how to sell an IS 250 with oil leak from the timing chain cover?

[boyo]

2007 IS 250 @ 214k km/132k miles in max trim/options

the main problem among others with the car is the oil leak from the timing chain cover

how would you sell this car? be completely honest and list the car for 50% of market value? act dumb? Obviously not worth to fix it considering the market value of the car itself. I would like to get another Lexus because its embarrassing to again go get my car serviced at my local Lexus dealer and them noticing the oil leak and telling me the bad news, like it happened during last service.

 

 

[LexusRbest]

If you know and like the car and will be replacing it like with like ,why not find a better price for the repair.

independant toyota /lexus  guys would be my first call.

I am in the same boat with a smokey IS220d that already has had a lot spent on it .

I have put it on here for half price and may fix myself as planned if time permits.

[Mr Vlad]

Market value of the car being low? No. Our is250 cars have shot up in value. 

I'm no mechanic but an oil leak from the timing chain cover shouts out a seal. A simple job for a standard mechanic. With that kind of mileage get the chain replaced. Shouldn't be more than a couple hundred quid. We'll worth the cost.

[hockeyedwards]

Life is too short to worry about embarassment, go to an indy and get it fixed, then sell it on knowing it is in working order and you can detail the 'recent work' carried out in your for sale description, win win!

If you are set on getting rid without spending any more money, eBay 'spares or repair' - and in the description just state what you know. Be prepared to be messed around A LOT, answer stupid questions and receive stupid offers, part and parcel of the experience and then pay the eBay fees and probably let the car go for less than what you wanted, but at least it's gone. If that doesn't work, as the saying usually goes I'll give you £5 and a packet of haribos!

[Linas.P]

How bad is the oil leak? Have you seen it yourself? Because this would be quite common up-sale tactic from disingenuous dealers. I have never experienced that with Lexus, but I know some dealers on other makes does it. Is it really leaking gasket? Or maybe you spilled some oil when topping-up? All in all I don't see any reason why it would be leaking from there, chains don't require replacement, and if nobody removed cover and messed something-up, then they generally don't leak on IS250. So I would start from finding out if you actually even have an issue, why you have an issue and how bad it is. 

Selling the car with the fault always going to devalue it more than fixing the fault, unless car is completely worthless. Obviously, if buyers notices something wrong with the car then they simply going to lose trust in the seller and the car making it difficult to sell. As far as IS250 I don't know the country where it would be worthless, or where something as simple as chain cover gasket replacement would make it uneconomical to repair. Trying to pretend fault is not there, or trying to hide it can range from misselling to fraud, so I would not advice that. 

In short - fix any obvious faults before selling, unless you want to get silly low price for the car.

[james250]

Out of curiosity where is the timing chain cover leak? I personally haven't heard of timing chain cover leak being a common issue like you say. I have a slight seeping of oil but mine appears to be from the valve cover on bank 2. It's not a big leak more of a stain and I clean it from time to time. I do want to at some point change the valve cover gasket. I'm just wondering if I've mis-diagnosed where it's coming from if you are saying timing chain cover. My leak is only seeping on one side on bank 2 and everything else is bone dry 

[Texas]

Again, until you know Exactly where oil is leaking from then you can’t put a price on repair cost, 1st time I have heard of an oil leak from front of engine on a 250. 
I would deffo go down route of non-dealership fix. If you think car is not worth fixing ( and just selling on) why the hell are you still taking it to Lexus dealer for routine servicing!

gotta ask……what country are you in Boyo to consider not fixing and selling for 50% of market value? Because you car ( depending on condition) could be priced at £2-5,000 in UK right now

[PCM]

13 hours ago, boyo said:

2007 IS 250 @ 214k km/132k miles in max trim/options

the main problem among others with the car is the oil leak from the timing chain cover

how would you sell this car? be completely honest and list the car for 50% of market value? act dumb?

 

 

For me: get a fix quote, reduce it by that OR get a fix. But certainly be honest.

[H3XME]

OR.. try this.. https://products.liqui-moly.com/additives/pro-line-oil-loss-stop.html

if the leak isn't severe, it should help. Worth a try before spending hundreds on fixing it just for the sake of a leak if nothing else is actually broken.