New kid on the block

[Troy Tempest]

Hi everyone

Just introducing myself 😁

My name’s Si and I have a GS250 F-sport (on a ‘12 plate), which I bought as an approved used last summer.  Before that I had a GS450h SE-L on a ‘57 plate.

The reason for “dropping” to the 250 was that when I had two hybrid system warnings about a month apart, I took the 450 into the local Lexus dealer to get it checked over, they said the hybrid Battery had only days to live and then provided me with a list of all the other stuff that was wrong with the car on top of that (none of which was visible on the outside).  All in all, the price of the new hybrid Battery plus the fixes for everything else came to more than the value of the car ☹️  I found myself in a very tricky situation!!  Has anyone ever tried to trade in a hybrid where the hybrid doesn’t work?  What trader’s gonna take the risk?  Luckily the Lexus guys offered me a big chunk off anything they had in their approved used forecourt and took the old girl as a trade in.  After such a sobering experience, I bottled out of buying another Battery powered car and decided to go back to good old pure petrol; you know where you stand with hydrocarbons!!😉

Despite the change of power source, I knew I wanted to stick with the GS model, the IS is sporty and more ‘nippy’ around town, but once I get in, it instantly becomes a three seater!  At 6’3” and 18 stone, I need the extra room to spread out and get comfortable.  The GS is a great cruiser but not so big that you can’t fit it in the car park.  The layout and equipment are really good too, quality stuff!  The only tiny little niggle I have is that the 250 can never be as quick as the 450 from a standing start (minus the electric motor).

I look forward to ‘meeting’ you all over the years ahead and I hope I can be a useful member of the club.

Stay safe & well

Si

[scudney]

Welcome to the LOC Si,hoping you find the forum educational and informative.

[Troy Tempest]

Hi John, thanks very much 😃

[LexIS200Sport]

Lovely car - nice body and wheel colour combo 😉👍

[Shahpor]

Yay, another Mk4 GS owner to add to our ranks

Welcome Si

Nice looking car there with quite an unusual colour combo.

Whereabouts in Hampshire do you hail from?  If I recall correctly we have a few members around the Basingstoke (or north Hampshire) area, which is where I am.

[rich1068]

Good choice as far as I'm concerned. There's a GS250 that's sat in a corner at my local dealer that I'd have like a shot.

[Farqui]

Hi Si, thanks that's an interesting to hear the tale of how you got there 👍 and a great looking GS 

The GS sure are comfy so I can understand why you have stuck with the model.

Enjoy the bigger boot space !

Cheers, Lee

[royoftherovers]

Welcome Si and thanks for a nice informative introduction.

Keep your eyes, peeled and do let us know if/when, you spot your former 450h back on the road !

[Troy Tempest]

Hi guys 

Sorry it’s taken a few days to get back to you and thanks for all your nice comments about the colour & wheels 😁

To answer Shahpor’s question, I’m based in southern Hampshire, between Southampton and Winchester, so only a quick trip along the M3!!

John, if you ever see a dark (Windsor) blue ‘57 plate GS450h with rally style chrome wire mesh front grills (top & bottom) a la Jag/Bentley, along with smoked wind deflectors on all four windows; that’ll be my old girl, her name was ‘Sabine’.  My new lady is named ‘Céline’.

Ganesh’s black & silver beast looks very smart, in a bad *****, “don’t mess!” kind of way 😊 
 

Stay safe & well

Si

[steve2006]

Sorry I missed your opening post Si so a late welcome to the LOC.

We seem to be having a few tales of woe with the GS450h recently, I wonder if they are now hitting their “Use by Date”.

This was the last Lexus model launch I was invited to ( I don’t think an occasional oil filter qualified me), They had both models on display and gave a demonstration of the boot size with bags of golf clubs.

Just out of interest can you remember the other “work required” by the dealer, I know Lexus have a certain attitude to repairs shall we say.

[Troy Tempest]

Hi Steve

As far as I can recall, both rear brakes sliders (whatever they are) were seized, my air-con condenser had stone damage (so didn’t work properly), the suspension was leaking and the bushes were shot.  All of those were a surprise to me because in normal daily driving they didn’t actually affect the way it drove or my enjoyment of the car; but once you’re told they’re under par, it kind of detracts from your feelings about the car and how safe it is.  I should probably mention here that it was bought a few years previously from a little local 2nd hand dealer/garage, it didn’t have a full Lexus service (or battery) history and was slightly over average annual mileage; so my local Lexus dealership were in no way at fault for the condition it found itself in.

You’re right, the dealerships don’t like a vehicle leaving their workshops in anything less than ‘concours’ condition (it’s a bad advertisement for them) so they list every single minor defect and ideally would like you to get them fixed at the earliest opportunity.

However, to be completely fair to the Lexus guys, they didn’t say it all had to be done in one go, they offered me a ‘course of treatment’ spanned over as many months as I liked and I would get a slightly reduced rate for providing them with plenty of work; however, when you added together all the costs, it basically came to the same value as the car itself ☹️  In effect I would have had to buy my car twice to end up with one in top notch condition!  I liked it, but not as much as all that!!  Buying and shipping the wire mesh rally grills from the USA had taken the last of my pot of ‘car money’.

The spooky thing about it all (and I’m sure you and many of the club members will get a big laugh out of this) is that for about the previous 4 or 5 months, I had been looking at the auto-trader app and other car adverts, trying to talk myself into trading her in and getting something else!!  In my mind, I was beginning to think that car was jinxed... three times in about the previous 12 months that car had been driven into by other vehicles, in car parks and road-side parking spots; luckily it was always fairly low speed, superficial damage to bumpers and paintwork, the insurance always coughed up and the repairs were always professionally done and guaranteed etc... but I just got the feeling that “someone somewhere is trying to tell me something”.  I think, when the Battery and repairs situation effectively took the decision out of my hands, I was quite relieved.  I miss not having the “grunt” of a 450h now, but I’m kind of glad that I don’t have that particular one anymore.

In time, I may well go back to the hybrid power train; it is definitely a good idea so far as efficiency and the environment are concerned!  It also works for those of us who can’t drive our cars into our houses to plug them into the mains or don’t want to leave 50 yards of cable trailing across public pavements to be tripped over by less able members of the public or unplugged at 2AM by “yoofs” on their way home from the pub.

Right now I have a very strong hankering for a V8 of some sort and after the last time, I’m more inclined to listen to my gut feelings about it.

All the best

Si