HenryHippo

Afford is a pretty subjective term. Sure I can afford to blow a £12k on a car instead of £6k, but I'd rather keep the change and have a few nice holidays GV08 could have simply forgotten (granted for a long time) about their MOT, as we don't get reminders for those EO57, 2 MOTs in 5 months is odd though. I wonder what the dealer would say if I brought that up

My dilema is between these two, as I want the black leather interior, under 140k and under 10 years £6,950. 72k, 2008. Facelift (so £40 a year road tax saving). SE-L trim, but has some patchy MOTs I didn't like http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201611230018967?radius=1500&postcode=sl14en&seller-type=trade&year-from=2007&model=GS 450H&make=LEXUS&sort=price-asc&maximum-mileage=150000&advertising-location=at_cars&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&page=1 £5,695. 130k 2007. Not facelift. MOT history looks a lot better, only one fail and just from consumables http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201612220784139?radius=1500&postcode=sl14en&seller-type=trade&year-from=2007&model=GS 450H&make=LEXUS&sort=price-asc&maximum-mileage=150000&advertising-location=at_cars&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&page=1

No, it's this one http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201611230018967?radius=1500&postcode=sl14en&seller-type=trade&year-from=2007&model=GS 450H&make=LEXUS&sort=price-asc&maximum-mileage=150000&advertising-location=at_cars&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&page=1 Hopefully that works?

I'm not fussy about car mats :) Granted I haven't seen a £110 set

Would a halfords set not suffice?

Wow expensive mats. It's facelift I'm seeing tomorrow

Thanks John. Yes didn't mean electric handbrake, just meant it wasn't a conventional one

Appointment booked for tomorrow (with a trader) I understand that if there are any "significant defects" that turn up after a Lexus inspection then I am covered. I imagine this is a somewhat subjective term, that means I still need to do my own checks on the car tomorrow. In terms of checks: Tyre treads, are they all the same brand? Alloy condition Bodywork Electric windows, sunroof, rear blind, speakers, mirrors, central locking all work all 8 parking sensors electric seats (all adjustments), heating and cooling functions indicators, fog lights, head lights air conditioning/ heating wipers, washer fluid spare wheel and locking nuts Whilst driving: reversing linear acceleration up to the legal limit braking electric handbrake range calculator Have I missed anything, that I won't be able to get fixed as a "significant defect" after the sale?

Yes, full service history, but I'm assuming not a Lexus one as it would say if it did It's the SE-L trim. Sunroof which is cool too :)

Thanks for all the replies chaps. Certainly difficult to pin a number down on her bhp for pub bragging rights, but I suppose that's not the point of a Lexus, discretion is! Found a couple of interesting prospects. Naturally looking under 10 years and under 140k. This one is 2008 registered and last week passed its MOT with no advisories; sounds like the dealer 'pushed' it through after I checked the history She's failed 3 MOTs in her life which rings a few alarm bells. (My 12 year old Honda has failed 1, and that was because of a headlight bulb) 2 fails were for tyre tread and another was for brake pads. A few advisories on both over the years too There was also an 8 week period between one MOT expiring and the next test being taken Looks like she hasn't been that well looked after. Would this put anyone else off?

Thanks John, seems you're the expert around here! It's a shame they can't work together for nearly 500 bhp for a brief period But why do some places (i.e. Parkers) list it as 342 bhp?

Forgive the newbie question, but why does this car appear as "342 bhp" in a lot of adverts? It's a 292bhp petrol engine, and the other 50 bhp is the battery? From my brief test drive I think that the battery is far more than 50 bhp.

These costs are getting a little scary If something breaks after my 2 year warranty period it sounds like it's going to be an expensive job to fix £8.5k, a bit over my budget unfortunately but thanks

Fair, so I won't see them on EuroCar Parts? :P

Oh of course, a contingency will be budgeted for (like any car) All in all, this model is pretty reliable (compared to German rivals), but if it does go wrong it would cost more to fix than said rivals?

Oh and does the 10 year limit on the extended warranty apply to when the car was first registered or was first constructed? Assuming the former but want to double check!

Looking at the extended warranty now. Rather than buying it as a one off, does anyone buy it every 2 years, keeping it under warranty until the very end of the 10 year/ 140k threshold?

So in terms of projected costs for my new steed for the first year: -Purchase price, £6k -2 year warranty £1,050 -Road tax £260 - Fuel (9k a year @ 30 MPG) £1,600 -2 new tyres £240 -Insurance £800 -MOT £22 - Service £199 Essentially: £7k to stump up front, and then £3.1k a year of running costs thereafter (£260 a month) By comparison, my current Accord is £2.3k a year(£192 a month). That increase is acceptable to me Am I missing anything in my estimates?

That's not much more than I pay for a Honda Accord on 16"s ! The £250 figure I quoted was for 18"s. I'd rather buy a car with 17",s . Never understood the fashion for big wheels

Did not known this, so better off with Lexus replacing it than the refurb (assuming money no object) I think my route will be as follows: - Buy trade (under 10 years and under 140k) -Take to Lexus for test -If there are any problems take back to trade to fix -Take out 2 year lexus warranty Any more anecdotal service/ consumable costs from anyone? I noticed that tyres are ~£250 a pair for midrange which is a little steep but not horrendously so

Is the £199 service the 10k service and the £399 the 20k service? Meaning that I'd be forking out £300 for every 10k miles effectively?

The car I viewed recently had the battery changed by Hybrid Solutions. I'd heard about them before and it's £800, versus circa £3k from a Lexus Dealer Seems that the consensus here is to go for the warranty which I will do then It does seem that this model doesn't go wrong often but when it does it is much more expensive than a comparable 5 series/ E class/ A6 to fix. Is this true? Are servicing costs also higher for this car than a comparable German motor?

Cheers Chris. Really sounds like the facelift isn't worth it

I will ask on here. One appeal of Lexus over german rivals is that the former is less likely to have had a hard life so I would be happy to buy from an enthusiast My budget is about £7k, which I think is too low for anything sold at a Lexus Dealer

£1095 is pretty steep for 2 years is it not? Not much less than the cost of replacing 4 dampers in the first place How much did you have to pay for the Lexus inspection ?