Razor61

Thank you for the offer, how 'battered' are they and are they worth refurbing?

Thank you, I like them as well👍 easier to clean I think as well. Not seen many ISS250's with that design and at first I thought they may have been from another model but I think they were an option and not people people chose them.

I've just purchased a 2010 IS250 which has a set of 18 inch staggered alloys, front 225/40/18 and rear 255/40/18 - 8J front and 8.5J rear I think. Picture of the alloy type is below and I haven't seen many IS's with them. I always like to have a spare set of alloys if possible but I don't think I will find a set of the same alloys anytime soon. I'll have more luck finding a set of 17 inch alloys to use or a set of 18 inch alloys taken from the later IS models, i.e. IS300H (I've seen a set for sale) I presume a set of 17 inch alloys from an IS250 would be ok? But does anyone know if the IS300H 18 inch alloys are ok to use. As far as I'm aware the PCD is the same at 5x114.3, the bore is the same at 60.1 and wondered if anyone could tell me if the wheels from an IS300H would be ok on a 2010 IS250?

Cheers, I will post some pics and it would be good to meet up. it was Wolverhampton, the only dealer that had any in stock and they had 4 of them. They had one at £4995 but no pictures, when I inquired it had been sold so left with 3. If you look on the website it will probably be obvious which one I bought😉

Thanks Linas, I would have been happy with it I’m sure but the search is over and I’ve bought a silver 2010 IS250 SE-I from Lexus. Quite a bit more money but 3 years Warranty, facelift model, full 12 months MOT, good history, full service done before I get it, scratches etc sorted, front alloys refurbished, 2 year service plan. No ML, auto dimming mirrors, memory seats though. I’d had enough of trawling through EBay, auto trader and other sites so looked on the Lexus website and sorted one out today. Job done and should be 3 years peace of mind and I’ll enjoy the car. I had the choice of 3 x IS250’s, light metallic blue 2010 SE-L 40k miles but the most expensive, 2008 SE-L in black with perfect service history and 40k miles which was £2,200 cheaper, and the one I bought with double the mileage and overall was the cheapest but the cost and mileage weren’t the main factors. There was something about the black one I didn’t like, it just didn’t do it for me and maybe it was the vane style alloys but the one I bought did. The most expensive one was the best of the 3 and ticked all the boxes but it ended up at £10,500 with the extended warranty and service plan as the dealer didn’t have any profit in the car to play with so that was a step too far. I would like an auto dimming rear view mirror and door mirrors so I’ll investigate whether they can be retro fitted, if they can then great and if not then it’s not the end of the world😀 Thanks for everyone’s input and advice.

The listing ended this afternoon, it’s the third time it’s been listed. Started at £4199 I think then reduced down to £3999 in the last listing.

Thanks for the info and advice. I looked at the car this afternoon and it is a very good example so I made my offer and gave my reasons why, it wasn’t accepted so increased it to the highest I was prepared to pay which I think was very fair and that offer was declined. So on with the search. regarding SE-L v this SE, I originally wanted an SE-L with everything including memory seats and ruled out an SE but this particular SE has most of what I want. Compared to what most of the SE-L’s have, it doesn’t have memory seats, parking sensors (but does have reversing camera), auto dimming rear view mirror and door mirrors, rear blind (not bothered), hid headlights and washers. I think that’s it unless someone can correct me. The important things I wanted were the multimedia stuff, mark levinson, light leather interior, automatic, well maintained with good MOT and dealer history which it has. If we could have reached an agreement I would have been very happy with the car but it was not to be. Regarding contacting Lexus UK about the history of the car I didn’t get detailed service history, just where it was purchased from, where it was serviced and what years. For detailed service history I would need to contact the Lexus dealer direct via email which I did for another car but haven’t had a reply yet.

I live 25 miles away from work so it’s ‘local’ to work and you tend to only notice other cars the same as you have. I definitely won’t be buying it because it’s close by, if it is a good one then it’s a bonus. I’ve had my fair share of travelling to view cars only to find they are not as described but that’s part of the process. A few months ago I travelled 250 miles in driving rain, stayed over night, looked at a good 2003 IS200 the next morning, bought it and travelled 250 miles back home in driving rain. Not having to do that again would be a welcome change😀

I said it was a car I’m looking at purchasing, they can’t give details of what’s been done but they will transfer you to the relevant dealer to obtain the detail. The car is in an area very close to work which I drive through every day to and from work, I have been looking at cars hours away so if the car is as described it’s a bonus not having to travel miles to see and buy.

Found the car below for sale 15 mins away from work which I'm looking at tomorrow afternoon. I've checked with Lexus UK and they tell me it's been serviced at Lexus Croydon from new until a couple of years ago then Lexus Liverpool twice and the last service is missing from Lexus system but the vendor tells me it has been serviced at an independent garage. Not an SE-L which I wanted but an SE with extras, well maintained, in excellent condition and drives as it should. I'll find out if all that's true tomorrow. It has parking camera but not parking sensors, satnav, Mark Levinson audio, 2 keys, heated/cooling seats. Be interested to see what you think and if you think it has most of the desirable stuff. Lexus IS 250 SE https://ebay.us/T68iTt

That is exactly what I planned to do next year and purchased everything needed whilst still available (including the CARRIER SUB-ASSY's - 42304 and 42305 on the diagram) all OEM Toyota/Lexus parts. This won't be happening as I no longer have the car and all the parts I accumulated are now for sale, apart from the rear UCA's which I sold last week. Some bits are listed separately and there is a list of everything in another post in the Buy and Sell parts forum. It's not a sales pitch and I'm not desperate to sell them, just wanted to let you know in case you were not aware.

Thanks Dave it does look ok. Not my ideal colour but it has everything that I want and if I wait for the ideal colour I’ll probably be waiting forever. I have a list of the normal things to check, service history, check all electrics work, front/rear discs/pads/callipers and if they need doing it’s a bargaining point, 2 x keys, didn’t know about the airbag recall so will ask about it. I’ll give it a full service straight away anyway if I buy it unless it’s all just been done by Lexus and I can verify it. Full service kit from LPD is about £190 including delivery, not worried about doing the service itself at all but the cost of replacing suspension components if worn can soon add up even when doing the work yourself but at 63,000 things should hopefully be reasonably good. Rust I hope shouldn’t be an issue. If there is anything else generally or specific I need to check then please let me know.

Found a 63,000 miles example, link below, and it’s very close to me. What do you reckon? it looks good to me and MOT history is pretty good as well. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202011045782156?atmobcid=soc4

Ah, I see. Thanks and now I know what to look for.👍

Thanks Linas, very good information and very objective. What you have said is what I normally do when buying a car. The reason I initially looked at the low mileage IS250 examples is because I didn’t have much knowledge about the IS250 and how it stands up to the mileage. Now that I know it’s not really an issue I’ll widen my search to include newer well maintained higher mileage examples.

I've searched and I can't find anything (apart from this topic), I may be doing something stupid but I don't think so.

You are correct, that was my car👍 There are a lot of good and new parts on the car, boot seal was a new Lexus one, antennae was new, 2 x new front tyres, the audio system worked fine, new timing belt and water pump a year ago, new oem front discs, new track rod ends, new drop links all round last year, new arb bushes all round last year, front strut rod bushes last year, new ac compressor, alloys in good nick and coated with Gtechiq stuff. The list is endless........................😭

Thanks Texas, I did notice the 17k one didn't have the infotainment which was on my 'must have' list but it's only done 17k......and is very close to where I live. I didn't know the 40k one doesn't have ACC, how can you tell from the pictures? I prefer the light interior to be honest and most of the time it will be me driving. My 'favourite' one was the one for sale by South West Lexus, the interior is like new and I really like it but then I saw the F-Sport in Pearl White............yes it's got a black interior, done a lot more miles but I really like the colour and it's a newer model. So, a bit of thinking to do and I will do a search and read up on South West Lexus😉 Also I know the prices are at the top end, probably because of the mileage, but from what I can gather higher mileage is not an issue. For a higher or high ish mileage example you cut £8k in half or less.

All good advice thanks.

I bit the bullet and replaced the timing belt, water pump, tensioner and idler pulley a few weeks ago. I did get a quote from Lexus to replace the timing belt and water pump, £660 plus another £160 quid for the tensioner and pulley. So I purchased the water pump, tensioner, idler pulley and arb bushes (while I was at it) from Amayama. Timing belt and a complete service kit from LPD. I forgot to order the thermostat and gasket but I have now ordered it and will fit it when it arrives. Timing belt had been replaced but it needed doing because it was well over 6 years iirc. I did enlist some help from a mechanic round the corner from where I live, I wanted to do the whole thing myself but chickened out a bit😄 This is my experience of doing it after reading as much I could on the internet and watching YouTube videos. I've probably forgot a few steps so please don't use it as a definitive guide. Started as soon as got light on a Saturday (I was off work all the week after just in case I screwed up big style), put the car on my new Rhino Ramps, removed the undertray, air intake etc, spark plugs, drained the coolant, removed the radiator, removed the v belts, upper timing belt cover, power steering pump (bottom bolt on the bracket took a bit of removing as the coolant had leaked to this area and rusted it) and a few other bits like water pump pulley ready to remove the crank pulley and lower timing cover. Set the crankshaft pulley to the timing mark. I couldn't get in with my impact gun to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt and I didn't want to use the 'breaker bar wedged on the ground and turn the engine' method so I was a bit stuck. I should have thought about this before hand. This was the point where I went to see the friendly mechanic round the corner, explained the situation and he came to have a look and brought with him a lump hammer and a 'Powerbar crankshaft bolt removal tool'. I did wonder how the 'Powerbar crankshaft bolt removal tool' was going to help/work, if you don't know about these (as I didn't) it's worth looking on the internet. He took one look and said that removing the crankshaft pulley bolt will be a piece of cake. 2 mins later the bolt was off and the pulley removed with a bit of tapping and levering. Yipee, that saved my bacon and after a suitable payment I asked him if he wouldn't mind checking the timing etc and if I've done everything correct once I'd finished, he said 'no problem, by the way the water pump is leaking'. I didn't know it needed replacing until I took the upper timing cover off but I had bought a new one to fit anyway. So on with the job, removed lower timing belt cover, marked up the crank and camshaft as per instructions and removed timing belt, tensioner and idler pulley and water pump. Cleaned the water pump area, fitted new water pump and gasket, pulley, power steering pump and idler pulley. Now it was time to install the timing belt, I started doing it but chickened out because I wasn't sure about the correct way to fit it and then install the tensioner so it was all lined/timed up and tensioned correctly. Back to my friendly mechanic..............I explained the timing belt was ready to fit and he said 'did you chicken out?' and I said 'oh yes!' 😁 He locked up the garage/unit and we walked round the corner to my house and after a bit of messing about and a coffee, watching a youtube video and reading the 'manual' we got the timing belt on and pulled the pin on the tensioner, then rotated the engine a few times to make sure the timing was all correct. When a YouTube video or instructions say 'fit new timing belt, tensioner and remove the pin', it's not quite that easy (I'm reasonably sure I could do it next time now though) All looked well so I continued to re assemble everything (and fit new spark plugs), by this time it was around 2pm iirc and I had intended to get as much done as I could and then carry on the next day. But at around 4pm I'd got to the point of re filling the coolant so just carried on and finished it but didn't re fit the undertray as I needed to do an oil and filter change the nest day. Now for the big test of starting the engine and finding out if we had done everything correct, put the key in and turned.........................it fired up and ran fine. Off the ramps and took it for a run with the heater on full heat to get the coolant running round and system bled. That was a big relief, gave myself a pat on the back and bought the mechanic a bottle of nice whisky a few days later to thank him again. I had to top up the coolant a couple of times after but once it settled down the level stayed on max when checking in the morning when cold.

👍

I'm looking for a good IS250 SE-L or maybe an F-Sport and would like some advice if possible please on the few IS250's I've found for sale which meet my criteria. I have searched this forum and others to find out the main things to look for and from what I've read the main things (apart from the general stuff for any car like 'does everything work') are: seized callipers, crust around coolant expansion tank, water pump?, exhaust corrosion. I recently purchased an IS200 as a second car/car for the Mrs (I did a topic on this) and at the time I had a 1996 Mk3 LS400 which I spent a lot of time and a fair bit of money to get it in the best condition and working as it should. Unfortunately a few weeks a go I had an accident in the LS400 and it's been written off, I'm not going to buy another LS400 because I don't want to go through all the work, time, effort and money again getting another one to the same standard. Been there, done it, got the T shirt and everything else that goes with it. I do want another Lexus though and have decided on a good IS250 auto with all the options and features possible is probably the best option for me. I spent a year working on the LS400 so I now want something that I can run, enjoy driving, is fairly quick, comfortable and carry out normal maintenance. I did consider a GS430 but I don't want another big car because the Mrs will not drive it so it's an IS250 plus the IS250 uses a timing chain rather than a timing belt which is one less thing to be concerned about. So after all that, below are the cars I have found and I'd be interested in what people think and would also be grateful for any advice as I'm not familiar with the Mk2/Phase 2 Lexus IS. Links to the cars I've shortlisted: Lexus IS250 F Sport 20th anniversary https://ebay.us/sCQ0cS This is very close to where I live but doesn't have SatNav - 2007 Lexus IS 0.0 250 SE-L 4d 204 BHP Auto Saloon Petrol Automatic https://ebay.us/9Hk1C5 LEXUS IS 250 SE-L VVTI AUTO SALOON VERY LOW MILEAGE FULL SERVICE HISTORY https://ebay.us/Od2hQi Lexus IS 250 2007 (57 reg) 2.5 SE-L 4dr https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011146106800?sort=mileage&advertising-location=at_cars&price-from=6000&include-delivery-option=on&transmission=Automatic&seller-type=trade&model=IS 250&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&radius=1500&make=LEXUS&postcode=bb33jn&year-to=2010&price-to=8000&year-from=2007&page=1

Thanks John, still don’t know what happened but such is life I suppose. There is worse things happening in the world at the moment.

Cheers, lucky is was early in the morning so little traffic and could have been worse. My LS400 ownership is at an end after 12 months but was enjoyable, shame for the car as it was a good example (after all the work I did).

Yep and £100 plus delivery from LPD. I replaced it my LS400 (soon to be ex LS400) and it cured the leak into the wheel well. Why 'soon to be ex LS400' you may think, well I had an accident in the LS near work yesterday morning and it will be a write off....................I had a spin on an uphill motorway entry slip road and ended up front first into a barrier. Plenty of damage to the front and it was recovered to be assessed but I know what the outcome will be. I have no idea how it happened as I was going 25-30 mph max on entry to the slip road and then suddenly big spin and crunch. Quite a few people at work said the particular motorway round about and slip roads where I had the accident are notorious for being very slippy and especially when wet, apparently because it's a busy junction for HGV's there is always oil and diesel knocking about on the road surface. Typical, it wasn't my normal way to work and I only went that way to avoid a traffic jam on the M62. Anyhow, only damage done to the car and not me so onwards and upwards. I plan to look for a good IS300 sport cross or saloon if I can find one that is.