Lexus IS 250

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
18,299
Decent cars but I would say 5k is too much for that one which looks a bit grubby inside, wheels are shabby, generally unloved. Wants to be a minter for that money really. 4GR/A960 drivetrain is pretty reliable. Prone to sudden failure of alternators and starters. Direct injection only so engines prone to inlet valve build up. Bit unremarkable to drive, engine lacks torque below 3500, first gen electric PAS is a bit pants. 3 series is a much better drive.
 
Associate
Joined
15 Feb 2013
Posts
254
Location
Bristol
Hi All
been looking at these for under 5k should get me a 2008 model under 100k. I have seen options below. Anything I should look out for mechanical or electrical ? is the high mileage an issue ?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202006150151912?atmobcid=soc3

this screams daylight robbery, i would be tempted to buy this even though i don't even need a car as its a shame to see it sitting around. I had a IS250 SEL Manual and it was bullet proof, the auto box is very good - far better than what is normally used on other cars

This is fully loaded with ML sound and all the toys, 90k miles on these is hardly worn in yet

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-de...rchad=Used&model=IS 250&postcode=l44el&page=1
 
Associate
Joined
15 Feb 2013
Posts
254
Location
Bristol
Hi All
been looking at these for under 5k should get me a 2008 model under 100k. I have seen options below. Anything I should look out for mechanical or electrical ? is the high mileage an issue ?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202006150151912?atmobcid=soc3

high miles no issue, this is a Lexus - just check the service history and see its had regular maintenance.

things to look out for a few and far between, the exhaust can rust, not cheap but i am sure powerflow or such can do a Cat back exhaust for £600-700 - Also the water pump should be replaced at around 70k, if not replace it.

really good cars these, and they wont break down unlike a BMW.. i would rather put my faith in a IS250 with 100k miles to get me across Europe over any BMW

unremarkable to drive, but hey you cant win em all......
 
Soldato
Joined
12 Mar 2008
Posts
22,862
Location
West sussex
I had an 08 250 for near 2 years. Absolutely no issues with it, was at 115k when I sold it and the only thing it needed was a service. Great car too, plenty of kit, super reliable, drives well and looks good.
 
Caporegime
Joined
24 Oct 2012
Posts
25,023
Location
Godalming
this screams daylight robbery, i would be tempted to buy this even though i don't even need a car as its a shame to see it sitting around. I had a IS250 SEL Manual and it was bullet proof, the auto box is very good - far better than what is normally used on other cars

This is fully loaded with ML sound and all the toys, 90k miles on these is hardly worn in yet

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008182632135?price-to=4500&radius=1500&price-from=3500&make=LEXUS&advertising-location=at_cars&sort=price-asc&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&model=IS 250&postcode=l44el&page=1

Crikey what a shed :eek:

Knackered rims, mix'n'match tyres, ruined discs, I'd be avoiding that like the plague! The plate is also dodgy, can't find any results for it.
 
Associate
Joined
15 Feb 2013
Posts
254
Location
Bristol
Crikey what a shed :eek:

Knackered rims, mix'n'match tyres, ruined discs, I'd be avoiding that like the plague! The plate is also dodgy, can't find any results for it.

Have you ever owned one? that stuff is consumables... its a 14 year old car what do you expect. The plate is private so you need to contact the owner for the original reg. Mix and match tyres not a deal breaker, its not AWD is it

avoid it like the plaque and buy a BMW then...it will spent more its time in a shed than that Lexus will be on the road
 
Caporegime
Joined
24 Oct 2012
Posts
25,023
Location
Godalming
Have you ever owned one? that stuff is consumables... its a 14 year old car what do you expect. The plate is private so you need to contact the owner for the original reg. Mix and match tyres not a deal breaker, its not AWD is it

avoid it like the plaque and buy a BMW then...it will spent more its time in a shed than that Lexus will be on the road

Alright, put the handbag away, I wasn't attacking your dear Lexus brand. Everyone knows Lexus is generally very reliable, I was merely pointing out that this particular one looks like it's been maintained on a shoestring where absolutely needed only. Hence the comment: it's a shed. The one in the OP is much better.
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Dec 2002
Posts
3,958
Location
UK
tyres not a deal breaker, its not AWD is it

Often a good sign though that it's had the bare minimum spent to keep it on the road, if you are paying a top end price for a car then i'd be wanting to know it's not been run on a shoestring budget.
 
Associate
Joined
15 Feb 2013
Posts
254
Location
Bristol
Alright, put the handbag away, I wasn't attacking your dear Lexus brand. Everyone knows Lexus is generally very reliable, I was merely pointing out that this particular one looks like it's been maintained on a shoestring where absolutely needed only. Hence the comment: it's a shed. The one in the OP is much better.

Never judge a book by its cover...you may be correct but i would be open to delving into it further, these are extremely well made cars and if that Lexus has had a up to date service history i would ignore the tatty tyres and alloys - they don't concern me at all at this price point. If it was a AWD Subaru like the 3.0 Spec.B I have i would walk away immediately, as I don't fancy paying 3 figures for a diff, my car was just like this tatty on the outside but had a full service record and the all important matching tyres... that was almost 5 years ago - now it looks as good as new and is worth more than i paid as they are next to impossible to get hold of

If this Lexus doesn't have a decent service record well that's an entirely different matter but we don't jet know if that's the case - it could well be that the car in the OP has a crap service record but polished with WD40 before some tasty photos were taken...
 
Caporegime
Joined
29 Jul 2011
Posts
36,342
Location
In acme's chair.
Looks about £1K too expensive to me.

And 100,000 isn't high mileage, its not 1976.

This one looks much nicer than the one in the OP. I'd personally only spend about 2.5K on one of these and get an SE with some more miles on it, but you could probably get this one for 4400~ with some haggling.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008303107941?advertising-location=at_cars&make=LEXUS&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&radius=200&sort=price-asc&model=IS 250&postcode=bn150he&page=4

this screams daylight robbery, i would be tempted to buy this even though i don't even need a car as its a shame to see it sitting around. I had a IS250 SEL Manual and it was bullet proof, the auto box is very good - far better than what is normally used on other cars

This is fully loaded with ML sound and all the toys, 90k miles on these is hardly worn in yet
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008182632135?price-to=4500&radius=1500&price-from=3500&make=LEXUS&advertising-location=at_cars&sort=price-asc&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&model=IS 250&postcode=l44el&page=1

Even I wouldn't touch that.
 
Last edited:

nam

nam

Soldato
OP
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
2,671
Location
London
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
15 Feb 2013
Posts
254
Location
Bristol
Thanks for the suggestions. I did some more research on YT, i found this , recommends 2009 onwards which may be outside my budget


There is nothing else to add, all you need to check is that they have a full service record - in 2009 (ish) they had a mild face-lift with revised rear clusters - just make sure you get SE-L trim as there is no excuse not to. And get an Automatic, my manual was ok but clunky, no where near as good as a Subaru 6MT and it spoiled the driving a bit
 
Caporegime
Joined
29 Jul 2011
Posts
36,342
Location
In acme's chair.
There is nothing else to add, all you need to check is that they have a full service record - in 2009 (ish) they had a mild face-lift we revised rear clusters - just make sure you get SE-L trim as there is no excuse not to. And get an Automatic, my manual was ok but clunky, no where near as good as a Subaru 6MT and it spoiled the driving a bit

No excuse not to, apart from the fact that they are way more expensive, based on examples currently for sale. :p

Decent SEs start at 2500. Decent SE-Ls start at 4000.


Thanks for the suggestions. I did some more research on YT, i found this , recommends 2009 onwards which may be outside my budget


Why does it recommend 2009 onwards? I'd ignore the advice personally unless there is some major failure point which they corrected. OR there is a negligible difference in price.


would need to see details of when the last service was done and was it with Lexus


I doubt it. They are 11 year old cars. Most people will use a private independant by that age.
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Nov 2006
Posts
23,712
I’ll add some details tomorrow but I think it’s an underrated car and it’s a great choice for normal driving yet can still be fun.
 
Soldato
Joined
12 Jul 2007
Posts
16,316
Location
South East
this screams daylight robbery, i would be tempted to buy this even though i don't even need a car as its a shame to see it sitting around. I had a IS250 SEL Manual and it was bullet proof, the auto box is very good - far better than what is normally used on other cars

This is fully loaded with ML sound and all the toys, 90k miles on these is hardly worn in yet

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008182632135?price-to=4500&radius=1500&price-from=3500&make=LEXUS&advertising-location=at_cars&sort=price-asc&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&model=IS 250&postcode=l44el&page=1

You're right, a £249 admin fee is daylight robbery.

Look at the state of that.
 
Soldato
Joined
12 Mar 2008
Posts
22,862
Location
West sussex
There is no reason to get 09+ it was a very small facelift.

What you want ideally is :

Se-L
Auto

I paid £4400 for mine 3ish years ago, was at 104k miles.

Two owners, pretty much highest spec you could get bar sunroof, previous owner had it for 7 years and only had to replace the battery cable and service it. Mine was pretty much the same, consumables and service.

Sold it last year for 3500 at 115k miles.

Have a look at eBay! And don't worry about miles. The 250s can take it! The is220 was the problematic one and probably the worst car lexus ever made :D

I don't see why you won't be able to get something similar for 4k ish. The one in your post is overpriced and looks very tired.
 
Associate
Joined
15 Feb 2013
Posts
254
Location
Bristol
You're right, a £249 admin fee is daylight robbery.

Look at the state of that.

if you read my post you will see you need to read between the lines...
have you seen the service history? nope
can we check the MOT history.. nope

until we can rule that out we don't know for sure and it might be possible to get it for £3k in cash... These Lexus IS250's are made to a much better standard than the crap sold from BMW and others nowadays.
 
Back
Top Bottom