Zerone

Also keep in mind where / how you perform servicing will affect the vehicles resale value. My Previous car was serviced completely by myself. (I wouldnt trust a Holden dealership to change a tyre properly). Even though I had receipts for everything, and the parts used either far exceeded genuine, or were genuine, becuase the service book did not have any service stamps in it, it always became a negotiation point for potential buyers. For my Lexus, although the 75,000Kms service had been performed by a corner mechanic (And luckily this was the only non lexus service), an additional 80,000Km service was performed by Lexus when the owner traded the car in. This gave me some confidence that the vehicle had been serviced correctly by the previous owner. My Lexus is now looming towards its 90,000Km service, and although I am competent enough to perform the service myself, The thought of jeapodising the potential resale value of the vehicle is making me question the cost savings of performing this service myself. (I.E. How much value will the car lose in 2 to 3 years time, compared to how much I would save in performing the service myself). I estimate parts will cost around $300 - $400 (Synthetic Oil, filter, Diff Oil, Platinum / Iridium plugs, K&N Filter, carbon cabin filter, etc). Labour will take me a day. (So calculate time that I could be spending earning money). Just some food for thought....

In defence of Toyota / Lexus, the 90,000Km service is a big one. It includes Oil and filter change, Brake fluid flush and change, spark plugs change, Diff Oil change, Air filter change, cabin filter change, and Bolts / Nuts tighten (Dunno what this entails). It also includes a lot of visible inspections of bits which will require wheels to be removed, vehcile up on a hoist, and other parts removed. (Which eats in to the time taken to service the vehicle). Keep in mind places like KMart, Ultra Tune, Midas will peform a basic engine oil and oil filter change as a baisc service, using the Oils and filters that they will have on hand. (They will typically only stock two oil grades, mineral based for the budget servicing, and a synthetic grade, all of which thy buy in bulk 100L drums to keep expenses down). Whether the synthetic grade oil is optimal for the Lexus motor can be pot luck. (Most will hold something like 5W 40 synthetic, which is perfectly fine, but I have heard of places using cheaper 15W 50 synthetic oil) They typically will not carry out all the inspections that Toyota / Lexus will carry out, (Things like park brake linings, transmission fluid, charcoal canister, suspension bushes, linkages etc), and any additional servicing out of the ordinary will require you to specifically request it at the time of booking. (Eg Spark plugs, brake pad change, Brake fluid flush Transmission and Diff oil change). Also keep in mind that some places will refuse to perform some / most of these additional services. (Simply because they do not have the information / specifications on hand for the vehicle). -- Your best bet for servicing is to take Rakddon's advice, and take the car to an MTA approved workshop, supplying the parts yourself (So as you know what is going in to the car), and providing a list of what you want them to change / inspect as per the service schedule, or Perfrom the servicing yourself. (Which is what I have done with my previous cars) On a side note, even MTA workshops can be a bit dodgy. The previous owner of my Lexus had the 75,000Km servicing done at an MTA workshop. This included front brake pads. My front brakes have a loud squeel when the brakes get warm. I inspected the pads, and it turns out the workshop did not fit the anti squeel shims to the front passenger side brakes. (I only noticed this as I inspected both sides to determine what the potential squeel could be). I was quoted around $200 for new anti squeel shims from Toyota (Parts only), which would exceed the price the mechanic probably charged for the brake pad change in the first place.

I can't really give any input on maintenance costs yet (I've only owned mine for 6 months, but the 90k major service is coming up soon). Compared to my last car, the Lexus seems like it is screwed together tightly, and seems like it is going to be pretty reliable. I know the is350 uses timing chains (so no need for timing belt replacements). Not too sure about the 250 motor though. In terms of insurance, you best bet is to get a couple of quotes. You know how it is, an 18 year old P plater is going to have a completely different quote to a 50+ year old with a perfect driving history., car garaged, etc.... To give you an idea though, my last car was a modified late model 6l V8. All mods were declared with the insurance co, and it was around $900 a year. My stock my11 is350 is around $700 a year. (V8 had a market value of 15k, Lexus has 35k) In terms of fuel, its a matter of opinion. My Lexus uses 2/3 less fuel than my V8 did on average, however this could be attributed to driving style. The. V8 did not encourage sedate fuel efficient driving, whereas the Lexus is more sedate, comfortable and quiet. Planting your foot in the lexus Doesn't give you that V8 growl, or throws you back in your seat like the V8 did, so you quickly get over the spirited driving thing, and become more relaxed driving the Lexus. Most of this though is a matter if opinion (not factual data), so I would take this info with a grain of salt.

The problem here is most Lexus buyers (especially is250 / is350 models) have purchased a Lexus for its luxury credentials first and foremost. (Myself included). This typically means expecting a quiet, comfortable ride. Also, there is not a lot of extra performance (engine wise) to be had, relative to the amount of $$$$ that can be spent. With my previous car, it was entirely different. It was very rare for owners to keep the engine stock. (I certainly didn't buy my last car because of build quality or a quiet ride, and it certainly was far from stock when I sold it). I have to admit, the performance mod bug is starting to bite me, however looking at the options available, I think i would seriously be better off trading my current is350 for a like year model is-f, rather than spending $$$$ on headers, exhausts intake, and brakes. (And wheels to fit) I think this is probably true for most is v6 owners. They are mostly happy with what they have, and are only willing to add more that do not adversely affect resale value when it comes time to sell / trade. Just my 2c

I have never been a fan of the Green Interior Illumination on the 2nd Gen IS, so I decided to do something about it.... So far the Windows switches, door lock and mirror switches have been changed, as well as the airvents, Cig Lighter, Gear Position, Seat Warmer/Cooler switch and headlamp washer switches have been changed. Just wainting for some SMT LEDs for the lower part of the radio (Smaller sized than the rest of the car). TODO : Start Button, Power/Snow, ECT Switches, and steering wheel switches.

Hi rakddon, That is correct, however it may be easier to wire directly to the overhead console / dome lamp, like motivetronics has suggested, Than running a wire down the front pillar trim (Airbags fitted), which the trim cannot be easily removed. (Not without cutting and replacing a clip). Constant power, ignition and ground are all available on one big @$$ plug. Plus this method makes it easy peasy to get the wire down through the headlining trim to the camera itself. Wire colours you will need to use are Light blue (Pin 5) battery power White with black stripe (Pin 1) Ground Green (Pin 27) Ignition Power (optional, use only if you want the cam powered up with the ignition on) I hope this helps

Yeah, agree with rakddon. $26,00 is market value. 60,000kms is nice, but without details of condition, service history or anything else Its hard to say if its good or bad. Essentially you are paying for the white colour (hard to find). I keep thinking you should have a serious re-think about the F Sport. As rakddon said, you can save yourself a lot of money (which can be spent on other things), if you are only after the F Sport because of the badges, front and rear spoiler. It's much cheaper to get another model to look like an F Sport. It would probably be cheaper as well to make an SL model look like an F Sport, than it would be to get the extra luxury bits that come with an SL fitted to an F Sport. If you want the Sport package, (seats, steering wheel, suspension and body kit), and you are not looking at modding the car in future (eg shocks/springs coil overs) definitely go the F Sport. If you are looking at the F Sport purely because it looks pretty, and you really couldn't care less about the sports seats steering and handling, then you are limiting yourself with your purchase. If you wanted to have a good look at some is250 / is350 models, go have a look at pickes auctions at belmore today. (Inspections) I'm not saying buy from pickles (their cars are sub quality and over priced most of the time) but they do have a couple of is250s (X Sport, Sport luxury, prestige) as well as an is350 prestige. The colours are all silver and grey, however at least you can sit in them, start them up, and check them out to get a good idea of condition, features, and price. The good thing is you won't have a salesman hovering over your shoulder, pressuring you to buy, so you can take your time and get to know these models before dropping 30k+ on something (or $36k on something interstate).

If you are really only after a F Sport because of the body kit, (and not because of the sports seats / steering wheel), My suggestion would be to fit the sport kit post fact. On 2011 models, the F Sport kit only consists of the fog light lip additions (around $250 new) and the boot lip spoiler. You could pretty much have the kit painted and fitted for around $700. (That's what I am in the process of doing now). I'm not too sure what options are available with the grill yet, (I need to find out if the radar module fits the sport grill), but there seems to be options for this as well. The F sport seats are another matter, but keep in mind you only get heated seats in the 250/350 F Sport, (Not cooled). I would be going for the F Sport if you wanted a sporty driving experience (as apposed to all out comfy luxury of the SL). And if you were preferred a sporty experience, then hold off and get a 350 F Sport. Some other stuff to keep in mind, The F Sport doesn't get radar cruise / braking. (Difficult / Impossible to retro fit to another model from my understanding) The F Sport gets sports suspension, sportier power steering feedback. (LS models do not get this)

Its definitely a buyers market at the moment. I was originally looking at LS460s (I have been eyeing 2007-2008 models for a almost a year). I was very seriously going to purchase a 2008 with 80,000kms, full Lexus service history and in excellent condition for a smidge less than 40k. In the end the price was seriously stretching the budget. (I'm still trying to sell my previous car too) and I didn't want another large saloon. The car took 2 weeks to sell at that price. (It had been on the market for 8 months and was originally listed for $58k) Kinda gives you an idea of how the used car market is going at the moment, and what car you can get foir your dollar. Personally I think the IS350s are a little over priced right now. What appears to be inflating the prices is there are not a lot of good models on the market, hence very little competition. The 350s should really command around 8k premium over a similar spec 250, but I was seeing $14k to $16k premiums on these models. This may be the case with the F Sport 250s and 350s as well. (Though I did see a White IS350 FSport 2012 Selling for $28k with around 50k on the clock in good condition). On purchasing a car interstate, my suggestion is its very possible to get a bargain, but you will really need to do your research. My previous car was from interstate, and I asked many many questions before actually picking up the car. Even though I thought I had all my bases covered, I was slightly disappointed when I inspected it the first time. The problem was I was fairly committed to the purchase and though I got a bargain on the day, there was a tiny part of me that felt like I wanted another day to think things over. Just my experience. In hindsight I should have irganised an inspection with RAQC/NRMA before committing. Oh finally, the problem with the touch screen on early models seems to be related to a weak resistive touch film connector. Guys running coil overs (very firm / lowered suspension) were experiencing the problem. The solution appears to be resoldering the connector. I hope this info helps

Just to add, have a read of this guide. Its from another forum, but it was one of the single most helpful posts I have yet to find on Purchasing a 2nd Generation IS model. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-second-generation/572768-buyer-s-guide-to-used-lexus-2nd-gen-is-models-merged-buying-advise-threads.html The only problem with this post though is it is based on U.S. Specs, so the packages are different to what is/was available in Australia. Your best bet is to use this guide to work out what features you are interested in, then try to work backwards to find what models have these features. It may be best to ask on these forums what options came with with models, and hopefully owners of the different models will let you know if their model came with / without those features. --- Some things to look out for, check the condition of the seats, especially the drivers seat lower outer cushion, as these tend to wear pretty badly if the previous owner was on the heavy side. If you are looking at the cream interiors, be aware that these mark pretty easily. (Mines cream, and things like the scuff plates mark very easily with black soled business shoes and such). The good side is the interior is pretty easy to clean, so if the interior is a little dirty don't be too overly concerned. To give you some more ideas, I picked up my late 2010 IS350 SL for just under $32K (Excluding transfer of rego and insurance). The exterior is in excellent condition, but the interior was fairly dirty. (Im still in the process of detailing it, even after 1 month of owning it). I hope this helps ?

Having just gone through this very recently (I purchased mine a month ago), my best suggestion is to determine what models you are after, and work out a budget for each. IS250 models include (GSE20R) Prestige - Base model, Can be optioned with sunroof and or Satnav (and possibly other stuff) Sports - can be optioned in manual or auto not sure what these have fitted as standard F Sport - Have sat nav, sunroof, alloy pedals f sport steering wheel, sports suspension, auto and manual Sports luxury - auto only, has heated cooled seats, radar cruise and braking, all electronic goodies, standard suspension pedals and wheel. X - Seemed to be a budget F-Sport cloth seats alloy pedals. For me, I was only looking at Sport Luxury models as it is usually easier to change wheels, suspension and body kit items, than it is to fit the electronic goodies such as radar cruise. In Sydney I had the same budget as yourself, and the sport luxury models (around 2008-2009) were definitely in this price range with around 90,000kms on them. With that many Kay's, condition of these models varied considerably, so you will need to check a few cars out before you get an idea of what's good, and what's nasty. Also be very careful to make sure the model advertised is advertised correctly. There are quite a few prestige models being advertised as sports luxury (especially by dealers). If you are interested in a sport luxury, the quickest way to double check is make sure the radar distance button is on the steering wheel. (Note my guide above is very rough, so take it with a grain of salt). I still don't know what AU models came fitted with what options, hence I played it safe and stuck with the sports luxury models only) I hope this helps (and doesn't confuse)

I fitted an xforce 3" cat back on my previous car, (non lexus) and I was not impressed with the quality. It was difficult to get everything lined up, and after a couple of years you could see slight rust pits around welds. Mind you this was the cheaply mild steel model I fitted (not stainless). There was a fair bit of drone around certain rpm points (not that I minded as it was a V8 so it was quite pleasant) If you are thinking of selling the car soon, my suggestion would be to hold off changing the exhaust. It will be harder to sell (majority of potential is owners would prefer a stock or close to stock car than something that has been molested) so it will be harder to sell (unless you change the exhaust back to stock again). I hope this helps

Having just recently purchased a used IS350 sport luxury I saw many carsales adds where obviously base prestige models were advertised as sports luxury models. (The non color LCD screen / sat nav screen was the usual giveaway) However with prestige models being optioned with satnav, sunroof, and other features I found it very difficult To easily recognize sport luxury models from the middle range models. (Things only get harder when you also take into account the running upgrades between years with the removal of options such as the window blind, etc) The biggest problem is for non Lexus owners looking to buy their first Lexus, there is very little historic sales information for the Australian models to determine what exactly a sport luxury model comes with, when compared to a sport, F sport, X, prestige. Now that I understand a little more about the models, I might write up a quick guide for Aussie buyers, as the information for US models just confused the crap out of me when buying :(