W4SIM

Hello Sir Just after I replied to Newbie777 yesterday I made an appointment to go see the car. I was told over the phone that this was a part-ex taken in against a newer LS500h the customer had bought. Also, the Cat S damage was done in March of this year to the rear quarter, about the size of a tennis ball. The insurance company wanted a new rear quarter panel and given the price for the repair against the value of the car it was written off. I wasn't told which rear panel was damaged but the repair was so good that you'd struggle to tell. The rest of the car had a few minor scuffs and chips to the front end. The drive is brilliant and has a full Lexus service history, having just had a few thousand pounds spent at Lexus recently on repairs to the climate control system. Brilliant I thought, I'm expecting a bit of minor damage given the age and mileage of the car but definitely one i could live with. I told him I'm not one to waste someone's time so if its as described and we settle on a price I'll take it away today. When I arrived i was parked about 7-8 metres away from it and it looked quite nice parked there in the sunshine. I'm having this i thought. But just so I don't get too giddy about it I took 2 friends down for a second opinion. The first thing they noticed was the damage repair on the driver's side rear. Its right on the wheel arch, the repair is not only swelling/blistering up but its also dull around there, stands out a mile compared to the surrounding paint work. The drivers rear door has a few dents in it, a kid on a bike I was told. The front bumper on the passenger side has been hit or driven into something at low speed. The paint is cracked there and the bumper bracket is broken on the corner so its all out of place. The entire passenger side of the car has been repainted at some point, you can tell by the orange peel effect which isn't present on the surrounding panels/areas. All 4 wheels need a refurb, and at a good guess I'd say the TPMS valves will break upon removal, so another set required there. On the drive the very first thing I noticed was a rattle on the driver's side rear upon acceleration, like an exhaust heat shield or the exhaust back box rattling on the bodywork. Very annoying to say the least. The drivers door armrest and for some strange reason the b pillar where the seat belt is (just next go your right shoulder) were badly worn. Along with that, and I'm guessing this is true for all LS600's and not just this one. The guy asked me to check the power by accelerating hard on the dual carriageway. For the claimed BHP it felt quite slow, I understand its a heavy car, but I wouldn't use the word Performance anywhere near it. The revs were going up a lot faster than the pace of the car. What can only be described as a slipping clutch in a normal petrol manual car. Very weird feeling. I did mention this elsewhere, wether the Hybrid system was worth having on this car, and the answer is No. It doesn't work above 25 mph, and cuts to petrol at the gentlest touch of the accelerator. Just like I've always thought, its more of a Gimmick. So unfortunately, unless its about 70% off the price, its not worth the hassle for me. Thats not to say its a total scrap, just needs time and money spending on it which i don't have.

Yes I agree its a good time, and a good car, to buy. But as you've mentioned, pretty worthless when it comes to sell. I've resigned myself to the fact that I am going to be the last owner of this one in particular, unless I hear myself in a few years telling someone "I'd rather burn it rather than sell you it at that price" 😆 Let's just hope Petrol is still available at that time! The dreaded front arms are a nightmare, price and availability from what I can gather. Is the bottom arms or the top ones, or both? Did you manage to get yours yesterday? I noticed there's a few less on Autotrader now.

I am a cash buyer and I don't have a Part-Ex to get rid of, but surely not . . . . I mean 50% 🤨 I sincerely believe its a little over priced and thats why its not selling, but an offer like that and they'll put the phone down on me at that.

Thank you for the interesting insight Sir, much appreciated. I too was of the thinking that they've had it on for a while now, as with most of the 600's on Autotrader, so they may be more open to an offer that may otherwise seem "silly". If they're as serious as me then I should get it. I'm thinking if I get 5 years out of it then it equates to about 2k per year (not accounting for running costs) and that I can almost live with.

Thats good news on both fronts. I've only seen one for sale, think its still for sale in the Newcastle area on Autotrader, that claims to have had a new battery fitted for £4,000 recently.

The MOT history doesn't look too bad at all to be fair, seems to show that its been fairly well looked after. The dealer even states the recent advisories have been done. Whilst I appreciate that there's a fair few 600's on for sale now, I'm limiting myself to the face-lift from 2010 to 2013. Prices are a bit all over the place, and a lot of them are for sale for a long time, perhaps due to pricing or maybe the rarity/lack of popularity. Personally I think its both factors. The other big fear is of course the Cat S and how that will affect it come selling time. I'm trying to resign myself to the fact that I could be stuck with it for a long while or take a hefty loss on it in a year or two.

I'm trying to find out when the write off happened, just waiting on a HPi check. Would you happen to know how the Hybrid battery is covered by Lexus if it goes bad, is a new one supplied for free (which i don't think it be), will they offer a new one at a discounted rate, or do they meet you half way with the price of parts and labour?

Hello all Haven't been in a Lexus for a long while now and I think its about time to get back into one. Looking for a full fat LS600h this time, rather than the GS300's and Aristo's I've had before. This one seems to fit the bill for me, only down side being that its a previous Cat S repair. Biggest fear is the Hybrid battery but as it has a full Lexus service history I'm assuming there will be some cover from Lexus on it. Anyone been to see it by any chance or know anything about it? I just found my dream car... Search for yours https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202309031501732?advertising-location=at_cars&atmobcid=soc5&fromsra&make=Lexus&maximum-mileage=150000&model=LS 600h&sort=price-asc

That is correct, wrong code entered too many times. The limit is 9 tries, after which it locks itself permanently. Its a dealer-only job after that, but like i said above, even the dealers are not 100% sure they can fix this. And even if they do, the amount they are charging is simply ridiculous. Iv treid searching on ebay for another unit, but cant seem to find the right one here in the UK. I know they are not the most common of headunits but surely they have not become so rare already have they. And this is why we're looking at just replacing it with an aftermarket unit if its not too much trouble???

Hello all A friend of mine has recently purchased a 1997 Lexus LS400 and could not get the radio to work. When i had a look at it i could not get it to switch ON or OFF, the power button does not seem to do anything. The screen just says "HELP". I thought it may need the code but apparently that would say "CODE". Iv never seen the word HELP before. Went to the dealers and they said it needs a Master reset, however, they are not sure if they can do it or not as its been such a long time since anybodys even heard of this problem. They want me to book it in so they can contact Lexus Technical and ask them how to do it. As theres no garantee it will work, its free if it doesnt work, but it could potentially be 2 hours labour if it does work, even though it will take them all of about 1 minute to enter the actual code. Lexus being Lexus their hourly labour rate, plus vat made me think if i could do anything else myself? Or better still, what are our options in terms of just replacing the headunit with an aftermarket one? Doesnt have to be big and clever, just play music. Thanks.

Any chance one of you nice souls could do a little write up here or perhaps PM the instructions of re-conditioning the caliper as im sure one of my rear calipers is seized on. Damn vibrations coming from the back of the car, especially as the speed increases, is enough to rattle the dust out of my ears and make me go deaf.

I dont know if you've got your brakes sorted yet or not, but a really good option is to upgrade to the 4-pot setup from the MK4 Toyota Supra TT. A set of calipers, discs and pads can be had for about £600 for the front and if done right can take your teeth out under heavy braking! You will however, need bigger wheels to accomodate them.

For the shiny look you'll either need to clean them inside and out, or get some new ones. "Lexus Style Lights" are only for the rear lights. They generally refer to them as they are derived from the design that was a first on the IS200 when that came out, the design being clear and red.

Yeah, have to agree that it'll only be the lettering that will be different, otherwise they are the same shape, size and fitment. Im looking at getting a new set for mine, how much did the dealers quote you mate?

I too was going to buy a set from ebay, but then the 2 or 3 seelers that i spoke to told me they're not for the earlier GS300's. Strange really, but i think you'll find they wont fit.

B)--> QUOTE(T7RY B @ May 17 2007, 11:50 AM) ← Send a PM to Chris.S He will tell you the correct part No. and which finish Cheers mate, PM sent to Chris, lets see what he says. :)

Im after a pair of these wheels for my car, i only want the rears to be honest, which are the 10" x 18". I went to the local Lexus dealer today and although i got the price, the part number he quoted was different to the part number a mate of mine got a quote for. Part number i was given:- LAM287 - 81000 Part number he was given:- KAM287 - 81000 As you can see its only the first digit thats different, but i dont want that to be the digit for the colour they come in and end up ordering the wrong finish. The prices for both parts were exactly the same. So my questions:- 1. Do these wheels come in more than one colour/finish? 2. Whats the difference between these 2 part numbers? 3. Does any one have a pair/one they want rid of? :winky: Cheers.

DAMN them wheels!!!! :tsktsk: :tsktsk: :tsktsk: Now il have to go find something else! :tsktsk: But looks very nice though mate.

DB - Did you find out if the GS300 lights fit or not mate? Mine could do with a clean or a replacement!

Your telling me! I sort of regretted not geting the 10" rears but to be honest when you hear stuff like this, whereby the ALLOY itself is cracking/splitting then all of a sudden i dont regret it at all. Please dont take offence to this, but is there any chance that it could be driver error, whereby your doing something wrong and not realising it??? I mean, this may be the first case iv ever heard of where the wheel has split for no reason. The usual reasons are kerbs, pothols, wrong size tyres etc etc.

Looks quite good there Paul. Personally im not too sure of the colour scheme of things but i must admit i do actually like the "L" on the scope. Just a question though - where did you get the "ARISTO" badge on the top of the green engine cover from? Cheers mate.

Arnt you gona tell us where and how much???

You've got to be having a giraffe havent ya! I thought even this set was only about 6 months old or something wasnt it? Id take it back to Lexus personally and have a winge about it. I absolutely LOVE the 10" rears on the Sport but didnt buy them as i was hearing a few horror stories about the tyres, but the wheel having cracks and splits in it, thats put me completely off and there has got to be something wrong there. BigRoj is/was selling a set, give him a try.

Momo alloys wernt standard by any measure, they will have been put on as by some owner in the past. Most likely that owner would also have put on the spoiler and the mesh grill from the later Sport model. As yours is on a 1993 plate it will be a normal GS300. The GS300 Sport started from about 1996 P reg.

As far as im aware there are only 2 UK variants - the GS300 and the GS300 Sport. Now if you start putting the imports into the equation then you'll have a few more - Aristo Twin Turbo and the 4 litre V8 (very very rare). I think theres one known as the Legato model, but i dont know what the difference is with that. What year is yours, we'll tell you what you have? And does it have stuff like a spoiler, 18" alloys, meshed grill, sport stickers anywhere etc etc.