Introduction And Possible Buy

[Richy IS200]

Hello peeps just thought i would introduce myself before i randomly start asking questions, as many people do and never use the forum again. Anyway i have been wanting a Lexus for a couple of years now (for a second car) and came across this one a few weeks back, I didnt and still have not got the money for it at the moment as iv only just got a new job as well but he has stopped selling it at the moment. Its a manual, FSH and done 64000 for £3500 ono. Just wanted some tips and advice on what to look out for as im going to ring him this weekend and ask a few questions and hopefully its still for sale lol. If all goes well i should get it by the end of next month :D

Few piccies anywayz

[TommyH]

Welcome mate, THIS should help.

Also ask the guy if the timing belt has been changed recently. Should be done at 60,000 miles service and can cost anything between £400-£600 depending where you go.

[janet]

Hi,

Welcome to the club. The car looks pretty tidy to me, and the wheels look as I would expect! At 64000 miles it hopefully has just had a cambelt/waterpump change, have a look at posts on here for details on that as if not you will be urged to have it done by us forum members! Other things to check...Make sure the cd player loads and unloads properly, if you see an error3 message come up, you will need to have a repair/replacement (expensive) or add an ipod interface or w.h.y. Check for uneven tyre wear...search for Dr Bones on here for background info.

Assume you would check all the usuals/history/miles, check for waterleaks in the drivers footwell (screen leak can upset electrics), uneven engine running (coilpacks sometimes go)rust/water in the spare wheel well, water in the headlights......Im sure others will add/advise too. If you get a good one they are brill cars, and despite how it sounds above(!)are uba reliable.

[bond 007]

looks good body on the car. wheels look nasty though. good luck if ya buy it. olso go to www.wheeler dealers.com and look up buying a used car on main webpage very usefull mike b is the man. olso the last comment coilpacks go. my car the other day sound like a slow coil getting charge in it. and engine started 1st time but was slow turn over but it only does this now and again do i need a new coil pack? rgds bond 007

[Richy IS200]

Welcome mate, THIS should help.

Also ask the guy if the timing belt has been changed recently. Should be done at 60,000 miles service and can cost anything between £400-£600 depending where you go.

I was going to ask him about that after all the usual sort of questions, cheers for the heads up. Im hoping it has been changed as I couldnt afford to change it atm. I do work for a car parts firm and can get parts cheap, I just wouldnt have the guts to do the change myself. Thanks for the guide also matey :winky:

[Richy IS200]

Hi,

Welcome to the club. The car looks pretty tidy to me, and the wheels look as I would expect! At 64000 miles it hopefully has just had a cambelt/waterpump change, have a look at posts on here for details on that as if not you will be urged to have it done by us forum members! Other things to check...Make sure the cd player loads and unloads properly, if you see an error3 message come up, you will need to have a repair/replacement (expensive) or add an ipod interface or w.h.y. Check for uneven tyre wear...search for Dr Bones on here for background info.

Assume you would check all the usuals/history/miles, check for waterleaks in the drivers footwell (screen leak can upset electrics), uneven engine running (coilpacks sometimes go)rust/water in the spare wheel well, water in the headlights......Im sure others will add/advise too. If you get a good one they are brill cars, and despite how it sounds above(!)are uba reliable.

Superb thanks mate, hopefully I will have a proper look at it next week sometime. I know one of the headlights was a bit faded, whether it had water inside was hard to tell as it was hot that week. I couldnt believe it when i saw it, its only 20 mins away which is handy as well. The only thing I do worry about these cars is that they are expensive to repair if things go wrong. This is coming from someone who has owned a fiat sinse i passed my test lol. Its been good to me though

[Richy IS200]

looks good body on the car. wheels look nasty though. good luck if ya buy it. olso go to www.wheeler dealers.com and look up buying a used car on main webpage very usefull mike b is the man. olso the last comment coilpacks go. my car the other day sound like a slow coil getting charge in it. and engine started 1st time but was slow turn over but it only does this now and again do i need a new coil pack? rgds bond 007

Thanks dude, yeah I know all 4 of them were like it, doesnt put me off one bit though

[janet]

Hi,

Welcome to the club. The car looks pretty tidy to me, and the wheels look as I would expect! At 64000 miles it hopefully has just had a cambelt/waterpump change, have a look at posts on here for details on that as if not you will be urged to have it done by us forum members! Other things to check...Make sure the cd player loads and unloads properly, if you see an error3 message come up, you will need to have a repair/replacement (expensive) or add an ipod interface or w.h.y. Check for uneven tyre wear...search for Dr Bones on here for background info.

Assume you would check all the usuals/history/miles, check for waterleaks in the drivers footwell (screen leak can upset electrics), uneven engine running (coilpacks sometimes go)rust/water in the spare wheel well, water in the headlights......Im sure others will add/advise too. If you get a good one they are brill cars, and despite how it sounds above(!)are uba reliable.

Superb thanks mate, hopefully I will have a proper look at it next week sometime. I know one of the headlights was a bit faded, whether it had water inside was hard to tell as it was hot that week. I couldnt believe it when i saw it, its only 20 mins away which is handy as well. The only thing I do worry about these cars is that they are expensive to repair if things go wrong. This is coming from someone who has owned a fiat sinse i passed my test lol. Its been good to me though

Yep, well I'm a bit of an old dog, and in the past I used to run crappy cars, cost a fortune....then I risked buying a decent car (at the time) which was a full spec 240 Volvo injection (when Volvos were proper cars)and it was so reliable that it cost less to run than the cheapos....you are thinking of buying an old car in todays terms, designed in the mid to late 90's probably, but we have 2 cars..the other is a newer Mazda..thats a pretty good full spec motor, but if one had to go....no contest!

[Richy IS200]

I went and had a look at the car yesterday and it wasnt that bad, its now SORN and been sitting there for a month now, so I couldnt test drive it which is a big downer. The cambelt hasnt been changed so thats another downer. FSH is ok, checked the basic stuff and the electrics which all work, no rust, no leaks. I got him down to 3k. Im just in two minds on whether to get it or not. Thoughts? If he hasnt sold it in a few weeks then i will have another look and test drive

[Sterling]

Only thing I would say is dont jump in, it sounds expensive to me. Decide on your max budget and have a good look around Autotrader, eBay etc. This seller wants £3500. I just bought a 2002 '02' IS200 SE with 40,000 miles and full service history and immaculate condition. Even my alloys are excellent. I only paid £3750.

I saw a lovely 2003 '03' Sport with 60k sell for £3350 on eBay 2 weeks ago.

[janet]

Wise words from Stirling Richy, remember" all that glisters is not gold" it would be four things up front i would want to clarify. 1. No drive no buy 2.Why was it on sorn? 3. Does the seller live where the car is parked up ? (incidentally if he does not own the verge it should not be there!) 4. Is it a verifyable Lex service history,or reputable garage in the area, and whats the situation of the MOT..and where was that carried out?.

In my previous reply I said i bought a volvo 240 and ran it cheaper than my older car, however this did not stop me, a few years later, making a right prat of myself by buying a rubbish 240 off of the roadside that was really being sold by a back street trader....I paid the price! Not suggesting this is the case here,of course!

[Richy IS200]

Wise words from Stirling Richy, remember" all that glisters is not gold" it would be four things up front i would want to clarify. 1. No drive no buy 2.Why was it on sorn? 3. Does the seller live where the car is parked up ? (incidentally if he does not own the verge it should not be there!) 4. Is it a verifyable Lex service history,or reputable garage in the area, and whats the situation of the MOT..and where was that carried out?.

In my previous reply I said i bought a volvo 240 and ran it cheaper than my older car, however this did not stop me, a few years later, making a right prat of myself by buying a rubbish 240 off of the roadside that was really being sold by a back street trader....I paid the price! Not suggesting this is the case here,of course!

Hello sorry for this late reply.

Answers to your questions: Ill try and get a test drive if I have a nother look at it, he said he has a van and 2 other cars which were on the drive at the time and he didnt want to tax it as he isnt using it. It was at his mums house as she used to drive it as well as him on her insurance as he was my age (21) or younger. I cant remember if it had a lex service history but the others have been serviced at a garage 1 minute down the road which i personally know has been there for years and years, so its trusted. The MOT's have also been done at the same garage as well. I know where you are coming from though, this car seems ok but I just have a funny feeling that something isnt right you know

[Richy IS200]

Only thing I would say is dont jump in, it sounds expensive to me. Decide on your max budget and have a good look around Autotrader, eBay etc. This seller wants £3500. I just bought a 2002 '02' IS200 SE with 40,000 miles and full service history and immaculate condition. Even my alloys are excellent. I only paid £3750.

I saw a lovely 2003 '03' Sport with 60k sell for £3350 on eBay 2 weeks ago.

Really, every time i look on eBay or autotrader they are like 4k upwards with 60k or less miles, I just cant find the right one yet I would ideally love one in grey but that colour seems to be so rare to find imo. The one you just bought is exactly how much i would want to spend and for the mileage as well. Where did you see that??

[lexuslloyd]

Really, every time i look on ebay or autotrader they are like 4k upwards with 60k or less miles, I just cant find the right one yet I would ideally love one in grey but that colour seems to be so rare to find imo. The one you just bought is exactly how much i would want to spend and for the mileage as well. Where did you see that??

Yeah that grey colour looks amazing, I nearly bought one in that color - then after giving it a good look over and negotiating price I did a Hpi check - foudn out it was a CAT D and the guy didnt mention it at all. You can imagine what kind words I exchanged with him! :tsktsk:

[Richy IS200]

Really, every time i look on ebay or autotrader they are like 4k upwards with 60k or less miles, I just cant find the right one yet I would ideally love one in grey but that colour seems to be so rare to find imo. The one you just bought is exactly how much i would want to spend and for the mileage as well. Where did you see that??

Yeah that grey colour looks amazing, I nearly bought one in that color - then after giving it a good look over and negotiating price I did a Hpi check - foudn out it was a CAT D and the guy didnt mention it at all. You can imagine what kind words I exchanged with him! :tsktsk:

You cant trust anybody really. Cat D i wouldnt be to worried about as much, if its cat c i would be ****** off if he didnt tell me

[Sterling]

Took me a while, but here is the advert from Autotrader for the car I bought.

So as I said, have a good look around. Deals are out there to be had.

Kenny

[04AAA]

Took me a while, but here is the advert from Autotrader for the car I bought.

So as I said, have a good look around. Deals are out there to be had.

Kenny

Grief an 8+ year old car with 40K miles ... is that what they call "one careful lady owner"

[Sterling]

^^^^^^ I dont quite understand your comment "Grief"

The car has 1 previous owner. It was bought new by a guy when he retired. He was only selling it as he wanted a good sized hatchback to cope with his increasing brood of grand children. He had just bought a new Volkswagen Tiguan. It has a full main dealer service history, every previous MOT and every receipt for money spent (even puncture repair at Kwik-Fit). I paid for a full HPi report and it came back all clear.

So where is the "Grief" ?