Goodbye Is250

LHR27R · November 7, 2008

Hi,

Just parked up my IS250 for the final time having done 25,500 miles in almost two and a half years. First of all I must say the reason for getting rid of it is nothing to do with the car itself, in fact it is probably the best car I have owned/driven to date. I have been offered a very good opportunity to work in the Far East for the next few years (at least) so will be moving with the family but not the car.

Wanted to share a few thoughts on the IS250 with current and potential owners. Overall I have been very pleased with the car and aftersales service from Lexus although there were a few "not so happy" memories during the past two and half years.

Why an IS250? I owned two first generation IS between 2000 and 2005 - an IS200 and an IS300 and love the build quality, reliability and value for money. In 2005 I decided that I wanted a coupe so went for a 330Ci which was very disappointing in many ways. After 10 months, I have had enough and looked to change cars again. So tried an IS250 and decided it was time to come back to Lexus. Order placed the next day but it was a long four and a half month wait for the 250 to arrive.

Car looks great, the build quality is fantastic and the engine/auto gearbox combination makes it very smooth and relaxing to drive. The IS never failed to impress me even today, whether it's on the daily commute in and out of London, shopping trips to Tesco, visiting clients or the occasional 300 mile+ round trip in a day. The arrival of our first child in October last year meant the IS has to cope with the usual extras like the car seat, pushchair, bags etc etc and no complaints there in terms of boot space and comfort. My baby son obviously likes the smooth and quiet ride in the IS - always falling asleep quickly once we are on the move which means nice quiet journeys!

Love the toys and gadgets on board. The reversing camera always grabs passengers attention, even if it's not their first time in the car! With the camera, I can easily park the IS into the small office parking spaces. My wife always asks me what I will do if my next car doesn't have a reverse camera? And it's funny that the front seat passenger will try and go for the "I Agree" prompt on the screen when I turn the car on!

The Sat-Nav I found very easy to use and the re-routing function is very useful. On one journey, it decided to route me onto the M25 THE WRONG WAY for a junction and then back in the right direction on A roads... I thought it was very silly at first but followed it and found out later the my colleague, who was minutes behind me joining the M25, was stuck in traffic for over an hour!

Quite pleased with the economy as well. With the majority being town driving, I have averaged overall 28 MPG and on a long motorway run I can get around 35 MPG. Not bad for a 2.5 V6 auto. In the 330Ci I was getting less than 20 MPG overall doing the same sort of journeys...

So onto the "not so happy" bits of my time with the IS250. Two insurance claims (my first ever, in fact!) - one when a coach ran into the back of my car at low speed which meant a new bumper and the second when an MPV crashed into the back (again) this time causing much more damage. The IS needed "a new rear end" (according to the bodyshop), bumper, parking sensors, bootlid, exhaust system, lights etc etc. I was amazed at how well built and safe the IS is... this heavy rear impact looked no worse than a bad parking accident from the outside and I carried on driving the (damaged) car for a month without any major problems other than a ratttling (broken) exhaust. Even the reversing camera was still in focus after the accident. Lexus and Accident Exchange sorted out the claims and repairs on this one with no complaints from me.

Other expenses over the 25,500 miles are four new tyres, one headlamp bulb, two brake pads and two brake discs.

I was lucky not to encounter any of the well known dashboard rattles during my time with the IS... or so I thought... until yesterday... just a few miles from home the centre speaker on the dash started rattling... perhaps it really is time for it to go?!

Hope my IS250 finds a good home. Not sure what I will be driving next (if anything at all...) once we are settled down in Hong Kong but if I do decide to buy a car then Lexus will obviously be on the top my list again.

Sagitar · November 7, 2008

Hi,
Just parked up my IS250 for the final time having done 25,500 miles in almost two and a half years. First of all I must say the reason for getting rid of it is nothing to do with the car itself, in fact it is probably the best car I have owned/driven to date. I have been offered a very good opportunity to work in the Far East for the next few years (at least) so will be moving with the family but not the car.

Wanted to share a few thoughts on the IS250 with current and potential owners. Overall I have been very pleased with the car and aftersales service from Lexus although there were a few "not so happy" memories during the past two and half years.

Why an IS250? I owned two first generation IS between 2000 and 2005 - an IS200 and an IS300 and love the build quality, reliability and value for money. In 2005 I decided that I wanted a coupe so went for a 330Ci which was very disappointing in many ways. After 10 months, I have had enough and looked to change cars again. So tried an IS250 and decided it was time to come back to Lexus. Order placed the next day but it was a long four and a half month wait for the 250 to arrive.

Car looks great, the build quality is fantastic and the engine/auto gearbox combination makes it very smooth and relaxing to drive. The IS never failed to impress me even today, whether it's on the daily commute in and out of London, shopping trips to Tesco, visiting clients or the occasional 300 mile+ round trip in a day. The arrival of our first child in October last year meant the IS has to cope with the usual extras like the car seat, pushchair, bags etc etc and no complaints there in terms of boot space and comfort. My baby son obviously likes the smooth and quiet ride in the IS - always falling asleep quickly once we are on the move which means nice quiet journeys!

Love the toys and gadgets on board. The reversing camera always grabs passengers attention, even if it's not their first time in the car! With the camera, I can easily park the IS into the small office parking spaces. My wife always asks me what I will do if my next car doesn't have a reverse camera? And it's funny that the front seat passenger will try and go for the "I Agree" prompt on the screen when I turn the car on!

The Sat-Nav I found very easy to use and the re-routing function is very useful. On one journey, it decided to route me onto the M25 THE WRONG WAY for a junction and then back in the right direction on A roads... I thought it was very silly at first but followed it and found out later the my colleague, who was minutes behind me joining the M25, was stuck in traffic for over an hour!

Quite pleased with the economy as well. With the majority being town driving, I have averaged overall 28 MPG and on a long motorway run I can get around 35 MPG. Not bad for a 2.5 V6 auto. In the 330Ci I was getting less than 20 MPG overall doing the same sort of journeys...

So onto the "not so happy" bits of my time with the IS250. Two insurance claims (my first ever, in fact!) - one when a coach ran into the back of my car at low speed which meant a new bumper and the second when an MPV crashed into the back (again) this time causing much more damage. The IS needed "a new rear end" (according to the bodyshop), bumper, parking sensors, bootlid, exhaust system, lights etc etc. I was amazed at how well built and safe the IS is... this heavy rear impact looked no worse than a bad parking accident from the outside and I carried on driving the (damaged) car for a month without any major problems other than a ratttling (broken) exhaust. Even the reversing camera was still in focus after the accident. Lexus and Accident Exchange sorted out the claims and repairs on this one with no complaints from me.

Other expenses over the 25,500 miles are four new tyres, one headlamp bulb, two brake pads and two brake discs.

I was lucky not to encounter any of the well known dashboard rattles during my time with the IS... or so I thought... until yesterday... just a few miles from home the centre speaker on the dash started rattling... perhaps it really is time for it to go?!

Hope my IS250 finds a good home. Not sure what I will be driving next (if anything at all...) once we are settled down in Hong Kong but if I do decide to buy a car then Lexus will obviously be on the top my list again.

Nice story - good luck in Hong Kong . . . . . :)

Parthiban · November 8, 2008

Nice to hear a happy tale on here for a change regarding the new IS (although the petrol owners do all seem to be pretty happy)

Glad it went well for you, and good luck with the move :)

Exiled · November 8, 2008

What an interesting story, almost Mills and Boon.

Life seem to be treating you well, a happy family and an exciting job opportunity in Hong Kong.

Hope everything continues to go well for you.

Keep us informed.

Robertb · November 10, 2008

Nice review... they're great cars. With such high expectations, its easy to get a few little details out of proportion which are usually easily sorted by the dealer who I've found to be excellent, much better than other marques.

Good luck in HK.

its_a_doozy · November 10, 2008

Good luck with the opportunity. You never know you may well be back to Lexus in a few years.

Similar to you I have just traded in my IS250 SE for a IS250 SR Auto. The auto box is the only way to go in my view now, having owner the manual for 3 years, 30,000miles. I also had one insurance claim...a car went into the back of me, leading to new bumper, and exhaust end pipe. What is it with the IS250 and rear ends.?? Must be the driver behind taking a closer look.

Great review of your Lexus experience, not far from my own views..Tyres were the biggest expense..except I did have a dashboard rattle within weeks of getting my first IS250, which lead to Lexus mashing up my dash in the process of fixing it... Wasn't happy as it was one of the early ones in the UK 05, and had to wait for spare dash parts for several weeks.

LHR27R · November 10, 2008

Thanks for all the well wishes

The IS finally departed this morning and as I understand it is destined for a car auction soon, according to the guy who collected it... real sad to see it go... and surprised to hear that it wil be auctioned.

Is it common for cars like these to end up at an auction rather than back at a Lexus dealership? I terminated my hire purchase contract early with no extra to pay. Do the dealerships only take part exchanges to re-sell? Just wondering...

And here is one last photo of the IS which I took...