Nikki

Yeah, had a gut instinct on the orange one.... woman’s intuition maybe 🤣 Loving our car! Had some fantastic comments from people while out and about in it. We’ve always gone American muscle in the past which I loved but hubby wasn’t keen on the LHD for his daily drive so the RCF is a fantastic compromise.

I did checks on the orange one that’s up at 40k but the service history doesn’t add up for the year of car. Also it was with a car sales place in Preston then it shifted to its current place in Manchester. Stuff just doesn’t seem to fit with this one. Noticed the grey one that recently sold through Lexus Chester has come back up on a private ad on autotrader. Hope all ok for the current owner as he’s only had it a month. 😔

Hi, Yes! That’s our new toy. 😊 I’m guessing they are that rare there is no getting away from people knowing your car. Haha! I’ve just found it when it went up for sale by the previous owner and messaged him on FB. Just so he knows it will be looked after. Nikki

At last! Figured out how to upload pics... there she is.

Ahhh yes that makes sense for the price now. Ah yes that makes sense for the price now.

Just in case anyone is interested an Azure Blue one (non carbon) has come up for sale at Lexus Ipswich. Price is lower than usual.... no photos yet. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201808189633277

Don’t think it was the same one you have seen, it did have a private reg on it but not that one. Wheels needed a bit of TLC but not too bad. Ours is from Wakefield?

I think it was around 44k. Guy who p/x it bought the LC.

I went to see the grey carbon one at Lexus Chester but it sold the same day it arrived with the dealer, guy who bought it didn’t even test drive. It was in good nick apart from slight bump on near side front wing where previous owner had misjudged a barrier. Fantastic colour for the car. I’ve ended up buying a white carbon rcf. Pick it up Saturday. 😊

The fracture goes straight across the whole of the side of the piston - on the opposite side of the hole from the crack there is a hair line crack in the metal - it's very difficult to thoroughly explain it on here and even more difficult to get any decent photos. The other side of the piston is fine - no cracks but then again the circlip is still in situ.

Andrew, I'm sorry if somebody has upset you on this post about your spoiler. I don't think it was meant like that. I totally agree that it's hideous that i've spent so much money on my car to make it go faster but I don't drink or smoke and my car is my hobby. I also didn't intend to buy a used car to get around in. Don't you think it kills me to see a beautiful white Altezza sat in the bloody garage and not be able to drive it. I know it's down to me the situation i'm in but believe me this hurts me more than you will ever realise. Also, if it helps - I have a big spoiler on the boot of mine - LOL!

edited my post above but ive sent the cylinder wall pix to my friend just now, he agrees with you on the wrist pin falling out. It points toward installation. ← I did have them fitted by a very reputable garage who mainly deal with Subarus but definitely know their stuff. I'm not prepared to name them on here as this post wasn't to slag anyone off but to merely point out that i have received no after care sales services from Altezza Sports after asking him to help me. I wouldn't be even going down the line of product failure if all evidence wasn't pointing to that. Like I said previously the piston is going off to a lab for testing and they have assured me they will be able to report for definite if the metal was defective before installation. Don't ask me how they do it, I don't know but that's there job not mine. Also, the pistons were ordered from Toda/A N Other by Altezza Sports in accordance with the engine specification so they were the correct size etc. The piston rings, circlips and pins were all supplied with the pistons.

I bet they wish they left it it alone.... But you WOULD want to go faster if you felt the power... You'd make use of your rear wing too :P ← You are right, with hindsight, I wish I had left well alone but at the end of the day there are a lot of people on here who have done exactly the same thing and not even with racing pistons and had no problems.

I fully agree with you that it could of been incorrect installation, therefore I have had a metalagist 'think that's how you spell it' take a look at the piston and he is of the opinion that there was a hair line crack within the metal that could not of been seen with the naked eye and this has therefore had strain put upon it when the piston was in use within the engine. I am sending the piston off to a laboratory to have a report written on it so I have the evidence in writing to proceed further with this but again all this is at a cost to myself!

I have the Blitz Supercharger fitted, hence the recommendation for upgraded pistons. Laugh of it is though I've never run the supercharger since it was fitted on 1st May this year cos the car has been off the road since then, so there's another £2,500 spent!!! I'll email u the pics now. Thanks for your help Nikki

If you can find any information on the VVTi set up then please let me know. We have had countless conversations with anyone that deals with the Toyota/Lexus engines and all have drew a blank. Hopefully you will have better luck! Nikki

Just read with interest, the now 'locked' posting, My Un-Acceptable Experience on the problems encountered with Altezza Sports & Prestige, Warrington. I recently ordered a set of TODA Racing pistons from Scott at a cost of £700. I had them installed and within a matter of days one of the pistons has failed in the bore and cracked, therefore it has released the circlip and pushed the gudgeon pin out causing the gudgeon pin to score the bore beyond any repair. I have now had to remove my engine and source a replacement at a further cost of over £750 not to mention the labour charge. I have also had to buy myself a little second hand run about as the car is still not back on the road at another cost of £400. I know the product failure cannot be blamed on Scott at Altezza Sports & Prestige but upon contacting him to discuss the problem he has agreed completely with me that it sounds like product failure but has done absolutely nothing to help me sort this out. He has told me to contact Toda in Japan and resolve the matter direct, he has also given me the number of his contact in Hong Kong who he purchased the pistons from to ask him to sort it out. He has taken no responsiblity whatsoever to try to resolve this matter. I have now taken legal advice and wrote a firm but pleasant email to scott asking him, as the Vendor, to sort this out for me. To which he has still not replied, email was sent 12th July!!! Scott has taken my £700 but the product is obviously not up to standard. Wonder how he would feel if it was the other way around? As we use the Altezza on a daily basis, i.e. shipping the kids back and to from school, using it for work, shopping, etc., you can understand how frustrating and upsetting this has been. I have a £8k+ vehicle that I have to insure and pay out for and am unable to use it. I promised myself I wouldn't put a posting on here to slag anyone down but after reading other people's experiences I thought it only fair to let everyone know. I wouldn't want anyone else shelling out money and then having no back-up service when things go wrong. I will get my money back for this one way or another but it's the stress and upset it has caused in the meantime that cannot be rectified. My husband and I have had countless arguments about this, as financially we are now approximately £2,000 down!!!! Nikki Turner PS - not sure how to post pics on here but if anyone wants to see the damage caused you can PM me for the pics to be emailed.

Finally after weeks of trying to get the problem sorted we managed to speak to somebody that actually knew what we were talking about at Toyota. Been advised to bin the old VVT system and get a new one - real pain in the a** to put the old one back together. So I've ordered it from Toyota at a cost of nearly £100 and delivery not till 25th May but it's a weight off my mind and at least when the pistons turn up the car can be put back together - AT LAST!!! Well hopefully........ fingers and toes crossed for me. Superchargers ------ who'd have 'em PS - Rang Simpsons Salvage ref the breaker they have but they were not prepared to break the engine - wanted to sell it in one piece at £500+VAT and an exchange!

Does anyone have any info on the exhaust VVTI system assembles on front of cam as mine popped off during engine strip down. Cheers for any help or advice :duh: Mart

Been on to the Local Toyota dealership who don't seem to be able to help much. They are not too up on the Altezza due to being an import. Do you happen to have the number of the Toyota dealer that you dealt with as they may be able to help us more. Cheers Martin

Has anyone got access to a workshop manual for the Altezza or does anybody know how the exhaust cam VV system goes together. Reason for asking - Fitted the supercharger at the weekend but when test driving it - happened to melt piston 2 & 3 - oops! Don't think its much to do with the supercharger been fitted but more to do with an underlying problem with engine underfuelling. When stripping the engine, unfortunately, as I removed the exhaust cam the VV system has popped off the front. I need to know if there are any timing marks, etc or if anyone has any knowledge of this and can shed some light. As you can guess I'm not happy at the moment as my beloved Altezza is completely stripped down ...... Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Martin

I HAVE JUST FITTED A BLITZ CHARGER AND AM HAVING SOME PROBLEMS WITH WIRE COLOURS AND PIN NUMBERS ON THE FUEL CONTROLLER. I HAVE FOUND 3 DIFFERENT PIN NUMBER AND WIRE COLOUR LISTS. ALSO AFTER CONNECTING ALL UP AS BEST I COULD TICK OVER WAS VERY LUMPY AND ON A SHORT TEST DRIVE ENGINE STALLED WITH NO LOUND BANGS OR ANYTHING BUT INLET HAD QUITE A BIT OF OIL IN IT AND ALSO FOUND TWO DAMAGED SPARK PLUGS. I AM HOPING THAT PLUGS WERE NOT TO CLEVER AND ENGINE HAS ONLY SUFFERED A SLIGHT BACKFIRE BUT ANY INFO AND SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.

Got covered with Osbourne & Sons as recommended by Scott. £958 fully comp - but I have got an accident against me in November 2002 so only to be expected. Picked the car up tonight - really does need a good clean - stinks like they've had dead dogs in there!!! But as I work for a Car Accessory and Valeting company - perks of the job! Anyway, thanks for all your help and comments. Nikki

Thanks for all your replies. Will do some ringing around today. I'm 31 - bit of an old bird so should be ok. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1 This is the car I've bought. Apparently the bloke is gutted cos he never put a reserve on it and thought it would go for £8,500 but that's the luck of the draw. Been to see it Saturday and it's great. Needs a really good valet but other than that no probs. Got some service history - needs a service straightaway but I can live with that for the price I paid. Gonna give it to the a bloke we know that works for Toyota and he'll get me it serviced for trade prices. Anything in particular I should look out for on these? PS - Do you think I've paid a decent price for it?

Hi everyone, Very new to this forum. Just wondering if anyone can advise me where is the best place to look for quotes for a Altezza IS200? Just bought it and picking it up on Wednesday but current insurers do not list the Altezza. Can I insure as the IS200 or not? Thanks Nikki