Eddy1

Just wanted to share this as the hybrid health check on our cars doesn’t cover this item and it can lead to overheating and damage to Battery.

The Lexus warranty does seem expensive compared to Toyota. They also cut off after 10 years whereas Toyota still cover 55 plates less than 14 years old and 150k miles.

Unfortunately the car I’m viewing is older than 10 years so it’s Warrantydirect for me. Have it in the X5 and although it cost 1.5k over 3 years it will be needed as it’s no Lexus.

Mines coming up as £1000 with Churchill. My X5 4.0d was only £1250. Seems like high insurance for the Rx400h.. GS450h quote wasn’t much diff.

Mind you I’ve got a few claims over 5 years to shred yet.

39 minutes ago, Lager shandy said:

I would personally check the mot history and latest one for advisory ask for a new mot from a Lexus dealer site .

check everything works going around the car door by door and internally 

check for worn looking tyres side wall cuts and bulges 

check for scored rusty discs through wheel 

check panel fit gaps should be the same all round tyre to wheel arch gap should be the same 

is the engine noisy or smoke on start up leaks underneath

when driving is there any droning noises gently steer left and right to test wheel bearings 

is the steering wheel straight when driving does it pull left or right when you gently let go off steering wheel

take for good run then to see if it over heats or temp rises above halfway 

chips in windscreen expensive to replace 

bearing in mind a Lexus dealer carry out the mot should high light most things you could pay a hours labour for a vehicle health check 

if the sellers honest and good should say yes.

good luck 

 

That’s good advice, maybe I need to take you with me and pay you for your trouble.😀

The vehicle check is free but it’s just visual they won’t check for brake callipers or operation of safety devices as in mot. Maybe I should get MOt done instead of health check ?

i will take your advice but I’m not clued up on the test drive to be honest .. not sure about sounds to listen too etc. Anyone from Yorkshire or Manchester?

Thanks John  your reply.

Yes I viewed a GS 450h saloon last week 58plate with 98k miles but it had issues so decided to leave it as advised on here.

This is Rx400h but I’m open to saloon or Rx as I already have X5 for practicality.

Anyway dealers are about 8-9k for Rx400h from Lexus and traders don’t seem to have good examples.

I’ve seen an older model with low miles and the quote for warranty seems about £800-1000.

I plan to run warranty for a year and if no issues cancel at 6 months. Warranties don’t cover existing problems but I’m hoping my code reader will help and the hybrid Battery check will cover for 12 months. After 90 days it should cover wear and tear. For a 12 year old car not sure if it’s worth the warranty’s as it’s not worth a lot.

What items would you guys look out for on the Rx400h as it’s a bit different to a GS problem list.

After failing to buy a GS450h last week I’m going to view an Rx400h next week.

The car has a hybrid Battery check and full Lexus service history.

Im going to put warranty on for 6 months just in case as it’s a private purchase.

What should I pay attention to on these cars as I I’m no mechanic and can only do code reads on car with paint thickness pen. Do they have a rust problem ?? Would that be easy to spot on a visual health check. What about brake callipers and are they easy to repair or do you have to have specialists look at them?

He said that it might be resprsyed due to having a lot of scratches and it needed a 4 wheel alignment. The pull was only slight not too much as my X5 does same.

i loved the silent nature of it.

however when cold you could hear engine at start and that’s normal apparently. It shuts off when it warms up and petrol engine starts at around 20-30mph. 

Not sure about car but I enjoyed driving it. It’s not a jump down from the X5 and I can see driving it more often.

what your opinions? Is it worth further inspection??

Test drove car. The car drifted to left and using a paint thickeness pen the whole car had been re-sprayed at some point in its life.Only the boot was factory paint.

The alloys were tired looking badly needed refurb. Other than that it had one abs fault which showed up on code reader about voltage  drop. 

The drive was very solid and acceleration impressive. Braking was ok but not as strong as in my X5. Cornering ok but felt like a big car.

Anyway I like the GS probably as much as RX but you get more for your money with GS.

Not sure it’s worth the private asking price especially with the whole body respray and pulling left. It’s an 2008 with 100k miles SE asking 5k for it. No service history for a few years.

43 minutes ago, Farqui said:

You're welcome.

After driving, are any of the wheels hotter than another - a rough test for a sticky caliper. Don't burn yourself tho! Low mpg is another possible tell tale.

Maybe your alloys aren't OEM if they don't have 5 plastic chromed fake spokes.

Leaking shocks will be tricky to see behind the wheels but try and look for any oil residue at the base of each damper. Crank the front wheels over and get down low fir the rears.

I’m thinking maybe the VHC will pick all these as I have no clue. I’ll insist on VHC and hope the dealer will point these out. Is MoT test check for these as another test at £45 is worth it if these are in the test ( callipers and shocks)

23 hours ago, Farqui said:

Hi Eddy, good call checking in for what to look out for on a test drive.

A clean hybrid health check is good and will warranty the traction Battery for another 12 months.

The GS450h should be pretty much silent even with the v6 running, at least on the standard exhaust. Peek under the rear bumper and check the exhaust Y pipe where it splits to the left/right boxes, this area is prone to corrode/leak so rust/soot can be used as bargaining chips.

Dealers like to report leaking dampers and failed calipers but posts on here often show that the dampers are fine (as in my case) and the calipers often just need a clean/re-lube.

Once the v6 is thoroughly warmed up, turn down the heater and lift off/go light on the throttle under 40mpg - this should force electric mode.  In Normal mode you can hold electric easily on the throttle but in Sport or PWR modes almost any throttle will bring the v6 back online.  PWR mode will give you more regen braking vs Normal.  Switching between modes can be laggy to load/engage but once set you should then feel the throttle response change.  Sport will tighten the dampers a bit.

Hit the Info button, then Trip Info to see average mpg, min/max consumption, etc  It should be averaging over 30mpg although much depends if the car is primarily driven in or out of town.  40mpg/thereabouts should be attainable on a steady 60pmg+ run.  Lower figures might be caused by a traction Battery that's on it's way out or 'regular' stuff like sticking brake calipers, vacuum leak, o2 sensor, etc. 

Check the headlights work as they're quite expensive to repair.

If you are looking at an '08 car (in your profile) then is it a facelift with the indicators in the wind mirrors? 

At that age TPMS sensors might be or start to fail, the reset button is under the dash. 

Unfortunately alloys can tend to corrode quite badly, check the plastic inserts are all in place and secure.

Does the vehicle has a full service history?  With Lexus or elsewhere?

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Thanks for all the info. Very much appreciated.

the car has not been serviced at Lexus since 2016 but owner did own service oil changes spark plugs. Has mainly done motorway miles but needs service now. Was going to get a VHC at Lexus as I don’t know what to look for but another mot will be more comprehensive test.

will get warranty for 12 months with warranty direct but they want service in last 12 months.

This will be my 2nd car for shopping as I already drive an E70 2011 4.0d as my work car.

The alloys need refurb though.

what are plastic inserts as was thinking of Matt black on wheels. How do I check for dampers or seized callipers ??

I’m going to view a 450h and was just wanting a bit of advice since it’s a private sale.

The car has a hybrid health check but I’m not sure what else to look for.

I’m contemplating having either a new MOt done or a health check done or inspection.

i have a carly obd for Toyota so will do a code read. My problem is the test drive I’m not clued up about listening for noises etc.

Any advice appreciated .

What is the cunning minor service mot plan?