Odysseus

Great looking car and only one owner which is nice to see. When are you picking it up? :)

Maybe it was used for a Gumball or similar type rally? You know the sort, club together with a few mates, buy an inexpensive car and tour round Europe over 10 days with other like minded people and their inexpensive cars. To be honest I think a Lexus would be a brilliant car in which to do such a trip, but it’s always jarring to see a car so insensitively “customised” in an otherwise normal setting. I was an active member of a Mercedes forum when Top Gear turned an S Class into Anne Hathaway’s cottage and you should have seen the outrage. :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The Michelins are XL. I’ve only had them on for a week so too early to say on wear, and they do seem quieter on rough tarmac, but to be scrupulously fair that could be because they have more tread. The budget tyres were a Barum and a Nfera on the rear, and two Landsails on the front. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Anything anyone ever writes about tyres is pretty subjective, but I just replaced the four budget tyres my GS450 was running on with four Michelin Pilot Sport 4s. My reasoning was I was uncomfortable driving something weighing two tonnes and with 340 bhp on cheap rubber. The car enthusiast/snob in me also thinks it looks better to see a quality car on quality tyres, but I am quite shallow in this respect. :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know what you mean. The sound quality from the Lexus iPod thing is fine but the functionality is rubbish. One way I’ve got round the limitations to a small degree is by creating playlists. The various playlists give me a degree of control over the type of music I’m in the mood for and saves the random ‘play everything’ mode, when I go from gangsta hip hop, to audio book, to nursery rhyme, to a German language course, to classical. Playlists aren’t ideal but better than nothing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s my assumption too. Personally the Lexus iPod adapter is fine for me at the moment. I think the only thing I’d replace it with would be a VLine but had the car not come with anything a basic Grom would more than do the job. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m fairly sure you can. Your phone should be able to connect to multiple Bluetooth things at the same time and can handle knowing which device does what. I’m speaking as an iPhone user but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t the same for other phones. On my iPhone it tells you what device it’s using for voice calls once the call initiates, so even then you can change it if you wanted to. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You’re a brave man to attempt to retrofit a sunroof! It was an option on the 2008 GS450h - I have one - and if it helps I can take a picture of the controls so you can get a factory look. With regards to adding audio inputs, google VLine Grom, or just Grom Lexus. I had a Grom USB in a previously owned Volvo S80 and the sound quality was excellent, much better than FM bluetooth adaptors. About £120 including AD2P Bluetooth dongle, but I did the fitting. Not sure I’d be as brave with my Lexus. Good luck and keep us posted. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The exhaust note should match the car. A luxury LS should be very muted, a Ford Mustang should not be muted at all; more coarse if you like. The burble of an AMG Mercedes takes some beating. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not a fan of the look personally. If they are that good why do no cars come with them as standard? Just turn the AC up. :) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All done. Four new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, plus the kerbed alloy refurbished. Total bill £709.92. Apart from a minor grumble about not returning my car when agreed and nearly causing me to not collect my offspring in time, it was very good service from Lexus Cambridge. I am MUCH happier not having budget tyres on the car, from both a safety and an aesthetic perspective. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I bought my GS450 back in July, a 2008 SE-L with radar cruise and a sunroof. I’m not someone who is a Lexus fanatic and I can easily see me owning another BMW or MB one day, so my enthusiasm for my GS is not wrapped up in some misplaced tribalism. I was considering CLS350s and 530Ds before getting the Lexus, but I didn’t fancy a diesel and you simply get more kit on the GS than either of the other cars I was looking at. You can buy a very comprehensive Lexus warranty for £1100 for two year years which may be worth doing. I’ll do that once my 12 months approved used warranty runs out. Quick, reliable, comfy. You can do a lot worse than a GS450. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I just did a quick google for Alloy Gators and I'm not keen. Looks a bit Max Power for my tastes, and not in keeping with my otherwise understated GS. With the exception of a week or so ago, the last time I clipped an alloy was some years back, so I'll manage without the protection I think. Naturally this means I'll ding the lot of them in the next month! While they haven't done the work yet, I was pleasantly surprised with Lexus Cambridge. They are price matching BlackCircles for the Michelins, and you can't really say fairer than that. I'm also comfortable that when the tyres are replaced they'll not make a mess of the TPMS valves and will know how to deal with such tech. So far so good.

I’ve never seen such products before. Which would you personally recommend? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well that didn't go entirely to plan... Long story short I need new rear tyres, and I should do that before the alloy is refurbed. Lexus are also unable to drive a customer's car with illegal tyres (0.9mm in my case - ask me how I know). It's re-booked for next Tuesday when I'm having four new Michelin Pilot Sport 4s fitted, and the alloy refurbed. I took the decision to get all four tyres done as the front tyres are "Landsail", and I've never been entirely comfortable driving something weighing two tonnes with 340 bhp on budget tyres. That kerb scratch is working out quite expensive!

A chunky brochure for the Jaguar iPace thudded through the letterbox yesterday; I forgot I’d even asked for one so JLR marketing clearly moves slower than the cars. Anyway, the iPace looks quite nice. Four seats, plenty of luggage space in the boot and the ‘frunk’ and 0-60 in around 4 seconds. No idea of the cost yet but if it’s £40k or thereabouts it could do well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great idea Normski and rich1068. Thank you! Lexus Cambridge will repair the scratch for £80 and will pick the car up from my office and return it the same day. I'm sure in terms of repair quality it will be closer to ChipsAway than the body shop, but if I have an issue I feel much more confident going to Lexus than I do either other option. Shows the value of forums! I'll update the post once the work has been done.

I’m sure we’ve all done it, but hate admitting to it. Yesterday I caught the near side rear wheel on a protruding kerb while taking a tight corner. Blame the pedestrians limiting my cornering options, blame medieval Cambridge roads, blame someone else, etc. Anyway, I’ve got a nasty little scratch on my otherwise pristine wheel, so I want to get it fixed. ChipsAway quoted me £90 and would do it in the car park, and my local body shop quoted me £84 and would need the wheel for three days. Any suggestions or recommendations? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Looks cool and thanks for taking the time to update us all how it’s working in practice. I had a GROM USB thing in my old Volvo S80 and it was a very high quality bit of kit. I’m curious though how the Bluetooth bits work? So you can stream audio from your phone into the GROM for playing on the stereo, but are voice calls handled by the native Lexus Bluetooth app or via the GROM? If the latter, did you have to route the cable with mic into an appropriate location in the car? Personally I’m very intrigued/tempted by the GROM in terms of capability and apps, but am actually quite happy with the integration of the Lexus Bluetooth for voice calls. Thanks again. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Daihatsu Charade 1983 (first car, fond memories) Renault 19 1988 (put me off French cars for life) Mercedes Benz 190 1985 (brilliant) Mercedes Benz E Class 1992 (brilliant) VW Golf 2002 (first and only car I bought brand new. Made me yearn for my old E Class) Mercedes Benz CLK 2000 (had this for eight years and 120,000 miles. Brilliant) Smart Brabus Roadster 2004 (fun, but terminally crap) Mercedes Benz S Class 1989 (brilliant) Toyota Prius 2009 (company car, loved it) Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 1998 (quite rubbish but what an engine) BMW 3 Series saloon 1999 (good, but too small) BMW 3 Series Touring 2002 (very good) Range Rover Vogue 2000 (totally dreadful and put me off Land Rover forever) Toyota Prius 2010 (brilliant) Volvo S80 2005 (good) Honda Accord estate 2007 (pretty good) Lexus GS450h 2008 (brilliant) Not sure what I’ll move to next. The last Prius and the GS are the current cars. My wife likes the Prius so we’ll probably just buy a newer, albeit used, version of the same thing, and I’ve only had the GS since July and am loving being back in a comfy saloon with a bit of grunt. No replacement plans yet. Whatever happens, no more Land Rovers or anything French. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Given it was my issue that started this discussion, the least I can do is show a picture of my key access to the boot. The AA man’s databanks apparently didn’t know the GS came in hybrid form hence why he had some of the challenges he did. Either way, all’s well that ends well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Strange post to find on any car forum, let alone one for Lexus enthusiasts. In pure logic terms you’re right, but to extend that logic why eat any food that doesn’t provide the basic nutrients to survive, why clothe yourself in anything other than something to provide warmth, why live in a home with more than one room? If life was lived according to these rules it wouldn’t be as much fun. I’m glad I don’t share your hippy commune my friend. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All sorted. The AA man duly turned up, faffed about under the bonnet looking for a way to jump start the car before managing to power up the fuse box, which allowed him to open the boot, which allowed him to get to the battery, which allowed him to start the car. He then brought his skills and spanners to bear on the brake pedal switch, and has adjusted it. which was apparently all out of alignment and not working properly. As it stands the car is working normally; brake lights not on (unless I’m braking), cruise control working, and everything peachy. I’ve cancelled the appointment with Lexus tomorrow. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I’d have a Tesla in a heartbeat if I could stomach the capital outlay (which I can’t). The Tesla 3 should help bring Tesla ownership to a bigger section of society. I too am surprised at the sheer number of near 100K Teslas (Model S and Model X) I see on the roads. I’m thinking something to do with the tax benefits of electric vehicles is a factor. 100% write down in the first 12 months if memory serves? Handy if you’re a business owner with means. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks gents, I think you're all on the money with the switch. Current problem is a bit more immediate. The ****ing thing won't start. Clearly having the brake lights on all night has flattened the battery. Dead as a door nail. At the moment I'm sat at home waiting for the AA man to arrive. Lexus warranty and recovery proving useful...