The Mekon

Sorry, but I don't do facebook, so those links are useless to me

Found one!   In the past, I have looked many times for one on ebay, without success.  Last night I checked the listings and there was one from a 2011 car for $125 and only 60km from where I live.   Thanks for all the replies.

1 hour ago, ilv1004s said:

what yr modle is your car

i have a few in stock

Car is   06 / 2010 Prestige

Looking for the large plastic tray under the front.  Location is near Sydney, but will pay freight for a good one.

Does anyone know the price of a new engine undertray for an IS250.   The one on my wife's car has split from hitting too many low kerbs.  I don't want to go to a Lexus dealer and have a heart attack when they tell me it will be so many thousand dollars!

On ‎4‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 10:21 AM, bazzle said:

Hope you changed both diffs 😱

IS350 What series is yours 2 or 3?

2010 IS250.

No, did not change the front diff.  I removed the front drive shaft and only use the Prado in RWD.  It's great.   Still capable off road as the rear diff is a LSD, the front is not.

Well done!  Can you tell me what the previous ratio was?  perhaps  10/41 and what is the ratio now.

I recently changed my 1999 Prado over from 4.1 (10/41) to 3.72 (11/41) and love it.  Had to change the tailshaft yoke as well.  Speedo also reads 10% lower than previous, but only 6% lower than true.

Wife has and  IS250 and top gear seems about right - about 2400rpm at freeway speed (115kph).  So you are saying the IS350 runs the same gearing?

Currently have a Is250 for my wife and I drive a beat up old 1999 Prado.   Looking at scrapping the Prado (its that bad) and buying a Lexus RX350 2007-2010 model depending on what is around.  But I want to take this car off road at times and may need traction beyond what the standard wheel/tyre combination offers.  So what choices are there?   I am thinking steel wheels from a RAV4 16x6.5 with 215/70 dual purpose tyres.   Will the brakes fit inside these wheels?   Has anyone here ever done a down size wheel conversion?   Plenty of people wanting to do 19" and 20" wheels but I want the other way!

Just to update.

At 61,000km the front discs were down to 25.7mm.  Bought a set of DBA non slotted discs (kangaroo paw) and Bendix pads all up for $280.  (makes the above post's $250 front pads seem a bit expensive)

Fitted them and the dust is gone.  Wheels stay reasonably clean, brakes are as good as ever.

Yes, you can borrow mine if you want, but I have no idea where you are!

Bought mine on ebay for about $20.   You do need the right tool.  64.5mm is the one.  Suits many models of Toyota.

I agree with Atlantis

On Wednesday, 13 July 2016 at 10:45 AM, Atlantis said:

Mine discs were gone before 20,000km... I'm still using them however.

Bear in mind, "gone" refers to the whopping 1mm of wear the factory allows for before requiring disc replacement.

After that 1mm is gone, the disc does not wear nearly as quickly and I'm only just about to replace them at 75,000km where they are really at a point that can be called "worn".

Bought our IS 250 with 32,000 km.   At this time I measured the front discs at 26.4mm.    Measured recently at 46,000km and now 26.2mm   Still within the factory wear limit (25 - 28mm)  

Thanks, I'm starting to build up a better picture of the is250.

This is the problem of living up in the sticks. No opportunity to source a vehicle to test-drive.

I had focused on it purely because it was one of the only two front engine-rear wheel drive cars left (apart from the Holdens & Fords)

The BMW 3 Series has a lousy build/reliability record and so that only left the Lexus, which I thought was a 'sports-sedan'.

A Mazda 3 is beginning to look like a better prospect and forget the rear-wheel drive thing altogether.

Have a look at the Honda Euro (05-07) models. I bought a Lexus IS250 to replace a 05 manual Euro. Wanted an auto car for the wife who was always in the wrong gear driving the Honda. All I can say is the manual Euro is a much quicker car than the IS 250. The gearbox is an absolute gem for the person who wants to "drive" the car. Being 200kg lighter does help, the Lexus is definitely slow off the mark in comparison and the auto gearbox is changing down to 5th or even 4th when the Honda would roar up hills in 6th.

that said I still think the 2010 IS250 we bought is a magnificent car.

This is a question I have asked myself. Why does the early (05-08) Prestige have same size 16" wheels front & back, but the Sports Luxury has the 17" with different rolling diameters? is there a suspension difference for the SL?

I note the "new" model (2013 on) has 7.5" wheels as opposed to the older models 8". A sensible decision in my view, the tyres sit too far inside the rim on the older model.

to me the best combination of wheels / tyres would be that fitted to the old GS300. 7.5 17" rims with 225/50 tyres all around.

no need for the stupidly wide 245 rears.

Unfortunately I've had 3-4 black cars one after each other, I think it's time for me to move on to White. Never really liked grey tbh.

I would definitely be after an is350, however there are none around that price range at the moment. Also I'd probably wouldn't go near a prestige IS350 (as they're closer to my price range). 34K is pushing it, I wouldn't be able to go any further.

Do you feel a large power difference between the IS250 and your past IS350?

What is so bad about a prestige is350? Wheels can easily be upgraded.

I do have an IS350 F Sport Brake Kit for sale if your interested in upgrading your IS250 brakes to the bigger IS350 brakes.

http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/13072-fs-parting-my-2011-is350-f-sport/

Sorry rakddon, not interested in your bigger brakes. The brakes are powerful enough as is for the 2.5 engine. What I want to know is what combination of pads/rotors will stop wear and dust.

Only had our 2010 prestige for a couple of months. Noted the huge amounts of dust the front brakes generate. Cleaning the wheels may become a full time job. While they were off I measured the discs and pads. Discs are down to 26.4mm (from 28.0mm) and pads around 6mm remains.

This car has only done 35,000km,

Is this wear and dust typical of all IS 250 from factory? What are the best rotors and pads to fit?

I will be maintaining this car myself - no dealer repairs or service unless absolutely necessary.

Could not agree more - this is a Lexus we are talking about.

I recently bought a 2010 prestige EMV, sunroof, 33.000km from a dealer for $31K. I had been looking for over a year for the right car as I was particular about colours. This car is like new, not a scratch and never crashed.

Having been looking for a year it has given me some insight into prices. Most advertised are way over the true market value and seem to linger a long long time on the listings. I have seen 2010 Prestiges with 55,000km for $25,000. At this price the car sold within the week. So they are out there if you are patient. Sports Luxury models do command a premium, but again I saw a lovely 2009 model SL with 70,000 km go for $28K. I did not buy it as the blue was too dark for me - too close to black which is the last colour I wanted.

Your best buy should be a 2009 - 2010 model Prestige with EMV around 50,000 - 70,000km private sale for around the $24K to $26K mark. Do not pay any more!

Not sure if there are any differences 2009 to 2010. I think any changes were made late 2010, and this is the MY 2011.

Thanks Andrew,

The trim is the bone or ivory, not sure if it real leather or the Alacantra? How do you tell?

My car is built 06/2010. I know there was an "upgrade" later that year, but don't think much really changed.

Looked at a 2011 model at another Sydney dealer. Blue Prestige with 35,000km. Dealer wanted $36K. rear seat belts were dirty (kids?) and wheels had severe gutter rash. Told him had the car been decent would have offered $32K. Dealer said that was not enough. This car sold a few weeks later, so clearly there are buyers who just don't look too hard.

Update.

I finally bought a 2010 IS250. Red mica with only 33,000km. Has EMV and sunroof, bone colour seats. Beautiful car, have had all the cowlings off underneath and in engine bay already. Absolutely straight, never had as much as a parking bingle. Paint is perfect.

Paid $31k at a Sydney dealer. Two weeks earlier I saw a similar car at Canberra Lexus, but with over 70,000km and condition not as good ( had a towbar for goodness sake!). Cannot understand why they knocked back my offer of $28K. this car is still sitting at the dealers while I am smiling!

The car is sold, did you buy it?

No - was not me. I could not find the time to get to Springwood to look this week. And 96,000km is a bit too much for me.

there is another on Carsales I like - it has a moonroof which I dislike. This one is a prestige and has 45,000km.

Its going to be hard for the dealer to accept I want to pay less because it has a moonroof.

Thanks all,

yes the dealer reckons the marks of a Sport Luxury are sat nav and a reversing camera. Seems he is wrong. Also reckons at 96,000km this is an "average" mileage car for its age, when to me it is high. I am concerned about the oil consumption problem on 06 - 10 cars, question is how can you ever tell this without owning the car for a while?

Without looking at it, I don't think I would be willing to pay more than $22K for this car.

Missed out on a 09 sapphire Prestige with EMV recently that had 33,000km and was perfect in every way. Car went for $30K.

Sorry to start a thread for such a trivial question.

Am still looking for the right car.

I am hoping to go to look at this car next week:

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/faulconbridge/cars-vans-utes/2009-lexus-is250-gse20r-09-upgrade-sports-luxury-maroon-6-speed-sequential-auto-sedan/1060801312

I have rung the dealer and expressed my doubts that it is a sport luxury, he claims it is.

I thought all SL cars had the woodgrain trim? Is this so or not so?

A Prestige is fine for me, but knowledge that it is will help me pay the right price.

Thanks in advance,

John

Lance,

many thanks for your reply. And I apologise for my earlier remark. I was beginning to think that since Lexus are so reliable, that they are not bought by enthusiasts. BMW forums seem much busier, no doubt complaining about their servicing or repair costs!

My wife would like a BMW but she is not getting one for that very reason. Yes the GS300 does not seem to have much of a following here in Australia, which is why they seem a very good bargain to me on the used market. I intend to make the purchase within a couple of months and I feel my choice will probably be made by the available colours of either model at the time. We want a red or blue car, and there seems to be far too many grey, black and white models out there. I note you have the IS350 model, which would have appealed to me in my youth, as it appears to be one of the best Q cars you could buy (223Kw wow!), but now am looking for good fuel consumption over performance so the IS250 is the choice. Would like a new IS300 but cannot really justify $70K on a new car.

Thanks again

John

Looks like my second post will be my last. This forum is dead!

Well my first post and am coming straight to the point. Have wanted a Lexus ever since I drove a LS400 in 1991. This car will be for mainly my wife who currently drives a Honda Euro, but will be used by both of us on longer trips.

Am looking at Lexus GS 300 2008 - 2010 or IS250 from 2009 - 2012.

My thoughts are -

GS 300 for: better ride (higher profile tyres)? more room, more power & torque

against : extra 250mm in length, so not as easy to park etc, higher fuel consumption, less choice on used car market.

IS 250 for: smaller, better fuel consumption, etc

I would welcome any comments on the features or problems with these two models that will help me make a choice. Thank you

John