GS450h for 10k - reliable?

[Arnold2]

Hi, 

I've seen a few dealer GS450H for about £10k, perhaps 50k miles on the clock - I need a car to run to high mileages of 200k plus (do 30k PA) - how reliable are they, and how expensive to run if you don't use Lexus dealer servicing - ie how many bits fall off or not! 

 

[AmbroseJohn]

I bought a 2008 GS450h SE-L from an independent trader for £9800 last year and after sorting some initial problems (Disks, pads & rear callipers), it's fine.

I took it for its annual service last week at Lexus Bolton (£199) and the mechanic who did the service even remarked what a nice car it is. 

0-60 in 5.9 seconds and over 35 MPG, what's not to like. Do it, you won't regret it.

[Arnold2]

Yes they do seem a seriously good buy, luckily I'm over 50 so the insurance isn't an issue. 

What's the parts costs like on the consumables do you find - brakes, tyres etc? 

What sort of fuel consumption do you find you get on a long run BTW (when you're not using all the horses)?! 

[AmbroseJohn]

Don't dismiss main dealers for parts. I was expecting to pay about £250 a side for the callipers as there's people selling on eBay for that sort of price but I called the dealer and they brought a pair over to Blackpool from Bolton for £78 each. They said they were 'pattern part' but they arrived in genuine Toyota boxes.

Servicing is £199 every 10,000 or 12 months & £399 every 20,000, both include the hybrid health check, which can only be done by the dealer. If you want the same sort of car from a different manufacturer (Merc, BMW etc) with the same sort of performance, road tax will probably be £505, and you'll get around 20-25 MPG, the Lexus is £215 and 35-40 MPG . So there's saving to be made to offset the servicing costs.

Tyres are tyres and cost the same no matter what you fit them on. 

[AmbroseJohn]

Tyre are 245/40/18 BTW if you want to check prices.

 

You could even fit narrower tyres (225/50/18 or 235/45/18) to save on price and get more MPG on motorway runs.

[Britprius]

I agree with John above, but perhaps surprisingly the two narrower sizes suggested are actually more expensive tyre for tyre. I find this is often the case. Tyre cost depends on the numbers sold or manufactured. My last car was a Prius with oem size tyre of 195/55/16 going up one size to 205/55/16 the tyres are 25% cheaper for the wider tyres.

245/40/18 tyres for the GS450H at my tyre supplier go from £38 to £178 per tyre. (all new tyres correctly rated) 

[AmbroseJohn]

I had really cheapo tyres on my old BMW. There didn't seem to be a noticeable difference between them and more expensive tyres. The only real difference seems to be the cheap ones were considerable quieter that the Pirelli Rosso tyres that I have now.

 

Maybe if I still drove like a nutter I notice the difference. :)