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What Is 250 Mileage Starts To Get Too Much?


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I've been considering the IS-250 as my first car, but I don't have a huge budget (around £6k) Although there are plenty available, most are with a reasonably high mileage (over 100k miles) What sort of mileage should I start being concerned with? When do running costs rise? Should I be looking at sub 60k only (in which case I need to choose another car as there aren't any in my price range) or are 160k cars still fine?

I'm looking for an auto, with the media pack. Most of the other options I'm not too concerned with (if it makes a difference)

Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

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I've been considering the IS-250 as my first car, but I don't have a huge budget (around £6k) Although there are plenty available, most are with a reasonably high mileage (over 100k miles) What sort of mileage should I start being concerned with? When do running costs rise? Should I be looking at sub 60k only (in which case I need to choose another car as there aren't any in my price range) or are 160k cars still fine?

I'm looking for an auto, with the media pack. Most of the other options I'm not too concerned with (if it makes a difference)

Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

Hi bud

I recently bought my IS220d SE-L, paid £6K got a 2006 model with 70K. I would say £6K budget is good enough to get a decent buy. Keep looking around, especially for the SE-L model as i have seen many IS250s for sale while i was looking.

Although they're probably ok when the mileage is high, but some parts are likely to be needing replacement when they hit that kind of mileage.

My tip for you is to look at all the SE-Ls available with the media pack etc. and if mileage is around 60-70K, all good!

Unfortunately when they go beyond 100K, the resale value drop more as 100K is a big milestone for a lot of people.

Hope my words of advise are useful!

Shipz

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Thanks for the info! I was considering the 220d, but I heard there have been a lot more problems with the 220 than the 250? Also, most of my trips will be fairly small trips (<5 miles most of the time) so I thought having a diesel was a bad idea!

As for the drop after 100k, I was thinking much the same, which is probably why I've found some 120-150k cars for 4-5k, whereas cars with half the mileage are about 2k more.

Are there any specific things I should look at at any specific milestones? (e.g. cam belt at around xxk miles etc)

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The reason why i opted for the 220 is because running cost, road tax etc. was all cheaper hence why...but i guess if you do low miles, then the 250 will do the job nice.

the IS250s don't have timing belts, but are chain driven. Like buying any car, i would suggest get one with full service history, try and get lower miles and most importantly, ensure you negotiate hard!

Remember, the road tax and running costs are higher than average, so this puts off a lot of people, but gives you more better buying power. Always knock off 10% and try and stick to it :) Buying privately is quite good, it allows you to know as much about the car and owner so you get a vibe of the way the car has been maintained and driven.

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What sort of running costs does the 220 cost you each year, and how much more do you think the 250 will be (excluding insurance, road tax & fuel)

And I was planning on getting one from a dealer, rather than privately, as it gives me some legal comeback if there are any problems.

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I guess excluding those things, just leaves service costs right? Mine is due for a major service in Feb, and that's £279 from dealer I believe. Bear in mind you can't get autos in the diesel model.

I top up £75 full tank and that returns at least 400 miles. You probably won't get that on the 250.

I had a look on auto trader, and for an auto, they are rare and not so common to find a SE-L.

Would you consider IS200 at all?

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Pretty much, I had already thought about tax & fuel costs, so I was just wondering what else there was that I might not have thought about. Having a manual is only not an option due to the poor gears & the difference in tax bracket, so if I ended up going for the diesel having a manual wouldn't bother me.

How much of an issue would it be having the 220d if I was doing <5mile journeys 95% of the time? Wouldn't it cause problems with the dpf?

Unfortunately you're correct, there's not a lot of choice with the auto, which makes everything that much harder!

I did think about the IS200 briefly, however I'm not so much a fan of the looks, and it doesn't have the same technology in it, so it's not really the car I'm looking for.

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Forget the IS220. There are lots of IS250's available in your price range with exceptable mileages( under 70k). Just look at all the dealer ads on eBay, Pistonheads and maybe Autotrader. I have a SEL model with all the options except a sunroof. A really comfortable ride compared to my wifes BMW 325i.

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I think our opinion on "lots" is quite different. There's no more than a small handful of auto 250s available within my budget on eBay, pistonheads, or autotrader. Even less of which have the media spec, so I think it's just a matter of keeping my eyes open for one.

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I would suggest sticking to an IS250 Auto, but keep looking and haggling to try and find the right deal, i do understand that will be a tough job anyway as not a lot out there..

I do a lot of short journeys, live in Cambridge and do face a lot of traffic and my work is only 5 miles away, but i get by in a diesel, still cheaper than running a petrol, i know because a mate of mine had a IS250 and it wasn't cheap to run!

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I thought diesels were meant to be more expensive to maintain, but with savings from the MPG making up for it?

Main reason I ask, is there's just such a huge choice of 220s compared to 250. (e.g. at the moment, on Autotrader it found 117 220s within my budget, and only 19 250s, and that's before any mileage filters.)

I was originally not looking at the 220 because I have previously read about issues with them, but the more I think about it, the more it seems to make sense to look into them more, as there's so much more choice! If I did get a diesel, would there be anything different I would have be careful for because of the short distances? (I remember reading somewhere that you're meant to do a bit of dual carriageway driving every so often to allow the DPF to regenerate, how often is it actually required?) I would probably be doing ~2 mile trips 8 times (there & back 4 times) a week as my main use, with longer journeys every 2-4 weeks (but still only 30-45 mins) Is it stupid I'm even considering a 220 now?

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I would say look at the 220s then, just look for a good maintained car that is running well and has done some long runs in the past rather than used for just short journey s only. Like any diesel, a good thrashing on a long run is good for the engine just to clear the system and let dpf regenerate but what you mentioned about frequency seems fine, defo look for se-l bud with media pack :)

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A long run every 4 weeks or so with hot engine and running slightly high revs should be ok. Just keep it in your mind and it will all fall in place naturally! Mine has never had an egr clean nor dpf issues so far ( touch wood)!

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I have had auto IS 250's since early 2006 and, when I have put my car in for servicing, I usually get given a 220D as a loaner. In my view, the 220D is greatly inferior to the 250 except for mpg and road tax. If your mileage is low, go for a 250 and you will not be disappointed. Opt for a 220D and you might not be disappointed......... until you drive a 250.

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I would say look at the 220s then, just look for a good maintained car that is running well and has done some long runs in the past rather than used for just short journey s only. Like any diesel, a good thrashing on a long run is good for the engine just to clear the system and let dpf regenerate but what you mentioned about frequency seems fine, defo look for se-l bud with media pack :)

A long run every 4 weeks or so with hot engine and running slightly high revs should be ok. Just keep it in your mind and it will all fall in place naturally! Mine has never had an egr clean nor dpf issues so far ( touch wood)!

I would guess higher mileage could work in my favour to know the vehicle has done mainly longer journeys. The SE-L with Media definitely seems to be the spec I'm going to want. I've been having a little look today at getting a non-media spec, then installing an after market screen. However from what I've found, it'll be quite a bit of effort, and looks like it'll cost much the same (quite possibly more) so it's probably not an option...

I have had auto IS 250's since early 2006 and, when I have put my car in for servicing, I usually get given a 220D as a loaner. In my view, the 220D is greatly inferior to the 250 except for mpg and road tax. If your mileage is low, go for a 250 and you will not be disappointed. Opt for a 220D and you might not be disappointed......... until you drive a 250.

What makes you say the 220 is worse than the 250? Are you meaning in general feel of the drive, power, gearing etc, or was it something else?

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You mentioned you were mostly doing trips of 5 miles or so.

If that is the case I would go for the 250 auto every time.

I had a 220d before and they need to be doing good runs to keep them clean...or you increase the risk of getting problems with the EGR and DPF. The gearbox and gearing can be a bit strange too.

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What makes you say the 220 is worse than the 250? Are you meaning in general feel of the drive, power, gearing etc, or was it something else?

Deisel engines are inherrently noisier, have more vibration and have less smooth torque characteristics than an equivalent petrol engine. Add to this that the 220D engine is a 4-cylinder design compared with the 6 cylinders of the 250, that the 250 auto box is one of the best around and makes for very easy driving, and that Lexus do not have much experience with deisel engines. I found the 250 to be smoother, quieter and more refined than the 220D. Granted, on the open road, the difference is less noticeable but you did say that most of your motoring consisted of short journeys and I assume that they are unlike;y to include towing a caravan, where a deisel might be best because of its torque characteristics.

There are quite a few threads in this forum with posts that tend to confirm my experience but why not ask your local dealer to test drive both versions and see for yourself?

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Bearing in mind the short journeys and low mileage I'd have to say go for the 250, even if finding the right car takes a little longer.

I doubt there'd be anything in it fuel economy wise, so take advantage of the extra refinement of the petrol and auto gearbox.

Having said that, if my mileage was as low as the original poster's I'd probably go for a smaller petrol engine. In my experience, neither the 220 or 250 will be warmed up and running particularly quietly or efficiently within two miles.

I suspect the exhaust would be an early casualty of such a driving pattern - and they're certainly not cheap to replace.

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Hi Richard

Did you get one?

If not and you're still in the market you might want to have a look at mine. I bought as an approved Lexus from Lexus Leicester in 2008 with 18k on the clock, it's now done 152k but drives just the same as the day I got it. Serviced by Lexus every 10k miles (on the dot). It's the SE multimedia. I've agreed to trade it in against a new car for £3.9k. New rear tyres and MOT until end of February. Let me know if you want to take a look as I'm only in Derby.

post-25203-0-41961900-1387095464_thumb.j

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OMG - Dave250, your car is no good - as it's upside down….lol :zorro:

EDIT

Lexus (actually Toyota) do have a huge amount of experience with diesels - 4x4's, vans, 90's Corolla had a cracking diesel engine etc. In the case of the IS 220d, they basically seem to have taken the humble Avensis D4D FWD 180 unit and shoe-horned into a RWD IS, then messed about with the final drive to make it economical. Result? Useless 6th gear, narrow power delivery etc. It was never designed for this application in my view.

I ordered mine pre-launch 2005 - on the test drive (2 weeks before mine was due to be delivered - Feb 2006) the sales man gave me the "patter" about how tight the engines were in Toyota Diesels when I questioned the 6th gear, and I took his word for it…big mistake lol

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OMG - Dave250, your car is no good - as it's upside down….lol :zorro:

EDIT

Lexus (actually Toyota) do have a huge amount of experience with diesels - 4x4's, vans, 90's Corolla had a cracking diesel engine etc. In the case of the IS 220d, they basically seem to have taken the humble Avensis D4D FWD 180 unit and shoe-horned into a RWD IS, then messed about with the final drive to make it economical. Result? Useless 6th gear, narrow power delivery etc. It was never designed for this application in my view.

I ordered mine pre-launch 2005 - on the test drive (2 weeks before mine was due to be delivered - Feb 2006) the sales man gave me the "patter" about how tight the engines were in Toyota Diesels when I questioned the 6th gear, and I took his word for it…big mistake lol

Yes, Toyota has a fair bit of experience with diesels but, in 2005, Lexus had an organisational separation from its parent company with dedicated design, engineering and manufacturing centres working exclusively for Lexus. Whether or not the Toyota experience carried over into Lexus might be debatable but, whatever the case, the 220D has not been an outstanding success.

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Hi Richard

Did you get one?

If not and you're still in the market you might want to have a look at mine. I bought as an approved Lexus from Lexus Leicester in 2008 with 18k on the clock, it's now done 152k but drives just the same as the day I got it. Serviced by Lexus every 10k miles (on the dot). It's the SE multimedia. I've agreed to trade it in against a new car for £3.9k. New rear tyres and MOT until end of February. Let me know if you want to take a look as I'm only in Derby.

I haven't got one yet, so I'm still in the market for one. Thanks for the offer, in principal, your car is very promising, but there's a couple of problems. First, I was wanting to buy from a dealer as there's less risk, as if there's any problems I've got some legal comeback. Other problem is that yours has more miles on than I was originally hoping for.

Saying that, however, I'm still considering it as the money saved could provide myself with a bit of money for any repairs needed. What's the reasoning for you changing cars, and what are you changing to? Have you had any problems with the car whilst you've had it? Anything to suggest it wouldn't sail through the next MOT?

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I reckon Dave250's car looks a very good bet, definitely worth a visit for a looksee if it's not too far away from you.. It's got full Lexus service history and so you will have no problems getting a Lexus extended warranty for another couple of years if you wanted (I've just done one for my 06 250) You get in-built roadside recovery too, something well worth considering. If the dealer takes it off his hands before you even consider it, they will add a fair few pennies before moving it on. Go and have a look, you can always say no if you want!

By the way, I don't know Dave250 from Adam, it just looks a good possibility that's worth a look.

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I have been thinking it's probably worth a look. Don't think I'll be able to get the extended warranty though, as the Lexus website says the vehicle must have less than 140k miles on the clock, and this one doesn't. Dave, do you have a warranty on it at the moment? As apparently the 140k doesn't matter if it's an extension to a current warranty.

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