I found this car around at a local dealer and to me its a perfect match for my wife and I. This will be a daily driver and will be replacing a Miata. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

What I was looking for:

-Around $15k
-4 Door
-AWD
-Sporty but not over the top, just not completely boring.
-Comfortable
-About 25mpg or better
-Basically something I would enjoy everyday I drive it, like I am with my Miata.

Concerns are:

-This would be my first Lexus, hell my first luxury car, what is maintenance like on these? (I've only owned a Integra, CRX, Miata, Neon (wife drove daily until I got her a Outback)

-Car drove great both in sport mode (I used the paddle shifters not the ****) and normal auto. What should I do on the next test drive to see if it has any flaws I did not find the first time?

-Was rear-ended back in 07 which caused front-end and rear-end damage, I will be going back today possibly and looking at it more closely. What should I look for?

-120k miles on the car (I was told it was driven by an older lady who made a 120 mile round trip daily) If I keep up the regular maintenance will this car last me the next 5 years or so?

-I've read a few places which stated these cars were recalled twice (should I call Lexus and give them the VIN and see if its had all the problems corrected?)

-Any other information that I did not cover, please feel free to help me out.

 

having an accident is enough for me to say no. Keep looking you can find a accident with less mileage for only a few grand more

 

Start here: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-s...is-models.html. Go to Lexus.com and get the dealer service history.

Maintenance is minimal. Some people lament how outrageous maintenance is on luxury cars, but 1) that applies more to the Germans and 2) it's only outrageous if you go to the dealer for things you shouldn't.

FIRST thing to know: NEVER go to the dealer and ask for the Xk mile service. If you go in and ask for the 35k mile service, for example, they'll say it costs $400. However, if you check your scheduled maintenance guide, the only thing you need to do at 35k miles is an oil change, which costs $50. They'll say the rest of the time and money goes toward checks, tests, road test, etc, but it's all BS. So when you need service, only ask for the specific things you need done.

Someone else can chime in here, and it's in your scheduled maintenance guide, but I believe it's pretty much just:

Oil changes every 5k ($50 at dealer)
Brake fluid flush every 30k ($100 at dealer)
Spark plugs every 60k (6 spark plugs for $13 each at Sewell online, dealer labor varies)
Tire rotations every 5k maybe but this isn't as important and is impossible with staggered tires (don't know if the 250 has them)

Check the above thread for issues to look out for on your next test drive. Also note that "sport" mode is not a manual in any sense. It's a top-gear limiter, not a manual transmission. There are tons of threads that talk about this, and Kurtz will likely chime in here, but basically what you're doing when you're paddling up and down is telling the car what the top gear is that the car can use, NOT what gear to use. The difference can be felt like this: if you paddle the car into 4th gear, it will still use gears 1-4 as it sees fit, it just won't go above 4. This is different from a true paddle-shift manual (like the IS-F) where if you put it in 4, it stays in gear 4.

Unless you're a mechanic, your looking at it means nothing. Take it to a different Lexus dealer and get a pre-purchase inspection. It'll cost one hour's labor (probably $120) and they'll check over everything on the car. This is a good idea before buying any car, but particularly one with previous accident damage. You might also want to have them or an independent shop take off both front and rear bumpers to assess how well (or poorly) the damage was repaired.

That's a lot of miles. These cars are reliable, and with regular maintenance it's likely you'll be fine, but remember that you're looking at a Lexus. You'll be out of all warranties of course, so if at 160k miles it needs a water pump, for example, or a new alternator, unless you're a DIYer or have a mechanic friend, it's going to be expensive. Everything on this car is expensive, particularly replacement parts.

Has it had a new water pump? That seems to be common around 100-120k miles.

There are threads on here of people with 250k on their 2IS, so it definitely can last that long, it just depends on how well it's maintained and partially luck.

When you take it to a Lexus dealer to get a pre purchase inspection, ask them to check for any open recalls. The dealer service history should also note this.

Finally, a note on the price/car. I really don't think this is a great deal. It's the oldest model year available of the IS250, it's only a 250, it's got 120k miles, and it's been in a serious accident with both front and rear end damage. $15k does not seem like a great deal. I checked Autotrader recently for another poster and was seeing 250s in the mid- to high-teens that had accident damage reported but they were at half or 2/3 the mileage this one has. $15k seems extremely high for a car with such extensive previous accident history AND such high mileage.

Threads like this come up fairly frequently, with people on a tight budget looking at a 2IS for only $10-15k with 120k+ mileage. Keep in mind that $15k will buy quite a few new cars, as well as a plethora of lightly used, extremely reliable cars like Accords, etc. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, but if you're stretching to get to the $15k purchase price, what's going to happen when the alternator and water pump unexpectedly go out and it costs $1000+ to repair? Even if you buy parts online and do it yourself it'll be $500+. The cars are reliable, but things happen, and it's more of a risk the higher the mileage you have. So it might be more prudent to put the $15k toward a car with less than half the miles, or one with a bit of warranty left, etc.

 

Calvin loves to write novels on here I swear! LOL

Anyways, since it has been in an accident I'd personally steer away from it. You didn't say how much they wanted for it...but I'd assume it's nothing insanely low, like under $10k.

 

an accident to both front end and back end means that it was quite a blow--a new rear bumper is one thing..that would give me pause.

I own an 06 AWD --one thing to remember--all AWD cars wear tires out more often than their 2WD cousins.

there have been a few recalls but nothing major--the fuel rails, fuel pump check, gas pedal--they ARE solid engines.

I think i will get 150K out of mine but mine has 54K miles, 120K is too much. HOWEVER YOU DID NOT TELL US HOW MUCH THE DEALER WANTED FOR THE CAR--you mentioned your budget number.

Also don't believe the dealer with their little old lady story--isn't it funny how they were all driven by little old ladies, I have tried to buy the car driven by the young teenager--but funny--dealers don't have any of them...


I agree, between the accident and the miles you can negociate on price and go LOW, esp in this economy--I love mine, but like any used car. be careful. $15K is too high for this car, even if fully loaded with nav and the rest.

 

Was is a fender bender? Did airbags deploy? Are there pictures of the damage/s?

I s I t S a l v a g e T i t l e?

 

Thank you for all the information and help.

Apologies on the price I did not put. The dealer is wanting $15k and it is not fully loaded. As for the title I did not ask while I was there, it was a spur of the moment thing when I pulled in to look around and decided that I wanted to test drive it.

I think I'm going to pass on it from the information you all have given me. Honestly I really do not want to go over $15k for my budget since I'm still a "young male" on my insurance and anything with full coverage will rape me. I have to think about insurance+car payment and I want to keep those under $500 total.

I'm looking for something that is not completely boring and that has nice features. I loved that you did not need a key to start the car and how you did not have to worry about someone driving it away if your not near it. I need something better then my Miata this winter since my commute is a lot longer then my last years. (last year I was driving a mile to my work - this year I'm going to be driving 17 miles most of it will be highways)

Once again, thank you for the information and help.

 

I would never buy a car with any accident....never really know the extent of the damage, who repaired it either. I had my car repaired after someone rear ended me. It was never the same. These repair shops can never really get the car back to factory specs, they get within them but not like when it came from Japan. That and the structural integrity is compromised after the initial collision, so what happens in the event of a second accident...your more likely to get injured more because of this.

 

When I was car searching last month there was 2007 with 110k, w/ sport package and NAV for $16,000. I'd spend a little more and get what you want.

 

May need to make a chance since if you're looking for 25mpg and better, then go with RWD since it will be sporty and not have the up to 3 mpg instant impact for AWD.

 

yeah, unless the OP needs to routinely climb steep hills in snow he's better off with RWD and owning a set of snow tires... better mileage and performance 12 months of the year, and it'll do fine in winter with the snows.