I'm not sure whether this is the correct forum for this post, but as it ends with a question on the relative merits on the 220d v. the 250, it seems to be the right place.
If you'll bear with me, this is a bit of a saga, but I'll get to the question in due course.
I drive on a casual/ad hoc basis for my local Lexus dealer, and have been so taken by the cars that I traded my '01 Volvo S60SE in for a 200d, '06 with 24k on the clock. But, thereby hangs a tale!
Can I say at the outset, that as I was working for the garage, and it was a Lexus dealer where the staff were all friendly, etc., and being a franchised dealer I expected that they would be "hotfoot" in pursuit of perfection. Unfortunately, I should have picked a different salesman to deal with :duh: .
When I expressed my interest just before Christmas he brought a cadoxton 220d in to the workshop for me to have a look at. It was parked facing away from the entry door, and at the opposite end of the workshop. It looked fine & as I was at a quality dealer, not a forecourt portakabin, I felt that I didn't need to examine it. Likewise, I'd driven enough of them so I didn't need a test drive. The same applied at the handover – nice shiny car presented by a nice shiny salesman. However one thing he did was produce from his pocket 2 valve caps & said there had been 2 missing from the car. As I stood on the nearside he put them on those wheels & I duly drove off.
A bit over a month later I washed the car & noticed that the bonnet paintwork was marked, but didn't think it was particularly excessive for a used car, although I expected better of a Lexus dealer.
I washed the car again one Friday, at the beginning of February, but this time used my pressure washer. This was when I saw that there was extensive damage to the paintwork on the bonnet and front bumper/valance. This consisted of chips, many where the primer was visible. It was so bad it looked as if the car had been towed behind a grit-spreader.
The following Monday I went down to the garage to see the sales manager & found that the sales manager who had been in post when I bought the car had been moved to another dealership in the group, (not Lexus), and the new one had been moved in that day. I gave him a bit of grief, but in fairness to him, it was a problem that he'd had no involvement in. He referred me to the Centre Principal and showed him the car. After some discussion he suggested that they could "buff" it to see if this cured the problem. I agreed & arranged for a time when it would be done, but prior to this my son-in-law pointed out that the roof was also affected, but not quite so badly.
Anyway, the car was done, cleaned & polished & looked better. However, a couple of days later, on a Sunday, I ran the pressure washer over the front end. Lo & behold, the chips & primer were visible again! Maybe not quite so bad, but still obvious. Needless to say I was down the garage like a shot the next day & gave the sales manager both barrels. :megaangry: He was left in no doubt about my fury, but once again it was perhaps unfortunate for him that he'd inherited a problem that he'd had no involvement in.
Anyway, the Centre Principal rang me a day or two later, and after a chat he said they would replace the car for me, :D but it would take a couple of days of so to find one.
With hindsight it's apparent to me that the garage had a rogue salesman who, sometime before I hit the roof stopped working for them :winky: , and they were not party to his attempt to get a quick, easy sale. When he brought the car in to the workshop he possibly knew what it was like & brought it in where the light was not so good & I was less likely to see its condition. Also, the valve cap thing was no doubt to distract me from seeing that the nearside wheels had been kerbed & not repaired. Also, he didn't comply with Lexus, & no doubt company policy, as he never brought to my attention the handover certificate which we should both have signed. In fact this was "hidden" at the back of the book of documents which come with an "approved pre-owned" vehicle. Neither was the preparation check certificate signed.
Don't ask me to name the dealership, as I don't think it would be right to do so. They, as far as I'm concerned done the right & fair thing by offering to replace the car for me, with no real haggling or argument. Having said that they probably realised that if it had come to it, they would more than likely have lost if I had been forced in to going through the courts with an action under the Sale Of Goods Act, etc., which I boned up on just in case.
Now for the question. They are still trying to find another car me, & my inclination is to possibly to go for a 250 auto. The more I drive them the more I find that I prefer them to the diesel, and it does seem to be a fairly general opinion in the forum. The question I have is one of economics, as I don't do a lot of mileage, about 9k per year, a high proportion of which is short/town driving. There aren't many motorways round here, & not much dual carriageway either.
With a 250 am I likely to get better consumption than I did with my old Volvo S60, (the official consumption figures are more or less the same), which averaged 30mpg overall, and could more or less stretch to 35mpg on a good long rung, using motorways etc?
Thanks for your patience & tenacity for sticking with me to the end & I would appreciate your views.
(Not "silly prat" – I've already looked in the mirror & said that! ).
Boothby Coggles