beerthirty

Came across a 2010 Lexus HS 250h at a nearby dealership that has piqued my interest. At first blush, it seems a tad overpriced, but this current market is crazy so maybe not. Thanks to other threads on this site, and many excellent comments from Clutchless, I think I've done good research on it. So here's the deets...

153k miles, listed for $10k. It's the only one for sale in the immediate 50 mile radius, so no comps locally. There are a few in a nearby(120 miles) market, and the price is relatively in line with that market, though they are priced lower with more miles.

Both major recalls have been repaired - transaxle and rear suspension issue. The hybrid battery was replaced at 120k miles, and the 12v battery was replaced around 140k miles. It seems to have had regular oil changes. The first 120k miles at Lexus dealerships, and since then at a reputable local indy shop. I set up an account on My Lexus to view the service records, and the prior owner(s) declined a lot of the recommended maintenance items - spark plugs, etc. There were a few transmission flushes in its history. All in all, it seems fairly well cared for, though I'm wondering if the hybrid battery being replaced so soon is cause for concern?

Looks like the car has been at this dealership almost 2 months. Trade-in value on Carfax is in the $3,000s. I don't begrudge dealerships making money, and I have no idea how much they have invested in it, but seems I could get them down a little, no? Looks like they bought it at auction, so they likely have more than the trade-in value invested in it, especially with some minor repairs it looks like they did - bulbs, brake pads, oil change. I'd probably be comfortable paying $10k out the door, which would require them coming off the list price a little. Seems these cars were a lot cheaper a few years ago, but a lot has changed in the used car market.

Thoughts?

Clutchless

The fact that it has a new hybrid battery is not a cause for concern and is in fact a good thing on a a 13 year old car. As is a new 12 volt battery, as they also last about 10 years. Having the transmission/transaxle, etc replaced makes this a potentially great used car. Those are all things you won't have to worry about. Same with brakes as the pads easily last over 100,000 miles depending.

I would change the engine coolant if not done and the hybrid coolant is due now. Maybe ask for those to be done as part of your negotiation. Same with spark plugs. You never know. Or have the indy shop do it all later.

FYI they cannot flush this transmission/transaxle. It is a simple drain and fill like a manual transmission and is easily done in 30 minutes. It only holds about 3 or 4 quarts.

If you can get them to come down on price and I bet you can since they have had it on the lot a couple of months, it could be a nice ride.

I suspect the heat down in AL may have shortened the hybrid battery life. These cars have a cooling vent on the side of the rear seat (driver side rear) that leads to a fan that helps cool the hybrid battery. The HS does not have a filter on the vent, and dust can get in there and reduce the effectiveness of the cooling system, leading to a hotter battery and a shorter life. Later Toyota/Lexus hybrids got a filter to reduce the dust build up. It is not that hard to remove the rear seat and take the duct work apart to clean it and clean the fan. There are youtube videos of other hybrids that are similar. Or a hybrid shop could do it for you.
The spark plugs are very easy to change, I did mine at home in 20 minutes, but I have always done my own car repairs. Any independent shop could easily replace them. You will never have to replace the brakes again if they did all 4 wheels. How are the tires?

I think I found the car and they include a CarFax report that looks good, although it has had 5 owners!
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/a...-bc755b418bce/

beerthirty

Yeah, the 5 owners was kind of surprising. but at least they all seemed to keep up with maintenance on it.

I wasn't sure if some underlying issue could have caused the hybrid battery to go bad. From my understanding these hybrid batteries have a pretty long shelf life. My cousin has an early 00's Prius and has never changed the hybrid battery. But heat would make sense, as the car was originally titled in Florida. Tires look fairly new on it. But it also looks to have had a few alignments in its recent past. That is a bit of a red flag.

Thanks for your insight. I'm thinking this may be a solid choice car for my situation. Daughter just turned 16 and I gave her my 4Runner. Wife drives an RX 350, so we have 2 SUV's for hauling and travel. A little hybrid for around town and work commute makes sense.

Clutchless

That is why we still have the HS250h although we also have the RX350 and a Sienna. It was our commuter car until retirement, and is great for running around town.
I had mine aligned once after hitting a pothole that damaged a tire, again when getting tire. I got it used in 2013 with 21,000 miles. Now its up to 102,300. I replaced the 12 volt battery about 4 years ago.

I think with this 2010 it was a case of the dealer over selling alignments to a gullible customer.

The thing with hybrid brake pads is they last forever, but folks forget to lubricate the caliper slide pins every few years which can lead to them freezing in place and you may have to replace the caliper bracked or whole caliper. It happened to the drivers side rear caliper on my HS a few years after I got it. I just got lazy with its brake maintenance and paid the price.

Let us know if you get it, or one of the others Cars.com listed in Alabama.
There were a few premium models, but their difference is the useless navigation but a better back up camera screen not that this little car really needs it, and bigger wheels. However the 18 inch wheels mean lower sidewalls and they are so low tires get easily damaged. I know, I have a premium with the 18 inch wheels and had several tires damaged from bumps and potholes. I always inflate them to 35 pounds now as protection and they have held up better.

Magellan55

Heck you should get this car and give it to your daughter - it's what I did with mine. Perfect size for a teen to handle / park / etc., and old enough that you won't worry too much about door dings in the high school parking lot.