BarneyTT

Sounds like a good car considering it's age, interesting to read how it holds up well to an IS. This is a car I've considered should the need ever arise to downsize, hence my interest. Will follow your updates on the car with interest. Cheers John.

Love the colour, and the car itself looks and sounds interesting. Would be interested to hear what the overall driving experience is like. Enjoy anyway

Chris: Not sure of quantity in cooling system but you should be able to search the answer for that. Top up with Toyota Long Life to the correct level and keep an eye on it. I hope you can get to the bottom of the weird shaking symptoms when cold, I would get that looked at when it's being serviced if the air flow meter cleaning has no positive effect, a plug change would be worthwhile regardless. Keep us posted.

Chris: At least you have a detailed print out from Lexus which gives you a better understanding of the service work carried out. I kind of guessed that would be the reason the cambelt wasn't changed. Hopefully, once your mechanic is back, you can get the work carried out and get on enjoying the car. Glad your pleased with it

Chris: If your car has a full history it's reasonable to assume it's been looked after. Regarding the cambelt, I suspect the previous owners didn't have it done as it was within the 100k/10 year period and if he/she was planning on changing the car probably didn't want to spend the money. Lexus would only advise the previous owner what is required, and it's worth remembering not all dealerships note a cambelt change in the service history, but as you found out, they usually log work carried out onto their system which can be viewed by other dealerships, although strangely, not all.

Chris: I don't how much the tensioners or their fitting are but that seems far too expensive to me, it would be worth calling Lexus Bristol to see what they would charge as a comparison if nothing else. Reading the posts on here, customer service seems to vary wildly between Lexus dealerships, it might be worth doing a search for Woodford on the forum if you haven't used them before, just to get a better picture and understanding of them before deciding. If you have a trusted mechanic there is no reason why he can't do the work for you if you supply the parts, and he can check the car over at the same time. Out of interest, does your car have a service history? I wish you all the best and will be interested to hear how you get on.

Chris: Is that £360 + £290, if it is that seems very expensive? I guess it depends on how concerned you are as it's a big expense to go down the route of new water pump, radiator etc. even if you do get an independent mechanic to fit the parts, especially if the car is running without issues. Personally I would get Lexus to do the cam belt/tensioners (providing it's £360 all in) and ask them to check, the best they can, everything your concerned about. It's a difficult choice, I have chosen to trust Lexus Bristol in their judgement, but as I've said, I do have a good relationship with them, if you have not used Woodford before I could understand you may be a bit uncertain.

As Steve said, they do fit. I had them on my LS400

Chris: Tensioners and water pump checked but not required, so no, just the cambelt change. I could have gone down the route of changing them both at the time but have a good, trust-worthy relationship with Lexus Bristol and decided to trust their advice. I had the cambelt changed as soon as I bought the car and mine was on 69k (10 years like yours) so at 97k I would definitely get it done.

Sorry to hear you had your time wasted, it looks great in the pictures and the description leads you to believe it is good. It really annoys me these dealers don't mind wasting people's time and money. Reading all the faults and looking at the pictures they have been bloody crafty as to how the pictures have been taken I'm sure there is a good one out there for you, try and keep your chin up.

Congratulations Dav, I was looking at your car a few weeks back when I was having my GS serviced at Lexus Bristol, very nice indeed. I'll wave at you........ so if you see a dark purple GS in the Bristol/surrounding you know who it is Wishing you many happy miles in your new Lexus.

Disappointing outcome but I'm not entirely surprised, what they were saying didn't inspire confidence. I have accepted that unless I can find a solid, corrosion free bonnet, I will have to live with what I have. Looks like we will be searching for the same rare part, although I was thinking a MK3 GS300 bonnet would be the same wouldn't it? Best of luck with your bonnet search and thanks for keeping progress updated.

Hopefully they come back with some good news, all the best.

A disappointing response to say the least, if your bonnet looks anything like mine, and I suspect it does, it's obvious the bubbles are from under the paint and nothing to do with stone chips. I wish you all the best in whatever route you choose to progress this forward and await further news of which I hope is positive.

Thanks for your reply. Not a great response but at least you persevered and at least got them to test it, a reply in a couple of months isn't exactly promising Fingers crossed for a positive outcome, keep us posted on any further news.

Did you get an outcome to the bonnet issue inspection Mark?

I would be interested in knowing the reasons behind this issue so will look forward to hearing how you get on. Hope all goes well and the result is a positive one for you.

I emailed Lexus head office the other day about mine, but as yet no reply. Let me know how you get on with yours, I wish you all the best.

Interesting observations on the Jaguar, my friend has the 2.7d and whilst it's a lovely car I'm not convinced the 20" wheels give it the smoothest ride. The interior is fantastic with all the air vents opening to welcome you, haven't heard his stereo so can't compare the two. It's proved to be a reliable car with only a rear screen leak, other than that he loves it, I don't think he has any rust issues either. I hope you find the right GS, never been in a GS450h but I'm sure they are wonderful.

Sounds good, I'm toying with the idea of getting my bonnet done once I'm happy with everything else so will be interested in the outcome of your paintwork.

Congratulations on your purchase Mark, looks nice. I looked at a silver one but it had too many issues so walked away (after a 400 mile round trip!) Did it come with any service history & what are your plans regarding the bonnet issues, if any any? Hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine, will look forward to any updates on your car. Daniel: I would be interested to hear your thoughts of the Jag XF against the GS.

Looks lovely and by the sound of it the perfect sort of owner to buy from. Enjoy.

You sound just like me when I was looking, strangely I had started to loose hope when out of the blue the one I now own popped up on AT. I'm sure your patience will be rewarded. I will ask Lexus Bristol about the bonnet when it goes in for a service next month although I think I know what they will say! Another thing worth checking Mark, is the condition of the tyre pressure sensors, if they look corroded you may be looking at replacements when they are removed as they may break. Think they are around £60 each from Lexus. As soon as I got my car I started spraying GT85 on them, as it turned out when I had the alloys refurbed only one broke thankfully, it's something I do now by way of regular maintainence. Continued good luck with your search, it's worth it as they are lovely cars.

Hi Mark. I have recently been through what you are going through in terms of looking for a GS430, there are not exactly a lot about and I had to travel about a fair bit. My advice is to keep on top of places like Autotrader every day as good ones can get snapped up quickly, mine was only listed for an hour or so before I spotted it and arranged to view it the next day. One thing I would advise you check on any potential car is the inner sides of both exhaust back boxes (get right up underneath if you can) as the cars I looked at seemed to have common rot there. A replacement box is over £400 per side from Lexus. The cambelt on the GS430 I bought was due next year but for peace of mind, Lexus Bristol did mine recently for £295 which is a damn good price as it took them 4 hours plus. Not sure if it's common but my GS has some minor bubbling on the leading edge of the bonnet, the other car I looked at didn't. I wish you all the best in your search, hope you find the right car soon.

Pretty certain there was never a four wheel drive Sportcross. Compared to the GS the Sportcross will be a more sportier ride, firmer suspension but not too firm. Seats will be a little narrower, but still very comfortable, fantastic load lugging space should you need it with the rear seats down. Performance is brisk, gear changes in the auto are near seamless and MPG similar to the GS. Depends what you like/need but I'd have another one.