User 41924

I loved my 2011 IS350, but now it's gone. I got GREAT value for it, as it only had 15K miles, and had been extremely well cared for.

I traded in the IS on a 2015 CT FSport in Obsidian last night. I was struggling to decide between Obsidian and Ultra White until I noticed they had already drilled holes in the grill for mounting the license plate on the white one. Decision made.

It's a different kind of car with a different purpose, so I'm excited to learn all the ins and outs. During my 15 minute drive home, I learned the entertainment suite has been updated, and it looks great. My iPhone paired immediately, and Homelink works, so I got the essentials out of the way. I got the NuLuxe interior. It feels good, but it's my first car without leather in a long time so I'm a little nervous. I hope I like it long term. I got the Nav, which has also been upgraded, illuminated door sills (I can't help it. I like those!), and lowering springs (If I can't accelerate as fast as in the IS, I can go around corners with enthusiasm!). There is almost NO body roll in a turn! I'm on the way out to the garage to do the first paint detail, as I've heard horror stories about Obsidian, but I decided to take the challenge. I'll be looking for window tint on Monday, and I have to decide about a mask soon. Does anyone happen to have an idea where I can get a front license plate mount that uses the tow hook mount?

Lots of decisions to make!

Raidin

Congratulations, you finally got your CT!

When I got mine, I told the dealer that if anyone drills any holes for the front plate, that I am not buying the car.

LoveCT

Congratulations on the purchase!

A quick search on forums reveals these three sites:

http://www.gominigo.com/Lexus.html
http://rhoplate.com/
http://www.grimmspeed.com/license-pl...s-250-350-isf/

While I hate holes on my bumper, I am a sucker for symmetry. Plus the tow hook mount housing, if left open collects dirt that gets extremely difficult to clean regularly. My setup was pretty simple using zip ties right at the center. It was much cheaper. But most importantly, the end result was exactly what I wanted with no damage to my bumper. Here is what I did:




Front View. I put two additional zip ties near the lower portion to make it extra secure (not shown).





Another view.





View from the top.





Oh, and one more thing. Just so that the license plate mount does not damage the bumper, I put these scratch protectors between the plate mount and the bumper at the contact points. You could say this was an overkill.

Hope the above helps.
By the way, the pictures were taken as I was installing the current gen. F-sport bumper on my older CT.

User 41924

Thank you for that response! It never occurred to me that there might have been previous discussions about using the tow hook mount, but I really like your other idea!

I see your point about symmetry, and I agree. My problem is that the license plate just doesn't look right in the middle of that grill, to me. So my real plan is to leave it off completely, and put it on temporarily when necessary (i.e. I get a ticket).

LoveCT

To mellow the stark white nature of white license plate over the black F-sport bumper you could try the smoked license plate covers. I use that, and I don't feel the plate out of place any more.

r81984

I installed a tow hook bracket, but I also drilled a hole through the tow hook cover so no water would get into the tow hook opening. It worked out well.
The gominigo one is stainless steel and very well made. The license plate brackets are strong.
I got the offset bracket and it is strong enough to not bend and hit the bumper while driving.

http://www.gominigo.com/Lexus.html
They gave me a 10% off code, you can see if it still will work. Code = GMG-THANKS-10
Amount: $85.00
Item Count: 1
Description: NOHOLES' LPB Kit for LEXUS CT
SKU: GMG-0002S-LEX-CT

Amount: $8.00
Item Count: 1
Description: OFFSET 3 BRACKET FOR 'NOHOLES' LPB KIT - LEFT 10 DEGREE ANGLE
SKU: GMG-0002S-BRKT OFF3

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ct-...tallation.html
Tutorial here: http://www.ct200hforum.com/forum/lex...tallation.html

AORC11

Nice job. Thanks for the pictures LoveCT.

Trexus

Congratulations of getting a CT and that's great that you stayed inside the Lexus family. You'll enjoy many miles with high mpg's and very low maintenance costs...

corradoMR2

Happy with my 3IS but do miss my MRM CT's fuel economy and styling. Congrats Woodrow.

sleepyking

I also am contemplating this. I have a 3IS. Initially for the last few months I've been wanting the NX, but as time went by I leaned towards a Prius (for mileage), but then now thinking of the CT.
What were your reasons for trading?
Frankly I just don't drive much anymore being that a new job has allowed me to walk to the office daily. I feel like the 3IS is just too expensive for the little that I use it

nabbun

I traded in my 2007 IS250 AWD for this car. I loved the IS but, this car was something very different and I wanted to try my hand at modding something that isn't so popular in the modding scene.

Welcome to the CT200h family!

User 41924

Actually, I changed for exactly the same reason. I had 15K miles on my 3 year old IS when I traded it in on the CT. It seemed a little absurd to be paying that much for a car that only went the 8 miles back and forth to work 3 or 4 days a week, even though I really liked the car. I pay a lot less for the CT and it's still very nice, just in a different way. I do miss some of the options my IS had, but the CT actually handles better and is fun to drive around town. It feels a lot like the MINI Cooper S I used to have, except it's more stylish and a lot less quirky. OK, it's a bit slower, too. Even though I have to put a little more mileage on the CT, I've filled up the CT twice after more than 3 weeks of driving. Each time it cost LESS than $22 to fill it back up!!!! I caught myself chuckling as I got back in the car!

So. What I think is a great looking car that gets twice the mileage on cheaper gas, is still a very nice car that's fun to drive and very comfortable, seems like a no brainer. The only negative has been the cost of registering a new car rather than one that was 3 years old. Of course, I saved that cost difference on the first payment . All in all? I'm very pleased with the change.