Hello community,

I am looking at a 2007 Lexus IS250 with 60K miles on it for 11.7k.
It has a clean title, many maintenance records, and appears to be in well kept condition.

Is there anything I should look out for before making the purchase?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

The cars don't have any major flaws, so it will be a relatively trouble free car.

There have been 10 recalls on the car, you could check if they have been done.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2007/L...52FAWD#recalls

I inquired by model but if you enter the VIN for the car, it only report what HAS NOT been. An empty screen is good. If there is something that has not been done, It is just an inconvenience of taking it to a dealer and having it done. You do not pay for recalls. When you take a car to a dealer for something, they do an inspection and there is always something that is going to make your car explode like a high yield nuclear device. "You need brakes" is a very common thing, even if you had the dealer do the brakes the day before. Just say "not today" and thank them.

The price is a little on the high side for a car without optional equipment. I used Kelly Blue Book (kbb.com) and looked up cars in New York and Los Angeles and the were close in price to each other. The price is about $1K to $1.5K high. Part of this is whether you are buying from a dealer or a private individual.

https://www.kbb.com/lexus/is/2007/is...tion=very-good

 

We've got twice the miles on our '08 IS250 but if you're purchasing one you need to look out for a few things. These are in no particular order but if the dash and door panels have been replaced that's a plus. The warranty enhancement has expired for the early model years of IS250/350. Another thing to be aware of is the carbon buildup (common). We've got just over 166k on ours and it hasn't been an issue. It's a perfect car for a college student not too small and not too fast.

In a year we've replaced a fuel pump (went out the first week) and the MAF sensor. Pretty reliable IMO.

 

cool thank you! do you have an idea how much it is to replace 1 door panel? I saw that there is some significant wear by the handle done by the previous owner (probably a dog owner) on the drivers side. Can't think of anything else...

 

Not sure on the cost my guess is new from the dealer a few hundred dollars each. The wear on the handle is very common and a sign the panels haven't been replaced. They may look like the photo below. Again, you can replace them yourself but it's an additional cost. The car itself is rock solid but the dash and door panels were a weak spot.

 

The price of the door panel varies by color and options. The list price runs from $542 to $1,007. You might want to consider checking the local junk yard.

see part # 4 - https://www.mylparts.com/v-2007-lexu...rim-front-door