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.

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?

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?

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?

Nocturne_sa · 5 Dec 2012 at 23:38

Thanks for the input guys. Looks like the warranty is a must on these which ever one I go for.

Nocturne_sa · 20 Dec 2012 at 20:27

Right, after having driven a couple of 450hs, I'm itching more and more towards the 300 variant due to a) more boot space, b) only marginally less economical, c) a good few quid cheaper and d) less likely to go wrong than a hybrid system.

Currently looking at two (one private and the other indi dealer). Got some valuations through glass's and the current advertised prices are pretty much spot on so not sure if I'll be able to get anything off. Any other reputable valuations that I can use?

Also in two minds re whether to go for the lexus warranty or not (£1850 for 2 years). Have heard good things about 'Warranty Wise' which are coming out at £1,070 for 2 years. Anyone used them before?

Thoughts appreciated.

Nocturne_sa · 20 Dec 2012 at 20:40

Axeboy said:
Im about to trade my GS300 in, will be missed.

Its up to you regards warranty, but what age and mileage are you buying?

Seems expensive, but I'm used to BMW prices from the past

both 05, one has 71k miles and the other has 75k. Did you have the Lexus warranty? The private sale one was serviced by an indi garage for the last service (the previous 7 were done by lexus) so not sure if Lexus will even cover it. Any ideas?

Cheers

Nocturne_sa · 20 Dec 2012 at 20:59

[TW]Fox;23404462 said:
£1800 is £900 a year which is about the cost of a 5 Series warranty with that sort of mileage, so the prices are inline with BMW.

Fox - any experience with Warranty Wise?

Nocturne_sa · 27 Dec 2012 at 11:11

pepsilol said:
On the GS300, I personally wouldn't bother with a warranty.

Are they less likely to go wrong than the 450h? It could turn out to be an extremely expensive exercise if anything pops.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a gs300 but it's last service( a month ago) was done at an indie and I'm concerned that Lexus won't provide the used car warranty because of it. I wonder whether they will agree if I let them service it as soon as I buy and then whack the warranty on.

Nocturne_sa · 30 Dec 2012 at 19:46

Finally went ahead and bought one privately. It's a GS 300 SEL (05 reg) with 74k on the clock and full Lexus service history. It's the SEL version with all the bells and whistles (ML sound system, radar cruise, sunroof, reversing camera, Nav etc). Initial impressions - lovely to drive but drinks petrol like there is no tomorrow (got approx 29mpg on the motorway which is shocking !).

The brakes are also pretty rubbish (even though it was serviced last month and has brand new pads). I think its a GS thing rather than just my car as I've heard other owners complain about the brakes.

Overall I think its a lot of car for the money (paid £5,800) given it was approx £40k brand new.

Now the question is whether or not to get the £1,850 2 Year Lexus warranty. I'm dreading a massive bill if something goes wrong (which could potentially be more than what I paid for the car !). Thoughts?

Nocturne_sa · 30 Dec 2012 at 21:48

oh and the one thing I'm really missing is the ipod integration. Lexus do sell a kit but it seems quite steep at £280.

Any alternatives (preferably not the tuner/transmitter jobbies) ?

Nocturne_sa · 31 Dec 2012 at 01:48

pepsilol said:
Yeah, theres a decent american co called Vaistech. They're pretty decent.

Or you can get a cheapy version on ebay which does the same job, but not too sure on it displaying names of artists etc on the screen.

Vaistech does look pretty decent. Do you know of any UK sellers/installers?

Nocturne_sa · 1 Jan 2013 at 21:47

Has anyone tried these guys?

http://www.caraudioexpress.co.uk/lexus-vaistech-model-sl2i-up.html

Nocturne_sa · 4 Jan 2013 at 12:42

The car was originally advertised for over £7K but the seller let slip that he was moving overseas in the new year which meant that he HAD to sell. So I went in with a cheeky offer of £5K and after a number of conversations we shook hands on £5.8k.

I still haven't added the warranty on as I'm not sure its worth it. I did notice tiny bubbling on the bonnet so took it to Lexus yesterday and looks like they will replace the whole bonnet under the 12 year corrosion warranty free of charge.

Nocturne_sa · 4 Jan 2013 at 12:45

Skyline said:
I am pretty sure that Radar Cruise wasnt introduced till 2007 thats why my 06 plate GS450H doesnt have it.

Nope, mine definitely has it as I tested it on the motorway yesterday and its fantastic. It is only available on the top SEL spec so maybe you have the SE version?

Nocturne_sa · 4 Jan 2013 at 17:20

DiG said:
Thats not a bad price, but these surprisingly cheap cars! I paid £6300 for my '07 GS430, again with everyone on it (even the radar cruise). To be fair it is on 120k

Fantastic cars, I just hope Lexus never get popular...

Did you go for the Lexus warranty or banking the £1,850 and taking your chances?

Nocturne_sa · 5 Jan 2013 at 13:25

So turns out that the front discs were warped so Lexus changed the discs and pads for £295. The cost seems reasonable. However, the tech mentioned that the front brakes are missing the shim kit and guess what the brakes now squeal like a **** and are doing my head in.

I'm slightly annoyed that they told me this when I went to pick up the car not when they were servicing it (I could've just told them to put in replacements). The shims seem quite cheap (can be had for around £10-15 off ebay) but now sure how much labour is involved. Should i book it in again at Lexus or get this done privately?

I could try and argue that they weren't squealing before Lexus replaced the pads/discs so they should sort it out for free but not sure if thats going to fly.

Nocturne_sa · 5 Jan 2013 at 14:33

pepsilol said:
If its like the LS then you dont even need a tool set, just a screw driver. The calliper doesn't have to come off, just pull out a pin, pads slide outand put some ceratec grease on.

Mine were squealing aswell, took me 2 minutes per side.

I want to add the shims rather than just putting grease on, is that simple as well? (I'm a complete n00b when it comes to repairing cars !)

Nocturne_sa · 5 Jan 2013 at 16:15

Cheers guys. I just spoke with a mate's friend whose a mechanic and he said that I should really go back to Lexus on this in the first instance as they were meant to replace the missing shims when replacing the brakes and pads (should be included in the part/fitting cost). He also said that only Lexus will have the genuine shims which will fit properly.

I realise that it is a pretty straightforward job but trying to get it done free of charge by Lexus (especially when they were meant to sort it in the first place) seems more tempting. Just wanted to get ppl's opinion here before chasing Lexus.

Nocturne_sa · 19 Jan 2013 at 17:56

Hi guys - anyone know how to access the hidden menu on the GS? I'm trying to override the nav menu so I can use all the features while driving (the system automatically blocks some of the features when the car is no longer stationary)?

It's quite annoying especially when it doesn't even show you the incoming call number on the screen !