Is250 Se-L High Mileage Question

[finest1]

hi all,

i've been looking for an IS250 SE-l for a while and i've found one which i like. thing is its done higher than average mileage. the car is an 07 plate and done 70k on the clock. the thing is the car appeals to my budget, as i could go for a 55 or 06 plate with slightly lower mileage for approx same price band. i spoke to seller, who sounded very genuine. he is a MD of his own company and owned the car brand new. he has lexus finance on his name, and the mileage is all motorway miles. he has full lexus service history and he said the last service at 60k was a full service. he's looking for quick sale as he has 2 cars and needs to sell both to get a people carrier type car (ford galaxy) for his family. i work local so i'd probably add 6500miles on it a year so over another 2 years would bring it up to 83k which may even out the mileage a bit. sorry if im rambling i've got to make a decision during this week!

any help would be appreciated, especially with members with higher than average mileage.

what do you think?

thanks

finest1

[ABMA]

hi all,

i've been looking for an IS250 SE-l for a while and i've found one which i like. thing is its done higher than average mileage. the car is an 07 plate and done 70k on the clock. the thing is the car appeals to my budget, as i could go for a 55 or 06 plate with slightly lower mileage for approx same price band. i spoke to seller, who sounded very genuine. he is a MD of his own company and owned the car brand new. he has lexus finance on his name, and the mileage is all motorway miles. he has full lexus service history and he said the last service at 60k was a full service. he's looking for quick sale as he has 2 cars and needs to sell both to get a people carrier type car (ford galaxy) for his family. i work local so i'd probably add 6500miles on it a year so over another 2 years would bring it up to 83k which may even out the mileage a bit. sorry if im rambling i've got to make a decision during this week!

any help would be appreciated, especially with members with higher than average mileage.

what do you think?

thanks

finest1

I think if it is motorway miles, and the car has a full Lexus service history and it is within your budget, I will consider seriously buying it.

I would suggest test drive the car and if you like the drive, go for it.

Ahmed

[Gra56]

My 250 SEL is three years old later this year and is just coming up to 80k miles -mostly motorway. Never missed a beat and only minor problems apart from the air con packing up a few weeks ago. If the price is right I wouldn't worry about the mileage but I would take out the Lexus extended warranty for piece of mind. Interested to know what you pay cos the px on mine from a stealer is very low considering the car cost 32k 3 years ago

[gordi]

Go for it mate but make sure you ge the extended warranty for security, these engines should be good for 200k no problems .

[finest1]

thanks for your encouraging replies people!

so if i get the car, i can go to lexus and take out a warranty? does anyone know approx costs for warranty? what does it cover exactly? does it cover the gadgets in case something stops working?

finest1

[tinka]

Just remember that there is a mileage limit, for the lexus warranty, just make sure that in the time you own the car, you are not going to go above it, i think it's 140k or 7 years old, the lexus warranty is a must, a great car though.

[DarrenJBird]

I have a 55 plate 250 SE Auto with 145k on the clock, most of which is motorway miles. I've had the car since new, and kept it well serviced, recently by a mobile mechanic who's fully Lexus trained and has all the lexus diagnostic computer equipment etc.

Over the years, the car has only let me down once. The master cylinder failed last month, but thankfully Lexus Brighton, were excellent, and managed to get Lexus GB to pay for it even though car was well out of warranty :D and gave me a free courtesy car while they repaired it...so I was never off the road.

Even now I still enjoy driving the car, and she still has plenty of power when I need it :winky: So glad I got the Petrol/Auto.. the best combination :D

[finest1]

thanks for your replies.

just to update you.

spoke with seller today and he told me the car had a prang. he claims it was low speed and it was at the front crumple zone. anyway, the front end was replaced by an insurance approved garage using lexus parts and full respray. i'm actually not sure whether i will buy it now, sort of put me off, although the photos look great....any thoughts?

[ihpj]

spoke with seller today and he told me the car had a prang. he claims it was low speed and it was at the front crumple zone. anyway, the front end was replaced by an insurance approved garage using lexus parts and full respray. i'm actually not sure whether i will buy it now, sort of put me off, although the photos look great....any thoughts?

Many cars over their lives have had some sort of damage repaired. Of course some have something more substantial than others - but even Dealer prep'd cars have had a panel (or bumper) replaced at sometime. Sometimes unknown to the dealer themselves.

In this instance, I think it is to the Sellers credit for admitting that the car has had some accident damage repaired - remember something like this would not be recorded anywhere.

However what would concern me would be the quality of said repair as it is not Lexus. Bodyshop quality varies greatly - as do the parts used. I would enquire a little more about which bodyshop did the work, any evidence that they used genuine Lexus parts etc. etc. - but at the end of the day, if you are having doubts, walk away...

[dazed]

spoke with seller today and he told me the car had a prang. he claims it was low speed and it was at the front crumple zone. anyway, the front end was replaced by an insurance approved garage using lexus parts and full respray. i'm actually not sure whether i will buy it now, sort of put me off, although the photos look great....any thoughts?

If in doubt just walk away. There will numerous other cars to choose from.

The repair might be perfectly sound and look fine today. However, evidence of the work might start to appear a few years down the line.

If you do go ahead, factor the vehicle's history into the price you pay and remember that one day you'll be the one trying to sell it,.

[finest1]

thanks guys

sound advice.

crunching all this info, i've slowly gone off the idea of buying the car. yes the seller was honest enough to give me the info, but for me its just too much hassle, and it will play on my mind. seller claims it was a low impact crash, but low impact could mean different things to different people.

i've seen a 55 plate for sale, so im after that one now. im not desperate for a new car, as my gs300 is still running smooth.

my best friend turned up to my house in a audi q7 (a tank!)this evening, ugly thing, but when you sit in it, it changes your whole perception on driving, just like the is250 sel did. so anything is up for grabs!!

:D