Why are folk selling their is250's

[Mr Vlad]

Well it's a Saturday afternoon and I'm sat outside my local Wetherspoons with a pint of Wobbly Bob (highly recommended real ale drink) and I thought I'd have a look on auto trader for an is250 SE-L and to my surprise there are 28. Twenty Eight. What gets me is why. I just can't understand it. I absolutely love mine and I know there are many many like me there. This week there are a few very low milers. That alone is weird. Where have they been stored? Their owners have some explaining to do. Yes ok a bigger car is needed. But what else? Is something wrong with that car? Judging by how some of the ads are written I'd say Yes. Really dodgy grammar. 

The gen 2 is250, even the gen 3, is a most superb car and a keeper because basically there isn't a car its size better.

Just thought I'd post this question to gauge responses. 

[PRT68]

Cost of road tax. Cost of fuel. Low mpg.  Having to pay for the better fuel. Cost of living. Working from home. Plus things I haven't thought of!!!

[LenT]

36 minutes ago, Mr Vlad said:

Well it's a Saturday afternoon and I'm sat outside my local Wetherspoons with a pint of Wobbly Bob (highly recommended real ale drink) and I thought I'd have a look on auto trader for an is250 SE-L and to my surprise there are 28. Twenty Eight. What gets me is why. I just can't understand it. I absolutely love mine and I know there are many many like me there. This week there are a few very low milers. That alone is weird. Where have they been stored? Their owners have some explaining to do. Yes ok a bigger car is needed. But what else? Is something wrong with that car? Judging by how some of the ads are written I'd say Yes. Really dodgy grammar. 

The gen 2 is250, even the gen 3, is a most superb car and a keeper because basically there isn't a car its size better.

Just thought I'd post this question to gauge responses. 

Well you’ve convinced me, Vladimir!  Despite regular approaches by Lexus MK, I can’t think of a good reason to change.

I’ll hang on to mine. 😊

So that’s one fewer ad what to right.

[Mr Vlad]

Poor excuses Paul. Good on ya Len 👍

[Anevb]

The reasons I sold mine 3 months ago (in no particular order):

- high tax;

- low mpg and performance compared to a hybrid

- base spec - mine was SE

- boot size and interior space;

- enough spare cash to upgrade. 

The low tax and better mpg with my current car are offset by the double insurance premium I have to pay now - so these points were invalidated 😂.

The GS is better in terms of space, equipment and performance but the IS was much much better value for money overall (it was 7 times cheaper!!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr Vlad]

Hi Boris. I understand your reasons but as far as interior space I have a doubt. Why? Because when I was looking to buy an is300h (same rear room as a gen 2 IS) I fell for a GS300H. At the time I had my wife her youngest daughter and her 2 children one of which was a baby. I took the GS out for a test drive with daughter and son and baby seat. I really liked the GS but then took the IS out same set up. After both runs I asked the daughter and son which they preferred. IS was the answer. I was really surprised. I asked why and they felt more comfortable in the IS. Must be the huge prop shaft tunnel in the GS I suppose. Oh and the boot in my is250 is surprisingly bigger than one thinks. I've had 13 Big rubble bags each around 35kg in that boot. I even posted on here cheap lowering kit lol. Thanks for your input. 

[scudney]

I have have my IS250 f sport now for 6 years and guess what regardless of road tax etc i won't be selling it anytime soon,love it to bits

[Linas.P]

First reason - simply because it is old car. As the times goes by people want some change and IS250 can't just be used forever. Yes they are amazingly reliable cars and comfortable cars, good value for money, well equipped, but with little bit of neglect they are starting to show signs of wear and tear as well. Overall model was released 17 years ago and most of tech is easily over 20 years old, not even facelift helps. 

Second reason (at least for me), IS250 is comfortable car, but fast it isn't - for 2005 car it was borderline acceptable, but many want a little bit more umphhhh... I have argued that around 5-6s to 60 is sweet-spot... and that has always been the reason why I was trying to find something else. Still looking...

Third reason - practicality is lacking as well, for example for unknown reason IS250 does not have folding seats, boot is not massive and opening isn't even allowing use of what it has easily. Rear headroom and legroom isn't great either (thought that never bothered me much), so I could see that some cars are upgraded when family grows.

Cost of ownership... I kind of doubt it. I guess it depends - for me it was never an issue, but I do a lot of stuff myself or at least I figure out what needs doing myself, so service guys can't upsell me for what I don't need, less car savvy owner my find it difficult when every service bill is £1000+ if you just let it be. Fuel economy is good for the car it is, but for with current prices it could be concern, ever increasing tax does not help either. So I would say - cost of ownership shouldn't be the reason, but for some owners it may be.

IS250 mk2 key strength is amazing value for money and it does everything well, but nothing exceptionally (maybe except of reliability). When I tried replacing my IS250 I really struggled to find anything that would do... sure for me RC350 was that car, but we don't have it here. GS450h would be my next choice.

[MrTrendizzle]

Like others have said with the higher tax and fuel costs etc...  

Well i never had that problem. Every car i've owned never had more than 30mpg (except one which got 50mpg) But i can 100% tell you that extra 20mpg made me feel depressed everytime i drove it. The Lexus on the otherhand brings me excitment, joy and happiness to drive. It's comfortable and can go sideways if you've saved a few quid for new tyres.  

Tax... Ok yes i was a bit surprised at the cost but for me the lower insurance cost offset the tax. My previous car was £100 more on insurance so i'm £50 up already.  

I have 4 kids which seems to fit pretty well if you really give the door a good slam to wedge those gremlins in to their seats and so far havn't complained about leg room. Maybe i'm just short and sit forward enough for them but hey! I don't plan on picking up any adults and shoving them in the back anytime soon anyway.  

Honestly if i was to sell this car i'd be buying the IS350 or very possibly the Toyota GT86 but both being far beyond my price range i'm happy to sit back and enjoy this beautiful car.
I'm also looking to buy another IS250. Maybe in grey this time (Black is doing my head in with street cats scratching the paint) so i can have a nice luxury car for trips and school runs etc... while i have another i can modify lightly and not regret flocking the dashboard to cover up the small hole my phone holder caused. :(

[Texas]

I have never owned such a good car as this and you gonna have to pry it out of my dead cold hands for me to give it up😂.

Even if they discontinue E5 completely, some stations around my no longer stock it! ( mine is Not E10 compatible🙄) then I will run it on E10 with fingers crossed and fix whatever fails, if or when it does😩

I have come to the conclusion that nice things cost money, no surprise there, I (have) worked all my life and earned money and now retired I am gonna enjoy things no matter how much they cost! Yes would be nice if Tax/Fuel/ was cheaper but it is what it is. 

[Spark plug]

I love my IS 250 plan on keeping her a long time. I think she has plenty of power considering are speed limit is 70 and she gets there quick enough for me. Only 83,000 miles on her now, as long as the automatic transmission doesn't give me trouble I'll keep her. Only thing I miss is a bigger boot. I had a RAV4 and an Avensis which had much larger boots and rear seats folded down 

[NeilS]

I agree with most of what Linas.P said - now starting to get a little long in the tooth, lacking performance, practicality issues - all compared to alternative and newer stuff. However, I feel that that running costs (high fuel prices) is one of the major factors. For example, when I got my 250C over a year ago fuel was costing me £30 to £35 per week. Right now (June 2022) it's costing £50. Per week. I'm driving like grandma on the daily and just managing to squeeze 34mpg out of it, plus some doodling about at the weekend, shopping etc.

Now, I happen to think that 34mpg is quite reasonable for a 2.5L V6, but nevertheless there are more economical cars around, and this could be a big reason why some owners are getting rid. Car sharing isn't really an option for me and I'm even considering getting an old oil burning banger for the time being and SORN-ing the 250 until petrol cost returns to a reasonable price.

That being said, I had planned to keep the 250 for at least another 2 - 3 years, as it's a lovely, dependable and comfortable car and it's also in good nick. 

Finally, and I wasn't going to mention this, but hey ho.
Weapon of choice these days is the SUV and the traditional 'family saloon' is seen by some as being a bit dated. I also think that some private IS250 sellers may be doing so sadly to downgrade and get a small pot of cash to supplement their incomes. Times are indeed hard at the moment.

[Linas.P]

30 minutes ago, NeilS said:

I agree with most of what Linas.P said - now starting to get a little long in the tooth, lacking performance, practicality issues - all compared to alternative and newer stuff. However, I feel that that running costs (high fuel prices) is one of the major factors. For example, when I got my 250C over a year ago fuel was costing me £30 to £35 per week. Right now (June 2022) it's costing £50. Per week. I'm driving like grandma on the daily and just managing to squeeze 34mpg out of it, plus some doodling about at the weekend, shopping etc.

Now, I happen to think that 34mpg is quite reasonable for a 2.5L V6, but nevertheless there are more economical cars around, and this could be a big reason why some owners are getting rid. Car sharing isn't really an option for me and I'm even considering getting an old oil burning banger for the time being and SORN-ing the 250 until petrol cost returns to a reasonable price.

That being said, I had planned to keep the 250 for at least another 2 - 3 years, as it's a lovely, dependable and comfortable car and it's also in good nick. 

Finally, and I wasn't going to mention this, but hey ho.
Weapon of choice these days is the SUV and the traditional 'family saloon' is seen by some as being a bit dated. I also think that some private IS250 sellers may be doing so sadly to downgrade and get a small pot of cash to supplement their incomes. Times are indeed hard at the moment.

Very good point about SUVs - as sad as it is people seems to like them a lot. It is fashionable to have SUV and it is "old fashioned" to have normal car. I personally really hate SUVs both to look at them (or drive behind them - you can't see anything at all) and drive them, high centre of gravity and body roll just isn't my thing, likewise fuel economy and performance suffers, but for many people that isn't an issue. So indeed executive saloon like GS and IS is thing of the past - very well reflected in Lexus range and upcoming models. Likewise it seems to be death of coupes - at some point they were considered fashionable but not very practical choice... nowadays everyone just get's in their big fast SUVs and ascetics is secondary consideration. 

As for fuel prices I have bad news for you mate - I think these prices are here to stay, that will be new normal going forward. Like 20 years ago £1/1L was a barrier to cross, now that barrier is £2/1L... and beyond even psychological limits, this is government policy. ICEVs are being phased out so fuel price concern is no longer important. As such I would not have much hopes to see fuel selling for anything under £1.50 anytime soon, it may even increase towards £3, before coming little bit back down to £2.

[Texas]

Ditto on the price of fuel, don’t hold your breath on it coming down, I can’t remember when prices have fallen on anything.🙄

[NeilS]

28 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

As for fuel prices I have bad news for you mate - I think these prices are here to stay, that will be new normal going forward. 

 

12 minutes ago, Texas said:

Ditto on the price of fuel, don’t hold your breath on it coming down, I can’t remember when prices have fallen on anything.🙄

Hmm. That being the case, sadly I will have to sell much sooner that I had intended.  Or try to find work that is much nearer to home. 😞

[Linas.P]

1 hour ago, NeilS said:

Hmm. That being the case, sadly I will have to sell much sooner that I had intended.  Or try to find work that is much nearer to home. 😞

Yes, but in other hand it is matter of perception. When considering inflation and how much everything costs the price of fuel as a part of overall household spending hasn't really changed. I think the problem is that at the moment we are living in worst stagnation of income since WW2 i.e. prices are raising with inflation, but salaries do not. 

Take for example when fuel was £1 in 2009 (I know there was short period in 2016 as well, but it is an exception), adjusted for inflation that was equivalent to £1.32 today. That is just inflation alone and yes fuel now is more like £1.85 so there was recent increase of ~40-50p due to range of factors. I guess what I am saying - fuel price only increased by ~25% and another 25% is inflation. The problem is that back in 2009 average salary in UK was £24,000 and it is only £28,000 now. Whereas it should be closer to £32,000 just based on inflation. Now these are only averages, so they don't reflect individual circumstances, but I am pretty sure that there are many people around UK who were earning £40,000 in 2009 and still earning same salary to this day. Salary remained the same, yet everything is 50% more expensive. 

Moral of the story - people need to push for salary raise or look for another job if they can, because that is the only way to beat inflation. Focus should be earing more, because spending less is not an option - and if one is able to earn £80k today instead of £40k back then, the fuel price increase becomes non-issue. 

[SeanR]

How much does it cost to get something newer and better, £18000 ?, £23000 ?,  £30000 +++++++++++++++

 

Il stick with this one,

 

No matter what car you get, the novelty wears off, especially when signed up to a BIG loan.

 

I actually think mine drives like a new car. As for speed, its fast enough, suppose im an old get now though that has no interest in acceleration, so long as its not annoyingly slow.

Dont wanna be taking out warranty on BMWs, Audi or Merc that are out of their manufacturers warranty. 

Been burned by a 7 year old Merc once, never again. Engine out and £3000 less in bank.

Money pit.

[Linas.P]

1 hour ago, SeanR said:

How much does it cost to get something newer and better, £18000 ?, £23000 ?,  £30000 +++++++++++++++

I give you that - getting something comparable overall for less than £10,000 is hard. But there are others cars which can do certain things better and that certain thing may be important for the owner. Like in my case I wanted coupe and it has to be two doors, I don't care for the rest as long as it is acceptable. Now one may argue - that isn't rational, why have two less door for more money, but it doesn't have to be rational. IS250 is very rational car (that is why when I sold my failed-dream car I went back to IS250 as "cheap" runabout car), but people needs are just not rational sometimes + there are actual things lacking in IS250 (as in other cars) and some of those things could be reason to change.

[SeanR]

Agree Linas,

Reminded of a guy i was talking to at work a few weeks ago, he turned up in a maroon MX5 with all the bells and whistles. Said he paid £15k, think it was 4 or 5 years old. Never realy been a fan but he talked me round a bit, nice motor for the money.

There's that little similar Toyota too, forgot the name but supposed be a good drive, think they are bringing out a faster version.

Suppose now and again something sparks an interest.

Think they are reliable.

[F.A.]

On 6/25/2022 at 8:31 PM, Mr Vlad said:

Hi Boris. I understand your reasons but as far as interior space I have a doubt. Why? Because when I was looking to buy an is300h (same rear room as a gen 2 IS) I fell for a GS300H. At the time I had my wife her youngest daughter and her 2 children one of which was a baby. I took the GS out for a test drive with daughter and son and baby seat. I really liked the GS but then took the IS out same set up. After both runs I asked the daughter and son which they preferred. IS was the answer. I was really surprised. I asked why and they felt more comfortable in the IS. Must be the huge prop shaft tunnel in the GS I suppose. Oh and the boot in my is250 is surprisingly bigger than one thinks. I've had 13 Big rubble bags each around 35kg in that boot. I even posted on here cheap lowering kit lol. Thanks for your input. 

We replaced our 2011 IS250 SE-L for a GSF three years ago. We have two young children, now aged 4 and 6 and there is much more room in the back of the 4GS than the 2IS. This was particularly evident when using the ISOfix car seat system. I couldn’t sit comfortably in front of the car seat in the 2IS. This has not been a problem with the GSF. 

The boot of the GS is also significantly larger and a better shape than the 2IS. 
 

Nonetheless, the 2IS was a great car. The only reasons we change it was due to the urge of a V8 and for more space. 

[Hondaman]

I now drive a 15 plate Supercharged 3 litre Jaguar XE and road tax is only £315. How much is the tax on an 07 plate Lexus IS250 auto? £360!

I actually get slightly better mpg from the Jag too.

[Linas.P]

11 hours ago, Hondaman said:

I now drive a 15 plate Supercharged 3 litre Jaguar XE and road tax is only £315. How much is the tax on an 07 plate Lexus IS250 auto? £360!

I actually get slightly better mpg from the Jag too.

I think it is some sort of British supporting British thing, because I have noticed long time ago that Jags have lower road tax than rest of the cars. As well for many cars road tax doesn't make sense - like why manual IS250 is £580?!

[agent_dess]

My primary reason for selling was E5 was getting hard to find in my area.... and i wanted a new car after 9 years of ownership 🙃

[Mr Vlad]

That's more than a reasonable reason to change a car. 9 years is a long time. 7 years is my record but that car after all was the UR Quattro. Yeah roadtax is a thorn in car ownership. Its weird that the same car one an auto and the other a manual gearbox yet the road tax for both is so different. I think it's a lottery than emissions. The road tax being lower on Jags is not the case. I got a quote for a V8 S-type and it was eye watering. 

[LenT]

On 6/27/2022 at 5:34 PM, SeanR said:

There's that little similar Toyota too, forgot the name but supposed be a good drive, think they are bringing out a faster version.

Are you referring to the MR2?

I had one for three years and 90K miles - and it was outstanding!  Never needed anything but regular servicing.  I see that there was talk in 2019 about resurrecting the model in a line-up of two seaters, but I don’t know how far that idea progressed.  As far as I recall, I never once felt the need for a faster version!

It was so good that when I got mine, I let my neighbour have a drive and an inspection.  Well, that was all it took.  A few weeks later he turned up with a new one of his own!