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Buying Is 220D F-Sport. What To Be Aware Of?


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Hi,

I'm new to this forum and this is my first post. I've the opportunity to buy a very high mileage 2010 model Lexus IS 220d F-Sport (manual transmission with turbo). This car was a Lexus company car for its first 3 years (Aug-2010 to Aug-2013 I believe where it covered 113,000 miles) and it has been in private ownership for almost a year now and the owner says she wants to sell as she doesn't do enough motorway miles to justify it having driven just 5,000 miles in almost a year. So current mileage is 118,000 miles.

The car has a full Lexus service history, and the engine number is 2AD0311711 shown in the HPI check. No issues other than a sensor replacement in the last year (maybe oxygen sensor or something as exhaust was smokey and diagnostics said it was a faulty sensor costing less than £80 to fix).

I've read numerous owner posts and reviews online about issues with the IS 220d, including head gaskets going, EGR and DPF issues, turbo lags, and other horror stories. Given the car's mileage I doubt it is still under engine replacement warranty, and I'm concerned about this and any expensive bills and the likelihood of that. So my questions to you Lexus owners and experts are:

- What things should I be aware of and check before buying?

- Does this model with this engine have known issues? If so, what are these issues and should they have been fixed already by Lexus, and how do I check that has been done?

- What common issues are with this model?

- Would the IS 250 make a better choice if I want significantly lower chances of seeing problems if I intend to keep it for several years provided it is maintained and serviced properly?

I'm in two minds what to do here. The car has a very high mileage but is just shy of 4 years old and has every single option added that I've not seen any other car of this specification for sale anywhere within 15-20% of this price. My worry is whether I'll regret buying this car or not.

Thanks for your time.

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Hi,

I'm new to this forum and this is my first post. I've the opportunity to buy a very high mileage 2010 model Lexus IS 220d F-Sport (manual transmission with turbo). This car was a Lexus company car for its first 3 years (Aug-2010 to Aug-2013 I believe where it covered 113,000 miles) and it has been in private ownership for almost a year now and the owner says she wants to sell as she doesn't do enough motorway miles to justify it having driven just 5,000 miles in almost a year. So current mileage is 118,000 miles.

The car has a full Lexus service history, and the engine number is 2AD0311711 shown in the HPI check. No issues other than a sensor replacement in the last year (maybe oxygen sensor or something as exhaust was smokey and diagnostics said it was a faulty sensor costing less than £80 to fix).

I've read numerous owner posts and reviews online about issues with the IS 220d, including head gaskets going, EGR and DPF issues, turbo lags, and other horror stories. Given the car's mileage I doubt it is still under engine replacement warranty, and I'm concerned about this and any expensive bills and the likelihood of that. So my questions to you Lexus owners and experts are:

- What things should I be aware of and check before buying?

- Does this model with this engine have known issues? If so, what are these issues and should they have been fixed already by Lexus, and how do I check that has been done?

- What common issues are with this model?

- Would the IS 250 make a better choice if I want significantly lower chances of seeing problems if I intend to keep it for several years provided it is maintained and serviced properly?

I'm in two minds what to do here. The car has a very high mileage but is just shy of 4 years old and has every single option added that I've not seen any other car of this specification for sale anywhere within 15-20% of this price. My worry is whether I'll regret buying this car or not.

Thanks for your time.

The engine is the main problem, there's been a few people complaining about the engine mainly not fitting into Lexus nature of refinement and low NVH. There seems to be problems with the actual engine itself too. I'd say that its better to stick with the IS250 because Lexus knows how to build petrols, not diesels. Better to stick to the Germans if you want a decent diesel engine.

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Thanks for the response. From what I've read about this car and it's problems, the main reason expensive issues are all related to the diesel engine itself and related parts. Head gasket, DPF, EGR, etc. It's putting me off the diesel version. I haven't done much research into the petrol engine variants, but there does seem to be much less frustration and complaints on the IS 250. Would you recommend the automatic version with paddle shift flaps?

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I had a Honda accord before this, moving to a petrol is250 was probably the most easy decision ever, reliability - check, comfort and all the toys - check.

It sure is not a race car but its a very nice place to be.

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I agree with all the sentiments here. Diesel can save money on fuel and tax, but as a rule of thumb I think you should only consider a diesel car (of any make) if you do at least 20000 miles per year and at least 10000 of those are on motorways.

And if you must have a diesel, buy a german or (if you want a smaller car) a french one.

I don't know why Lexus even sell any IS except the auto petrol (and now, I suppose, the hybrid, but even that is not getting rave reviews).

Mazda diesels do seem quite nice - but DPF problems are eventually going to kill the whole diesel engines in passenger cars story (unless there's some radical change).

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I pay crazy money to tax my lexus, but i would pay double it than drive a diesel lexus.

People need to enjoy driving and not worry about tax, the UK has become obsessed with cheaper tax cars and moving to diesel for quite some time now.

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hmmm, my manual is250 is fine, I am not giving into this auto box being totally superlative, is it really that good?

The manual is a bit of a dog around town (not helped by the less the stellar 0-60 times) but you get used to it, on long runs difference between auto and manual would be marginal i would say.

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So do any of you own an IS 250 automatic with the paddle shifts? I'm quite keen on that for some reason, as I've never owned a car with that feature before and wonder if it's that much better than the standard automatic one?

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Quite a lot of us do - maybe a majority? Paddles are what you get in an auto IS250. It gives you manual override - you put the stick in 'S' rather than normal 'D' then the top gear is restricted to 4 if you don't do anything. Now use the paddles (left for down, right for up) to set the max gear. (NB the paddles are not operative in 'D' mode, unlike some cars - eg Jaguars)

So if, for example, you were a traffic light racer (none of us are, of course!) you could click it down to 1, then at max revs click up to 2 then 3 etc. Effectively gives you full manual. But if you just set to, say, 5, it works like a full auto but without changing up to 6.

It's quite useful to stay in 4 if you're looking for an overtaking opportunity - at normal road speeds in full auto you'll mostly be in 6, but if you're doing 40 and put your foot down you will be well bogged down. (The auto box is not the fastest in the world to react to kickdown and change down 2 or 3 gears). In 'S' mode in 4 the car will be much more responsive - and of course you can always click down to 3 at any normal road speed.

You don't need to lift off as you change up, either.

'Honest John' in the Telegraph likes IS250s, but only autos (and with 17" wheels for ride quality) - he reckons the engine characteristics are more suited to auto. I've never driven a manual IS250, but from my experience of my own car I'd agree.

BTW - in 'S' mode you can use the stick (forward and back) instead of the paddles, but I don't know why you would and I never do.

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Now that is a good answer. But I honestly don't know if ALL of them have the paddles...you may well be right.

BTW - in 'S' mode you can use the stick (forward and back) instead of the paddles, but I don't know why you would and I never do.

I have on occasions for a bit of fun.

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Thanks to all for your replies, especially Johnatg for the informative post about the paddle shift and using it in S-mode. I've only ever owned manuals, current car being a Mazda 6 TS2 Diesel which I've owned for 6 years. It's time for a change and I wanted to go for a Japanese or German brand only, knowing what I know about overall vehicle reliability. Lexus/Toyota and Honda are usually right up there in the quality and reliability rankings, so I'm keen to look at those marques to have as hassle free an ownership experience as I can. I'm also after all the gadgets and options, so want everything such as Bluetooth connectivity, cruise control, parking sensors, auto lights and wipers, heated leather/suede seats, etc, etc. I think the Lexus IS fits the bill perfectly!

Am just after something useful for 45 mile round-trip daily commutes, of which 80% is motorway and A-roads, and the occasional long distance drives. I do average mileage, so about 12,000 miles or so a year. The Mazda diesel has been way more economical than the 3-series BMW I had before.

When buying a used IS 250 Auto, what should I be checking? I'm expecting to spend up to £8,000 or so, and therefore am looking at a model that is a few years old.

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Another scenario - you're cruising along a dual carriageway at 60 in 'D' and therefore in 6. You come to a roundabout - the auto box will just stay in 6 until you accelerate out again, then will decide rather leisurely that it needs to change down a few gears.

But if you're in 'S' mode, you can click down to 4 or 3 as you approach then accelerate smartly out of the roundabout and gradually click back up to 6 again.

The paddle shift needs a bit of practice - it's not entirely intuitive. And you need to be careful not to over-rev - if you click down, the box will change down regardless of what the engine is doing. But once you've mastered it, it's great.

I'm sure a lot of IS250 drivers never use 'S' - you never actually need to. Then you rarely get above 3000rpm. But if you do use it and the rev range - try taking it to 6500, and suddenly you're driving a 200bhp sports saloon. Not fast in comparison with a M3 perhaps, but well up there with a 325.

If you're into F1, watch a cockpit shot and concentrate on the driver's fingers and the gear indicator as he goes round a corner - the IS250 in 'S' is just like that! (Well, almost....!)

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And re what to check - brakes, tyres and service history. And all the toys. Oil changes are especially important as with all modern cars with chain driven camshafts. Leaving the oil too long causes the chains to stretch - and boy, that's expensive.

Wheels can get scabby (don't use acid based wheel cleaner) but can be refurbished.

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Yeah, I see lots of pictures of the alloy paintwork peeling. Must be a known issue.

It's good to know the engine has a chain drive. Any idea what kind of lifetime mileage I can reasonably expect from the IS 250 if it is serviced regularly at the Dealership? Right now I'm only looking at cars that have done less than 70,000 miles or so, but I do see a few higher mileage ones with over 100,000 done on them for very good prices but I'm wondering if that's false economy to consider them?

In terms of cost of ownership... how often is the service interval and what are the typical costs? Is the road tax something like £285 or so? And what is the real world mpg like around town and cruising on the motorway at 70mph? And what is the range of a full tank typically?

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If all the servicing and renewals have been done at the correct intervals then these cars are good to trot even with very high odometer readings. But, take a good look at that drivers seat for sag/wear etc.

At your price point you probably won't get a facelift vehicle (09/59 plate on)...so you don't get Full postcode entry on the Sat Nav or a USB port in the armrest. I assume the anti dazzle rear view mirror is fitted and...maybe the photochromatic side mirrors on the earlier model.

Service is recommended every 12 months...but you can stretch a tad if your mileage is low. The big service is at 60,000 miles/6 yrs. But be aware this can be done at 6yrs on a car with 34,000 on the clock. So check all the paperwork. FLSH is desireable.

Road Tax is £280ish. Around town I get 26-29. My run to work I get 31-33. On a decent run you can get 39mpg using cruise control. My current 'overall' mpg average is 34.3

From what you have said I think you should be looking for the SEL version.

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i got the 2008 SE-L, its very good to drive, especially on long runs. On Motorways you are basically cocooned in a car shielded away from everything else in life, its so quiet on the road you are oblivious to everyone else.

It does make for a relaxing drive, what was said about keeping a cool head in the lexus is very true, I see idiots every time i am out but in this car you just let them do the aggression while you just sit back in the leather cooled seats, climate control pumping out a ice cold 19 degrees, and the rear blind up to give you total calmness among the idiots outside.!

on a full tank expect about 400 miles on a long run, add 20/40 to that for the reserve, that is about as good as it gets i would say. take off quite a bit from that on city driving.

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I think I'm going to save a bit more to pay for a newer model IS 250 Auto SE-L (is there an IS Auto F-Sports model at all?) with a 59 plate or later. I do like the improvements made especially the rear light clusters.

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the paddles are operative in D mode as I can confirm this. its the gear stick shift that's only operative in S mode.

as to the OP forget about the desiel. get the petrol 250f with the mark levinson media pack

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