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Hi to all. Just received my 59 plate ISF delivered to my front door here in Lincoln, from LEXUS Cheltenham, With only 21k on the clock she's like new. Part -ex for my 58 plate IS250, which we also purchased for Lexus Cheltenham. Just sitting in the ISF I can feel the differance even with the 416 horses under the bonnet turned off. Looking forward to taking her out on the road later today.

I wouldn't of thought any mods would increase the asking price. If anything less, as most people want standard and even if they are into modding they would want to do themselves from standard.

I am hoping that as a Lexus owner which shows you have good taste you will only be using the Fog Lights when its Foggy and not join the rest of the brainless tasteless and dangerous idiots that drive around with them on all day long even when the sun is shining and on clear nights when they are even more dangerous. Mike.

Shame these days most seem to just want to follow(fit in with the crowd,be part of the in thing),the drl's on some cars give cause for concern as in the evenings when it gets dark drivers think they have their proper lights on and they don't and unfortunately have no rear lights on(they should be made to work with the rears too as in the old volvos,much safer.Don't get it with the black wheels either,all of a sudden its black wheels or nothing even though in some cases they look awful,everyone to their own I suppose lol

As other have said its pretty much impossible for the driver to abuse the hybrid system. It does what it wants, and of sitting there with one foot on the acclerator glued to the floor and one foot on the brake (old fashioned auto-brake boosting), I'm not sure how you can damage the abttery. Even than, I'm sure the battery discharge/re-charge system will have built in safe guards. Parking sensors are a must, and over all build quality/realiabitiy is fab - If I was a betting man, I would say ours will get to 100K without needing anything beyond just normal servicing. When we were looking 8 months ago, used prices (especially higher spec cars) were quite firm, that combined with good offers on websites like drivethedeal (not doing any Lexus offers any more :() meant buying brand new was only a bit more expensive than buying used. But I imagine there now must be a decent selection of second hand stock around, I'm sure your have fun looking, Sonic Titanium is really nice colour BTW :)

I have no doubt that you are correct in that theory ,the LS400 wiring and electrical system is probably as good as you will find in a production saloon car. The Mark I I had for 16 years and was 23 years old when I sold it never had a bulb replaced or blew a fuse in all that time and it covered nearly 200k before it was scrapped at 24 years old.This is why I do not like adding any type of electrical accessories, they will unbalance the system if not fitted properly to the car and most of the shops that fit them do not analyze the system and its affects before connecting the item up.

It will not be complete until one of Britain's finest appears from out of the sunroof:

Welcome to the club Darren! I'd follow the suggestions made here. It sounds like you care and look after your car, so I wouldn't start out with one that has probably been used and abused. Lexus dealers tend to look after their customers (one or two exceptions, that's life) so any niggles or things you are not sure about/comfortable with you I'm sure they'd be helpful. I'd also go for the highest spec, particularly if you intend to keep the car for a good while. Let us know what happens and pics are mandatory!

Hi, I've gone through the same logic as you recently...Fancied a IS300H but couldn't afford the £30K asking price so started shopping around. My local Lexus dealer (Bristol) has a few in stock , but they were £24k+, I saw those SE models on Motorpoint and was very tempted to go and have a look. However I found Lexus Carlisle had an IS300h SE+Premium NAV + Sensors cheaper than Motorpoint...A few phone calls later and a very long drive and it's now mine. I'd recommend them giving them a call, it was worth it ($$$) , Ask for Derek Fulton. Sensors = a must , visibility isn't great and neither is my judgement. They integrate quite nicely into the display, so I'd recommend looking for a car with factory fitted ones and not be tempted to fit aftermarket ones. Premium NAV = Average, But I'd be quite annoyed if I'd paid £2k for it. Car = Fantastic! Hope that helps Craig

The engine was modified in 2009 in an attempt to resolve the issue, it may have reduced the number of failures but people with 2009 and 2010 models have had head gasket failures. Obviously not all fail and there are preventative things you can do to reduce the risk. The new vehicle may even have already had a new engine fitted under warranty, worth checking with Lexus.

No, you cannot abuse the system. It has many sensors and will automatically come out of EV mode if the battery levels become low, the temperatures are too high etc. etc.

The ones you mention are bought at auction, they've been used and abused and condition wise, they'll be pretty bad with poor repair jobs Lexus dealers tend to snap up the good models at auction or otherwise. There is one at Lexus Reading in your budget with 37k miles but it'll be in better condition. I'd be snapping that up if I were you, get them to put parking sensors in the deal and start at £17k. That way it may even be under budget if you haggle hard enough

The IS has a tappet noise but apparently this is just noisy injectors which they all have - not that noisy to be concerned about but audible

Ha ha! That's great, it makes my blood boil when I hear about companies trying to stitch people up. You have to be forthright with them and tell them what you want. They are very unscrupulous, they will happily let you toddle off in a car that they know is going to cost you a fortune to put right. Glad you aren't letting them walk over you.

Never hear the tapity noise but the power surge at 4000 is normal, just the vvti kicking in

I had a great time yesterday and the ISF was wonderful fun. I wasn't exactly ragging it as I was uninsured (the lotus has a specialist policy which provides track cover). I ran the tyres at 40psi, somewhere between normal road and high speed road. My front brakes are a little worn so I didnt overdo the late braking either and besides I needed the car to survive given the lotus is off the road for a bit. If you get the chance you should do this with your car; really throwing it about and enjoying what it was designed to do. It feels SO much faster in real life than the video shows... https://youtu.be/Gb-75kRkKTw