Upgrading IS 300h Package After Market, Gen3 Coating andLexus Smart Insurance

[Stevenis300h]

I have just acquired an ex dealer demo is300h (UK 2020} in velvet black and I love it to bits. I used to own an IS250 Advance but unfortunately totalled it in a bad accident. I had an Audi A5 for 2 years and I am glad to be back with Lexus again. The Stoke Lexus dealership in my locality gave me a great deal and they have superb customer service, pre and post sale. 

However, i miss several of the features that I used to have in my old car, including the reverse camera and keyless entry; in addition, the automatic folding wing mirrors which were on my old IS250 SE-L. My question to members is: does anyone know if it is possible to upgrade the is300h’s “package” after market with official Lexus? E.g. upgrade to the the Comfort Pack or Premier Navigation? I am aware that most vehicles are built to order with these packages, but how difficult is it to alter or change one? Would it be the same price for the pack as though one was configuring a new vehicle?

Unfortunately I never saw the car in the flesh before buying from Lexus, as it was distance selling due to Covid (I only briefly looked at the pictures and spec, as I had confidence in buying from an official dealership)  I did not even realise it had boring manual seats. This I guess is not a huge issue as I am the only driver. But sometimes after a car valet or a routine service for example, it can be a pain to find the optimal driving position again. 

One thing i would highly recommend is the Gen3 glass coating. It gives the car an immense dealership quality look and pretty much self cleansing. The beading on the ceramic glass coating is brilliant, and it repels most dirt daily grime. If you are buying a new Lexus, this is an option worth considering. Also, does anyone have any experience with using Lexus Smart Insurance? It looks nice and easy on the promotional material, but has anyway had any good or bad experiences with them?
 

Thanks for reading. 
 

Steven.

[ColinBarber]

36 minutes ago, Stevenis300h said:

My question to members is: does anyone know if it is possible to upgrade the is300h’s “package” after market with official Lexus? E.g. upgrade to the the Comfort Pack or Premier Navigation? I am aware that most vehicles are built to order with these packages, but how difficult is it to alter or change one? Would it be the same price for the pack as though one was configuring a new vehicle?

No unfortunately not. Different wiring looms, electronics and parts purchased as spare parts would cost at least three times what the factory package costs.

[Linas.P]

Actually amazing that they still had very very late cars without electric seats and basics like keyless entry or reverse camera. Hope the deal was that good.

And indeed, sadly no retrofitting possible in Lexus - you pretty much need to get all the option you want to begin with.

[PaulWhitt20]

Had mine GEN 3 coated 5 years ago, paintwork still great shape. I used the smart insurance once to get a scratch out the door. Which came out perfectly. The guy who did it said that because it was GEN 3 coated it had not penetrated the paintwork so just polished out. Worth it for peace of mind. With black it may show the scratches more.
I also got mine from Stoke but did not feel I got a good deal on ex demonstrator. 

[matt8]

There are a number of after market reversing cameras but they're generic and may not integrate as nicely as you might like.

I'm sure someone retrofitted folding mirrors and did a write up on the forum some time ago too.

None of this was done in an OEM way of course.

[paulrnx]

13 hours ago, Stevenis300h said:

I have just acquired an ex dealer demo is300h (UK 2020} in velvet black and I love it to bits. I used to own an IS250 Advance but unfortunately totalled it in a bad accident. I had an Audi A5 for 2 years and I am glad to be back with Lexus again. The Stoke Lexus dealership in my locality gave me a great deal and they have superb customer service, pre and post sale. 

However, i miss several of the features that I used to have in my old car, including the reverse camera and keyless entry; in addition, the automatic folding wing mirrors which were on my old IS250 SE-L. My question to members is: does anyone know if it is possible to upgrade the is300h’s “package” after market with official Lexus? E.g. upgrade to the the Comfort Pack or Premier Navigation? I am aware that most vehicles are built to order with these packages, but how difficult is it to alter or change one? Would it be the same price for the pack as though one was configuring a new vehicle?

Unfortunately I never saw the car in the flesh before buying from Lexus, as it was distance selling due to Covid (I only briefly looked at the pictures and spec, as I had confidence in buying from an official dealership)  I did not even realise it had boring manual seats. This I guess is not a huge issue as I am the only driver. But sometimes after a car valet or a routine service for example, it can be a pain to find the optimal driving position again. 

One thing i would highly recommend is the Gen3 glass coating. It gives the car an immense dealership quality look and pretty much self cleansing. The beading on the ceramic glass coating is brilliant, and it repels most dirt daily grime. If you are buying a new Lexus, this is an option worth considering. Also, does anyone have any experience with using Lexus Smart Insurance? It looks nice and easy on the promotional material, but has anyway had any good or bad experiences with them?
 

Thanks for reading. 
 

Steven.

Please don’t take this the wrong way but please can I ask on what basis you bought the car given that you didn’t pay much attention to pictures and specs? You previously had an IS250 SE-L which has a very high spec and you knew this and yet you have replaced it with a fairly low spec 3rd generation IS. I’m not having a go, I’m just curious as to why you’d buy a car and not realise it didn’t have many of the toys you’d enjoyed on your previous car. Buying from a Lexus dealership doesn’t mean every car sold will have a high spec.

[Linas.P]

I will let the OP to answer the question, but even I was surprised that basics like electric seats, reverse camera and keyless are not standard on 2020 car. Sure I expect to look if it has Sunroof, ML, Premium navigation. I was aware that mk3 initially (early models 2013-2015) had cut some base options compared to mk2 e.g. keyless entry or reverse camera if you have sat nav. but I thought facelift had it all. Although, I never look to any other trims except of F-sport... so probably I have not noticed how poor the base specks were.

@Stevenis300h - I know you said you thrilled with the car, so I doubt it would be something you would be interested to do. But just wanted to  remind you about your rights in this situation - note that when buying distantly you have further protections. Please correct me if I am wrong, but it is 14 days return. Besides I believe even Lexus policy allows returns now (not because they are nice, but because it is a law for distant purchases). 

In short - the only way of fixing your issues is replacing car altogether. You can retrofit aftermarket speakers, you can retrofit reverse camera, there are great aftermarket android satnavs which looks OEM, but you can't retrofit electric seats or keyless entry... at least no way to do it in economically sensible way. 

[matt8]

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/knowledge-base/can-i-return-my-car-within-14-days-of-buying-it

[Stevenis300h]

Thank you all for the replies. All noted. Pretty much user error. I was too excited about the car that i did not engage as much as i should in the details and specs. When i did try to look, they took the listing off the site. Anyway, overall i still like the car. It has some shortfalls, but if i cannot rectify i will just live with it. Next time i will be sharper for sure!!

[paulrnx]

12 minutes ago, Stevenis300h said:

Thank you all for the replies. All noted. Pretty much user error. I was too excited about the car that i did not engage as much as i should in the details and specs. When i did try to look, they took the listing off the site. Anyway, overall i still like the car. It has some shortfalls, but if i cannot rectify i will just live with it. Next time i will be sharper for sure!!

Interesting link above concerning your rights. I’d recommend you give some thought to returning the car and looking for another good deal either at that dealership or elsewhere. Worth a shot perhaps?

[Stevenis300h]

No regrets. My wife loves the car, which is the important part. I promise myself, the next Lexus I acquire I will be super cautious. Thanks. 

[Linas.P]

Them taking advert down has not impact to your rights. 

I understand it could be slightly embarrassing to turn around on deal like this, but consumer rights are there for a reason. And I would imagine Lexus and their franchise dealers should be interested in making their customer happy.

If it is not more than 14 days, then this is you only chance in sorting the car to minimal cost to you. And I am not advising just to throw the car at them - maybe they have another car which would interest you and which would have rights equipment? Maybe you would need to pay little bi more for it, but for sure that "little bit more" will be a lot less than trying to rectify issues in any other way.

Finally, you need to consider resale aspect of it - not many people will want completely basic car, even dealerships will put lower PX values knowing it is harder to shift. So you may have issues down the lines as well.

As I said in beginning  - I doubt you would use this option (considering you said you like the car), but nevertheless the time to think is now... if you get tired with that after 9 months it will be very costly to get it changed.

[Stevenis300h]

3 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Them taking advert down has not impact to your rights. 

I understand it could be slightly embarrassing to turn around on deal like this, but consumer rights are there for a reason. And I would imagine Lexus and their franchise dealers should be interested in making their customer happy.

If it is not more than 14 days, then this is you only chance in sorting the car to minimal cost to you. And I am not advising just to throw the car at them - maybe they have another car which would interest you and which would have rights equipment? Maybe you would need to pay little bi more for it, but for sure that "little bit more" will be a lot less than trying to rectify issues in any other way.

Finally, you need to consider resale aspect of it - not many people will want completely basic car, even dealerships will put lower PX values knowing it is harder to shift. So you may have issues down the lines as well.

As I said in beginning  - I doubt you would use this option (considering you said you like the car), but nevertheless the time to think is now... if you get tired with that after 9 months it will be very costly to get it changed.

I really appreciate your concerns and your comments. Yes it can be embarrassing. But for me there are some deeper reasons which I prefer not to share on the forum. Thank you for making me aware of my rights. Appreciated. 

[Linas.P]

No worries, I understand that car purchase may be complex process and undoing it may be more painful than accepting few missing options. Enjoy your car 🙂 

[steveo1973]

On 2/28/2021 at 8:38 PM, Stevenis300h said:

I have just acquired an ex dealer demo is300h (UK 2020} in velvet black and I love it to bits. I used to own an IS250 Advance but unfortunately totalled it in a bad accident. I had an Audi A5 for 2 years and I am glad to be back with Lexus again. The Stoke Lexus dealership in my locality gave me a great deal and they have superb customer service, pre and post sale. 

However, i miss several of the features that I used to have in my old car, including the reverse camera and keyless entry; in addition, the automatic folding wing mirrors which were on my old IS250 SE-L. My question to members is: does anyone know if it is possible to upgrade the is300h’s “package” after market with official Lexus? E.g. upgrade to the the Comfort Pack or Premier Navigation? I am aware that most vehicles are built to order with these packages, but how difficult is it to alter or change one? Would it be the same price for the pack as though one was configuring a new vehicle?

Unfortunately I never saw the car in the flesh before buying from Lexus, as it was distance selling due to Covid (I only briefly looked at the pictures and spec, as I had confidence in buying from an official dealership)  I did not even realise it had boring manual seats. This I guess is not a huge issue as I am the only driver. But sometimes after a car valet or a routine service for example, it can be a pain to find the optimal driving position again. 

One thing i would highly recommend is the Gen3 glass coating. It gives the car an immense dealership quality look and pretty much self cleansing. The beading on the ceramic glass coating is brilliant, and it repels most dirt daily grime. If you are buying a new Lexus, this is an option worth considering. Also, does anyone have any experience with using Lexus Smart Insurance? It looks nice and easy on the promotional material, but has anyway had any good or bad experiences with them?
 

Thanks for reading. 
 

Steven.

I was under the impression that keyless entry was standard on all is300h's. Try holding down the unlock button on remote for a few seconds. As I'm sure this activated my keyless entry.

[ColinBarber]

1 hour ago, steveo1973 said:

I was under the impression that keyless entry was standard on all is300h's.

It is not on the base grade unless you added at least the comfort pack.

[Mincey]

13 hours ago, steveo1973 said:

I was under the impression that keyless entry was standard on all is300h's. Try holding down the unlock button on remote for a few seconds. As I'm sure this activated my keyless entry.

Shouldn't there be two raised lines on top of the driver's door handle to lock/unlock the car if it has keyless entry?

[Bounce75]

47 minutes ago, Mincey said:

Shouldn't there be two raised lines on top of the driver's door handle to lock/unlock the car if it has keyless entry?

Yes there is a recess on top of the door handle, but as already stated it is only only Comfort pack/Sport pack & above.

[Jayw13702]

Wow I’m surprised it doesn’t have keyless!!

my 2013 SE had it as standard, to me it’s a normal feature now of all Lexus models

[Bounce75]

1 hour ago, Jayw13702 said:

Wow I’m surprised it doesn’t have keyless!!

my 2013 SE had it as standard, to me it’s a normal feature now of all Lexus models

Sorry my mistake, I was referring to the post facelift 2017 models.

All the ones I looked at it only had it on comfort/sport & above, with reversing camera, leather, rain sensing wipers & dimming rearview mirror.

[Mr Vlad]

Hi Steven. Regarding what you stated about your old is250 SE-L having automatic folding mirrors. My is250 SE-L doesn't and I'm sure it wasn't even an option. Anyhow enjoy your is300h. A superb car. I've had 2 of them premium spec. Mind you I love my 250 just that bit more than I loved the 300h.

[Linas.P]

4 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

Hi Steven. Regarding what you stated about your old is250 SE-L having automatic folding mirrors. My is250 SE-L doesn't and I'm sure it wasn't even an option. Anyhow enjoy your is300h. A superb car. I've had 2 of them premium spec. Mind you I love my 250 just that bit more than I loved the 300h.

Automatically folding mirrors were standard in FL mk2 IS S-EL, F-Sport and maybe SE-I if not mistaken - not exactly sure if it was together with introduction of indicator on the mirrors in 2009 or around 2011 with final FL with DLRs.