Simon_D

I'm just disappointed with the Brand. I had high expectations and they have been completely dashed. It'll do for now but I expected more from Lexus.

I can afford to buy what I want but I set a budget for a second car. I didn't realise only positive comments were welcome here.

As I mentioned earlier, it is a lot cheaper than a similarly specced BMW or Merc. If it weren't they wouldn't sell any.

A decent, similar age/mileage/spec C-Class or 3 Series would cost twice the trade in value of my IS. I'm no fan of German Cars and would always buy Japanese in preference if it made sense. That is why I bought the IS.......... because the price difference made it better value. I'm just not blind to its failings.

:winky:

I'm fine with what I have. It is cheap, if not so cheerful and good enough to get the shopping and take the kids to school.

Couldn't disagree more. Unless they have changed dramatically in the last couple of years, the IS interior is less visually appealing than any of the Germans - this wouldn't matter if it wasn't so shoddily put together. On top of that the brakes aren't up to the job, the engine choice is between an unreliable/uneconomical/agricultural diesel and a gutless V6 petrol. The only saving grace is the excellent auto 'box.

There is less room in the back and the driving experience, while better than the FWD cars is way behind the "3" and the "C".

Yes, not as many as the ubiquitous Germans but the new shape IS has certainly taken off in popularity. I think perhaps that because most of them are in shades of black or grey I used to mistake them for a "3" or an Avensis. I must say that they look quite striking in the metallic red....... at least when they are clean anyway :).

I'd love a 3 but I'm not prepared to compromise on spec and not prepared to pay the going rate for a high spec six pot BMW as a second car. I'm sure this wasn't the original intent of Lexus but the IS conveniently fills the gap between Mondeo/Vectra and "3"/"C" in terms of price, quality and ability.

You could hardly call an IS rare. They're everywhere. I see at least a dozen or so on every journey - however short. I was surprised by this because it is one of those anonymous cars that I had never noticed until I bought one.

I'd have a 3 over an IS any day. The only reason I didn't is price. Cheapness is the only real reason to buy one over a "3" or a "C".

Mine will be locked away in the garage at the first sign of snow. To be honest, it struggles to get up our drive in the wet without the traction control cutting in! We live on a hill and our road is usually littered with abandoned rear wheel drive cars when it snows. Our Subaru makes light work of the conditions - even on summer tyres - but I'm often afraid to drive up to the house because of all the fishtailing cars sliding backwards down the hill.

I was wondering what the title would have been if you had bought an IS250 instead. ;-)

......he'd be able to hear the rattles and creaks better :).

Enjoy, there's plenty to like.

Looks fine to me. Paint a "C", a "3" and an IS the same colour and they are equally anonymous. It is what's under the skin that matters.

Wouldn't it be good if manufactures just held their hand up when endemic problems occur ?

It would but that decision is generally made by the accountants. Cost of fixing/recalling vs cost of doing nothing. Unless there is a safety issue which might result in legal action, doing nothing generally wins - particularly if it results in nervous punters buying more extended warranties ;)! It's not just Lexus - they all do it.

You need a newer car, not just the latest discs to get six digit input unfortunately.

Just out of curiosity..... is there a fix for this problem or are Lexus just replacing with the same parts?

My wife's Saab 9-5 head gasket failed at about 5 years and 50k miles (the turbo was on its way out too but that is another story!) They just replaced the gasket and a few other bits and sent her on her way with a huge bill. It has always amazed me that main dealers see a new gasket as a fix for a blown one without ever considering what caused it to fail in the first place. It seems that the "they all do that sir/madam" is the service managers' panacea.

That Saab was the most unreliable vehicle we have ever owned. We traded it immediately after the head gasket had been "fixed" as unless the root cause had been addressed it would only have gone again in a few miles.

Why are Lexus being congratulated for covering these failures under a very expensive extended warranty? When the Vanos failed on my BMW MCoupe, BMW covered the cost even though it was almost two years out of the original warranty and I had never purchased an extension.

Whoops, I didn't realise that the later models had changed. Thanks for clearing that up.

I find the on/off/volume control, however, to be perfectly placed and easier to use than the steering wheel controls.

You can adjust the Nav volume but you can't set the radio to mute when the Nav system gives instructions.

I thought this was strange too (in a car with a 300W audio system!;)). This and the lack of full postcode input compromise what is otherwise a pretty good system.

I've not noticed this on my 250 but on any other car I've had the traction control light comes on when the traction control cuts in. That is to say that your wheels have to start spinning first before it cuts in. If your car is slipping on the road you would expect the light to come on.

Surely all but the IS-F have the same calipers.

Didn't the base model come with narrower 16" wheels? Surely these would be the best.

Is this the extended warranty that costs £760/year?

So.........if their car does not live up to the reliability hype you are paying for the majority of the costs, if it does they still get £760/year anyway. On top of that they are guaranteed further income because you have to get all work and servicing done with them. I can't fault the business model ;).

I have experience of 5 Lexus Dealers who would never state a "new" sale would exclude interior faults.

Tel

I don't doubt what you say but mine was a low mileage secondhand car. Looking after new customers has built up the Lexus myth via the JD Power surveys but masks the fact that there are fundamental quality issues with the IS. It's not a bad car, just a long way behind the competition.

If you want a decent two to three year old six pot saloon without buying German, I can highly recommend a Subaru Legacy Spec B.

Only a very small percentage of launch 250's had the potential to rattle due to initial design issues with trim clips

I'm sure if this was the case the dealer would have told me that it was just my imagination ;), as it is the line was "interior faults are not covered by your warranty".

The build quality in my opinion is some way behind that of a Honda Accord. The overall feeling is of a car with lots of toys and showroom appeal but rather less substance when you get behind the wheel. If you are getting a cheap secondhand deal then it feels like a lot of car for the money. You'd probably be looked after with a new car though the only reason I can think you'd buy one is if you hadn't tried the alternatives.

I bought my car at 3 years old with 12,000 miles on the clock from a main dealer thinking that it would be a safe bet. BIG mistake!

Don't get too worked up about the six pot engine by the way - it is very smooth but completely gutless.

Mine is a late 2007 car. The rattles are terrible, the driver's seat squeaks and the dealers don't want to know.

I'm sure newer cars are better but there have been some rattly late cars. The dealers will help as long as you still have the opportunity to complete a JD Power form!;)

The whole experience has put me off the brand for good. I tried to give my car to my brother last month and he didn't want it!!

I never switch the a/c off.

If I am in the car on my own or with the kids in the summer I generally have the windows open. It is in the winter that I need it the most for de-misting the car on damp cold days.

I had something similar on my old Subaru. Some grease on the rod as it passed through the dirt seal on the slave cylinder would shut it up for several months.

How quickly do the rear disks wear? Mine look barely worn at 19k miles.

I wish I could say the same for the fronts!

I've done a 700 mile round trip with four of us and it was a bit cramped but, road noise aside, it is a pretty good motorway car. It feels very slow but somehow manages to gather speed sufficiently in most situations. I was pleased to get 32mog from our trip. We normally average 24/25mpg but most of this is in built up areas.

I agree with the comments about the sliding centre box cover. It makes it difficult to run cables to things like dvd players for the kids. I usually keep my ipod in the cup holder when in use. The four digit post code input still drives me mad. It makes it impossible to enter an exact location - particularly when trying to find places while on holiday with the family. Our Subaru has 12v sockets in the back, much more room and full post code input so will always win the holiday transport battle but the IS is nicer to drive when I'm on my own.

Good write up, by the way. I am pleased and frustrated by the car in equal measure but after a recent attempt to get shot of it I've decided to keep it and concentrate on the good bits.