bobbyc

Hi Sandeep I have tried to answer your questions below based on my knowledge, so really just IMO. 1. Which one is more reliable IS220d or IS250? - I think it is generally accepted that the IS250 is the more reliable of the two. The IS220d has better mpg figures being a diesel, however it has a list of known problems and any one of these could cost a lot of money to fix. With you not doing huge miles IMO the IS250 would be better and you would get approx 24 mpg around town and this can rise to 38 mpg on a decent run on the motorway. The things to bear in mind with the IS250 is that the road tax for the manual is £470 per year but approx £270 for the automatic. I have the manual and am very happy with it, however the reviews of the automatic are also excellent and there is more of them about 2. Would it be OK to buy something that has run around 50-60k? Regardless of the model you chose ensure it has the full lexus service history and don't be afraid to call the lexus branch who did the work to get additional information. These are excellent cars, however that they do need to be maintained in order to run well. If it has a FLSH then 50 - 60k is no issue at all. Bear in mind that there is a "large" service due at 60k and this can cost about £600, so if any cars you view are around this figure ensure this service has been done. 3. The service interval is 10k kms? Yes 10k miles or every 12 months 4. I am expecting 1 service a year costing 300-400, is that realistic? This should be fine "most" years, but if any of the large services are due you could pay more than this. 5. Any particular things to look out for while viewing? Can't really comment on the 220d, however on the 250 ensure that the engine runs smooth and there is no jumping of the revs in idle. These have been known to have issues with carbon build up, although this is mostly in the US. The car should be very smooth and quiet in any gear, so listen for rattles or unusually noises. Ensure all the electrics work on every instrument (windows, fans, a/c). And then just the usually stuff you would look for on any car. These are very well build and generally trouble free, however they can be expensive to fix so getting an idea of how well looked after it has been is important. The IS250 is also tuned to run of premium petrol so factor this into your thinking if you are looking to buy on.

Hi Colin Have a read through the comments on the forum about the IS220d, by all account it was not lexus's finest hour. However there are a lot of IS220d owners on the forum who love there cars and have had years of enjoyment from them, but there are issues that you should be aware of before purchasing one. As with all Lexus ensure it has a full dealer service history and any recalls have been done, also ask if there has been any issues with the engine, dpf, dual mass flywheel etc. I am sure some of the 220d owners will be able to provide you with more detailed information but there is mountains of information on the forum if you have some time to look through it. Cheers Bobby

Lexus Glasgow use Castrol 5w30 when my car was in for a service in February

I would agree with Stu, Lexus are clearly trying to take away buyers from the German car makers. However without the CT they are missing a large section of the market because Audi, BMW and Merc all have a car in this bracket and it is clearly about offering choice to protential Lexus buyers. With that in mind the CT needs to be build to the same standards as all the other cars in the range or the hard work which Lexus has done building it brand gets destroyed. IMO I think Lexus needs to expand it range a bit, in particular in relation to the engine range. It appears they have had there fingers burnt with the IS220d and are now focusing on hybirds, which is likely a very good move, because Toyota and Lexus are at the forefront of this techniology and are right to focus on what they are good at. When you remove the MPG argument diesels no longer seems such a good option when compared to a petrol. However the hybird clearly gives the best of both worlds and is likely the way to go. I had a test drive of the IS300h and was very impressed with the hybird function and I am sure the CT is no different.

Hi Peter Have you considered paying for a Parker valuation?. I had a very similar issue when my Mazda 6 sport was written off and they could not find any suitable examples within a set distance. When I spoke to them they advised that one of there vaulation methods was autotrader etc and also Parkers guides. Therefore I paid £3.50 approx for a vaulation and this showed the car was worth more than the insurance company claimed. I emailed them back with the vaulation and told them I wanted more money because I could not replace the car for the money they were offering. They came back and met me in the middle with the price (which I had already suspected they would do because I had asked for more than I paid for the car 9 months earlier). In the end I was only down about £100 on the price I paid and also had the exceed deducted. This was with Hastings Direct. Something else you could consider is saying to the insurance company that they can find you a suitable replacement. I have never tried this but I have heard of it happening.

I use this function to play spotify via my HTC one and you do still need to change the tracks etc from the phone. It does not show the information on the display. You also need to select the AUX mode on the stereo the same way you would select FM radio etc.

I think you need to put the cable into the AUX socket for your HTC to work. This is a male to male cable and goes into the headphone socket on the phone and the AUX socket in the car. It should then play via your stereo fine. (well mines does but I do have the ML system)

Vauxhall Vectra Mazda 6 sport Lexus IS250

Did you get to the bottom of this yet?

Welcome to the club

Hi My wife has this problem with a Mini Cooper and it is driving me up the walls. I suspect it is ill fitting brake pads which have been replaced in the car. As mentioned above the squeaking goes away when the brake is pressed. The Mini had new brake pads and discs all round when she brought it, but I suspect it is not the correct parts and the pads are moving about when she is driving. It is identifcal to what you have descripted and my mate who is a mechanic suspects this, although it will need to go up in the air and have the wheels removed to be sure. I would be very keen to hear everyone else opinion on this. Because as you say it drives you insane.

Hi James Can you please give a little more detail. Where does the grinding come from?, are your pressing the clutch or anything?, when does it go away?. The more information the better

Welcome Andy and I am sure you will find it useful

Welcome to the forum Gerald and it is great to hear you are enjoying your new car. I had an IS300h as a courtesy car a couple of weeks back and I was also very impressed.

Hi Ali, I have an IS250 so I am not where near an expert on the IS220d, but this sounds like the Dual Mass Flywheel. The fact it is making an noise in idle and the gears are a little notchy, implies to me that the DMF could be on the way out because it is an known issue. If possible I would take it back to the seller and get them to either fix it or give you your money back. From reading similar threads on the forum if it is the DMF it is a very expensive fix. Hopefully I am wrong and someone who has a IS220d can confirm this Bobby

Welcome to the club and it looks like you have brought a lovely car. Your post don't say where you are based!

IMO The Ford Shelby GT500 1967. It is no where near as elegant as the other cars mentioned but just looks like it is build for driving. (although being a big USA muscle car I bet it is great in a straight line and awful going round corners, also it is a Ford so you would need to build up a great relationship with the garage). However if I could have any car this would be it. Closely followed by an Ferrari 250 GT California Spider and the Aston Martin DB5. In the meantime (until the lottery comes up) I am more than happy with my IS250 SE

Welcome Daniel and I am sure you will find the forum useful. If you uncle has a LFA he is a very very lucky man because they cost about £200k secondhand

Welcome stefano and I hope you enjoy the club. You are right that everyone else does not know what they are missing Bobby

First car was a Vauxhall Vectra 1.8. Most basis car in the world but other than odds and end never caused me many problems and I certainly got my money worth out of it and it is still running today. Moved onto a Mazda 6 sport. Lovely car and very high spec. Did not notice how basis the Vectra was until I got this. Great car to drive and was ideal for the family. Unfortuantely it hit black ice in December and was written off. Then brought the Lexus Is250 because I had always liked them. This is a step up from the Mazda which I did consider very good, however the Lexus is more refined and feels very well build. So far more than happy with this car and hopeful will have for many years. Also on Saturday my wife is going to pick up a Mini Cooper so I will be playing about in that "go kart" over the next few months.

As Dave said. If you are a member of a breakdown service get them to look at it first. It certainly sounds like a battery issue but you need to make sure before you are out of pocket £89.

Hi Dave That is the plan I have now agreed and it also covers 2 years MOT's. However the original quote from Lexus Glasgow for a normal 3 year service plan for my car was £1071!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. As discussed this did not include much more than I am getting from the essential plan. Also just checked can get 5 litres of super long life toyota coolant from ebay for £34.

What a list of work that is Chris it must have cost a fortune and taken ages

Yes it likely is they are at it although my car would have became 10 year old during the duration of the plan. I still don't believe for 1 minute it is £180 to change coolant. Good coolant is about £30 for 5 litres and it cannot take more than an 1 hour to change it. So even at £100 per hour for labour they are still well short of that figure. You need to remember that my car had the full major 60K service done in Nov 2012 at Lexus Carlisle and only did another 7K before I got it the interim service on Friday,. Therefore although the next service is a full service it is not one of the huge one's (60K, 120K etc), so the quote did not include spark plugs or a lot of the other items which the really big services deal with. The fact they could not back up their figures said a lot and I am more than comfortable that the Lexus essential plan will cover what I need and if there are any other things like coolant or diff oil then I will get them seperately. Most of the cost of the service plans are made up with labour costs so the dealers have a lot of leeway when agreeing the price. However it was quite clear the price quoted was the price it was going to be. I think if you live in an area of the country where there are a few Lexus dealers it seems to be easy to play them off, however in Scotland it is Glasgow or Edinburgh (maybe Aberdeen as well, although I would be quicker going to Cheshire to get it done than there) and they are sister dealerships so the price at both is the same according to what Lexus Edinburgh told me. However I have been into Edinburgh before and prefer the setup (although Glasgow were friendly) so I will take my custom to Edinburgh because it does not put me out that much.

Hi Geoff Your deal does suit very reasonable considering what is included, the orignal quote I got from Glasgow was a disgrace and the fact they could not even back up the costs made it worse. At the end of the day they are all out to make money, however they should know that people do not have a bottomless pit of money and as it turns out my car will still be serviced by Lexus, although it will be Edinburgh after this nonsense.