Thinking of Getting a used IS250

[napstr007]

Hi friends, 

After a lot of thought, I have decided to get a used IS250 here in the UK as i was looking for a car for about 4-5k (Automatic) which will be used to teach my wife how to drive ( learning) and also I could use to do all errands. (I don't need one for work anymore, thanks COVID) Thought I may use it occasionally for highway runs. 

Looking at autotrader and FB, I could see that IS250 models (2007-2010) which are about 80-110k miles are available for the price that I am looking for. Some even SE-L models though they are priced a little higher than £5K.Like Here.

I was hoping you guys here could give me some light over a few questions I had. 

1. What is the current market price for such cars right now? How much can I bargain without offending the seller? I just want an honest price that's all, not hunting for the best deal out there.

2. If I get one with about 90-100K miles, what are some issues I need to look out for and things I need to replace? I had an BWM E46 with 125K miles and the junker was falling apart everywhere. 

3. Can I replace the stock head unit with an android auto head unit, any quality recommendations? 

[m4rkw]

I’ve never owned an IS but I’ve owned two E46s and you’re right they do start falling apart at higher miles. A Lexus should be a lot more durable if it’s been taken care of.

Look for the usual stuff, evidence of regular (not extended) oil changes and evidence of transmission fluid and filter change, ideally it should be done about every 50k. Suspension components may start to wear out at that mileage so make sure it’s all nice and tight, check MOT history and look for evidence of rectification of any noted advisories. Check all around and underneath for rust. Check AC blows ice cold at the max cold setting and that any fans at the front spin when it’s on (my RX has two, not sure if the IS does, they should both spin). Check for cambelt change if it has one. Check the tyres, premium brands are a sign it’s been treated well, budget tyres mean it’s been run on a shoe-string. Check DOT codes on the sidewalls, tyres older than 6 years are generally considered unsafe and will need replacing. Check all electrics work, windows etc. Make sure the transmission shifts properly, doesn’t slip, no delayed engagement, reverse works and that it goes into lockup at high speed. Check the brake pad wear if you can, brake firmly from 70mph and make sure there’s no movement in the steering wheel.

Its probably well worth paying someone to do a pre-purchase inspection but you can filters cars a fair bit yourself in advance. Better to spend £100 on a car you don’t buy than 5 grand on one you buy that has an expensive repair looming.

Mark

[m4rkw]

For head unit I highly recommend the Kenwood DPX-7100DAB but it depends what you want really.

[Lex_1988]

Hi, 

I had a 2006 IS250 se-l which I bought for £5k and funnily enough I also owned an E46 325ci. The abs module in that bmw drove me mad. 

Over 2 years of ownership the is250 was uber reliable. All electrics, engine and gearbox never gave me any issues. 

For the first year I made short 10mins journeys and after a change in job went to commuting for an hour. It did both really well. The is250 is such a relaxed motorway cruiser and I still miss the smooth gearbox and engine. Perfect combo. I just made sure to service it on time and at 60k miles it should have had a spark plugs change as part of the full service. 

Only negative was that the 17inch alloys corroded badly. Not sure if this was an issue on the 18inch alloys. 

No idea on aftermarket headunits however if you go for an se-l it will likely come with the upgraded mark levinson sound system which I found very good but I'm not an audiophile.

As your looking for a car from 2007 onwards, it should have the upgraded satnav/mark levinson that allows you to stream music over Bluetooth from your phone. Mine being a 2006 meant I had to use an aux cable to my phone.

 One last thing, if you do get the IS250 always make sure the fuel filler cap is on properly after refuelling. It should click close. If you don't it will throw an error code on the dash. Easy fix of course (switch off engine and tighten the cap) but can be alarming when your used to supreme reliability. 

Hope this helps  

[napstr007]

2 minutes ago, Lex_1988 said:

Hi, 

I had a 2006 IS250 se-l which I bought for £5k and funnily enough I also owned an E46 325ci. The abs module in that bmw drove me mad. 

Over 2 years of ownership the is250 was uber reliable. All electrics, engine and gearbox never gave me any issues. 

For the first year I made short 10mins journeys and after a change in job went to commuting for an hour. It did both really well. The is250 is such a relaxed motorway cruiser and I still miss the smooth gearbox and engine. Perfect combo. I just made sure to service it on time and at 60k miles it should have had a spark plugs change as part of the full service. 

Only negative was that the 17inch alloys corroded badly. Not sure if this was an issue on the 18inch alloys. 

No idea on aftermarket headunits however if you go for an se-l it will likely come with the upgraded mark levinson sound system which I found very good but I'm not an audiophile.

As your looking for a car from 2007 onwards, it should have the upgraded satnav/mark levinson that allows you to stream music over Bluetooth from your phone. Mine being a 2006 meant I had to use an aux cable to my phone.

 One last thing, if you do get the IS250 always make sure the fuel filler cap is on properly after refuelling. It should click close. If you don't it will throw an error code on the dash. Easy fix of course (switch off engine and tighten the cap) but can be alarming when your used to supreme reliability. 

Hope this helps  

Thanks for the tips, helps a lot. I too had the same E46 2001 with the dreaded P0171/4 codes which pretty much stayed with me till I owned it LOL! 

Anyway, so what do you think about Here ? Is this a ok deal? 

[napstr007]

37 minutes ago, m4rkw said:

I’ve never owned an IS but I’ve owned two E46s and you’re right they do start falling apart at higher miles. A Lexus should be a lot more durable if it’s been taken care of.

Look for the usual stuff, evidence of regular (not extended) oil changes and evidence of transmission fluid and filter change, ideally it should be done about every 50k. Suspension components may start to wear out at that mileage so make sure it’s all nice and tight, check MOT history and look for evidence of rectification of any noted advisories. Check all around and underneath for rust. Check AC blows ice cold at the max cold setting and that any fans at the front spin when it’s on (my RX has two, not sure if the IS does, they should both spin). Check for cambelt change if it has one. Check the tyres, premium brands are a sign it’s been treated well, budget tyres mean it’s been run on a shoe-string. Check DOT codes on the sidewalls, tyres older than 6 years are generally considered unsafe and will need replacing. Check all electrics work, windows etc. Make sure the transmission shifts properly, doesn’t slip, no delayed engagement, reverse works and that it goes into lockup at high speed. Check the brake pad wear if you can, brake firmly from 70mph and make sure there’s no movement in the steering wheel.

Its probably well worth paying someone to do a pre-purchase inspection but you can filters cars a fair bit yourself in advance. Better to spend £100 on a car you don’t buy than 5 grand on one you buy that has an expensive repair looming.

Mark

Thank you for the detailed post, I do intend to pay someone to check it out. 

[Mr Vlad]

Hi Jonny. The market on is250's is a weird one. Yes there are cars as low as 1k and as high as 5.5k. All depends on their condition. Number of owners. Has it got full or part service history. Spec levels. 

If you go SE-L model then you can't upgrade the headunit. If you go for a car without nav then you can get a tesla style replacement. 

When I was looking I was dead lucky. I got a 1 owner full lexus history SE-L fully loaded for 5.5k oh and only 78k miles. Mind you I had to get new rear shocks done as Lexus Stockport notified me about them. 

Keep on looking and you'll find a suitable one soon.

[markeyszoo]

I paid £7500 for mine 6 months ago. Probably top end but i wanted it so bad. All toys, sunroof, ML satnav, memory seats, rear sun blind, AFS lights, 18 inch alloys heated and cooled seats, folding mirrors from button inside and auto close, only thing i can think missing is radar. 53000 miles with service although not all Lexus.

She is thirsty round town but well into 30'S on motorway, who cares, it is a joy to drive.

[Lex_1988]

8 hours ago, napstr007 said:

Thanks for the tips, helps a lot. I too had the same E46 2001 with the dreaded P0171/4 codes which pretty much stayed with me till I owned it LOL! 

Anyway, so what do you think about Here ? Is this a ok deal? 

Looks like a nice, clean car. Even the headlights haven't clouded. Would be good to know if that's full lexus service history. 

Gear changes from the auto should also be smooth as silk. Worth checking the exhaust is in good condition, as from what I've read it can be pricey to replace. Though never had any problems with it myself. 

 

[true blue]

Hi ,always good advice on here, I have owned my IS 250 for 5 years and I think they are an excellent buy at the present time .     I really look after mine and all I have done is routine maintenance ,a very reliable car .Some points I would suggest , the MOT history looks good but it is short so see if you can factor this in ,you really need 2 keys if only 1 is available factor in £300 reduction check the maintainance record ,spark plugs should have been changed at 60,000 miles this is an expensive job if you need to use a dealer .An airbag recall should have been carried out .Everything should work ,carry out a full check on finance outstanding etc and carry out a test drive for a reasonable distance .I,m sure you will enjoy an IS 250  good luck

Dave

 

[markeyszoo]

1 hour ago, Lex_1988 said:

Looks like a nice, clean car. Even the headlights haven't clouded. Would be good to know if that's full lexus service history. 

Gear changes from the auto should also be smooth as silk. Worth checking the exhaust is in good condition, as from what I've read it can be pricey to replace. Though never had any problems with it myself. 

 

Although it is 2009, it is pre facelift somehow without the front end mods nor the wing mirror indicators? Still a nice looking car.

[Texas]

That is deffo a lot of car for not a lot of money, mot history is fine ( tyres...well they are made of rubber and wear out!).

alloys look brilliant so must have been refurbished I guess. And the mileage is about right ( all adds up on MOT history) and the recalls appear to have been done.

Only reservation I got is that your wife will end up with an ‘Auto’ only driving license which could be a real bind later! Not that I’m suggesting you get a manual 250 as I would not recommend that to anyone. 

[napstr007]

A very bery big thank you to everyone who has helped me here. Even though I am new, did not expect the level of support shown. Hope to get an IS soon (in 2 weeks) and join you guys full time. 🙂 

 

PS: First time car buyer Q - I see members here checking the MOT history as well, where can I do that?

[scudney]

You can download an app called Mot and tax checker from Google store 

[m4rkw]

1 hour ago, napstr007 said:

PS: First time car buyer Q - I see members here checking the MOT history as well, where can I do that?

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

[Texas]

Bit of reading for you.

 

[napstr007]

Narrowing down on this one : https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/599023470991829 

 

Any thoughts? A deal of 5K a good one? If it passes the professional check? 

[Texas]

Looks sweet, but don’t understand and have never seen before ( on a 250 anyway) the MOT advisory in 2010 ‘play in top of steering column’ ! But was not advised 3,000 miles later at the next MOT or ever since!

[napstr007]

14 hours ago, Texas said:

Looks sweet, but don’t understand and have never seen before ( on a 250 anyway) the MOT advisory in 2010 ‘play in top of steering column’ ! But was not advised 3,000 miles later at the next MOT or ever since!

Yes I agree as well. Maybe a fluke? I do wish to check it out though.

[is200 Newbie]

Has had a good clean and polish - dont let that sway you as all cars can look good after a good clean. Best way as to go and see it. Usual things for buying a car but make sure the following are all good ... Brakes not seized / exhaust is good / recalls done / electricals all work. Uneven tyre wear (insides) can be expensive so check they are not worn. White crust at the front of the engine indicating water pump starting to leak. 

[napstr007]

I went to see this one today : https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202008283047520?make=LEXUS&radius=20&model=IS 250&sort=relevance&postcode=so151ge&include-delivery-option=on&year-to=2020&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&advertising-location=at_cars&page=1

It was in a good shape overall untill I took a look under the rear. The exhaust pipe which splits into 2 is rusting out. I think its an expensive job. 

Any suggestions? 

[markeyszoo]

Described as top spec but appears to be an SE i.  Top spec is SE L.

[scudney]

To be honest it is to be expected of an 11 year old car

[Texas]

Spec/Model trim level should be identifiable on drivers B pillar near door lock Nader pin.

 

[Mr Vlad]

Looks a very good car. Advertised correctly as a SE I. As for the exhaust look on eBay. There's a very good rear section for a very good price.