Caldean

Having fallen out with LV= when they increased my excess from £350 to £750 when I changed from an NX to my current RX at the start of the year, I shopped around and ended up with Directlne when the annual renewal came up for our cars a couple of months ago. Ok I only saved about £40 on the quote but........... if you do it through Top Cashback and then go on to Directline from there, I got £50 cashback plus another £50 for my wife's car. So , £140 better off. Did this when arranging the LV= policy and with Aviva the year before that. It's a bit of a faff but shopping around, getting a better policy than those available through the comparison sites with a better premium and cashback to boot is a no brainer for me. Dead chuffed !

Picked up my RX450H a couple of months ago and have been meaning to get round to giving it the full treatment. The intention will be ( I've got all the stuff, just not got round to doing it) 1. Spray Auto Finesse citrus cleaner all over, including the windows, to help dissolve traffic film, then wash off with pressure washer ( Kranzle) after a few minutes. 2. Spray wheels and bodywork with Bily Hamber Korrosol to remove iron particles such as brake dust - again pressure wash off after a few minutes whenit turns purple 3. Snow Foam with Bilt Hamber Autofoam, then pressure wash off 4. Wash with 2 bucket method and grit guards with PH neutral shampoo Gyeon Bathe 5 Claybar with Bilt Hamber Claybar, which can be used with just water, though I'll probably finish off my Dodo Juice Born Slippy lube. 6. Machine polish with Gyeon Prep, followed by Gyeon Can Coat ( Ceramic lite protectant), cure and then apply with Gyeon Cure 7. Clean tyres with Bilt Hamber Autotire (I think) and then apply a tyre sealant - not decided on which one yet. Meantime, I've been simply washing under the first 4 steps and then applying Gyeon Wet Coat, which is a spray on wash off ceramic coating detailer- has kept the car clean for the last month, despite the weather we've had. I'll be going full tilt on a detail for my wife's car first to test it all out. If I screw up, it'll be a learning curve but no great disaster :-)

I've just bought a RX450H Premier so on checking my multicar policy with LV = the cost till next renewal in September for upgrading from a NX was £46 (£296 a year equivalent). Fair enough I thought as it's a more expensive car. Then I see they have increased my compulsory excess from £150 to £400 on top of the voluntary £300 which they have retained. Phoned them and they said that was the underwriters fault..... Looks like I'll have to do the rounds again later this year. BTW, keeping the car on the drive rather than in the garage increased the balance payment by £1 to £47. Very odd.

If only I was patient..... I've just bought a RX450H Premier! I did follow my own advice as far as price is concerned...... main dealer non franchise had the right car at the right price and specifications with full Lexus servicing and a year of the main Lexus warranty left to run for £4k below main dealer prices. Well chuffed, as is my daughter who's getting my NX.

I'm pleased to say I've now concluded the purchase so I'm now in the LOC RX450H club officially. The space saver is there after all, once I'd told him exactly where to look. Pleased with the deal and spec - now just need to wait on it being delivered. Thanks again for all your help everyone Keith

Thank you to you all for your input. I should perhaps have made my query slightly clearer. I've been looking at the Series IV RX450h models where I had seen the disparity in the CO2 figures, especially for mid 2018 models, although, given the unknown build dates, the changes may have started in 2017. I'm currently in negotiations, as of this morning, with buying a RX450h Premier MY 2018 ( registered December 2018) in Sonic Titanium with 138g CO2, whereas if I'd gone for a June 2018 reg the CO2 was being shown as 127g. Not that the emissions concern me greatly as a private buyer, but I just wasn't sure what changes had been made to the engine to create the difference in the emissions figures. One of the issues arising now is that there isn't a space saver spare wheel, whereas the official spec sheet from Lexus marketing at the time indicated it was standard on the Premier, rather than an option. I might be wrong so a bit of negotiation still required on this point. Otherwise, looks like being a good deal I'll be getting - fingers crossed.

yes, it seems the change happen in the MY18 from what I can see

Hi Paul Thank you so much for your detailed explanation. It is really appreciated ! I'd searched the forum and the internet without much success but looking at the various sites, including Lexus Used, the data on mpg and CO2 did vary quite a bit. I also found that a lot of adverts are wrong, with a number of cars being advertised as standard RX450H but the spec and technical information relates to the long wheel base version, where the data is very much different. There just doesn't seem to be much consistency. I'm looking for a Premier and as such, budget permitting, I prefer to go for the most up to date cars. I can't quite stretch to the latest facelift versions with Android Auto etc, but I'm not that bothered about that given I prefer to concentrate on my driving, not what's going on in social media world. The mpg figures are always a fairy story, although my Jag XK was pretty close to what was advertised, depending on driving conditions, routes taken, driving style etc. I managed to get 26mpg on average but as low as 13 and as high as 33, depending on whether I was being spirited or careful, if you get my drift ! My NX gets 37 to 41 mpg on average but I'll be down to one car from now on. Certainly the bhp and associated acceleration is plenty quick enough for me, in the UK anyway, i wasn't sure how big a change the engine tweaks were and the exact dates but the adverts show the change for post June 2018 registrations. There were some further tweaks on the latest facelifts too, but the emissions data remained unchanged. Many thanks again for your input !! The search goes on......

I'm researching for a RX450H Premier and notice there was a change in the CO2 emissions around 2017 from 127g to 134g/km to 138g/km CO2. Does anyone know what changes were made to the engine which caused this change and also the reduction of quoted mpg. I'm aware that the mpg figures may have changed due to the use of the new WLTP measurements but I'm curious to know if the higher CO2 output has any material change on the performance or values compared to the previous versions. Many thanks

When I bought my Luxury NX, I'd started looking at the Lexus dealers but eventually found one from a major non franchised dealer about £5k cheaper. It was 2 years old and had full local Lexus history (which I checked with Lexus for anything untoward) and one year of manufacturer's warranty to run. It has the navigation and convenience packs and now after 4 years of faultless motoring, I'm passing it to my daughter. Over this period I've lost £7k in depreciation, which I reckon is pretty good. Now looking for an RX450h Premier - seen a 2 year old one at £6k below dealer prices, 20k on the clock from a major premium car franchise and a year of Lexus warranty to run. Not fully checked it out but it is tempting. This time round I know I'll lose a lot more , simply because of the maths and the much higher starting price, but generally if I can get no more than £3k pa depreciation I'll be happy. The longer you hold onto it, the less you lose a year on average. My Jaguar XK that I sold recently fell into this depreciation target bracket too, again helped by getting a big discount at outset from the dealer. Good luck on finding the right car. There should be a few coming to market in the coming months - 2021 is a big year for PCPs and HP loans coming to maturity and, sadly, there will be some people who simply can't buy a newer car or afford to buy their existing one. Lockdown is restricting supply somewhat just now so prices are firming up. Be patient and the right model and deal with come along but don't be afraid to look outwith the Lexus network for cars less than 3 years old.

I've been a member of GEM ( Guild of Experienced Motorists) for quite a few years now. Called on them a few times, usually for a flat battery, but not for my NX, and once for my wife's car when the rear brakes decided to seize for no apparent reason. My wife and I are covered for any car we are a passenger in, at home or elsewhere, even in a friend's car, and there are additional membership discounts, offers and benefits on other products, if you want or need them. The process is slightly different though - you call GEM and they arrange for a local breakdown service to come round ( always been within the hour), you pay them on the spot and then send the claim form and invoice to GEM who reimburse you within a few days with no excess applied. Always been a handy service with no small print that other breakdown companies rely on to get out of footing the bill themselves. Their website comes under Motoring Assist.

I've had a Oneplus 3T and currently have a Oneplus 5, both of which are excellent and get great reviews (The latest model is the 7 Pro I think which my son swears by). It has similar functionality to the Apple and Samsung top end phones but at a much lower price. Of particular benefit is that they all have dual sim card slots so you can separate personal and business sims on the one phone.

Of course the flip side of this is that, on other cars I've owned, I get really annoyed with the sat navigation cutting in and muting the radio just when I'm listening to an interesting story on the radio. It would be nice to have the option to set the system to suit all owners preferences.

The key to protecting your paintwork has to be in the preparation. Do you know how good the dealer is in applying any paint protection or is it done by one of their valeters? I had my car detailed by an expert detailer who told me a number of horror stories with even brand new cars where the paintwork wasn't prepared properly, not washed or clay barred and then their treatment was applied, sealing in the defects. I had my cherry black XK detailed by an expert, here are the pics http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=342301 He used gtechniq c1 and it has minimised most of the swirls my clumsy washing technique tends to promote. Money well spent with quality products. Supagard is not worth the money, unless it comes free, but it will only be as good as the person applying it.

Now got my NX and absolutely love it!! It's everything I hoped it would be. OK, the sat nav may take some time to master, but I know my way around so unlikely to use it much. Only seen one other my way and it's the same colour!

Before I purchased my NX, I had watched a lot of reviews on YouTube and read dozens of articles and reviews. Although I'd set my heart on getting a Lexus, I started my test drive with some trepidation that the ride would be unbearable, the gearbox awful and the fuel consumption dreadful. Thankfully I was able to have a two hour test drive to make my own mind up. The ride is firmish, but still a lot better than previous Golf Gti, Audi A5 and BMW 5 series I've owned before. Now I have an NX, I've found it supremely comfortable and the ride perfectly acceptable. The gearbox only makes a noise of in Eco or Normal drive mode and you plant your foot to the floor, but it's not something I'm bothered about at all. As for fuel consumption, I'm getting up to 36 around town and driving at 60 on the motorway for 60 miles, I got 43mpg. Going at 70 drops the consumption to 33. Overall I'm delighted with my NX . I've concluded that reviews are helpful in looking for downsides, but only test driving and living with the car will you really work out whether it's for you. Personally I just think most journalists simply don't get what Lexus is about... It is different to the usual fare out there, but for me it's stylish, comfortable, practical, plenty of gadgets, good value, reliable and superbly finished with great dealer service. That's what I was looking for and I've certainly feel I've got what I set out to achieve.

Great review...the first I've seen which tells it as it is, without being biased to the German efforts. Convinced me enough to buy one. ...

So I've tested the NX after looking at the GS first. I discounted the GS, lovely as it is, partly due to the lack of practicality, with the rear seats fixed, partly due to it being just a bit too understated for me as well as the NX being likely to be more suitable when passing on to my daughter in future years. I've read just about every review and test report going on the Nx. I'm either a neanderthal or journalists just spout a load of hot air. My benchmarks are my Golf GTI, my wife's Mazda CX5, and previously an Audi A5, Audi A4, Mercedes CLK, BMW 535 Touring and a Toyota Verso. The seats were supremely comfortable and getting a good driving position was simple. The cvt gearbox was broadly similar to the Dsg on the Golf but certainly not that raucous or unpleasant, no doubt helped by the sound insulation. The ride was firmish but no worse than any of my previous cars while performance was plenty for me on both the motorway and country roads. The infotainment system didn't cause me too much trouble, although the sat nav might take a while to master, while the radio set up was. ..different. Given time I'll get used to all the systems, but it certainly didn't put me off. In fact, I've now bought a 2014 NX 300h Luxury with navigation and convenience pack at a good price. ..picking it up next week.

Thanks chaps. I intend to keep the car for quite a few years and eventually give it to my daughter when she comes back from London in a few years time, or let her have my wife's Mazda CX5. The GS is slightly lower down my list as the servicing seems more expensive for some reason and, as you point out, the depreciation is greater and will continue to be so. In its favour, especially the GS 250, buying second hand they seem like a bargain, whilst the hybrid has good mpg and is now becoming good value. The non hybrid is probably about 10k cheaper just now, which more than makes up for the poorer mpg and higher car tax. I assume the GS engine noise is less due to its lighter weight and possibly better sound insulation? I'll let you know how the test drive goes and indeed if I can strike an acceptable deal ...

I've been lurking around researching Lexus for a few months now , so I've now been given the OK to replace my Golf GTI which is getting on but still working fine. My problem has been deciding which model to go for. The IS is too small for my ex rugby playing frame, the RX too large as my daily use is urban and just for me and the missus. So it's down to a GS or an NX. I love the styling of the NX, so am testing one in the next few days. It's a 2 year old Luxury in Sonic Titanium, my preferred colour and is priced at £3K below most dealers similar examples. Concerns. ....the ride quality and cvt but after having had an S line Audi A5 and an A4 CVT, I already have some benchmarks. I've also seen a similarly aged GS 300h, but in Sonic silver, though I've been tempted by the GS450h but they're pretty thin on the ground. I'm not adverse to the GS250 as I'm not bothered about mpg. I've reached a stage in life where I'm looking for comfort, reliability, great dealer service, refinement and plenty of toys. If I want speed, I have another toy in the garage that can give me that whenever I want. Most weeks involve mainly short town driving, with trips of 150 miles usually about once a week, mainly on A roads and motorways. If anyone has any thoughts as to which is the best model to go for or can give any pointers, that would be much appreciated. I've got the itch. ..I now need the cure !! :-)