Hi,
Now that I have sold my Honda S2000 I need to find something suitable to repalce it with, I have another car that I am using so I am not in any rush. I have already test driven an IS250SE Auto and have decided this is the car for me. I have a couple of questions:
- How reliable is the IS250SE Auto?
- I like the options on the SEL but am not keen on the wood trim, is this standard on all the SEL's?
- I will not be buying new, are early model best avoided?.
Thanks Chris
Full Version: Is250se Auto Purchase
A good choice, all the SELs come with the wood as most people like it. The Auto is a good box and reliable ( i haven't heard of any problems with the auto ) and you get the benefit of better mpg. Early models should by now have had rattles, squeaks sorted out. Make sure you give the car you are going to buy a good test drive to confirm this.
Mine is an early model, it still rattles and squeaks intermittently and the dealer has been unable to fix it totally, though in the last year it hasn't been in (I don't want them to take anything else apart).
I seriously have been bitten by this badly, right from ordering the car and asking for production line verifiction that rattles would be fixed, to now - 2 years down the road. And it still rattles now and then...sometimes quite badly!
Having test driven several Courtesy's, including 250's, only one was rattle free. That is honest! Maybe I was unlucky, but I would recommend that you buy the newest you can afford - plain and simple and test drive it very thoroughly - any sounds of a "sugar cube in an empty Coffee takeaway cup" sounds are dangerous sounds, possibly even meaning that the dash may have to come out for more padding, or it could be the top speaker of the dash, which is a simple fix (though it can recur). The newer you buy the better - that way you have more original warranty left to help if it's bad! I'm dreading mine after the warranty is gone. I'd go for the post '56 platrs, with the boot/fuel release switches side by side (by the right knee).
Turn the stereo off for the first few miles of the drive. Pay particular attention to the centre console (gear stick area, handbrake area etc) by pushing against it and seeing what you hear and how much it flexes.
And finally, don't listen to salesman when he or she stats, "Naah - never heard of the rattling"...or "the LOC is full of whingers"...they are there to fleece you!
Also, don't forget - you do get 30 day no quibble exchnge for a used approved one and don't be scared to use it!
PS - SE-L's make fantastic value sense 2nd hand
I seriously have been bitten by this badly, right from ordering the car and asking for production line verifiction that rattles would be fixed, to now - 2 years down the road. And it still rattles now and then...sometimes quite badly!
Having test driven several Courtesy's, including 250's, only one was rattle free. That is honest! Maybe I was unlucky, but I would recommend that you buy the newest you can afford - plain and simple and test drive it very thoroughly - any sounds of a "sugar cube in an empty Coffee takeaway cup" sounds are dangerous sounds, possibly even meaning that the dash may have to come out for more padding, or it could be the top speaker of the dash, which is a simple fix (though it can recur). The newer you buy the better - that way you have more original warranty left to help if it's bad! I'm dreading mine after the warranty is gone. I'd go for the post '56 platrs, with the boot/fuel release switches side by side (by the right knee).
Turn the stereo off for the first few miles of the drive. Pay particular attention to the centre console (gear stick area, handbrake area etc) by pushing against it and seeing what you hear and how much it flexes.
And finally, don't listen to salesman when he or she stats, "Naah - never heard of the rattling"...or "the LOC is full of whingers"...they are there to fleece you!
Also, don't forget - you do get 30 day no quibble exchnge for a used approved one and don't be scared to use it!
PS - SE-L's make fantastic value sense 2nd hand
Thanks for the very detailed thoughts, our other car is a 57 plate Golf TDI GT Sport and that too suffers from intermittant rattles (waiting for its 2nd trip to the dealer). I do not think this problem is a Lexus only problem.
QUOTE(Jamboo @ Feb 6 2008, 03:30 PM) 
Mine is an early model, it still rattles and squeaks intermittently and the dealer has been unable to fix it totally, though in the last year it hasn't been in (I don't want them to take anything else apart).
I seriously have been bitten by this badly, right from ordering the car and asking for production line verifiction that rattles would be fixed, to now - 2 years down the road. And it still rattles now and then...sometimes quite badly!
Having test driven several Courtesy's, including 250's, only one was rattle free. That is honest! Maybe I was unlucky, but I would recommend that you buy the newest you can afford - plain and simple and test drive it very thoroughly - any sounds of a "sugar cube in an empty Coffee takeaway cup" sounds are dangerous sounds, possibly even meaning that the dash may have to come out for more padding, or it could be the top speaker of the dash, which is a simple fix (though it can recur). The newer you buy the better - that way you have more original warranty left to help if it's bad! I'm dreading mine after the warranty is gone. I'd go for the post '56 platrs, with the boot/fuel release switches side by side (by the right knee).
Turn the stereo off for the first few miles of the drive. Pay particular attention to the centre console (gear stick area, handbrake area etc) by pushing against it and seeing what you hear and how much it flexes.
And finally, don't listen to salesman when he or she stats, "Naah - never heard of the rattling"...or "the LOC is full of whingers"...they are there to fleece you!
Also, don't forget - you do get 30 day no quibble exchnge for a used approved one and don't be scared to use it!
PS - SE-L's make fantastic value sense 2nd hand
I seriously have been bitten by this badly, right from ordering the car and asking for production line verifiction that rattles would be fixed, to now - 2 years down the road. And it still rattles now and then...sometimes quite badly!
Having test driven several Courtesy's, including 250's, only one was rattle free. That is honest! Maybe I was unlucky, but I would recommend that you buy the newest you can afford - plain and simple and test drive it very thoroughly - any sounds of a "sugar cube in an empty Coffee takeaway cup" sounds are dangerous sounds, possibly even meaning that the dash may have to come out for more padding, or it could be the top speaker of the dash, which is a simple fix (though it can recur). The newer you buy the better - that way you have more original warranty left to help if it's bad! I'm dreading mine after the warranty is gone. I'd go for the post '56 platrs, with the boot/fuel release switches side by side (by the right knee).
Turn the stereo off for the first few miles of the drive. Pay particular attention to the centre console (gear stick area, handbrake area etc) by pushing against it and seeing what you hear and how much it flexes.
And finally, don't listen to salesman when he or she stats, "Naah - never heard of the rattling"...or "the LOC is full of whingers"...they are there to fleece you!
Also, don't forget - you do get 30 day no quibble exchnge for a used approved one and don't be scared to use it!
PS - SE-L's make fantastic value sense 2nd hand
Bulletproof. Mine's a manual, and after reading the xperience of people like Steve Midlands, I regretted not going auto. However, my manual is a joy - not a squeak. Believe me, there is nothing on the planet (A4, Merc C, BMW 3 or 5 etc) that will match the IS250 for looks, gadgets, comfort and refinement, The 250 is a car that looks 100 times better than it pictures. Buy as new as you can afford - that is good advice, and in order to benefit, keep it as long as possible.
You cannot go wrong - as the dealers are great at follow-up
Good luck with ur new car
You cannot go wrong - as the dealers are great at follow-up
Good luck with ur new car
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.