Thoughts on this GS250 F Sport guys

[umuk]

Hi guys, been a while since ive been active on this forum but was just wanting some advice on this GS250 i have come across and rather like.

 

Can i have some feedback from any owners please? theres not a lot out there on these cars so its proving difficult for me to make a decision

 

Heres the car:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/332371072775?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

thanks in advance

[paulGS250]

Hi UMAK,

As an owner of a 250 Sport, I hope I am qualified to express an opinion. This car does look good. One owner, good colour inside and out (I love the rose interior). Best new is the Mark Levinson upgrade and larger 12" screen, this is the best option upgrade to have.

Overall my experience of the GS 250 sport is great. Good to drive, quiet, relaxing, comfortable, and with the fun of Sport + on twisty roads.

Reasonably quick (ignore the 0-60 time, it feels a lot faster than that), with a great exhaust note when pressing on.

Only downsides for me are 22-24 mpg (I do not do many long motorway trips), the road tax (£300 odd), and the maintenance costs, But you do get what you pay for.

Check both front wheel bearings, as one of mine was shot at £28,000 miles, and they cost £700 each. I suspect a victim of pot holes.

Otherwise good luck and enjoy.

 

Paul

[Shahpor]

Was your car under warranty Paul?

28k isn't a lot for a wheel bearing, and since you can't prove it was caused by pot holes, I would argue the case for a parts failure.

I hope £700 is the fitted price at least?  Although it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't as it would be another example of ludicrous parts pricing from Lexus.

[Guest]

I Spotted this one as well yesterday it looks like a very fair price.

[umuk]

1 hour ago, paulGS250 said:

Hi UMAK,

As an owner of a 250 Sport, I hope I am qualified to express an opinion. This car does look good. One owner, good colour inside and out (I love the rose interior). Best new is the Mark Levinson upgrade and larger 12" screen, this is the best option upgrade to have.

Overall my experience of the GS 250 sport is great. Good to drive, quiet, relaxing, comfortable, and with the fun of Sport + on twisty roads.

Reasonably quick (ignore the 0-60 time, it feels a lot faster than that), with a great exhaust note when pressing on.

Only downsides for me are 22-24 mpg (I do not do many long motorway trips), the road tax (£300 odd), and the maintenance costs, But you do get what you pay for.

Check both front wheel bearings, as one of mine was shot at £28,000 miles, and they cost £700 each. I suspect a victim of pot holes.

Otherwise good luck and enjoy.

 

Paul

Excellent reply Paul mate, thank you. Exactly what i was looking for! 

In terms of looks its a no brainer...my concern is to do with depreciation and something that you've touched on....parts/running costs.

We dont seem to have may Lexus specialists out there. and if something was to need replacing, it would most likely be Lexus themselves...having said that every time ive gone to pick a part up, its been round to corner to the Toyota dealerships parts dept! which gets my goat every time. 

I've given the chap a call, just waiting for a return call. Will take things from there

[umuk]

19 minutes ago, Eame64 said:

I Spotted this one as well yesterday it looks like a very fair price.

Im struggling to work out whether the price is reasonable? there are non for sale privately currently and the few that are for sale are silly high price (imo)

 

One things for sure though, i wont get that level of spec for the price with a 530d m sport nor the aggressive looks

Having said that, would the running costs be lower? and id have more mpg and more power.

 

hmmm

[Guest]

Have you seen this 450h .http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201707287806172?onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&model=GS 450H&year-from=2011&sort=sponsored&advertising-location=at_cars&make=LEXUS&postcode=cv379xz&radius=1500&page

 

 

[Shahpor]

The 450h's certainly command a hefty premium, don't they?

That 450h has over 40k more miles and is less well spec'd but is still over £1500 more expensive.  Although it is a dealer, so some of the cost will be associated with that.

[umuk]

54 minutes ago, Eame64 said:

Have you seen this 450h .http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201707287806172?onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&model=GS 450H&year-from=2011&sort=sponsored&advertising-location=at_cars&make=LEXUS&postcode=cv379xz&radius=1500&page

 

 

i have indeed, but its not the F sport so visually not as appealing and then the mileage is a tad on the high side for me.

Thanks for pointing it out though

i've looked everywhere to try and compare this car to others, i think its rarity is its downfall, if that makes sense

[j8pfc]

For the condition and mileage it's a very good price.

Have been looking for one for a long time and sods law just paid  more for one but with less mileage.

Had I not I would have been very tempted by this.

 

 

[rayaans]

5 hours ago, umuk said:

Excellent reply Paul mate, thank you. Exactly what i was looking for! 

In terms of looks its a no brainer...my concern is to do with depreciation and something that you've touched on....parts/running costs.

We dont seem to have may Lexus specialists out there. and if something was to need replacing, it would most likely be Lexus themselves...having said that every time ive gone to pick a part up, its been round to corner to the Toyota dealerships parts dept! which gets my goat every time. 

I've given the chap a call, just waiting for a return call. Will take things from there

The car itself looks good and it is clearly evident that the car has been well looked after, for example, only being washed by the owners and having a towel under the baby seat. The baby seat would be the main concern so I would be taking a look under it to see if there are any indentations/rips in the leather, and also if there are kick marks on the back of the passenger seat. 

Apart from that it looks good and is a fair price. I would buy it at asking price if it is as described - if you get a deal, even better. I would expect the owner to give you it for £14k. 

Depreciation is hardly a worry on a £14k vehicle. They won't lose value anywhere near as fast as things over £20k. Parts may be expensive as I believe some of the GS parts are GS only and unavailable from Toyota for a cheaper price ie Toyota will sell you parts at same price as Lexus for some items. However, I wouldn't expect it to be any more expensive than an IS250 for example.

2 hours ago, Shahpor said:

The 450h's certainly command a hefty premium, don't they?

That 450h has over 40k more miles and is less well spec'd but is still over £1500 more expensive.  Although it is a dealer, so some of the cost will be associated with that.

GS450h cost more to begin with and £1-2k will be dealer mark up. It also held its value better being a vehicle with good performance and cheap tax.

[umuk]

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

The car itself looks good and it is clearly evident that the car has been well looked after, for example, only being washed by the owners and having a towel under the baby seat. The baby seat would be the main concern so I would be taking a look under it to see if there are any indentations/rips in the leather, and also if there are kick marks on the back of the passenger seat. 

Apart from that it looks good and is a fair price. I would buy it at asking price if it is as described - if you get a deal, even better. I would expect the owner to give you it for £14k. 

Depreciation is hardly a worry on a £14k vehicle. They won't lose value anywhere near as fast as things over £20k. Parts may be expensive as I believe some of the GS parts are GS only and unavailable from Toyota for a cheaper price ie Toyota will sell you parts at same price as Lexus for some items. However, I wouldn't expect it to be any more expensive than an IS250 for example.

GS450h cost more to begin with and £1-2k will be dealer mark up. It also held its value better being a vehicle with good performance and cheap tax.

Wow...well spotted about the protection under the baby seat. I'm guessing the seat will be fine underneath if they've gone to those lengths to protect it but will check anyway. Back of seats look as though they would just wipe down if there were any marks caused by kids footwear? 

 

I haven't had a call back ayet....not going to make contact again as I don't want to look too eager! Lol

[steveledzep]

As all contributors have said, looks a well looked after car for a keen price.

If I were looking for one of these, I'd call him again before someone beats me to it.

[j8pfc]

I would question his description of Lane Keep Assist (LKA) - it sounds more like the Blind Spot Monitor - the 2 are separate.

[rayaans]

3 hours ago, umuk said:

Wow...well spotted about the protection under the baby seat. I'm guessing the seat will be fine underneath if they've gone to those lengths to protect it but will check anyway. Back of seats look as though they would just wipe down if there were any marks caused by kids footwear? 

 

I haven't had a call back ayet....not going to make contact again as I don't want to look too eager! Lol

And that was just a quick browse. I have done some more browsing and looked at the car in detail now. 

Few things I have noticed from before. 

1) the front bumper looks remarkably free of stone chips. Check the paintwork for any problems as I suspect it may have been resprayed. To not have stone chips on Velvet black (the only black available on the GS F-Sport at the time) is soft and would have a few stonechips at those miles.

2) Tyres are Uniroyal Rainsports - good choice! I certainly approve

3) There is a parking permit in the windscreen - take a good look around the car for any door dents etc and look around the corners of each bumper for poor repairs after scrapes Not a huge problem as they can be fixed but atleast you won't regret spotting anything odd.

4) I believe there is some misinformation. The only option on this particular F-Sport was the ML sound system which is 17 speakers, not 18. Additionally, I believe the rear sunshade and blind spot monitor were standard fitment.

Probably worth just sending a message on eBay or texting. 

[Jamesf1]

I have a 250 Luxury, Id agree with everything PaulGS250 said, however, i don't do a lot of motorway miles and I get 29-30 mpg using Shell Vpower. I do drive in a fairly calm manor as the GS is no sports car, but as a comfortable cruiser it is exceptional. In sport mode the induction noise is amplified and it sounds great when you do put your foot down. The interior is excellent quality and cleans up well. 

[umuk]

Thanks for the above Rayaan. 

I have spoken to the chap this morning and raised your points, with answers as follows

1. The paint work is all original, the front bumper, bonnet and front wings were protected by some clear wrap film (ive since googled this and it seems to be the same material they use to change the colour of cars these days, but of course its clear in colour. it was removed last year but the paintwork is pretty much blemish free...he did say that there some tiny 'dots' on the front bumper which if you go up close, you would see..but nothing visible from more than a couple of metres away.

2. didnt say anything on this point! but good to know they are meant to be good,  thanks

3. Permit is for Ilkley Grammar school where his missus is a teacher, she takes the car on occasion and parking is in designated single file bays against a wall. Hes adamant that there is not a single ripple nevermind ding on the car. 

4. The car is actually his fathers who is approaching 70 and is moving to the Lexus NX hybrid, hes stopped driving this one. To be fair i was concerned about this point and questioned why hadn't it been mentioned in the ad and could it be that he was selling the car on (what i was really asking was whether he was a secret trader and had acquired the car!) he told me that the car will be viewed at the registered address on the v5 and i was free to speak to his father if i required. Relief! i went on to ask about the speakers and such and he said he would amend the ad accordingly.

 

He seemed genuine enough.

He did say the price is just about what they want for it, he claims that their local dealer has advised that it would be up at around 17k with them, but with the benefit of dealer warranty.

I just have to make the decision now and then work out how i'm going to arrange to travel 4 hours up the M1 to good old yorkshire! 

It seems to tick every single box one could ask for...but i have this niggle in the back of my mind that why do we not see more of these cars on the road?! if they specced to the brim with stunning looks, surely there would be more about? what the catch guys? 

oh and the baby seat...its been in a few weeks and has a thick plastic sheet under it for protection...leather underneath is fine.

 

 

[umuk]

34 minutes ago, Jamesf1 said:

I have a 250 Luxury, Id agree with everything PaulGS250 said, however, i don't do a lot of motorway miles and I get 29-30 mpg using Shell Vpower. I do drive in a fairly calm manor as the GS is no sports car, but as a comfortable cruiser it is exceptional. In sport mode the induction noise is amplified and it sounds great when you do put your foot down. The interior is excellent quality and cleans up well. 

thats part of the reason im willing to except a lower mpg...for the noise of petrol engine.

 

I think i need to maybe see one locally to get a better idea of what this car is all about.

[Jamesf1]

You dont seem more on the road because the 250 was only on sale for a short period before the 300h came on the scene. Plus back then diesel was king in this segment. Also, Lexus dont sell to fleets, and IMHO most people cant see beyond a German badge. 

[umuk]

ok guys...and maybe Rayaan is suited to answer this one...the is300h....just a smaller version of the GS but with much better mpg, much much lower road tax AND four wheel drive?....although other than the autotrader's spec sheet, i cant see anywhere else it says the uk version has 4x4?

 

maybe im overthinking things on this car...honestly im not usually like this...its just with it being so rare but really appreciate the input guys...and hopefully if anyone in the future wants one these cars, they will have this thread to go by. 

[umuk]

23 minutes ago, Jamesf1 said:

You dont seem more on the road because the 250 was only on sale for a short period before the 300h came on the scene. Plus back then diesel was king in this segment. Also, Lexus dont sell to fleets, and IMHO most people cant see beyond a German badge. 

fair point...1 years production would explain it. Im not hung up on the badge...and tbh the Lexus brand is up there with the germans (in my mind anyway)

[ds001]

For £1095 you can get 2 years Lexus warranty for piece of mind.

 https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/warranty-and-insurance/#Introduction

[Shahpor]

56 minutes ago, umuk said:

ok guys...and maybe Rayaan is suited to answer this one...the is300h....just a smaller version of the GS but with much better mpg, much much lower road tax AND four wheel drive?....although other than the autotrader's spec sheet, i cant see anywhere else it says the uk version has 4x4?

 

maybe im overthinking things on this car...honestly im not usually like this...its just with it being so rare but really appreciate the input guys...and hopefully if anyone in the future wants one these cars, they will have this thread to go by. 

Were you looking on the Autotrader phone app?  My friend said a similar thing but it is a mistake as there is no 4 wheel drive IS300h in the UK.

Also, I wouldn't class the IS as a smaller version of the GS.  Personally I feel the GS is a step up in terms of quality and refinement over the IS.  The interior of the GS especially feels like a much nicer place to be.

If you are worried about running costs, then @ds001 makes a good suggestion regarding the warranty.

Other than that, just drive it and enjoy the comfort and exclusivity

[umuk]

15 minutes ago, ds001 said:

For £1095 you can get 2 years Lexus warranty for piece of mind.

 https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/warranty-and-insurance/#Introduction

andrew is that even if the car has not had warranty for last 2 years?

 

i was under the impression that only BMW offered dealer warranty to such cars

 

[Shahpor]

To qualify for the warranty the car needs to be under 10 years old and must not have covered more than 140,000 miles.

So, subject to a free visual safety check at the dealers, the car you are looking at can have the warranty.

I highly recommend it too as mine has been excellent.