Subby

Contact Carl - he is a member of this forum - and deals in Lexus parts in NZ.

carl.barber@manukau.toyota.co.nz

I've upgraded to V18 so 1st in, best dressed - PM me - you'll have to send a suitable self-addressed envelope.

Congratulations - sounds great - and hope you enjoy the experience of driving a Lexus as much as I have !!

You might have to wait a while or compromise somewhere, mate - I've been waiting a year for the right 2010 IS250 Sports luxury to come along ANYWHERE in the country and am still waiting !! The dealer assures me that a lot more cars will be coming up for sale in the next few months.

In the meantime, good luck !!

PM me, guys - and there are excellent threads on changing the SatNav DVD elsewhere in this forum - literally a 5 minute job.

If you've done such a trip, would love to read your comments on it.

Did you find difficulty with getting the right fuel? Are the roads good enough? Did you take along mod cons like small fridge-freezer, and any hassles with that? Any issues re: tyres, spares?

You get the picture!! :-) :-)

Would be happy to PM if that works for this post.

Subhash

Great news and I hope you get many, many years of enjoyment from it !!

For Sydneysiders, this may be of interest:

http://www.pickles.com.au/general/item/-/details/CP-04-05--Built-04-05--Lexus--GS430--UZS190R-Sports-Luxury--Sedan--5-Seats--4-Doors/103244619

For those of you in Sydney, here's a car that may interest you:

http://www.pickles.com.au/general/item/-/details/CP-04-05--Built-04-05--Lexus--GS430--UZS190R-Sports-Luxury--Sedan--5-Seats--4-Doors/103244619

You will find plenty of information on this forum on this topic, but there is nothing like taking a car out for a test drive at a Lexus dealer's. That would answer a lot of basic questions - being the right car for purpose, luggage / boot space, leg room, etc etc.

This is the first Lexus I've had, and all I can say is that I've never driven a better car before or since. The little extra cash that needed to be found to go for a Sports Luxury was the best money ever spent. And by all accounts, these cars are good for at least 200k kms.

Personally, I'd stick to cars below 100K km on the clock and hang the budget - not much point in buying cheap and then spending a fortune fixing things.

Good luck.

Rossv,

The 2005 model you've linked to sounded good to me - if you're new to Lexuses, it might be worthwhile taking along a friend who has some knowledge of them when you check out the car - could save you heaps of heartache later on !!!

Nice pun, RotorRian !!!

You could check this thread:

http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/11654-start-of-a-journey/

Carsales seems to have the most coverage by a mile, but worth checking out some of the others as well.

Good luck !!!

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I think Ozzytyres are only in NSW - but their prices certainly seem very competitive.

My experience with Dunlop SportMaxx was also average - and Michelins are currently on top of my shortlist - although not sure which ones to go for as yet.

Also, have never mixed brands between front and rear tyres before.

Update on tyres:

My Yokos db V550 have done 39,000km and just recently have started slipping a bit in the wet - they were superb until now. Plenty of tread still left (maybe 3+mm on the rears and 4+mm in front). Is this a reasonable life to expect from tyres or are other brands better in the wet for longer?

Have 225x45R17 in front and 245x45R17 rear.

Not exactly in response to the original request, but tyre-related.

My Yokos db V550 have done 39,000km and just recently have started slipping a bit in the wet - they were superb until now. Plenty of tread still left (maybe 3+mm on the rears and 4+mm in front). Is this a reasonable life to expect from tyres or are other brands better in the wet for longer?

Have 225x45R17 in front and 245x45R17 rear.

Quick update, folks - did Melb-Sydney on one tank, and the return as well - topped up on Cooper St before getting on the freeway in Melbourne and filled up in Milperra on the return.

Did not use the cruise control at all on both legs....average consumption was showing around 7.2L/100km.

Garfield,

I think this was mentioned earlier, you learn a lot more from what is NOT mentioned in ads - that ad clearly says "immaculate interior" but makes no mention of the exterior.

I've learnt to keep a standard set of questions handy and the replies tell me whether a car is worth looking at or not.

Good luck.

_{I've had a lot of experience by now in checking out IS250s - to upgrade to a 2010 IS250 SL - not much luck so far.}

_{Some things I've learnt:}

_{There is often quite a difference between advertised details and reality}

_{Do a free rego check in Victoria and NSW to verify advertised details match VicRoads / RTO records}

_{Check with the dealer where the car was serviced to verify make and model, condition, service history, etc.}

_{It's a buyer's market, so don't be shy to bargain}

_{Can give you some more pointers, please PM - I'm also located in Melbourne.}

_{You could also add carsguide.com.au to the URLs already suggested.}

Wato,

Please PM me if you'd like to change to Whereis V17 - not sure if that will fix anything, but you can give it a try.

Have got condensation in the RHS headlamp - I can see a small gap between the rubber lining and the headlight unit through which water could get through - LHS unit is fine - it's not a big issue but I'd like to fix it. Is there any particular sealant that could be used?

My car is no longer under warranty.

This may help you decide which fuel to use:

http://www.racq.com.au/motoring/cars/car_advice/car_fact_sheets/high_octane_fuels

Maybe some of the more experienced forum members could advise you, Samsung001....I'm new to Lexus ownership and Yokohamas are the only ones I've tried.

Since it has been more than 18 months since I changed tyres and have done over 34,000kms on the Yokos, thought I'd post an update....

Had no issues with them whatsoever, plenty of tread left, they still run true and silent, grip has been extremely good in the dry and very good in the wet - not noticed any wheel spin on occasional fast acceleration at traffic lights.

Even though Lexus Blackburn is much more convenient for me, have been using Lexus Brighton since buying the car from there in April 2010....found them pretty good at fixing things and NOT giving excuses!! And like Blacky, they seem quite good at finding and fixing issues during the servicing process.

Recently got my 90K service done there - their initial estimate sounded high - Lexus Blackburn quoted about $100 less and Brighton matched that!!

As a matter of interest, do all dealers provide a free courtesy car even after the warranty period has expired? Brighton does, and I wasn't sure if this was their own initiative or is a standard Lexus dealer practice.

I would suggest taking it to the dealer - when I had cabin noises, took the car back to the dealer (Lexus Brighton) - they checked it out by taking it over a bumpy cobblestones street close by, confirmed that there was something wrong and fixed it.