Anevb

The car is now on Autotrader 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404259062785?utm_campaign=email_a_friend&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=triggered_emails

Let's try attaching the photos again 🙂

Hi all,

The time has come for me to sell my GS. It is the best car I have owned by far, but it is time for me to try something different.
I will skip listing all the gadgets as I assume most of you know what the Premier trim has. 
 

I have owned the car for two years and have done:

 - Major service at Lexus at 96,000 miles including all fluids (engine oil, gear oil, brake fluid, coolant, all filters) - April 2022

 - Service in May 2023 (independent garage)

 - Rear brake disks & pads - November 2022

 - Rear tyres - Good Year - November 2022

 - Fuel pickup pipe recall completed - May 2023

 - Serviced today - 25 April 2024 (independent garage)

 

The car comes with:

 - 12-month Battery warranty by Lexus - until 18/04/2025

 - MOT until 17/11/2024 - no advisories

 - New service - done on 25/04/2024 

 

Imperfections:

 - Chip on the windscreen. It is repaired but still visible. It doesn’t affect visibility or MOT (it was never advised) - it is behind the rearview mirror.
 - The wheels have some curb marks - particularly the rear right wheel. 

The car is going to the body shop tomorrow (26/04) to get a couple of imperfections sorted and I will be posting it on Autotrader later tomorrow.

The price will be set at £9,795 and will be non-negotiable. I have described the car as well as I can and at this price it will be the best value GS450h on Autotrader.

Adding a few pictures here - I will upload more to the Autotrader ad tomorrow.

Thanks,

Boris

I have been thinking about selling mine but haven't listed it anywhere as selling it privately can be a hassle. 

It is 2012 model, Premier, 112k miles with FSH. Let me know if you want more details. 

My car is 2012 Premier with 18' wheels (it's 450H but I don't think this will make a difference) and if I had to rate how smooth the suspension is I would give it 6/10.  My dad's 22 year-old E-Class with 16" rides much much smoother, but I will still get the GS because I enjoy the balance between comfort and firmness.

I haven't driven a facelifted car with 17's. The ride should be slightly better but still won't be comparable to the LS.

The thing with all new cars is that they are trying too hard to be sporty because big wheels and aggressive bumpers sell more cars. 

It would be great if you could share your thoughts once you drive a car with 17" wheels. 

It would be good to hear your opinion on 530 vs GS450h (if you buy the GS). I bought my GS a year ago and the dilemma was between the GS and 530 (the F10 gen. 2013-2015).

My GS is on 104k miles now and haven't had any issues for the 1 year of ownership. As mentioned, the brakes and shocks of Premier and F Sport models are expensive but the car in general is very reliable. The F Sport also has rear wheel steering and this is very costly to repair/replace (I can't say if this is a common issue or not).

It's unfortunate that you can't get the 15-year Battery warranty in Sweden.

If the car has a FSH then I wouldn't worry about the reliability side. The biggest risk with hybrid car is the hybrid system but Lexus will extend the warranty on the high voltage Battery until the vehicle is 15 years old - it will cost you around £60 per year. 

Reliability aside, I think you will have to test drive it so you can feel the suspension. I had IS250 before my GS and was getting tired from the firm ride. I tested a GS with f-Sport and a with normal suspension - chose the normal one. The F-Sport GS still drives smoother than the IS though. On the other side, the IS was cornering much better.

I have received the same letter today (GS450h). I'll give them a call tomorrow.

I would charge the 12v Battery and see if the issues go away. My guess is that the 12v Battery is old and when you did the tinting it was drained by the lights inside the car that turn on when a door is open.  

I had issues with my car which didn't want to start at all after it sat with open door for 10 mins. I eventually had to replace the Battery. With this said, my issue was very straightforward to diagnose and yours is not. So maybe recharge the Battery first and see if it helps before spending £££ on new Battery.

When I was looking to purchase a GS (I was checking Auto Trader daily for 4 months) I never saw a Premier spec of the 300h. I actually thought they didn't make this combination.

My GS is considerably better than my IS but still not even close to Mercedes E Class. It should be smoother than an Auris though.

I would check how old the tyres are. Too old is not too good. 

Humming

What I am experiencing is exactly as on the video. Go to 0:33. Is your car "shifting" slower @Alexw?

3 hours ago, Alexw said:

A steady acceleration using 60% throttle from 55-70mph is smooth however if using 100% throttle from 55-70mph when reaching 65mph it is as if the throttle has been backed off to 50% but just after 67mph it is back to 100% & continues to accelerate as pre 65mph. Any thoughts? Faulty mass airflow sensor perhaps? 

It's the way it works. Mine is the same. To me it feels something like a gear shift in a car with conventional gearbox. I've watched videos where the same happened (before I even bought my car) so I wasn't worried when I experienced it. 

My car does the same and I believe it's a feature that memories the seat setting to the key you're unlocking with. So in theory, the spare key might have another (or no) seat settings linked to it. I have no idea how to turn it off though. 

Edit: Just tried it and it works as described above - the main key moves the seat to position 1 every time, and the spare key doesn't move the seat at all. 

28 minutes ago, Charlie1955 said:

It has been serviced by Lexus every 10,000 miles up to 54,000 miles so it needs a 60,000 miles service although you are correct due to its age it should be 90,000 mile service. As I know it hasn't had it's spark plugs changed I would rather have them done now. I have been quoted £477 for 60,000 mile service including changing spark plugs from an independent Lexus garage.

It sounds like a reasonable price. Just be aware that if you go with indie you will be missing on the 1 year hybrid Battery and 1 year extended Lexus warranty that comes with every service for cars up to 10 years old. Not sure if you care about this but it's good to keep in mind. 

My 100k service was £725 at the main dealer and I'm pretty sure the 60k costs the same. The spark plugs are separate so another minimum £300. 

GS300h will be a very different driving experience from the 250. The 300h has 4cyl. 2.5l engine vs the V6 in the 250. The 300h is slower on paper and will feel even slower because of the CVT. If you're not bothered about the fuel  economy then 250 is the better choice imo. 

I think dropping only 1.5-2 mpg as a result of using the AC is quite a good achievement. I wouldn't call this a big drop in economy at all.
I am used to 5 mpg drop. Although, this was on low-powered 1.4 petrol car so the % of engine power that the AC used was more than my current 450h.

I don't know what effect AC has on my car but considering that we in UK get 3 days of sunshine a year, I just use the AC without thinking.

The reasons I sold mine 3 months ago (in no particular order):

- high tax;

- low mpg and performance compared to a hybrid

- base spec - mine was SE

- boot size and interior space;

- enough spare cash to upgrade. 

The low tax and better mpg with my current car are offset by the double insurance premium I have to pay now - so these points were invalidated 😂.

The GS is better in terms of space, equipment and performance but the IS was much much better value for money overall (it was 7 times cheaper!!!)

Tyres (Michelin) for non-F sport are still £500-550 so around £200 saving every few years. I think this is not a high premium to pay for the overall better look of the f-sport. 

PS: I still chose NOT to go with the f-sport but for different reasons.

The normal Yaris is a little too slow for my taste. I would love to own the GR Yaris and keep it forever but it's quite a bit more than £10k 😀.

This colour and the F-sport spec look amazing! 

4 hours ago, DamianLEX said:

Funny thing is despite being 208HP car it takes same or very similar amount of petrol as RCF

What do you mean here? The fuel tank has the same capacity or that the MPG is similar?

I would go for another Honda - Civic 1.8i Manual from 2013-16. Running costs will be slightly higher than a Jazz but is more fun to drive and it has loads of space too.

5 hours ago, Charliecloud said:

Well my old car has gone to a trader called Sam 😀: 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205246055529?onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&sort=datedesc&radius=1501&make=LEXUS&advertising-location=at_cars&postcode=tn129rg&model=IS F&page=1&percentVehiclePriceDeposit=true

Worth a look if you want a 2010+ model with all the factory options, the  OTP electric exhaust valve works really well, no issues with MOT or Lexus dealers. Never used the Apexi controller, so can't comment on it.

Are those wheels aftermarket?