First time Lexus owner

[Anevb]

54 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

In summary, what matters is not mileage, nor age - what matters is service history.

I think this comment is spot on. I was quite naive when I was buying my IS250 (100k miles on the clock) so I bought one with minimal service history and visibly poorly maintained. Despite of this, I drove the car for 4 years (30k miles) and nothing ever went wrong with it! I changed the oil 5 times so roughly 6k between changes. The car was burning some oils and not others - really weird. The last oil was Shell Helix (I believe) and didn't burn at all!

[Linas.P]

5 minutes ago, Anevb said:

I think this comment is spot on. I was quite naive when I was buying my IS250 (100k miles on the clock) so I bought one with minimal service history and visibly poorly maintained. Despite of this, I drove the car for 4 years (30k miles) and nothing ever went wrong with it! I changed the oil 5 times so roughly 6k between changes. The car was burning some oils and not others - really weird. The last oil was Shell Helix (I believe) and didn't burn at all!

Yeah, mine quite liked burning Magnatec, it wasn't really that much ~1L between the services (so every 10k miles) and thus I didn't even bother topping-up because I would just change the oil at 6k anyway. But it didn't burn Mobil ESP1 Long life at all. Despite of that I would still recommend 6k services (which by the way are healthier anyway and standard in metric countries - 10k kilometres), after 6k I would get lifter knocking at cold starts and things like that.

[Vintagesixtysix]

Interesting…..

my experience is,

Mobil half a litre in 8-10k

Magnatec half a litre 8-10k

Shell Helix not a drop??

I flush every third ( no science ) and I’ve tried Liquid Moly Ceratec this time, slightly under dosed at a single bottle into the 6+ litres.

 

[SimonK1]

21 hours ago, Anevb said:

I think this comment is spot on. I was quite naive when I was buying my IS250 (100k miles on the clock) so I bought one with minimal service history and visibly poorly maintained. Despite of this, I drove the car for 4 years (30k miles) and nothing ever went wrong with it! I changed the oil 5 times so roughly 6k between changes. The car was burning some oils and not others - really weird. The last oil was Shell Helix (I believe) and didn't burn at all!

Thanks Linas.P and Anevb, 

Really good to know the mileage is not the most important thing. 
 

Great points about the little things like tyres and MOT advisories. I’ll check these out when I go for another look this week.

It sounds like a good indication that someone has looked after the car if they’ve done the 6k oil changes too!

[Linas.P]

49 minutes ago, SimonK1 said:

It sounds like a good indication that someone has looked after the car if they’ve done the 6k oil changes too!

Sadly that would be rare as service schedule in UK is 10k, so what you find it is usually older cars on more miles who may have this done when somebody started caring for them "in spirit" not by letter. Other thing to note - for example I did 6k oil changes, but if you look at my car history it would look like as if oil was changed only once in 12k miles, that is because I would do service at Lexus every 12k miles and would do another "undocumented" service in between. Sorry, to kind of make it as conflicting message, but those are just examples, what makes the "good car" is the combination of all these aspects and it is not always easy to just figure it out. In other hand it is quite easy to figure out bad car - trust me you know what bad car is when you see it. 

[SimonK1]

Thanks again. I’ve been for a good test drive of the 06 IS250. Very impressed. Smooth and quiet and also no rattles or squeaks. So good for a 16 year old car.

Potentially looking to buy it in the next couple of weeks (at which time I will join the forum properly and set up my own thread😂)

checked the things you pointed out Linas.P. It looks like it has been serviced annually but has only done 2-4k per year the past few years. I don’t think it has been 100% looked after recently (the tyres are a bit of a mixture) but some work has been done on the calipers.

It will get a new MOT and the day they will fix any advisories, though I saw the last MOT passed with none.

Only one more really query, which is the exhaust. I noticed they had resolved a leak with some welding rather than replacing the section, so another possible sign of less than full care. So will ask for the exhaust to be fully checked as I understand these can be expensive.

I did see there is another chat with comments on the exhaust, so will look again at that but if anyone has any buying advice on this issue that would be great.

It did drive so well that as long as I’m not risking a big exhaust bill, I’ll hopefully purchase soon. 😀

[Malc]

14 hours ago, SimonK1 said:

I noticed they had resolved a leak with some welding rather than replacing the section, so another possible sign of less than full care.

not necessarily ........  welding can often be a simple long term solution to some minor exhaust problems ......  or it can just be a dastardly patch-up exercise .......  doing only 2 - 4 k miles a year really put the onus for sensible ( £££ ) maintenance on the guy looking after the car for the owner especially if it's been an elderly chap ...........  indicating the tiny annual mileage of late 

Can you speak with the previous owner or find out about him / her .......  that would give you some better reflection on the car overall maybe

Malc

[Linas.P]

19 hours ago, SimonK1 said:

Only one more really query, which is the exhaust. I noticed they had resolved a leak with some welding rather than replacing the section, so another possible sign of less than full care.

That is what I done on mine, replacing exhaust on IS250 is just not economically viable. 

Regarding the tyres that is sad reality in UK, even if tyres are "premium", they often are not matching, which in any other country would be illegal on same axle, and not ideal at best of times, but it is ok in UK and people do that a lot. 

Good luck with the purchase and let us know how it goes. 

[SimonK1]

Thanks all, very helpful advice.

Probably going to buy it early next week.

I did have one more question that people can probably help with. A slightly different topic.

This would be the first time I have had an auto and I am wondering how well the auto box deals with hill starts, particularly with the foot operated handbrake. My driveway slopes downhill and I usually drive into it forwards, so would reverse out. Does the reverse gear hold the car when you remove the brake or do you need nimble feet to also use the foot brake on hill starts?

Simon

[steve2006]

The “foot operated handbrake” as you describe it is only used as a parking brake with automatic transmissions and is not involved in driving the vehicle except in an emergency if the main brakes fail.

The main brake pedal and accelerator pedal control the vehicle speed.

Automatics should not roll back on hill starts in D as the transmission prevents this so in D at engine idle with no brakes applied the car should just sit there stationary.

The main brake pedal has to be depressed when selecting D or R.

Having not driven an automatic before it may be an idea to either have a lesson with a qualified instructor preferably in your own car or practice in a deserted car park.

Remember your left (clutch) foot is redundant in an automatic as you operate both the brake and accelerator pedals with your right foot as in a manual car.

Lexus normally provide a left foot rest just below the parking brake. You will no doubt have the tendency to move your left foot onto a non existent clutch pedal when coming to a stop, if you can’t loose that desire fold your left leg under and sit on it 😀

 

 

 

[Sundance]

1 hour ago, steve2006 said:

Automatics should not roll back on hill starts in D as the transmission prevents this so in D at engine idle with no brakes applied the car should just sit there stationary.

 

 

 

That's not strictly true and should not be relied upon as it depends upon the gradient.

[Texas]

“Remember your left (clutch) foot is redundant in an automatic as you operate both the brake and accelerator pedals with your right foot as in a manual car.”

Absolutely do not be tempted to brake with your Left foot! Go to a deserted road and find out why!!!!!

[Sundance]

5 minutes ago, Texas said:

“Remember your left (clutch) foot is redundant in an automatic as you operate both the brake and accelerator pedals with your right foot as in a manual car.”

Absolutely do not be tempted to brake with your Left foot! Go to a deserted road and find out why!!!!!

Agreed, but as per my previous it may be necessary to use your left foot on the foot brake when attempting a smooth steep hill start.

[LenT]

 

2 minutes ago, Texas said:

“Remember your left (clutch) foot is redundant in an automatic as you operate both the brake and accelerator pedals with your right foot as in a manual car.”

Absolutely do not be tempted to brake with your Left foot! Go to a deserted road and find out why!!!!!

Wise words indeed!

Left foot braking is something that can be mastered, but mainly only by people who have never driven a manual!

I used to have a Citroen DS.  It had a button on the floor instead of a brake pedal - and that took a LOT of getting used to.

[LenT]

2 hours ago, SimonK1 said:

Thanks all, very helpful advice.

Probably going to buy it early next week.

I did have one more question that people can probably help with. A slightly different topic.

This would be the first time I have had an auto and I am wondering how well the auto box deals with hill starts, particularly with the foot operated handbrake. My driveway slopes downhill and I usually drive into it forwards, so would reverse out. Does the reverse gear hold the car when you remove the brake or do you need nimble feet to also use the foot brake on hill starts?

Simon

Full marks, Simon, for the care you’re taking over this purchase.  As has been mentioned, it’s the recent low mileage years that may be more concerning - indicated perhaps by the exhaust repairs.  The problem is that if it’s made up of many short journeys, the system never gets hot enough to remove all the internal condensation- which is what promotes the rusting.  

Indulge in the occasional long drive just for the sheer pleasure of it!

I too came to Lexus as a first time auto owner, although I’d driven them before.  So I appreciate your concerns.  As suggested, I took to tucking the left foot out of the way of temptation.  But it’s surprising how quickly one adapts and the left foot is now strictly reserved for the parking brake.

As for forwards entering your downhill drive, you may want to reconsider that.  Apart from not reversing out on to roads, you’ll have more control by driving forwards out of your drive.  You’ll also discover how the car behaves in D in what is basically a hill start out of your drive.

One thing you don’t mention is the age of the Battery.  That will normally vary around six years, but is greatly affected by usage.  Short journeys means it’s never getting properly charged.  So it may be worth trying to get a new Battery fitted as part of the deal.

So all the best and I hope all goes well next week.

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, LenT said:

Full marks, Simon, for the care you’re taking over this purchase.  As has been mentioned, it’s the recent low mileage years that may be more concerning - indicated perhaps by the exhaust repairs.  The problem is that if it’s made up of many short journeys, the system never gets hot enough to remove all the internal condensation- which is what promotes the rusting.  

Indulge in the occasional long drive just for the sheer pleasure of it!

I too came to Lexus as a first time auto owner, although I’d driven them before.  So I appreciate your concerns.  As suggested, I took to tucking the left foot out of the way of temptation.  But it’s surprising how quickly one adapts and the left foot is now strictly reserved for the parking brake.

As for forwards entering your downhill drive, you may want to reconsider that.  Apart from not reversing out on to roads, you’ll have more control by driving forwards out of your drive.  You’ll also discover how the car behaves in D in what is basically a hill start out of your drive.

One thing you don’t mention is the age of the battery.  That will normally vary around six years, but is greatly affected by usage.  Short journeys means it’s never getting properly charged.  So it may be worth trying to get a new battery fitted as part of the deal.

So all the best and I hope all goes well next week.

4th para re driving into the road is spot on.

[Mr Vlad]

As for reversing out of a drive onto the roadway. For one it's downright stupid and dangerous also it's against the law. Shame that law is mostly ignored by 'idiots' and the police. Not having a rant. It's the opinion of professionals. 

[peniole]

41 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

As for reversing out of a drive onto the roadway. For one it's downright stupid and dangerous also it's against the law. Shame that law is mostly ignored by 'idiots' and the police. Not having a rant. It's the opinion of professionals. 

Factual correction here:

Highway code 6.201 When using a driveway, reverse in and drive out if you can.

https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/using-the-road-reversing.html

So not illegal but nonetheless inadvisable. Personally I always back into a spot or driveway. Some may not be able to.

[SimonK1]

Just in response to the reversing off the driveway comments, we live on a quite side road with good visibility, so not really an issue.

Thanks LenT for your comments, I think I saw the Battery was fairly new. They will also check the exhaust before I buy, plus new MOT and will fix any advisories (there were none last year).

Looking forward to joining the club properly😀

[LenT]

27 minutes ago, SimonK1 said:

Just in response to the reversing off the driveway comments, we live on a quite side road with good visibility, so not really an issue.

Fair enough, Simon.  But if I’ve understood you correctly, you were wondering how an auto behaved on a hill when you’ve selected Drive and then release the foot brake.

By reversing in to your drive, you will then experience what is in effect a hill start on each occasion when leaving.  Although it soon becomes second nature, I too found that having grown up with a clutch, the art of balancing the throttle - and possibly the parking brake - of an auto on a hill and being confident that you weren’t going to lurch forward into the car in front, does need to be learnt.

Just to complicate matters further, if stationary for a significant time, the recommendation is to select Park and apply the parking brake.

 Mind you, most drivers will use the foot brake instead - which is only a problem at night when any driver behind may not appreciate your brake lights!

Having said all that, I was one who grew up thinking that autos were mainly for old f**ts. Now that I am one, I can appreciate how well they suit a Lexus.  🙂

[Malc]

and of course if you reverse out of your drive you might'nt see that errant cyclist dodging past you ................... and in a Lexus you are, of course, allowed by law to " get 'im " 

Best wishes with your purchase ...  she sounds probably an OK car to have and to own, to love and to cherish ...  of course

Malc

sorry i digress from some other forum posts about cyclists ...........

[steve2006]

7 hours ago, Sundance said:

That's not strictly true and should not be relied upon as it depends upon the gradient.

Although I have never had either of my Lexus vehicles roll back on any uphill gradient in Drive perhaps you could explain the procedure for a hill start if it does.

In a manual you can hear the bitting point of the clutch when the engine revs begin to drop but on an auto you don’t get this unless perhaps you rev up to the torque convertor stall speed when releasing the foot brake would give you “launch mode” so how do you know when to release the foot brake for a smooth and controlled move off?

I’m always happy to learn 😀

[steve2006]

3 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

As for reversing out of a drive onto the roadway. For one it's downright stupid and dangerous also it's against the law. Shame that law is mostly ignored by 'idiots' and the police. Not having a rant. It's the opinion of professionals. 

Apparently it is only illegal to reverse out onto an A class road, not B or C class roads which I assume includes roads on housing estates.

It is however considered good practice to reverse onto your drive if there is no turning area on it.

[Sundance]

1 hour ago, LenT said:

Fair enough, Simon.  But if I’ve understood you correctly, you were wondering how an auto behaved on a hill when you’ve selected Drive and then release the foot brake.

By reversing in to your drive, you will then experience what is in effect a hill start on each occasion when leaving.  Although it soon becomes second nature, I too found that having grown up with a clutch, the art of balancing the throttle - and possibly the parking brake - of an auto on a hill and being confident that you weren’t going to lurch forward into the car in front, does need to be learnt.

Just to complicate matters further, if stationary for a significant time, the recommendation is to select Park and apply the parking brake.

 Mind you, most drivers will use the foot brake instead - which is only a problem at night when any driver behind may not appreciate your brake lights!

The driver to the rear will appreciate your brake lights far more than you reversing into him/her! 😀

[J Henderson]

These cars have hill-start assist, don't they? I've never experienced rollback after releasing the brake pedal.