Smithy2

Appreciate the reply - just what i am looking for! Yes £30k includes my part ex I have considered a m240i as the i don't really need a big car and like you the thought of a straight 6 appeals in such a small overall package. I expect the 340 is fantastic however for me as a company car it would be 3 -4 times the amount of BIK tax compared to the 330e & the power difference isn't huge (the noise is significantly better though!) I agree with your sentiments re Lexus - i don';t really see anything in the current line up which appeals enough not to look elsewhere! Have you seen the leaked photos of the new 3 series? It is very Lexus esque - the rear looks like GS!

Copied post from IS forum - any RC owners have an opinion on the below? Morning all - i have a musing regarding what car to get into next - currently have an "65" reg F Sort IS hybrid - it has the red interior and ML sound and is a lovely place to be! It is a company car and will be coming to end of the term next year. Being a petrol head i have already started looking for possible alternatives be that premature or not.... I don't do PCP / HP - we buy the car outright as an asset - Budget is around £30k. I don't have to buy brand new & usually go for something with less than 8k and well specced. My business mileage is low (majority of miles being for personal use so it is more a perk and the commute is a 12 mile round trip (city driving mainly so the hybrid is useful and the low BIK tax is good) BUT.... I can't decide what would be good next - i keep the car 3 three years and originally thought a nice RC hybrid would be a "natural progression". The RC seem to hold their value well and for my budget the RC wouldn't be much younger that the IS, plus the interior (as nice as it is) is the same and the drive train is the same. I do like the CVT in most cases but there are occasions when i would rather have a DCT or torque auto - my real question is is the RC different enough to keep my interest for another 3 years? Alternatives i have looked at (but not driven all yet) BMW 330e - a shadow M Sport, looks nice but even with the spec its like all other BMW's. The BIK is even lower with this car and it will do my full commute on ev after a full charge at home - it also has combined 250+ bhp and 0-60 in 6 secs which considerably quicker than the RC. Anyone have experience of them? Infiniti Q60 - like the RC - great looking coupe - petrol 2.0t with 208 bhp & 8 speed auto - not as rapid as the BMW and no EV - BIK also higher but worth it for the rarity & looks? Infiniti Q50 Hybrid - i looked at these prior to getting the IS - good looking - normal auto and similar self charging hybrid to Lexus - the USP is the 3.5 V6 and combined output is 360 bhp! As it is hybrid the BIK is less than the RC and Q60 - i expect fuel economy won't be too great with a large engine but they do sound and go great. Anyone think of anything different which might fit the bill or have experience with any of the above? The car needs to be no more than 3 years old and with a balance of warranty if possible.... Cheers for any input.

Morning all - i have a musing regarding what car to get into next - currently have an "65" reg F Sort IS hybrid - it has the red interior and ML sound and is a lovely place to be! It is a company car and will be coming to end of the term next year. Being a petrol head i have already started looking for possible alternatives be that premature or not.... I don't do PCP / HP - we buy the car outright as an asset - Budget is around £30k. I don't have to buy brand new & usually go for something with less than 8k and well specced. My business mileage is low (majority of miles being for personal use so it is more a perk and the commute is a 12 mile round trip (city driving mainly so the hybrid is useful and the low BIK tax is good) BUT.... I can't decide what would be good next - i keep the car 3 three years and originally thought a nice RC hybrid would be a "natural progression". The RC seem to hold their value well and for my budget the RC wouldn't be much younger that the IS, plus the interior (as nice as it is) is the same and the drive train is the same. I do like the CVT in most cases but there are occasions when i would rather have a DCT or torque auto - my real question is is the RC different enough to keep my interest for another 3 years? Alternatives i have looked at (but not driven all yet) BMW 330e - a shadow M Sport, looks nice but even with the spec its like all other BMW's. The BIK is even lower with this car and it will do my full commute on ev after a full charge at home - it also has combined 250+ bhp and 0-60 in 6 secs which considerably quicker than the RC. Anyone have experience of them? Infiniti Q60 - like the RC - great looking coupe - petrol 2.0t with 208 bhp & 8 speed auto - not as rapid as the BMW and no EV - BIK also higher but worth it for the rarity & looks? Infiniti Q50 Hybrid - i looked at these prior to getting the IS - good looking - normal auto and similar self charging hybrid to Lexus - the USP is the 3.5 V6 and combined output is 360 bhp! As it is hybrid the BIK is less than the RC and Q60 - i expect fuel economy won't be too great with a large engine but they do sound and go great. Anyone think of anything different which might fit the bill or have experience with any of the above? The car needs to be no more than 3 years old and with a balance of warranty if possible.... Cheers for any input.

I'm due a change quite soon (from an IS 300 F Sport) - but not sure if the RC is different enough to warrant for another 3 years motoring? Be interesting to learn of your direct comparisons between the IS & RC?

Ok - so i had noticed some water ingress when opening the boot after a downpour - it appeared to be coming from the plastic shroud which covers the curved boot struts. It looked as though water ran into the shroud when opening the boot whilst the car was still wet and then when the boot was fully open it tipped the water from the shroud to the inside boot floor. Investigated a bit further and the carpet was wet on the underside of the parcel shelf in the boot - there are some painted bump stops mounted on the bulkhead which you can by putting your head in the boot and looking upwards - sure enough there were a few dots of rust forming! Car is now in the dealership and they have confirmed that the rear window bonding has failed on the offside and is allowing water in. Happily the car is still under warranty and this will be fixed by lexus. For clarity my car is "65" plate. Any other owners experiencing dribbles of water into the boot after rain i would suggest checking the areas i mentioned and if you find any moisture chances are you might have the same issue. Again Lexus Bradford - super effort & speedy diagnosis

Welcome for the picture! Incidentally I have had that particular car twice now whilst my ML head unit was getting sorted out. On both occasions i was glad to get my F Sport back. Didn't get along with the seats and as they are not electric they do not have the slide back comfort exit feature which i like and use. Secondly despite the rotary controller being quicker to use than the mouse control for input of address and changing stations, the DAB was terrible - hardly any stations to be found upon searching. However all in all the cars are very similar - the wheels look great and it was nice to get a comparable loan car, rather than an A Class merc when my old c class coupe went in for service!

They did mention compensation prior to arranging the switch with the other owner, however i indicated to them that it wouldn't benefit me as it is company car, What i did think of was asking them for a weekend loan of an RCF/ GSF or something as compensation.

Sorry for the delay on updates (if anyone is still interested.....) Head unit issue was sorted last week. Lexus Bradford contacted the owner of the Premier IS300 which had a new ML unit fitted & sold at the same time as mine being fitted in my F Sport. The other owner was most accommodating and agreed for a technician to visit their home and switch my unit for theirs. The part numbers checked out for both cars and units and hey presto when installed back in my car all functions are present. The other owner with the Premier hadn't experienced any issues so it seems there is greater compatibility on that model than the F Sport. All in all a strange situation that was caused by an error from lexus resulting from cannibalizing cars which they have apologized for and probably learned a lesson from! I will say that they did persevere with the issue and found a resolve which I am happy with. Cheers for your input with this post!

On the subject of price for ML; I have just checked with another dealer and the price for a non-exchange unit is; £6,431.00 + VAT / On an exchange basis is it £1,931.40 + VAT. The Bradford dealer never mentioned the exchange option so i will be inquiring if this is available - seems reasonable given that there is some glitch with the current unit.

The dealer had already removed the ML unit from the car when i first when to view it before buying - they were already in the process of installing in the other customer's car. So when i test drove there was no stereo / sat nav etc. They simply assured me that it would be replaced... from what they are saying this is where the issue started because the "wrong" model was installed.....?

Update; Lexus have now said that the H/U they "should" have fitted to my car which was installed in a premier model has been tracked down. The other customer (in London) has been contacted and they are apparently happy for my stereo to be swapped with theirs to rectify the issue. I am still very skeptical about there being any difference between F Sport and Premier editions of the ML unit. What is amusing is that the dealer tried to tell me that the Premier version is slightly louder then the F Sport!? I conceded that this is very far fetched but I suppose i have to let them try to source another one to test (apparently they are thin on the ground...) With regards the price of a new unit - i fully agree that the £6,500 + VAT price for ML system is very high and i am going to ask for written proof of this. However if the retail prices for ML home stereo systems are anything to go by it might actually be correct... check this link http://www.karma-av.co.uk/assets/_managed/Price lists/mark levinson 2017 retail price list.pdf So as it stands I am currently waiting for them to arrange the swap of stereos over and let me know when the drop the car off again. Should I just ask them to replace under warranty or have a external auto electrician look at the dimming function perhaps? The longer this drags on the more trivial problem it seems but it should work!

Cheers for the input and yes i have been through the entire scenario of auto light settings and dashboard brightness etc. The function which is missing is the day / night mode - it is stuck in day mode with no option to change to night mode. When driving at night the dashboard instruments dim as they should when the light sensor asks them to but the central display doesn't change. So the light sensor is doing it's job but the central screen isn't responding - it is as thought the option of day/night mode has not been programmed into the current head unit. Edit to say that Lexus technicians have been through all options they can think of even down to testing the individual functions of the wiring harness for the head unit apparently....

I posted a while ago regarding my sat nav / multimedia screen which had not been dimming when the autolights come on... well Lexus have had my car for coming up to a week now and they called me yesterday with an update. Service to this stage has been great - they have loaned me a brand new IS Sport whilst they work on mine and given regualr updates so i can't fault them for that. However I will offer some background as they have now advised of the options to rectify the issue. Before purchasing my car the ML head unit had been removed and used for another customer's car who had a faulty unit. Fine as I hadn't bought the car at this stage and the dealership confirmed that a brand new unit had been ordered and would be fitted for me upon sale - all good so far. 2 months into ownership and i couldn't find the function to dim the screen - the function simply wasn't there no matter what menu i went through and the brightness of the screen when driving at night (especially on unlit roads) was very distracting. Even turning the map screen off didn't cure the issue as the overall dimming function was not working - only solution was to turn the screen off which isn't ideal. Anyway the car went in for them to diagnose and Lexus GB had to get involved as this glitch was news to the dealership and technicians. The dealership have confirmed yesterday that the replacement head unit which was fitted was for a Premier and not an F Sport (both have premium Nav) apparently this is what the error is and why the dimming function isn't working. So basically someone has ordered the wrong unit if this is actually the case (i am a little skeptical however?) The dealership are saying that if they order a replacement head unit this (may) solve it however they can't say for sure and they are hesititating becuase the new unit from warranty will cost circa £8,000 including VAT. This is obviously a cost which the dealership must stand. They have said that they cannot exchange the current unit for new as it is used and they are saying the same if a new unit @ £8k doesn't cure the issue they cannot return this either as it will have been fitted before. (Again i am a little skeptical about this- after all it is Lexus own warranty company and if the situation was explained properly then there should be a way around this?) As a result they are reluctant to order a new unit and have suggested alternative options; 1. I live with the fault and they offer some form of compensation. Thing is the car is a company purchased vehicle so any compensation will go to the company and not myself who has been inconvenienced. 2. They buy a car identical to mine from the Lexus network with the correct head unit and swap them over. This seems excessive however the dealer says that this would cost them considerably less just replacing the head unit. Main issue with this is how long it will take.... Dealership have confirmed that they agree none of this is my issue as all functions are expected to work and the car is under warranty still. My issue is that i simply want it to work as it should and I am patient about it. Just wanted to put this out to the masses to see if anyone has any thoughts? Am I being fickle if I insist on replacement head unit after all they say it isn't guaranteed to work! but they could be saying that to throw me off.... Over to you....

I like the look of them on both cars. My car came with the protection pack, however for a 65 plate it didn't include the mudflaps unfortunately. I have asked Lexus to price them up for me though, i will put the price up on here when i find out

My car has finally been taken in for an issue with the sat nav screen not dimming at night and Lexus Bradford have loaned me a 300h Sport. Car has just 14m on the clock and whilst a 2017 registration it is not the facelifted model i don't think? Comparisons with my F-Sport; Media center - rotary control on this one (mouse on the F-sport) I am quite used the mouse on my car now and the interface on the new car is slightly different (graphics look better) but the rotary controller is fine. Wheels - divide opinion - they stand out well in black against the red (not sure if i like the red though!) Interior - (p)leather and cloth but contrasting colours which is nice Missing tech; Cooling seats - no Reversing camera - no LFA instrument cluster - no Suspension - feels less crashy over bad surfaces but is definitely softer in the corners with a little more roll - not sure which i prefer yet... Mudguards - my car being white it shows the dirt quickly and with the wheels on the IS nicely filling the arches this results in much grime accumulating around the front and rear wheelarches. I note that this Sport model has mudguards fitted - i think they look ok and would serve a purpose - any opinions??