything I say. The Toyota system in my Prius was uncannily perfect at understanding me, albeit with a more limited range of commands, so you'd think Lexus could manage to make something that actually worked. Mind you, Toyota also make auto wipers that work very well, which is more than Lexus managed when they built my car!

Excellent comments from all of you, thank you. I have some time before I make a decision, but will bare your feedback in mind. I have to say that I am not sold on going for a IS250 though. Maybe a 200T may make more sense as I expect the 4 cyl would be cheaper to run than the 6 cyl version. However, I would think that insurance and road tax may be high. I also believe that the 200T is pretty difficult to find these days, and it could be that rarity pushes the prices up. Thanks again.