sunboy

Thanks @DAW. It does seem like a great car. I'll keep Westfield in mind now. Have to say I'm really impressed with the friendly and helpful people on this forum so far. Glad I did join. Getting all the info and help I need as a noob.

Yeah good shout. Cold start. Suspension and bushes happy to get sorted out.

Thanks @DAW. Westfield is closer to me so one I'll keep in mind. The Sidcup one is the closest to me but I don't mind a bit of travel for a recommended specialist.

Again, very good points. The whole reason I want to get into this car is the relative levels of reliability of Lexus (and why I talked my dad into getting a new Lexus).

Nice one. So I guess the manifold will need doing then if it is starting to tick, and not just leave it? The rest of the stuff (including suspension refresh) I'm totally on board with and Id not want to abuse and neglect any car I buy, happy to put reasonable money into getting it right. Thanks for the offer to assist if you were closer. Will start to look around.

I see. Good info. I'll check out the American forums too. Others on this thread have recommended getting it done as a preventative measure but just wondering about the tolerance and chance of failure etc.

Thanks. Yeah just found another post mentioning SRD, Tech One in Sidcup and Westfield Motors in Essex. Oh right - so your manifold was done under warranty. So that means it is seen as a fault. Do you know others that have left the manifold with the ticking?

Thanks @4969_LXS. I want to take someone with me but don't know anyone with relevant Lexus ISF experience, just other cars. I guess you make me less nervous about the potential issues. Where can I find good recommendations for Lexus specialists around NW Kent / SE London or even parts of Essex? Bushes and other suspension bits I reckon probably will need doing. Yah valley plate I've heard about. So the manifolds will be ok even if ticking does still last? Other smaller bits of work I don't mind doing myself.

@Grey One I feel like I overanalyse any purchase and can lead to paralysis when purchasing. At some point I'm aware there will be some maintenance to do and that's just part of owning an aging car. I guess I'm just very inexperienced with Lexus, performance cars, V8s etc so the culmination of these factors is giving me too many things to consider it seems. With some more experience in future, I'm sure I'd be more comfortable with making an easier choice.

@Linas.P thanks for the info. You've given me some thoughts on how get an ISF sorted in the future. I hadn't considered the indy specialist route for repair work outside of Lexus MD servicing. Just need to take an educate punt at some point

Thanks @BTCC_ Racer. I hadn't considered getting servicing done at Lexus but then any other work carried out by indy specialists. I'd love to connect with some ISF owners and getting one to come along and inspect a car would be great, but I'm well aware I'm totally new to this forum and takes time to build that rapport. In the meantime, Ill have to figure out another way. Yeah good to hear you endore the ISF. I deffo would love to own one.

Thanks. So generally assume it's not been done then unless invoices/evidence. Thing is with so many owners hard to understand what exactly could have been done without the evidence, even if it may have been. Also, from your comment, get services done at Lexus to maintain full Lexus SH and then additional preventative work at specialists? Yeah getting an an enthusiast ISF owner to come along and check the car and pay them for their services would be great. Otherwise, thanks for the main dealer info - getting them to look over it to get to 10/10 will really help. I'm just wondering how to incentivise the owner to do this though before buying...

Thanks for all the replies. Some useful stuff. Seems there's a fair amount of preventative work to keep an eye out for. In terms of this car, it's had rear springs done, oil cooler and water pump. Valley plate doesn't seem to be leaking but again I don't know if this needs preventative work too. I'm unsure of any of the other bits and bobs and if they've been done as part of the Lexus services. I didn't know about the manifold crack. I understand there will be a certain cost to fix things on a car of this age and mileage - I'm ok with that IF I know what needs doing (to the best of mine and anyone else's knowledge) and the price is right. Otherwise I wait or pay more for a better example, which as valid options. I guess I'm just trying to determine how best to get a car checked over by someone that knows. So how easy is it to get a slot booked into Lexus for a private pre-purchase? Or is it possible to get hold of a Lexus ISF expert (perhaps on this forum) and engage their services to look over an ISF I wanted to buy?

Was looking at this car and other IS-Fs in general. Thanks for the analysis. Have to agree - priced too aggressive for me, given age and potential issues. When it comes to suspension stuff, what's the best way to check this when buying? Anything else that could go wrong at this age/mileage? I was thinking of getting a top package pre-purchase inspection done by click mechanic or something similar before buying an is-f privately - think it's worth it? Will they be useful when it comes to rare performance models? Cheers