DBIZO

Gosh, I'd happy with only double that.

I don't have a problem with rust because I rather not look.

No, the Advance trim does not have electronic comfort / assistance features. It's a base trim with nice leather seats. I'll never see the business case for car makers in this unless you're Mercedes or Aston Martin etc. Lexus is a challenger to German premium brands yet does not try to bundle in more features to lure customers. There should be only 1 trim level, the fully loaded. They sell you a trim and even if you want something more, oh sorry we cannot take your money, you're stuck with what you have. Idiocy. Just drove a new Toyota matchbox, Yaris or Aygo, don't remember. It had auto-folding, radar cruise, lane keep assist etc.

It's not about opening anything, the product likely doesn't meet the certificate's standard or perhaps the vendor never sought it because it's not worth it for the expected sales. A practical question is I guess what happens, legally, when you drive a non-compliant headlight onto the continent. I do that several times a year.

My eyes hurt just looking at the photos. Still likely better than those sodden matrix leds.

Does it make sense on a 9-year old car, do you know? Can existing rust be removed cost-effectively? I saw high pressure CO2 removal advertised. Then Lanoguard. Not sure about the costs though.

To confirm, the IS 300h does not produce a fake motor sound to warn pedestrians / cyclists. It is likely one of the quietest cars in EV mode, and one need to be mindful on this when rolling in EV around people (I live in a 20 with lots of pedestrians during the day). A kid once turned around rather suddenly and almost rode into the car on a bike because he was oblivious to the cars presence only a few metres behind him. He was very surprised.

You're right, rationally speaking, but since when cars have got anything to do with reason? I made the same calculation going for an Advance, and ever since I've been checking the market from time to time for a Premier, but can never justify shelling out the money for those extras. How does it make sense to get premium audio in a car where you don't really pay attention to the music, there is lots of noise - but I want it. Bigger screen, to pretty much show the same information. Memory seats, even though I always just manually adjust what I feel works for the day. Radar cruise because it sounds cool except every time I try in a rented car it never works well, it's annoying as hell. I want the blind spot monitor, because why should I turn my head. It goes on. I want it all. We, humans, are hopeless.

I paid essentially the same for a similar mileage 2015 Advance in 2021. I'd have thought prices went down since, from a Lexus dealer. Granted, that was the bottom of the market. If it's in good condition in an out, it could still be a good deal. Also make sure you know what Advance trim means - it doesn't have driver assistance systems (no blind spot monitor, lane keep assist, radar cruise, auto high beam), no memory seats, no premium hi-fi audio, and not the car is not connected. Some of the features in the description look odd, like lane guidance and speed limit notification. I don't suppose a 2015 IS Advance do those. Also, note that no IS has power operated boots, regardless of trim, simply not available...go figure. If you expect any of that, you better look for Premier or highly configured F-Sports, but for the budget, those will be high mileage.

The servo is covered, AC leaks due to cracks are not. I had hole in my condenser, likely a stone piercing it at speed.

It's probably 1k more than it should be given the mileage and the year (prices dropped quite a bit recently), but who knows, maybe it's in pristine condition, then it's a good get. But that mileage is a non-issue for reliability either way, if it has been looked after. Having said that, buyer beware, it's a car, you never know. Get the AC checked for pressure to see if there is leakage, also the heating servo unit is prone to die. Both are about £1k each to get replaced at a dealer. Also, unless the 12V battery is new, replace it. You don't know how long it stood on a forecourt disused.

Have you tried out one at least, how it drives? It is a very different animal compared to a BMW or most cars because of the way it delivers power through the continuously geared transaxle. It feels a bit like electric cars. You can put it into 'manual', but it's just software mimicking and not a great one at that, it won't stick a gearing ratio, it slides. Also, the engine is torque poor at low revs not simply because it's a breather but also because the timing is set to what's called Atkinson cycle for fuel economy - the electric motor is supposed to fill the gap but that only happens if the battery is charged and warmed, there will be occasions when the car feels anaemic. The engine is otherwise plenty powerful for UK roads, once the engine is revving around 3,000 and the computer understands you mean business, it's also responsive to throttle input in normal and sports modes. Also, as an ex-BMW driver, you should know the steering is comfortable but there is not a great deal of feel for the road. The suspension and the grip (with good rubber) is there, it's like going on rails, but you don't really feel where the car is. Also, the wheel gives off a notchy feel when in neutral straight position, which is documented but considered a non-issue. The car build quality is excellent, but clearly cost cutting measures got to it. The car is really focussed on the front, and particularly the driver side, then it gets cheaper as you progress towards the back. The boot lid I think is a major let-down, the whole thing just feels cheap. There is no weight to it, the hinges are ugly, the latch is unconvincing. This is not to discourage you, I wouldn't really like to go back to discrete gearing or other makes. The car is a looker, much better looking than the 3-series, and as reliable as a car gets, top of the league. The inside of the car I also find much more pleasant than most cars in the class, particularly the leather seats. It's smooth, classy, and comfortable for long journeys too. If you use cruise control, it can easily do high 40s mpg (at the pump) when sticking to speed limits on a full tank.

Thanks, good to know. For a critical single-point of failure component that should last 4-5 years, a 12 month warranty is very poor indeed.

If you already have problems with starting up the hybrid, that's way overdue replacement, whatever the age. That's minimal power compared to cranking the engine. Be mindful that these are not full-sized 12V car batteries, but smaller ones because, again, all it needs to do is power up the hybrid system, and it's the NiMH traction battery that cranks the engine. Toyota/Lexus chose these to save space and weight. However, this means that the 12V holds less charge (45Ah vs. typical 60-70Ah) and may wear out faster (VRLA does not like deep discharge, for example, when sitting long), especially if your mileage is irregular/low. Also, your 10 years in the Skoda, isn't that rather exceptional? VRLA technology tends to last 10 years only in ideal conditions, which means always fully charged, never too warm. A car rarely provides ideal conditions. If your warranty is disputed ('computer says no'' situation), your best chance is always a letter to the dealer head office, appealing to an expectation of higher standards. Good luck!

Great colour, enjoy!