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£5K Lexus - What To Buy


OJWM
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Hi there,

Newbie and aspiring Lexus owner here.

Now in my late 20s, I'm on the verge of getting a driving license and indeed, a car. Car will be a bit of a luxury as I'm London based (both living and working in it) but I'm keen to get one nonetheless. As the car's not going to see much use, I'm not going to spend that much on it, and have zeroed in on relatively high-mileage Lexus cars (70-100k ideally) - clearly a great blend of reliability and quality at that kind of mileage.

The model that most interests me is the IS250 (2005 onwards) - manual and pretty manageable size-wise - though I've also been looking at LS430s (2002-ish era) and GS300's (2006-ish era).

Wondered if I could canvas your no doubt knowledgeable brains to gain your opinions on which of the above would be the best option? As I say, I'm quite keen on getting a manual, but would be interested to hear if I wouldn't, for instance, mind about that if the GS300 is good fun to drive. Would also be good to hear your thoughts on the most reliable model for my budget (and any great places to find Lexus cars online beyond Autotrader and eBay).

Grateful for any comments received :)

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Hi Oliver.. welcome to the club.. any reason why you need to drive a manual in London's start stop traffic?

IS250

as you already aware only the IS comes in manual box but i beleive tax is somewhere near £500 a year. the auto's do have manual mode which allows you to select the optimim gear you want to limit the car in. i.e if you select 3rd and come to a stop it will run through 1st, 2nd , 3rd and hold it there untill you shift up or back to 2nd if the speed permits it. performance wise not a lot in the manual vs automatic 250's any advantage is a manual will be more involving to drive.

LS430

the 02 models dont come with manual modes in this is fully auto with sport mode button if you prefer more sharper throttle. being a V8 with almost 300bhp means you always have torque for any situation. its an LS so its bound to drive nice and refined but sporty maybe not. so if you looking for sporty this might not be it. but full luxury and refinement it is.

GS300

this is a blend between IS and LS. and the 06 models do have manual shifting which does the same thing as the auto IS250's but the shifters are only done via gear nob not on steering wheel. not a lot of difference in mpg between 06 GS300 and IS250 but the GS's are more powerful low down due to inherent tourqe from the larger 3 litre compared to 2.5 litre in the 250. i believe 06 models upwards are high on road tax awell

all models are bullet proof from what i gather but some guys on the US forums mention carbon build up issues on the IS250/GS300's not sure if this is common in UK models. worth considering the GS430 aswell whilst you at it as the sahre same engine as LS430 but meant to be more involving to drive compared the LS's. piston heads and maybe gumtree is also worth looking

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Hi and welcome... ;-)

A Lexus is a great car and all the things you say BUT I'm not sure I would recommend it as a first car, mainly because of the huge insurance bill you're going to have as a new driver, with no previous insurance history and living in London.

Insurance is based partly on engine size, then driver experience, then location - you're in a bad place for all of those. You'll need the £5k for the insurance :-).

Also, as a new driver in the Hell that is London, you're very likely to have a few dings which may or may not need repairing. Not that Lexus is any more expensive than other makes but you may prefer to get something you wouldn't mind getting bashed about.

Boring as it is but I'd buy a cheap, 1 litre Ford Fiesta or something and earn some no-claims bonus on that before splashing out.

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Hi both,

Many thanks for your comments - much appreciated :)

Re: wanting to driving a manual, it's as simple as the fact that I find gears, clutch control etc.. quite fun (actually quite enjoy it in London traffic).

On insurance costs, these will indeed be fairly extortionate, but not as bad as you might expect - approximately £1.5k for a GS430 (Bell, with telematics). i will also be paying for roughly half of the car, so insurance becomes slightly more palatable. All fair points re: a cheaper, more sensible car - feel a pull to not be that sensible on this occasion though. Will also try to stick to Plan A which is to avoid dings ;)

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