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I bet many of you guys surfing Auto Trader may spot this car as familiar, and you would be right. It was on sale for a while a couple months ago at a Vauxhall dealer in Stoke. I viewed it closely but walked away as it wasn't right for me and wasn't the excellent condition I hoped it would be. It disappeared off sale but appears again now from a dealer in Newport Pagnell. (possibly looking more excellent than it was). So to be clear I'm not in the trade nor qualified to give advice but if anyone is interested to know what it did look like 2 months ago then PM me. (not sure of the protocol of going through the details publicly on here?) Before I found the right one I appreciated the same heads on the cars I went to see from anyone who knew anything so only fair I put what I found out there if anyone interested. No doubt it will be a great car for someone though.

Finally got the car back this afternoon after nine days and the problem was diagnosed as the prop shaft bearing. The car does now seem to be a lot better to drive and the noise does appear to have gone. Unfortunately I was unable to do more than 50mph during the journey home so am unable to confirm for myself that the vibration has gone, although Steve the technician who worked on the car is confident the problem is now sorted. The problem with the light steering was traced to it toeing out so a 4 wheel alignment has sorted this and as a result the steering now feels much more weightier. Will be going out for a long fast run tomorrow and hopefully, after more than three years, I've got my car back to how I remember it and will enjoy driving it again.

There is usually so little to read on this forum, it could reasonably be described as pretty boring. I can go on Jaguar and BMW forums etc and read about all sorts of problems with engines, gearboxes, suspension problems, starting problems, creaking, rattling trim, electrical issues, not to mention the countless diesel related problems. I recognise that there are far fewer LS cars on the road than BMWs and Jags but perhaps, sometimes, it's good to be boring? (I hope I'm not tempting fate, the only issues I currently have on my 400 are the windscreen washer light on, I can't be bothered to fix it, and a new cable needed for my heater temperature control, which may be a major job and not worth resolving. Perhaps the final test before buying a new car, is to gravitate towards those with the quietest forums?

Well eventually I'm an ISF owner and I'm sooooo pleased with it. Collected today from a member here so thanks David @Dave400SE for the opportunity. Great to meet you. I gather its belonged to at least 1 other member too so perhaps I'm just the current custodian of this fine machine. I took the long way home through the Peak District and haven't stopped grinning yet. I didn't stop to take any new photo's either, Doh, but here's a couple of Davids. Its in great condition but I cant resist spending a few ££ to make it the best it can be. Thanks to all you guys on here from which I have leaned so much on my search to find the right one. Love it. Love it. Love it.......or is it "her" ?

2001 GS430, Heater stopped working, exhaust fell off, various creaks from dashboard and roof lining. 2002 LS430, Transmission completely failed without warning resulted in car being scrapped, blown speakers, electric mirrors stopped working, heated and cooled seats not working, rear climate pipes rusted. 2006 GS450H, Hybrid battery failed, various creaks and rattles, brake callipers seized 2006 GS450H, Shock absorbers failed, radiator failed, TPMS issues, creaks from dashboard, xenon headlight issues, juddering brakes. These are the main issues I’ve had, there are various other minor issues and niggles I haven’t listed. The worst was the transmission on the LS430 and the hybrid battery on the GS450H, both of which failed without warning and left me completely stranded with repair bills costing £thousands. Many other problems are what you might call minor but from a prestige manufacturer that prides itself on build quality and reliability is unacceptable. May be I’ve been exceptionally unlucky but it certainly puts you off, especially when the repair bills for Lexus are so high. I’ve owned jags and mercs with no issues, I currently own a mk3 Mondeo 2.5 V6 Ghia X which I’m really happy with and has made me realise that in my experience Lexus are overrated. At least if something does go wrong with the mondeo I won’t have to remortgage the house to fix it.

That is nonsense from the dealer. The car is under warranty. If there is a fault they need to examine it and THEN let you know whether it's a warranty job or not.

I can't help thinking you need to be a tad firmer with the dealer. If my car was one year old I would insist on it being looked at, with a diagnostic or not, without any charge. At one year old I'm guessing 13K would be covered with mostly motorway, and not so many "local" journeys, so I'd be surprised if it was worn pads/discs.

Welcome Ken ! Hope your dream comes true very soon and good hunting 👍

one would want to change the original radiator to prevent the gearbox terminating the car's life is the main issue now with the Ls430 take care with the air suspension being absolutely fine and steering column motors not being kaput delamination of the double glazing and maybe a prior owner has had some rust door / boot lid sorted under warranty ( 12 years ) and I'm thinking there are a few others like headlamp adjustment rust issues etc too BUT others on here have a better handle on all this . I've never had a Ls430 you should try to find a good one and enjoy, capable of stellar miles too ...... just like your old Mk3 Await the further advices from good and Ls430 knowledgeable members on here ...................... Malc

welcome and glad to have you back 😊

Hi Ken, welcome back to the forum! I hope you won the lottery so you made a Bucket List and nothing really bad is happening in your life!

I have a bit of an issue giving someone I don't know details of how to get into my car and an address where the car is located overnight. :-) But that's just me.

Things to look for... Service History - Look for Plus 60 (60k/6 year service) to check if that has been completed (including Spark Plugs) as that is the biggest service it needs (about £900 from Lexus). Check invoices (if available) to see if water pump has been replaced as that is the only real weakness on the ISF that I am aware of. If you get a chance to drive it, try both normal and sport mode. Normal mode the throttle has a dead zone for just cruising whereas Sport mode is instant throttle response. Snow mode.... I believe it has the E-Diff rather than mechanical LSD (you can tell from steering wheel. If it has blue section at bottom it has mechanical LSD). Other thing that's fairly common is the aux belt slipping a bit under hard acceleration. Mine has done this since the day I bought it 3 years ago and doesn't bother me. Quite a lot of them do it if you look on youtube at ISF's being launched. Squeaky front seats are a quick tighten with a 10mm spanner. The safety recall will more than likely be the passenger airbag recall. Day job completed by Lexus so no cost to yourself. Don't be surprised if front tyres are worn on inside. Common with most of them although mine wear evenly for some reason since I have had alignment completed by Wheel Alignment Specialist in Southampton. From the pics it looks like it has Conti Sport 6's all round so a good sign that previous or current owner has put decent rubber on it. If brake discs/pads look like they need replacing then a relatively cheap consumable if you get some Brembo or Pagid discs/pads from Euro Car Parts in one of their numerous 50% off all brake sales. The MOT history is a bit random... the parking brake efficiency is a common one. Mine is being adjusted before it's MOT next week when it has a 10 year service as well. My main concern is the unreadable mileage and the 45k mile jump in MOT between 2010 and 2012. Also with it being a 2009 then why would it need an MOT in 2010 (assuming new cars are still exempt from MOT's for 3 years). That kind of mileage and the gap for 2 years... Could have been a track day car for a company maybe? Would it need an MOT if it lived at a race track? If the Service History lines up and you can get it for 10k then you have got yourself a potential bargain. Also... Just notice the tailpipes don't look standard. They look like these are fitted... https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/for-Lexus-Is250-Is350-GS-LS-Is-f-ISF-Style-Custom-Muffler-Tips-Twin-Dual-Oval/1342371713?iid=152232848229&chn=ps So possible that an aftermarket exhaust has been installed. The standard tailpipes are over £400 a side from Lexus so you can understand why replicas would be fitted instead if previous tailpipes were discarded. HTH

Hey all. Found this site that seems to have a load of relatively hard to find ISF and RCF upgrade stuff on it. Take a look, some pretty nice kit on there. @Peter P18 there’s some pretty decent looking mods on the more extreme end of the spectrum too! https://www.nengun.com/ Enjoy! P.S. to anybody who is reading this. Alittle off topic I know but I work for your bank and we’ve found a pigeon in your bank account. It’s quite embarrassing so please don’t tell anyone. If you can let me know your account number, sort code and security password we can let it out before it causes any problems with your Direct Debits and Standing Orders. Please post them below and I promise you’ll never hear from me again 🧐

Unfortunately I haven't won the lottery........