Potential New Owner: Things To Look For

[MNMJ]

How did the test drive go at the weekend Dave?

[lotusdave]

Assuming it passes a full RAC inspection (£275 for a member) on Tuesday I shall shortly be the owner of a v8 400BHP saloon car.

I may well get it wrapped at some stage as my lotus is also black and it's a bugger to keep clean.

I'm happy with the deal I've done as it reflects the fact the car has been looked after and the new brakes and tyres, but is also a private sale and as such I dont have any comeback. I may get a warranty, I'll see how I feel as I get closer to actually paying for it, but as the main fault seems to be the MM and generally it seems they aren't covered by the lexus warranty let alone a private one, I may self insure. I'm way under budget on what I expected to pay as I was initially looking at a much younger car.

Exciting times!

Follow me on @lotusdave for updates and I'll post some pictures in due course, assuming it all goes ahead.

[stevet]

Assuming it passes a full RAC inspection (£275 for a member) on Tuesday I shall shortly be the owner of a v8 400BHP saloon car.

I may well get it wrapped at some stage as my lotus is also black and it's a bugger to keep clean.

I'm happy with the deal I've done as it reflects the fact the car has been looked after and the new brakes and tyres, but is also a private sale and as such I dont have any comeback. I may get a warranty, I'll see how I feel as I get closer to actually paying for it, but as the main fault seems to be the MM and generally it seems they aren't covered by the lexus warranty let alone a private one, I may self insure. I'm way under budget on what I expected to pay as I was initially looking at a much younger car.

Exciting times!

Follow me on @lotusdave for updates and I'll post some pictures in due course, assuming it all goes ahead.

Well done. If its a 2011 you will have a years manufacturers warranty left.

& followed.

[MNMJ]

I'm guessing its the 08 private sale?

If its GY08 OPA (Red) it will have been a well thrashed press car; EVO had it and maybe others. GY08 HUH (Grey) was the EVO magazine long termer and experienced their usual abuse. GU08 VSN (Grey or Black) was driven by Clarkson on Top Gear.

The common factor seems to be the G prefix. GP to GY are from the Brighton DVLA office and may signify they were part of the press fleet. I would avoid those.

[MNMJ]

_MrW,

_{I'd very much like to hear what alternatives you are considering and how you get on with any test drives. I'm already thinking ahead for my next car and want to make sure I don't miss out on anything out there that may be as exciting. I'm guessing you will soon have some insurance money burning a hole in your pocket?}

[lotusdave]

its not a press car thankfully and i did check the evo reg too. Bd08 reg from memory.

[MrW]

_MrW,

_{I'd very much like to hear what alternatives you are considering and how you get on with any test drives. I'm already thinking ahead for my next car and want to make sure I don't miss out on anything out there that may be as exciting. I'm guessing you will soon have some insurance money burning a hole in your pocket?}

MNMJ, will do, its all on hold at the moment as I'm waiting for the insurance money payout. Running around in my wife's 630i auto at the moment, which has a great blend of performance and comfort I have to say.

I still wouldn't mind an M3 always wanted one, but may opt for a saloon as they are a little more practical and rarer which is good. But there is still the 997 itch to scratch too.

Although the ISF wasn't a bank breaker to run like many of these super saloons, its still a large commitment, so I did have thoughts of returning to a Hot Hatch, which may well give you 95% of the performace buzz you get. What I'm sure of though it would never make you feel special like driving the rare and wonderful IS-F. In fact I can't imagine many other cars giving you that feeling, its such a special car..

[lotusdave]

i am a little biased, but go drive an evora. The ride and steering are fabulous. Boot and rest seat not so great. i very nearly got one to compliment my Elise but wanted an automatic for my m25 traffic jam journeys, and ips (ie automatic) evora's are even rarer than ifs'! 30k will get you a dealer used non supercharged. try one, trust me you'll love the ride and steering.

[lotusdave]

Now back on topic please: rac inspection tomorrow but in meantime if i update the dvd sat nav via Lexus, ie a new disc, will i get postcode search? Does the radar cruise work ok, or waste of time? Does an isf have a speed limiter, ie set 80mph and itll stop at 80? Most Mercedes do that, very handy for keeping the licence on long motorways or average cameras. Once more soz for format, blame Microsoft and Nokia.

does

[stevet]

i am a little biased, but go drive an evora. The ride and steering are fabulous. Boot and rest seat not so great. i very nearly got one to compliment my Elise but wanted an automatic for my m25 traffic jam journeys, and ips (ie automatic) evora's are even rarer than ifs'! 30k will get you a dealer used non supercharged. try one, trust me you'll love the ride and steering.

According to howmanyleft there are 425 Evora's registered and only 210 ISF's so that makes the ISF twice as rare as the Evora!

Would love one as a second car though.

[stevet]

Now back on topic please: rac inspection tomorrow but in meantime if i update the dvd sat nav via Lexus, ie a new disc, will i get postcode search? Does the radar cruise work ok, or waste of time? Does an isf have a speed limiter, ie set 80mph and itll stop at 80? Most Mercedes do that, very handy for keeping the licence on long motorways or average cameras. Once more soz for format, blame Microsoft and Nokia.

does

Not sure about the postcode, but I don't have a problem with mine. Radar cruise is great I use mine all the time. No speed limiter but it does have an audible warning at a set speed.

[MrW]

Radar cruise is very good, until you get in a car without it........it can be a little hairy the first time! lol The only issue I have with it is you need to overtake with plenty of space behind lorries etc, otherwise it brakes very heavily. Secondly it cuts out in what is fairly moderate spray sometimes whilst at other times seems unaffected which seems strange. But overall I used it over the standard cruise 99% of the time.

[lotusdave]

Bad news, darn it. Front end accident damage leading to a 'blend' respray covering a lot of body panels. Repaired to 'a high quality' but that's not the point. I don't need to buy a crash repaired high performance car so I wont.

Also uneven tyre wear (on what I was told are new tyres) could be the geo is out.

I shall move on and carry on looking. Even more annoyed I didn't see the one in Bristol now!

[MNMJ]

That's a real shame lotusdave. Still its so much better to walk away than take on something you are unsure of.

To answer another question; I found the radar cruise control to be disconcerting. It seems to change speed far less smoothly than I can and I found myself concentrating even harder to try and anticipate or offset its reactions. So it actually made it more tiring to drive.

Also, my 2009 model (10 plate) has a postcode nav system that only accepts the first digit of the second block. It then asks for street name. If I'm going somewhere new, I'll look up the address online using streetmap, remember the road layout, and set my destination in the car with the map function. Hardly the best option, but it works. I asked about a free update at a service a while back, but I reacll they wanted me to pay a lot for it.

[MNMJ]

MrW,

It sounds like you have a similar eclectic approach to your next wagon. I too have in mind anything from hot hatches to an F-Type. I'm due to start my search in earnest soon and plan a happy year of research and shopping.

If its not too rude, I'd be interested hear the comparison of insurance write off payment vs trade in value. I had an Impreza WRX PPP written off by an old lady in a Fiat Uno in 2005 and got about £2500 more than I would have managed in a trade in. Not that I'm looking to do anything dodgy, I'm just curious.

And I hope one write off doesn't bump up premiums. With such a scarce car, I do wonder if a single incident might skew the mathematical model they use.

[MrW]

sorry to hear that Dave, but a least you spotted it now. Best wait till a better one comes along.....and it will. Are you sure it had actually had an accident? Mine showed signs of respray to front bumper and bonnet, but was simply Lexus's poor resistance to stone chipping so had been tided up, when I investigated.

MNMJ- yes the settlement figure was pretty good given the age and miles for mine and probably reflected a independant dealer price for an 08 with high miles. Probably 1500-2000 higher than a quick private sale, maybe even more against a trade in. However it still won't allow me to replace it like for like as there aren't any similar cars for sale at the moment, but thats hardly the fault of the insurer.

[lotusdave]

rac man was pretty certain it had been and I'm not taking the chance as i don't NEED to buy another car, just quite fancy doing it. Ill call owner later (he me have read this of course) and see what he knows. My local main dealer knows what i am looking for and as they say, patience is a virtue. There's a white one in a private dealer near Goodwood i may see over the weekend. i know a few things to look for now too.

[lotusdave]

radar cruise (sounds like a band!). Early ones, Lexus or not, have reputation for being binary. Latest ones take into account people slotting into the gap in front and don't jam on the anchors etc. 5years is a long time for technology to improve.

[lotusdave]

quick update. The search continues as the one i saw yesterday was, imo, over priced for age and condition. had Lexus warranty though which was a positive but the bonnet was in a bit of a mess with dozens of stone chips. I was a bit suspicious that the alloys were perfect which was too good to be true after 43000miles. After advice from stevet via twitter maybe that's not so unusual as refurbs are common due to brake dust sticking to the alloy. I'm in no rush. And had a ball on the drive down to the south coast in the Elise!

[stevet]

There is an ISF on auto trader for £7700!

[lotusdave]

can you imagine the state of it? Lexus Twickenham have a 08 for 27k or something, which seems very high. They have a 10 too, goes to show there is turnover in stock if not much quantity. One with accident damage i walked away from price dropped over weekend too. Its quite fun watching them come and go!

[Selmer mk6]

I looked at one about three weeks ago at Lexus Twickenham, a Grey 11 plate for £35k. Not in my price range, but I wanted to refresh my memory of what one looked like before I headed up to Leicester for my test drive.

The prices seem to vary quite a bit. My 59 plate with just under 30,000 miles was less than the 08 for £27k.

[MrW]

There is an ISF on auto trader for £7700!

Is it mine?

[stevet]

There is an ISF on auto trader for £7700!

Is it mine?

Could of been, but its gone now.

[MrW]

It was easy to spot.....it had a tree shape dent in the rear quarter. :winky: