LS600h F Sport - Japan import?

oztomcat · August 14

Hello everyone.
I'm new here even though I'm driving my RX 450h for 4 years already and had other very short adventures with lexuses before.
I'm looking for answers about LS600h and my friend, who has RC model, advise me to ask here.
Let's start from the beginning. I have been thinking about this car (mk4 facelift 2013-2016) for the last two years and because I will be selling my RX in September it is time to really dig into it. I was reading about that model a lot, most of those informations I already confirmed here reading through the various posts but never had a chance to see it on my own eyes or touch it (I’m hoping that someone from here will let me to take a look on his car).
I specifically picked F Sport short wheelbase because I want to put roof box on it. As far as I aware, you cannot fit roof bars on long wheelbase models, of course I want hybrid and F Sport trim in my opinion looks better plus it always have 3 seats on the back. There are three other requirements I wish to have: M&L, Ultra-white body paint and ideally 2015-2016 year.
Gathering all of that I end up with veeery rare car in UK. According to few brochures I managed to find, F Sport trim was available only on LS460 and not on hybrid and, correct me if I am wrong, short wheelbase body wasn’t available on LS600h.
Finally, is there anyone who import Lexus from Japan before?
I am looking on two websites atm:
BE FORWARD: Japanese Used Cars for Sale
CAR FROM JAPAN: Import Directly From Japanese Car Dealers
I do apologise for such a long post but I wanted to explain as much as possible (probably didn’t 😛 )

Yingyz · August 14

I’ve heard torque GT is the go to for quite a few people, they do all Japanese cars not just Lexus and are quite well known for importing Honda’s and Nissan’s.

https://www.torque-gt.co.uk/

Malc1 · August 14

You’ll be buying a fantastic amazing car that will probably give you many years of superb motoring

Just make sure you do all the appropriate preventative maintenance and be prepared for biggish £££££ suspension rubber renewals ……. but they will last many years and smiles of miles more

Good luck 🤞

Malc

H3XME · August 14

4 hours ago, oztomcat said:

Finally, is there anyone who import Lexus from Japan before?

Yes, I recently took delivery of my Toyota Mark X G's. It's built on the Lexus IS platform, but it's ~5" longer.
I got it from a local guy who imports a lot of Toyotas/Lexuses.

I have considered Beforward and other sites where you can buy the car yourself etc, but I've never done it before, so I thought I'd refrain as it's a big chunk of money if something goes wrong.

The best thing you can do is to get in touch with Just Jap Imports, based in Nuneaton, or try other companies like JDM Garage or Torque GT.

They have a japanese agent who will check the car over before bidding on it through the auctions etc. Peace of mind and you don't have to worry about any potential headaches with transporting the car to the docks once you won the auction, then customs in the UK, registering it with the DVLA etc. It doesn't even cost that much more.

I just had a quick look on the auctions, and in the past 3 months there was only one 2014-2016 600h F-Sport with less than 80,000 miles. There is a few LS460 F-Sports though. Good condition, sub 80k miles, you're looking at around 2mil Yen / £10.5k. On the road price in the UK is ~£20k.

This is a 2016 600H with 55,000 miles on the clock. Sold for £10k.

You can definitely find something with a £20k budget, but it may take a little time as it's down to what comes through the auctions.

MaximusPrime · August 14

Funnily enough, a brand new listing for a 2013 600h F Sport in White has just appeared on AutoTrader!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408142872262

Have a look at this one, the only thing I am not sure about is if you can actually fit a roofbox on an LS, would be the first one I have seen for sure!

Other than that, the F Sport trim for this generation of LS is a bit of a poverty spec in the rear, I am pretty certain the back seats do not recline at all, the rear armrest is nothing but a slab of leather, no controls whatsoever. It still has the ML sound system, heated and cooled seats out front, as well as a heated steering wheel.

oztomcat · August 14

Thank you very much for all replies.

2 hours ago, Malc1 said:

Just make sure you do all the appropriate preventative maintenance and be prepared for biggish £££££ suspension rubber renewals ……

Could you explain this a bit more? Biggish = more or less 😉 ? Preventative maintenance - is there something specific I need to look at apart standards?

58 minutes ago, MaximusPrime said:

Funnily enough, a brand new listing for a 2013 600h F Sport in White has just appeared on AutoTrader!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408142872262

Have a look at this one, the only thing I am not sure about is if you can actually fit a roofbox on an LS, would be the first one I have seen for sure!

Other than that, the F Sport trim for this generation of LS is a bit of a poverty spec in the rear, I am pretty certain the back seats do not recline at all, the rear armrest is nothing but a slab of leather, no controls whatsoever. It still has the ML sound system, heated and cooled seats out front, as well as a heated steering wheel.

Wow! I've been watching autotrader for months! This is second F sport but this one has M&L!!! I can't belive it... 😅

Yes they are dedicated roof bars for LS460 which is short wheelbase and I did contact lexusparts direct about it and they confirmed it (but it was looooong time ago)
https://dd-tuning.com/lexus-ls460-originalnyij-bagazhnik-pz403-f0611-ga.html
Part no. PZ403-F0611-GA.

@H3XME It might end up I won't have to import it at all 😛

But I need to sell my RX first.... and I have service booked for 5th of september.....

Malc1 · August 14

Ok, I’ve only been reading the forum posts here about the Ls600s generally over recent times ……. I had thought to buy one but after donkeys years with a Ls400 decided to just stay-put !

Theres some, but very few Ls600 owners here and they will I’m sure be happy to tell you their personal experiences …… servicing, maintenance etc

One chap had his secondhand Ls600, from a Main Dealer for some years and regularly posted ……. he changed it recently but I can’t remember his name …… he was very informative and knowledgable with his Ls600

Steve2006 a Moderator here might recollect …….. maybe send him a message if you will 🤔

Hope you can elicit the wealth of useful info the guys on this Forum have

Searching here should help you in your decision making 🤞

Good luck

Malc

Malc1 · August 14

just found Jon Evans and Newbie777 with their Ls600s but there's another guy that I was referring to that I can't yet remember

Malc

H3XME · August 15

19 hours ago, oztomcat said:

Thank you very much for all replies.

Could you explain this a bit more? Biggish = more or less 😉 ? Preventative maintenance - is there something specific I need to look at apart standards?

Wow! I've been watching autotrader for months! This is second F sport but this one has M&L!!! I can't belive it... 😅

Yes they are dedicated roof bars for LS460 which is short wheelbase and I did contact lexusparts direct about it and they confirmed it (but it was looooong time ago)
https://dd-tuning.com/lexus-ls460-originalnyij-bagazhnik-pz403-f0611-ga.html
Part no. PZ403-F0611-GA.

@H3XME It might end up I won't have to import it at all 😛

But I need to sell my RX first.... and I have service booked for 5th of september.....

What a coincidence! I was bang on the money too! £20k listed. Looks really nice that. Mine's also white pearl.

oztomcat · August 15

I will be coming back from Germany on Monday to Stansted airport so I think I will look at it.

But I have second thoughts now about this specific car. So they change title from F Sport to Premier but on photos you can clearly see it is F Sport, interior looks pretty rough, leather seats are pretty tired even if you compare it to the other one black 64 plate from autotrader and no plates.... I know some dealers do not show them but this doesn't have them at all.

The color I'm looking for is not white pearl. It is white nova or ultra white. It was reserved for F sports only and I want to confirm that.

I will definitely keep you posted guys how my visit went, probably late Monday.

H3XME · August 15

1 hour ago, oztomcat said:

I will be coming back from Germany on Monday to Stansted airport so I think I will look at it.

But I have second thoughts now about this specific car. So they change title from F Sport to Premier but on photos you can clearly see it is F Sport, interior looks pretty rough, leather seats are pretty tired even if you compare it to the other one black 64 plate from autotrader and no plates.... I know some dealers do not show them but this doesn't have them at all.

The color I'm looking for is not white pearl. It is white nova or ultra white. It was reserved for F sports only and I want to confirm that.

I will definitely keep you posted guys how my visit went, probably late Monday.

To be honest with you, in my experience, these traders don't know the cars as well as we would, so the spec being advertised incorrectly is quite common sadly. It will definitely benefit from a good valeting/detailing to restore the interior. I wouldn't be too picky about the colour as there is almost no F-Sports of LS600h anyway. Not to mention, different countries have different paint options. What we have here may not be available on the Jap market and vice versa. Not all, but most for sure. Ultra white is a Pearl paint.. I'd go off the paint code rather than the name as that also varies. As for the plates, it says it's a fresh import, the MOT was done on the 8th which was last week, so it's not been registered yet. They have to do an MOT off a vin number prior to registering it as it has to be road worthy. Mine got registered 3 weeks after its MOT, so there's no concerns that way. It says 1 UK owner, which would be the importer as they have to register it in somebody's name, so in reality it would have 0 UK owners despite the logbook saying 1 (the 1 being the trader). As for peace of mind, I'd suggest doing a CarvX report using the chassis number. It will show you everything. It's essentially the Japanese equivalent of our HPI check. Auction sheet will be included in it and everything translated.

oztomcat · August 20

Hi everyone.

So I did look at this white LS in London yesterday and I have to say it is amazing. Inside needs detaling maybe even respray but it's not a tragedy. The guy is waiting for logbook and plates (4 weeks more or less that's what he said) and he will give me a call when arrive.
Middle screen is in japanese but he changed kilometers to miles. It is a problem but digging in the internet and here as well, I found that you can change most of it to english (if you look on the other LS 600h F sport in black on autotrader, its been done there). Satnav won't take any other maps then Japan and thats confirmed.
I checked the color code from the sticker and it is 083 which is ultra white.
Today I called Lexus in Poland where I found those roof bars to clarify compatibility and Yes they exist, Yes they will fit 2013 short wheelbase F Sport BUT it has to have "special holes" to mount them. They should be visible when you open a doors in the middle of the door width of top part on the car. I didn't know that yesterday so I didn't check that. I might ask for some pictures later. Another problem is that there are non in stock in Poland and they can't even order it......

It is now very very very difficult decision.
I'm not sure that car will have enough space in a boot for my familly.

Anyway, that car is worth recommending but maybe for a bit less then 20k. Interior needs some work.

Thank you all for your help and we'll see what happens 😉

Malc1 · August 20

Ah I remember now ……. why I bought my recent J reg Ls400 ….. I gave up on this …….

I thought and tried to buy a Ls600 import ….. the prices are amazingly keen and for brilliant low miles cars in amazing condition too

BUT I was unable to discover how such a car could be FULLY UK similar / the same as …….. there was never going to be the ability to get everything UK centric and dispose of all the Japanese genre and hieroglyphics in entirety …… I asked and researched all sorts everywhere …… there was zilch ability ……. so …… I gave up ……… and UK Ls600 cars just weren’t worth the money to me to spend …… I didn’t “ need “ a Ls600 …… but I did have that scratch to itch ……. and found, from a Member on this Forum, my now 2nd Ls400 👍

Good luck Blazej …… but expect to have some element of Jap language nuance hieroglyphics with your imported car …….. it will forever be not quite a UK car

Malc

scythe · August 21

Hiya,

In this country F sport was only ever used as far as I know for a 460 version. The 600 (which had the longer wheelbase) was called Premier. In 2015, for instance, there were two versions of the 460, the luxury and the F sport. Both versions of the 460 had been seriously nerfed by Lexus after 2009, and all the better kit was only available on the 600. There was boggo straightforward cruise on the 460 by this time - the adaptive cruise which was available between 2006- 2009 on the 460 was now only available on the 600. Significant bits of the safety system had also been despecified.

If you find a British 600 you'll get the full kit, and it will be called Premier. The F sport was never popular. Something like 9 or 10 went out to dealers as demonstrators in 2014. I watched them online; it took years before they disappeared from forecourts, and even now there are only 11 F sports in existence ( there were a maximum of 13 around at one time). Personally I thought it was offensive that Toyota/Lexus would offer this car which now had so little left to it. About 60 Luxuries were sold, but, again, same thing - a badly nerfed shell of a car.

I've attached the Lexus 600/460 brochure from March 2015 - I hope it's helpful!

: o )

ls600 and ls460.pdf

Malc1 · August 21

On 8/14/2024 at 6:54 PM, Malc1 said:

just found Jon Evans and Newbie777 with their Ls600s but there's another guy that I was referring to that I can't yet remember

Malc

oztomcat ............. just discovered the other guru with the Ls600 on here

jpjsavage ........ he's still here and an enormous font of sensible knowledge

Malc

oztomcat · August 21

@Malc1 Thank you for suggestion, much appreciate it.

@scythe I am fully aware of that F Sport was only available on petrol models LS460, that is why import is the only option for me. I don't want Premier trim because I need 3 seats on the back available for my kids so no need for that console on armrest and F Sport looks better for me 😉. One thing I'm not sure is "L" version. Was the hybrid version offered in short wheelbase and long wheelbase?

After I found out additional problems with roof racks, everything comes down to boot capacity. From that brochure what @scythe added, you can find 420l but I think it is for LS600hL version (look at the dimensions). When you check LS460, it is 560l.
I manage to find brochure from Australia for 2015 models and when you looke there, LS600h F Sport - 5090mm long (like UK LS460) and boot capacity is only 368l.... That might not been enough for my family....
Unless someone have an idea how to extend that in other ways then roof box 😛

Because at the moment I am loosing the fight with my wife about this car 😞 She is concern it's not big enough for a trip to Netherlands for a week.... and she is right....

Is there anyone with LS600h in south west I could visit and check that boot space? I think pre facelifts have same dimensions (please correct me if I'm wrong)

Lexus-LS-2015-AU.pdf

scythe · August 21

Wow! ... I've not seen that document before. A different approach to selling the LS in AU.

The boot space thing. There are two things that eat into the boot space. On the L sport, it will be the rear chair stuff, such as the cooling stuff. On the 600 there's even less space because they've got the hybrid Battery under the boot. I lived with an LS with a 385 capacity boot also with a growing family of 3. The space was a challenge. To be honest, the boot in my 430, which was about 550 litres was only just comfortable with 5 large suitcases in.

If the Australian L sport had been available here I'd have bought one. Lexus's gorgeous, naturally aspirated V8 engine is an absolute dream, plus the vehicle had all the kit (and a little more) than my 460.

Sorry not to be very encouraging in all this.

If you do get an LS, however, you may well find it very difficult to be happy in any other car afterwards, and you may, like me, be stuck with them for life.

: o )

Yingyz · August 21

@oztomcat Do you really need a face lifted LS600h?

I have a 12 plate and you can find non imported ones around £10-12k for a decent example.

oztomcat · August 21

@Yingyz F Sports are available only on face lifted models and I prefer newer interior. To be honest now the biggest problem is luggage capacity and its exactly the same from 2007 to 2016.
I did look what is advertised atm on autotrader and there are only few UKs and only one with M&L but it has that panel on armrest which I don't want (kids will play with it definitely!!!)
As I said on first post, I have specific requirements.... I would really love to buy that white one if it comes with bigger boot........

Yingyz · August 21

The white one you saw on AT is the LS600h right? They have a tiny boot so you’ll be need to be looking at LS460’s.

Rather than waiting for one to appear on the UK market it’d be far quicker to tell the specs you want to an importer and get them to find one for you to buy. Your requirements are too specific to find in the UK without waiting months/years.

I think Mat Watson recently did a video where he went to Japan to buy a car and gave the name of the company he used.

oztomcat · August 21

I'm still searching some kind of solution for roof bars. If that will be dead end, then I will have to give up on LS........ that is not a car for 5 members family...........

oztomcat · August 22

Hello guys,

I found here this topic:

I wrote post there asking for more info 😁

Fingers crossed guys!!! There is a light in the tunnel!!! 😁

oztomcat · October 2

Hello everyone!

The time has come to announce that I have successfully purchased LS 600h F Sport in Ultra White!!!

It is quite different comapre to RX so we are getting to know each other 😉

Car needs a bit of love and proper clean inside, because dealer used about 50 litres of PLAK (that dashboard "cleaner") inside it......

Now just need to do service - lexuspartsdirect.co.uk do not have service kit to 600h.... any suggestions?

I want to do engine oil and filters, maybe spark plugs or will wait with that a bit.

Overall I am extremely HAPPY 😄 😄

I want to do quick guide about changing japan language to english. Not everything can be changed but most things you use on normal day can 😉

I will keep you all posted definitely 😉

All the best!

Chris Skelton · October 2

Having just looked up insurance for an 09 LS600h (import) I salute you on your bravery - or deep pockets?

Enjoy the luxury.

MaximusPrime · October 2

Beautiful car, Blazej, that ultra white color really sets it apart and it looks so classy, great choice! Looking forward to future updates as you get more familiar with the car! 🙂