SlowEp3

Hello All!

Potential new Lexus owner here. I'm looking at an '06 IS350 with 100k miles. However, when I got in touch with Lexus Canada, they informed me that the three major recall campaigns (189, 217, 255) have not been performed on this car.

Now, Safety Notice 189 is neither here nor there, but the other two items, the VVT and the pressure sensor gasket, are a little worrisome.

So before I bite the bullet: Can running the car with either of these issues cause damage? Or would the failure of either of these cause catastrophic damage that would warrant an immediate repair (eg; the engine would not be running right now).
The former would mean that the engine has slowly been damaged over time, which would bite me in the *** in the future.

Rezno

iTrader: (1)

Welcome to the forums! Hope you enjoy it here. Great choice going after a 350. Underrated sleeper of a car that is both stunning inside and out and can still show up some V8 powered cars. Anyway...

If I were you I think I'd stay on the safe side and pass on it. I'm not exactly certain what problems they may cause down the road, but unless you are getting it for ludicrously cheap I'd pass and wait for another deal to come up. If I'm buying a car I want to be certain it doesn't have problems when I buy it. Considering it isn't really clear how long the car was driving without those fixes, I'd stay on the safe side and find another one. Keep in mind even if these recalls don't do any harm, there is no guarantee what else might be on the verge of breaking. Also could mean the previous owner was careless about it, and if he was about that, who knows what else could be problematic and expensive.

If you do really really want this one car in particular, try to get the seller to fix it and let you know how long the recalls were there before buying even if it will up the price a little bit. No one wants to drive a car that could potentially just die a few days after you buy it.

Grizsk

I scooped my '07 350 about a month ago with 5 outstanding recalls. I had my eye on this particular car due to its luxury trim package which is impossible to find around my parts. It also had some sly 20" wheels and aftermarket suspension, saving me some time and money.

If you think you'll kick yourself later for not pulling the trigger, do it. Best automotive decision I've ever made. I booked the recalls at my local dealer and had all work done in a couple of days. The car is in great shape and should give me another 200k+ before I need to think about anything life or death.

If the car doesn't really tickle your fancy then pass. Otherwise, don't miss out on the opportunity! Have the recalls done, get someone to go over it with a fine toothed comb and throw some extra cash at it. Set yourself an aggressive maintenance schedule and the car should last, it is a Toyota after all.

SlowEp3

Thanks for the input, all.

I ended up passing on the car -- upon pulling the Carfax report, I found that it had a $20k accident in 2009, and another $8k in 2015. (The seller only mentioned the 2015 accident).
This, combined with the asking price, were enough to turn me away from the car.

However, all the research I pored into it when I was researching this car has made me feel that a Lexus IS350 should definitely be my next car. I'll continue hunting!

Rezno

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, best for you to stay as far away from that as possible. Salvage titles RUIN resale value and even a simple crash could mess up a lot of electronics in the car long term.

Its great to know you're still looking at an IS350 though. I've had mine for a few weeks now and its the best car I drove. If you want some comparison between other cars in the same segment (G37, 335i, TL Type-S), read my giant rant comparing the IS350 with arguably much better cars:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...-thoughts.html

MWIS350

The recall is free bring it in asap.

SlowEp3

Resale? Why would I resell an IS350? (Unless it was to buy an ISF)

This is a comprehensive writeup. What year is your IS350?

Rezno

iTrader: (1)

Its just good to have for the future. Its unlikely we'll be driving these cars forever, we're bound to sell them at some point, so its just good to have. Even if you don't care about resale value its still better to get a clean title car even if the collision was fixed at a Lexus certified location. A lot of electronics can fail while the car is being fixed, so when you get it after everything looks clean, a bunch of features don't work. This happened to my mom's car and a friend's car as well. It really sucks.

Appreciate it. My car is a 2007 with 73k miles on it.

The350Girl

Simple crash don't ruin your electrical, it's a Lexus it's not an Audi or GMC and VW, i would say if the crash claimed more than 5000$ CND, pass it on don't buy it. less than 5000$ it's fine if you have good deal on the car, 20k$ claimed ? stay away from Rebuilt and Salvage title.

Rezno

iTrader: (1)

True, but it depends on a few things like where the crash was and what parts got damaged. I completely agree to stay away from any car that had a crash that costed over $5,000 to repair because who knows what else could be damaged, but even if you see a car with $5,000 of damage, it could effect more than what you visually see (like a sensor or two might not work and those definitely aren't cheap no matter what brand your car is), so just make sure you know absolutely every detail of the crash if you're going to buy a car like that.

I see what you mean though; if its a small crash its harder for something to go wrong. I'd still rather have a clean title car just so I'm certain there is no damage that could have happened that you might not know about rather than risk problems coming up later.

BlckGhst

I've owned a 2008 TL Type-S. Does not compare to the 2IS

Rezno

iTrader: (1)

I'd disagree. That Type-S, despite its FWD nature, produces amazing grip and is a very comfortable daily driver. I'd even argue its slightly more practical due to it having more leg and trunk space. I might have bought one if I didn't find my IS350 when I did, I'll be honest.

In some cases the Type-S beat an IS350 around a track. The FWD and lack of power in comparison to its rivals really don't hurt it much outside of straight line acceleration.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...racetrack.html