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So I ordered a pair of 2nd hand IS350 2008 calipers and received them in the meantime. I just trial fitted them onto the IS300h. Like you said, it is a 1:1 plug and play. No adjustments required from bracket standpoint. Just need the trimm off a bit of the dust shield (bottom part). Now I need to order the rotors and actually do the whole conversion. Looking forward to it.

When I traded my ISF for the RCF in 2015, I got £2k more than the Parkers trade in price, which was pleasing, especially against what was the cheapest RCF in the country at the time. Manchester Lexus immediately added £5k to the price and it went within a few weeks. Maybe they do know what they are doing?

You get what you pay for and believe me the extra money your may pay compared to the offerings from Germany you will save 10 fold if you get a Lexus, I've owned a fair few performance Audi's BMWs VW's the cost of maintaining and replacing parts every two minutes gets a bit annoying I almost had to change my holiday plans to a week in bridlington almost 😂, I'd hate to think how much I've spent over the years on the aforementioned cars but Id bet it's close to buying a small house ,since I've had the Lexus it's caused me no budget holidays I still can't believe how reliable these cars are which is why I don't think I'll ever sell mine.

I’m jjjjjjjjjjjitttttttttttttery 😀 I’m not bothered 😀

2.5hrs+ worth of free coffee =

Very funny 😀👍

BMW M8

Lol or the Quicksilver designed for it! 1st world decisions 😉

After years of development, millions of euros of investment and combining the efforts of the greatest minds in BMW, we introduce the much heralded and highly anticipated........... Slightly more aggressive Audi RS7. This car gives me a feeling that reminds me of that time when I lost a tenner and found a fiver. Nice one BMW. I've got a load of betamax players if you're interested.

Well my car had a big service at Listers Cheltenham today while I waited. All good until they noticed a coolant weep from a water pump seal. They initially stated they had a seal and would replace that, but in the event they replaced the complte water pump. I am so impressed that they had one in stock and got on and did it while I waited. I arrived there at 8.30 this morning and by 12 was back on the road with the car cleaned and vacuumed for a total of less than £374.

My LS400 is 20 at the end of March. I wanted to see whether there was a reduction in performance over the years - so I downloaded a GPS based 0-60 timer to my phone....and did a couple of standing starts on the (nearly) flat where I join the A55 every morning. Result - 6.9 seconds. Which is (I think) what it did straight from the factory. So - no deterioration. Childish - yes. Impressive - very!! Next - 155mph test!!!

just spotted this on ebay, and £1495 is great price. I would buy it straight away without wasting any minute but sadly its way too far from me :( great buy for someone https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-LEXUS-LS430-AUTOMATIC-FULLY-LOADED-LOW-MILES-GOOD-CLEAN-CAR-HISTORY/302664555647?hash=item4678369c7f:g:Ry0AAOSwBPJaol2K AJ

I don't know the legal position in Eire but in the UK max wattage for vehicle headlamps on public highways is 60 main/ 55 dipped beam. Xenon are 35 watts but give about twice the light output of quartz halogen and so ought to be brighter. Regarding focussing.... the old "sealed beam" lamps used metal parabolic reflectors to do the main focussing with beam shaping being done by the patterned glass. The Austin Maestro introduced "homofocal" lights .....pressed polycarbonate reflectors which did focussing plus shaping so the glass was plain, which gave a slight gain in light output. Such lamps are sometimes called "free form".When I rebuilt my MGA roadster in 1981-83 I fitted some 1970s Mini sealed beams but they were just tungsten, not even halogen and were hopelessly outclassed so a couple of years ago I went for Wipac Freeform halogens ....big improvement. My Lexus IS is my first car with bi Xenons but I haven't driven it enough in the dark yet to be able to comment fully except that I feel that the beams are more sharply defined than on other cars that I've owned.

This is why the LS is the best - it's the gift that keeps on giving! I don't think there has ever been a superior engine management set up - so clean that it gives that performance , economy, invariable stumble free running and keeps on doing it year on year. Aren't we lucky?

had my water pump replaced last november 2010 gs 450 only went in for a mot they said your water pump is a bit noisy will replace it under your extended warrenty gave me a car went back 2 hours later all done lexus bristol cant fault them

Guys, expect a minimum of THREE HOURS

They are indeed a budget China import, but the rating is slightly better than most Kumho tyre brands that are B/C at best. The sound level of my old tyres where circa 71db, so no real difference with these budget tyres stating 72db - I believe Kumho do make a 68db tyre but the grip/economy rating isn't as good. As mentioned, my old tyres being 5+ years old and hardened rubber with less tread definitely made more noise than these new unbranded tyres with new rubber.

Not sure what the weather is like in Skegness, but it’s chucking down in the Cotswolds and I doubt I’d notice anything anyway 😢 Of course Sean, personally I would always tell the truth and you would be one of the first to know if I spot a difference in my car.

Hmmmmmm....... do I smell a RAT?

I have felt for some time that the lights on MY IS300H are not very good. On my previous car, Saab 9-3 Aero TTiD, they were far superior.

@Comedian Sean has drawn my attention to this at the motor show and the phrase ‘ Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery ‘ springs to mind when looking at many aspects of the RCF 🤔 Big Rat

On a side note, these bad boys just arrived from Germany They're fricking HUGE!

They are collaborating on the Z4 / Supra, so maybe when the BMW designers were over in Toyota City they sneaked into the Lexus studios for a peek?

Although I agree about the hybrid allowing the engine to run the Atkinson cycle and so be more efficient while electric power fills in the torque needed at low revs that the Atkinson cycle doesn't deliver I do think we perhaps don't give the clever people at Toyota/Lexus the credit they deserve as the thinking they employ in the algorithms seems to go deeper than this. This week I was intrigued to watch how my IS 300h used it's battery on the motorway. I started out at the bottom of a long steady motorway incline with pretty much a full battery. The display then showed that while going up the incline the car was using both ICE supplemented by electric all the way up the incline. By the time we reached the top and it levelled out then the battery was down to about one-third full. The interesting thing was at this point I expected the ICE to recharge the battery, but it didn't. The car maintained the battery at about one-third from then on - using ICE and electric on and off - the way it mixes ICE to driving wheels, ICE to battery and electric to driving wheel varies constantly. My run was on a fairly empty motorway so I was maintaining a steady speed for a probably another 10 miles and the battery stayed at the one-third full for all that time. Inevitably I then came to leave the motorway and started coasting to slow down - the car went into regen and the battery started topping up quickly reaching half full and then on leaving the motorway and having to use the brakes more and the ICE to accelerate along the first mile of A roads the battery was topped up to it's near full state. So, from the above the car isn't simply depleting the battery and recharging it using the ICE to full again while on the motorway but appears to wait to recharge to make the most use of regen charging even when that wait is for a long time. I had noticed this before but never really watched it as closely as I did this time. I am sure that Toyota/Lexus employ some of the best engineers and mathematicians to calculate the very best way to maximise the overall efficiency of their hybrid system and IMHO the algorithms they develop are actually a lot more sophisticated than we often give them credit for.

Worth bearing in mind that some of the above issues are easily rectified or prevented. Air con shouldn't be stinking unless it's not being used often enough. These AC systems need to be on all the time. Tyre noise is relative and dependent on tyres. There is some tyre roar but it's not obtrusive and certainly no more than in a BMW 320d or other car in this class. Economy is also dependent on driving style and trip distances. Motorway runs can see you around 50-55 mpg sometimes. Short town trips and it'll barely get over 20-30mpg but thats not exclusive to the IS

Just some of my thoughts. I have owned my F-Sport since new since March 2015 so it is 3 years now. I still like the car even though I’m thinking about the change, but have no enough money to buy anything better. The car feels different, at least for me, this is due to the hybrid system but you have to learn how to enojoy it. It is really great to be able to go on electric only when like me you are spending lots of time in traffic. The car is comfortable. If you can get it with the upgraded audio system then do, the standard one is poor. The menus and the main display feels like from 1980s, it will be probably the same is with the upgraded audio, a bit dissapointing. The standard seats in F-Sport are fine, you dont need leather. Get it in ultrasonic blue, looks awesome. Tyre noise is bad:/ Fuel consumption, if you want to drive normally then the F-Sport will burn by average 7 litres per 100km, it will be changing between 6.5-8 l/100km. Burns more in winter. Just don’t fool yourself you will go lower on fuel consumption. I haven’t got any breakdowns so far. Did 49k on the factory tyres. Got goodyear eagle asymetrics 3 hoping they will be quieter but they are not. Tyre noise is bad. You dont hear engine unless you press acceleration hard, then you get it for a while until you reach your desire speed. Then just tyre noise. Acceleration is not as good as you would expect. There is a lag and it does not feel good as you would like it. It is better in Sport mode but still not that would please you. Sometimes you are missing the engine sound and the instant response. Handling is great. The car could have 2 timest as powerfull drivetrain and would still behave perfectly. Feels extremaly flat in corners or in roundabouts. It is impossible to drifft in corners or roundabouts, feels a bit dissapointing. It doesn’t meant the car is slow. Flooring acceleration on green light works nice and the car starts up quickly. You can travel at speeds like 180km/h and the car feels very stable. The airconditioning stinks on hot days in the summer, this is another dissapointing thing. If I was changing the car now and have similar amout to spend, I dont know, there is a good chance I would buy a new IS 300h however recently I liked Kia Stinger, but the proper peteol version have so high co2 that I would have to pay fortune for motortax, at least here in Ireland. Can answer your questions if you have any.

All good mate thanks, enjoy the new car, make sure you get this one to H&S to enjoy that v8 symphony 😎 im sure you’ll have a great weekend. matt

@Mark G That’s because casa 1862 his real name is Herman Von Bavarian 😂 🐀

@Mattmech Truly great car many fond memories of last 2 years with mine continue to enjoy yours, gone from my drive but not my mind so here’s a pic shown before many times don’t care....... Big Rat

Absolutely agree with ths. I am picking up an RCF on Saturday and 2 weeks ago I had no intention of parting with my beloved ISF which I fully intended keeping for the long term. I was offered such a good part X I felt it would be silly not to give it serious consideration and the test drive sealed it.. Can’t help thinking that Lexus must have some confidence that they can sell these cars to be offering such good trade in values. I usually sell my cars privately, but as others have said, I have doubts that I could have got much more than the trade in value to make it worth it.

I went through the same thinking and read all the reviews and was undecided / confused. Had a number of BMWs in the past (high spec power ones) so had my own benchmark. Got a 300h from Lexus for a day test drive and was bowled over - went back the next day and bought a two year old Executive trim off the forecourt. Make sure you get a few hours in the car on your own and try a few different sorts of roads and once you have a handle on what the Is 300h is all about and how it delivers don't think you will be disappointed.

Hope you have fun. A couple of suggestions for the test drive. Make sure you have the artificial engine sound turned off for at least part of the drive so that you can hear what the car sounds like without artificial sound effects. The jargon name is Active Sound Control and there's a volume control/off switch low down to the right of the steering wheel. It's fun to turn on sometimes but for a test drive I would want to be able to hear the car itself for some of the time. The other thing to remember is that the car has no gears, no clutch, no torque converter, no dedicated starter motor. That means that you don't get the up and down revving you would get in a manual gearbox car. The power delivery is more like in a jet plane or a power boat. I expect most people don't sit in a plane thinking, "When is the pilot going to change gear?" But many magazine reviewers miss the familiar up and down revs of the manual gearbox. Even if you're used to an automatic, there are still no jolts between gear ratios in the IS300h as there would be in a conventional automatic. This is disconcerting to many people. Personally, I think the hybrid drive is an impressive bit of engineering and I like how it makes the car pretty silent most of the time. Gearboxes and clutches are essentially 19th century technology. I like the way the hybrid drive is truly 21st century technology, only made possible by the development of the computer. Incidentally, people say the hybrid drive is noisy when you put your foot down. What this means is that the engine revs at a constant high rate (like a power boat) until you take your foot off the accelerator. But it's the engine that's making the noise at high revs, not the hybrid drive (sometimes called a power-split device or a CVT.)

I think if you ask most Lexus owners, reliability will be one of the major reasons for ownership - the IS220D was a very rare exception to the rule. There are plenty of members here with cars over 20 years old and some with very high mileages so there's no reason to suppose that a 4 or 5 year old IS300h will give you any trouble. Bear in mind you can buy a Lexus warranty (which is very comprehensive and includes AA cover) even if you don't buy through Lexus if you really want to have peace of mind.

Had my 2015 IS300h for just over a year now, great car. First, ignore all those reviewers who moan about it CVT box, it's only unpleasant if you drive like a total nutter all the time. Second, you'll notice the tyre noise, this is because the rest of the car is so damn quiet and smooth. Third ignore those who tell you this is a pulleys and belt CVT, there's plenty of videos showing you how the eCVT works, and this explains why its so smooth. Vince

Ours is a 2013 model and its had no issues whatsoever. These things are amazingly reliable and as long as they have full Lexus service history and they're well maintained, they won't go wrong very often, or at all. You can keep them out of warranty without worrying unlike BMW etc

If you like reading reviews, don't buy a Lexus for a start as reviewers don't like them for some reason. Ive driven the CLA and the A3 saloon and we own an IS300h so here goes. Driving - the IS300h handles better than all of them - main reason being its RWD. Interior quality - I would say the Audi wins here but the IS isn't far behind. CLA has shocking interior quality - renault grade plastics not worthy of the price tag ride quality - depends on spec but overall the IS is very good. CLA is rubbish, it rides like a flintstone car in the AMG sport trims and is still firm on comfort suspension. A3 is firm in S-Line trim but other trims are good. Reliability - no contest - Lexus wins. Audi second and CLA has very bad reliability - quite a lot of problems with them Compared to an IS220d its going to be a massive improvement. The IS220d is probably the worst vehicle Lexus has ever made bar the SC Performance - whilst the IS may have a relatively mild 0-62mph time, the in gear acceleration is very good due to instant torque from the electric motors. Drive one, I doubt you'll be disappointed. Its got faster in-gear acceleration compared to a BMW 320d

Here are my own newbie thoughts from an earlier thread:

Colin, I knew what he meant, it was a little levity, hence the wink at the end of my post. “;)”

The only specification Lexus publish is 12v and 55 Ah - they don't mention CCA. The Bosch S4026 is 70Ah. £68 too cheap for you? You can pay £94 if you like from alternative suppliers (and maybe more). But you'll still get the same S4026 battery. Bosch do 5 year warranty batteries (they come in a silver case rather than blue for the 4 year ones) but not in type 068. I'll repeat for the umpteenth time on this thread - the Bosch S4026 or Varta E23 are probably the 'Best Buy' for an IS250 battery. You can get better batteries for a lot more money, but battery life depends quite a lot on how you use the car - no battery likes standing unused for days or weeks on end, or short journeys. Medium length journeys every day with minimum electrcal accessories in use make the battery last longer than other types of usage.

By the way, I'm one of those weirdos who names his cars and bikes. The names I choose are always based on the last 3 letters of the reg number. So, I named her "Wafty". My better half wet herself laughing when I told her. When I asked why, she said "Every time you start her,.....you're having a wafty crank"

On the flip side....based on my experience with esure, I would strongly advise anyone to steer clear of them. I am currently covered by them for exactly the same reason as yourself - they were considerably cheaper than the others at renewal time last year. My policy with them expires in a couple of weeks and they've given me a renewal quote that is approx £60 lower than what I paid last year. That policy included some declared modifications such as 19" IS-F wheels, but as I will be reverting back to OEM 18" wheels, a fresh "no modifications" quote was in order. Sure enough, a search on a comparison website later and esure are once again the cheapest available. However I will not be buying insurance from this company ever again due to their dishonesty and thievery. To cut a long story short, I was completely honest and open with all my details when requesting a quote last year. The aforementioned 19" wheels were declared, where the car is kept overnight (which is actually my place of work most days, not my home address). Every question asked by the comparison tool was answered truthfully. I even built-in to the policy some modifications that I was planning to do, but didn't actually go ahead with (lowered suspension, brake upgrade, tints). Plus of course I also recorded my claim history, which was an accident that saw my previous car written-off. An accident which was clearly not my fault. https://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/108404-car-written-off/ Despite all this, I felt the quoted price was quite reasonable so I went ahead and bought the policy from esure. So far, so good...but imagine my surprise when I was hit with an additional charge of £92 about 3 weeks later. Which, what a surprise, was outside the 14 day "cooling-off period" where the policy could've easily been cancelled without financial penalty...The reason cited for the additional charge? It was my failure to answer YES to the question "Was the driver at fault?" regarding the accident I was involved with. As far as I was concerned, that was the only logical answer to give to the question. I was minding my own business when an oncoming vehicle drifted into my side of the road and hit me. The whole thing was witnessed by many people, captured on a dashcam and the other driver was even charged & prosecuted for his actions. I pointed all this out to esure but they didn't want to know and Insisted that I had to pay the extra £92. This left me furious, so yes I have vowed never to do business with them ever again. I don't care if I have to pay more to be covered by other companies.

I have a pay as you go and last month it cost £0 and the month before that and so on. I have the phone which is an old Nokia that fits into the cradle that came with the Lexus purely for emergencies being disabled. I hate the things.

Call me selfish but all of these high priced cars are doing wonders for the people that still own ISFs. Hopefully it will inflate prices a little.

James ... do you still have this issue? I may have the old good sensor in my garage which I replaced when I done both banks - only one failed but I replaced both. Its the original one but definitely an OEM sensor. If you want me to send it out to you I can do which will bottom out the issue of the sensor being fake etc I need to see if I still have it but let me know Cheers

I have a spare space saver wheel and tyre (which may need replacing due to age cracking but not use) for free if you can collect from Derbyshire.

I bought her from well known dodgy car dealers who go by the name of "carswithnoreseve" lol. They tried to flog it on Ebay auction several times but with no luck. So i went over with some cash and a friend of mine, who knows cars inside out :) Even tough i consider myself competent enough in most cases, i highly recommend bringing someone with you when purchasing a car. The reason behind it is simple: You may miss important things in the euphoria and excitement. Your friend, if he knows what he is doing, will look at things from a different perspective.. he won't be buying anything and to him it's just another car. As soon as i walked in there, i wanted to turn around and run :D the place reminded me of car graveyard. But i think their pricing must be right as i was checking every detail of the SC, at least 30 people did the same thing to various other motors from Golf's to 911s and even CL600. So overall i would not say avoid them at all costs, but just do your homework and do not believe a single word without genuine paperwork behind it. Also their Ebay listings are full of "it" as traders usually do :D About price: including all the spending sprees for stainless steel exhaust, cambelt kit, oils filters and gaskets i have ordered, still got change left from £2000. With prices for LS430s being so ridiculously low i budgeted for engine/gearbox replacement worst case scenario but looks like this is not necessary for now :)

Most disappointing, with snow mode on, can't get the back end to step out at all. [emoji854]

Here you go. When mine turned up there was no import charges. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/APEXi-Smart-Accel-Controller-for-IS-F-USE20-2UR-GSE-410-A001-417-A014-J143/282829309971?hash=item41d9f0c813:g:yEwAAOSwLdNZzItV

Welcome George. Agree with all the other comments, what a fab looking LS! Great value too. I love my LS. I considered an S Class before I bought my LS, but I felt a similar aged car (06) would be asking for trouble. Have fun. Nick

What a fantastic looking Lexus. You have now been bitten by the Lexus bug and unfortunately there is no known cure. So take it like a man and enjoy all those luxurious miles ahead of you.