Newbie Lexus owner..in the making

Shaunomercy · July 23, 2018

Hi everyone.

I've been looking at a few Lexus is250f-sports but not really seen one that ticks either the history or condition box.

I've seen an is250se-i on a 10plate with 9 Lexus stamps in the history which I've verified. It hasn't had the plugs changed yet tho. 67,000 miles. Price is £6950

I'd really appreciate some info on spec tho please if anyone can clarify and a reasonable purchase price I should be aiming for. It's a private sale.

It has satnav and reversing camera but doesn't say ml down by the cd changer.

So is this 13 speaker or 8 or ml system ?.

The alloys are 18 inchers. 15 spoke alloys.

Are these standard?

Does the se-i have the chromatic mirrors and heated wiper bit please.

It's grey/ cream leather seats that are ventilated apparently.

I've been a big fan of Lexus for ages. I shift cars for a living (car transporter driver) and a Lexus always feel special when you get in one. So it's come time to change cars and the Lexus is the only car on the list.

Anything I need to be very aware of fault wise ?

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madasahatter · July 23, 2018

The wheels are is f sport wheels. 10 spoke are standard and to be honest corrode something terrible. Does the car have xenons noted by the headlight washers.

Price is about right for year, think they all have the wiper heater but may be wrong. Are the seats heated and cooled? If it a non Ml system should still have around 13 speakers.

The amp is a pioneer in the boot on the offside. Welcome to the forum .

Shaunomercy · July 23, 2018

I think it has hid lights, tho I cannot see the bumper headlight washer bit on top of bumper.

Does this pic make it any clearer madasahatter.

Will it have the electrically adjustable steering ?

Cheers

Paul

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madasahatter · July 23, 2018

Hard to see in the picture. Can not help on the electric steering, does it have the rear blind? Where is the original ad may help, or ask the seller it depends what was specked.

Some have the xenons some do not odd ones also have a sunroof.

Shaunomercy · July 23, 2018

Ok cheers madasahatter. Will message seller.

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Linas.P · July 23, 2018

IS250 mk2, only had 2 stereo systems 13 speakers standard and 14 speakers ML. ML really shines from good source i.e. original CD, but if you listening music say from .mp3 then difference is minute, I would even say ML amplifies imperfections more. 8-speaker system has never been fitted in cars sold in UK, I believe there was some sort of poverty line option in US.

Sat-Nav is waste of time, had cars with it and without it (as well with ML and without it) and can say that Sat-Nav is real horrible and slow. Turned it on, confirmed it works and never ever touched it again.

If it has HID, then headlight washers are standard - if they are not present I would look for evidence of frontal collision and shoddy repair work. It seems to have F-Sport rims which were not standard for SE-i, but might have been fitted as an option by dealership, or as replacement for badly corroding original wheels.

Only SE-L had rear blinds, so no need to look for that in SE-i

I would only care about service history and actual conditions, mileage means very little on Lexus as long as it is maintained properly, even more higher miles cars are likely to have had easier life on motorway, whereas low miles ones were probably driven on short distances in the city. Furthermore, there are nothing expensive which can go wrong on IS250, so I would not bother to spend extra on low miles car.

bobmc · July 23, 2018

This might help.

Alcantara front seats but not heated/cooled. If it doesn't say Mark Leveninson on the DVD player then it's not got the ML audio option but you loose one speaker (don't know which one - subwoofer??) and I don't think the amp is as powerful. Having said that, it's still a decent audio package. The only other option missing is the rear sunshade.

Things to look out for

1. Alloy wheel corrosion

2. 60K spark plug change

3. Sticking brake calipers

4. Make sure the exhaust is in good shape, expensive to replace.

You may hear a little rattle on engine startup, lasts a second or two, this is pretty normal.

Other than that, no major worries.

Shaunomercy · July 23, 2018

Cheers. I really appreciate the information.

I've checked with Lexus as it's got 9 stamps and plugs have not been changed.

So would haggling 250 off be unreasonable ?

It's just had an mot and a new caliper fitted and disks.

Does the Lexus have 1 hid and one halogen per side or 2 hid per side please ?

Cannot wait till weekend to take a trip to see it and maybe come home with it

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J Henderson · July 23, 2018

The main beam (inside light) is a normal halogen on all trim levels.

That car doesn't have an electrically-adjustable steering wheel. The controls would be visible in one of the pictures.

You've nothing to worry about regarding the "normal" stereo. It's great. My last car had the ML system, and my current one doesn't, but as Linas mentioned earlier, there's not much difference at all.

Shaunomercy · July 23, 2018

Thx for the information.
I'd seen an 11 plate fsport for sale at Perry's with ml and Perry's were prepared to get the wheels refurbed as they were properly corroded. But there were so many scratches !!! Don't think they could buff them out. Primer showing in places the scratches were so deep. 77000 mile with a mixed history so this se-i is looking a far better option even though I wanted an f sport or se-l.

The alloys on the se-i are very tidy. Though having got 18s on my Passat alltrack I'd have preferred 17s for the better ride.

Owner has confirmed it's not got hid lights. Bit of a bummer but it's not a deal breaker.

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Linas.P · July 23, 2018

2 hours ago, bobmc said:

Alcantara front seats but not heated/cooled. If it doesn't say Mark Leveninson on the DVD player then it's not got the ML audio option but you loose one speaker (don't know which one - subwoofer??) and I don't think the amp is as powerful.

Downgraded Alcantara or I like to call them - "plastic bag" seats (because alcantrara is made from poliester) were only available and the only option on F-Sport, don't mix-up with Se-i

Normal audio system looses 1 speaker, which is center one in front, if anything normal system feels more "bassy" then ML, I believe the biggest difference is on vocal/instrumental clarity around mid-range. On non-ML system there is even little grille in front where speaker can be retrofitted if one wants. The other differences are speaker positioning on ML. Standard system has 3 speakers in each door + subwoofer on the back window sill. ML has 3 speakers in front doors, 2 speakers in rear doors, 1 central speaker in front, 2 coax on the sill and sub in the boot. If anything I prefer non-ML layout... but obviously layout and placement of the speakers in no whole of the story - the clarity comes from ML sound processor, wattage is as well irrelevant in comparison.

Texas · July 23, 2018

Spark plug change ( at Lexus anyway) will cost more than £250!

But if you intend keeping the car until it falls apart and are gonna service it yourself plugs (OEM) can be got for about £80 and no special tools required to do job, just 1/2 a day if you take it leisurely.

Shaunomercy · July 24, 2018

Thanks Texas. It's a job I'm going to leave to my local very trusted independent.
Can you shed some light on the autobox ?
Does the oil need changing ? Have any of you changed the oil ?
Tia
Shaunomercy

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ahmedali44 · July 24, 2018

Mines se-i 2009 got air cool seats and got windscreen defroster should be a button on right hand side and steering column adjustment is Manuel only comes on se-l model as had automatic steering adjustment one on my is220d 2006 se-l and se-i don't come with rear blind

I got normal stereo v good sound

Linas.P · July 24, 2018

14 hours ago, Shaunomercy said:

Thanks Texas. It's a job I'm going to leave to my local very trusted independent.
Can you shed some light on the autobox ?
Does the oil need changing ? Have any of you changed the oil ?

Automatic Gearbox in IS250 is indestructible, it is not recommend to change oil (Lexus claims "lifetime" fill, which probably means ~10years/140k). However, dealerships can "top-up" oil, which basically consists of taking same amount (~0.5-1L) of old oil and replacing it with exact same amount of new oil (certainly not DIY). I know quite few people here have done "top-ups", but they definitely not necessary for at least first 100k and I would say 60k thereafter. There are plenty Mk2 in US with over 300k miles with gearbox oil not touched. Finally, I never heard of single 1 of these boxes failing in over 12 years in this model...

Texas · July 25, 2018

+1 on the Auto box being ultra reliable and Lexus refer to it in the service schedule as a Lifetime interval! The only talk of any Lexus auto gearbox failure I have seen on this forum has been on an ISF ( in France I believe) and this was due to the fact that the ISF model has a system whereby the ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) is cooled via a heat exchanger within the vehicles engine coolant radiator at the front of the car and a failure occurred within allowing engine coolant to mix with the ATF and then enter the gearbox!

I for one will not be doing anything with the ATF unless it absolutely requires it.

Paul m.

Linas.P · July 26, 2018

Yes, but IS-F has completely different gear box and with 470hp it is completely different beast. The only one I know failing was Australian IS-F which was modified and regularly tracked, even then I am not certain whenever it was rear diff which failed or the gearbox.

Rbz · August 13, 2018

On 7/23/2018 at 3:18 PM, Shaunomercy said:

Thx for the information.
I'd seen an 11 plate fsport for sale at Perry's with ml and Perry's were prepared to get the wheels refurbed as they were properly corroded. But there were so many scratches !!! Don't think they could buff them out. Primer showing in places the scratches were so deep. 77000 mile with a mixed history so this se-i is looking a far better option even though I wanted an f sport or se-l.

The alloys on the se-i are very tidy. Though having got 18s on my Passat alltrack I'd have preferred 17s for the better ride.

Owner has confirmed it's not got hid lights. Bit of a bummer but it's not a deal breaker.

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Glad i saw this post, was thinking of taking a 3 hour drive to have a look at the f-sport at Perry's! 😂

madasahatter · August 13, 2018

4 minutes ago, Rbz said:

Glad i saw this post, was thinking of taking a 3 hour drive to have a look at the f-sport at Perry's! 😂

Was this a petrol one. There is a diesel model for sale in york. 60 plate xenons sat nav 89000 mls i believe. Very clean in argento silver. just under 6000.00. 18 inch multispoke in very good condition.

Rbz · August 13, 2018

I'm looking for a petrol one really, thanks though.

Literally just got a text from Perry's to tell me they've reduced the price!

Shaunomercy · August 13, 2018

Rbz

Is it an f sport at Perry's ?

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Rbz · August 13, 2018

Yea, dark grey one with the grey alloys. Assume it's the same one you were talking about? 11 plate, 77k miles with ML?

Shaunomercy · August 13, 2018

I'd viewed it 3 times m8. The car was originally a proper shed.

alloys needed refurbishment. They were a real mess corrosion wise.

There was a din't in ns front wing top near headlight. NS passenger door was keyed. Os passenger door had a vertical skuff where someone had opened a door onto it. The vertical scuff was about a cm wide and about 9-12 inch long.

Lots of stone chips.

It's a nice colour with Mark Levinson.

They have supposedly smart repaired stuff and refurbed the alloys. I'd asked 5 times about service history and were never given any info.

My experience matched exactly what other people have posted on Perry's FB pages...

Be very careful. Have a read on Perry's FB pages.

What was very clear was the car had not been cared for by it's previous owner.

And that could make the car one big money pit m8.

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Rbz · August 13, 2018

Thanks, i wasn't massively impressed when speaking to them over the phone, kept avoiding my questions. Looks pretty nice from the pictures and there's not many f-sport's about so i was tempted to go have a look, luckily you've saved me from that 6 hour round trip!

I'll keep looking, might have to settle for an SE-L, there's a couple of nice ones nearer to me.