Our Lexus CT200h stood shining in the showroom, and Dirk Kinot of GMAN Antwerp proudly handed us over the keys… 

It is always a big day when one gets a new car, even when we have driven so many. Last but not least because it will be our own mount, and we will use it for many years to come.

Just mount the license plates and hit the road…

We were again pleased to see its deep blue colour, shining after a careful valet cleaning by the people of Toyota GMAN at IJzerlaan 3 in Antwerp. GMAN had the car fully serviced prior to delivery with the 90.000 km scheduled inspection, and GMAN had installed for us a brand new 12 Volt battery and a new internal lining of the engine hood, as the original one was apparently eaten away at some places by ferrets or animals who apparently just love the fabric . We also received a 1 year, unlimited mileage guarantee.

In the documents, presented to us by Dirk Kinot, of GMAN Antwerp, the full service history was included. The car was regularly serviced by Lexus Waterloo. The car was obviously carefully maintained by its previous owner, and besides the service booklet, the full manual of the car was handed over to us in pristine condition.

These details make the joy of receiving a “new” pre-owned car even greater. The interior of our Lexus was carefully valeted and cleaned, and the textile beige upholstery looks and feels like new. The bodywork has some minute blemishes and scratches in the neighbourhood of the fuel filler cap, on the upper part of the left side rearview mirror, and a barely visible crack in the left outside rear light cluster. Some corrosion is seen on two alloy wheels. All this will soon be attended to… we want our Lexus to look top notch!

Dirk Kinot puts the licence plates on the Lexus… 

We were pleased to see that our Lexus was shod with Semperit M & S all weather tires, which makes our Lexus immediately fit for wintery conditions.

A very promising first drive…

The first meters with our Lexus proved satisfying indeed. We plunged the car straight away into Antwerp city traffic, and we enjoyed immediately the smoothness of its hybrid drivetrain, and on the urban cobblestones we appreciated the tautness of the body, the precision of the steering, which lets us clearly feel that this low-mileage example has never seen any rough treatment. We filled up the tank and will soon take it further through its paces… Stay tuned for more!

Hans Knol ten Bensel