Potential LC500 Owner after a little advice

[Dingle Dell]

I started looking at the market a while ago with a view to buying early next year, something like a Vantage, R8, 911, AMG GT, etc; all the usual suspects. I then became aware of the LC500, and it pretty much shot to the top of my list, and the more I have watched and read, the more I want one. I'm of an age where out and out performance doesn't matter to me, but I want something a little different, and a decent soundtrack is a must, as I miss my last V8.

It needs to be a Coupe Sport+, and probably red or white (or maybe 'copper'), but I think with a black interior. I really want a 21 or later model due to the updates.

It has slowly dawned on me how few of these are around, and that the right car for me isn't going to come up very often. For that reason, I started thinking about ordering a new one, only to see the bombshell announcement that the order books are closed. Makes me want one all the more to be honest, and although I wasn't really looking at buying for another few months, if the right car comes up before that, I may have to go for it.

At present, there are no cars for sale that are what i'm after, but there are a few 2017 - 2020 cars. The official car reviewers always make a big deal out of any updates saying they transform the car on the 21 and later cars, but is it that big a difference in the real world? I'm wondering if I should consider an earlier car, or do I just wait for something newer to come up?

 

 

 

[ColinBarber]

42 minutes ago, Dingle Dell said:

It needs to be a Coupe Sport+, and probably red or white (or maybe 'copper'), but I think with a black interior. I really want a 21 or later model due to the updates.

It's difficult to know for sure but there were probably only ten cars sold in the UK that fit your criteria - you may have to wait for some time for one to become available.

 

[rayaans]

Honestly speaking the updates were subtle. I doubt you'd really notice / care unless you were really looking for them.

[Dingle Dell]

1 hour ago, ColinBarber said:

It's difficult to know for sure but there were probably only ten cars sold in the UK that fit your criteria - you may have to wait for some time for one to become available.

 

 

To be honest, with the some of the 'special' cars I have owned before, the searching for the car and looking forward to getting it was (bizarrely) the best part of it in some ways, so i'll just enjoy the time spent looking and anticipating. Sometimes the actual ownership didn't live up to the dream, but i'm hoping that the LC500 would be different, in part because i'm planning on keeping it for a long time.

There's always the yellow ex-demo for sale, but I feel i'm a tad too old to carry it off!

[ColinBarber]

31 minutes ago, rayaans said:

Honestly speaking the updates were subtle. I doubt you'd really notice / care unless you were really looking for them.

and to add to this, there were also some changes for 2019 models - new gearbox programming, new engine mounts, changes to some steering and suspension components - so maybe don't rule out 2019 and 2020 models.

[Shahpor]

Was it 2021 when they got apple Carplay and Android Auto?

[ColinBarber]

16 minutes ago, Shahpor said:

Was it 2021 when they got Apple Carplay and Android Auto?

Yes, it was very disappointing that Lexus didn't develop an upgrade for the earlier years in Europe.

[Caspa]

1 minute ago, ColinBarber said:

Yes, it was very disappointing that Lexus didn't develop an upgrade for the earlier years in Europe.

Yeah, proper annoying as makes 2021s the eventual entry point for me, whenever that may be. 

[pfn]

3 hours ago, Dingle Dell said:

 

" the searching for the car and looking forward to getting it was (bizarrely) the best part of it in some ways, so i'll just enjoy the time spent looking and anticipating. "

My brother always told me ' wanting something is better than owning it'. 

Seems so.

[eightk]

Don’t discount the convertible - there’s more noise because of the soft top, plus all convertibles are 21 model year onwards with CarPlay and the ally suspension components etc that SavageGeese on YouTube gets excited about. You lose with no rear steer but I don’t know how important that is to you. My guess is 21 onwards there are more soft tops than coupes, I think the introduction of the convertible rekindled buyers a little, so there’s potentially more choice in used cars. And the roof comes off!

Almost every year Lexus announced model year tweaks to gearbox programming, damper adjustments etc but the only big changes were that 2021 update and the latest touchscreen 2023 cars. 
One downside is the canbus vulnerability so your insurers may well require a tracker and it’s definitely worth fitting an immobiliser to prevent actual theft, but sadly not the damage involved in accessing the canbus system. I’m looking at motorbike alarms and Clifford/Viper systems at the moment, with a view to adding wheelarch vibration or proximity sensors to warn off anyone thinking about fiddling with the front bumper or arch liner.
Other than that, there is literally nothing on the market that’d get me out of mine. The noise, the build, the looks, the reliability - there’s honestly not much else to compare it with, although if you’re buying brand new I suppose all new cars have warranties.

Reviews are literally 99% positive, whether you’re reading magazines or watching YouTube. Evo magazine put the LC up against a Ferrari, Aston and Bentley, all tens of thousands more expensive, and it did really well even against that sort of competition.

Another option could be an earlier coupe - there are more cars available, more chance of red over black, more chance of just buying one straightaway, you do lose CarPlay but on cars built before mid 2018 you also lose the GPF exhaust filters the newer eu cars get, so the exhaust is as Lexus intended. Plus they’ll all still be eligible for the ten year warranty until at least 2027.

Do it!

[Dingle Dell]

Thanks for all the advice so far, it's very useful. Unfortunately convertibles just aren't for me; In all the decent cars I have had such as a Vantage and a F355, I never even considered a convertible. No offence meant to anyone, we all like different things, but to my eye it spoils the lines of so many cars and i'm not bothered about roof down motoring. I wish I did like them, in many ways, as there would be a much bigger choice.

I have had to stop watching reviews, as the 'want' is too great. Although a couple of cars such as a V12 Vantage or a V10 R8 aren't completely ruled out at the moment, everything about the LC500 feels right to me. I'm well into my 50's, so this may well be my last 'performance' car, and I would hope to keep it for 10 years +, or whenever they take my licence off me!

Looking at the cars available now, if only they had made a version called 'White-inspiration' I would own one now I think. Having owned two black cars, never again for me...

[BrettMRC]

My 2p...

If you get a black one, or a black inspiration - get it ceramic coated, that will remove 95% of the faff of owning a black car.

There are two key choices when it comes to model year:

1) Pre-OPF cars (2017-2020 iirc) sound much nicer and louder.

2) Post 2021 cars will have the updated interface that allows android etc.  

Last thing to consider is this, the LC500 is a quick car - but it's not in the same league as the V12 Vantage or the V10 R8 in pure pace, it's more Golf-R performance level.  Outright pace was never an issue for me, but worth considering it as it looks a lot quicker than it is.

(What a time to be alive...a sub 5sec 0-60 and I'm saying it only looks quick! 🤣 )

[Dingle Dell]

No, blacks definitely not going to happen. I once had a black RS500 (eventually sold for 10K..., seen many years later at Silverstone Auction selling way, way into 6 figures, lol), and said I would never have another black car. It's not just that it's hard work to keep looking good, I just don't think it shows the lines of the car off as well as some of the other colours to my eyes.

 

I'm not worried about the LC performance tbh, it's plenty quick enough, even though it won't be that much quicker than my daily. My last Vantage was a V8, that's why if I got another one I would get the V12, and if I went for an R8, the V10 just seems to make sense. I sold my last 'special' car, an Alfa Gulia Quadrifoglio a year or so ago and being honest, that felt too fast for the road at times. The problem with it was at legal speeds, it didn't feel special enough. It was only when doing licence losing speeds that it put a smile on your face. That's partly why the LC500 appeals so much.

[Shahpor]

14 hours ago, Dingle Dell said:

I sold my last 'special' car, an Alfa Gulia Quadrifoglio a year or so ago and being honest, that felt too fast for the road at times. The problem with it was at legal speeds, it didn't feel special enough. It was only when doing licence losing speeds that it put a smile on your face. That's partly why the LC500 appeals so much.

Apologies for going off topic, but I am always interested to hear from owners of newer Alfa's to see how they really are these days?  As someone who owned a 156 back in the day, the itch never seems to go away despite all the hassle!  I did consider a Guilia Veloce the last time I changed cars but the lure of the Stinger was too great.

Thanks.

[eightk]

20 hours ago, BrettMRC said:There are two key choices when it comes to model year:

1) Pre-OPF cars (2017-2020 iirc) sound much nicer and louder.

2) Post 2021 cars will have the updated interface that allows android etc.  

Way to check for the daft filter is to look at the bhp - 471 bhp is pre GPF (mid 2018 and earlier as far as I know - I’m not sure Brett is right on that) with the best sound, the same as the rest of the world is still getting, whereas is it’s 464bhp it’ll have a slightly (slightly!) worse exhaust note as a result of the particulate filter. But you’ll feel so much better about yourself behind the wheel of your non-stop/start naturally aspirated post-‘18 5 litre V8 knowing your particulates are reduced 😶

[Jimbrodie1]

It’s not a Sport+ but Lexus Derby have a nice White over Black 2020 Sport 16k miles for £61k 

https://used.lexus.co.uk/approved-used/lexus-lc-500-coupe-5-0-v8-sport-auto-euro-6-2dr-jthhp5ay40a007834

 

[Dingle Dell]

19 hours ago, Jimbrodie1 said:

It’s not a Sport+ but Lexus Derby have a nice White over Black 2020 Sport 16k miles for £61k 

https://used.lexus.co.uk/approved-used/lexus-lc-500-coupe-5-0-v8-sport-auto-euro-6-2dr-jthhp5ay40a007834

 

Yes, I keep looking at that one. I think if I had been looking for months and nothing had come up, then I would be tempted to go for that, but as I have only just started looking, I will hold fire for now. Ideally I should decide if a red or white car is my priority, but then that narrows my potential choice down even more!

I know colours are a very personal choice, but i'm interested if there are any colours which tend to be unpopular. For example, I like the yellow, but don't think I could seriously consider owning one.

[Boomer54]

Many , and I do mean many years ago a car dealer friend told me " give me a red sports car and I will sell it".

Don't know if that still holds true if it ever really did, but may be it might help crystallise your thoughts.

[Dingle Dell]

On 12/12/2023 at 12:15 PM, Shahpor said:

Apologies for going off topic, but I am always interested to hear from owners of newer Alfa's to see how they really are these days?  As someone who owned a 156 back in the day, the itch never seems to go away despite all the hassle!  I did consider a Guilia Veloce the last time I changed cars but the lure of the Stinger was too great.

Thanks.

It was great, and I have often regretted selling it, but work was really busy at the time, and I wasn't getting the chance to use it, and prices were rocketing during COVID. At the time, none of us knew how long those inflated prices were for, so I took the opportunity to get out with a fairly small loss after owning the car from new for two years.

I have always had a soft spot for Alfa's (my first race car was a Sud!), and it's a beautiful car to my eye. It got a lot of attention, and it was all positive. I had one very old fellow from a local club come up to me and said even if he had a million pounds, that it was the car he would have, so I was able to make his day and take him for a short drive.

It was very civilised at legal speeds, but the rate it piled on the speed when you put your foot down was incredible, and it hid it's speed so well, that I genuinely worried about my licence every time I drove it. 

I had the car around two years, and other than a flat Battery, which is a common thing, nothing went wrong with it, and it only went back to the dealer twice for its annual services. There are some horror stories out there where people have bought  problem car, but these days that applies to most manufacturers.

 

[Shahpor]

Thanks for the insight 👍

I am always looking at the used Guilia QF's out there and seeing what a performance bargain they are. 

I also know I would just be staring at it as I walked away every time I parked it 🙂

The problem is, whilst I can just about manage to buy a used one, running it is another matter.  Also, the Alfa dealers around here are basically useless, so I am somewhat afraid of what I would have to go through when the car needs work/servicing.  When I went to the local dealer to have a look at a new Guilia the experience wasn't a good one!

Such a shame as I think I would love driving and owning a QF.

[Dingle Dell]

Yes, pretty much all Alfa dealers are poor, but if you are in Hampshire you are near AHM Motorsport who are an Alfa Specialist. I have known Adie over 20 years as he used to prep the race cars, and there's nothing he doesn't know about these cars, so if you do ever get one, then take it there. Mine didn't go there, other than to have the exhaust flap put on a remote fob, as it came with a 5-year service pack, but I would have taken it there for anything not covered by warranty.

[eightk]

20 hours ago, Jimbrodie1 said:

It’s not a Sport+ but Lexus Derby have a nice White over Black 2020 Sport 16k miles for £61k 

https://used.lexus.co.uk/approved-used/lexus-lc-500-coupe-5-0-v8-sport-auto-euro-6-2dr-jthhp5ay40a007834

 

Personally I think 2020 means you're paying for the newer car but not getting the '21 improvements eg carplay, suspension etc but it is good value for the age.

I'd go for this early sport plus for ten grand less, and sell the bodykit bits. Sport plus, might even have the early exhaust, sensible miles.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311164021339?sort=price-asc&advertising-location=at_cars&fuel-type=Petrol&make=Lexus&model=LC 500&postcode=m11ad&fromsra

Or the yellow '23 one. My favourite LC colour by a mile - it's really metallic-ey and pearl-like. Go on, you know you want to!

[DavidCM]

I'm surprised that 2020 models of the LC don't have AA/CPlay.My early 2020 RC has it and I think even some very late 2019 facelift models have it.

[ColinBarber]

44 minutes ago, DavidCM said:

I'm surprised that 2020 models of the LC don't have AA/CPlay.My early 2020 RC has it and I think even some very late 2019 facelift models have it.

They essentially waited for the vehicle facelift to upgrade the infotainment system. Late 2018 (MY19) ES and NX got an upgrade - Lexus never developed a retrofit for the LC.

[Dingle Dell]

2 hours ago, eightk said:

Or the yellow '23 one. My favourite LC colour by a mile - it's really metallic-ey and pearl-like. Go on, you know you want to!

 

I would be in a lot of trouble as my other half hates yellow cars. If it wasn't a 6hr+ drive away, I would probably go and have a look just to see what I thought of the colour. 

Is that particular yellow available on other Lexus, as that's probably an easier way to have a quick look at the colour, even if it won't quite be the same as seeing it on the LC