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ha ha, hardly guessed it would shock folk. Yes initial import tax is €3500 for a 08 model and goes up near €500 every newer year. The import Tax is actually illegal, the govt get fined every year by the EU, but they dont mind paying fines as they make more from the tax. Hence decent cars here and now few and far between. Which can be seen by the figures 3-4 ISFs in the entire country. €2200 is the annual road tax. It is gona be sick paying it, but worth it. its horrible. Aygos, maybe if I bought 5 and put all the engines into one.

My hope is that low depreciation will even out the horrendous tax costs - bit of a stretch but anything to avoid an Aygo ! Stu - it is worse than you think. The €2,200 is an annual tax bill - the tax to register the car in the country on day one is at least double that. It takes real commitment to buy anything sporty over here..... Worth it though ! Gavan

Welcome along Ross. I bought mine a few months ago after research on here as well and it was really invaluable. I'm in Ireland as well so the tax was a consideration but I ended up buying an 09 as it was the best I could find. There have been a number of updates to the cars over the years so bear that in mind when looking. The tax is painful - but better to get the right car. good luck with the search. Gavan

I live in Holland and the spec is a bit different here........it is rare to see an L version. You might like to take a look at the American forum: www.clublexus.com on their 460 forum there is a lot of info about the differences in boot space etc. The other thing you get with a Lexus is the exclusivity factor. You won't see many on the Continent and, if you do, it will probably have UK plates. I've only seen one other LS in the last 2 years. BMWs and Mercs are SOOOOOOOO last year :)

I'm the new owner, and quite chuffed with it too! The thing goes like the clappers... haven't had a chance to get it dyno'd yet, as there are a few things that need putting right with it. Insurance on this was actually pretty reasonable, at £780, in London!

Have you moved either of the fronts seats recently? Airbag faults tend to emerge if a seat that has been in one position for some time is then readjusted,take a good look under the seats for poor connections on the plugs and sockets.Also as the steering column has received past attention there could be a problem with the connections at the rear of the drivers airbag. Just a word of warning if you do find something don't just push the connection back in, disconnect the battery wait at least 20 minutes then do the work, these things can go off without warning if not treated with respect. I think a non working AB warning light is an MOT fail not an advisory.

enjoy.. those LS430' looks far from an 'old man's' car once they get the VIP treatment seen a few of those and the KA9 Honda Legends VIP'd and they look awesome.. :winky:

Cheers Andy. :) Will need to leave it for a while. Got more DIY to finish off around the house, then off to France for Le Mans (not in the F sadly!), then heading to New Jersey to sort out a couple of insurance cases. I've also got the log burner being installed at the house over the next week or two, followed by the shutters for the two bay windows! :( Good news is we just had 5 huge trees cut down at the front of the house. :) Enough logs for 2 winters once they are seasoned, and no more branches, sap, bird dropping hazards if the car is on the driveway! ;)