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Possibly my last post on this section of the LOC. Have decided to change my NX 450h+ for a RX 450h+ which arrived at the dealership yesterday. Wasn't really planning to change until the NX was 3 years old however a couple of hours in the showroom and a test drive won me over and I will take delivery of what will be my third new Lexus in 6 years. Hope that it is every bit as good as the previous NX's! As always Lexus Edinburgh and in particular Stuart Wilson have been a delight to deal with every step of the way.

Like Ken R, I too am changing my 2 year old NX450h+ Premium Plus, but I'm staying with the NX, same model just a different colour - so the neighbours know I've got a new car 😁 I only went in because I got a puncture!!! 😁 Swapping Sonic Grey with Red interior for a Sonic Titanium with black interior I did look at the RX but it is too big for our needs. I pick my car up tomorrow, it's been in the UK since 6th March and I could have had it at the beginning of this week, but had other things to attend to.

Quick update. Thanks in no small part to the help and advice of members here, I picked up my new green/tan LC Convertible yesterday with my desired wheels. I'm no photographer but the pic below gives an indication despite dank conditions. I'm told it's a 1/1 in the UK and Europe due to the wheels and it even has the bespoke build badge. It really is a lovely thing and I couldn't be happier so far!

A quick update to say that the car arrived and collected. It’s lovely and enjoyable to drive. Much more fun than previous one (UX) and I should say technology/gadgets improved a lot since 2020 when I bought UX.

I hope you will keep an eye on us over here in NX world, you have been a great contributor since I've been a member of LOC. Big smile for you on your decision; I'm sure you'll be just as happy, if not happier, with your RX as with the great NX (but probably just as frustrated with the app! 😉 ). How long are you expecting delivery to take? What was it about the RX that convinced you to change?

Today the mileage for my 2004 SC430 reached 10,000 miles. It will also be 20 years since it was first registered on the 1st April 2004. So that is an average of 500 miles per year and I have done a little more than that since purchasing it from the first owner when it had only done 7600 miles. In my ownership it has been as good as gold needing only a new battery. I am hoping that driving it a bit more the headlight levelling system will sort itself out as today it was back on at first but then went out after a couple of miles and stayed off. I do have an annoying little rattle which seems to be coming from the roof behind the passenger seat which when the weather gets better I will look to solve. I am looking forward to many more years of ownership.

Apparently our plight has reached BBC Watchdog and will be shown tonight, 7pm.

New car day

All the best Ken. I've enjoyed all your input here on the NX forum. I think we both got our Gen 2 NXs at roughly the same time (and were pretty much the first to do so on the LOC). Good luck with the RX - I hope it meets all your expectations and more.

" I do have an annoying little rattle which seems to be coming from the roof behind the passenger seat" Have you considered letting your wife ride INSIDE the car?

I have just collected a spare key and locking wheel bolts for my 5 month old RX450h+, at last! Also I was told that my car does not need anti-theft CANBUS protection plates fitted as this has been taken care of during manufacture. Let's hope the insurance companys take account of this.

In terms of Lexus staying in the the UK market I think the biggest threat is the EV fine. They need to sell over 22% of the total sales as pure EV’s. As The RZ is a dismal failure and the sales of the UX haven’t taken off then Lexus will be heavily fined or have to buy credits from the Chinese manufacturers or Tesla as they will have a massive surplus as they import only EV’s or only a small number of ICE’s. The Lexus announcement of 2023 trumpeted the proportion of electrified sales but didn’t carve out the pure EV’s - I reckon they represented less than 10% of total sales. So if they achieve the same figures as last year they will have to pay 12% x 16,000 x £15k = £ 28.8m.

Lexus have published a statement and for the first time detailed models at risk… https://mag.lexus.co.uk/lexus-uk-statement-on-vehicle-theft/? On the plus side, it sounds like they have something planned beyond the protection plate for the previous RX generation.

Some batteries are much better than others. I fitted a cheapo once and it needed replacing with another after 3 months. I wouldn't say Chinese batteries are bad because even some leading makes do Chinese made batteries but there is a better chance of longer battery life if you get one with a reputable name on it such as but not limited to Panasonic, Sony, Renata, .Energizer etc.

Thought I would gather together my owning experience in one place. GY08UWW Windsor Blue with cream interior and walnut. Bought just before Christmas 2023, as an actual present for me. 107,000 miles, last owner for 12 years who had it regularly serviced but neglected to get the book stamped. There is enough surviving paperwork to make me believe it was looked after. The owner ran a successful business, but he did use the car to commute to work down narrow Kent country roads. Him and his wife were in their mid 70's and there is the odd scuff as testament. Owner agreed to have a Lexus Canterbury service before I bought it for some peace of mind, and a near 12 month MOT. He still did not stamp the book! ( I have the paperwork) However, I decided slightly scuffed 2008 trumped a shiny on top 2003 model. Pics from Facebook advert. He wanted £10,000 which I thought was reasonable for a late model. Managed to whittle him down to £8750 knowing there was stuff to do to improve the car over time. No rush as those things are all cosmetic.

Shaun messaged me and I have replied, my money is on the radiator leaking engine coolant into the transmission.

Were the lights not on anyway, evening low light?

Ever since I have had two cars, one daily driver and one "hobby" car that seldom gets driven, I have had battery problems. I get 5 to 8 years out of a battery in a daily driver, but different hobby cars have killed batteries in less than a year. The only solution I have found is to use the car more often to keep the battery charge up, or use a maintainer. Presently I have a solar panel charger set up inside the garage window, and hook that up to the car whenever it is parked up for more than a couple of days. Haven't had to jump start the car or replace a battery for the last five years :) There are multiple possible reasons for electrical "gremlins". But if all systems on the car work correctly when the engine is running and the alternator is charging, then low battery voltage/capacity is the most likely cause of problems when the car has been parked up for a day or two. This chart will give you an idea of the resting voltage you should read when using your multimeter between the posts on your battery. A new battery will get you into the green zone, but a battery that has been used for a while will spend most of its time hovering between the green and orange zones... at least that is what I have found !!! Cheers...

"In general" the "bigger" models are often nicer than the smaller models. Not sure why this should be. Years ago I was very interested in an X5 but just found it too big. The X3 at the time was very dull by comparison. The current X3 is a better car. I like driving the bigger cars but just find parking them a bit of a nightmare. Parking spaces are often too small.

You could reword the title - Dealer wants to sell you a new car......

Pop your reg and mileage into webuyanycar to get an idea of value. You may get a bit more if you’re lucky. Dealers often send these out if they want specific cars. real question is what would you change into, and why, and at what cost?

Welcome to the RX side of LOC. Which trim level have you opted for?

They couldn't even unlock the car in all 5 attempts but even if they did I have Ghost immobiliser so they can't turn on the engine 🙂

Welcome to the RX450h+ Club. I've certainly been happy with mine and fortunately 🤞 I've never had any problems with the app. 😃 Enjoy!

Congratulations, I have been thinking along similar lines. Would it be impertinent to ask what sort of deal did you get and the colour combination you are getting? And later on , your opinion on the new RX? Mine is a 450h premium plus with approx 12000 Miles sonic gray with Hazel leather, thanks in advance.

Good luck with your new RX 😀 I would be interested to know how you think they compare.

Not much more than price of a sticker

or a sticker? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186099242288?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=E5-nS2y4Tze&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=-Xw-SSzkQbS&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Thinking about buying an Lbx, but was worried about high insurance. Had a quote from admiral gold for £528, so hopefully when more insurers have this model on their websites, the price will drop a bit more.

First thing - get yourself a Claim Management Company. You did a right thing, you informed your insurance as per the policy, end it here, you don't need to speak with them ever again, because you only thing you going to get is that you going to get shafted by them. Writing it off, may not be a bad thing if they offer you fair deal. For example I have written of my 2008 car with 200k miles on the clock, but that was because they gave me Cat-N, I kept the car for £700 and they paid me £3,850 and then sold the car for £2,700. So basically I made £6,000 from the car that was worth half of that. And also I could have just kept it for £700, because it was just a scratch on the bumper. The year prior I did exactly that - they wanted to write it off-offered me maybe £2500, I said "no car is worth more, repair is does not cost £2800", they ended-up paying £1,400 for repairs and I kept the car without any record of it being involved in the accident. Basically, it got repaired. But all of that was only possible because I have leverage via Claims Management Company. In my case, both times CMC "pre-authorised" the claim, meaning I got paid right away, not freezing of excess, no waiting for TP insurance to pay out, I got brand new BMW to drive around whilst my car was being fixed (not shaitty tiny car insurance companies usually give) and I had a say in what my car is worth and what I want to be paid for it. If you dealing directly with insurance it will literally take months, sometimes years, especially if you disagree with their estimate it always takes extra 6 month every time you go back to them. With CMC it was simple - they got car appraised within days, then sent me the valuation, then I was like - "nope such cars is not £2875, this is SEL, this has sun-roof, this has ML etc. I want minimum £4000, here are few links from autotrader"... same day I got response "okey, we checked our database and for this model we have valuation spread between £1485, to £3850, so we can do £3850"... fine... done. Insurance company didn't even get any say in, the valuation was simply sent to them and they had to take it... and Car rental of £250 a day is ticking for them... so within 2 days insurance company accepted it. The case was solved within 1 week, car was repaired and on the road in 2 weeks. That sucks... I is probably not right, but I would have tried to accept renewal before reporting the accident, as such it would not have impacted you for another year. But yes Insurance companies sucks like that - regardless if it is your fault or not, the insurance will increase!

I have emailed them to ask this question as mine is a 2020 model.

No, you pay the current rate. The VED “scheme” you’re on is (broadly) “locked” based on year of registration (e.g. the last change was April 2017, so cars before then pay a different set of figures and rates to cars after April 1st 2017]. But the rates in that scheme increase by inflation each year, so I’m afraid we can all look forward to higher prices, both for the standard car tax rate and also the luxury element. They are also removing the £10 discount for hybrid vehicles.

Bob the only time it worked for me was when there was nothing behind me on the motorway. Just a gimmick to me. You don't have to manually enter chargers as POI. You just go into the menu once and say what you want- could be restaurants, petrol stations or whatever and it always displays them on the map. My map always shows icons for ev chargers wherever I am

Thanks John. I’ll try that next time in the car. As it’s intermittent I expect Lexus requires the lane to be empty for 5 miles in front and behind you. I would lose the will to live if I had to manually enter chargers as POI’s. I think they have lazily assumed you would go into the Link App and use that but it doesn’t contain all chargers so hopeless.

Exactly what I will be doing, but for the time being I will continue to use my wife's car as a physical barrier. It'll be interesting to see how long it takes to arrange a visit and also how long before insurers acknowledge its problem solved, albeit I think I already know the answer to that!

and it is brought from a reputable seller as there are a lot of fakes. E.g. purchase from Amazon themselves not an unknown seller on Amazon.

Car batteries are not not a "deep cycle" design, and don't like being being run flat. In particular they don't like being run dead flat. Do that a few times and the battery will lose a substantial percentage of its ability to hold a charge. What then happens is that the battery only takes a "surface charge"... shows that it is fully charged as soon as you hook your charger up or use a multimeter across the terminals. Put it back in the car and it will give up on the first cranking attempt. I had this problem, and managed to salvage the battery for a while by running a "rejuvenation" program on my charger, and then load testing it with 12V bulb to see how long it would power the bulb before dropping the voltage down to 10V. Fortunately, the car I had at the time had a protection function that progressively turned off systems that drained power as the battery voltage dropped towards 10V while the car was OFF. This function ensured that there was always enough left in the battery to ensure it would start, unless it was left too long without the car being driven for a decent distance. But forever after, if the car hadn't been used for a few days, when I went to use it the clock would be off. That meant that that the battery storage capacity had been seriously reduced, and required a very expensive replacement. Sold the car with the old battery but did warn the buyer to either use it daily or get a maintainer if it was not going to be used for a week. Cheers...

The Lexus official response was that security hardware was being rolled out for pre Sep 2021 cars. This being in additional to the headlight plate. Lexus said customers should contact their local dealer to book in for both to be fitted for free. Ive just emailed the head of parts at our local dealer to try and book in 😂

I hope they don't have the Can Bus issue 😉

I could be wrong but this sounds like the pedestrian warning system. Since hybrids and electric cars are so silent they are designed to make these humming sounds when reversing to alert pedestrians.

One of the best thing about going F over any of the M's or AMG's is insurance and rarity. Let's just hope it stays this way...

My renewal is in a weeks time. I'm getting charged £17 more than last year and I'm insuring a Lexus. I don't think the F range is of high target theft wise, so other than thefts in your area, etc, it won't go up because of your car.

It has CAN bus enabled headlights - whether the theft device being used specifically works on the RC F or if the wiring is easily accessible I don't know. I've not heard of anyone here reporting theft or attempted theft.

Exactly this plus the NHS isnt just one organisation from what I understand. While there are some guidelines that are applicable to all each trust is run as its own separate entity with its own rules and schemes / benefits for employees. Given the way things are I reckon eventually the big insurance companies will have their way and all of us will be having the same discussion about how our health insurance has reached crazy heights with them being hand in glove with big pharma.

Thanks. Loving it so far. It's a very nice place to be after driving a truck all day.

I am looking for something to use daily - interested in an SC430 - found a low mileage 2005 one but not sure what values these should go for...really new to the SC430, always admired them and we have an ES300h - but don't know where to start with pricing for an SC. Any advice on pricing and what to look for? furthermore - found this Isuzu dealer who has 2 for sale: Search Used Cars for sale in Great Glen, Leicestershire | Bob Gerard Ltd Any thoughts? Apologies if much of this has already been asked and said before in this and other threads - if so please ignore.

Why not just run E5 then? It makes ~£5 difference to a full tank and you'll get that £5 in mpgs, keep the engine healthier and you'll avoid replacing seals etc..

SC Stalkers?

Welcome. Nice plan. A friendly advice.. I strongly advise against BC Racing coils on this car. I had both TEIN Flex Z and BCs and the TEINs were a lot better to live with as it's quite a heavy car. Again, BOLA wheels and other replica wheels like JR or ROTA.. They are cheaper versions of genuine wheels from brands such as RAYS, BBS, WORK etc. While this may not make that much of a difference on stock cars, the poor quality of those wheels shows when you're on a lower, stiffer suspension that has less suspension travel and puts more stress on the wheels on 💩roads. They are basically easy to crack when you hit a sneaky pot hole. (Ask me how I found out. Lol) but it's up to you whether you wanna risk it. They'll be OK otherwise.. Never had a problem on genuine wheels after years of use. Bushes on sway bars don't do much of a difference at all. Coils will reduce the body roll a lot, but you ideally need uprated thicker sway bars to help with body roll.

Haven’t taken any photos yet. Darth Vader spec, Graphite black with Rose interior!