Potential new buyer - what advice do you have?

[milesr3]

Hello folks,

I'm going to treat myself to a new (used) car this spring and the LC500 has really grabbed my attention. As a current owner of a W222 Merc S-Class I was going down the AMG GT route, but the LC500 just looks more special. I am set on the V8 with the Sport+ pack and the 2019 model year looks ideal with the updated ride, gearbox, CarPlay and balance of Lexus warranty. 

For now I'm watching the classifieds. I'd prefer to buy from Lexus. I have a local dealership but they don't have stock. I'll need to arrange a test-drive when these become available again.

They do appear to hold their values well. The least expensive 2019 car I can see now is £63K with 15,000 miles.

What advice would you give me?

Thank you!

[Linas.P]

not much to say, great choice... Quite recently there was review from carwow and they concluded that if you can afford it, then you should just go ahead and buy it. And I agree with that - it is not most practical car, but it does not matter for what it is, for it's particular niche it is great value and very unique car. I personally could not find any issues with it.

I have just recently (before current lock-down) compared it with new BMW 8-series and they are not even in the same league. Sure BMW is faster, but Lexus build quality and materials are far better + it feels more special. Indeed, the best way to check it out would be test drive.

Yes LC will keep the value as it is pretty much only Lexus dealers who sells them, not much supply overall. There isn't much saving to be made, unless you willing to go for older car with equally low mileage, but then you won't get apple car play. Not sure how big of the deal that is for you. 

In terms of advice, not much to say - don't expect rear seats to be usable, boot space is non-existent either + the opening is awkward, so even using whatever small space there is not going to be easy. But I guess that is something one would expect from GT coupe... I doubt AMG GT would be any better in that regard. BMW 8-Series would be far more practical car, but that is how it feels as well - just larger 3-Series with 2 doors (or 4 if you go for grand coupe).

There are some weird features in the car - like climate concierge (you need to get used to them) and as well entire infotainment controls. They do what they need to do, but let's just say - they are not the best in market. I consider that to be small price to pay for next level built quality and increasingly rare V8.

 

[malcolmw]

When I got my LC three years ago, I also considered the AMG GT and had a test drive. I used to have an Aston DB9 and before that a Merc SL500.

The AMG drove very nicely but I just couldn't live with the loooong bonnet styling. The LC is in another league over the Aston when it comes to build quality (my DB9 rattled and felt "fragile").

Yes, the LC isn't perfect but it is really pretty good and exclusive. It is in a shrinking sector as a normally aspirated V8 and I intend to keep mine for a few years yet.

You won't be disappointed!

[AJ500]

My advice...just buy one.

Agree with most of the above comments.The boot is ok for the type of car it is. The infotainment system is just a matter of getting used to it.The Mark Levinson sound system is superb.

Back seat easily accommodates our golden retriever!
The 2019 car you refer to is shown as Lexus UK stock.Not sure what that means but possibly ex UK demo fleet.I suspect it is supplied via your favoured Lexus dealer.

Good luck.

A J. 

[milesr3]

Thank you for the replies and words of encouragement! The infotainment system isn't a significant thing to me - I'm much more interested in the depth of engineering and real-world driving experience. Let's see what I can find when Lexus are open to test drives once again.

[milesr3]

Out of curiosity, how does the Climate Concierge work? In my Merc the handbook advises you to just set the temperature to 22c and leave it alone. It works well and I can choose when to augment it with heated/cooled seats.

If I understand correctly, the LC has heated and cooled seats and heated steering wheel. Does Climate Concierge manage to juggle these successfully all year round along with the right amount of airflow? I watched a 1hr30m YouTube video on all the things you can configure via the infotainment system yesterday and it was a bit bewildering.

I've also spoken with Lexus Stoke and it turns out that the UK 2019 model year did not include the ride, gearbox and CarPlay updates. Not that these were must-haves for my anyway. But this does open the door looking at >2yr old vehicles.

[malcolmw]

The Climate concierge basically does all you mention in your post but automatically. It manages both heating and cooling of the seats and heating of the steering wheel dependent on the settings of the interior temperature and the outside temperature.

I fiddled about with the settings on mine when I got the car but eventually went back to the defaults as Lexus have done a pretty good job in setting these up. They just work without your intervention and switch off themselves as required. 

I just leave the CC on all the time with the aircon on auto and it does everything. I use the aircon eco setting as, in the UK, it doesn't get cold or hot enough to need full power A/C and it keeps the fan noise down.

[milesr3]

19 hours ago, malcolmw said:

They just work without your intervention and switch off themselves as required.

Thanks for the detailed reply. This part sounds ideal to me. Set and forget.

[wendle]

Agree with everything that has been said, A Great car and very good built quality, I have had a few problems with mine but that's was sort of expected when it was one of the first to arrive in the UK, after the dealerships demos. Saying that everything has been sorted out by the dealership who continue to look after me even though the warranty has expired. plus in just over 3 years i still haven't seen another one on the road, so very exclusive.

[milesr3]

Good to hear that you have been well looked after outside of warranty. That has been my experience with Mercedes as well.

That's a very fine looking car you have there in Sonic Red. There are a couple of low-mileage 2018 ones like that on Autotrader now outside of Lexus dealership network and I could be tempted. I've only ever seen one LC, on show outside my local Lexus Centre, when it was first launched never one on the road.

[malcolmw]

Once you get one, you start seeing them... 😄

[Gcambo]

On 1/29/2021 at 4:41 PM, Linas.P said:

not much to say, great choice... Quite recently there was review from carwow and they concluded that if you can afford it, then you should just go ahead and buy it. And I agree with that - it is not most practical car, but it does not matter for what it is, for it's particular niche it is great value and very unique car. I personally could not find any issues with it.

I have just recently (before current lock-down) compared it with new BMW 8-series and they are not even in the same league. Sure BMW is faster, but Lexus build quality and materials are far better + it feels more special. Indeed, the best way to check it out would be test drive.

Yes LC will keep the value as it is pretty much only Lexus dealers who sells them, not much supply overall. There isn't much saving to be made, unless you willing to go for older car with equally low mileage, but then you won't get apple car play. Not sure how big of the deal that is for you. 

In terms of advice, not much to say - don't expect rear seats to be usable, boot space is non-existent either + the opening is awkward, so even using whatever small space there is not going to be easy. But I guess that is something one would expect from GT coupe... I doubt AMG GT would be any better in that regard. BMW 8-Series would be far more practical car, but that is how it feels as well - just larger 3-Series with 2 doors (or 4 if you go for grand coupe).

There are some weird features in the car - like climate concierge (you need to get used to them) and as well entire infotainment controls. They do what they need to do, but let's just say - they are not the best in market. I consider that to be small price to pay for next level built quality and increasingly rare V8.

 

 

[Gcambo]

I did test drive the Beamer 8 series and Merc S class coup’s but they were so bland and boring so bought the LC500 V8 and have not once regretted it, yes as mentioned the entertainment system is fiddly and takes time to get used to but other than that nothing not to like. It gets admiring looks everywhere I go which is very satisfying.

 

[bvhout]

I'm not sure whether both back seats are useless. The one behind me definitely is. But my children (13 and 14) don't complain too much with one in the back and the front passenger seat put forward.