Just-Born Member In Melbourne ...

[Driving4Fun]

Hi everyone.

I was just born into the Lexus family minutes ago.

I'm looking to buy a 2006-2007 IS250 Luxury Sports right now, and have driven a couple, with a couple more on my radar in the next day or two. I LOVE the looks and features of this model range and am trying to get my head in line with my heart. However, the car is a real financial stretch for me and I can't afford to buy 'badly'.

To that end, I'm really keen to get several bits of feedback from you all, as experienced Lexus owners, and would be most grateful if you would take a couple of mninutes to type out a reply to my post.

1) General info about the Lexus brand. I'm aware the reliabilty ratings are great. However, a couple of people in the car trade have spooked me today with horror stories about parts costs IF something does go wrong. e.g. a service manager at a Holden dealership said they are fantastic cars but they had to replace a mirror on a IS250 and it cost them $1500 trade, with retail being $1800. Another story I was told re a cargo blind for a RX330 that was about $1900 or so. A new one for a Holden Captiva is about $450 and for a Falcon or Commodore wagon its about $350.

Those Lexus numbers are truly frightening ... is that typical of parts costs? Please send me you experiences.

2) IS250 owners ... please let me know what servicing costs are between 75K through to 135K (if any of you have gone that far).

3) Again for IS250 owners, what items need to be replaced in that range?

Timing belt due when, and how much?

Can the disc rotors be machined or are they like so many cars nowdays, that they get thrown away at 40-60K and are replaced when the pads get done?! Again, cost info would be really helpful for me.

Any other major and common service items at those distances please?

4) I'm in the southern suburbs of Melbourne. Where should I take it for servicing? L of Brighton is pretty close, but I'm prepared to travel.

Are there any highly respected non-dealership service outlets that specialise in Lexus?

5) How long is the initial factory warranty? Can I assume it is transferrable to the 2nd or 3rd owner?

6) Any other info (positive or negative) that you may care to give ...

If I do buy into the Lexus fraternity, I can't wait to get involved in local forum events and info sharing.

Thanks for reading my post.

Cheers,

John

[Lexus Nerd]

Hi Driving4Fun,

You've raised a lot of questions, but they're all reasonable questions for a car buyer that's new to Lexus. Let's see if I can answer at least some of them, and hopefully others can fill in the blanks.

1) The Lexus brand: Where do I start?

Quality - An IS 250 SL contains a number of quality finishes that others take for granted, such as semi-aniline leather, real woodgrain produced by Yamaha craftsmen and arguably one of the two best factory-fitted sound systems in the world. To give you a general idea of Lexus' pursuit of perfection, check out these videos: http://www.lexus.com.au/about/TheExtraordinaryWay

Service - Have a look about these forums, and you'll find few faults on Lexus' after-sales service.

Reliability - Well, you already know about that. Lexus also consistently rates in the top two in US and European surveys covering lack of defects and overall customer satisfaction.

Cost of parts: There's several things to consider here. Your helpful people in the trade seemed to have chosen specific parts that contain a lot more features - and, therefore, moving parts - than the average spare part. The typical wing mirror contains a motor for moving the glass up/down, and a motor for moving it left/right. The IS 250 SL wing mirror also contains a mirror for retracting the entire assembly, a motor for moving the mirror body up/down for reversing, a heater and a dimming feature. I don't mean to frighten you, but the AFS headlights - which allow you to "see around corners" - are also rather expensive to replace. But bear in mind that Lexus parts are generally very reliable, and you don't have to worry to much about replacing them unless you have a crash - in which case, you'd make an insurance claim. Finally, parts that have a similar level of technology compared to those of other makes (e.g. OEM brakes) might cost more, but they almost certainly wouldn't cost four times as much. In some cases, you can replace parts with Toyota parts without compromising on quality (e.g. a cabin filter is disussed here: http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10275).

2) 75K Servicing costs: This costs more than other routine services, due to the replacement of the fuel filter under the back seat; and, for whatever reason, it costs more in Melbourne than in Sydney. Check it out: http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10006

90+K Servicing costs: Others may be able to help here, but bear in mind that not many have had to undergo 90K+ servicing, given the time that the second-generation IS has been on the market.

3) Parts that are replaced: Others may be of help here. There is no point in time for mandatory replacement of the timing belt, but it is inspected and replaced, if necessary, from a given point in time (either 90K or 105K, from memory).

4) Servicing in Melbourne: I'm not in Melbourne, so others may be of help here. Besides Lexus dealers, Toyota dealers have been known to service Lexus cars.

5) Warranty: The initial factory warranty is 4 years, or 100,000 km, whichever comes first. If you can find a specimen that's less than four years old and has done less than 90,000 km, you may be able to purchase an extended warranty.

6) Any other info: One of those open-ended questions for which I'm lost for words. Once you find an IS that meets your budget, I hope the only thing you'll really need to worry about is deciding on which colour is best! Happy shopping!

[Driving4Fun]

Hi Lexus Nerd

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. The explanations and links are definitely helpful.

Tomorrow I'm getting an extended test drive of a 2006 model with about 85K done, from a non-Lexus dealer. I'll have it for an hour or so, which should give me a better idea of this impressive product.

Cheers,

John

[Driving4Fun]

Compared to one for private sale that I drove with 18's on Sunday, the dealer car (also with factory 18's) was too light and vague in the steering - and it didn't deviate when I moved the s/wheel 5-10 degrees either way. Other than that, it was a beautiful car.

It also seemed a bit sluggish in the low rev range. Both cars were in 'normal' mode not 'sport'.

I'll keep looking over the weekend ...

Any other feedback to my initial post is most welcome!

Cheers,

John