Nearly a Lexus owner

[Malk C]

Hi all, 

New member to the forums looking for some advice from real owners.

So it is nearly time to change my vehicle and I seem to be drawn towards a Lexus, always loved the cars, but budget constraints ect.. means it is going to be a used model.

My current car is a Saab 9-5 Aero my04, looking around the models in my price range (£3500, yh pretty low I know) I am drawn to either a IS250 se-l, a GS300 or 430 and if I can scrape some more pennies together maybe a GS450h, what are people opinions on the most bang for buck car, obviously I expect it to be around 100K mileage and not in perfect condition.

Most important thing for me is reliability as it will be a daily driver, then I would like at least some power (saab is at 275bhp 400nm 295 ft lbs torque), so will be losing some power by changing cars, also I am a bit of a geek and the more buttons to press the better :D

Some problems I know of such as IS250 waterpumps, but problems on these cars seem less frequent than say our German friends.

I have never driven, owned or know anyone that has a Lexus so all my information is from you people and the internet, the car will be driven by me mostly 1 occupant but sometimes I take the family out so 5 seats is a must.

Thanks, Mal.

[Bluesman]

Welcome to the LOC. Have fun.

[Ala Larj]

GS for real Lexus quality and reliability.

[gdh300]

Hi Malcolm, welcome to the LOC.

My IS300 cost me £3000 about five years ago. It was on 95k then and I took it to 185k; I sold it to a member here and it has just got through its MoT at the ripe old age of 17 (the car, not the owner!). In that, time I probably spent the same in maintenance. No older high mileage car will be big-ticket free unfortunately, but I never ever was left in the lurch by my IS, and I never hesitated to do 500+ miles a day in it when the need arose. They are superbly built vehicles - probably even better the older you go. Lots of good advice here when you've narrowed down to which Lexus best fits your need. If you want poke, may be a GS450h or RX400h might come into your budget, but more likely a LS430, GS430 or GS300.

[noby76]

Hi Malcom, welcome... I have been an IS300 and GS430 owner and they are fine smooth cars to drive... sticky brake caliper  and 02 sensor tends to be the most issue with these models  as they age and can be annoying but so long as you get the slid pins serviced regularly it keeps them in check...  for power i will say go for the GS430  make sure cambelt has been changed if not budget for cambelt change .. knock sensor tends to failon the V8 engines the older they get and its not cheap to replace due to being labour intensive job but besides that, they are solid engines. try and limit to a car with fewer owners...Good Luck!

[Malk C]

Thank you for the welcome,

My gut feeling was for the GS models due to more legroom in the rear, more power ect.., thanks noby76 never knew about the knock sensor, something to check, cambelt I would expect to be high on my check list for been done, are the GS models chain driven?, expect its the tensioners that are the weak link there, I always give the pins a grease up every 6 months or so usually so that does not worry me too much, o2 sensors are easy to fit (or at least on other cars). only thing on the GS450h that worries me is the electric Battery on high mileage, probably will cost more than the car to replace.

I have around 4 weeks to find something before the Saab goes for its mot, only other thing that concerns me is winter driving, all my cars previous are fwd, this recent flurry, the Saab did admirably on summer tyres without much bother, I fully expect to have a spare set of alloys and winter tyres for the Lexus been rwd you hear all kinds of horror stories about rwd, probably all running on slicks or something 😄

Right I shall hit the classifieds, and if anyone has a 2005+ GS model up for sale that matches what I am looking for shoot me a message. 

Thanks all, I will be logging in most days to browse the forums ect...

[gdh300]

4 minutes ago, Malk C said:

... only thing on the GS450h that worries me is the electric battery on high mileage, probably will cost more than the car to replace...

... I fully expect to have a spare set of alloys and winter tyres for the Lexus been rwd you hear all kinds of horror stories about rwd, probably all running on slicks or something...

On this first point Malcolm, you can tackle it yourself (there is a video on YouTube I think) as it usually is one of two of the cells that fail, not the whole unit. Alternatively, this chap has been mentioned here - in fact I think he posts here - and is definitely worth a look: http://www.hybridbatterysolutions.co.uk

Second point, yes I had a set of a aftermarket alloys with full winters and never had a problem, although admittedly in the time I had them we never had a serious winter here in Hampshire! From previous experience, they are day and night to summers. Harry Metcalfe got his Rolls to the Arctic Circle on winters (check YouTube) so that's good enough for me... ☺️

[noby76]

the Gen2 GS300's where belt driven with the 2JZ-GE engine same as non turbo supra and IS300. gen3 GS300 is chain driven direct injected and dual VVTI which translates to better MPG when compared to GS430 and Gen2 GS300... I also fancy the GS450h for power and economy but as you say the Battery cells on older models is questionable  worth having a chat with hybridbatterysolutions for their input on what might likely go wrong and cost wise just to give you a rough idea in case....GS430 is plenty powerful still... Gen3 GS300 is sensible option in terms of overall running cost