Hi Everyone From A Newbie Looking For Some Thoughts On Warranty

[Al Jeff]

Hi everyone I have just bought a low mileage (24k miles) IS250 SE-L on a 08 plate from a non Lexus dealer. Very pleased with the car so far. After 4 Lexus services the car had 2 non franchise services and certainly not the 6 year major . Lexus have offered to welcome it back into the fold with:

• A 2 year Essential Careplan covering 2 services and 2 MOTs for £550
• A 2 year Lexus Extended Warranty for £795

In addition they initially suggested a major service as car is 6 years old but I balked at over £700! They have now suggested that I can have the plugs done on top of a careplan service for an extra £200

Balancing all this against a quote from a well respected independant of £295 for a major.

I'm thinking getting back on warranty makes it worth going for the Lexus careplan

Would welcome members' thoughts

Thanks

Al

[is200 Newbie]

There's quite a few things to consider ...

Top of the list for you would be to consider what the 2 year warranty would cover you for....

Bear in mind its a relatively low mileage car but with it being 6 years old it has not been used as it was intended - an average of 2k miles per year on a V6 is in my opinion quite damaging to the car itself as it is quite evident that it has not had a good run throughout its life.

Using the car for short runs .. stop/start ... can bring on the carbon build up issue. Make sure if you get the warranty through Lexus that they will cover the top end rebuild for this if it happens. This just depends a lot on what fuel it has been running on previously but with it having being used for what looks like was short runs its a possibility it will occur. There's applications coming on the market now that will clean the carbon out from affected engines.

I would however question the spark plug change - although this is a requirement for changing at 6 years (assuming the cars covered around 60k) the plugs should last 100k easy. Again, short runs and heat could damage them. Its a major job replacing the plugs and £200 is a reasonable cost. I think for the 6 year service the main work done is on changing the plugs - all others apart from fluids / filters are just visual checks. If you want the visual check then get the car MOT'd which is what a majority of the visual checks will cover anyway.

If I was you I would ask for the garage to go through the car thoroughly and check things such as brake calipers (front and back) / exhaust definitely as this is a £2700 part to replace. Again, short journeys will rot the exhaust quicker than if used on longer ones as its not getting up to temp to burn off any moisture.

Coolant, check for leaks or low level - leaks around the water pump indicate its on its way out. usually around 70k miles - not too sure about the effect a low mileage car vs age of the fluid. Not too sure if it degrades after time, I would have thought it would.

Also - if you have the means to, get the oil changed as soon as so you know it has been done.

Lastly, tyre wear, 24k miles and the car will be on the limit of needing the tyres replacing but just check one sneaky think garages do. Check they have not rotated the tyres to make them look better than they actually are - the ones on the back are a different size to the ones on the front. If they are fine then just do a quick check on the side walls to see if the rotation arrow runs correct with the wheel.

Sorry - not trying to scare you out of the car - I always believe in buying a car that has done the correct mileage or just under for the year as there are less issues with it.

[Al Jeff]

Thanks Noo bie

Didn't think 4000 miles per year was that low? One thing that terrified me from your reply was £2700 for exhaust! Does anyone know if this is covered by Lexus Warranty??

Oil was changed at service - but I am planning to have another service done

[Stuno1]

You can go to an exhaust specialist for far cheaper than a dealer so exhaust issues shouldn't worry you. I also think 4k let year is ok. The only reason to go for extended warranty is peace of mind. The choice is as simple as if you can afford to do it why wouldn't you? If it's a stretch for you the car has pretty low mileage and you know a good Indy so may not be an issue.

Welcome to the forum :)

Stu

[is200 Newbie]

Apologies for the terrifying post ... I was in your position with a low miler and finding all sorts wrong - its running well now with a lot of care and attention... The exhaust went on mine last year and I was quoted £2700 fitted from Lexus - the exhaust is not available from the likes of ATS etc - its only a dealer part. I had a stainless steel one made instead for £450 but have found it very noisy compared to the OEM one but I guess that's the compromise.

One of my fuel sensors went last month and this has seemed to "coke" the exhaust up a bit and it has quietened down a bit - noticeable but not much.

If you can I would recommend getting it looked over as explained above, calipers etc ... will save money now if you can sort any issues early on.

[Al Jeff]

Thanks guys

I think I'm going to go for the warranty - 2 years peace of mind for a pound a day - you're spot on Stuart - why wouldn't I. Obviously that means I'll be going for the service plan too

Cheers