dazed

That's what was being sold during those years.

You're barking mad It's older, has higher mileage, costs more and won't be as reliable. I'm struggling to see the upside.

Totally agree with you Malcolm. PCP is the crack cocaine of the car industry and sadly most people can't see it for what it is. I've got people in my office earning less than £30K p/a driving around in new BMW 1 series every three years and they're always complaining that they've got no money. I also come across people who try to convince me that PCP really is a smart way to buy a new car. But when I look at their figures I discover that they don't really understand how deep a discount can be negotiated off a new car and how cheap conventional sources of lending can be if you've got a clean credit file. Large balloon figures also mean more outstanding debt for longer which equates to more interest payable, no matter how low the interest rate is.

That sounds like a plan - all the best. I tend to look for something a couple (or three years old) with low mileage, good spec and FSH. Mortgage, food, bills and pension contributions all have to come first.

I suspect the maths has been worked out so that at the end of the contract you have a vehicle that is worth the guaranteed future value (+/- a tiny bit). Because depreciation is not linear, but your payments are, you'll inevitably spend some (perhaps most) of the contract in negative equity depending on the size of the deposit. This must be a dilemma for the car manufacturers. On the one hand they want to make their monthly payments as low as possible (to entice punters to rent cars that, to be honest, they probably can't really afford to drive). But on the other hand they really need to ensure that there is some equity in the vehicle at the end of the deal, so that they can get another shiny new car on the road (which means higher monthly payments). This whole business model feels unsustainable to me and ultimately has to result in punters downgrading at each contract renewal point as economic reality bites, even if financing costs remain as low as they currently are.

It's horrific when you peel back the PCP marketing and spin and lay it bare like that. There's a little bit of me that thinks PCP will be the next PPI - the compensation from which, ironically, formed many of the deposits for PCP deals in recent years. The lending behind PCP feels like a financial bubble that will have to burst when/if second hand valuations fall.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^ I too would recommend leaving the climate control system on at all times. As Linas says, the extra fuel consumption is negligible and it has the significant advantage of reducing the on going maintenance costs of keeping the AC system running smoothly.

My local Lexus dealer has had a look at the car and agreed to fix it free of charge. Well done Lexus.

Fair enough - my commiserations. What I'm trying to establish is the likelihood of the mechanism just spontaneously failing in normal use. Personally I'm very suspicious. It worked fine before the filter was changed by the dealer and then within a few days of it being changed I suspect something is wrong - I live out in the countryside so I don't encounter bad air every time I take the car out.

How did yours get broken? And thanks Normski for the links.

No. It was definitely working before the service. The first suspicion I had that something might not be quite right was about five days after the service. Well, that's a good question. They certainly charged me for it!

Yep, that's the problem. The flap/cover doesn't move when I toggle the button. The car was serviced (at great expense) by Lexus a couple of weeks ago during which they replaced the filter. It looks like I'm about to find out how good Lexus customer service really is after 10 years of no problems.

I'm starting to get a really bad feeling about this: http://my.is/forums/f127/is250-cabin-air-filter-388060/ My car was serviced a few weeks ago and they changed the filter....

The pollen filter was changed at the last service. The smells I'm getting in the cabin are diesel fumes, not mouldy air-con smells. The smells are most noticeable when I'm following a stinky diesel vehicle or stuck in heavy traffic. I've been driving IS250s for the past 10 years and have never had this problem before. I always used to be able to tell when the system was in re-circulation mode as the air had a different quality to it - it's hard to describe but it just smelt 'cleaner' - perhaps more sterile, but not necessarily fresher. A bit like the air in an aircraft cabin. Anyway, something definitely isn't right. Perhaps the garage messed up at the last service (which could actually coincide with when I first started to notice a difference).

I've noticed recently that the quality of air in my cabin is really bad (especially in heavy traffic) despite the air-recirculation mode being on. I can hear a short whirring sound when I switch between recirculated air and air from outside so the motor is obviously doing something. However, the quality of air entering the cabin is the same irrespective of which mode is selected. This is definitely a problem that has developed recently. Does anyone have any suggestions how I could attempt to diagnose the cause of the problem and whether or not it's going to be straightforward. If it involves dismantling half the car I'll leave it to the garage. Thanks.

Make sure you do the maths first. Obviously, the extra fuel isn't going to be the only financial cost. If you do go ahead my advice would be to buy low mileage 3 year old vehicles. Diesels would make the most sense, but failing that don't spend too much time looking at hybrids - you won't necessarily save the extra purchase price in reduced petrol costs if you're mostly cruising at 70mph. Whatever you do, don't buy new. The deprecation will crucify you.

The car looks like it might have been in 6th gear for the duration of the Youtube clip so the behaviour may have been due to the torque converter lockup being released and reapplied. When you accelerate in 6th gear (possibly 5th as well?) the lockup in the converter is usually released to allow the revs to rise more easily and the torque to increase. When you release the throttle the revs will momentarily fall back until the converter lock is reapplied. At the moment this occurs the revs will rise again as direct drive is re-established from the wheels back to the gearbox. (Some people mistake this for a gear change as it feels very similar) It may be that these transitions are exaggerated in your car some reason - perhaps bad timing.

<Rant> The word 'upgrade' has definitely become one of the most misused words in recent years. Thanks to spivvy salesmen (particularly those selling mobile phones) it has become a word to describe any new sale to an existing customer and is used only to flatter the customer to secure a commission payment. Ooooh, suits you sir! The reality is many sales are anything but an 'upgrade' - most are just a sideways replacement at best. <Rant/> Anyway back on topic, I'll be interested to hear what other owners have to say. As a two time IS250 mk2 owner with over 200K miles on the clock(s) I accept that my next car will almost certainly have to be something different. Reliability is essential which rules out many cars and non of those left have so far inspired me like the IS250 has. The GS is one exception, but it's size is excessive for my needs. The RC 200t is beautiful but I have reservations about the engine (although I haven't ruled it out). Hybrids don't interest me as I spend most of my time cruising at 70mph and don't see the point in paying a premium for little or no gain in economy (and the loss of a spare wheel).

Strictly speaking the 'SE' trim level was not the lowest spec at launch. There was another model simply designated 'IS 250' that had basic cloth seats with no electrics, heating or cooling. Wheels were 16" with 205/55R16 tyres. Not sure how many of them were ever sold though. I think in its day, the SE was a pretty well spec'd car (obviously a little long in the tooth by today's standards) - certainly comparable with the German offerings at the time, but less expensive. In my experience I tend to remember cars for their handling/performance/transmission/comfort rather than the extra little toys that manufacturers throw in and convince you to part with thousands for (and which can often be the things that tend to go wrong and cost yet more time and money to fix).

Fair points. One of the reasons I've run a Lexus for the past 10 years is their reliability - I do about 25K miles a year. So far (over 200K miles and 2 cars) the only repair bill I've had to pay is for a new water pump (about £300 I think). I accept that at some point I'll get a reasonably big bill to settle, but on balance I reckon self insurance is the way to go with a Lexus. As for my wife's VW - that's a different matter entirely.

Regarding warranties, I guess it comes down to whether you could handle the potential bills that might arise if you don't take out the warranty. Statistically, an individual will lose out over a lifetime of taking out extended warranties - insurers aren't charities after all. So I'd say, if you worry about, or would have difficulty paying a large repair bill then take the warranty for peace of mind (assuming it's a reasonable price). Otherwise just save (or better still invest) the money and insure yourself. One thing that does leave me rather confused is how some people will quite happily spend £20K plus on a car and then fret about repair bills. I don't know if I'm missing something, but if they spent a little less (say £18K) then they'd have £2K for repairs. I appreciate this is a slightly simplistic view of things, but logically it does solve the whole dilemma that so many people appear to have.

Ah, I see! I thought it only reverted automatically when you turned the ignition off (I always manually turn it back on again once I've escaped from my skidpan of a driveway)

You've lost me. There's a little switch for turning it off/on. I always turn it off when I'm trying to get out of my driveway when it's covered in snow or ice. No pedal dance required.

Although your tyres may be inflated correctly, some have softer sidewalls than others. That might be noticeable when altering direction several times quite rapidly - e.g. small roundabouts.

300h I assumed. Are there many 200t examples out there?