HoodRich

Thanks for the vote of confidence guys.... Its gonna be hard to fall asleep tonight or focus at work tomorrow!

One more sleep to pick up the car. Took a bit of a while as they ended up ordering a new rear blind and replacing it (The metal arms on the old one were a bit bent) Excited and nervous about it up all the same time........

Dangrant - thanks man. Appreciate the comment. Glad to say I picked up my car and it's got a clean bill of health. The dealership recommended that I replace the radiator cap as it was losing a bit of pressure. Other than that, all is well with the car. Very happy about that! She is approaching 100000kms... Just 200kms to go...

Congrats on the purchase of such an awesome example of an IS. That is super-low mileage - you're quite lucky to have found it.

Dropped off the car for an oil-change service at Lexus. Hope all is ok with the car....

Toffee_pie - yes, the service book has been stamped by the lexus dealer for each service. No services were skipped, but some were done beyond 12 months, but never beyond 15000km. Is200Newbie - will definitely get the calipers checked out. Thanks for the advice!

Great - thanks a mil - I'll pick up a set at a local battery store in my area. Regarding the service, hopefully it gets less expensive thereafter. I can't believe that in a few days, I might own two of my dream cars.....

Normski - thanks a mil for the all the time taken to help out - appreciated. So, I called the dealer today. No the "big spark plug" service has not been done ......the previous owner didnt always do the "service it every 12 months thing" and instead serviced it only when the mileage has exceeded 150000km. The longest it went without a service was a 16 month stretch once. I asked the Service Department if this is a problem and they said no, the technicians would have noted if the oil was too sludgy but there was nothing like that recorded. The car also has no additional work done, other than the normal servicing every 15000km. I asked if there were any recalls for this model in SA, and was told that in 2010 there was a recall to change the "fuel pressure gasket" and this car was brought in for that job. Other than that, it all seems to be good with this car. The "big spark plug service" is going to cost R6500 (about 300 GBP)....... Its a lot of money, so I gotta take this into account regarding the purchase price.

Hey guys, Thanks to all of your for your contributions on this thread, Appreciated! Normski - I will call my local Lexus dealer and find out what the cost of the 90000km (~60000 miles) service is. I checked the service book and the car has been serviced at the same dealership which I use to service my IS200.

Another question from me.... Does the sat Nav require a DVD to be inserted? I ask the question because there was no DVD inserted and I didn't test the navigation. Just turned it on to see if it comes on. Time was limited as the dealer is quite far from work and I went during my lunch break...

Well, the salesman called me back to say everything is working, so I guess I didnt do something right when I tried it. It was just a push-button on the right of the steering (like you mentioned it is in the UK) I am in South Africa ;-) This particular model is called an "IS 250 SE" in this part of the planet. ;-)

Some pics I took yesterday........

Just received an email from the salesman: He says the headlamp washers are working (I must have been doing something wrong when I tested?? How do you use it? Do the wipers have to be switched on or something??) - There is a small windscreen chip which they will repair. - They will also fix up the rear shade. - He tested the rear camera for me and says its working. So, in short, the car is as good mechanically as it looks. I could not find a single fault on the body after inspecting twice for 15-20 mins each time...no repair work at all. I think I'm going to take it. Hope I'm doing the right thing.

Hey Normski/Steve Thanks so much for the detailed info - very much appreciated. So, I went to see the car again today. Took it for a much longer drive and also took it out on the higway for a more spirited drive. My observations : 1) The car is really in mint condition - both inside and out (and I'm very fussy about stuff like that) 2) I tested every single feature on the car....all work 100% except a) the rear shade is stuck in the UP position (pressing the button does nothing) b) The front headlamp washes do not seem to work (pressing the button does nothing) 3) I forgot to test the Reverse Cam, but sent the dealer an email to test it for me and let me know if it works (probably does) The car is being sold by a recognised dealer, but not a Lexus dealer.... So a step up from a private deal I guess, but not as good as buying from it Lexus itself. It seems the salesman cannot answer half my questions and I had to resort to the manual. Not very re-assuring to be honest. The car, however, has a full service history with Lexus. So thats all good. Spare Key Fob is available as wel, as are the service books and manuals. The car was really awesome to drive. Not a single rattle....it is dead-quiet with the windows closed. I was expecting a bit of dashboard rattle, but there was none. The leather looks brand new. I have asked the salesman to get the rear shade and the headlamp washers sorted out...he said he will speak to his manager/the owner. I am waiting for his response on that.

Hi guys, I have my eye on a used IS250 SE. Its a pearl white 2008 model with 83000kms (~52000 miles) and has the navigation, rear camera, auto with paddle shift, Mark Levinson sound etc. The car is in absolute mint condition was owned by one oldish guy and has a full service history at the Lexus dealerships. It is in such nice condition that it is hard to believe it is an 8 year old car. I took it for a drive yesterday, and everything seemed absolutely perfect. Everything works fine except that the rear shade blinds are up and pressing the "Shade" button wont make it go down. Seems to be broken. Any idea what it could be? I've read the IS250 common problems thread. How does one tell if the calipers are seized? Aside from that; anything else I should look out for? Buying this car is quite a bold step for me and I need all the advice I can get on what to check. Are these anywhere near as reliable as the Gen1 IS200? I have one and although its 16 years old, its never given me a day's trouble. Thanks in advance

Thanks for all the responses guys. Given my financial situation, I've decided to go for an IS and might even have found a pretty clean one. I have additional questions regarding what to look out for, but will post those in the IS250 sub-forum.

Thanks for the info. I will probably do all servicing at the Lexus dealer......

Thanks for the input - that's what's bothering me......the maintenance costs....

Hi All, I own a 2000 IS200 for the past 3 years. Although I dont use it much (hate driving it in traffic), its proven to be an awesome reliable car. I am considering buying another Lexus.......either a 2007/2008 GS300 or a 2007/2008 IS250. I love both cars and cannot decide which one I should get next. The GS is not as sporty looking as the IS, but for some reason, I have been perving over the Gen3 GS for a while. Is either of the cars any less reliable than the other? If buying either, could you guys possibly give me any pointers as to what I should look at for? Common issues and stuff like that. Any input would be appreciated.

Hey Yuen. Thanks a lot for that. I'll have a look for it when I clean the car this weekend..... ;-)

Hi Yuen, Thank you very much for the response - appreciated.

....another year has rolled by and I'm still so happy with this car..... ;-)

Hi guys, Need advice regarding a service I need to do on my car. I"m not sure if I should just do an oil-change, or the whole 9 yards. The car is a 2000 model IS200 which I bought in April 2013, quick history since I have the car. April 2013 (53000 miles) Bought the car and did the following Cambelt replacement Spark Plugs New Oil + oil pfilter Petrol Filter Air Filter Brakes Shocks April 2014 (57200 Miles) Oil Change + Oil Filter New Coil Packs (one of the coil packs was faulty) Now (60200 Miles) Do I just need to change oil + oil filter again or should I change the petrol filter, air filer, spark plugs, since they were last changed 2 years ago (and 7000 miles ago)? I need advice on this one cos I get the Lexus Dealer to do my maintenance and its quite costly! Thanks

I had a Powerflex poly bushes fitted on my Polo 9N3 a few years ago. It made a great difference to the handling, but did make things a bit bumpy. That could have been compounded by the fact that I had a Koni STR suspension kit as well. My affordability has changed since I got kids, but I would spend the money on them for my IS if was still a bachelor ;-)

300k miles...wow...that is certainly an achievement. Congratulations! Chris - those pics of the ball joint failure are scary! Are there any symptoms or warning signs that one would need to replace those? My Is200 has done 60000 miles but is now 15 years old. Should I be concerned?