Zurbaran

I did try this but the passenger window still only works manually and the drivers passenger window doesn’t work at all. Another thing that doesn’t feel right is that if I walk up to the car it will only unlock my side/ door. I have to then get in and press the unlock switch above the window controls to let the passenger in. other than than that I couldn’t be happier with this thing. It’s a rare car on the road here so you get a few looks (the greyd wheels are part of that). And if needed you have the power to keep up with most cars.

Had my heart set on an IS300h and the main thing that stood out when I went for a test was that it felt claustrophobic. I reckon it was down to the tiny windscreen for me as I’m only 5.9 so I fit in it just fine. Ended up going with a cheaper older gs and couldn’t be happier with the choice so far. Feels better in every single way and also looks better but that is subjective.

I gave one of my mates a drive in it today who drove a newer a6 diesel 4 pot that he recently sold. He said it was the most comfortable car he he’s driven at motorway speeds, probably the fastest he’s driven and also the smoothest. He assumed it was in the class of th a7/6 series and was surprised when I told him it was the class below. Chuffed with that even even if it did hammer my average mpg a bit, haha

Yeah, will take it to Lexus as soon as I get the time. One of the keys batteries is dead so need to replace. Does anyone know what battery they take? Another thing I noticed after pick up is that of the four window buttons on the drivers door the front passenger button doesn’t work when in the passenger seat though it works fine. The drivers button initially was only working in manual mode but now is full auto. I’m hoping the issue is just the switches?

Currently on the ferry heading back. Car is as good or better than I expected. Unfortunately whilst queuing for the ferry the fella in front wanted to get into the lane that was moving quicker.. reversed back into me. As it’s dark I couldn’t see the full damage but the grill is completely broken.

Can I ask how the Bluetooth music performs for something like Spotify? The putting cd’s on the hdd sounds good but I don’t think I even have any left. if it is aac capable and can stream at 256kbps it will do the job. This is one thing I’ve not been able to confirm with my google powers.

So after reading this forum religiously for the past few days I can see that the previous owner is a member https://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/profile/53453-catchhster/ reading his post history tells me he was looking after it and that the issues he was having were fixed. So I assume he looked after it until the day it was sold as it still looks well. Bit too late to try and contact him as I’m flying over in the morning.

Love the review. More than anything it tells me I should be looking to get that 2 year warranty on the car I’m almost certainly buying. I didn’t initially budget for this but it looks like a must have. Wish the car I’m looking at had acc and sunroof but it seems that was dropped in the later gen 3’s

It was last serviced at Chester Lexus in late July. Do you think they would be happy to sell the warranty? Or would I have to leave it with them for a couple of days? Problem is I’m only in England for the day although I suppose I could go to Northern Ireland if I needed to. As far as I can tell this warranty offer is not available in Ireland but I know from speaking to them that Lexus Ireland will honour it.

I’m particularly worried about the shocks and whether I’ll notice on the test drive as my current car is a 12 year old fiesta which crash’s over the smallest imperfections in the road. In saying that it should be some upgrade either way, haha.

Can anybody answer any of these questions? It’s a little bit of a worry as the 3rd gen does seem to suffer a few problems that wouldn’t normally be associated with Lexus. I’ve read about problems such as gearbox (or pump going into it I think?), shock absorbers, rattling dash, corroding exhausts and tyre pressure sensors. Were any of these issues fixed during the life cycle?

It said Maru 18 inch on autotrader. They may be painted? I will probably look to get them refurbished but not for a while.

Unfortunately it’s next Saturday that I pick it up. Time seems to be going a lot slower than normal..

Few more pictures

Completely forgot to ask the questions I started this thread for.. Are any of the common reliability issues fixed by the time this facelift came out? If so which ones? To get the best out of the ML system I think usb would be the best option? Is it possible to use usb for audio and Bluetooth just for phone calls? is the hdd sat nav good? It mentions that it gives real time info I think, how does it receive this info?

In a sort of spur of the moment situation I decided that it would be a good idea to buy one of these. Was just a case of me being out shopping and saw one that reminded me that I really liked the look of them and that they IMO have aged very well. So with that I headed home and checked online. There were five (in Ireland). Two gen 4 (way to pricey for me cheapest was a 2012 with 100k on it for €21k) and three gen 3. One was a private sale 2007 with suspiciously low mileage the second was overpriced and as it turns out from a dodgy dealer. The third was a 2010 with 100k on the clock being sold by toyota with a 1 year warranty. Rang the toyota dealer to arrange a viewing but unfortunately there was someone close to doing a deal on it and had just gone home to get a buggy to see if it fit in the boot. I was thinking at this stage there was still hope as the boot is tiny, wasn’t to be though as the car was sold that day. Never found out if the buggy fit.. bit peeved at this stage as I was doing research on it and the facelift is what I wanted. Not sure on the numbers but I know very few were sold here so I’d be waiting a while for a decent one to come on the market. Only other option is having a look at cars in the uk. I did that and one immediately stood out. A 2010 se-l with 81k on the clock with full Lexus service history. The service history checked out and I did a report which came back clean. Car is mot’d only advisories were for wiper blades and one or two other small things. There’s also the end of the two year Lexus warranty and the battery covered till late July next year. Long story short I put a deposit down after getting a few quid off the price and the dealer booking it in to get the driver seat bolster refurbed as it was a bit worn. I’ve not driven one since 2007 so I hope my memory is not deceiving me cause what I remember was was a very impressive car that had as much in comon with the class above as it did it’s own class mainly down to the smoothness and and effortless exceleration. Really wanted an is 300h about 6 months ago but was so underwhelmed when I went to test drive which was a disappointment as I love the exterior looks. Anyway I’m flying over to England next Saturday to pick it up so I hope it’s everything I expect/hoped for..