Odysseus

I have factory fit privacy glass on the rear windows of my GS and it’s great for my two young boys in the back. They can see out fine but the sun’s glare is restricted. Win/win. I wouldn’t be in a hurry to change it if I was in your shoes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m slipping deeper into this detailing thing... Last time I cleaned my car I spent ages doing the wheels. I pressure washed them, squirted them with diluted Valet Pro Bilberry wheel cleaner, agitated with everything from wheel woollies to an old paint brush, pressure washed again, shampooed, washed again, then dried. Sure they were clean but they weren’t as clean as I felt they should be given the time investment. The led me to recently buying some Valet Pro Dragon’s breath iron remover I wanted to try. So, accompanied by my two trusted assistants (5 and 4) I set about washing the car. Before... First job was the wheels. I pressure washed, cleaned, and gave them the full Bilberry treatment. I then washed it all off too see what I was left with. This picture is having just applied the wheel cleaner. It looked pretty clean after but still not as bright as I wanted, so I broke out the Dragon’s Breath, suitably decanted into a squirty bottle. Once squirted onto the wheels I left to dwell (on essentially very clean wheels) and came back to this... I must admit this was quite impressive! I then agitated this with a brush and cheapy noodle cleaner. Then it was back to conventional washing. Snowfoam has been on the car for some time before I got round to the picture, hence why it’s not very snowy. Two bucket wash method followed then I dried the car. Results below. Close up of far cleaner wheels... I’m chuffed with the result, plus it got my boys and me out in the fresh air for a few hours. The detailing bug shows no sign of loosening its grip! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Normski. They were pretty filthy before I started. Good old Autosol and elbow grease won the day.

An E46 BMW with a straight 6 is a fine car indeed so well done on that front. If the performance of the GS450H doesn’t appeal or is unnecessary then maybe a GS300 would be a better bet? If you’re skilled in doing your own maintenance (hats off to you!) then a non-hybrid may be more satisfying as I can’t imagine the hybrid system and CVT box are particularly easy or ‘normal’ to work on. Good luck with whatever decision you make. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great cars. I bought a 2008 SE-L last July after lots of looking. No regrets. The GS450H’s came out in 2006 and had a facelift in 2008 (indicators in the door mirrors being the giveaway). There was another facelift in 2010 with a different grille and improved HDD based nav. Depending on what extras you want will dictate what model you need to look for. Up to 2008 radar cruise and sunroofs were standard on the SE-L, optional after 2008. All models have leather seats, nav, reversing camera, cruise control, keyless entry, etc etc so are well equipped relative to the equivalent MB or BMW. That said I use my radar cruise every day and wouldn’t want to be without it now. This is called ACC (active cruise control) in Lexus land. I also have a part wooden steering wheel which was an optional extra. Lexus will sell you a two year warranty for £1100 which is very well regarded and is what I plan to do in July after my car’s one year used warranty runs out. This means I enjoy a £50K car without too many worries of unexpected scary bills. Stipulations are the car has to have a full Lexus service history and be under 10 years old and under 100,000 miles. They are economical relative to their size and performance but still quite thirsty in absolute terms. I’m averaging mid to late 20s to the gallon. Others here manage more. Tyres are about £120 to £150 per corner for a decent brand. I have a 70,000 mile Service coming up in the next 3 months which I’m expecting to cost around £600 at Lexus Cambridge. I’d buy on condition rather than age, but would prioritise age over miles if that isn’t contradictory. In short these cars can cover high mileages and I’d sooner have a later car with 80,000 than a 2006 with 40,000, assuming both were in excellent condition with Lexus stamped service books. It’s a fast car but not one that wants you to attack every apex or be the last of the late brakers. It will do all these things but you get the impression from the chassis it would rather you grow up and drive properly. As a relaxed, quiet, comfy place to be it is superb, and has dragster like properties when you want it. Perfect for me and my commute but it’s not a BMW M car. Any questions feel free to ask. There’s a lot of knowledge on these forums and people are very helpful and enthusiastic. Good luck with your hunt! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had a flash of inspiration earlier and thought the following. Ho could mean home, as in your ‘home’ network? Rm could mean it thinks you’re roaming? Given the Bluetooth software in our cars was probably written 15 years ago it’s amazing it works at all. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Another interesting quirk. My car and Lee’s are very similar, but whereas his says “1 touch dial”, mine says “Speed dial”. 2008 GS450h SE-L with 2017/2018 maps. Also, my iPhone is on the O2 network, which my Lexus seems to call “Ho”. Frankly this is in the same verbal ballpark as what I’ve called the O2 network so it’s good my car and I are in agreement. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha thanks Lee. [emoji106] Nothing says hot, sexy action like a trip to the recycling centre! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Everyone is different and can express themselves via their car however they like, etc etc, but I think there’s something fundamentally naff about making a car look like a mean lean touring car/speed machine, but then doing absolutely nothing to improve the performance. I also hate M badges on non-M BMWs... [emoji846] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

While working (cough, ahem) from home today I gave the GS a long overdue clean and polish. I don’t have any before pics as I was trying to crack on but I’ve plenty of after ones, I even broke out the SLR. Rubber mats for winter (£20 from eBay) are proving a good buy. Easy to vacuum and then wipe over and allows me to keep the Lexus carpet mats for summer. Having done that little (actually very big) job of cleaning the car, I did another overdue chore... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ve got this screen. And this screen. And this in the speedo display. Is this the same as yours Lee? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ve never seen that screen on my 2008 GS450H. That sort of info would be really handy. Have I missed a setting/button somewhere? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Best was either my 2001 Mercedes CLK 230 Kompressor or a 1989 Mercedes 300SE. The S Class was so incredibly well built and beautifully floaty to drive. It was also insanely practical. The CLK I owned for eight years and 130,000 miles from my bachelor days until after the arrival of boy #1. I don’t think you can own a car that long without having fond memories. I’m very happy with my GS450 but haven’t had that long enough for it to challenge either of these two but it’s in the top three. Worst car was my 2000 Range Rover Vogue. Fine to drive, but appalling reliability and simply laughable build quality with cheap materials used and corners cut. It put me off Land Rover products for life. (dis)honourable mention for worst car also needs to be my 2004 Smart Roadster Brabus. It was always going wrong. For the first year I don’t think I cleaned it as it was back at the dealer every month with another warranty claim. Fantastic looking thing though and it sounded awesome. One car which straddles both good and bad camps was a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.7 V8. Pretty shoddily built albeit in an honest, Detroit blue collar type way, and it did break down on me a few times, but was essentially both a van when you needed one and a comfy barge with a brilliant V8 rumble. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reading this thread again has made me wish the weather would improve so I could get my (visually identical) car close to the standard of Lee’s. I also bought myself a Karcher K4 which I’m itching to use properly to tackle the cars. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m sure as my children get older and start to acquire phones and demand Wi-fi everywhere we go I might think differently, but isn’t this necessity of connectivity solved more easily by putting your normal everyday phone in hotspot mode and ensuring you have a healthy monthly data plan? I’m all for in car tech but in the nicest possible way I’m sure sure I’ve yet understood the need for a car with its own Wi-fi. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks great! Good job there. This car cleaning thing becomes a slippery slope of wanting to buy more stuff. My own Karcher K4 arrives tomorrow! Do you agitate the product on the wheels or is that level of cleanliness you’ve achieved just as a result of the BH auto wheel and foam? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If the car is getting up to temperature and staying there and there isn’t a mayo like substance around the top of the oil filler it probably isn’t head gasket. Could be heater matrix or even the flaps inside the heating system. All relatively normal issues but not necessarily cheap to resolve as often bits of the dash need to come out. Definitely keep a log of the issues including dates and times and what you’ve said to the reader and what he’s said to you. Be prepared to reject the car if the worst happens. Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I run a 2008 450h SE-L with all the toys including ACC/PCS and a sunroof. While I’m not looking to change for another few years, the Gen4 GS’ I have seen seem to be lacking these options. Do you have ACC (adaptive cruise control) on yours? What MPG are you getting on your Gen4 vs. your Gen3? Is there a significant improvement with the newer car? Lastly, given your 2010 Gen3 presumably had the ability to stream Bluetooth audio, are there any additional benefits to the Gen4 entertainment system? Best of luck with your new car and I hope it gives many thousand miles of enjoyment. [emoji846] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Very interesting. We now have four Amazon Echos at home and I can see the benefit of having one in the car. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here’s mine. 2008 GS450h SE-L since I bought it last July. This is real MPG not the hopefully optimistic Lexus computer MPG. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Seconded. Since the clocks changed I’ve noted the LED illumination inside my GS is far from what you’d call bright. Fishing around in the footwell trying to locate a dropped Power Ranger with commentary from an interested three year old would be better with more lumens. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Or maybe the same Denso cruise control firmware. :)

I do have this feature. The set speed appears in the top right corner of the display in the speedo. I’m not sure but it could be the presence of visible set speed is linked to having ACC (radar cruise)? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha I know what you mean, one key would make me nervous too. I think the only route to a new key is through Lexus, but it might be worth calling a few different dealers to see if there are price variances. The other option is to join the Lexus owners club and use the discount. That may save you 10% or thereabouts and is worth it if you plan to use Lexus for servicing, just check your preferred dealer participates in the scheme. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No worries for the tip. I can't speak to the relative quality of Grom vs Vaistech, but my quick googling of the US Lexus forums shows both are held in pretty high regard. Personally, I fitted a Grom to a Volvo S80 and was very pleased with the reliability and sound quality so from that perspective I have some faith in the brand. If I was in your position I think I'd be considering the VLine. It's relatively expensive, but is removable so could be sold on once you sell your Lexus, and the functionality it provides seems to surpass the alternatives. If you wanted a quick, cheap and easy way to get the music from your phone to your car, you could do what I did when I bought a Honda Accord earlier this year as a short term runabout and buy one of these. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TeckNet-Bluetooth-FM-Transmitter-Car-Kit-Wireless-Sound-Transmission-With-USB-/292019957085?hash=item43fdbeed5d I do have it plugged into my Lexus (hidden in the cubby box under the armrest out of sight) and is quite handy for the very rare occasions where there is something on my phone I'm keen to listen to that isn't yet on my iPod. The sound quality is good, but not as good as the Lexus iPod adaptor (or as good as I'd expect a Grom/Vaistech to be).