Nick W858

Thanks John, you too. All being well will be picking it up a week on Saturday.

Yes I agree John, they are rare cars anyway and although only seen in video and pictures so far, it does look lovely and the light interior is a must for me. My IS300h is in a lovely dark blue with the oatmeal leather interior and looks great but the GS looks even nicer and I’m excited about getting a white car too as the last time was around 1990 in my 16v Astra GTE boy racer days. That seemed fast at the time but I suspect it wouldn’t see which way a GS450 went these days! Will post some pictures when I finally take delivery.

Thanks John, funnily enough, I had a call from the dealer Monday morning, turns out the guy who wanted it was messing them around, I have secured the car with a deposit and am hoping to collect a week on Saturday. This will be Lexus number 5 for me having owned an LS400 for 18 years, two ISFs and most recently the IS300h, my wife runs the RX450h so we are big fans of the brand and the service we get from the dealers. Looking forward to getting back into something with more than four cylinders, not that I’d knock the IS300h, it’s been a great car.

It was the 65 plate one at Lexus Solihull. One owner, Premier model, 55000 miles and full LSH, white with a cream interior beautiful, up for just under £23k. Had a couple of discussions with the salesman who was very helpful and while I was in a work meeting, some guy nipped in and snapped it up - you snooze you lose! If anyone is thinking of selling theirs or fancies a downsize to a nice IS300h then please message me.

I watch quite a few of this chaps you tube stuff - seems like a nice guy and test some interesting cars. He's quite a big Lexus fan and has had various models he has bought, done up and sold through his garage. Noticed this one recently which you may be interested in if you own an LC500 or are a prospective purchaser. Should You Buy a LEXUS LC500? (Test Drive & Review) - YouTube

Thanks Mincey, yes I agree, couldn’t look worse than the old LS alloys mind and not as smart as the regular 17 inch summer wheels which are smoky in colour. At least I don’t cringe every time I see the car like I did previously!

Got the new (refurbed) alloys on in time for the bad weather with the winter tyres fitted. Think these were from an old 220d but they look a lot better than the previous ones I was using from my old LS400 as you can see from the pics. The ride is even nicer on the 16s too. Also took the opportunity for a new 12v battery, I left the last one untouched for too long during one of the lockdowns. My local Toyota dealer tested the battery and advised it was showing as ‘change’ so I went ahead - £150 fitted - no idea if that’s good or not but hopefully no more issues with starting. Pics of wheels below.

Evening all. Due to collect my newly refurbished alloy wheels I purchased a while back for my IS300h which I will be using with winter tyres shortly. I did last year use my old LS400 alloys on the IS bu5 they did look a little comical. See attached, even the dog looked a little traumatised by them! They are obviously quite old - my car was a 98 mk IV I didn’t bother refurbishing them as it seemed pointless for winter. If anyone on here wants a spare set, drop me a note. Thanks

It’s definitely different to the LS - I owned the LS for 16 years and for nearly 10 of those I ran a 2011 RX alongside it (my wife’s vehicle). As you say smooth on the motorway but definitely more crashy and creaky around town - ours drives better with luggage and kids in the rear than when driven solo. Still I think it’s a great car - we are almost 140k miles in now and as a do it all car that’s utterly dependable it’s hard to beat. I have driven 600h and of course it’s different to the RX in many ways but we are talking about very different cars. I have even had the use of a friends RR Vogue worth about 6 times what the RX is worth but I wasn’t overly impressed with the ride in that and that was without taking into account the potential reliability issues which you don’t have with the RX. Still you need to be happy with what you are driving so I hope you find a resolution soon.

Looks great - I love mine but was planning to get a 4wd for winter - decided instead to get a nicer set of alloys for my winter tyres as I’m currently using my old ls400 wheels which look awful on the IS so can now keep my IS and saves me shelling out loads more cash. They really are nice all round cars.

Great buy well done.

Well done Vince - these are quite rare beasts and I like them.

I have been guilty of ‘over’ servicing cars in the past if there is such a thing. My wife’s RX is in the same position as yours in terms of minimal usage right now and for the past year, it’s older than yours (2011) and 135k n the clock with current FLSH on the dot every year but this year we are going to give the service a miss. Plenty of cars go 2 years between services now, sure folks will say change the oil, keep it serviced every 12 months etc but not sure what evidence there is that this makes a difference particularly in unusual situations such as the pandemic. If you are keeping the car long term I don’t see what difference it will make and as a private purchaser who looks for FSH I would understand why you might skip one because of low miles due to pandemic. I’d either skip it, get a good independent to do it if it’s at a much lesser rate than Lexus or get Lexus to do it but with strict instructions to do the absolute minimum. On my old ISF the guy who owned it before me had actually managed to get one service done for £98 at Lexus Sheffield- he did have links to the trade and doubtless supplied the oil etc but I was amazed because I had never managed to get any of my Lexus car’s serviced for anything like that - they had always cost hundreds if not thousands of pounds. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I get easy 45-50 in summer - late 50s if I’m really careful. Winter drops to 40-45 with decent runs - current tank 28 based on working from home, lots of short runs plus starting up for an hour a week to keep battery maintained. Expecting 60-64 is massively over optimistic as most of the manufacturers figures are impossible to attain. For the size of car, performance etc, I think the fuel consumption is brilliant, that said, my last cars were LS400, two ISFs and I also own a 911 that averages c17 mpg so I’m not unhappy. When doing lots of work mileage I can claim pence per mile for 2.0 + petrol and when doing lots of miles prior to the pandemic I was profiting by quite a significant amount in terms of expenses. Also my wife’s RX funnily enough has never even got close to what Lexus claim it will do - 44mpg IIRC. The manufactures cannot be blamed for trying to maximise the numbers - they all do it or did it prior to the WLTP changes - to be honest I never have taken any notice of any of it - common sense with size of car/engine/fuel etc usually is enough to have a good guestimate of what you are likely to achieve.

I have only driven them as loan cars and it obviously depends on what you use it for but for me I’d take the UX all day long, just felt more sprightly and modern and I too have teenage kids but the amount of time they are in the car is negligible. Also the wife has a RX450h so that can be utilised for trips with family luggage etc. If we didn’t have that then a UX might be a compromise too far. That said, if I then had to choose between NX and RX then it would be RX. Nothing against the NX but for what I want the other two have something it does not. I’m using a Is300h as my everyday car right now but have been looking at a change and fairly certain I will go UX.

Congratulations looks lovely

Well done it looks amazing

Congratulations sounds like a great purchase.

Cool and warm😀

I had the same email too and am tempted but not at £100k. I have a 911 convertible and although it's my second car, it has been used a lot more as a first car recently. I would go with open top option every single time with this kind of car - I would say 90% of my driving is roof down - it's a pleasure at any speed and I just wrap up when it's cold. I am a motorcyclist too so perhaps that's why I like the open air feeling. If finances prevail I would definitely look at the LC soft top - Porsche is a lovely drive but the dealership experience is awful compared to Lexus.

Rx450h owned from 3 years old to current (9 years old). Mileage 70k at purchase - now 130k - has roughly visit £1200'per year to cover all servicing (Lexus Main dealer), tyres and any repairs which have been few and far between.

Great post, sums up the logic/emotions of what cars we buy and why. Others will have an opinion on what you could/should have bought and let's face it for every vehicle there are a significant number of other cars you could have bought in that segment or price range. I consider myself as logical and rationale and cautious when it comes down to a buying decision but I always force myself to bring some illogic thinking or emotion into the equation, otherwise as you point out we'd all be buying something more sensible/practical etc - enjoy your UX.

Only had mine almost a year but it has been faultless - now almost five years old c36k - fuel around 45 winter and 55 mpg summer - mixture of town but also quite a few longish A road runs. I have paid for extended warranty on one of the two ISFs I owned and also on my wife's RX - but they expired and I do not regret renewing. I still have one on my 911 which has paid for itself around 7 times over but personally I would not bother with one on my IS - never had a service plan either but do whatever suits you.

We have both those vehicles in our household. As you say both very different cars, both supremely comfortable and I'm 6ft 4. If you pushed me I'd say RX sets seem thicker bit plusher and armrest works better for me but we have done mega journeys in both and no complaints from either of us - good luck with your choice! BTW - Neither of are elderly or infirm but have to say that the RX is easier to jump in and out of. The RX is 5 years older and had done 100 k miles more than the IS but it still feels like a newish car do wouldn't let the age come into the equation too much.

Thanks very much - like the ease of application.