Where To Find A Nice Is 250 Se-L?

PhilipK · July 4, 2014

My commute is about to change, and I realise that if I'm going to be doing many more miles than previously, I want to do them (1) in comfort and (2) in something a lot slower than my BMW M5 (to have some chance of keeping my licence!)

I've decided that I'd like to try a Lexus IS, and I want all the toys, so I've narrowed my search to an SE-L with Multimedia. Must be an Automatic, not Silver, the later the better (preferably 2008+) and under 50k miles.

It seems that I have 3 choices of places to buy:

1) Lexus dealership. Has all the advantages of buying from a dealership (car is guaranteed not to be stolen/written off, decent warranty, nice coffee in showrooms) but you pay a significant price premium, and the "right" car for me doesn't seem to be there just now.

2) Non-Lexus garages. I don't like buying from these - all they do is buy the cars in cheaply and sell them at a profit without adding (in my eyes, at least) any real value.

3) Privately. I'm happy buying privately, but there seem to be very, very few cars advertised privately (unless I have been looking in the wrong places).

My daily internet search includes the Lexus web site, PistonHeads, AutoTrader, Gumtree and Preloved. Is there anywhere else that I should be looking?

jamesm182 · July 4, 2014

My commute is about to change, and I realise that if I'm going to be doing many more miles than previously, I want to do them (1) in comfort and (2) in something a lot slower than my BMW M5 (to have some chance of keeping my licence!)

I've decided that I'd like to try a Lexus IS, and I want all the toys, so I've narrowed my search to an SE-L with Multimedia. Must be an Automatic, not Silver, the later the better (preferably 2008+) and under 50k miles.

It seems that I have 3 choices of places to buy:

1) Lexus dealership. Has all the advantages of buying from a dealership (car is guaranteed not to be stolen/written off, decent warranty, nice coffee in showrooms) but you pay a significant price premium, and the "right" car for me doesn't seem to be there just now.

2) Non-Lexus garages. I don't like buying from these - all they do is buy the cars in cheaply and sell them at a profit without adding (in my eyes, at least) any real value.

3) Privately. I'm happy buying privately, but there seem to be very, very few cars advertised privately (unless I have been looking in the wrong places).

My daily internet search includes the Lexus web site, PistonHeads, AutoTrader, Gumtree and Preloved. Is there anywhere else that I should be looking?

I feel for you Philip. It took me what felt like ages to find mine. I too was looking for almost the same car - a sub 50K ideally 2008 on facelift SE-L MM auto not in silver (my last two cars were silver and although I like it I was seriously bored of silver) and I also wanted cream leather.

I was willing to travel up to around 250 miles (from the south coast where I live) and even then I had problems. I ended up buying mine from Lexus Stoke as like you I would prefer to buy from a dealership, although I would still consider privately. The car actually seemed relatively good value, especially compared to dealers nearer me.

I ended up having to compromise slightly on the 2008 facelift part, in the end I bought a late pre facelift (57 plate). I couldn't ignore the value though. I had been looking around for ages and the best deal I could find on the facelift (58 plate) from a dealer was 3K more expensive. 3K just seemed like too much of a premium for what is essentially the same car.

I paid 10K for mine back in March. It's a 57 plate with 43K on the clock, Mercury Grey with Ivory leather, auto and multimedia. I love the car and it's in great shape plus I got the year warranty, major service before it left and a couple of other bits thrown in. The best deal I could find on a facelift at the time was from Lexus Leicester for 13K. I would have considered spending 11-12K but 13 just seemed too much considering the quality/value of the car I bought.

It seems you're looking in the right places so I would just hold out and the right car will show eventually - I know it's just painful waiting!

aly-g · July 4, 2014

If your looking to buy privately you could look on eBay there are loads for sale , you can always get a AA or RAC mechanical check on any car and hpi check, worth considering .....

Allan

toffee_pie · July 4, 2014

lexus in southampton have a few...?

toffee_pie · July 4, 2014

them prices are steep, i paid a little over 6k for mine, 50k 2008 with a manual, it needed a sat nav, so add about 900 onto that but still a total bargain from my point of view.

what is the difference between the facelift? i mean 56/57 to 58+ ?

PhilipK · July 4, 2014

If your looking to buy privately you could look on eBay there are loads for sale , you can always get a AA or RAC mechanical check on any car and hpi check, worth considering .....

Allan

Thanks - I've been looking there as well, but almost all the SE-L's advertised on eBay are being sold by traders or garages, not by private sellers.

My spreadsheet of every SE-L with Navigation that I can find for sale at less than £15k anywhere in the UK shows that there are 32 at present - 16 at Lexus Dealers, 14 at traders/garages and only 2 being sold privately!

lexus in southampton have a few...?

Do you mean Snows in Hedge End? If so, I've driven a couple of their cars, but they are either Silver (sorry, "Argento Ice" or "Brechin Slate") or too high a mileage for me. They have been very helpful and ring me up as soon as they get any new cars in that might meet my criteria.

PilgrimIS · July 5, 2014

It took nearly 6 months to find the right SE-L for me! However I did have to compromise slightly on the mileage. What I would say is don't get too hung up on the mileage on these, especially the SE-L... Their resale value holds still and mine now has 90k on the clock and drives like 10k.

In the end I bought the late 07 SE-L MM Auto with FLSH for less than £7k and could not be happier. I've owned newer, less miles prestigious cars and not one beats this! I've owned an M5 too!