New owner IS250 F-Sport

[Jitc85]

Hi Guys, 

 

I hope you’re all well, 

 

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on LOC. I’ve been a Lexus owner for the last 8 years, (coming from BMW) and I haven’t looked back since. 

 

I’ve just recently traded in my 2004 IS200 SE for a 2010 IS250 F-Sport. 

 

The IS200 served my very well and has no other expenses apart from wear and tear items. Unfortunately the sills were getting in a state, so time for a change. I put around 82k on the car, buying at 56k and traded in at 138k. Never missed a beat. 

 

Always wanted a IS250 F-Sport, was searching for a while for the right one to come along. Managed to find one at Lexus Wolverhampton and here I am. 

 

The ML audio was a must for me, it sounds superb! 

 

Still finding my way round the car. Any hints and tips are welcome! 

 

[Mr Vlad]

Hi Jit and welcome to is250 ownership. You won't be disappointed. Coming fron an is200 you must love the IS in particular. The only achilles ankle on the 250's are the rear brake calipers. It's the slide pins that seize. Simple enough job to lubricate them once or twice a year. How do you find the driving characteristics between the 200 and 250? Yes the ML system is top notch. Enjoy your new steed.

[McShmoopy]

Congrats on the IS mate, I've got the same IS250 F sport but in black and its hands down my favourite car! 

The mark Levinson audio is one of the best in class audio systems for that year of vehicle, you should have USB connectivity as well as Bluetooth audio so theres no immediate need to upgrade the infotainment but if you do want an upgrade for apple CarPlay / android auto there are plenty of options. 

Few things that may need an upgrade are the rear boot struts if you find the boot isnt lifting very easily, SGS engineering is the way to go for those combined with some springs for automatic opening if thats your preference. LED interior and puddle lights are a nice cheap upgrade and spruces up the car a little. 

As Vlad has stated, the brake callipers do have a bad tendency to seize up so do get those sliding pins greased up every year and it should save you having to get new callipers! As long as you service the car every year with regular oil changes the car should look after you for many miles to come 👍🏼

[Jitc85]

6 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

Hi Jit and welcome to is250 ownership. You won't be disappointed. Coming fron an is200 you must love the IS in particular. The only achilles ankle on the 250's are the rear brake calipers. It's the slide pins that seize. Simple enough job to lubricate them once or twice a year. How do you find the driving characteristics between the 200 and 250? Yes the ML system is top notch. Enjoy your new steed.

Hi Vlad, 

Thank you! Loving the car so far. These are soo underrated! 

IS is the perfect choice for me. I did consider the GS300 but far to large for me at the moment. 

Yes I have read about the calipers, the first gen IS had the same issue, I replaced the front calipers on my old IS. I will get these greased every year!

Driving wise, the IS250 is very smooth, lovely engine, smooth gear change, although I do find the ride a little firm, I guess this is down to the 18 inch alloys and F-Sport suspension. I am impressed with how the IS250 drives, totally different car to the IS200.

IS200 was more of an involving drive, you could feel the road more and the handling was sharper. I did love the manual box in the IS200, it made you drive the car hard. 

I feel the IS250 has enough power on tap for everyday driving and conditions, the acceleration is decent and over takes with ease.  

With original recorded audio CD's the sound is ace. MP3's etc the sound varies!

I do have a few questions regarding the car which I will start new threads about. Also need to take some decent pics once I've detailed it!

[Jitc85]

5 hours ago, McShmoopy said:

Congrats on the IS mate, I've got the same IS250 F sport but in black and its hands down my favourite car! 

The mark Levinson audio is one of the best in class audio systems for that year of vehicle, you should have USB connectivity as well as bluetooth audio so theres no immediate need to upgrade the infotainment but if you do want an upgrade for apple CarPlay / android auto there are plenty of options. 

Few things that may need an upgrade are the rear boot struts if you find the boot isnt lifting very easily, SGS engineering is the way to go for those combined with some springs for automatic opening if thats your preference. LED interior and puddle lights are a nice cheap upgrade and spruces up the car a little. 

As Vlad has stated, the brake callipers do have a bad tendency to seize up so do get those sliding pins greased up every year and it should save you having to get new callipers! As long as you service the car every year with regular oil changes the car should look after you for many miles to come 👍🏼

Hi Shmoopy, 

Thanks! They look even better in black, but a pain to keep clean! 

For the age of the car, I am impressed with the equipment levels. I've connected up my old iPod and Iphone so music is sorted. The sound of original CD's is second to none on the ML system. I'll have to dig some more out! I have read about the GROM V-Line etc, but its very pricey. 

Thanks for the heads up on the boot struts, mine seem okay for now, but I'll keep an eye on them. As for the puddle lights do you mean the ones with the Lexus logos?

Car has a full Lexus service history and with all the cars I've owned, whatever they need, they get 🙂

I am thinking of adding some wind deflectors. 

One thing that did surprise me, was the price of the rear tyres!

[McShmoopy]

17 minutes ago, Jitc85 said:

Hi Shmoopy, 

Thanks! They look even better in black, but a pain to keep clean! 

For the age of the car, I am impressed with the equipment levels. I've connected up my old iPod and iPhone so music is sorted. The sound of original CD's is second to none on the ML system. I'll have to dig some more out! I have read about the GROM V-Line etc, but its very pricey. 

Thanks for the heads up on the boot struts, mine seem okay for now, but I'll keep an eye on them. As for the puddle lights do you mean the ones with the Lexus logos?

Car has a full Lexus service history and with all the cars I've owned, whatever they need, they get 🙂

I am thinking of adding some wind deflectors. 

One thing that did surprise me, was the price of the rear tyres!

I had a GROM VLINE previously but I managed to do some tinkering and killed my OEM USB input so can no longer use it, it does work very well however your climate control LEDs will not light up so an Android Head Unit to replace it is a good option. Ive just done that and it works rather well.

Oh the puddle lights are the ones underneath your wing mirrors, they'll take the same W5W bulbs you can get for pennies on eBay but for the doors you can get some projector lights also. I've gotten a set from @ahmed24 and they are fantastic alongside the illuminated door sills I managed to score. 

For the tyres you mean the 255 ones right? If you change it 245 it becomes the same price as the front tyres, thats what I've done and its very little difference on the ride from what I can tell. 🤣

If you need some more inspiration feel free to check out my list of mods, I'll be updating that in the next few weeks! 

 

[Mr Vlad]

How do you mean you're surprised by the price of the rear tyres? I bought 2 Bridgestone tyres for mine last year and thought the price was very reasonable. Wind deflectors are a good idea I'm actually thinking of getting. I wouldn't bother with the grom as it's old hat now and not worth the money. I didn't think you was after upgrading the headunit. Bilal has now got an android unit which apart from a niggle or two is really good. If you're happy with the set up you have then keep it as it is. If you'd like to upgrade the headunit then there are a few very good android units, I personally favour the Teyes cc3 which actually looks like standard but still has the same size screen as opposed the other types with larger screens. 

[McShmoopy]

1 minute ago, Mr Vlad said:

How do you mean you're surprised by the price of the rear tyres? I bought 2 Bridgestone tyres for mine last year and thought the price was very reasonable. Wind deflectors are a good idea I'm actually thinking of getting. I wouldn't bother with the grom as it's old hat now and not worth the money. I didn't think you was after upgrading the headunit. Bilal has now got an android unit which apart from a niggle or two is really good. If you're happy with the set up you have then keep it as it is. If you'd like to upgrade the headunit then there are a few very good android units, I personally favour the Teyes cc3 which actually looks like standard but still has the same size screen as opposed the other types with larger screens. 

Oh yes thanks for mentioning Vlad, here's the YouTube link to a little review I did for it @Jitc85

 

[J Henderson]

15 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

How do you mean you're surprised by the price of the rear tyres? I bought 2 Bridgestone tyres for mine last year and thought the price was very reasonable.

The OEM rear tyre size on an F-Sport (255/40R18) is ludicrously expensive with a weak selection of brands and tyre models available.

By downsizing to 245/40R18 you open up a much wider choice - new Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 6, CrossClimate 2 etc. Yeah, you can get the new Michelin PS5 in the OEM size, but look a the price difference...

By switching to 245s you basically get your front tyres for free.

[Mr Vlad]

Blimey I didn't realise the price difference between 17's and 18's. Mind you when I had a Mondeo with 19's I know I bought new tyres for that but way cheaper than those prices above. I seem to recall about £300 for a pair of nexen which were excellent on that car.