First Lexus, looking to buy an IS250 2007-2010

[H3XME]

20 minutes ago, DnG said:

I’m on my way to see that SE I was talking about, the guy sent me a video and a picture of the error: 

 

I don’t want to be negative but it’s been “modified”, so most likely molested along the way and now it developed a fault. Sure it can be a simple matter of a bad sensor but it’s a bit of a reg flag for me personally 🙃

[Linas.P]

3 hours ago, DnG said:

I’m on my way to see that SE I was talking about, the guy sent me a video and a picture of the error: 

 

ddc574cb-2580-4a41-bcb4-307a70044be4.mov

Please run away from this one - the extra cable running from the Battery is all you need to know. What it means - somebody messed with wiring harness (likely hence you have random sensor error) and now the car does not know what is going on. If there is one issue you really really do not want to have one these, then it is electrical problems... and these cars generally don't have electrical problems on their own, except when somebody mess with wiring. 

[DnG]

3 hours ago, Linas.P said:

Please run away from this one - the extra cable running from the battery is all you need to know. What it means - somebody messed with wiring harness (likely hence you have random sensor error) and now the car does not know what is going on. If there is one issue you really really do not want to have one these, then it is electrical problems... and these cars generally don't have electrical problems on their own, except when somebody mess with wiring. 

Too late, got it for 3k. I'm tired of looking for this damn car, I'm never gonna find the perfect one and I might not have the money for it one day. I'll deal with what comes next and see how it goes. The extra cable to the Battery is an aftermarket amp which has been taken out, I will also take out the wire and try cleaning it up. Has some missing engine bay panels and fastners and also the windshield side trims and top, I'll tidy it up little by little.

[Linas.P]

Well... I guess congrats! I really hope the issues described will turn out to be the most basic versions of themselves.

Also I hope coilovers will help to sort out the stance, because front wheels are flush with arches (actually looks quite close to rubbing, because of offsets), but rear is way up in the air - so either front needs to be lifted slightly or rear lowered. Really doubt that helps with aftermarket lights alignment, but at least at the moment they not blinding anyone.

Finally, interesting colour - how is the paint job? 

[H3XME]

15 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Well... I guess congrats! I really hope the issues described will turn out to be the most basic versions of themselves.

Also I hope coilovers will help to sort out the stance, because front wheels are flush with arches (actually looks quite close to rubbing, because of offsets), but rear is way up in the air - so either front needs to be lifted slightly or rear lowered. Really doubt that helps with lights aftermarket lights alignment, but at least at least at the moment they not blinding anyone.

Finally, interesting colour - how is the paint job? 

It's an SE so not ASF. My vlands were compatible with the levelling barrel on the dash, so should be ok.

 

Yeah congrats. Fingers crossed you didn't buy a lemon. 

[Linas.P]

Just now, H3XME said:

It's an SE so not ASF. My vlands were compatible with the levelling barrel on the dash, so should be ok.

 

Yeah congrats. Fingers crossed you didn't buy a lemon. 

Yeah that is silver lining, because lowering SE-L always causes issues with ASF.

[DnG]

58 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Well... I guess congrats! I really hope the issues described will turn out to be the most basic versions of themselves.

Also I hope coilovers will help to sort out the stance, because front wheels are flush with arches (actually looks quite close to rubbing, because of offsets), but rear is way up in the air - so either front needs to be lifted slightly or rear lowered. Really doubt that helps with aftermarket lights alignment, but at least at the moment they not blinding anyone.

Finally, interesting colour - how is the paint job? 

The front left shock is shot, but the guy did give me a pair of new sport suspensions (forgot the brand and it's raining too much to be going on).

The paint job is alright, it is flaking in some places on the edges of the front and rear bumper.

 

I'll be honest, I personally think it wasn't worth £3.000... There's A LOT missing, especially fron the engine bay, I went to fill up the washer fluid and there's no nozzle with filler cap!!! Both left and right panels are missing and A LOT of clips missing (not 1 engine bay panel is fastened down). He did show me a picture of a front impact he had on the motorway, didn't seem that bad structurally, but for someone who said he's "picky when it comes to the body work" nothing really lines up, the spacing is off everywhere, bumpers, bonnet, boot...

So yeah, I might make a new thread asking for help sourcing all the things it needs, even some dashboard repairs (I still remember the 2009 SE-L I didn't want to buy just because of a dashboard crack and I still ended up with this...) and upholstry on 1 place... Of course, if I won't get shunned for the post lol, still new to the Lexus club haha.

May God give me pacience and may my company pay my wages...

[Linas.P]

I kind of like the colour, but I knew it wasn't original and sadly I am yet to see any good aftermarket paint job. Colour matching it will be pain as well if it ever comes to it, as the colour is completely custom.

What happened to "I will wait for the right one to come by, because I will want to keep it for a while and I am tired wasting money on unreliable cars"? 😄 

As for engine covers, I can give you a set if you want, not that big of the deal and they don't do much more than just adding weight. The clips are £5 for like 20, I just have bag of them.

[H3XME]

50 minutes ago, DnG said:

The front left shock is shot, but the guy did give me a pair of new sport suspensions (forgot the brand and it's raining too much to be going on).

The paint job is alright, it is flaking in some places on the edges of the front and rear bumper.

 

I'll be honest, I personally think it wasn't worth £3.000... There's A LOT missing, especially fron the engine bay, I went to fill up the washer fluid and there's no nozzle with filler cap!!! Both left and right panels are missing and A LOT of clips missing (not 1 engine bay panel is fastened down). He did show me a picture of a front impact he had on the motorway, didn't seem that bad structurally, but for someone who said he's "picky when it comes to the body work" nothing really lines up, the spacing is off everywhere, bumpers, bonnet, boot...

So yeah, I might make a new thread asking for help sourcing all the things it needs, even some dashboard repairs (I still remember the 2009 SE-L I didn't want to buy just because of a dashboard crack and I still ended up with this...) and upholstry on 1 place... Of course, if I won't get shunned for the post lol, still new to the Lexus club haha.

May God give me pacience and may my company pay my wages...

All the bits you're missing are very cheap, but it's more so what they all represent as a whole. Somebody's bodge job. Engine covers, fair enough, I threw mine away as well, but the pedal and washer nozzle? That's just weird.. mind you washer nozzle could probably be explained by the front end ding it had. Pedal covers baffle me though lol. eBay is your fried, or ideally just message someone who's breaking a full car (eBay/FB Marketplace) as individual parts on eBay are priced too high for some reason.

Focus on the sensors, ignore everything else. That's the main thing to "worry" about now.

 

EDIT: It might be a good idea to take it for a pre-MOT inspection as it runs out in less than 2 months.. gives you some time to actually fix the absolute necessities. Should there be anything need doing.

[DnG]

45 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

I kind of like the colour, but I knew it wasn't original and sadly I am yet to see any good aftermarket paint job. Colour matching it will be pain as well if it ever comes to it, as the colour is completely custom.

He did say he spent £3.500 on the paint and that it's Midnight Purple with a bit more black. Still says Black in the logbook but would like to update the colour eventually when I figure out how to do it. Don't know what to say about the price though, the front bumper was red and seems to be painted over instead of polished and primed properly.

45 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

What happened to "I will wait for the right one to come by, because I will want to keep it for a while and I am tired wasting money on unreliable cars"? 😄 

Your words pretty much haha. I came to the realisation that I've been looking for the car for about 6 months. I won't find the perfect car, and by the time I do it's gonna be an official classic. I'm not made of money and I'll soon enough have more important commitments that will require better finances so yeah, there's never gonna be a better time to get the car than now..

45 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

As for engine covers, I can give you a set if you want, not that big of the deal and they don't do much more than just adding weight. The clips are £5 for like 20, I just have bag of them.

Started buying small trims and plastic bits off aliexpress, already ordered the windshield sides mouldings (I think that's what they're called) and the washer nozzle from eBay.

If you have a set of covers let me know in PM how much you want for them and where about you are, that would really help. I like to have everything complete, to the last clip. I care about the car and would like to keep it for a while before I can afford an upgrade.

 

24 minutes ago, H3XME said:

All the bits you're missing are very cheap, but it's more so what they all represent as a whole. Somebody's bodge job. Engine covers, fair enough, I threw mine away as well, but the pedal and washer nozzle? That's just weird.. mind you washer nozzle could probably be explained by the front end ding it had. Pedal covers baffle me though lol. eBay is your fried, or ideally just message someone who's breaking a full car (eBay/FB Marketplace) as individual parts on eBay are priced too high for some reason.

Focus on the sensors, ignore everything else. That's the main thing to "worry" about now.

I know the bits are cheap, but they do add up really quickly, and I'm not even at the point where I have to require some else's (expensive) labour. The guy I bought it from did make it right after I told him the further things I found wrong or missing by refunding £300, so I got the car for £2.700 which I think is fair..? Maybe?

What do you mean by "pedal cover"? I was just about to go look at the pedals but thought it might be something else I don't know lol.

[Linas.P]

33 minutes ago, DnG said:

If you have a set of covers let me know in PM how much you want for them and where about you are

free, but due to bulkiness perhaps it would be best for you to pick-up, would cost more to post them they are worth. I might be closer to Brum sometime and will let you know.  

[H3XME]

19 minutes ago, DnG said:

What do you mean by "pedal cover"? I was just about to go look at the pedals but thought it might be something else I don't know lol.

Sorry i read it wrong 😂 you said left & right panel. Not pedal

[Linas.P]

Also note - I have more or less whole spare car, so start thinking what you need 😄 

 

 

[DnG]

28 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Also note - I have more or less whole spare car, so start thinking what you need 😄 

Shiii I might as well start making a list and documenting it. I'll take some pics in case I'm missing something. First time I'm seeing the bay of a 250 up close

 

31 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

free, but due to bulkiness perhaps it would be best for you to pick-up, would cost more to post then they are worth. I might be closer to Brum sometime and will let you know.  

Sure thing, I'll get used to the car in the meantime as well. Coming from a square BMW, the shape of the Lexus makes it a bit weird for me to figure out where the actual car starts and ends lol

 

Just noticed your car is red, did you sell the bumpers to someone in London? My bumpers are SE-L with the headlight wasther cap and dummy sensors, and red under the purple paint lol

[Linas.P]

No... still have it laying around... 😄

10 minutes ago, DnG said:

My bumpers are SE-L with the headlight wasther cap 

You know that is going to be an issue for MOT right? Because they will see washers and if washers are fitted they should work, else it could be fail. Now that being relatively rare car and option they may forget to check it, but it is potential MOT fail. Sure you can prove it is SE and it does not have xenons (although it now have LEDs that technically needs washers also) and therefore this is just cosmetic thing, but it may cause some trouble. 

[scudney]

Nothing personal but just an honest question why buy a car that seems to spell trouble from the start? that is probably going to throw up various issues along the way???🤔

[DnG]

12 minutes ago, scudney said:

Nothing personal but just an honest question why buy a car that seems to spell trouble from the start? that is probably going to throw up various issues along the way???🤔

In all honesty, there's several reasons: Needing a car, needing a reliable and cheap/cheap to run car, fixating/obsessing on the car, looking for about 6 months for the car, seeing a car just the way you've dreamt of making it but with less money, time and effort put into it and being impatient... and the price, technically got it for £2.700 so now I got something else to do in my spare time

 

36 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

You know that is going to be an issue for MOT right? Because they will see washers and if washers are fitted they should work, else it could be fail. Now that being relatively rare car and option they may forget to check it, but it is potential MOT fail. Sure you can prove it is SE and it does not have xenons (although it now have LEDs that technically needs washers also) and therefore this is just cosmetic thing, but it may cause some trouble. 

Could I, somehow, retrofit the washers and sensors? I have all the sensors in place, not sure about the washers, but I doubt it.

[Linas.P]

1 minute ago, DnG said:

Could I, somehow, retrofit the washers and sensors? I have all the sensors in place, not sure about the washers, but I doubt it.

Not easily... no. 

I mean - if you had all spare car (like I do) and can go and pick every part from the bin, then it is theoretically possible, but even then you need all the wiring, I believe parking sensor ECU will be different between rear only and front/rear cars. I guess could be custom wired if you good with electrical side, but it won't be easy and you will need quite a few parts.

Same goes for washers, you need different washer bottle that has 2 pumps, not one, all different wiring... I would guess here, but different body ECU (so that headlight washers work when the screen wash is activated), also wiring inside for the separate button (although I guess that is optional).

I am not saying it is impossible, but it would be a whole project on it's own... and mostly for the things that do not add value, do not matter, or generally are cheaper to get by buying the car that already has that from factory.

Again - in theory I have all the parts you need and if you really want to spends weeks working it out I can do some digging to better understand all the different things you will need to retrofit it. But this is pretty much as complex as it gets. 

[DnG]

Just now, Linas.P said:

Not easily... no. 

I mean - if you had all spare car (like I do) and can go and pick every part from the bin, then it is theoretically possible, but even then you need all the wiring, I believe parking sensor ECU will be different between rear only and front/rear cars. I guess could be custom wired if you good with electrical side, but it won't be easy and you will need quite a few parts.

Same goes for washers, you need different washer bottle that has 2 pumps, not one, all different wiring... I would guess here, but different body ECU (so that headlight washers work when the screen wash is activated), also wiring inside for the separate button (although I guess that is optional).

I am not saying it is impossible, but it would be a whole project on it's own... and mostly for the things that do not add value, do not matter, or generally are cheaper to get by buying the car that already has that from factory.

Again - in theory I have all the parts you need and if you really want to spends weeks working it out I can do some digging to better understand all the different things you will need to retrofit it. But this is pretty much as complex as it gets. 

Fair enough I guess I'll just leave them and as for parking sensors, I might just add an aftermarket system. Just noticed that the inside steams up quick, could it be because of the missing windshield side mouldings? Or is there a common fault with a stuck drain or something?

[Linas.P]

Not it will have nothing to do with missing mouldings... (also did you get the clips with them? you need 10x and Lexus wants right an a leg for them, something like £17 +VAT each, so if you ordered mouldings from aliexpress, make sure to get few bags of clips as well, they are probably £2 from china). 

Could be blocked drain, could be that A/C needs refill, also perhaps needs new cabin filter... could be that car just haven't been driven for long (if advert was to be believed) and just need to be driven with A/C on (which must always be on) until all dampness is dried out of the carpets etc. If you really want to dry the car (considering it is humid autumn now), then check if the drain is not plugged and cycle the car between max heat with A/C on for 15 min, to max cold for 15 min. After like 4 cycles it should be fine... or it will get fine with the time if you drive it regularly with A/C on. Also on cars that are parked for long periods I tend to put those "humidifier" boxes that absorb water. 

[H3XME]

1 minute ago, Linas.P said:

Not it will have nothing to do with missing mouldings...

It could be. Letting the moisture in. When they replaced my windshield they re-used my moulding/trims & clips and at 60mph+ I'd hear wind noise in the cabin.. They replaced it later when I noticed but it took 3 weeks to get as Lexus had none in stock.

If his AC works then the car should de-mist in a matter of seconds if he puts it on the window setting.

[Linas.P]

4 minutes ago, H3XME said:

It could be. Letting the moisture in. When they replaced my windshield they re-used my moulding/trims & clips and at 60mph+ I'd hear wind noise in the cabin.. They replaced it later when I noticed but it took 3 weeks to get as Lexus had none in stock.

If his AC works then the car should de-mist in a matter of seconds if he puts it on the window setting.

That is slightly different thing altogether... windscreen has to be hermetically sealed, if the seal is bad... yes sure you will have moisture getting in, but the solution for that is not to put mouldings, but to remove whole windscreen and reseal it properly.

Sure mouldings will reduce wind noise and protect the sealant for longer term, but that is not what stops water getting in. 

Also mouldings should never be reused, I made sure they bring mouldings when my windscreen needed replacement. 

[DnG]

49 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Not it will have nothing to do with missing mouldings... (also did you get the clips with them? you need 10x and Lexus wants right an a leg for them, something like £17 +VAT each, so if you ordered mouldings from aliexpress, make sure to get few bags of clips as well, they are probably £2 from china).

Yeah, they come with. The old ones are not even on the car anymore as far as I can see.

 

48 minutes ago, H3XME said:

If his AC works then the car should de-mist in a matter of seconds if he puts it on the window setting.

Car de-mists quick if I use the window demist button, but then slowly starts misting up again. And it's very noticeable when the car is parked after a while. One side of the boot seems to be higher and not lining up and water seems to be getting in the boot, I'll look into trying to line it properly.

 

53 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Could be blocked drain, could be that A/C needs refill, also perhaps needs new cabin filter

I'll be looking at the drains, do you know their exact location(s)? Will also get an A/C refill and a full service to change the cabin filter

[Linas.P]

1 hour ago, DnG said:

I'll be looking at the drains, do you know their exact location(s)? Will also get an A/C refill and a full service to change the cabin filter

It is just behind the front wheel on the passenger side. a little rubber hose comes out of the the sill. If looking from inside then you need to lift entire carpet and it becomes very apparent where it is, general location - under the glovebox.

P.S. Full service does not guarantees the cabin filter replacement, so I would just get one from Autodoc for something like £8 and replace it myself. I would go for cheapest one with activated charcoal, really makes little difference - better change it more often than overpay for original filters. 

[DnG]

18 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

P.S. Full service does not guarantees the cabin filter replacement, so I would just get one from Autodoc for something like £8 and replace it myself. I would go for cheapest one with activated charcoal, really makes little difference - better change it more often than overpay for original filters. 

Usually when I do a service at my mechanic I specify everything.