CypressPhil

Wow, that’s a crazy amount! Makes me want to fit some of those ram bars that they fit on Police cars in the states. They’d also be handy for dispensing instant justice on people who don’t merge in turn!

Agreed - the way I see it is if you change your car regularly and aren’t fussed about owning it, then a lease might be right for you. If you want the option of owning the car, but want a low monthly repayment, then a PCP might appeal. If you intend to keep the car longer term, then a personal loan will likely give you lower total interest costs, but a higher monthly repayment. If you’re wealthy or a criminal, then cash is probably the way to go! So it’s dependent on various factors and what matters most to the individual at any given point in time. Finally, if you’re a Baller, then “never buy a depreciating asset. If it flies, floats, f***s or drives, lease it”.

Mine is pretty much identical. 65 plate with 59k. Same model, spec, colour, dealer history etc. According to auto trader, it’s worth £10,210 part ex and £12,390 private sale. Prices have taken a tumble recently.

2015 IS300h F Sport 59k owned for 4 years. Air conditioning condenser £650 12v battery £140 Failed rear screen bonding £100 AC has needed another re-gas, so wouldn’t be surprised if the condenser has had another whack! Might have to look into the mesh that Maxz suggested!

I had this problem. Turned out to be a failed bond on the rear screen. Ask a garage to spray soapy water all around the edges and then go around the inside with an air hose. Anywhere that bubbles up will be a gap in the seal/bond. A good windscreen fitter should be able to remove and refit the screen without it breaking, but there is a slim chance of it breaking if there is any weakness in the glass. If it does, you can’t claim on your windscreen policy, so would have to fork out for a new screen 😬. Alternatively, just leave a copy of Harry & Megan’s book on the parcel shelf and wait for someone to put a brick through the rear screen; then claim on your windscreen policy as vandalism would be insured 👍

Thanks Colin. I already had that post saved and borrowed a dremel on the strength of it. I hadn’t however, anticipated not being able to get the cutting disc in there to make the cut. I’d never even noticed the crease in the bodywork until I’d removed all the trim to make the cut in all honesty! In hindsight, I now see and agree with you that it doesn’t look like a cutting disc was used on those photos. curious what bit was used and how other people have done it. I think a few have from when I researched it, but details of how are limited.

Hi everyone, So today I set out to cut a square hole through the boot lid of my 65 plate F Sport to fit a genuine Lexus parking camera, which I’d obtained from a breakers. step 1: tested the camera using the existing connection and it worked plug and play. All good. step 2: obtained a replacement piece of trim with the cut out for the camera and painted it to match the car. All good so far. step 3: removed all trim to cut the hole. Made a template and taped it all up. This is where I’m stuck! How have people managed to cut the hole without damaging the rest of the boot?! I’d intended to drill the corners, then use a dremel cutting disc to join the dots so to speak. But the bottom is almost recessed under a fold in the bodywork, so you can’t get the disc in there without damaging elsewhere. Have people used a burr tool to make the cut rather than a disc? Or did you use something else? All advice most welcome!

Lexus dealer once told me my tyre tread depth had increased from the previous year’s service 😆, so I second the visual guesstimate opinion. They also told me I needed a new set of rears, but the tyre size on their quote was for the fronts. Good job I didn’t “approve the work”. Off to a proper tyre shop I went.

First thing to check is the connector. Pop the trim off in your boot and have a look. If you’ve got the connector, it should just be plug and play 👍 I got a camera from a breakers for £150 and it was plug and play with no software updates. I managed to find the replacement bit of trim on eBay for £30. The scary bit is cutting a square hole in your boot 😬. I might do it this weekend if I get time. If you’ve got the connector, get a camera from someone who accepts returns. That way you can then plug it in to see if it works with no risk. Then think about getting the other bit of trim and cutting the hole later.

You want the denso wiper blades. I second the view that they’re OEM as far as I’m aware. Don’t get the Bosch blades, as they’re rubbish! The Denso were out of stock when I needed some, so got the Bosch. They’re a lousy fit (don’t clip in securely) and drag across the screen at times. I’ll be swapping them for Denso soon. I use Lexus Norwich for servicing, which are now owned by St Leonard’s Motor Group. They’re OK, but the service was much better back when Inchcape and then Dingles had the franchise imo. Although I begrudge paying nearly £600 and £300 for what’s essentially an oil and filter change, I personally do it for the peace of mind of the Relax Warranty. It would be Sod’s Law that something major would go wrong if I went to an independent! In the past, I’ve used Roy’s Motor Company in Norwich for repairs to my original IS and RX. They are Toyota/Lexus specialists. Many years ago, they had the Toyota franchise in the area. I’ve always found Ian (I think the Tech’s name is) to be really knowledgeable and they’re far cheaper on labour than the main dealer.

It looks fairly straight forward John. I’ll share what I know in exchange for the piece of trim I need 😜 The camera itself is just a couple of clips and unplugging the connecting wire in the boot, but you’ll need to remove a piece of trim on the boot lid that covers it. I’ll see if I can attach some screenshots of the repair manual for you… I tried to put them in the right order, but it’s remove the cover inside the boot. Ignore the bit about the hinge covers. Then it’s the rear light assemblies, followed by what looks like the number plate lights which will give you access to the screws for the trim. Once the trim is off, it will give you access to the camera. Disengage the 2 clips and then unplug it.

Hi mate, this is really useful info. Thanks for sharing! I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while. Can I ask where you managed to get the piece of trim with the cut out for the camera from? I’ve never been able to find one on eBay or anywhere else for that matter.

Yea, a good tug normally gets it off to be fair 😱😆

Hey guys, does anyone know the list of things connected to the rear seat belt alarm? For example, I’m guessing the seats have pressure sensors, then sensors in the seat belt fasteners, then maybe the door switches for the courtesy lights. Anything else in the sequence? I’m getting phantom rear selt belt warnings if the back doors are opened for any reason. Even if nothing is put on the seats, if the rear door is opened, the next time the car is started it triggers the annoying warning. Switching the car off and on clears it until the next time the rear doors are opened. I was going to order a carista to disable the chime, but though if it’s just a switch, I could swap it out and fix it. I’m guessing it’s the door switches.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease guys. Oil and coolant levels are where they should be. Was worried about diff or gearbox, but condensate makes perfect sense! Thanks again! 🙏

Evening all, I’ve been parking my car here for a long time and have never noticed anything on the ground after the car has been moved before. I noticed this large patch of white residue at the weekend, so grabbed a photo of it tonight. It’s only my car that parks here, so it hasn’t come from anyone else’s. Any idea what it is? Does oil go white like that when sitting on top of soil? It covers quite a big area under the car 😬

This is great mate. Thank you very much.

Evening all. Before I start pulling trim out of the boot, I thought I’d ask the question here first. Has anyone ever adjusted the boot latch on their IS? Or know if it’s possible? I’ve been having a clear out for my parents and had shoved so much junk in the boot, I had a job to close it. In my limited wisdom, I just ended up forcing it shut and squashing the junk down. The boot now seems to have a slight rattle and feels like it has too much play. Ive seen some cars where you can adjust the boot latch by loosening off a single bolt, sliding the bar up or down, then tightening the bolt back up. The IS is covered by trim, so I can’t see if it’s the same set up without popping clips out and removing the trim. Many thanks

They say black cars are a hobby. I’m on my 3rd black car (must be a slow learner). Agree with everything Nemesis has said above. You want to use products that make it harder for dirt to stick to the car. A good ceramic coating will give you good protection, but if you go down that route, don’t skimp on the prep. Applying a ceramic coating over the top of poorly prepped paint can actually emphasise any swirls and scratches and will not last as long, so having the car professionally cleaned and decontaminated, followed by paint correction is a must. If you don’t want to go to that expense, then a good paste wax will help. I’m using Bilt Hamber at the moment, but Fusso Coat is supposed to be really good, so I’ll be giving that a whirl at some point. If you prefer using a DA polisher rather than applying by hand, you can’t go far wrong with Autoglym Super Resin Polish. Follow up with Extra Gloss Protection for a deeper shine. You can stretch the time out between maintenance washes by keeping the dust off as much as possible. A good quick detailer spray using a very soft microfibre cloth will help you achieve this. Make sure you use a good quality super soft microfibre though, as you’ll be introducing more scratches otherwise. Once it rains it’s game over. Don’t be tempted to use a quick detailer after it’s rained. Bust out the buckets and do a maintenance wash. Personally, I think black cars are worth the effort and am one of those weird guys that likes cleaning their car. They do look great for a whole 5mins after cleaning, so be sure to appreciate that time 🙂

I had to travel for mine and paid £16,300 from a BMW main dealer who’d taken it in part exchange, but said it was too good a car for them to send to trade auction. It came with a full Lexus history and had been well looked after. The same car locally would have set me back around £18,000. The value of it initially dropped like you’d expect, but then just kept climbing. At one point it was worth more as a trade in then I’d paid for it. The fact that I kept it rather than cashing out at that time says a lot. I could have leased a brand new well specced German offering for around £300p/m through work at that time, but chose to keep an older but far classier and more exclusive Lexus. The value has come down a bit now, but according to autotrader, the px value is now £14k and private sale value £15,700.

Oooh that’s a tough one mate. I can tell you that I purchased 65 plate f sport with 44k on the clock back in Jan 2020 and the value of it hasn’t changed a lot in the 2 and a bit years and 10k miles that I’ve had it. The used car market is bonkers right now. It’s impossible to say when it will change. So the real question is, do you want to wait any longer before treating yourself to a new motor? If the answer is no, then for me the Lexus is a no brainer. Do yourself a favour and drive something well made, fairly rare and interesting to look at rather than being yet another german car driving clone. Don’t get me wrong, the BM is a good car to drive and a mate of mine had a VRS which he loved, but I’d choose a Lexus any day.

That’s crazy Tony. I literally have no idea how they could have arrived at that figure. I had the same problem with mine. The screen is fine, it’s just the anti glare coating that’s started to come off. I just used a standard household wet wipe on mine. Bit of rubbing and it just all came off. Didn’t even bother to remove the screen from the car. Looks great now and I’ve not had any difficulty with being able to see the screen in direct sunlight. Made me wonder why they even had the coating on there in the first place.

If it’s a rumbling noise rather than a knocking, it could be a wheel bearing maybe? It will sound like a low growl/rumble and will be more noticeable at certain speeds. If it’s a knocking, then it could be a suspension bush but I’d have thought they’d have picked that up on the service.

Speaking of schiessewagens, did anyone see that story about the police being told to abandon pursuits because their schiessewagens burst into flames if driven too hard?! I was pmsl. BMW are allegedly refusing to deal with the issue, as they say it’s the way the police drive them and will not affect the majority of owners.

Lovely looking motor that. Personally I don’t like the way turbos drive and would take an NA engine over a turbo all day. Hope you get used to it and enjoy! It’s a cracking car.