Would you go backwards?

[Stew-R]

Good evening all,

I currently own a 2010 GS450h, which I have to admit - like all my previous Lexus - has been a joy to own. It is now on 104000 miles and running perfectly. My only concern is that it has just had its last hybrid warranty service at Lexus and considering my options. I know opinions vary wildly, but how are people finding owning the 450’s out of warranty? Would you consider changing to an older 430 at this point, or is the 450h worth sticking with? Looking at auto trader, they seem to be powering on strong with double my current mileage. All opinions welcome 

thanks

Stew

[Linas.P]

By this time majority of GS450h are out of warranty and people seems to cope just fine. So you are more of exception to still have warranty for it, not the other way around and these cars are perfectly usable and reliable outside of warranty. Could it be that your hybrid Battery fails... yes, things like that happens, but it is not the end of the world £600-800 and it is fixed, probably that isn't much more than you were paying for extended warranty? Is it?

Going to GS430 is not so much "going back", they are mostly the same, GS430 probably nicer to drive, sounds nicer, gearbox is nicer etc. Ideally you should go to GS460, but those are rarer than unicorns. That said - if you already have GS450h then it makes absolutelly no sense to change, any added reliability that you would get would be consumed by the cost and headache of changing the car... another big issue GS430 is probably £715 for road tax now (£695 maybe)... so again anything that you can potentially save by having more reliable (or rather less risky) car will be consumed just in the road tax... and there are good chance your GS450h won't go wrong anyway. So no GS450h>GS430 makes no sense, even if it is not a step backwards.

[GSLV6]

With the road tax thing in mind, my choice would be the GS300 (V6).  One of the best cars I ever owned from a comfort and driving POV.  Whilst not as peppy as the 450h it's still quicker than an RX450h, economical on a longer run (we used to get mid 40's mpg on motorway trips from our) and every bit as luxurious.  I always considered is as an "LS-Fastback"!  Trouble of course is that now, finding a good example is getting tougher.  They exist but all will need some sort of work, so you may be better off sticking with what you have and investing in a hybrid health check from elsewhere or paying Lexus to do it.  It doesn't cost much or take long and there are independents that supply and fit new batteries.  Contrary to popular believe, it's actually quite a simple system (service wise) and batteries not horrendously expensive, but plan to spend around £1500-£2K from and independent.  Inverters can be serviced and are also pretty simple affairs with few parts in them which aren't short lived.  The most important thing for inverters for lifespan is keeping them well ventilated.

If a few £K seems steep, think of the life of newer LiIon Battery packs.  A typical 70KW pack like the RZ uses is currently around £5.5K-£6K to renew and has an estimated lifespan based on nr of typical recharge cycles of around 6 to 10 years!  The hybrid system is the less expensive service item providing motors and inverter are healthy.