Is250 Sport Manual

[Frothey]

Hi All

Going to look at a 250 sport tomorrow, with the intention of getting one that I've seen on t'web. I'm a Toyota owner at the mo, so I'm used to the reliability lol!

Reading on here there seem to be a few issues with the 250's, especially the manual ones? Or is it a case of only hearing the bad news..... The only problem I have is that I cant see the car before I "buy" it (I know theres a "not as described" clause) so on an '06' plate is it likely to suffer from the clutch judder problems? Auto isn't an option (even if we went newer) as the wife (who would be the main driver) wont have one.

The closest dealer to me is approx 60 miles away, and their Toyota dealership hasn't exactly got the best reputation. The car - if I get it - would be looked after at the local Toyota garage, who are excellent and do look after quite a few Lexus', but they wouldn't be able to do the warranty work.

Worth the risk or not

[Gord]

Hi All

Going to look at a 250 sport tomorrow, with the intention of getting one that I've seen on t'web. I'm a Toyota owner at the mo, so I'm used to the reliability lol!

Reading on here there seem to be a few issues with the 250's, especially the manual ones? Or is it a case of only hearing the bad news..... The only problem I have is that I cant see the car before I "buy" it (I know theres a "not as described" clause) so on an '06' plate is it likely to suffer from the clutch judder problems? Auto isn't an option (even if we went newer) as the wife (who would be the main driver) wont have one.

The closest dealer to me is approx 60 miles away, and their Toyota dealership hasn't exactly got the best reputation. The car - if I get it - would be looked after at the local Toyota garage, who are excellent and do look after quite a few Lexus', but they wouldn't be able to do the warranty work.

Worth the risk or not

I think the problem with manual gearbox, is with the 220d models :D

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Not sure why you can't see it before you buy iy but you are going to look at one tomorrow. Assuming they are two cars then I would strongly recommend you don't buy a car until you have seen it and driven it. I can't understand why you would do this as there is so much risk involved. Are you going to do an HPI check on it? Has it got FLSH? etc. etc. Also I would suggest if you do buy one that you get it serviced by Lexus so the service history is stamped it will make it easier to sell or part exchange for your next Lexus. Distance doesn't matter it's only a couple of hours to service them, you will get a courtesy car and perhaps treat yourself to a day out .....

[Frothey]

Ta Gord B)

Not sure why you can't see it before you buy iy but you are going to look at one tomorrow.

the one i want is in Manchester, I'm in Devon. Bit of a trek to just go and have a look! Going to drive one at the local-ish dealer....

Its at a lexus dealer, already hpi'd it (and checked the lex warranty history.... :winky: ) Contrary to what the Lexus dealer may say, so long as its serviced by a toyota dealer it doesnt affect the re-sale, especially when the centre is lexus approved. And at least half the cost.

But thats not what the question was...

[saracen]

The problems associated with clutch judder seem to be attibuted mainly to the 220D. However I can only reiterate what Steve said, that there is a lot of risk in buying a car unseen - even if it is from a Lexus Dealer.

PS welcome to the club!

[dgman]

Ta Gord B)

Not sure why you can't see it before you buy iy but you are going to look at one tomorrow.

the one i want is in Manchester, I'm in Devon. Bit of a trek to just go and have a look! Going to drive one at the local-ish dealer....

Its at a lexus dealer, already hpi'd it (and checked the lex warranty history.... :winky: ) Contrary to what the Lexus dealer may say, so long as its serviced by a toyota dealer it doesnt affect the re-sale, especially when the centre is lexus approved. And at least half the cost.

But thats not what the question was...

have you driven a manual 250,only reason for asking is that i had one while my 220 was being serviced.i found the bite point of the clutch is very high not like the 220 at all,my shin muscle was cramping by the end of the day.don't forget about the higher rfl on the manual.

[Frothey]

have you driven a manual 250,only reason for asking is that i had one while my 220 was being serviced.i found the bite point of the clutch is very high not like the 220 at all,my shin muscle was cramping by the end of the day.don't forget about the higher rfl on the manual.

we're going today, current drives are the verso with the 140 2.2 D4D and the Auris SR180 which is the same engine as the is220, we'll see how it goes. The RFL being £110 or so higher doesnt really make that much difference - £9 a month.... one less bottle of red lol! I'd like the mm version, my wife has driven a car with the same system (all be it smaller engine which does make a big difference) and just didn't like it, and like I said, its her car.....

I just get to clean them

[dgman]

have you driven a manual 250,only reason for asking is that i had one while my 220 was being serviced.i found the bite point of the clutch is very high not like the 220 at all,my shin muscle was cramping by the end of the day.don't forget about the higher rfl on the manual.

we're going today, current drives are the verso with the 140 2.2 D4D and the Auris SR180 which is the same engine as the is220, we'll see how it goes. The RFL being £110 or so higher doesnt really make that much difference - £9 a month.... one less bottle of red lol! I'd like the mm version, my wife has driven a car with the same system (all be it smaller engine which does make a big difference) and just didn't like it, and like I said, its her car.....

I just get to clean them

i pressume you don't like the diesels that you already have.

[Gord]

Ta Gord B)

Not sure why you can't see it before you buy iy but you are going to look at one tomorrow.

the one i want is in Manchester, I'm in Devon. Bit of a trek to just go and have a look! Going to drive one at the local-ish dealer....

Its at a lexus dealer, already hpi'd it (and checked the lex warranty history.... :winky: ) Contrary to what the Lexus dealer may say, so long as its serviced by a toyota dealer it doesnt affect the re-sale, especially when the centre is lexus approved. And at least half the cost.

But thats not what the question was...

If you want me to have a look at the car for you ??? its no problem :D

[Frothey]

i pressume you don't like the diesels that you already have.

i do like them, but my wife does 6k a year tops. its all shortish trips so in the winter the hot air kicks in from the car just as she gets to work. she likes the smell of petrol better as well

the running costs of the 220d dont actually work for me, and it seems theres a few issues with the engines as well (toyota get a few of the same issues as well). so i may as well have a little bit more refinement. having just driven one (in best Borat voice) I like!

their manual demo did have a bit of judder as we pulled away, just after the salesman telling me he hadn't heard of that problem ....nice when you get them on the back foot

[Frothey]

If you want me to have a look at the car for you ??? its no problem :D

Ta. Drive it down here and I'll get you a pasty and a pint of cider

[Gord]

If you want me to have a look at the car for you ??? its no problem :D

Ta. Drive it down here and I'll get you a pasty and a pint of cider

Cider make me ill :o

[Frothey]

Cider make me ill :o

scrumpy then..... less chemicals. you'll still get a sore head, but thats more to do with drinking a lot of it lol!

[Wallace]

Our IS250 Sport has just had its first service (6,600 miles) and I would recommend that you definitely have a test drive of all the IS250 and IS220 models before you decide. It took us a good 6 months to decide on the Sport version. It wasn't availabile initially when the IS250 came out and we took the first IS250 back to the showroom after only an hour's test drive because we didn't like the handling of it. We tried the IS250 automatic, but preferred a manual gearbox. We settled on a Sport because of the lowered suspension, wide tyres and all the goodies that you get as standard. We wanted to buy a diesel because of the economy and eventually managed to get one from our local dealer in Wolverhampton for a complete day, but after the day of struggling to get in the right gear at roundabouts, stalling it from take-off, we decided that the petrol was the way to go. The ride is quite firm but holds the road well. We have had no problems with our gearbox and it seems the petrol version does not suffer from the same rattles as the diesel. Good luck in your choice.

Jim

[Frothey]

We drove it earlier today and liked it - just waiting to see whether the local dealer can get close to what I've been offered on the Manunian Candidate (lol!) Prefer the local one as its in black....

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Surely they can ship the one down for you to inspect if you leave a returnable deposit ;)

[Frothey]

to be fair, i know what it would cost to get it transported and who would pick up the tab if I didn't have it and it had to go back? I certainly wouldn't let them keep the deposit if it was a bag of nails!

[BosniaLexus]

The Sport Manual 250 is a good car, with no gearbox issues. SOme drivers initially complained that all IS250 manuals had less precise gear change actions compared with the IS200. I have not come across an IS350 sport here with gear problems. Its a good car, though lowered suspension and flatter wheels means a more sure, but firm drive.