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Delighted to say she doesn't have to go on SORN, like apparantly so many are according to DVLA. So, new Borbet wheels and tyres on, next week me thinks. and now to tackle all those other issues. I've never had a car take up so much of my time. Scotty Kilmer say don't buy a Mercedes and I tend to agree if its after 1998 but I have not had anywhere near the amount of heartache as with this Car. Fact is, once bought they just feel rather special and so the romance goes on irrespective of cost. Just don't please hit me with a Starter Motor fail or it may tip me over the edge of sanity.

I bought mine from Lexus Manchester. They were a bit disorganised (assumed I didn't want to collect the car when I went in to pay for it) but otherwise ok. They "fixed" a loose headlight with glue (not ok), but they neglected to mention the centre exhaust pipe had a big hole in it, covered with bandage. So a few months later when I realised, I returned the car. They investigated, found the hole and tried to get it through the Lexus manufacturer warranty. Obviously the warranty people told them to bugger off, so then they said I'd have to pay for a new exhaust. I told them to bugger off, they said their manager would be in touch. I gave them an hour or two, they didn't get back to me, so I went onto Facebook and Twitter and sent Lexus UK pictures of the exhaust, together with "Lexus Manchester won't pay for this". Lexus UK couldn't have been more apologetic. I think they must have expressed their concern to Lexus Manchester's manager, because the latter immediately contacted me to say "of course we'll replace it". When I collected the car, the manager told me he wished I'd contacted him first before going to Lexus UK, he said they'd gone through the warranty first "to keep the cost out of the dealership". I thought that was a particularly deceitful way of doing business - it's their purchase, they either didn't check the exhaust or simply sold it to me and hoped I'd never notice. I'm never going back. For your service needs, I suggest you go to Charlesworth Motors near Glossop. They're only a small garage but their rates are very reasonable and I'm entirely satisfied with the service I've received. For what it's worth, I have bought cars from Volvo, Audi and Lexus dealerships. I have had poor experiences with all of them. I have a very, very low opinion of main dealers - the only reason I bought the 400h from one was because I was concerned about the hybrid system's complexity and the potential pitfalls (which I've since learnt don't exist) buying privately.

One of the reasons I chose the IS300h is the interior design. Compared to the opposition I am happy I made the right choice. The XE is dissapointing for a new design and the C class has the ICE screen sort of tacked on. The Audi is ok but a bit dull. BMW ok ish but dated. Volvo not for me just looks cheap. I quite like the Infiniti Q50. I still think the Lexus shines above the others for overall design. Lexus IS Audi A4 3 Series C Class Jag XE Volvo V60 Infiniti Q50

No I have just got the car a fortnight ago. It was owned by a man in his 80's from new (he paid £48,000 for it in 1998) Came with his personalised plate. He has given up driving and it was his weekend car. I do not think anyone has been in the back! It came with sheepskin mats. Very pleased with it so far - everything seems to work.

Looking for a Lexus garage for 100k service, Lexus Cambridge quoted £850, crazy money, 10% value of the car for just a service! sheesh

Although I have really enjoyed 2 and a bit years with my 2013 C Class, the new one was just not on my list - short or long - because of that awful screen, looks like an iPad blu-tacked onto the dashboard. Malcolm

Welcome Steve :) I'm sure you'll feel right at home . A good bunch of people on here.

I bought the one on Ebay for about £21 - it's utter rubbish though. Cheap material and will need quite a bit of modifying to securely fit the tablet. I've spoken to a guy from the US who had bought a double din fascia over there and the quality seems to be the exact same.

Hi Steve and welcome to the LOC, we are a friendly bunch and some of us even know how to pull them to bits and put them back together again, with of course the one bolt and washer left over. Regards Mike.

Of all the Ls400s I have owned (quite a few) I have never encountered a leaking a/c system. There are a few guys on ebay breaking one so it might be an idea to message a few for the part you need.

I agree that a premium car like a Lexus is very good value for money when they are older. The repair bills can be worrying if you are trying to run the car as cheaply as possible. If you own a £20,000 + car and get a bill for say £1,000 - you would be prepared to pay it. Get that same bill on an LS 400, where the value of the car can match the cost - then psychologically you consider it not worth it. From reading other owners comments, once certain issues are sorted the car will go on for a long time. The hard decision is when to say - enough is enough - am I throwing good money after bad? At the moment I have a BIG smile on my face when I take out the 400. For what it cost, it is a tremendous car. And when you consider its age, I doubt many similar aged cars could match it for comfort and refinement.

"Are the ECU capacitors replaced? Bad / leaking caps can cause gearbox issues as well" Its on the listhaving just purchased a desoldering iron - now added pollen filter change to the list. Keeping me busy this car!

Hi time boy, It may not be dead! If the compressor runs for more than 90secs cause one or more of you airbags are "leaky" or a height control sensor is bad, the computer will disable the system for 10mins of driving once the car is fully warmed up (fault code C1752 is logged). It will then let the compressor come back on again, but will disable it after another 90secs of continuous operation but this time for 70mins of driving - the problem is that this is a cumulative 70mins and the car has to be driven or complete a warm up (the countdown then begins) and then cool down (the countdown stops). Several short trips will take a while before the system resets. During all the above it appears that your compressor may be dead but it is just the computer protecting it! Unlike most usual faults that clear after 3 starts, warm up and stops (ignition cycles) this one has the timer to factor in as well. I have a similar situation with mine at the moment and I also thought it was compressor related, testing fuses and relays etc. I've not taken my compressor apart but believe it is in the boot space or around that area. If you want to test if it is the above, you could try resetting the ECU by disconnecting the battery for half an hour or if you take it to Toyota/Lexus (or independent) get them to read and give you the fault codes and reset/clear them. It takes about 10minutes and they plug a device or laptop into the connector under the dash near the bonnet release. Hope this helps!

Tried that 'dance' last night with my lights. Amazing to watch.

Good idea to change the ATF every 30,000 miles or so, or at least replace a few litres with the correct fluid around that mileage. My gearbox is as smooth as silk, hot or cold, after 140,000 miles.

I ordered an IS300h before they were even out and never regretted it! You get used to the driving style. Personally, the biggest change for me (coming from a Volvo diesel) was what happens when you press the brake pedal. The car doesn't actually brake until below 5mph, but rather decelerates by reversing the flow. It's slightly odd at first but you begin, quite naturally, to slow down well in advance of stopping (which maximises the benefits of the hybrid). Oh, and watch out for people in car parks and residential neighbourhoods who don't hear you wafting by :) Enjoy!

this has gone right over my head,i may have to take a tablet

Good luck with the new car. I suspect you made the right call.

It's all about how you stack the numbers up & what gives you peace of mind, for me it's about the overall cost ... .£10k car & £1k pa warranty for 5 years = buy a £15k car instead... the recent offer Lexus has (24mth for the price of 12mth) isn't too bad, but their Usual price is way too high ... a lot of Lexus parts are 3rd party & the same quality (can I use that word to describe an Rx rear caliper ?... lol) is supplied & fitted by main dealers to other cars for considerably less and they are still making good money ... adding up eyewatering repair costs to justify them having your pants down with an overpriced warranty isn't an option for me

I have the latest GS (UK) and I'm dismayed, given the size of the screen that you cannot see the radio details when in DAB mode. Sure, you see the radio name and channel number but no details of whose show it is, the DJ's name and the track they're playing. I've looked at all the settings. Is this correct in that there is no radio information? My wife's Juke shows everything about the radio programme as did her previous car; a Fiesta! Cheers Peter

......... hahahaha ................. was thinking how to install my HMV wind up record player in place of the tape deck .................. ( sorry, makes as much sense to me ) Malc

i just bought SE-L (350) my wife loves the air suspension as it lowers when you stop making access back in the car easier for her(disabled)if you are buying a lexus,like any other premium car the bills probably are going to be bigger than your average focus,but balance that against the pure value second hand of large premium cars and it all adds up to very reasonable overall running costs :)

Greetings, I currently own a 911 (997 c4s), but the arrival of my second son has meant I need to change car. If I can't have the ultimate sports car, I intend to have the ultimate comfort/luxury car- so an LS it is! I know there are lots of 400 vs 430 vs 460 vs 600 threads, and I shall continue to read through them. I will post separately in the wanted section, but if any members are considering selling their LS, feel free to let me know. I am looking at everything that appears on the usual places, but it gets hard to keep track! Clearly TBC!

Yes, 10 years or 100k so yours is overdue. Had mine done on 10 years even though mileage now is only 71k.

If norwich not too far then I can highly recommend Roys motor company, lexus and toyota Independant dealer, have used them for over 25 years absolutely brilliant, why not spend day in norwich when you have it done. Give ian a call. 01603 424877

Thanks for that Steve. Phoned a few garages who were happy to diagnose only engine ECU codes and nothing else. Found a great independent Lexus/Toyota garage, diagnosed and fixed! Cleared all other codes, main 2 were exhaust solenoid and I can't exactly remember the second... basically the compressor had power running to it constantly, found a wire that had corroded due to prior water ingress and apparently shoddy repair, re-wired, tested, all done and ok. Garage: UKTEKNICS in Maidenhead.