Hello From Shrewsbury, Uk

[Guest]

Good Afternoon All,

So on this windy, cold day as storm Barney rages (sounds so funny) I thought I would spend a moment and say hello to all the Lexus owners and hopefully soon become the owner of my first Lexus.

I am planning on purchasing a Lexus IS 220d - 2007 and would love to know all the Do's and Dont's or any advice when getting it.

I have been spending sometime looking through the forum and its a great site with so much info.

My last car was a Mercedes CL500 and though I loved it, that V8 burnt a hole in my wallet.

So time passed, drove a car I dare not utter the name of and finally I am in a position to buy a car.

While searching cars, Lexus popped in my head and then after some search through the models and lots of thinking I have settled on the IS 220d.

I am just amazed in what you get for the amount you pay, Lexus fever for sure.

Thanks

Maz

[steveledzep]

Hello Syed and welcome to LOC.

Have a thorough read of threads about the IS200D.

I'd recommend an IS250 as a better alternative, not too thirsty, 30+mpg.

Good luck and let us know what you get please.

[steveledzep]

oooops......meant 220D threads to read !

[Guest]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the info and cheers for the advice on the IS250. I actually need to look into that properly.

I am wondering a little bit about the Diesel vs the Petrol engine for Lexus.

Cheers

[Bluesman]

Hi Maz and welcome to the LOC, we are a
friendly bunch and some of us even know how to pull them to bits and
put them back together again, with of course the one bolt and washer
left over.

We recommend you spend a couple of mins
looking over the rules of the LOC, we will be asking questions later.

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/terms-conditions/

Regards Mike.

[Linas.P]

Choice is yours, if you want diesel and you feel that is right car for you.. go for it.

Few things to consider:
Obviously, XE20 (that is IS 2gen. as a whole) is really good value overall and comprehensive equipment by default. When considering used MB's and BMW's with same equipment they are at least 2x as much. Even XE30 has less cool stuff in "base trim" (e.g. keyless entry or what lexus calls "Smart entry" is an option for a lot of £££).
I am still amazed with all gizmos I have in SE-L and that is third IS (XE20) I own.

Few more things to consider:

• ALE20 (200d/220d) has no auto option. For me that was main issue and manual for this model is not great e.g. maintenance costs are actually higher and it is less reliable e.g. clutches likes to wear and slip. While on the other hand v6+auto is one of the best sorted options (at least for relaxing driving).
• Diesel engine is as well not the best ever (especially 220d), many reliability issues. 200d seems to have addressed majority of 220d issues, but still far from perfect.
• Finally, driving style and location - XE20 is motorway car, especially ALE20. In city you will get DPF problems very quickly, as well as clutch (might depend on person's "manual" skill). In other hand there is nothing better than autopilot on motorway (especially if you have radar one... which correct me if I am wrong was never an option with manual?!), unless you have a diesel and need to change gears down when going uphill.
• If you are really in need for a city car then why not CT (A10).. it is by far the best looking hatch for me.. maybe only new mb a-series with amg pack comes close in terms of looks.

In conclusion IS 250 (or otherwise GSE20) auto is much better option. It is still quite efficient - sitting in London traffics all day my long term AVG MPG is 25.2, but you can easily get this car to 30-35 on mixed cycle. Other thing as mentioned here - http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/72447-increase-your-mileage-in-few-steps/ - IS is heavy car and that is something you shoudl use to get good fuel economy, what is applicable for 220d is aplicable 250 as well.

Basically, you will save little bit with ALE20 at the pump, but will spend just as much on maintenance, while at the same time it will never be as wonderful to drive as GSE20. As well it doesn't seems like SE-L's cost much more than SE's hence it is all about being little lucky and patient until there is car in the colour option you looking for.



Sent from my Galaxy S6 edge using Tapatalk

[is200 Newbie]

DO - buy a 250

DONT - buy a 220

There are loads of posts here showing the benefits of the 250 over the 220. Have a good read before buying

[Guest]

Hi Linas and Noo Bie,

I just want to thank you for all the information. I really need to have a good think about all this now. I will be doing a lot of motorway miles so that's fine however those issues mentioned have got me thinking.

Think I need to do some more reading in the forums and have a cuppa.

Mike - I have had a read through the t's and c's so test away !! This site is already seems very friendly and I am glad I have joined. Will update on my journey to buying my first Lexus.

Maz

[normski2]

Give this a lot of thought.

As much as I liked my 220 when I had it....i had the Head gasket go...it would have been thousands were it not covered by Lexus warranty.

I was not a huge fan of the clutch or the gear box on the 220.

For me 6th gear was useless unless doing 90mph.

The 250 is a completely different driving experience. The auto box is wonderful.

But, it does less mpg on paper. In reality, you'll see a lot of people saying they only get 30 - 38 mpg from the diesel. So not much in it at all.

For me it's a no brainer....250 every time.

[bluenose1940]

Welcome to the club Maz. You have chosen well to come into the Lexus fold but please do take heed of all that has been said in the replies so far. The guys on here are a great knowledgeable bunch and help is always available. There are some really nice 220d's about, I had one but, as I say, do take note of what is being said by your fellow members.

[Z28DUNC]

Hi Maz, I'm in Shrewsbury. Where abouts are you?

My wifes got a IS250 manual. We've just had to have the clutch changed at 75k. To be fair I don't think the previous owner drove it well. (2nd gear pull aways). However as suggest by others the Auto IS250 is the way to go. We'd have had one but my wife insisted on a manual!

[toffee_pie]

Don't really get the bad reputation with manual boxes. Mine is manual and it's fine. If you had a uprated clutch and flywheel it would be very nice indeed.

[bobmc]

I'd reached the same conclusion too, the IS250 seems a better option. The manual is more expensive to tax as well -£490pa

I'm on the lookout for a good used IS250 auto but I'm up in the north-east so we shouldn't be in competition!

Good luck with the search