gdh300

Good luck chap, glad my post didn't put you off! Just thought it was best you were going into it with your eyes open.

Welcome to the forum. Where to start? Rare? Yes, not many on the market now, and dealers like to play the 'rare' card by asking silly money. But you'd hope they would be the really rare ones that have a complete service history and minimal owners. Very quick car? Quick enough, but not as quick as that big engine suggests. You will be embarrassed by a lot of more modern metal. New radiator is good, definitely needed by this age. With good maintenance 150k is no problem on an IS300 engine and gearbox, assuming fluids (including the rear axle) have been routinely changed. Things to look out for are sticking brake callipers, wheel wobble, and body corrosion (especially sills ahead of the rear wheels). Remember these are cambelt engines, check for any evidence it's been changed. It's fifteen years old so all sorts of sensors are end-of-life. As with any 15 year old car, don't pay too much if you can't be certain of the history. 8 owners sounds a bit of churn to me, probably a horribly incomplete history. How many of those previous owners were drift kings? MoT history is at least a bit more hit than miss. Last MoT it had: Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories): Rear Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge on limit both (5.2.3 (e)) Rear Brake pad(s) wearing thin unable to see (1.1.13 (a) (ii)) Rear Brake disc worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (1.1.14 (a) (ii)) h lights just in pattern suspension bushes deteriorating Suspension arm pin or bush worn but not resulting in excessive movement wishbone (5.3.4 (a) (i)) Depends on your appetite for risk, matey. Will this be your only car? Will you be depending on it to get to work on pain of being fired? Or is a toy for modding and weekend drifting? Are you spending every penny you have to buy it or do you have the the same again for any repairs? How long are you planning to keep it? That's probably more questions than answers! Don't get me wrong, the IS300 is a brilliant car, but finding one nowadays that hasn't been neglected will be really difficult. I wonder what the sellers reserve price is?

Can't beat a foursome. 😉 [Disclaimer: I've never tried it and Mrs gdh300 would probably kill me if I did]

You need to keep your mate onside; a 'tame' mechanic is worth their weight in gold. Buy him a pint, buy him a box of chocolates, whatever is required! It is a ten year old car you have bought, so just be prepared for the inevitable. That said, Lexus is probably the best car you can have to run after the manufacturers warranty has run out.

Phew, and breathe! Glad you got it sorted out. Even the best cars can suffer from a failed component. Good you found that weak battery now rather than on a cold, dark January morning! 2013 battery, probably about the time I'd have considered changing it anyway.

Having a mechanic as a mate is a big bonus! Assuming all is good once you have the new battery on, might be worth him monitoring the battery for you (or investing in a cheaper tester yourself) just in case there is a charging fault.

Now, that is good to read! Fingers crossed for you.

Good idea to get the dealer involved as soon as you can. Some are slippery, some are honourable, but best to assume the former.

Not necessarily! Mrs gdh300's Yaris went through a spell of completely discharging it's battery, I mean absolutely flat. Not even a glimmer from the interior lights. There's just a chance that your new baby is still on its original battery, in which case it is likely 'end of life'. Might not take much of a discharge to flatten it. Problem is, once you completely discharge it, it reduces the recharge capacity even more, and it becomes a downward spiral. May be even leaving unlocked has caused something to drain the battery (some Toyota cars seem to have this as a 'feature')? Hopefully it's something simply, and you paint guy hasn't unintentionally caused some massive earth. Not what you want on your new pride and joy, I know, but I fingers crossed, eh? Let us know how you get on.

Did you lock the car normally after your paint man had been there? There's no chance he actually disconnected the battery is there? Like scouselexus says, you should at least be able to get in the car and pop the bonnet.

Cold! It might be Wales though, then again, it might not... 😉

No, afriad not matey. Lovely area though.