Gary H

I don't know if the situation has changed but I remember, only relatively recently, that any orders placed now, you'd be looking at Q2 2024 at the earliest. However, that's on the 350h, rather than the 450h. I do find it rather odd that the 450h orders do seem to be moving notably more quickly through the queue than the cheaper 350h - and that's been the case for some time from what I can decipher. I am rather cynically-minded about this but I think I've exhausted most 'moans' about this over several months! I can only assume to receive one so quickly is that it's either a 450h and/or they know of a cancellation of the same spec that's working it's way though the backlog. If I'm lucky, that could be a situation I'm facing - it's estimated for 4th September at the dealer - but of course could be a little sooner or a little later, depending on the logistics. I've already stated on three occasions to the salesperson that if it does indeed turn up at some point in August, hold it back until September for the '73' plate. Whilst I know I've groaned about how slow it's taken for my order to finally enter 'in build', adding a few weeks to upwards of a 14 month wait already is neither here nor there for me. I'd rather wait the extra few weeks for the new plate. Obviously if it turns up at some point in September instead - fair enough, no worries. 👍

I must say, I am genuinely surprised (and impressed) at how quickly the dealer you're dealing with is managing to get that to you. All I am assume is that supply issues really are genuinely beginning to be resolved at long last or there's some 'string pulling' from the dealer going on behind the scenes somewhere. I don't think I've come across anyone here to get the current NX in that short space of time. I think the shortest time I've read so far (unless I've overlooked a post...) was about eight months and that was when the model was first launched. I know! Your goodself (and I'm sure there's one other!) are the only two I've known to have had to wait longer than me. If my estimated date of 4th September remains in place - I'll be closing in on 14 and a half months. I'm suspecting it'll be at the 15 month mark, personally. I only hope Lexus dealers acknowledge people like ourselves who have had these extended waits for fundamentally the same car. I'm certainly not holding my breath though. It seems, my dealer at least, are just 'shrugging their shoulders' when you advise them over people waiting 4/5/6 months less... It's left quite the sour taste in my mouth when it comes to dealing with not just the dealer, but Lexus as a company in future. That's quite relieving to hear! I forgot to mention in my last post that I'm sure I've seen unregistered stock (obviously customer's cars which have not long arrived in) at my local dealer. They put them at the back corner of the car park which can be seen from the road. I did see four or five NX's in a row there around six-ish weeks ago (I posted about them on this thread...) and I'm reasonably sure, from memory, none of them had plates on. I remember on the day I ordered my NX, the salesperson was chatting to me about a customer's car which had not long arrived in (obviously he must have ordered his very early...) and I'm sure he said the customer didn't want it registering for another two months, so it was sitting 'gathering dust' at the back of their lot. With all this talk on already registering / number plates e.t.c. it's just brought it back to mind.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong about that and it's just me over-thinking things! It's something I'll raise with the salesperson when I eventually get the call to sort out the trade-in and new finance. Mine is estimated to be at the dealer around 4th September (obviously - always 'subject to change' / 'estimated') which I'd assume would mean it would be in the country a week or two before that - so the back end of August... You can see what I'm thinking can't you...? It comes off the boat and BANG - given a 23 plate right before the change and then I'm expected to be all happy to collect a 23 plate car in early September!!😠 Oh believe me, if that trick is tried to be pulled on me after almost 15 months of waiting and the issues I've had to deal with over the lack of updates/communication throughout - words will be had...and that's putting it VERY politely. As I said, I've told the salesperson three times since March if it ends up arriving in July/August - I'll wait until September for the new plate. It's something I've made an actual point in mentioning in each of those text messages/conversations. I know some people don't care and that's fine, but I personally still do. I usually swap my cars after three years and for me, especially after so long in waiting (like your goodself - even longer than me!), I think it's only fair you're given the longest time possible with a new plate unless you state otherwise. I would genuinely feel well and truly 'cheated' if I found out it arrived a little early and had already been registered before the plate-change without my knowledge. If I wasn't bothered - I'd have bought myself an ex-demo and not paid full price on a 'new' car that literally only has the latest plate for a matter of a few weeks - if that. At this point, with my estimated date (car to be at the dealer) given as 4th September - I'd rather it arrive later in the month and I'll extend the outgoing contract on my UX for a month to cover those few extra weeks. That's exactly my way of thinking! With the plates changing twice a year, I've always tried my best to pick up as close to early March/September as possible. I'm not bothered about 'new plate day' any more - but I would certainly prefer to pick up on those particular months. I've once picked up a new car in May, rather than March, because that was a pre-registered car that was almost exactly what I was looking for and about to order to get that September... I stomached that (and was given a reasonable discount for it being pre-reg) and was willing to do that again with this NX - as my original estimated date was May. I'd have accepted that. The latest I've picked up a car into a plate-run was Christmas Eve (so well over three months in...) and some of that was down to dealer logistics as I was initially told back end of November. Knowing I was annoyed by that and how fussy I am when it comes to getting a car towards the start of a plate-run, they basically threw in a few accessories (extra set of mats, boot liner, roof rails...) and a half-price first service. That was even before I said anything, to be fair to them. All plates are indeed regional-based. I can only assume Derby give them the location where they're heading to. If they didn't do this, the NX's at Derby would all begin 'F's and the Portishead/Avonmouth ones would be later 'W's for Bristol. I wonder if they have the templates for all the dealer location/names which go at the bottom of the plate? Very interesting nevertheless...

I have to say I wasn't overly impressed from the 'taster' pictures we had and I'm still not impressed with what we see now in the official pictures – either inside or out. The dashboard looks rather plain and simple. Obviously my feelings towards it may change after seeing it in the metal but for now at least, it’s not something I'd consider or a route I thought Lexus would end up going down. It very much seems to be a way of devaluing the brand and what it stands for, but I suppose they’re going for increased sales. Time will tell. As for price - if it's upwards of £30k for a base model, then that's just insane. I paid just under £40k for my UX F-Sport with the Premium Plus Pack, Tech & Safety Pack and Adventure Pro Pack...and I already thought the UX was slightly overpriced three years ago.

I’m not happy in the slightest with the way Lexus, as a company, have dealt with NX orders at all. I appreciate I’ve had issues with my dealer not keeping in touch which is well documented in this thread, but I do fully accept there is only so much they can do and what information they have. I know the long lead time isn't their fault and the only issues I have with them is the lack of help or communication - based on other fellow customers having much more engaging experiences during their own waits. There’s things on my mind which I’m purposefully holding back mentioning on here until much nearer collection time, as my feelings may change over the next three months (or at least I hope they do...). I'm hoping it'll look nice, it's just doesn't look 'right' based purely on the pictures I've seen. Like yourself, we ordered ours so long ago that the models we saw in the showroom were either MY23 or even late MY22 cars... Whilst I know I'm eventually getting a MY24 car (like yourself), it's only because I spotted it from the screenshot I managed to grab from the video-text thingy. I've not specifically been told I'm getting a different model year or indeed, what that actually entails over the car I/we ordered over a year ago... This is mildly concerning (unless I'm just thinking about it too much!) because there's a slight possibility my car may be at the dealer by the end of August. The last thing I want is for them to register it as a '23' plate with literally a week or so left to run - when I've told my salesperson on at least three separate occasions since March that I'll wait for the '73' plate if it arrives so late on into the '23' plate run. I would genuinely feel 'cheated' by that after waiting what's likely to be somewhere between 14 and 15 months for a new car. That really would be the cherry on top of the whole poor experience. I've never personally known a car to be registered before it arrives with the dealer - that's a new one on me. Unfortunately I'm slightly too young (i.e - not of driving age) to remember the days where you could pick from a 'batch' of number plates you could have had, although I do know several people who used to do that! I did ask about this when I picked up by first new car 20 years ago and I was basically told "Nah, we don't do that any more...". A shame really, because that's something I would have liked to be involved with. Unfortunately my experiences of Customer Services is that they do reply (eventually), but just pass my email straight back to the dealer, despite me purposefully telling them that they have no further information or help for me - hence why I got in touch with them in the first place. Other than confirming the order I placed for the NX, which arrived about two weeks later, I've had no other e-mail correspondence over the course of the last year with regards to the order. As I just replied to above, any errors in the order really wouldn't surprise me at all given the overall experience I've had over the last year. Fingers crossed in your case it's just some sort of really weird computer glitch. My salesperson wouldn't give me a trade-in value for my car as he said he could only guarantee the price of trade-ins for three months. I'm hoping I'm going to be called in over the next month or so, so I can get a solid trade-in value for it so I can see if I can better that price elsewhere. Otherwise it'll leave me with little time to see what the alternatives will offer me. The same goes when it comes to the finance for the new NX. We roughly went over this at the time of ordering and whilst my final price is locked (fortunately I ordered so long ago that they were doing it back then...), the finance is 'subject to change'. Again, I'd rather get this sorted sooner rather than later. A week tomorrow for me - since I was told it had moved into 'in build'! 😄

I was told mine has finally entered the 'in build' stage on Monday, after just over a year of waiting for any progression on my order. It came as more of a sense of relief than anything else. I think I've got myself that annoyed over the whole situation that it has genuinely sucked out any enjoyment I once had. Anyway enough of that for the time being (it's genuinely driven me round the twist in recent months) - I'm not sure if mine is actually being built as we speak because a few days prior to that, Customer Relations advised me that it was confirmed to be built in June...so it could very well be just getting lined up in the next batch. I’m not entirely clear on what ‘in build’ is referring to in that respect. My current estimated date according to the dealer is 4th September - give or take a few days. I recall being told at the time of ordering that it would take around eight weeks to ship, but he could have just been giving me a worse-case scenario. I've never had my order showing on the app for me, so barring a few communications with Customer Relations and the dealer earlier this week, I would have been none the wiser that things are now, at last (hopefully...), moving forwards.

There’s idiots out there driving all car brands these days, to be fair to BMW drivers. Suggesting Mini are the fourth politest is truly laughable though. Certainly around these parts.

Aye, it’s certainly news which has been an incredibly long time (far too long) coming. I’ll admit I felt rather...’empty’...when I was told. It was as if all the pleasure of this particular car order has been completely sucked out of me. When I ordered the car, I was (now infamously) told "none of my customers have waited more than a year for their NX..." and “this twelve month lead time is the worst-case scenario”. Instead, it’s taken a few days over a year just to get a build month. Yes - I don't remember the exact spec now and at the time, I could pretty much rattle it all off from memory! 😄 Not that it matters... I've had to wait so long for it that it's bits have changed now, anyway... 😕 I know some could argue that I'm getting a 'better' car, but that's not the point. I wanted the exact one I sat in and ordered in the showroom just over a year ago! Indeed, Malcolm. Similar spec. I’ve also opted for the panoramic roof. If I couldn’t have quite stretched to the Takumi (which I certainly couldn’t now - if my price hadn’t been locked), yours is what I’d have gone for as it’s indeed quite similar and I could have had basically the same exterior/interior combination. If it’s any consolation, nothing has ever shown in my Lexus Link app. It shows the UX I have now - and that’s it. It’s never shown the order for my NX and still doesn’t to this day. The only news I’ve had that it’s ‘in build’ is from Customer Relations and the dealer. If it wasn’t for either, I’d be none the wiser. Just to extend a little on my last post, I’ll be interested to see if I get told when the car has been built, what ship it’ll be on, when it arrives in the UK e.t.c... It seems to be information many others have had but judging from what the dealer told me, I’m under the impression I won’t hear from them again until it’s actually in the UK. So unless I’m mistaken, I’m also set to miss out on these pieces of information too. I think we may have picked a ‘bad time’ (May ‘22), for whatever reason, to order. Fingers crossed. I will be judging the car over it's 'premium' 15 month waiting time - providing it's there for me in September, of course. Any further delays will be adding onto that time, of course. I'm surprised to hear it arrived with a number plate on. Every dealer I've dealt with (Lexus and non-Lexus) have always registered the car once it physically arrives at the dealer. The only exceptions I've known to this is if it's been a fleet vehicle and registered as part of a batch before they're transported to where they need to be. Mine will be in Terrane Khaki with the Hazel Leather and panoramic roof. I have no options on mine. I was initially told my Customer Relations that my car was confirmed to be built on the next production run in June... However, my dealer contacted me yesterday to say it's now 'in build' - three days before June... So, I'm unsure if it's now physically in production as we speak or whether that 'in build' just confirms that it's being built imminently. 🤔 Obviously if anyone can confirm for sure, feel free to let me know. Two weeks sounds about right from build to ready for shipment. I recall when I ordered the car that I was told two weeks was about the usual production time. Three weeks max. When it comes to shipping, I was advised this is usually around eight weeks. Sometimes a little over, sometimes a little under - purely depending on sea conditions e.t.c... Given mine is estimated to be at the dealer on 4th September (subject to change) and it's not built yet or just about to be started...and yours is already built...I will be very surprised if yours won't be at the dealer by August, unless they're waiting for the boat to be full before shipping them out... I've no idea on that one. I'm simply surmising. Personally, even though the dealer told me my '4th September' date could be "a little sooner or a little later", I'm not really expecting to collect mine until mid-September. I'm alright with that. It would have been nice to collect it on 'new plate day' but I'm not overly fussed if it's a week or two afterwards. I've collected new cars on 'new plate day' before and to be honest, I'd rather collect them a few days later now! It's much quieter! I'm already thinking of the NX '73 platers' (and likely the very late '23's) to be the orders the factory decided to ignore and push back/leave behind... I'm someone who does like a clean car, I can only echo others in saying the ceramic coating really isn't worth that kind of money - and I certainly wouldn't get it done by the dealer. I'd have it done by an outside professional who takes pride in it. The only time I'd consider ceramic coatings is if you didn't wash the car regularly. For someone like me who washes his car every two/three weeks almost without fail - it's not worth it. I keep 'on top' of the car enough for it not to be needed. Plus, you can now buy ceramic sprays which whilst won't give you long-term protection, certainly give you a good couple of months before having to re-apply. I honestly have no idea with regards to catalytic converter protection unfortunately. That's one thing I cannot give you an answer on!

Unless there's any further delays, I'll be trading in my UX when my new NX arrives at the dealers in September. As things stand, I'm confident I'm in positive equity. At the time I ordered, the salesman did tell me he could guarantee to hold a trade-in price for three months, so I'm hoping to receive 'the call' to go in over the next month or so for a price. Looking at similar UX models of the same age to mine currently for sale at various dealers, I think I'll come out 'okay' but of course, that's famous last words. If they value it below what I feel it's worth as a trade-in (not full retail - I'm completely realistic), I will be looking to sell it elsewhere. It's indeed all part of new car ownership unfortunately. We all know they lose value the moment you drive them off the forecourt but given used values at the moment, we seem to be in a reasonably 'sweet spot' when it comes to selling/trading in our existing vehicles. I only hope that can remain the case for at least another couple of months because inevitably as supply slowly improves on new vehicles, that'll have a negative effect on values of used cars.

I remember seeing some pictures back on the original page of this thread. It’s interesting that a relatively young model is already getting steering, suspension and transmission tweaks. The Takumi I have on order comes with the Hazel smooth leather so mine will have that different coloured glovebox lid which as I said earlier in the thread, I’m not entirely sure about. It might look better ‘in the plastic’. Other than that, it looks pretty much the same as the MY23 I ordered. Anyway, looking at a still/screenshot I managed to take of my salesman’s latest video-text thingy which you’ll see mine is indeed going to be a MY24. Apologies for the slight blurriness of it - it’s the best shot I could get. He made no mention at all of this. So, that confirms it - a beige glovebox lid it'll have... I'm wondering if I can retro-fit a standard black one if need be?

I've had the odd 'clunk' from one of the struts as I press the button to close it but to be honest, it's only happened a handful of times in it’s life. Certainly less than ten. It's not resulted in any issues and yes, it's only happened on really hot days and I just assumed it was down to heat. I've never bothered mentioning it to the dealer as it doesn’t seem worth it. Besides, with any luck the car will be going at some point in September so it seems pointless doing anything about it now!

Actual positive news, folks. We seem to be at the start of things finally moving forward on my order. The week before last, Customer Services informed me that my May ‘22 order has been ‘confirmed to be built’ on the next run - which is June. Today, I’ve been informed by the dealer (yes - you did read that correctly...) that my car has finally moved to the ‘in build’ stage. It has taken them a few days over a full year to actually do something that they haven’t before - actually get in touch with me first without me having to chase or get Customer Relations involved first. I’ve been told the car is estimated to be at the dealer on 4th September. It may be a little sooner, it may be a little later, but shouldn’t deviate too far from that date. So, it’s taken 51 weeks to get the first piece of progressive news of a build month and a fraction over 52 weeks for the car to finally enter build. As for getting it through build and into shipping, past PDI and into my hands? Watch this space. I suspect they’re now getting towards the end of the backlog, so I can only assume they're reluctantly building mine and the few others they've clearly been 'putting off', as we've now passed the full one year milestone... So in short, in my own particular case for an NX350h Takumi, I’m looking at close to 15 months from date of order to actually getting it. I wouldn’t say I’m happy by today’s news that my NX350h Takumi is finally entering build - I’m just relieved that things, at long last, are actually starting to happen with my order. Let’s just see how much longer the dealer can go before they remember to call me in to get a trade-in value for my existing UX and, of course, sorting out the finance on the new NX. Crikey! I wonder what strings your dealer is pulling to get it in that quickly! I wished I'd have ordered from yours! Mind you - they didn't say which November did they?! 😉

Last week I was told by Customer Relations that my NX350h was 'confirmed to be built' on the next production run - which is in June. I’m assuming it'll be a MY24, given my order is three months younger than Michael’s (May '22), but I haven’t been told anything. I only hope if it is, that the spec hasn't changed too much. It'll be interesting to find out as and when the time comes.

That's fantastic! 😄 If only that was legal in the UK - it would be getting some serious money bidding from Lexus owners!

I must say, I haven’t across bad road noise in my own UX. It’s still on it’s original Bridgestone Turanzas, too. There's a little bit of a 'roar’ over surface dressed roads, but certainly nothing above what I’ve had in the past. Overall, I find it quite quiet more than anything. I’m only assuming Dunlops are either noisier or it may possibly be a 'bad batch' of tyres.

I have to say that I'm not feeling particularly 'warm' about the LBX, but I'll give it a fair chance and judge it accordingly once I see one in the metal. As an owner of a UX, I do feel that should really be the 'smallest' model Lexus should offer - otherwise I feel it's diluting the brand and what they're really about. I completely understand the need for more models to introduce the brand to more people, but I don't think the LBX is the right way of doing it. I do feel it very much misses the IS saloon (and maybe an estate variant), as the ES is too big for some people. At the moment, Lexus should be concentrating on their declining communication skills with customers and fulfilling existing orders for cars they simply can't build in the first place - yet alone introducing a new model. On a side note, this is what's annoyed me a little about the recent RZ.

Fair enough - I shall stand down off my 'high horse' on that one...! I couldn't honestly remember if people were given just a build 'month' or an actual date/slot. I thought I saw people given information on actual slots but I could very well have just dreamt that! I'm happy to stand corrected. Your experience is the same as mine then - Customer Relations have given me a month, whilst the dealers remain stubbornly silent. Hi Deb. Just to clarify my price is also locked on my May '22 order. What hasn't been sorted is the actual finance/what I'll be paying per month. We just went over very rough figures to give me an idea. To be fair to the salesman on this occasion, I was told this right on day one of the order. I also clarified with him for a second time that my 'total price' would remain locked back in October when the prices did go up. He hasn't given me a trade in value on my UX yet. I would have thought given extended lead times, there would be some arrangement (i.e - showing a bit of understanding and goodwill gesture over the infuriating wait) but alas not. He said he could only hold the price for three months. Given Customer Relations have advised my NX is going to be built next month, then surely the dealer should be able to value my car sometime within the next month...(?) Until such time, I can't properly look into the finance for the new NX. Similarly, I can't sort any contract extension on my existing UX (ending in September) which Lexus Finance is chasing me up on, until I know when the NX is going to finally turn up at the dealers. They're both Catch-22 situations which the dealer certainly have offered no help to me with.

Well folks, I could potentially have some positive news to share at long last. Last Thursday afternoon I had a voicemail message on my phone (sadly I couldn’t get to it in time, being in work…) from the same pleasant lady who called me before. Basically, she advised that my NX350h Takumi has been ‘confirmed’ to be getting built on the ‘next production run’ which is at some point next month. She says that should mean it should be at the dealers by the back end of August – which means I could collect in early September for the new ‘73’ plate. She said she will get in touch with my dealer after calling me to get them to basically update me with this news and update me more regularly. (Updating me without me having to do all the legwork first and doing something off their own backs for once would be welcome…). Obviously it’s still all ‘estimates’ rather than actual build dates/slots which are informed to others, but at least it’s the first sign, in almost an entire year, that something is actually moving forwards with my order. Obviously as my existing contract on my UX ends in September, I’m probably going to have to extend it for a month to cover logistics (if these estimates can be relied upon…and remember this is the fifth estimated date I’ve had), or I might ask for a three month extension given the zero confidence I have in the company given my experiences since this order was placed. So, it’s taken almost exactly a year to not get a build slot/date – but a build ‘month’. I don’t know quite how common this is and without having to go back many pages on this thread, haven’t fellow members with NX’s on order had information on actual dates or slots their cars were produced? Maybe I’ve just dreamt that… So yes, I was given this information by Customer Relations on Thursday afternoon and guess what….there’s still complete radio silence from the dealer. I think that tells you all you need to know. No call. No text. No e-mail. No nothing, so far. 🙄 So in hindsight, maybe I should have used the word ‘cancel’ a few months ago, when it seems things were moving quite nicely on many other orders – with the likes of ours seemingly ignored or pushed to the back of the queue again. It’s something I’ll still be pushing for an answer for, beyond dealer level. Not just in my own case, but for others. It’s simply not fair when we’ve all paid our deposits and it’s clear to me the factory is being rather selective over what orders they want to build. I’m particularly annoyed for those who have been waiting even longer than myself. It appears to have been the case and as I just said, in hindsight maybe I should have done this earlier - but it really shouldn't have to take threats of cancellation for them to get round to giving you a build 'month' a year after placing an order. What I would do, if I was to cancel, would be to look at pre-registered, ex-demo cars which are already physically there. I wouldn't order 'from scratch' again as indeed, I'd be back to square one. Fingers crossed on yours. If I have to be honest, I have no faith in my NX being built next month - given I know we have members who ordered theirs three months earlier than mine and they've only just gone into build. Something seems 'off' with this date but indeed, we'll just have to wait and see. I don't know who the Sales Manager at my dealer is. I can hardly remember what my salesman looks and sounds like to be honest... It isn't so much the wait which bothers me, it's factors around it which do. For instance, the complete lack of updates from the dealer or assurance that things are progressing. It's good to hear some dealers are giving weekly updates. I wouldn't even mind just a fortnightly update. Even once a month - just something rather than absolutely nothing at all. Not even a phone call - a quick couple of lines on an e-mail would suffice. Another factor is what I'll extend upon below - and that's having to extend finance on your existing car. Tricky to do when you're having to literally 'fight' to get scraps of information which provide little in the way of shedding light on the subject. I completely agree. A lot of people, especially with younger cars, don't own them outright these days. I don't think it's fair that, in my case of ordering my NX some 15+ months before my existing contract expires, you should be scrabbling around looking for when your new car will be built (never mind arriving at the dealer...) as your existing contract is about to come to an end. It hasn't been a 'last minute' order. Before I even collect my NX, the dealer has still got to take a look at my car to see what positive equity there is on it - and only then can I begin to sort out the finance to know exactly what I'll be paying. This is something my salesman has refused to do until we get 'closer to the time'. I don't like doing things 'in a blur'. I like to be prepared. The logistics of this particular trade in is just an absolute logistical nightmare - due to a complete lack of updates/information from the dealer. Obviously we can't blame them for long lead times, but my own particular dealer has done me no favours at all when it comes to this. Given my experiences of no communication with my dealer (other than if I've chased first...), this doesn't surprise me in the least. This is why I'm considering a three month extension to my UX contract, rather than just one month. I have no faith in what I'm being told and with additional delays like this, I could end up without a car - not knowing when I'll receive the new one. I know full well the dealer will be in no rush in sorting out the situation.

It seems to be a similar situation here in the UK – certainly in the North West. I’ve seen several 450h’s knocking around the two dealers I know -which I’m assuming are demos as they’re registered and in the car park. I’ve only seen two 350h’s. The one I sat in at the dealer a year ago and subsequently ordered the same spec - and there was a standard model sat in front of it. Other than that, I’ve only ever seen 450h’s either in the showroom or inside the dealerships. I’m not overly bothered by the lack of a test drive to be honest. I just wonder how many others haven’t been able to drive one either!

I can relate to this as when I got mine, my goal was to keep it under £40k for that very reason - to avoid the additional VED. Obviously, the price I paid is now out of date as my F-Sport is a 2020 model. Mine's in F-Sport White and has the Premium Plus Pack, Tech & Safety Pack and the Adventure Pro pack. Total, full list price was £39,574 (I still have the picture of the info board, as it was the showroom model). I did have to clarify on several occasions before I signed for the car that it fell below that additional VED threshold and to be fair, that particular dealer was very good and thankfully subsequent tax reminders have shown I have indeed avoided it. It's disappointing to hear your dealer didn't pick up on the price rise after you mentioning wanting to avoid the high-rate VED. I can only assume the car was already in build by that point and therefore too late for you to change your order but I still completely understand your annoyance with it all. I'd be the same too. Depending on how long you choose to keep the car and knowing there's no way that you can now avoid that VED rate, they should certainly look at other options for you to 'make up' that difference. A free major service for example, that sort of thing...

I can't say I've had anything in the UX. I do know someone has an identical F-Sport white one to mine locally - but that's a 70 plate and mine's a 20. I doubt it has the red leather mine, but exterior wise it's my car's twin. I see it two, maybe three mornings a week, travelling in the opposite direction on my way to work. I did often look across to the driver when it was new to see if he noticed mine, but he's never acknowledged me/the car.

That reminds me... I tried three(?) times last year to get a test drive of an NX350h - but there never was a demo at our dealer to try. There was a NX450h there for quite a while, but that was always booked out, so I gave up in the end. It's the only time I've ordered a car which I've never test driven the model first.

Terrane Khaki is what I have on order... It's one of my favourite colours I've seen in any car in recent years. It's stunning. It’s good to hear the NX is easier to drive. It’s not that I have an issue with the UX I have. In terms of driveability, the only issue I have is there’s a notable blind spot right by the 'B' pillar for me. My only slight reservation with changing from the UX to the NX is that before I had the UX, I had an Audi Q5 and that was quite a tight fit down my driveway. I managed it, but I know there was very little in the way of room spare. Our driveway gets narrower the further off the pavement and if I ended up being the 'first in', I did have to literally go up to the side of the house on the passenger side. There’s a few reasons why I've been wanting to go to an NX from a UX. Firstly – the boot space. That's always been the biggest issue I've had with the UX right from day one. There’s just no depth to it. Secondly, whilst it’s absolutely fine for me, it can be a little tricky for the aging parents to get in and out of, compared to the Q5 I had. If the UX was a little 'taller' and the boot had another five/six inches or so of depth to it, I’d have probably have just changed it for another UX. For most of the time (going back and forth to work and ‘daytripping’), it suits me perfectly. Just a word of warning if you’re going for an NX though, Chris. Do you know how long left you have to run (in terms of contract) on your UXe? The reason I ask is that I'm now about a week away from the ‘first anniversary’ of my NX order – and neither the dealer or Customer Relations can supply me with a build date. Without any imminent news on this front, I’m going to have to extend the contract on my existing UX which runs out in September.

Hi Andy. Apologies for the delay in replying to you. I’ve not had any chance to get here in recent days. Cancellation will absolutely be an option, if not a certainty, for me by the end of the summer (I'm giving a ‘rough’ deadline of the end of August/very early September). That’s how long I'm giving them to finally confirm to me a build date. At that point, I’ll be passing over 15 months of waiting. As for cancelling now and looking at '23' plates on the market? Indeed. It's a consideration and I have already been scouring over the likes of Auto Trader e.t.c to see what appears to be cancelled orders sitting at various Lexus dealers. I'm willing to travel for the right spec, yes. One thing I really don't want to budge on is the colour. I do have my heart set on Terrane Khaki. I wanted it in my UX three years ago and I specifically went for it this time without hesitation. That’s not to say it’s a 'deal breaker'. I’m just not overly keen on grey/silver - which a lot of what I've seen appear to be in. There is (or was...) one in Coventry. An F-Sport with the premium plus pack. However, they want 'mega bucks' for it...and we're talking considerably more than what I’ve signed to pay for the Takumi I have on order - which was already at the top end of my budget. A shame really, because if that was going for the same price, believe me, I'd have been on the phone to them weeks ago inquiring on it. Apologies for the delay in replying to you. A few months ago, I did spot an NX350h Takumi with the panoramic roof (as I’ve opted for), on a 22 plate, up for sale in Edinburgh. However, it was grey and I assume it was one of their demos as it had something like 12,000 miles on it already. Not only that, it was also upwards of £3000 more than what I’m paying for mine brand new... It’s a tricky one, isn’t it!

Well – there is some scrap of positive news that’s come back (and come back rather quickly) from my latest e-mail to customer services. Firstly – they’ve actually responded to me. Something they haven't done on two previous occasions. I won't give the lady's name obviously, but she was perfectly pleasant to talk to. She confirmed that my first e-mail to customer services was indeed simply forwarded to my local dealer – so that 'co-incidental' text video-message advising me of my latest delayed estimated date was indeed initiated by themselves. She had no answer as to why my second e-mail wasn't responded to or acted upon in any way, to which she apologised for. Obviously not her fault - she's only picked up on my latest e-mail. So that at least confirms that if it wasn't for me calling or physically showing myself at the dealer for any sort of update, there would have been absolutely no contact from them at all from the day I placed the order. She said she’ll raise a case internally on my behalf about the lack of any contact from my dealer to keep me updated – but I doubt I'll hear anything of this. Given her tone after explaining just what I was having to do in order to get basic scraps of information and relying upon our forum here for snippets of news, it's not really painting my dealer in a good light with her at all. She also said she'll be back in touch with me over the next 7/10 days. I don't personally hold up much hope in that either, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt for the time being and we’ll just have to wait and see. However – there’s still the ultimate questions which remain outstanding: 1) Why can't I get more than just the basic 'estimate' after almost a full year? 2) Why my order with the factory seems to be being continuously 'held back' whilst others placed around the same time are now very much being built, shipped and in some cases, delivered. So, where's my car? You tell me… She's saying it's still on course for 'August/September' (Q3 basically) despite the fact that they still have no build date for me – which now puts me onto my fifth(?) rough estimated date since I placed my order. Here’s where we’re up to in terms of 'estimates' I've had: May 2023 May/June 2023 June/July 2023 Mid August 2023 August/September 2023 My head is actually beginning to hurt with it all, now. I did politely tell her, as per my e-mail, I'm giving them a rough deadline of the end of the summer. If there’s no build date news by then, something which seems to be afforded to plenty of others long before 15 months (which it will be by that point) of simply waiting for any hope of it being built, I will be cancelling my order and going elsewhere.