Spacewagon52

Out of interest, has anyone bought a Lexus or had dealings with BOSS Motor Company in Chesham? They seem to get cars straight from Lexus dealers, some with full Lexus history. They do ask top dollar but are slightly cheaper than a franchise. I wonder if the dealers get rid of dodgy ones (my caution when spending my hard earned cash!) or it might just be that at certain age a franchise would not wish to sell on their forecourt? Any comments lads?

Thank you John, that makes sense.

Thanks John, but after reading about Cheltenham I would expect to hear a deep intake of breath from the stealer- sorry dealer!

Sorry if I have missed the point - doing it a lot lately - if I bought a Lexus from an independent dealer (not franchise) but it had a full Lexus service history, under 10 years old and under 140,000 miles - could I get a two year extended warranty provided I had it serviced at Lexus?

She is in her 30's so insurance will not be too bad.

£1,000 question If you were going to buy a 450h, where would you buy from? Lexus Dealer and take out the warranty? Or independent and get it cheaper? What age of car would you NOT take out the extended warranty if bought from a Lexus Dealer? I am now in a quandary, as my daughter needs a larger car and wants my wonderful RX300! I feel it is going to cost the bank of Mum and Dad some money! PLEASE HELP!,

Sales people (NOT MEN - political correctness!) are there for the money and commission. They must try to judge if the potential customer is a tyre kicker. Once you have purchased the car MOST don't give a *****! If I find a good one, I go back. Mark Singleton, manager at Mitsubishi Motorline Canterbury, knew how to talk and reassure customers. He wanted YOU, the customer, to be happy with the service they provided. No idea where Mark is now, but he was a real asset to his company. He instilled his ethos into his staff and castigated anyone, in front of customers, if they did not come up to his high standards. Mark had many repeat customer AND he believed in the brand. I don't care care if it was genuine or bullsh1t I felt he valued my custom.

I would love to do that ... tag along and watch customer service.

Brilliant explanation!

Did you tow with your Lexus? Sorry, yes you did! Did you use it over rough ground? I am trying to find out if it was use or an issue with the 450h suspension?

Do you know what exactly was the suspension issue? Rear springs / shock absorbers or front suspension? Has anyone else on here with a 450h has suspension issues?

Thank goodness I read this thread. I need to have a roof boot when travelling so IF I ever purchase a 450h I will avoid the pan roof. Thanks Colin, this club is a fantastic resource for information.

Checking an MOT history on a 2010 450h not air suspension - I noticed one rear shock absorber was gone and needed replacing, also there was an advisory on the other rear one, oil misting. Would be interesting to know if other members have had rear suspension issues with older 450’s?

When it comes to practical mechanical car jobs, I am about as useful as a chocolate fire guard! However I love it when you guys post threads such as these. Your dedication and determination to see the job through is fantastic. I would love to be able to do just some of the things you manage to achieve. My crowning moment was fitting, obviously with the help of this forum, gas struts to my LS 400's bonnet! Quite an achievement for me. I thank all of you for sharing your work, experience and knowledge on this site. We have all been bitten by the Lexus bug and sharing our passion with others through the club forums is wonderful. There is a whole mine of tips and advice, sometimes hidden in past posts. There is usually someone who can remember an old post for a new member's query. We all gain by sharing our experience and knowledge; overall the this online club, it has very few keyboard warriors and fortunately they tend not to stay around too long on here. Keep posting lads, even for someone as impractical as me, I just love to read about your achievements.

A friend mentioned the other day that according to the Highway Code, dogs must not be able to access the front seats or be loose in the car. A dog guard - harness - cage should be used otherwise if there is an accident you could be liable if the dog distracts or causes the driver to have an accident. I must be honest I have not checked yet. My Labrador now goes in a large cage. Also try Argos https://www.argos.co.uk/search/dog-guard/?clickOrigin=searchbar:home:term:dog+guard

An interesting question John! We all try to follow due diligence when sourcing another vehicle. Even though I have my checklist, you can still buy a pup ….... actually I have bought two in the past … no three! I travelled to Northampton for my RX 300 after searching for a few weeks on AutoTrader (I am uneasy about EBAY – just old fashioned prejudice!) looking at various cars. This one seemed to tick most of the boxes and looked immaculate in the photos, but the camera can lie! The dealer told me it was a bereavement sale and it only had one owner. The old gentleman bought it new from Lexus Hatfield but after a move he had it serviced at a Toyota garage and that part of the service history was missing. The MOT and mileage checks on the DVLA website seemed to match what the dealer had told me. The dealer, to his credit, contacted the Toyota garage and got a print out of the service record. There were no Lexus dealerships near where the gentleman had moved to. In the last two years the car had only done 2,000 miles but the gentleman had insisted that the garage service it! I arrived and it started to rain, NOT a good time to view but I had no choice. The car looked immaculate. I found the following faults:- Only one key Load cover was missing (I never use one anyway) Very small dent on the back bumper. The remote did not work It looked a peach so I bought it. After a week I found that one rear door would not always lock – an intermittent fault I would, at some point, get repaired as it was a pain to check it after locking the car. I remember the days BEFORE central locking! As often happens with these cars …..... it repaired itself and the fault has permanently gone! YES I still check when I am out! Doh! So John, to answer your question, my mantra was wrong – only one fault found after purchase! Even with due diligence and research you can still buy a lemon, I have in the past, but it was not a Lexus!

For every “fault” you can find there will be four more hidden! That is my mantra. There are always other ones that will come along eventually.

Interesting topic. For pure interest I occasionally (don’t tell the wife - every night!) look at Autotrader at various makes of cars. I was interested in the running costs of a Toyota Auris Hybrid estate. Saw one at Motorline Canterbury - AutoTrader described the price as good at £12,995. Look at photo 18 Toyota Approved Statement says “ Every vehicle ........... is presented in the best possible condition” Approved means whatever they deem they can get away with. I would just walk away if a main dealer presented a car that had not been prepared properly. Even older Lexus cars, you are talking a lot of money for some people. Just my thoughts.

Thank you I really thought the IS300h was 6 cylinder - I need to read more carefully!

When I had a battery fitted to my LS/400 they gave me a lift in a GS hybrid - what a smooth and quiet car! I was very impressed. Am I right in thinking the IS 300h has the 6 cylinder 2.5 and the GS and NX 300h have the 4 cylinder one? Any comments on noticing any difference?

Thinking aloud, does a cover affect the performance of side airbags?

Autoglym Plastic and Rubber cleaner does a similar job. Really softens the rubber.

Out of interest Roger what will you replace the 430 with?

Whenever I see another LS 400 on the road, my heart always misses a beat!

Pity you did not take a photo to share.