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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.

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?

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

All my previous high end cars I sold privately approx 4K above the best part ex price. Never have part exed a car

The rr racing usrs that I have came from the US courtesy of a very kind member on here. Might get the odd set come up on eBay. There are other offerings, I believe figs also do something. Not seen wear quite that bad I must admit. Have you had all the geometry checked / set up?

Win! That’s the bennefit of going via a dealer I guess. Looks great chap. That’s really reasonable for the side pieces especially as that’s fitted. Does the black edition have black front grille as well?

I’m only selling if I can return my money and start again with a gsf if not I will keep it longer and see how it goes with usability. I just thought this is a good time to sell as it has nearly 1 year Lexus warranty and new front brakes discs and pads new tyres and immaculate condition alloys and fully serviced. so would be good buy for the next owner

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

Cant ask for any more than that. I have to admit I prefer that colour to the yellow.! Looks really good 👍🏻😎

I did checks on the orange one that’s up at 40k but the service history doesn’t add up for the year of car. Also it was with a car sales place in Preston then it shifted to its current place in Manchester. Stuff just doesn’t seem to fit with this one. Noticed the grey one that recently sold through Lexus Chester has come back up on a private ad on autotrader. Hope all ok for the current owner as he’s only had it a month. 😔

I am really looking forward to it! My first drive with you guys! It will be just fabulous, no matter how the weather will be I can’t wait to unleash the Musa with the valves open! Don’t have the guts to do it here in London! 😉😜🙉

All the best. Looking forward to the day I can buy a 2seater...

Cheers, Paul 🤗

@Stuno1 Yes that’s a considerable period of time @Warrington guy Dave went to see it twice last year and they were simply full of excuses as to why the car wasn’t available and he gave up. I have information on the car but it’s not for an open forum just if someone off here was to consider it they’d be well served in speaking to me first. Big Rat

I like the orange, I like the GSF in it too, I “personally” think that you can tone it down subtly with a slight carbon twist......BUT not over do it.....but that’s “my” views,.....I did consider a carbon rear diffuser for my ISF but feel the colour combo wouldn’t be right.

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

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

Hi, I have decided to keep the car and fix the car and hopefully its nothing big. I have contacted trading standards and they have contacted me back as they seem really interested in the matter, will keep all posted. Michael.

I would say go for it. We have a 2001 GS430 which I bought after buying a ('98 iirc) 300 as a runaround whilst my G wagon was being fettled. I liked the 300 so much I thought I'd try the V8 version. A good few years later we still have it, a cracking car.

Same can be said (and was said) about LC vs. RC-F... As for new 8-Series... it doesn't look like revolution, because it isn't... it is just evolution of 6-Series and excuse to charge more for the same. Even engines are the same, nothing revolutionary... we had 6-Series 40d, and 50, now we have 840d, and M850... which isn't even as good as M6, more like "cleverer" and more efficient 650i M-Sport which can do 0-60 in 3.7s with 4WD instead of 4.4s in the old RWD configuration. It starts at £76k for basic 840d, so it is exactly in bracket for LC500 (obviously it won't have as good standard equipment). Still is going to sell 10 times more then LC... because it is BMW, because BMW has logical progression in their range... M4, 6-series, M6... and now many will switch to M850.... In Lexus range there are o progression to RC-F, never mind LC.

Congratulations on your choice, they are a great car 👍🏻

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🤔

I find the difference between Sport and Sport+ pretty much indistinguishable. However the difference between either of those and normal is a greater leap, IMO, than between Eco and Normal. In Sport/Sport+ the whole car is more urgent, gears held longer, throttle response like a hair trigger, etc. Nothing like Normal mode at all...so much so that if I got out of my car in normal mode and then someone changed the setting and I got back in - I would swear it was a different car altogether.

I think it’s definitely worth a phone call to Lexus Chester. Warranties are something the sales guys get commission for selling so there’s motivation from their end. If it needs an inspection pre-warranty I’d imagine it wouldn’t be much more than an hour’s once over as they wouldn’t want to tie up workshop time on something that isn’t billable. I pay the £1,095 in monthly instalments at 0%, and so it’s only £91.25 per month for 12 months. General guidelines are the car has to have a full Lexus service history, be under 10 years old and under 140,000 miles. I think the full Lexus history thing is at the discretion of the warranty selling dealer, but once you have the warranty you can use it at any Lexus dealer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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

I'm calling Occam's Razor on this one. No one can defeat the laws of physics and the fronts will always do the lions share of braking, so it can only be a different brand or grade of pads in the front that give off less dust than those at the rear.

@Northern isf Looks interesting Wayne and the car does look great, I’ve banged on many times in the last few years about Adrian and Fensport, the response shall we say hasn’t always been receptive on the forum which is a shame. I too have spoken with them at length a number of times and found them both knowledgeable and helpful. They list a fair few parts still for the IsF Adrian ran an isF himself for quite some time with a few mods and it’s been highlighted on here as well, someone on here may even her. They do some really impressive stuff with gt86’s as well. 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 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

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!

Ah yes, expert mode. Turns you into Ayrton Senna apparently... or pretty good for doing donuts in a deserted car park. Mostly in normal or sport here, I like the slurred gear changes in normal when I’m just schlepping about, and the much sharper ones in sport when I’m not. I find sport+ quite ‘jumpy’ and eco is like you’re dragging a 5-ton trailer behind!

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 😳

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.