Tell me about the Lexus 450H

Nocturne_sa · 4 Dec 2012 at 20:00

Looking to buy the fully loaded 450H (Hybrid) SEL trim with all the bells and whistles. The ones I'm interested in are 2006-2007 with fairly high miles (130k - 150k) but all motorway and have full Lexus service history.

They should be bullet proof given the Lexus brand but wanted to get a sense of reliability etc. Anything to watch out for? Was thinking about getting the Lexus warranty for the extra peace of mind (I hear their customer service is second to none).

It might be boring to look at and to drive but for £6K-£8K you get a lot of motor (0-60 in just under 6 secs). I will be doing approx 10k miles / year.

Thoughts and comments welcome.

morgan25 · 4 Dec 2012 at 21:05

I own a 450h sport lovely quick car don't worry to much about reliability its second to none. You will see a lot of hate for the brand on here but don't let that put you off its more brand snobbery than anything else i have no regrets.

Do a search for the guy who last asked about the 450h he end up buying a BMW followed by a load of issue, how i giggle when i read his post. Buy and enjoy all the available low down torque.

acemastr · 4 Dec 2012 at 21:11

I can't imagine the hybrid side of this car would work terribly well after 150k miles, I imagine there are better cars out there for the same money

Nocturne_sa · 4 Dec 2012 at 21:33

morgan25 said:
I own a 450h sport lovely quick car don't worry to much about reliability its second to none. You will see a lot of hate for the brand on here but don't let that put you off its more brand snobbery than anything else i have no regrets.

Do a search for the guy who last asked about the 450h he end up buying a BMW followed by a load of issue, how i giggle when i read his post. Buy and enjoy all the available low down torque.

Thanks for the response mate. Would you be concerned by the high mileage? Should I try and stick to sub 100K? I understand that you can only get the Lexus warranty on cars that are under 8 years old which roughly will only give me 2 years.

Anything I should look out for when I go hunting?

[TW]Fox · 4 Dec 2012 at 21:33

morgan25 said:
You will see a lot of hate for the brand on here

Really?

Nocturne_sa · 4 Dec 2012 at 21:34

acemastr said:
I can't imagine the hybrid side of this car would work terribly well after 150k miles, I imagine there are better cars out there for the same money

Not sure if I will be able to find a similar car with a similar spec/reliability/engine for that price. Any suggestions?

rodenal · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:02

[TW]Fox;23300591 said:
Really?

Thought that a bit odd myself, I really like a lot that Lexus produce / have produced!

pepsilol · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:11

morgan25 said:
I own a 450h sport lovely quick car don't worry to much about reliability its second to none. You will see a lot of hate for the brand on here but don't let that put you off its more brand snobbery than anything else i have no regrets.

Do a search for the guy who last asked about the 450h he end up buying a BMW followed by a load of issue, how i giggle when i read his post. Buy and enjoy all the available low down torque.

Well it was issues I knew I was getting into.

And just because you posted that, I am going to post my current car....

[TW]Fox · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:11

You've changed cars AGAIN pepsilol!? You can never keep anything for more than 30 seconds, I thought the last one was a keeper

pepsilol · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:12

[TW]Fox;23300866 said:
You've changed cars AGAIN pepsilol!? You can never keep anything for more than 30 seconds, I thought the last one was a keeper

I should never have sold that 330d.

However, proof that I am keeping this one for more than 30 seconds.

I've had this for about 2-3 months now, and the private plate is going on which is a huge step

It munches miles brilliantly, huge amount of toys and it's ridiculously quiet inside the cabin. I really do mean ridiculously. Double glazing, heated seats, rear camera, bluetooth, soft close doors, rear electric seats, massaging seats, all those gizmos, whats not to like.

[TW]Fox · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:14

What happened to that Champagne II then?

pepsilol · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:16

Either my dad will have it or it will be sold.

Looks like my dad will take it as it runs great.

Always knew I would end up in a Lexus, it just suits me

pepsilol · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:18

OP, LS430 instead of a GS? I would recommend it..

Not sure how you feel about the fueling but if you're not worried, then 100% choose the LS over the GS.

jamoor · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:19

GS450 - waste of time. Powerful, but horrid to drive.

Nocturne_sa · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:21

pepsilol said:
OP, LS430 instead of a GS? I would recommend it..

Not sure how you feel about the fueling but if you're not worried, then 100% choose the LS over the GS.

Personally LS is not for me, just too big and I don't really like the shape. Any advice you can give re GS 450H would be much appreciated (specifically around the high mileage ones). Would you still go for them provided full Lexus service history, tidy example and cam be had for around £6-8K?

Dave85 · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:24

acemastr said:
I can't imagine the hybrid side of this car would work terribly well after 150k miles, I imagine there are better cars out there for the same money

Hybrid system will be one of the more enduring parts of the car they are easily designed to last the lifetime of the car and like Toyota etc battery replacements are very rarely needed

pepsilol · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:24

Yep, I would.

With the warranty even beter.

I was specifically after 2007 models I think it was, as that is the year that SE-L came with everything packed as standard, inc active cruise control.

The boot is hilarious, I really do mean hilarious, not big enough for 1 suitcase size.

Build quality was good. Drive was OK, handling acceptable, higher speeds a bit edgey, brakes were really poor, I think something to do with Hybrid, but coming from a BMW, they were really really bad. May have been the car but it only had 10k on it.

Toys worked fine, dash layout was good, driving position was good.

Extremely fast, good fuel economy, CVT was strange but I am sure you could get used to it.

Dealers are brilliant.

I paid £99 for my service at the Lexus dealer. This was a BMW equivalent of an Inspection 1. Plus £20 for the oil I got from Toyota dealer a day earlier. Absolute bargain, and they are extremely trip over themselves to help you. Asked them to check some stuff, they checked it, advised about it, put it on a quote and left it at that.

iaind · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:34

Can't comment on the models being discussed here but I had an IS for 18 months and it was absolutely faultless. Definitely a brand I'd buy again - mine had 116k on it and it was nearly like new so mileage wouldn't concern me on the bigger cars, especially as they're more built to handle it. Great value for money too as people still have issues with the brand. A guy I work with once commented that he'd rather have his tatty W reg diesel vectra estate than be seen driving my Lexus.... Says it all really

Griffo · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:40

Pepsilol, what year, is that the facelift? Struggling to tell from the rear! I was tempted to grab a pre facelift as they're so cheap now. I took out a GS430 and liked it a lot, what you say about the LS pushes me closer to that though!

pepsilol · 4 Dec 2012 at 22:46

Yes it's a facelift.

LED rears and the alloys are the big giveaways.