marcus wright

Just for info, rather than getting no useful answers and just a sad sarcatsic comment, I used the US website "Club Lexus" who helped me find all of the information I needed through an Australian contact. They were very helpful, just like this board used to be when I joined as a gold member some years ago. This site seems to be OK if you have a mark 1 or mark 2, but I don't think the community have the contacts or the knowledge they are prepared to share on the mark 3s - this is fine, but it is a bit of a shame that the only answers you do get are sarcastic. Farewell.

Buy a Ford Fiesta.

As a follow up... Lexus Perth (Australia) didn't try very hard to find out why the satnav box and Australian DVD in a UK GS430 might be incompatible and what could be done to resolve. They just told me what a bad idea it was to export to Australia and that I should think about buying one of their Lexus GS430s. Lexus UK customer services said they don't know and that I should ring their £1.50 a minute technical advice line. Now to pay my finance off in the UK and ship the car to Australia will cost me £22K. To buy the same age car from a Australian Lexus dealer will cost $AUS80K or about £39K UK. It is a load of hassle to ship / import the car and it will be more dificult to sell the UK car in Australia as it will be an import but it can be serviced there and will depreciate at the same pace. If I could just find out what modification I might need to make to get the satnav working in Australia, then it will help me decide whether to bother taking it or not. Any help appreciated. I would particularly appreciate it if somebody could tell me if there is anyone else I could talk to before I ring the Lexus technical helpline. Cheers, Marcus.

I have slightly cracked the boot spoiler on my pride and joy - Lexus want silly money for a new one in silver - bonkers. Anyone know where I can get one or know of a repairer, the crack is 5mm or so in size? Thanks, MArcus.

Here is a bizarre one. I am emigrating in October and thinking of taking my GS430 with me. The UK and Australian GS are the same / very similiar but one area they (apparently) are not is the compatibility of the DVD satnav. For some reason the UK market satnav and Australian disk will not work together. I am hoping that someone from the Lexus technical community may see this and be able to find out - is there any way of solving the problem? Thanks in advance. Best regards, Marcus.

Hi All, I thought I'd better let you know about this set of wheels I have up on ebay. No reserve. They came off my 2005 GS430, have been refurbished and have some minor scrapes / chips. Chance to get a real bargain as new ones are £375 each. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...p;rd=1&rd=1 Best regards, Marcus.

Hi All, After a slight mishap, I have cracked the boot lip spoiler on my 2005 GS. Lexus want £530 to supply and fit, £475 of which is the spoiler! I have checked the price with them and they say that's what it is - £475 for a thin strip of plastic. Lextasy has what they say is an OEM for less than £200 but it is hassle getting it from the US. I wondered of anyone knew an OEM supplier in the UK where I could get one for cheaper? Thanks, Marcus.

Hi All, I thought I would design a poll to see how reliable others are finding the 2005-on GS models. Note where I ask the question regarding type of faults, I meant to ask main types of fault. Thanks. Thanks, Marcus.

Dear All, On average I see around 17.1 - 17.5 mpg with just town driving rising to 18-19 with some longer A road driving. If I drive longer distance via Motorway at a reasonable pace, then I will see 24-27mpg. I did use to get 18.5mpg wherever I drove and however much I put my foot down and I wondered if there are any air sensors that might get gummed up. I would be interested to hear others views or reflections with the 4.3 V8 engine and mpg. Best regards, Marcus.

My 2005 GS came with Dunlop SP Sport 2030 as originals, which lasted 18K miles and still had 4mm left. I replaced with Goodyear Eagle F1s which were more expensive, made slightly more road noise and had no noticeable improvement in wet or dry grip. They lasted 11K miles. I'm back with the quieter, cheaper and better Dunlop SP Sport 2030s and they are great. I am noticing a slightly softer rise as well, which is good news with the GS.

Hello there, I thought you might be interested in my experiences to date with my GS430 (current model). I have owned 4 Lexus GS models over the last 10 years (two of which have been new) and only visited the dealers for servicing until I bought a used April 2005 GS430 at 6 months old (for £38000). I buy them because they have been extremely reliable, well made and specified- and probably because I am a bit of a perfectionist and their marketing appealed! However, this particular car has been to the dealer 18 times other than servicing since then as follows: 09/11/05 - refurb wheels / pain front bumper (dealer said they were spotless when bought car over phone, they weren't so they agreed to refurb) / headrests came away from plastic backs, replaced 23/12/05 - refurb wheels again (dealer had them painted and they bubbled) 18/01/06 - mirror glass discoloured and replaced / aircon treated due to bad smell 27/02/06 - smell returned, aircon treated again 23/03/06 - drivers door wouldn't close properly, seal replaced 31/03/06 - smell returned, aircon treated again 11/05/06 - smell returned, aircon treated again - dash out / fitted new set of alloys (I funded two) 29/08/06 - rear brake calliper siezed, replaced / driver seat would not stop creaking, replaced 28/02/07 - passenger seat would not stop creaking, replaced 09/03/07 - dash rattle, taken out for factory mod to be applied 30/03/07 - dash rattle, centre console replaced, more work required and booked in for 13/04/07 Plus 7 times for diagnosis. I should mention that everything above other than the two new wheels I bought as part of a deal with the supplying dealer has been covered under warranty. The alloys and bumper painting were just preperation issues, so no problem there until they had problems refurbishing the wheels! There has been only one mechanical failure (the brake calliper) however, nearly all of the other faults have been with the internal packaging (aircon / seat and dash creaks). The dealer has said that there have been quite widespread seat and dash problems. If you think about it none of the faults are particularly serious as far as function goes, but the experience of driving the car that one would expect has been consistently disappointing. The reason I write is that I am very surprised that Lexus do so well in reliability surveys and wonder if they include other than mechanical failures? I also wonder what others thoughts are about the interior rattles on this model and if anyone knows any more about what causes them, how they can be solved and if Lexus actually have a widespread problem with quality? Best regards, Marcus.

Whilst saloons and Lexus GS models do depreciate heavily, the amount being offered right now for TelephoneMans GS430 is far below what would typically be expected. Originally, the GS430 was forecast to lose 50% in three years, not 53% in one. In the Sunday Times today, there is a large advert in the Motoring section. It is a joint advert for Lexus Nottingham and Lexus Guildford. The advert says "The GS430, just £29,995", then "We have a limited number of Lexus GS430 models available for £29.995, which is the price of a 2005 GS 300 model, but the GS 430 has enhanced features". Er, yes and it cost between £11K and £16K more one year ago, which anyone who bought one has just lost, to the dealers gain. As one factor in the overall market, all manufacturers need to manage oversupply, so as to protect their customers from excessive depreciation, as this is what hurts. They must also avoid the impact on their own profits for the future. (I mean, who would pay more than £35K for a new GS 430 now? And that will have an impact on GS 300s etc etc). People will push for very heavy discvounts in this environment. If these are demo models being pushed through the market for year end revenue, Lexus GB should regulate it in some way like other manufacturers, before other dealers get stung and their future customers walk away. Remember they are selling 2005 model cars for £5K more than 2005 old model GS 430s. It is very odd, I really don't know what they are playing at (other than being typically greedy). When I see things like this cropping up, I often think back to the salemans bull*hit about residuals. I can imagine, there are quite a few upset customers, who will not be prepared to "invest" again, regardless of the Lexus customer service - hell you pay for it! Once bitten, twice shy for me. Best regards, Marcus.

I'm sure you will get private sale interest via Autotrader for £26 - 27K, failing that it might be better waiting 2/3 months until the UK dealers have cleared their backlog of GS430s. I guess it's the oversupply of p/x's for GS450h's and demo cars where they have taken the depreciation against tax. I bet that none of them are buying new ones for demo right now! One other option is to write to Honest John and ask him what he would do (He is the Saturday Telegraph's motoring expert). He will always give you straight and sometimes blunt advice. His email is below. letters@honestjohn.co.uk Best regards, Marcus.

Hi C4MYC, I agree with you in general. I think the difference here is that the depreciation in first year is perhaps the worse I have seen for a Lexus. I have had three GS300s, one used and two new. I sold the last one for £17K at 2.5 years old, losing about 50%. If I sold the GS430 now for the price mentioned by Telephone Man, it would have lost about 53% after 1 year! Even noting it is a V8 and all the other bad points I mentioned, plus the fact it is a new model (which should help residuals) - that is a massive hit in one year and doesn't seem to fit with what you would expect, even as a worse case. Best regards, Marcus.

I should have said - If you had bought it new at £47K and sold at £22K you would have lost £1785 per month over 14 months!!!!! That is the true impact if you had bought new and it goes as you have suggested. That is DISGUSTING - - we are talking KIA level depreciation! Not Lexus. Do they sell Lexus at Halfords?

Telephone Man, I got an April 2005 GS430 for £38K in November, thinking I had got a great deal as the car was £47K new 7 months before. Was your quote from a Lexus dealer? If so, that is a massive £25K loss in 14 months or £1428 loss per month. That is (at £1428 x 12m) a whopping 36.5% first year depreciation. Interestingly, when I bought the car, I did a lot of analysis of residuals to try to make sure I didn't get rooked. In November 2005, What Car had a one-year old residual figure of £32728, yr2 of £28801 and yr3 of £24499. From What Car today - Lexus GS Saloon 430 4dr £47,160 yr 1 £33,012 yr2 £29,050 yr3 £25,216 yr 4 £21,990 - all p/x prices at 12K miles a year. According to What Car then, the residuals have actually risen. Hmmmm. Your p/x offer is equivalent to a three year old car price! It is even less than a GS300 SE 2005 at 18K. However, latest prices for my car at 18K miles (again from What Car) - Dealer £29,045, Private £27,245, Part exchange £26,445, Trade £25,945. Why could this be? The GS450h launch Petrol prices Over supply - p/x for GS450h's plus dealers cars coming off 1 yr demo? (remember they can take the depreciation against their businesses!). Slow summer....? I'd be amazed if Lexus do anything, but I wish you luck. There are a shedload of cars out there at dealers at £29995 and bizarely, the 2005 GS300S SELs are actually listed at the same price, but of course they cost £36211 or £11K less. I'm keeping mine, it's fast and I like it. But I doubt I'll ever buy another Lexus with depreciation like that - well not until it is three years old. If you must sell, why not sell privately or is that where you got the offer? How many miles have you done and what is the colour? Best regards, Marcus.

Hi there, I have 4 refurbished standard 18" TTE wheels from a new model 2005 GS430. Two have minor scuffs from one low speed run-in with a kerb, all have tiny marks around the bolt holes and would require refurbishing again in the smoke alloy colour to get them perfect. Lexus Milton Keynes quote circa £375 a wheel to buy new. Bearing in mind the cost of refurb and that they have been used for about 13K miles, what should I expect to get for the set on Ebay? Best regards, Marcus.

Basically my problem is that the beam does not illuminate as far into the distance on dipped as my GS mk1 or mk2s and you have to drive a lot slower. I am taking the car in to the dealer next Tuesday and before I try again to have them adjust the maximum dipped height of these self-adjusting lights upwards, can I ask if any other new model GS owners have had the same problem? Is there anyone out there who has also owned a mk2 and can compare? Is there anyone who has had the mk3 adjusted? Thanks all, Marcus.

Hi All, Had a day off and had a chance for some spirited running today. Interestingly, when braking very heavily and sustainably (10 second or so) from from say 100 down to 40 / 50mph there was a humming noise from the brakes that got louder as the pressure increased - in the end it was really quite loud. I don't remember that on my old mk2 GS300 - is this normal or are my pads wearing out? Disks are fine, car has done 15K miles. Don't remember ot being so pronounced before, but then I don't often go that fast / brake that hard. Cheers, Marcus.

Update: Car still vibrating so decided to take it to a local tyre fitter. He checked the front right wheel. There is a very very slight deformation of the wheel rim, not too bad he said. The 115gms added by Kwikfit were removed and 90gms added. Result: no vibration.

Hi, It wasn't the wheel with the repair. That was rear offside. This is front offside. The wheels were replaced by Lexus Ipswich as part of putting right problems when I bought the car last November. I bought the car over the phone and they told me the wheels were unmarked and they weren't so they had the car back. First time they painted the wheels normal alloy colour rather than the smoke alloy the new GS430 wheels are plus you could take the paint off with your fingernail the job was so totally crap. They then had it back again said they had replaced all wheels with what they said is a refurbished set and these seem to be the smoke colour. Looks to me as if it is either a) something that could be sorted by replacing the tyre, b ) I got given a bent front refurb wheel by Lexus Ipswich (assuming Kwikfit rebalanced properly - they must have done after three tries eh?) or c) Kwikfit had a problem balancing it properly. Mind you, I do remember it had a lot of weights on that wheel when it came back from Ipswich, so I may have slagged off Kwikfit unreasonably when they have been trying to balance a knackered wheel (sorry!). I'm going to replace the tyres in a couple of weeks, if after that I find the wheel is bent I'm going to post it to the MD of Lexus Ipswich with an invoice for a new one. If a new one doesn't match colour, I'll invoice him for the whole set. Anyone know where I can get new wheels cheap? Best regards, Marcus.

Hi All, The car went back to Kwikfit yesterday, all four wheel rebalaned under duress. The manager said that the offside front required 115g of weight and that he felt this was a lot and there was either a problem with the wheel or tyre. They actually had to double layer the stick on weights. Is this normal, what can cause it? Best regards, Marcus.

Hi, No the wheels are the standard 18" wheels that come with the latest model GS430. Thanks, Marcus.

Hi Chips, Thanks for the tip, but the new GS doesn't come with a full size spare, so that is not possible. I'm really looking for a recommendation of someone I can trust to balance the wheels properly within a few miles of Bedford. If no luck, then I'll just have to take it back to Kwik-fit but they've already had four tries and I don't want them to make a mess of the wheels (every time they remove / add the stick-on weights, they never really clean the wheel down and remove the residue - which means the weights are more likely to fall off over time). Oh well....any tips much appreciated. Marcus.

Hi there, I recently found a nail in my tyre and the puncture was repaired by the local Kwik-fit. However, there was then a vibration between 75 and 85 mph. I took the car back and for some bizarre reason they rebalanced all of the wheels, but there was still a bad vibration at the same speeds. It went back a third time yesterday, firstly they rebalanced the tyre they originally repaired - no luck, and then the other rear. (When the fitter checked he said the job hadn't been done properly by Kwik-fit before as it required a 10gm weight when tested straight off the car). Anyway, when I tested the car at speed today, same problem, actually slightly worse through a greater speed range 75+mph. Obviously, as a result I don't have a great deal of confidence in Kwik-fit. The car is a 2005 GS430 with the 18" alloys, they were refurbished and have only been on the car 2000 miles. Does anyone know a really good specialist that will do a proper job in the Bedford area. I would rather pay than take it back to Kwik-fit for the 5th time! They do not seem to take enough care in doing a good job, and I don't want the unmarked alloys to be manhandled any more. Any advice much appreciated. Best regards, Marcus.