Linas.P

That is off topic, but you have weird tax in Belgium. Fist of all IS250 doesn't have high performance engine ~205hp (obviously depends what you comparing with), but generally IS250 is not performance car (maybe US IS350 is something closer to performance car). Secondly, IS220d is very close with 177Hp (are you sure there are tax difference?) - and actually pollutes much more (as any diesel). As well check if IS250 AT and MT tax is the same, because at least in UK MT is twice more expensive to tax than AT (£495 vs. £295). Then next - IS220d really doesn't worth Lexus badge and if you really looking after more "practical" and less luxurious car (which lexus suppose to be) - I would consider diesel options from BMW,MB,Audi or even Toyota (IS220d is based on Avensis if I am right?) as they will have much more options available and will be cheaper to maintain. Maintaining IS220d and driving with warm engine and long distances might actually improve reliability, but as we are talking about used car - How do you know previous owner have done that? Basically, you have a risk associated when buying IS220d, might get lucky and might not. Finally, as you know IS220d is Manual only, and probably it is not that much the gearbox, nor the car is no reliable, but rather combination of both (and why on earth Lexus decided not to make AT 220d?). So you have less reliable engine in IS220d + less reliable Manual gearbox which requires more maintenance. All in all there are much more maintenance required for the car. Maybe taking this in consideration the Tax offset will by not that much when comparing with IS250 (not to mention it is BETTER car as a whole).

Just to advice - tried sourcing the rear and head lights from breakers recently and asking prices are £600+ for fronts, £350+ for rears per side (not per pair). The pre-face-lift ones are about half price £350/£150 respectively. after that I though I might look to "IS-F look" rear with white indicator (instead of yellow) which I actually prefer over the face-lifted "L-finesse" design - "IS-F like" costs around £300 a pair (Chinese LED), the originals are like £1000+. That is obviously personal, but I found this being too expensive as cosmetic upgrade, especially for late pre-face-lift models like mine (end of 2008), where the price difference between the newer and older car would be similar to the cost of the lamps alone (not to mention there are many other differences in face-lifted model).

Just quick update - I have been driving with PWR-ON on the last 3 tanks (~1000 miles) and have not seen any difference in fuel consumption. Car is more responsive, but in other hand the mode is not as polished as standard one. I would highlight few situations where you DON'T want to be in PWR mode and I suggest switching it off: When doing 90MPH on motorway and using Auto pilot - Keeps changing to 5th gear and that obviously hurts fuel economy(whenever it is legal or not that is another question , just something I have noticed). Especially, true in heavy rain or after heavy rain in "Very Wet" conditions even in speeds 70-80MPH. Not good for rolling "without power/acceleration" e.g. what I usually do before traffic lights.. slow down in advance and then just roll to the lights and if lucky don't need to do full stop/start. Which is great for fuel economy. With PWR on that doesn't work as it automatically changes to the lower gears and stops you quicker than usual. Not good in heavy traffic when jumping the lanes. Quite obviously the fuel consumption is already high in such conditions, but PWR just kills it e.g. you jump into the free lane and accelerate, PWR drops the gear and keeps it in low for very long without any reason and then if you need to brake it drops it even further to assist braking.. something you don't want. Sometimes it seems like PWR logic just crashes and it keeps far too low gear without any reason when cruising. Switching to "S" and back to "D" usually helps in decision making (I guess for face-lifted models clicking "+" would do the trick as well). Generally, it is great for average driving conditions in city without excessive speeds as it makes car more responsive and hardly ever increases fuel consumption.

It does adapt to the road quite well, thought when parking it doesn't turn enough - I had WV Toured with "steerable" headlights, that is on another level when parking or turning in slow turns, but nowhere near the clarity and brightness of Lexus otherwise.

Is that including UK versions? I might be wrong, but never heard of UK IS250 Sport? I have owned IS250 AWD Sport, but that was EU version, not UK. In EU and US.. and maybe other markets Lexus used Sport, Sport Premium and Premium (and later F-Sport and Premium F-Sport) trims, while in UK there were SE, SE-i and SE-L (and later SR, F-Sport).

Yes that can be done (ATS does it for sure, Kwik Fit does it, but I wouldn't recommend them). You probably know that you need to replace those trashed tires before alignment i.e. alignment won't resurrect the tires which are already unevenly worn?

It should not have impact on MPG, what does have is planning. If you accelerate then immediately brake and you driving in queueing traffic, then obviously you will use more fuel, but if you just accelerate on the motorway entry or from the traffic lights it doesn't matter how quick you will do it the fuel consumtion is going to be the same (except if there is a wheel spin - obvious waste). As Clarkson says - "the worst enemy of economy are brakes" - the less you use it the better MPG you have.

What you mean by IS250 "sport" is that "SR"? If the miles are genuine and the car was serviced I would say - no problem. As well learning from my own mistakes - some cars have beed services, but you need to check what big ticket items were replaced e.g. Water pump, Main belt and similar. It is important, because these items are "check only" after 100k Miles and car value can depend whenever they are already replaced or not.

Add as well: Windshield mouldings (I know minor) - replacement is ~£200. If lucky only need to replace clips which can be bought of eBay and alike for ~£15, but mouldings brakes itself quite often ~£80 each. Corroded main grounding leads (more likely for wet climate) ~£600. Very hard to spot, most likely - hard cold morning starts when battery is getting old. If the windshield is cracked or was replaced possible issues with rain-sensing wipers and wiper defrosters. Some cracking noises from central console or front speaker mounts are common if not fixed while new by the dealer. Generally, very reliable cars if looked after. The only issues by design are the undersized brakes, upgrade from GS300/(US)IS350 is nice addition. Except, of that excellent cars.

As other said, Lexus IS HIDs are quite good - maybe no BMW laser, but one of the better ones on the market. What about your headlight "glass" (or rather hardened plastic), maybe it is oxidised? My ones are excellent on the road, but I know many people have issues with them in the hot climate (like US California or Middle-East), where the headlights oxidise to the level they become matte or yellow. Maybe polishing would help? I hate those cowboys two... blinds everyone in the dark and hardly see anything better themselves. Though it would be quite unlikely that insurance going to check bulbs (not unless somebody is stupid enough to smoke their headlights, which is also illegal.. but we seen these on the road as well).

Blown through engine gasket - very common on IS220D. That could be other things, like bad quality diesel or contamination in the tank (or other components), but the first one is most likely. P.S. I have seen people mixing diesel with used engine oil with various ratios (like 30/70), but that si on old non-turbo diesel cars... I know nothing dumber can be done and it is environmental disaster in terms of emissions, I assume that is very unlikely that somebody would do that in Lexus (that would surely kill than already unreliable engine and turbo).

Thanks, that must be it, but I have not seen any issue. Maybe they turned it one and forgotten to turn-off. Yes it stops as soon as you press any button - at first I got worried as I though it is something related with my own car's alarm e.g. maybe key battery is low and car is going to immobilise the engine soon :D

You are right. Sorry, I must mention - I compare it with IS250 which is by far not the fastest car around, still huge difference. And again you right, comparable car would be sluggish as well e.g. BMW e91 320d manual with the same 177hp is exactly the same. To clarify. It is not sluggish when compared with similar cars, but it is generally sluggish car. Huge part of it is that it is Turbo diesel - meaning until turbo spins at ~2k RPM you have maybe half of you horses... that eventually turns into driving like crazy, Hitting gas pedal always hard, because you always feel that lack of power on low RPM etc. This completely doesn't suite the car character. This is not limited to Lexus IS220/200, but rather to any "small" engine turbo diesel car.

Well.. you won't lose horse power compared with stock. Unless it is really badly designed.. which would be a bit strange as exhaust design is not rocket science.

Those reinforced side walls makes the ride harder, which is already rather hard on R17. Depends what you take for comparison e.g. if you compare with BMW e90 - then Lexus with any tires/rims will be comfortable to drive.

Well it is quite simple - 2005-2010 cars had 177hp and were marketed as IS220d, the face-lift models 2010+ had some reliability issues addressed and the power were reduced to 148hp, as well that helped to me pollution targets. Now IS220d is already sluggish car I won't enjoy driving, IS200d is even worse. True it is more reliable, but nowhere near perfect. Generally, people have issues with these cars when doing short trips/ city driving. For motorway driving they are fine (ish). Still wouldn't recommend it. Obviously, it is hard to judge without the price, mileage etc. Maybe it is really dirty cheap.. and if you don't mind obvious shortcomings of the model then why not?

No - it is biggest mistake. Reinforced tires are for heavy loads and are much harder, hence they would have terrible hard ride. I have paid £61 per tire for SPORTMAXX RT 94? with rim protection and got fitted them in local garage for £20, so £142 in total. so I guess £135 is decent price.

Recently my radio started playing some kind of game. When I drive past the Thames-link tunnel it stops what ever is playing radio/aux/disk and displays the message "ALARM". I have non-Sat-Nav unit without screen. That only happens in the Thames-link tunnel. User manual states that this means emergency message is being broadcasted , similar to TA. However, it seems there are no ways to turn it off thought. Does anyone have seen this message before? I believe either my radio going mad or somebody is really trying to send distress signal in that tunnel (for a ~week, so might stop soon though :D).

Just my personal opinion - look a bit cheap, as well given the fact is IS220d I would look elsewhere. I personally don't like the rims - it is obvious they are quite cheap (and heavy... and "soft").

I have recently lost right rear box (apparently common issue - my car is 2008 October). I think I slightly hit it when going over the bumps and it had one week/rusted weld. It was £680+fitting for the rear section. Didn't bother to find out how much the fitting, because it was obviously was about to get absurd (really it is just 2 screws and 6 rubber holder which you can undo with hands). End up visiting local garage - they said all exhaust is a bit rusted, but nothing major. As well I have checked the part and it looked like broken rather than rusted. End-up doing bit of fudge - they welded up the rear box for £80. So far have not other problems (after ~6 month). When this going to brake, I believe I am going to order entire Aftermarket exhaust from engine to the tail-pipes somewhere from Eastern EU - have seen custom titanium exhaust in ~£700 range (£2800 it like almost half of my cars value).

Then maybe just needs alignment, apparently it is recommended to do it every 6 months. I had similar issues when my front tires were unevenly worn out. Replaced tires and done front alignment (rear was ok) an issue gone.

Quick summary: IS220d is "fine" if you not driving in the city and if you are ok with under-powered manual car. Same would be applicable to any poor diesel car (like BMW320d) except maybe they have more reliable engines. IS250 AT has excellent engine and gearbox reliability and none of the issue IS220 has. Choice is very simple - either you get SE-L with everything or SE without anything, there are no major options except of Sat-Nav with Mark-levison audio and "moon" roof. you have option of MT as well. The real consumption of IS250 AT (my personal London driving last 10k miles) - 25-30MPG in start stop urban driving, 35-40MPG in extra urban (but I do ~90MPH, by driving 75-80MPH you can get 40+ MPG).

Well I had it on my previous F-Sport and AWD. That is why I am saying "missing". What I am not missing is Nav, somehow doesn't found it any good or at least not as good as the one I had on BMW..

Are these machined aluminum pedals standards with MT or it is upgrade. Just realised they look cool! It doesn't seems to be many IS with Moonroof either - the only thing I really miss in mine.

I think one general rule here - you get what you pay for. If you want real nice IS250 AT with low miles and decent options ~£10k. If lucky you might get on for £8k-odd. For 6-7k... you will always have tradeoffs. This stands as of today - so if you read my comment in 2020 the prices will be different