Changing My Car

bluenose1940 · August 26, 2011

Hi Folks, I am totally new to this site and I am just about to purchase my first Lexus. I am almost ready to pay the man for a 03/2008 IS220D with 72000 miles on the clock. The car has full Lexus Service history and I would be interested in any comments that anyone may have regarding the mileage. The car is as good as 3.5years old and so is above average mileage for its age. The previous owner travelled the country so i would imagine that there would have been lots of motorway driving. Any thoughts/comments will be greatly appreciated.

I previously was a member of the Rover 75 club and the help and guidance received on there was excellent and from what I have seen of this forum so far, it looks very much the same and so I shall look forward to becoming addicted to the site.

rd27 · August 26, 2011

Hello and welcome, i've had my car for nearly a year now but mine is a 2008 IS with high milage for it's age (65000 when I bought it) but I don't do a lot, so it didn't concern me. Mines a petrol and i've had no issues what so ever, touch wood.

Hope you enjoy your car.

fjcfarrar · August 28, 2011

Hi Folks, I am totally new to this site and I am just about to purchase my first Lexus. I am almost ready to pay the man for a 03/2008 IS220D with 72000 miles on the clock. The car has full Lexus Service history and I would be interested in any comments that anyone may have regarding the mileage. The car is as good as 3.5years old and so is above average mileage for its age. The previous owner travelled the country so i would imagine that there would have been lots of motorway driving. Any thoughts/comments will be greatly appreciated.

I previously was a member of the Rover 75 club and the help and guidance received on there was excellent and from what I have seen of this forum so far, it looks very much the same and so I shall look forward to becoming addicted to the site.

Unless you are desperate to save a little on fuel costs by going to 4-cylinder Diesel, suggest you very seriously think about the V6 Petrol IS250. There are many niggling issues with the IS220D which particularly affect economy, plus gearbox ratios that just seem wrong. You could well be lucky and have no issues; but you are very unlikely to find any with the IS250. I would suggest Auto (IS 250 only) even if you are presently wedded to Manual boxes, plus the Multi-Media version if within your price range. The Manual box is OK but the IS250 Auto is superb - silky-smooth and relaxing to drive plus actually more economical and cheaper to tax than the Manual version.

At least hold off your choice until you have tried both, and consider Lexus themselves who are keen to do deals/discounts at the moment.

bluenose1940 · August 28, 2011

Thank you for your input to my post 9 Thanks too to rd27 for offering some advice)

Interestingly I have thought quite seriously about the IS250 and have always wanted to own a 6 cylinder car. I have only been put off by the fuel economy figures but I think that I will take your advice and hold fire for a while. i am particularly keen to have SatNav and cruise control as MUST HAVE options so would be looking to purchase an SE-L model. I will have a closer look around the internet to see what is available. Thanks again for your thoughts. If you have any further advice it will be greatly appreciated.

Hi Folks, I am totally new to this site and I am just about to purchase my first Lexus. I am almost ready to pay the man for a 03/2008 IS220D with 72000 miles on the clock. The car has full Lexus Service history and I would be interested in any comments that anyone may have regarding the mileage. The car is as good as 3.5years old and so is above average mileage for its age. The previous owner travelled the country so i would imagine that there would have been lots of motorway driving. Any thoughts/comments will be greatly appreciated.

I previously was a member of the Rover 75 club and the help and guidance received on there was excellent and from what I have seen of this forum so far, it looks very much the same and so I shall look forward to becoming addicted to the site.

Unless you are desperate to save a little on fuel costs by going to 4-cylinder Diesel, suggest you very seriously think about the V6 Petrol IS250. There are many niggling issues with the IS220D which particularly affect economy, plus gearbox ratios that just seem wrong. You could well be lucky and have no issues; but you are very unlikely to find any with the IS250. I would suggest Auto (IS 250 only) even if you are presently wedded to Manual boxes, plus the Multi-Media version if within your price range. The Manual box is OK but the IS250 Auto is superb - silky-smooth and relaxing to drive plus actually more economical and cheaper to tax than the Manual version.

At least hold off your choice until you have tried both, and consider Lexus themselves who are keen to do deals/discounts at the moment.

fjcfarrar · August 29, 2011

Thank you for your input to my post 9 Thanks too to rd27 for offering some advice)

Interestingly I have thought quite seriously about the IS250 and have always wanted to own a 6 cylinder car. I have only been put off by the fuel economy figures but I think that I will take your advice and hold fire for a while. i am particularly keen to have SatNav and cruise control as MUST HAVE options so would be looking to purchase an SE-L model. I will have a closer look around the internet to see what is available. Thanks again for your thoughts. If you have any further advice it will be greatly appreciated.

If this helps:-

Using data reported on this forum, mixed Driving on Urban roads and Motorways at much the same speeds as most people - in other words neither dawdling nor racing to beat everyone else - seems to return on average 40 - 45 mpg for the IS220D and 30 - 36 for the IS250 Auto. Obviously, some will do much better and others much worse. There also seems to be much wider variation within the average for the IS220D. This is in part due to a real need to adapt driving style to suit the Diesel; but also for the various emission-control systems etc. to remain fully on song - which this forum suggests is less than entirely certain.

All the extras you require are covered by MM (for multimedia) after the model No, and includes a reversing camera which seems like an un-necessary toy until you have had one.

Personally, I think of the Diesel in the IS as OK in its way; but similar to how even a good Beefburger just isn't quite a Fillet Steak.

Again, suggest you try Lexus Dealers. Their used-car prices are now competitive and every survey shows their aftersales/service is second to none - which I can confirm as far as my local Guildford branch is concerned. Even think about a Lexus extended Warranty - not because the cars are unreliable; but because as with most cars, an unexpected failure can bring a heart-attack sized bill, and my experience of their Warranty scheme is that they do not seek to find bizarre means to escape from coughing up as other providers may.

bluenose1940 · August 30, 2011

Hello again, you are being extremely helpful for which many thanks. As I have said, I am quite keen on the IS250 but do need to be aware of the mpg figures as I am a pensioner but not a well-off one. My wife has just retired and we plan to travel the UK and visit the many places that we have always wanted to visit. I also enjoy driving in France so we will probably be clocking up a few miles from here on in. I won't be wanting to spend much more than about 10K or 11K. I have thought about a Mercedes or a BMW but quite honestly I really do like the Lexus. I have always considered the IS because a cousin of mine has had 3 of them and I became smitten! It was interesting to note your choice of the IS LE, what sort of return (mpg) do you get from that? There doesn't seem to be too many of them about, what sort of numbers were produced? Thanks again for all your help.

Thank you for your input to my post 9 Thanks too to rd27 for offering some advice)

Interestingly I have thought quite seriously about the IS250 and have always wanted to own a 6 cylinder car. I have only been put off by the fuel economy figures but I think that I will take your advice and hold fire for a while. i am particularly keen to have SatNav and cruise control as MUST HAVE options so would be looking to purchase an SE-L model. I will have a closer look around the internet to see what is available. Thanks again for your thoughts. If you have any further advice it will be greatly appreciated.

If this helps:-
Using data reported on this forum, mixed Driving on Urban roads and Motorways at much the same speeds as most people - in other words neither dawdling nor racing to beat everyone else - seems to return on average 40 - 45 mpg for the IS220D and 30 - 36 for the IS250 Auto. Obviously, some will do much better and others much worse. There also seems to be much wider variation within the average for the IS220D. This is in part due to a real need to adapt driving style to suit the Diesel; but also for the various emission-control systems etc. to remain fully on song - which this forum suggests is less than entirely certain.

All the extras you require are covered by MM (for multimedia) after the model No, and includes a reversing camera which seems like an un-necessary toy until you have had one.

Personally, I think of the Diesel in the IS as OK in its way; but similar to how even a good Beefburger just isn't quite a Fillet Steak.

Again, suggest you try Lexus Dealers. Their used-car prices are now competitive and every survey shows their aftersales/service is second to none - which I can confirm as far as my local Guildford branch is concerned. Even think about a Lexus extended Warranty - not because the cars are unreliable; but because as with most cars, an unexpected failure can bring a heart-attack sized bill, and my experience of their Warranty scheme is that they do not seek to find bizarre means to escape from coughing up as other providers may.

fjcfarrar · August 30, 2011

Hello again, you are being extremely helpful for which many thanks. As I have said, I am quite keen on the IS250 but do need to be aware of the mpg figures as I am a pensioner but not a well-off one. My wife has just retired and we plan to travel the UK and visit the many places that we have always wanted to visit. I also enjoy driving in France so we will probably be clocking up a few miles from here on in. I won't be wanting to spend much more than about 10K or 11K. I have thought about a Mercedes or a BMW but quite honestly I really do like the Lexus. I have always considered the IS because a cousin of mine has had 3 of them and I became smitten! It was interesting to note your choice of the IS LE, what sort of return (mpg) do you get from that? There doesn't seem to be too many of them about, what sort of numbers were produced? Thanks again for all your help.

Thank you for your input to my post 9 Thanks too to rd27 for offering some advice)

Interestingly I have thought quite seriously about the IS250 and have always wanted to own a 6 cylinder car. I have only been put off by the fuel economy figures but I think that I will take your advice and hold fire for a while. i am particularly keen to have SatNav and cruise control as MUST HAVE options so would be looking to purchase an SE-L model. I will have a closer look around the internet to see what is available. Thanks again for your thoughts. If you have any further advice it will be greatly appreciated.

If this helps:-
Using data reported on this forum, mixed Driving on Urban roads and Motorways at much the same speeds as most people - in other words neither dawdling nor racing to beat everyone else - seems to return on average 40 - 45 mpg for the IS220D and 30 - 36 for the IS250 Auto. Obviously, some will do much better and others much worse. There also seems to be much wider variation within the average for the IS220D. This is in part due to a real need to adapt driving style to suit the Diesel; but also for the various emission-control systems etc. to remain fully on song - which this forum suggests is less than entirely certain.

All the extras you require are covered by MM (for multimedia) after the model No, and includes a reversing camera which seems like an un-necessary toy until you have had one.

Personally, I think of the Diesel in the IS as OK in its way; but similar to how even a good Beefburger just isn't quite a Fillet Steak.

Again, suggest you try Lexus Dealers. Their used-car prices are now competitive and every survey shows their aftersales/service is second to none - which I can confirm as far as my local Guildford branch is concerned. Even think about a Lexus extended Warranty - not because the cars are unreliable; but because as with most cars, an unexpected failure can bring a heart-attack sized bill, and my experience of their Warranty scheme is that they do not seek to find bizarre means to escape from coughing up as other providers may.

MPG was not the main priority for me, and with the ISF I get about 22-23 mpg (and a bit worse in really cold weather) which I think is good for a 5 Litre V8 driven around at about the same speeds as everyone else. If you feel a bit enthusiatic, you can bring that down to 4-5 mpg and attract many blue lights and sirens. At the last count there are 190 of them in the UK since Spring 2008, so not exactly a hot seller. In a recession, hardly a surprise!

Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose. There should be plenty of 220Ds & 250s in your price rance.

Tango · August 30, 2011

At the last count there are 190 of them in the UK since Spring 2008, so not exactly a hot seller. In a recession, hardly a surprise!

I saw my first IS200D Sport on the M1 last week, but as they're a relatively new model (2 years) there second hand value is going to be high. Still only 73 registered for the road.