First Lexus, looking to buy an IS250 2007-2010

[DnG]

Hey, first of, hi all.

My girlfriend has finally pushed me to the Jap side, coming from a BMW F10 (which I love to bits). I've started to fall in love with the IS250, automatic, aspirated, +200HP and petrol (clean air zone complient which I need because I live in Birmingham and work in the city centre with the clean air zone).

I done a bit of research and they seem to be extremelly reliable, which is really important since my F10 is already a money pit and with today's economy, I can't afford it anymore but I do have the car modifications bug itching and it seems that it isn't a tunable engine (with it being aspirated and also locked) but I do like the cosmetic mods out there.

Now, which year do you guys recommend? My budget is about £3000 (Maybe £3500 if I wait a bit longer) and I've seen a few 2005-2007 models with around 102k - 180k miles go for under £3000 but I also found 1 2010 model for over £4000 (maybe I can get it down to £3k). There are a few things I'm looking for in an IS Lexus, mainly reliability, being automatic and being clean air zone compliant in Birmingham. It also seems some 2005 models still require a fee to be paid in those clean air zone areas. I would prefer the petrol since I could get a decent exhaust sound from that V6 but I don't mind diesels, even though it seems that they are all manuals... But my annoying mods bug aside, I need a reliable car, the mods might come later on but for the time being I need a reliable family car.

Also, something really important to specify is maintenance cost. I haven't hit the £30k a year mark yet (not sure I ever will) so I'd like to know about the running costs, what usually goes wrong with them and how much to expect. I do have a mechanic that specialises in Japanese cars but he's told me that a spark plugs change is a bit tricky since half the engine needs to be taken apart and can be around £300-400, and they have to be changed at around 60k miles or so, and I don't trust anyone selling their car telling me they changed this, that and the other, is something I have to take into account.

So would you guys recommend the IS250 for me, or is there another similar model I don't know about? In the meantime, I'll go ahead and read through the other topics on the forum about this car.

[LIJO151]

Spark plugs schedule says 60K but can wait till 100K. Stick with petrol as they are more reliable than diesel. Had my car for 3 yrs and nothing gone wrong. Only wear and tear items such as tyres, brake pads and discs. Car tax £300+ services at Lexus and low mpg in Cities makes it expensive to run, but I still love my Lexus.

[McShmoopy]

For that budget IS250 is the way to go, go either for a top spec SE-L or F sport ideally, anything else isn’t worth it imho. Dont let high miles out you off my f sport is on 160k miles and aside from the exhaust falling off from old age no real issues as such, just keen on top of maintenance snd you’re good.

V6 f sport has a sportier intake so it does sound great, can be improved with a sound generator from a 3IS that makes it sound like a baby v8 

[H3XME]

9 hours ago, DnG said:

So would you guys recommend the IS250 for me, or is there another similar model I don't know about? In the meantime, I'll go ahead and read through the other topics on the forum about this car.

Hey dude, I'm around Brum too. I've had multiple IS250s over the years. Keep going back to them after I make a bad financial decision like JZX100, 300ZX etc.🤣

They are very reliable, and running cost is low too on a grand scheme of things.

It doesn't matter what year you go for really, but given your budget you'll be looking at pre-facelift cars (2005-2008) but the changes on facelift were negligible anyway.

Send me a message and I'll be happy to help you look for a car. 

As for what you can expect for 3k.. I would say cars around 100k miles. Don't be put off the mileage as these cars are good for 300k with regular maintenance that involves just fresh oil every 5000 miles. I would look for cars with a good service history. I wouldn't be bothered about bodywork as much because panels are cheap. They are easy to work on.

Here's mine.

 

[Texas]

If you consider a manual version ( not recommended if you ask me) then check out the road tax first😳

[H3XME]

49 minutes ago, Texas said:

If you consider a manual version ( not recommended if you ask me) then check out the road tax first😳

'55 plate and early '06 manuals cost as much as autos to tax 🙂

[J Henderson]

Forget the diesel as its not ULEZ compliant.

The 250 is extremely reliable so mileage is almost irrelevant. Buy on condition/history.

I'm into my 8th year of ownership and outside of normal servicing costs and brakes/tyres, I've only had to pay for 2 front wheel bearings.

[DnG]

Yeah, I'm not looking at getting another diesel, a petrol is what I dream of, especially for the exhaust sound.

[DnG]

6 hours ago, H3XME said:

Hey dude, I'm around Brum too. I've had multiple IS250s over the years. Keep going back to them after I make a bad financial decision like JZX100, 300ZX etc.🤣

They are very reliable, and running cost is low too on a grand scheme of things.

It doesn't matter what year you go for really, but given your budget you'll be looking at pre-facelift cars (2005-2008) but the changes on facelift were negligible anyway.

Send me a message and I'll be happy to help you look for a car. 

As for what you can expect for 3k.. I would say cars around 100k miles. Don't be put off the mileage as these cars are good for 300k with regular maintenance that involves just fresh oil every 5000 miles. I would look for cars with a good service history. I wouldn't be bothered about bodywork as much because panels are cheap. They are easy to work on.

Here's mine.

 

Hey, don't see many IS250s in Brum, especially as clean as yours, pre-facelift right? Love the headlights too, will definitely consider getting something similar for when I get mine.

 

I don't mind the mileage, my F10 has around 170k and it runs as if it's under 50k. I won't go for a manual since I'm tired of changing gears especially in city traffic and I like paddle shifters too much to go for a manual now.

I tend to retrofit a lot of things on my cars and I was thinking of going with a 2007 model and just retrofit the side mirrors since that's the only reason I'd prefer a facelift model, but is that actually possible without too much hassle?

There's only a small handful of IS250s around Birmingham, most being SE-Ls, one which hides a nasty subframe which was once rusted off completely going for £2.700 and the guy is trying to picture it as being mint, 2 grey ones which are ok and a really nice 2010 black one but they're asking £4.200 and looks a bit too clean for that price since from what I've seen they go for around £6-7k which is why I'm a bit hesitant in going for one for my measly £3k budget. Also, road tax seems to be around £420 a year, around £37 a month which isn't a problem.

[Texas]

Don’t forget pre ( I think Sep 2007builds) the early 250’s are supposed to run on Super unleaded only! But that’s another whole thread😂

[Linas.P]

On 5/12/2024 at 11:46 PM, DnG said:

Hey, first of, hi all.

My girlfriend has finally pushed me to the Jap side, coming from a BMW F10 (which I love to bits). I've started to fall in love with the IS250, automatic, aspirated, +200HP and petrol (clean air zone complient which I need because I live in Birmingham and work in the city centre with the clean air zone).

I done a bit of research and they seem to be extremelly reliable, which is really important since my F10 is already a money pit and with today's economy, I can't afford it anymore but I do have the car modifications bug itching and it seems that it isn't a tunable engine (with it being aspirated and also locked) but I do like the cosmetic mods out there.

Now, which year do you guys recommend? My budget is about £3000 (Maybe £3500 if I wait a bit longer) and I've seen a few 2005-2007 models with around 102k - 180k miles go for under £3000 but I also found 1 2010 model for over £4000 (maybe I can get it down to £3k). There are a few things I'm looking for in an IS Lexus, mainly reliability, being automatic and being clean air zone compliant in Birmingham. It also seems some 2005 models still require a fee to be paid in those clean air zone areas. I would prefer the petrol since I could get a decent exhaust sound from that V6 but I don't mind diesels, even though it seems that they are all manuals... But my annoying mods bug aside, I need a reliable car, the mods might come later on but for the time being I need a reliable family car.

Also, something really important to specify is maintenance cost. I haven't hit the £30k a year mark yet (not sure I ever will) so I'd like to know about the running costs, what usually goes wrong with them and how much to expect. I do have a mechanic that specialises in Japanese cars but he's told me that a spark plugs change is a bit tricky since half the engine needs to be taken apart and can be around £300-400, and they have to be changed at around 60k miles or so, and I don't trust anyone selling their car telling me they changed this, that and the other, is something I have to take into account.

So would you guys recommend the IS250 for me, or is there another similar model I don't know about? In the meantime, I'll go ahead and read through the other topics on the forum about this car.

Not much to add to be fair - regular maintenance should cover all you need to know about the cars. IS250 does not have any particular reliability problems. IS220d - different story, in short just avoid them like a plague, everything engine related will give you constant problems, they are cheap for a reason. In general - IS250 is good purchase and great value for money.

IS250 automatic is bulletproof if maintained, manuals are alright, but clutch requires maintenance which is costly and you have to get one before 2006 (just few first month of model) to qualify for £415 road tax, else they are ~£700 on road tax. Automatics all are £415/year road tax. Apart of that they are as reliable as car could get, but the key when purchasing one - make sure it has full service record, not even necessarily FLSH, but avoid cars that have been neglected, these are reliable cars, but they need to be maintained, because repairs are every expensive, parts are expensive, also there is distinct lack of good independent garages that could look after them. Not an issue for European car, there are plenty of knowledge how to fix them, but if you have issue with Lexus, then nobody wants to touch them or does not know what they doing, meaning that any more complicated repairs will require dealership.

I could go into much more detail on long term maintenance etc. but all those things have been covered many times on the forum and in principle they all go back to the previous point - get the car which was regularly maintained and you won't have any issues. There are small niggly bits like slider pins on callipers needing regular cleaning and greasing, but that could be covered in separate topic once you get the car. Spark plugs - seems hard at first, but after doing them few times I could get it done in 15 minutes. Sure intake manifold has to come-off to access one side of the engine, but realistically apart of one bolt behind the throttle body it doesn't take more than 10 minutes to do. That said spark plugs themselves are not cheap - £15 each, but they should easily last 60=80k miles. 

As for the years - it is identical from 2005 to 2012, I see no reason to get newer model as they are 99% the same, so why pay extra for the same car? There are obviously small bits that have changed e.g. from 2010 there are auto folding mirrors (could be retrofitted for £5 +30 min job), 2011 got DLRs, the satnav was constantly revised, but by now all of them hopelessly obsolete and should be replaced with £150 android unit right away. So realistically, if I were to buy IS250, then I would be looking for early car (2006-2008), with good service record (check MOT as well, if car has many stupid fails and near fails for things like tyres, then you can be sure it will be in rough shape being run on shoe string budget) and reasonable miles. Just to explain this last one - don't pay extra for low mileage cars, the key benefit of owning Lexus is that 100k+ even 200k miles is fine just with regular maintenance, so the value is in getting well looked after higher mileage car as long as it has been serviced. So I would rather take 140k miles IS250 with 14 service stamps, than 38k IS250 with 4 service stamps, after all it is whichever comes first - either once a year or once 10,000 miles, so 16 years old 38k miles car in theory should still have 16 services done, and I would recommend replacing engine oil even more often. 

Finally, I would go for SEL, they don't cost much more to purchase, but you get fully loaded car, I would not even bother with SE, SR, F-Sport or other trims. Perhaps SE-i if well equipped, but those are only coming from 2009. If you get SEL, then it will have all option by default, except Sunroof, ML Audio and Radar Cruise.

[H3XME]

Just to add to the above, higher mileage cars would've had stuff like water pump, alternator etc already replaced, so in theory there's even less to spend on in the future.

[DnG]

3 hours ago, Texas said:

Don’t forget pre ( I think Sep 2007builds) the early 250’s are supposed to run on Super unleaded only! But that’s another whole thread😂

I've heard about that, is that actually a thing? Are the 2007 models still that picky? I might as well save up and get a 2009-2010 model lol

I did some research and it seems that the MK2 has problems with the following:

• 1 specific VVTi problem
• water pump
• brake calipers stuck
• the engine slushing up

Are these something I should be actively looking for when I see one? Is there a way to check for the VVTi problems?

3 hours ago, Linas.P said:

Not much to add to be fair - regular maintenance should cover all you need to know about the cars. IS250 does not have any particular reliability problems. IS220d - different story, in short just avoid them like a plague, everything engine related will give you constant problems, they are cheap for a reason. In general - IS250 is good purchase and great value for money.

IS250 automatic is bulletproof if maintained, manuals are alright, but clutch requires maintenance which is costly and you have to get one before 2006 (just few first month of model) to qualify for £415 road tax, else they are ~£700 on road tax. Automatics all are £415/year road tax. Apart of that they are as reliable as car could get, but the key when purchasing one - make sure it has full service record, not even necessarily FLSH, but avoid cars that have been neglected, these are reliable cars, but they need to be maintained, because repairs are every expensive, parts are expensive, also there is distinct lack of good independent garages that could look after them. Not an issue for European car, there are plenty of knowledge how to fix them, but if you have issue with Lexus, then nobody wants to touch them or does not know what they doing, meaning that any more complicated repairs will require dealership.

I could go into much more detail on long term maintenance etc. but all those things have been covered many times on the forum and in principle they all go back to the previous point - get the car which was regularly maintained and you won't have any issues. There are small niggly bits like slider pins on callipers needing regular cleaning and greasing, but that could be covered in separate topic once you get the car. Spark plugs - seems hard at first, but after doing them few times I could get it done in 15 minutes. Sure intake manifold has to come-off to access one side of the engine, but realistically apart of one bolt behind the throttle body it doesn't take more than 10 minutes to do. That said spark plugs themselves are not cheap - £15 each, but they should easily last 60=80k miles. 

As for the years - it is identical from 2005 to 2012, I see no reason to get newer model as they are 99% the same, so why pay extra for the same car? There are obviously small bits that have changed e.g. from 2010 there are auto folding mirrors (could be retrofitted for £5 +30 min job), 2011 got DLRs, the satnav was constantly revised, but by now all of them hopelessly obsolete and should be replaced with £150 android unit right away. So realistically, if I were to buy IS250, then I would be looking for early car (2006-2008), with good service record (check MOT as well, if car has many stupid fails and near fails for things like tyres, then you can be sure it will be in rough shape being run on shoe string budget) and reasonable miles. Just to explain this last one - don't pay extra for low mileage cars, the key benefit of owning Lexus is that 100k+ even 200k miles is fine just with regular maintenance, so the value is in getting well looked after higher mileage car as long as it has been serviced. So I would rather take 140k miles IS250 with 14 service stamps, than 38k IS250 with 4 service stamps, after all it is whichever comes first - either once a year or once 10,000 miles, so 16 years old 38k miles car in theory should still have 16 services done, and I would recommend replacing engine oil even more often. 

Finally, I would go for SEL, they don't cost much more to purchase, but you get fully loaded car, I would not even bother with SE, SR, F-Sport or other trims. Perhaps SE-i if well equipped, but those are only coming from 2009. If you get SEL, then it will have all option by default, except Sunroof, ML Audio and Radar Cruise.

That was a really good read, a lot of info thanks.

My mechanic mainly works on JDMs like GTRs (the 2k BHP full carbon GTR, if you're around Birmingham or just heard of it, that's his), Skylines and Hondas/Lexus', even he advised me to get an IS250, so that shouldn't be a problem. Now, you said that parts and repairs are expensive.. Uff.. I've only heard good things about that, cheap parts and what not, I already have a german money pit, wouldn't want a japanese one as well, but damn I love the car and I want one.

I've been mainly looking at SE-Ls as everyone recommends them and I like the wood trim, reminds me of my dad's old Mercedes. Also, I was a bit let down by the fact that only the 2010 upwards has folding mirrors but if you say they can be retrofitted, I'm all in. I've already retroffited most of the things that can be on my BMW and my dad's car, so I guess a 2005 - 2007 would do. Problem is, some 2005 seem to not be clean air zone tax exempt in Birmingham which is bs, if I check 2 2005 is250, one is exempt and the other isn't so I'd have to look at a 2006-2007 model. Insurance is also a b*ch, for a 2010 model insurance is around £1.800 and for a 2005 it's £3.200 !!, so I'm limited by my budget, availability of the SE-L model in good shape, insurance and the bs clean air zone tax... Hopefully, in 2-3 months time after I save some money up, a decent one will pop up for sale. There is a 2010 model, black, really clean looking at a garage in Birmingham but the things I heard about them and their reviews, really put me off, they don't let you test drive, they want a deposit they won't give back, just to see the car, someone had their car on fire after a few days, most cars from them seem to sh*t themselves after they leave the lot.

Also, I keep seeing the the word "FLSH", what exactly does that mean?

[McShmoopy]

1 hour ago, DnG said:

I've heard about that, is that actually a thing? Are the 2007 models still that picky? I might as well save up and get a 2009-2010 model lol

I did some research and it seems that the MK2 has problems with the following:

• 1 specific VVTi problem
• water pump
• brake calipers stuck
• the engine slushing up

Are these something I should be actively looking for when I see one? Is there a way to check for the VVTi problems?

That was a really good read, a lot of info thanks.

My mechanic mainly works on JDMs like GTRs (the 2k BHP full carbon GTR, if you're around Birmingham or just heard of it, that's his), Skylines and Hondas/Lexus', even he advised me to get an IS250, so that shouldn't be a problem. Now, you said that parts and repairs are expensive.. Uff.. I've only heard good things about that, cheap parts and what not, I already have a german money pit, wouldn't want a japanese one as well, but damn I love the car and I want one.

I've been mainly looking at SE-Ls as everyone recommends them and I like the wood trim, reminds me of my dad's old Mercedes. Also, I was a bit let down by the fact that only the 2010 upwards has folding mirrors but if you say they can be retrofitted, I'm all in. I've already retroffited most of the things that can be on my BMW and my dad's car, so I guess a 2005 - 2007 would do. Problem is, some 2005 seem to not be clean air zone tax exempt in Birmingham which is bs, if I check 2 2005 is250, one is exempt and the other isn't so I'd have to look at a 2006-2007 model. Insurance is also a b*ch, for a 2010 model insurance is around £1.800 and for a 2005 it's £3.200 !!, so I'm limited by my budget, availability of the SE-L model in good shape, insurance and the bs clean air zone tax... Hopefully, in 2-3 months time after I save some money up, a decent one will pop up for sale. There is a 2010 model, black, really clean looking at a garage in Birmingham but the things I heard about them and their reviews, really put me off, they don't let you test drive, they want a deposit they won't give back, just to see the car, someone had their car on fire after a few days, most cars from them seem to sh*t themselves after they leave the lot.

Also, I keep seeing the the word "FLSH", what exactly does that mean?

FLSH will be Full Lexus Service History, ideally the facelifts address alot of the common issues but as most members state if you regularly service the car you shouldnt have major issues. I just bought a facelift 2009 IS250 for my mum and it did encounter an issue with seized callipers recently after 8 weeks of ownership, more specifically the previous garage who did it forgot one of the retaining pins and this caused the Piston to seize and excessive brake pad and disc wear, whatever car you decide to get its always good to inspect the rear brakes yourself and make sure they're in good order before you have issues down the line. I always tend to do a yearly check on the rear callipers and re-grease with silicone paste if necessary. If thats not something you're handy with taking it to a decent garage / mechanic you trust is the next best thing. 

Having worked on facelift and non facelift vehicles, the facelifts are nicer but usually not worth the large cost but if you can find a good deal it's worth considering. I've always been lucky and have managed to find facelift vehicles around the £4k to £5k mark. 

 

[Texas]

There was a dealer ( purporting to be private when selling!) in the Brum area iirc that went by the name of ‘Lexus man’, ‘Lexus Brum’ or something like that and was a real dodgie geezer and had history with trading standards for his dealings, others may expand hopefully👍

[DnG]

This is what I could find at the moment in a 50 miles radius: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?advertising-location=at_cars&make=Lexus&model=IS&postcode=b258ud&price-to=4500&radius=50&sort=relevance&transmission=Automatic&year-from=2005
So the 2 "Fame Cars" cars, both SE-L but really dodgie place, A LOT of negative reviews, the 2007 model listing has pictures taken from someone else, showing a grey car and the description mentions a blue.

There's also the £2.7k SE-L but last MOT says that the subframe was rotted and dettached so wouldn't buy it even for £500 and the rest of the cars are just normal SEs.. I guess I'll wait anyway and see what else pops up, hopefully I can come back and announce a new Lexus member

[H3XME]

1 hour ago, DnG said:

I've heard about that, is that actually a thing? Are the 2007 models still that picky? 

This shouldn't be a deciding factor. Putting better fuel in, like Tesco Momentum99 works out to only £5 more per full tank. It's a better fuel overall. You can use E10 sometimes, it doesn't affect how it runs, it's only the fuel system as a whole that doesn't like a continuous use of higher ethanol.

1 hour ago, DnG said:

I did some research and it seems that the MK2 has problems with the following:

• 1 specific VVTi problem
• water pump
• brake calipers stuck
• the engine slushing up

VVTi very easy to check. It doesn't happen to every car, but most higher mileage cars have this "problem".. I use quotes because the whole thing is basically just a 1s rattle upon start up. Nobody ever ended up with an engine failure because of the VVTi rattle that becomes more common on cars over 100k miles. My old one that was on 180k miles only did it after a hot start. My mates does it on cold start sometimes, but like I say, it's not a deal breaker. There's nothing to fix it but it never gets any worse. If anything, it's a great bargaining chip if it happens when you view a car.

Water pump, you can see it when you open the bonnet, this shouldn't even be listed as a problem because it's a serviceable item on every single car. They tend to go around 80-100k. Easy early signs to look out for - check for leaks around the pump. Toyota coolant is pink, so it's easy to spot when it's all dried up.

Brake caliper SLIDER PINS get stuck if not greased up regularly (every 2 years is fine), especially the rear ones. Calipers themselves are fine. Everyone tends to change calipers because they cba to replace the slider pins, but it's a £25 fix with a bit of elbow grease.

Not sure what you mean by engine slushing up..

As for insurance, try to call people instead of doing online quotes. I'm 28, no accidents etc. I pay £480/year with all mods declared. Try companies like Adrian Flux, Keith Michaels, Brentacre, Greenlight etc. Companies who aren't on comparison sites.

As for finding a car, I advise travelling further for the right car. There isn't many of them so if you stick to brum area, you'll struggle. Also, I wouldn't be buying this car from a dealer, not with your budget anyway. You can get a far better deal buying privately. 

oh and mirrors are electric and folding on every 250, just not automatically with locking the car.

[H3XME]

13 minutes ago, DnG said:

This is what I could find at the moment in a 50 miles radius: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?advertising-location=at_cars&make=Lexus&model=IS&postcode=b258ud&price-to=4500&radius=50&sort=relevance&transmission=Automatic&year-from=2005
So the 2 "Fame Cars" cars, both SE-L but really dodgie place, A LOT of negative reviews, the 2007 model listing has pictures taken from someone else, showing a grey car and the description mentions a blue.

There's also the £2.7k SE-L but last MOT says that the subframe was rotted and dettached so wouldn't buy it even for £500 and the rest of the cars are just normal SEs.. I guess I'll wait anyway and see what else pops up, hopefully I can come back and announce a new Lexus member

If you can stretch your budget to £4200, my mate is selling her facelift SE-L in white pearl with black interior. 83,000ish miles auto. FSH, no issues with the car.

[DnG]

3 minutes ago, H3XME said:

This shouldn't be a deciding factor. Putting better fuel in, like Tesco Momentum99 works out to only £5 more per full tank. It's a better fuel overall. You can use E10 sometimes, it doesn't affect how it runs, it's only the fuel system as a whole that doesn't like a continuous use of higher ethanol.

VVTi very easy to check. It doesn't happen to every car, but most higher mileage cars have this "problem".. I use quotes because the whole thing is basically just a 1s rattle upon start up. Nobody ever ended up with an engine failure because of the VVTi rattle that becomes more common on cars over 100k miles. My old one that was on 180k miles only did it after a hot start. My mates does it on cold start sometimes, but like I say, it's not a deal breaker. There's nothing to fix it but it never gets any worse. If anything, it's a great bargaining chip if it happens when you view a car.

Water pump, you can see it when you open the bonnet, this shouldn't even be listed as a problem because it's a serviceable item on every single car. They tend to go around 80-100k. Easy early signs to look out for - check for leaks around the pump. Toyota coolant is pink, so it's easy to spot when it's all dried up.

Brake caliper SLIDER PINS get stuck if not greased up regularly (every 2 years is fine), especially the rear ones. Calipers themselves are fine. Everyone tends to change calipers because they cba to replace the slider pins, but it's a £25 fix with a bit of elbow grease.

Not sure what you mean by engine slushing up..

As for insurance, try to call people instead of doing online quotes. I'm 28, no accidents etc. I pay £480/year with all mods declared. Try companies like Adrian Flux, Keith Michaels, Brentacre, Greenlight etc. Companies who aren't on comparison sites.

As for finding a car, I advise travelling further for the right car. There isn't many of them so if you stick to brum area, you'll struggle. Also, I wouldn't be buying this car from a dealer, not with your budget anyway. You can get a far better deal buying privately.

I saw a few videos that talked the oil thickening but can't remember which video or more details.

Wow, £480 with mods is extremely good, you must either have some NCD saved up or a really good area where you live. I'm 25 and I never had insurance on my name (IYKYK), but when I was 18 I did a thingy through a friend and I have around 6 years of NCD abroad as it was waaay cheaper than actually getting insurance on a ****box, and I do have a certificate with 5 years NCD abroad and I doubt those companies you mentioned, accept it.

[H3XME]

1 minute ago, DnG said:

I saw a few videos that talked the oil thickening but can't remember which video or more details.

Ignore that, doesn't happen. Never seen this problem in the UK. Change your oil every 5k, put decent fuel in, red-line it every now and again and you won't have any issues.

I see, worth a try I guess, but who knows if they'll accept it.

[DnG]

3 minutes ago, H3XME said:

If you can stretch your budget to £4200, my mate is selling her facelift SE-L in white pearl with black interior. 83,000ish miles auto. FSH, no issues with the car.

That's a bit too much for me, I still have to wait a few months to save up and I'm trying to stay away from white cars, harder to keep clean and my neighbours have a pine tree right next to my parking space and my current car turned from white to black/green. Won't stay its colour for more than 3 days.

[Linas.P]

2 hours ago, DnG said:

I've heard about that, is that actually a thing? Are the 2007 models still that picky? I might as well save up and get a 2009-2010 model lol

I did some research and it seems that the MK2 has problems with the following:

• 1 specific VVTi problem
• water pump
• brake calipers stuck
• the engine slushing up

Are these something I should be actively looking for when I see one? Is there a way to check for the VVTi problems?

That was a really good read, a lot of info thanks.

My mechanic mainly works on JDMs like GTRs (the 2k BHP full carbon GTR, if you're around Birmingham or just heard of it, that's his), Skylines and Hondas/Lexus', even he advised me to get an IS250, so that shouldn't be a problem. Now, you said that parts and repairs are expensive.. Uff.. I've only heard good things about that, cheap parts and what not, I already have a german money pit, wouldn't want a japanese one as well, but damn I love the car and I want one.

I've been mainly looking at SE-Ls as everyone recommends them and I like the wood trim, reminds me of my dad's old Mercedes. Also, I was a bit let down by the fact that only the 2010 upwards has folding mirrors but if you say they can be retrofitted, I'm all in. I've already retroffited most of the things that can be on my BMW and my dad's car, so I guess a 2005 - 2007 would do. Problem is, some 2005 seem to not be clean air zone tax exempt in Birmingham which is bs, if I check 2 2005 is250, one is exempt and the other isn't so I'd have to look at a 2006-2007 model. Insurance is also a b*ch, for a 2010 model insurance is around £1.800 and for a 2005 it's £3.200 !!, so I'm limited by my budget, availability of the SE-L model in good shape, insurance and the bs clean air zone tax... Hopefully, in 2-3 months time after I save some money up, a decent one will pop up for sale. There is a 2010 model, black, really clean looking at a garage in Birmingham but the things I heard about them and their reviews, really put me off, they don't let you test drive, they want a deposit they won't give back, just to see the car, someone had their car on fire after a few days, most cars from them seem to sh*t themselves after they leave the lot.

Also, I keep seeing the the word "FLSH", what exactly does that mean?

• VVTI problem likely due to differed maintenance, or very high miles car, not something common
• Water pump is normal service item - do it every 60k miles and it is fine, although not doing it can cause catastrophic damage - but that is how engine cooling works, overheat the engine and it will be end of it. 
• Brake callipers is really the only common one, the rear brake calliper design is just dog sth on IS250, so ideally twice a year it needs to be taken apart, cleaned and greased, otherwise it rusts solid.
• Engine slushing-up is not the problem that I have heard of, burning oil - fair, carbon build-up - US only, I guess if the oil is not changed in time, then it could happen to any engine, but not particular issue on IS250. As Lucas said, just replace oil regularly and you will be fine, I also recommend 6-Month/5000 miles internals rather than 10,000 miles.

Yes - you need to be actively looking for the car with good service history, that is literally what separates money pit vs. best used car one the market when it comes to IS250.

Lexus/Toyota parts are generally considered expensive, but when it comes to Lexus the issue is not so much cost, but availability. Almost anything you need for IS250 will have to come from US/Japan/Middle East. Lexus Parts Direct now does quite a lot of stuff, but prices are often out of this world. The flip side - Toyota parts last forever, so it is not like typical BMW BS where some £300 sensor needs to be replaced every 6 months and there are 6 of them in the car. Now sure - getting car with 140k miles always increases the risk that you may be that sucker who needs to replace that part for the first and the last time, because by the time it will need replacing again the car will be 30 years old and 300k miles pile of scrap already. But again - Lexus and IS250 in particular really just needs timely maintenance and that is all... I will try to find my write-up for my 200k miles IS250 expenses, outside of regular maintenance it needed very little extra love. 

Not sure whats up with 2005 IS250 not being recognised by Brum clean air zone, must be mistake on their system, they are identical otherwise. Also if 2005 GS300 passes the requirements, then there is no way IS250 does not.

As for E10... I have been running these cars on E85 and nothing happened, so they happily chuck E10 and continue going, not picky at all. Many countries in Europe have E85 ad their default fuel and thousands of IS250 runs on it everyday without issues. Also one member here did in depth comparison with all parts remotely related to fuel system and found that 2 o-rings in fuel pump have different part number between pre and post-2007 car. So if you looking at 140k miles car, then likelihood is that fuel pump was already replaced and if it was not, then all you risking is replacement fuel pump, which you likely going to need anyway. It is not cheap part (~£300, or £600 with labour from dealership), but again as far as engine and all else considered it will be fine.

You will be the one rare guy who likes wood trim 🙂 if you happen to get SE or SE-i, let me know, I have few of them lay around! LOL

[chr15gb]

I came to Lexus from a BMW E60 530D.
The BMW was the best car I ever drove but the worse car I ever owned. Absolute money pit.
Turbo = £1,700
Exhaust Manifold cracked....TWICE = £500 a pop
Glowplug controllers, glowplugs, EGR, Throttle body, MULF (Bluetooth unit)...TWICE
An endless list of small issues.
I ended up with a well stocked garage of tools.

I got an IS250 and have owned it for 9yrs (ironically it has just broken lol).

I found it quite boring after the BMW, at weekends I'd open the bonnet ready to get to work and found literally nothing to do. Everyting seemed to keep itself clean and it was absurdly reliable.
My garage expanded into machine polishers and detailing equipment as I never had any mechanical issues or even proper maintenance to do.

Rear brake slider pins the only thing I had to address in the 9yrs of daily driving (an Annual greasing keeps on top of it).
I changed Spark Plugs for a sake of it at about 80K miles
I changed the boot struts too for about £60.

I think they have a soul though, I needed more space than the IS250 can offer in the back, becoming a grandfather bought childseats into the equation along with pushchairs.
I wanted an NX300H but couldn't find the right one. For my sins I bought a BMW F34 335i. I'm now waiting for the dreaded Bong of Doom and wallet emptying repairs.

Within 2 weeks of buying the BMW the Lexus has thrown a strop, It definitely KNOWS I have bought a new car. I was going to give it to a relative but....

The radiator cap fell apart (£20 replacement) and I changed the waterpump (straight forward nuts & bolts) although crazy price for coolant from Lexus, and the radiator split so I changed that too.

Now it won't start at all.
Nice little project, a fault I can't yet find so lots of poking about and I am not dependant on it so can relax and take it slow working out what is wrong.
Once fixed, it will go to the relative.

Great cars and I would thoroughly recommend an IS250 SE-L Auto.

I bought it at just over 50k miles and it is now on 140k.

[DnG]

 

5 hours ago, Linas.P said:

• VVTI problem likely due to differed maintenance, or very high miles car, not something common
• Water pump is normal service item - do it every 60k miles and it is fine, although not doing it can cause catastrophic damage - but that is how engine cooling works, overheat the engine and it will be end of it. 
• Brake callipers is really the only common one, the rear brake calliper design is just dog sth on IS250, so ideally twice a year it needs to be taken apart, cleaned and greased, otherwise it rusts solid.
• Engine slushing-up is not the problem that I have heard of, burning oil - fair, carbon build-up - US only, I guess if the oil is not changed in time, then it could happen to any engine, but not particular issue on IS250. As Lucas said, just replace oil regularly and you will be fine, I also recommend 6-Month/5000 miles internals rather than 10,000 miles.

Yes - you need to be actively looking for the car with good service history, that is literally what separates money pit vs. best used car one the market when it comes to IS250.

Lexus/Toyota parts are generally considered expensive, but when it comes to Lexus the issue is not so much cost, but availability. Almost anything you need for IS250 will have to come from US/Japan/Middle East. Lexus Parts Direct now does quite a lot of stuff, but prices are often out of this world. The flip side - Toyota parts last forever, so it is not like typical BMW BS where some £300 sensor needs to be replaced every 6 months and there are 6 of them in the car. Now sure - getting car with 140k miles always increases the risk that you may be that sucker who needs to replace that part for the first and the last time, because by the time it will need replacing again the car will be 30 years old and 300k miles pile of scrap already. But again - Lexus and IS250 in particular really just needs timely maintenance and that is all... I will try to find my write-up for my 200k miles IS250 expenses, outside of regular maintenance it needed very little extra love. 

Not sure whats up with 2005 IS250 not being recognised by Brum clean air zone, must be mistake on their system, they are identical otherwise. Also if 2005 GS300 passes the requirements, then there is no way IS250 does not.

As for E10... I have been running these cars on E85 and nothing happened, so they happily chuck E10 and continue going, not picky at all. Many countries in Europe have E85 ad their default fuel and thousands of IS250 runs on it everyday without issues. Also one member here did in depth comparison with all parts remotely related to fuel system and found that 2 o-rings in fuel pump have different part number between pre and post-2007 car. So if you looking at 140k miles car, then likelihood is that fuel pump was already replaced and if it was not, then all you risking is replacement fuel pump, which you likely going to need anyway. It is not cheap part (~£300, or £600 with labour from dealership), but again as far as engine and all else considered it will be fine.

You will be the one rare guy who likes wood trim 🙂 if you happen to get SE or SE-i, let me know, I have few of them lay around! LOL

So the fuel pump is something I should be conscious about?

So:

• Fuel pump
• Spark plugs
• Calipers/slider pins

I know these don't need to be changed frequently and they do need to be changed on any car but I'm trying to figure out how much extra I need to have on the side for repairs, as I'm the most unlucky person I know and what can go wrong will go wrong during my first few days with the car so I'd rather be prepared than have the car sitting while my salary comes in and I pray nothing else urgent requires my finances.

About the brakes, do all the parts from the rear brake caliper need to be greased or just the slider pins? I wish I had somewhere do to work on the car but I can only spare 1-2 hours and that's on a rare occasion when my road is empty and I have the whole cul-de-sac to myself.

[DnG]

10 minutes ago, chr15gb said:

I came to Lexus from a BMW E60 530D.
The BMW was the best car I ever drove but the worse car I ever owned. Absolute money pit.
Turbo = £1,700
Exhaust Manifold cracked....TWICE = £500 a pop
Glowplug controllers, glowplugs, EGR, Throttle body, MULF (bluetooth unit)...TWICE
An endless list of small issues.
I ended up with a well stocked garage of tools.

I got an IS250 and have owned it for 9yrs (ironically it has just broken lol).

I found it quite boring after the BMW, at weekends I'd open the bonnet ready to get to work and found literally nothing to do. Everyting seemed to keep itself clean and it was absurdly reliable.
My garage expanded into machine polishers and detailing equipment as I never had any mechanical issues or even proper maintenance to do.

Rear brake slider pins the only thing I had to address in the 9yrs of daily driving (an Annual greasing keeps on top of it).
I changed Spark Plugs for a sake of it at about 80K miles
I changed the boot struts too for about £60.

I think they have a soul though, I needed more space than the IS250 can offer in the back, becoming a grandfather bought childseats into the equation along with pushchairs.
I wanted an NX300H but couldn't find the right one. For my sins I bought a BMW F34 335i. I'm now waiting for the dreaded Bong of Doom and wallet emptying repairs.

Within 2 weeks of buying the BMW the Lexus has thrown a strop, It definitely KNOWS I have bought a new car. I was going to give it to a relative but....

The radiator cap fell apart (£20 replacement) and I changed the waterpump (straight forward nuts & bolts) although crazy price for coolant from Lexus, and the radiator split so I changed that too.

Now it won't start at all.
Nice little project, a fault I can't yet find so lots of poking about and I am not dependant on it so can relax and take it slow working out what is wrong.
Once fixed, it will go to the relative.

Great cars and I would thoroughly recommend an IS250 SE-L Auto.

I bought it at just over 50k miles and it is now on 140k.

I like your BMW choices. I know Lexus, especially the IS250 automatic isn't a car that requires a constant flow of money, or as I say, a salary every month, but when something does go bad, it's a pain. With BMWs, from my experience, anyone can work on them, you find mechanics everywhere and parts can be found on any corner especially at scrap yards since they do get crashed a lot.