First time Lexus owner

[nuclear_pastaa]

Hello everyone!  Just wanted to introduce myself.  My name is Michael and I bought my first Lexus last week.  2006 plate Lexus IS250.  Looking forward to chatting with you all and enjoying my new car.

[Mr Vlad]

Hello Michael and welcome to Lexus ownership and especially the is250 and the best Lexus forum there is. What made you go for one? Do you know it's history including its service history? Which spec of car do you have? Pleased do post some pics as we like to see each others cars.

[nuclear_pastaa]

7 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

Hello Michael and welcome to Lexus ownership and especially the is250 and the best Lexus forum there is. What made you go for one? Do you know it's history including its service history? Which spec of car do you have? Pleased do post some pics as we like to see each others cars.

Hi Vlad.  My friend was selling it at a pretty cheap price (needing a couple of things fixed, 2 front shocks and a small exhaust leak) and I loved the look of it.  I have the IS250 SE manual.  130k on the clock, but has a full service history, and was serviced under 3k miles ago.  Headlights need a bit of a touch up.  Interior is very nice and well kept.

[nuclear_pastaa]

Also, it has the older style centre console/ dashboard fitted. Does anyone happen to know if it is possible to upgrade this to the newer satnav version?  Thanks in advance

[Linas.P]

Great choice as first Lexus and Welcome to the forum. 

Not sure what you mean by "older style" as it never changed over the life-time of the model. There were some upgrades internally (e.g. HDD based systems with USB, BT enabled systems) but they all looked the same. Can you update the maps - yes you can to certain degree, I believe 2014 and 2017 are the latest maps depending on the model, but I would say it is not worth it. Just my personal opinion, but built in sat-nav in Lexus was mediocre at best even at launch and by now it is terribly outdated. You better of using £80 phone to navigate, than updating the maps. The solution is to get android unit (£150-£300) and they look like factory sat-nav, just with bigger and better screen, or you can get GROM (~£400) which plugs into exiting unit and enables android system and all connectivity. GROM used to be default go-to option when replacement units were expensive (few years back they costed like £500-700, whereas older GROMs were £300), but now I would say it no longer makes sense when you can get entire unit with better, larger, more sensitive screen for half as much and never GROMs come-up in price. 

[Vintagesixtysix]

Welcome….

Nothing wrong with an SE manual 250.

Good to see you picked the best colour too. 😉

[Linas.P]

15 minutes ago, Vintagesixtysix said:

Good to see you picked the best colour too. 😉

That is rather controversial statement 😅

[J Henderson]

Definitely the best colour at hiding dirt. 😃

[Shahpor]

Welcome 🙂

There was a slightly different look to the sat nav unit post 2009 I believe.  The changes are slightly:

 

We did look at whether it was possible to swap between the two a couple of years ago on here, but I believe the conclusion was that it wasn't straightforward.

@Linas.P is right though, the system is woefully antiquated now and it was never the best to start with, so if you really want to upgrade than a Android replacement is probably the best way forward.  A couple of people on here have managed it in the past, such as:

Or just get a phone holder and use your mobile 🙂

[Mr Vlad]

Nice colour Michael. Manual too good choice. I'm assuming your car doesn't have the Nav screen but a narrow type display for heating and one for radio. If that is the case then you have a myriad of choices over a car with Nav. There are good android units and really bad ones. I recommend you look up saab unleashed on YouTube. Yes he's saab orientated But he's the best android headunit tester out there. You'll get great Info about which unit to buy for your car. As for the front shocks. Simply go OEM but they're not cheap, for the rears anyway I got my rear ones done at Halfords using genuine shocks. 

[Vintagesixtysix]

2 hours ago, Linas.P said:

That is rather controversial statement 😅

Not guilty m’lud….. 😇

[nuclear_pastaa]

Thank you guys. I really appreciate all of your feedback and kind words. I have ordered a OEM set of shocks, and il be bingeing that guys YouTube tonight once the kids are in bed 😅

[The-Acre]

7 minutes ago, nuclear_pastaa said:

Thank you guys. I really appreciate all of your feedback and kind words. I have ordered a OEM set of shocks, and il be bingeing that guys YouTube tonight once the kids are in bed 😅

From my years of being a forum member I would say apart from the LS400, which is undoubtedly the best Lexus ever made, the IS250 probably has the highest praise, and actually still looks good today. So I think you've made a great first choice!

[Texas]

Glad you got a 250 as I do cringe when new posters turn up and say they have got a great looking IS220D!, it may be great looking but stand by for grief!

Best of luck with your 250 ( you won’t need luck with one of the most reliable cars out there!) As for trying to change infomation systems between models then I believe it is quite involved and not straightforward.

You say you have the ‘Older’ style centre dash, do you mean the non-Sat nav/touch screen version? 
like this…..

 

oh yes and best colour😀

[nuclear_pastaa]

Yeah that’s what I meant. Just the two narrow displays for radio etc. i would like one of the android ones, so il do a bit of research on them and try find one that would suit what I am after. 
 

i must say, I am simply amazed at how reliable it is. I was expecting some things to need fixed, interior and electronics especially. But everything works. Cruise control, heated/cooled seats, auto headlights, keyless entry. It’s flawless. No rust or blemishes on bodywork, living in Scotland that’s almost unheard of as we salt our roads almost all year round 😅 the leather interior shows nowhere near the amount of age I expected it to. Only thing that shows wear is the bottom right, underside of the steering wheel, previous owner clearly held the wheel in that bit and that bit ONLY. 🤣

[Mr Vlad]

Just remember to service the rear brake caliper slide pins. They're the only achilies ankle on the car. Unfortunately due to poor design they tend to seize. Not part of any dealer service. Simple enough to do. Plenty of videos on YouTube how to remove the rear brake caliper pins. Looks like you've got a corker example of the arguably best Lexus ever made.

[The-Acre]

Also worth a mention that there's a recall for your car, so worth a call to your nearest Lexus dealer if it hasn't been done.

[nuclear_pastaa]

Thank you Vlad. Il make sure I keep an eye on that. 
 

@The-Acre thanks mate. Il give them a call on Monday and see what it is and availability of the part. Hopefully nothing major. 

[Linas.P]

19 hours ago, nuclear_pastaa said:

Yeah that’s what I meant. Just the two narrow displays for radio etc.

In which case you only option is to fit android unit, there are units specifically made for "non-sat/nav" cars. I had IS250s without sat-nav and with it and I can honestly say I never missed factory sat-nav... it was just quite bad. 

As for reliability, that is the main difference between Lexus and other cars (especially french and italian) - they simply work, electric issues are rare ( to be fair when you have them they are horrible, but they are usually caused by somebody shorting the Battery and similar). Other thing - Lexus parts are expensive, but they last very long time, like suspension etc. So when you buys shocks you know they will last you 10 years and 100k miles, so that £600 doesn't sound as bad. 

My only concern with manual car is £585 road tax which is stupid and unwarranted, kind of really takes away from appeal of manual in particular. Have no idea why in UK it is like that, but you can pay £280 for similar year Jaguar Supercharged V8?! How is that make sense. 

[nuclear_pastaa]

Yeah, my tax is astronomical to say the least. As I mentioned earlier, I just had my front shocks replaced. Car has done 130k miles and the shocks I took off were the originals by the look of them. Replaced with genuine shocks. 
 

I will be looking to replaced the floor mats, as the ones in the car, especially drivers side have definitely seen better days, so I am hoping I can find a set of originals online. 
 

my friends keep trying to convince me to modify it, like lower it, as extra bits of bodywork, splitter etc, but in all honesty I would like to keep it standard, at least for the time being, other than the head unit, which I will be looking to replace in the coming months. 

[Linas.P]

6 minutes ago, nuclear_pastaa said:

I will be looking to replaced the floor mats, as the ones in the car, especially drivers side have definitely seen better days, so I am hoping I can find a set of originals online. 

I got mine for £46 in December from Lexus parts direct store on eBay, they were selling them off with 50% discount. So you may get similar deal, otherwise you can get them anytime from same place just for full price which is ~£90. Other option - there are places that fix carpets and they could put the patch under the pedals (which I guess where the holes are). 

[nuclear_pastaa]

Yeah that’s exactly where they are haha. Il have a look, I’m accumulating quite the shopping list at the moment 🤣

[H3XME]

On 5/7/2022 at 9:43 AM, nuclear_pastaa said:

Hello everyone!  Just wanted to introduce myself.  My name is Michael and I bought my first Lexus last week.  2006 plate Lexus IS250.  Looking forward to chatting with you all and enjoying my new car.

Welcome! I'm sure you'll love the ownership of your 250. Mine is also Manual SE, but the first owner opted for full black leather, heated & cooled seats & sat nav. You're quite lucky that your car did not come with the sat nav as you have more options than me. For example this android unit https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333943764484 is something I'd quite happily try, but unfortunately finding one compatible with a car with factory sat nav is difficult! The factory sat nav itself is cr*p and I'll always use Google Maps or Waze, but it just looks better with the touch screen. The car itself ages quite well, so I guess not having a touch screen is the only thing that will make you realise you're in an older vehicle. 

I'm all up for modifying, but if you just bought two brand new shocks, just enjoy it as it is and don't do anything stupid like me 🤣

 

[SimonK1]

Hi Michael, and everyone else on this chat,

I’m considering an IS250 2006 that has been sat at a local dealer for a while, so really interested to find out thoughts on purchasing a 16 year old Lexus. From the forums they really do seem to be bullet proof apart from the rear calipers.

Is there really nothing to be seriously worried about with this age of Lexus? Has anyone had any big issues with auto gearbox or engine with the older cars?

The car near me is a se-l with 125k on the clock, owned by an elderly gentleman. Dealer history early on but a bit intermittent servicing the last 3-4 years but also only done 2-3k per year recently.

Im hoping to get 5+ years out of it.

any thoughts on buying older IS250s would be most welcome, so I can join you all as an owner😀

[Linas.P]

1 hour ago, SimonK1 said:

Hi Michael, and everyone else on this chat,

I’m considering an IS250 2006 that has been sat at a local dealer for a while, so really interested to find out thoughts on purchasing a 16 year old Lexus. From the forums they really do seem to be bullet proof apart from the rear calipers.

Is there really nothing to be seriously worried about with this age of Lexus? Has anyone had any big issues with auto gearbox or engine with the older cars?

The car near me is a se-l with 125k on the clock, owned by an elderly gentleman. Dealer history early on but a bit intermittent servicing the last 3-4 years but also only done 2-3k per year recently.

Im hoping to get 5+ years out of it.

any thoughts on buying older IS250s would be most welcome, so I can join you all as an owner😀

Ideally make your own thread 🙂

In summary, what matters is not mileage, nor age - what matters is service history. Ideally dealership, but as long as there are records of timely service even independent garages are ok. The next thing is to actually see what was done to the car, because you can have FLSH, but nothing was done to it apart of standard oil and filters. Kind of odd, but tyres are good indication of the care given to the car, if car is on landsil, hit-crap, turbo-speed, mega-grip, china-specialle tyres then you can bet it was run on the shoe strings. Obviously there are many more signs, but this is one obvious one. Other thing - MOT history, if you see loads of silly advisories and silly fails, then again indicative of poor care. What is silly vs. not silly - bold tyres are silly, advisories which comes back for several years in a row, things like that.

Will 16 years old and 125k miles car have issues - yes obviously it will, so expectations has to be realistic, but in comparison with other makes for mileage/age Lexus definitely is more reliable and dependable. If somebody broke something, then it is broken, if car was not serviced it could have issues, but apart of that these cars don't fail by themselves. Electronic part is particularly robust and despite being filled with all possible options these cars rarely have something not working as expected. Suspension is strong, cost loads to fix, but it lasts - my last IS250 was mostly on original suspension near 200k. 

Gearbox last, but may need ATF refreshed at least once every 100k miles, so count that in. Hydraulic lifters tends to rattle on the engines, so I would recommend "early" oil changes at 6k miles, perhaps even using some additives. Some say they burn oil, but it isn't really the case, not much more than any other car, but if they were poorly maintained, missed services, then they could burn oil. 

In summary, very solid cars if looked after, no real weaknesses, so it is just a matter of finding car which was properly maintained.