SH20

I guess profit drives the whole issue of who will and who won't take the time to remove the residue and repair a conventional puncture. I'm going to have a spare wheel and the first thing I will do when I get the car home is to try my space saver on the front and rear hubs. I had a GS 450 with 18 inch wheels and a space saver so my space saver should fit. The whole thing is really about cost and which markets will accept the no spare wheel . Does the US insist cars are supplied with a spare I wonder.

On principle I simply refuse to accept that if I have a puncture I am forced to use those awful inflation kits which render the tyre un repairable and therefore scrap. The added expense of a new tyre just adds insult to injury. After a fellow forum member sent me some photos of the boot floor of his Takumi ES I could see there was a threaded bracket welded to the floor so a spare wheel could be secured to it. I'm assuming that's for other markets were a space saver is standard or an option. So I bought a second hand space saver off a GS450, 5 stud configuration and at this point I'm hoping it will fit my ES hubs front and rear. From memory I don't believe there was an option for a space saver for the UK. Anyway it cost £20 and I decided to refurbish the wheel today, nothing drastic just denibbed the minor cosmetic defects and dressed the scratched paint finish. Painted it satin black after removing the original maximum speed stickers, 50 mph and 80 kmph. Found a set on ebay for £2.50, a Jaguar original item. Bought a spare wheel securing bolt fastener for a Toyota on ebay and I'm hoping it will all enable me to have a proper spare. May well have to do something about the black polystyrene tool holder sitting under the boot floor board as I'm guessing there won't be sufficient space to allow for a spare wheel. The US market has a much thinner polystyrene tool holder to allow for their standard space saver.

Yes Velvet Black (Solid) Topaz trim, (1 of 4 colour trim options) available only if you have the Premium Pack. Not waiting till Sept, collecting 12th August. Private plate so the whole 69 plate thing doesn't really interest me, if it did I would wait. Car was under £40K so road tax will be around £135 I think. I noted from the video the Factory must have fitted the rear bumper stainless steel protector trim as part of the Protection Pack. Although I live in Leeds Lexus have been very generous and loaned me a car for the last month and said I can just drop it off at the dealer in Carlisle when I collect my car. Saved me having to get a train. It's a Toyota Auris and is a really great car in terms of build quality and equipment.

Dealer sent me a mini video just after it came off transporter. Notice no centre wheel caps and the plastic film over wheels. Customer ES Video.mp4

At long last my dealer say they have the car and we have agreed I can collect on the 12th August. Decided not to take part in the mayhem of the 1st Sept as this car is to stay with me for at least 5 years as I have 5 years free servicing from the dealer. Moreover my car will be registered with DVLA using my personal plate so the 69 reg plate is academic to me. Ordered 26th Feb 2019 and will collect 12th August 2019. My first ever new car. Glad I opted for the Premium Pack and the dealer threw in a Protection Pack so can't complain about the overall deal. Not really sure what 5 years servicing will cost but it will be 3 interim and 2 larger services. My GS450 service plan was about £36 a month x 36 months so an ES can't be less surely. Didn't think £378 insurance was too bad either with only a £150 xs (one accident, my fault in the last 5 years declared) There was not one top ten motor insurer who could match the premium and the benefits of Saga and I spent all my working life in the world of Motor Insurance Claims as a loss adjuster. Just got to stay alive till Monday.

LEXUS UK E MAILED ME AND ADVISED ME MY ES ARRIVED IN PORT ON 1ST AUGUST 2019. ORDERED 26TH FEB 2019. NOT SURE HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE TO SEND IT TO CARLISLE AND HOW LONG IT TAKES THE DEALER TO GET IT READY. NOT SURE ALSO IF I SHOULD WAIT TILL 1ST SEPT NOW. I USE A PERSONAL PLATE BUT I GUESS THE NEWER REG PLATE (69) MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE ADVANTAGE WHEN I'M READY TO SELL OR TRADE IN. MY FIRST NEW CAR EVER. I'VE ASKED MY DEALER NOT TO DO CERTAIN THINGS DURING PREP LIKE HAVING ANYONE USE A MACHINE POLISHER ON THE PAINT IN THE BELIEF IT WILL MAKE IT LOOK PRETTY. IT'S BLACK SO I DON'T WANT INEXPERIENCED VALETERS LEAVING SWIRL MARKS OR HOLGRAMS IN THE PAINTWORK.

Hard to believe that if you want rubber floor mats for winter use you can only have front mats at £334 !!!!. Even the £400 cost option of a protection pack only includes front rubber mats. I bought a set of rubber mats for the Lexus LS460 I had and at just under £100 it seemed good value. I kept them when I sold the car so will use the rear LS mats. Why would you not want 4 mats for your new car. The mystery of Lexus thinking.

Is there a tracking facility of some sort? I was told my car was due to dock in Bristol 1st August

Hi Vince, I saw the fitted rubber mats in February 2019 at the Leeds showroom in a ES300h with the protection pack fitted. Rear mats are part of the £400 protection pack. Told my car is now late August early Sept but no guarantees. Told my dealer (Carlisle) if Lexus push back the date for a 4th time I will cancel and consider buying a 19 plate used ES from the Lexus Network as long as it has a P/Pack and a Premium Pack. Hope to meet up some time this year. Steve.

I ordered the car and signed the order on the 26th February 2019. Gave the dealer my GS450h in Feb 2019 to achieve the best trade in having been told it would be July delivery. I was advised it would be August about 4 weeks ago due the demand everyone is talking about. He rang me yesterday to say the time line has moved again between the 26th August and 8th September but still no guarantees it will arrive then. As my car is not built or had a chassis number allocated I asked my dealer about a change of paint colour. They rang Lexus and said it was possible to change the paint colour choice but only by cancelling my original order and ordering the same car again. Lexus UK also said the order would then go to the back of the queue and could be December or Jan 2020 before it was delivered. I've decided to go with the original choice of paint. If I receive another revised delivery date I will cancel my order and consider a pre owned ES from the 36 cars that are currently available in the Lexus Network on Autotrader.

Hi Vinny, I ordered a protection pack at the point of my original order which the dealer paid for and have witnessed the actual mats in an ES. The front mats are very well designed and the drivers one in particular is shaped in such a way that the foot rest area has the mat covering it. This was achieved by making the rubber mat very flexible but at the same time the floor area is shaped to catch any water etc because of the raised sides. The locating points are also reinforced. The passenger mat and the rear mats are well shaped with similar raised sides so no rain water or snow dragged into the footwells soak the carpets. The carpet mats of course have to be removed in order to use the locating clips. From what I remember of your car the rear bumper trim was fitted as was the boot floor liner so why didn't your car have the rubber mats too?. Steve

Thanks Ged, very useful. I guess I will need to transfer my ipod tunes to the flash drive you have found. It can then stay in the car as a permanent fix. Cheers Steve

Ged, any chance you could show us all a photo of this gizmo in place to see how slim it is in relation to the lid cover please Steve

Signed up on the 26th Feb 2019 for an ES. Took a call last month from dealer saying it will be August now instead of July. Never had a date for July , just sometime in July. Now it's sometime in August. 6 months for a new car is too long.

Tahara trim is synthetic. Actually looks like ultra smooth leather but isn't. I ordered an ES300h with a premium pack so as to avoid the Tahara trim.

Although slightly of thread I saw an e mail from Fish Bros of Swindon who are offering a free Toyota Aygo if you buy a Takumi RX . I checked the price of the RX Takumi on the Lexus configurator and assuming the dealer charges £600 for paint protection the cost of £64000 is correct. The £64000 included 3 options, metallic paint, side steps and a protection pack. Seems like a good buy if a RX Takumi is what you want. I'll settle for the ES I've ordered.

Peter, looks like you ordered early March if your anticipated delivery was July 20th. I'd be grateful if you could let me know what the exact date your order quotes in March, mine was 14.3.2019. If you are told your date is till good for July for an early March order I will want my dealer to explain why mine has been pushed back. Cheers Steve

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who ordered an ES in February if they have had a call from their dealer saying delivery will now be August 2019. I received that call myself and as I have no way of knowing if my dealer has dropped the ball in some way regarding my order I would welcome anyone's comments if their anticipated delivery month has been extended. I was told demand has caused this delay but who knows really.

Anyone who is buying a new ES with a Premium Pack and a Protection Pack and needs reminding what it will look like should visit Autotrader and select Lexus ES. Lexus Bristol have a Grey metallic ES with Premium Pack which has a Protection Pack too and they have taken plenty of photos showing all the details of the spec. I note it has auto wipers so does this answer the query as to whether an ES has auto wipers? or was someone asking a different question about the auto wiper mode. It reminded me anyway of what I have ordered.

Such is my OCD on trim items I have already drawn up a draft document which I will send a month before my car arrives at the dealer. My car is Velvet Black, a solid black colour and I'm just worried the dealer will machine polish the car in an effort to make it look shiny. This would be the last thing I want them to do so I will be requesting no machine polishing after they wash it during prep. Yes I could have picked another colour but I wanted Velvet Black by choice. I saw a showroom IS in solid black and the showroom lighting showed a number of scratches in the paint that would not be visible outside in daylight. It is a fact that the top lacquer coat on Japanese cars tends to be softer compared to Mercedes. Self healing clear coats which Mercedes use is a step forward but day to day use of any car will always leave marks, swirls etc but I agree that some colours mask these problems better than others. Moreover the protection film on the 4 sill kick plates is to be left on for me to remove if I want to. I've seen too many of my used car purchases "prepared" by the dealer's valeting staff which has required a complete refurb of the paint. I was surprised to hear that Vinny's boot lip protector is rusting, Rust and the word Lexus just doesn't compute for me. The item in question is part of the protection pack I will get on my car so I will keep my eye on that going forward. I remember a team from Toyota arrived back in the 80's and visited a bodyshop in Huddersfield who were Toyota dealers to physically examine a tailgate of a Corolla which was like a lace curtain with rust. They just couldn't believe our climate could rot out a panel after 3 years use.

I would agree with Dan, There is only one word that sums up Lexus and that is quality. I was speaking with my dealer recently, the day I signed up for my ES and noted that he said service work was a bit scarce at the moment and he can't remember the last time the workshop carried out a warranty repair. Reliability has become my most important reason for having Lexus number 3. There is a Youtube channel called Hoovies, a lad in the US who often buys the cheapest versions of all sorts of cars and a lot of European cars. All of his BMW's were pure money pits, along with the Bentley's and gave up on putting them right as the faults were too numerous. He bought a one owner 1993 Lexus ES300 for $200 with 135,000 miles and manual gearbox and had not been driven for years as the owner was put in to a nursing home. Apart from flat tyres this thing was blathered in bird muck but it started at the turn of the key and everything electrical worked. Nothing made up in the video, no hype or careful editing. After he cleaned it the car was transformed and he kept it. $400 for 4 new tyres and the $200 it cost was all his outlay. Watch it just for the fun of it. The point is of course if that had been a 1993 BMW 5 series the dash board would have been lit up like a xmas tree with fault lights. Lexus know they build cars that are superior in every way but will always battle with the badge snobbery of owning a German car that exists all around the world. In 1997 I had a BMW 3 series from new for 3 years and it had 9 warranty claims. I look forward to the day the keys of my ES are handed over and I travel the 115 miles back home.

Habu you mentioned the usb cable from the US. Did you buy one and have chance to try it in a showroom car Yet?

Habu how would a flash drive Gary posted a picture of enable you to use an i phone or a device that you would normally plug into a usb port with a cable. Would blue tooth not cure all our needs to operate devices??? Does pairing a phone not allow for all phone functions to be used via blue tooth??? Like I said Mike, in the great scheme of things the usb/lid thing has become surreal and compared to Boeing's problem we should all consider the bigger issues. Wouldn't it be good though if Lexus UK do send our feedback to the factory and we all found the usb ports have been lowered when our cars arrive and we open that stupid lid? Ha Ha

Nice overview Tom,

Ged, is there no auto wiper button on the end of the wiper stalk like the GS?