Lex_utor

I'm also trying to find a good site to run the vin. But they all want to sell a report. Do you have a good one you use? What about tyre recommendations? 18". I didn't see anything on the stickies. Thanks

By the way, the front bumper is a bit scratched. Normal stuff but doesn't look great. By luck I found a new bumper in the same colour near by for a good price. But it's a 2011. Are they swappable or are the wings and bonnet also different? Doesn't come with hardware or a grill though.

Thanks. You chaps are phenomenal.

By the way, just found this: https://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1095593_toyota-recalls-2006-2011-lexus-models-to-fix-potential-fire-hazard-422509-vehicles-affected Should I have to pay attention if the service book has a stamp for the recall? I guess after 16 years, if it had to catch on fire it would have. But recalls are recalls.

Thanks.

Thanks. A search with that number didn't find anything on their website. Would you have maybe a link? Could be that I'm just not smart enough to use the search button. 🤣 I like your idea for the repair though. Look forward to the results.

Sounds like a good plan. I would like to find local pricing on the correct part, so I can try to take the cost off the selling price. Need to try to find the part number.

Very useful info. Thanks. Would you have the correct part number?

Ok, now I get it. Jaguars and the like indeed feel like that. But I would say BMWs still feel connected, despite also being luxury. But I understand what you mean now. I like the idea of a IS250 more and more. 🙂 Do you also have second car like a weekend car?

Nice write up. Thanks for sharing. 🙂 Just one thing, could you elaborate on your last sentence? "All that being said, the IS250 does drive like a Japanese car rather than a german despite being "luxurious"."

Yeah, that makes sense. But so we are talking about only the front then? I had thought all 4 corners.

Yeah exactly. I think they also make a great alternative to a BMW if one wants the RWD manual experience. Even if you are not a fan of Lexus and don't like quality, reliability and all the Lexus goodies. 🙂 But if you like RWD and manuals, there are not many options apart from BMW. If you don't like BMW and their unreliability, the IS250 manual becomes an unique option. So I guess this is why they are starting to be snapped left and right by enthusiasts and prices are going up. In my case I like Lexus, I like the design of the IS and I love RWD manuals. So it is a win win for me. 😉 I just never drove one. Only a 220D manual. How does it drive? Have you driven BMWs manuals? How would you compare? Or does it drive more like a G35? But based on the 220D manual I don't think I will dislike the IS250 manual. I guess it's only better from there.

Thanks. I would have to get it done by somebody. But are we talking a 100 quid job or a 500 one, in average?

I'm starting to think the car is probably fine. If he can at least produce invoices from his ownership time I would be comfortable buying it, after talking to you lot here. 🙂 The only problem is the price. It carries a premium because of the ultra rare manual transmission. Hopefully he will bulge. But it's not out of line with what is out there. They are all more expensive here because they are as rare as hen's teeth. Basically double or even triple of a IS220D.

Oh yeah? Maybe he tried searching for the part online to show a photo and found the wrong part? But so from Lexus it's 200 a corner? 65 a corner from Lexus direct? And can the job be carried out by any independent or is there any detail that makes it a Lexus dealer job only? How much does it normally cost? By the way, I'm not in the U.S. I have been living on the continent. Hence why the car in the video is LHD. Here car prices are double or triple of what they are back in the UK. Any car really. So the carbon build up is not common in the UK or Europe? I already heard that the sticky dash problem doesn't happen here as it does in the U.S.

Apparently the oil was changed only 2 times during his ownership. Reason to worry or run? 🤔 But this seems to be motorway miles. That many in such a short time and the guy being a student, I'm thinking lots of visits to parents or hometown. 🙂 He also said the gearbox oil was changed. Surprised me.

He did service it in his ownership. At MOT time. I don't think he got it cheap. He imported the car as he wanted a manual and could not find one locally. I doubt that was cheap. 🙂

So not worth asking for a cold start video then? VVTi rattle is not a sign of worse things to come? Is there an easy way to check if the car has the carbon build up problem by the way? Back to the service history, his claim is he is selling because he needs to go to University and can't afford to keep the car. But he put about 23K miles on it in 1.5 years. And the history after he bought it is only the 2 indie stamps for the MOT.

Good catch about the temperature gauge. What issues could it be hiding by not showing a cold start? The car supposedly has full Lexus dealership service history till 1.5 years ago by the former owner. This owner has the car for 1.5 years and didn't do the services at Lexus, but at an independent. There are just the 2 stamps from the independent for the MOTs in the mean time with Spark plugs, oil changes, interior filters. By the way, battery is about 6 moths old. Could it signal alternator problems?

By the way, the car in question is a 2005 model.

Here's the video he sent of the engine start up: 1.mp4

Thanks for all the replies. About the manual gearbox, this is just my preference. 🙂 I agree with H3XME. Neither is better or worse. It's only personal preference. I asked the seller and he said last MOT was only one advisory. Something about rubber shock boots? He sent me a photo of the needed part and said it was a few bucks. But I wonder how much to do the job?

I always liked Lexus and one of my favorite models has always been the IS250. I have finally found one I would like to buy. It's a V6 with a manual. But after researching a bit I found some problems related to the car, which surprised me, given Lexus bulletproof reputation. This particular example has over 125k on the clock. So I guess you could say it is high mileage. I would normally try to go for a lower mileage example. But the V6 manuals are very rare. I'm worried about the carbon build up and cam problems. I also found info that despite being chain driven you should replace the chain in high mileage examples to be safe. I asked the seller to record the engine starting to see if I could pick up any problems. But I'm not sure that is the way. He say the there are no RPM oscillation at idle. Should I be concerned with such a high mileage example? I know Lexus runs for hundred of thousands of miles. But the list of problems I found listed for the IS250 made me concerned. So I was advised to come directly to the source of info and get it straight from owners. 🙂 I'm just concerned it will be an expensive car to run. I don't mind fuel and oil costs. I mean maintenance. One of the appeals of Lexus besides the build quality and drive is the reliability. I heard the 220D had problems. Didn't know about the 250. Thanks in advance for your help!