Hi Scotty, I am looking for a used 2008 up to 2012 Lexus IS250 in California.
What is your advice, what should i look for to make sure the car is in good condition.
That generation was MY2006-2013 and I recommend getting as new as possible within that generation that you can afford (usually those are the most refined and bugs/issues have been worked out). That being said, I am not a fan of the IS250 because the 2.5L V6 (engine 4GR-FSE) is direct-injection only and susceptible to carbon buildup on the back of the intake valves over time. And the higher mileage used ones - chances are they have it already if the previous owner(s) did not use a catch can and/or clean the back of the intake valves every 60,000-100,000 miles.
I would recommend looking at the Lexus IS350 if your budget allows as those engines (3.5L V6) have port injection (in addition to direct injection) which cleans the back of the intake valves and you don’t have to ever worry about installing catch cans or having the periodic service done to clean the back of the intake valves.
Just have a mechanic check it out and see if it passes a mechanical inspection.
The front tires have a pre-mature inner tire wear problem. The inner parts fo the tires wear out in like 10K miles while the rest of the tire shows little wear. This is dangerous. Lexus says this is "normal". There is nothing normal about a cars front tires not driving flat on the road.
Google it
Which model years are impacted?
all years. Lexus knows there is a problem but are denying it.
you can replace the front bushings which helps the problem but does not solve it in most cases
How far back does the issue go? Or is every generation impacted? I don’t see it on carcomplaints for such a serious problem, not even a class action lawsuit.
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Lexus/IS_250/
I saw your link already, but was curious if it also impacted the older generations. You seem more up to speed on the issue, so figured you were aware.
If you read through Lexus forums and others there are the exact same complaints from owners of previous generations
Interesting Scotty never mentioned this. So what is your advice for the OP: should OP get the vehicle or stay away?
I mentioned it to Scotty, he said he would look into it but I've seen no evidence he has.
If the OP does not mind buying two new expensive front tires often, buy it. My guess is that because he is interested in an older model he probably wont want to spend $600 on two new front tires regularly
Lexus are pretty good cars they have bullet proof engine and take quite a beating before breaking down. My advice is before buying any car even Lexus do some search on it
Like who drove the car
Was it maintained
Does it have any issues
And before handing out money find a honest mechanic that will help you inspect and scan the car before given up the thumbs up button
Also ask for car vin and look up car maintained history on carfax
They are excellent cars. The only problem I can note is that in hotter climates their dashboards tend to crack. But still make sure to have a full mechanical inspection done.
Thank you all for your time 🙂
Here is a sticky post on a Lexus forum discussing the front inner tire wear problem. The problem goes further back than 2014 if you research
I see conflicting stories. Some people say it's controls arms, some say bushings, and still others say steering geometry. Not a lot of consensus.
https://community.cartalk.com/t/2017-lexus-is-200t-is-this-alignment-problem-common/164955/6