Would you buy an IS-500 that came from the Lexus Performance Driving School?

These vehicles seem to come out of the program and hit the market looking like a lease return. I think I found one and have some hesitation. Buying a used sports car is always a gamble. Unlike other Lexus's you have less of a chance that is was treated with kid gloves.

 

I would consider it if the price is right and maybe it had extra warranty. These cars were definitely driven hard, but should have also been maintained well to compensate for that.

 

This crossed my mind when going to the class last year. I'd agree, warranty warranty warranty.

Almost every car I was in for the LPSD was new - less than 500 miles on them. So, obviously the break in period/mileage was not adhered to. We drove those cars like we stole them. I'm not sure how many miles they run them for before rotating them out of the fleet, but if you are talking about 15k of nothing but red line after red line after red line - let's just say everyone should know what they are getting into. The RC-F was only used to attempt drifting, and most people would just spin and slide to a stop over and over again. I could see everything being fine, but I wouldn't be shocked to see the worst outcome either. Kind of a coin toss, in my opinion.

 

Myself, I would never do that but if it comes down to you only being to get one if you buy a discounted unit like this, then that is fine....but if you can afford a new one, I would go new. But I know I am OCD and would never be comfortable

 

If the price was right, I wouldn't mind it as a second car, one that I would drive hard and not baby as much as my original.

 

--
I've always lived wilth the fact that everything has a lifespan. If a vehicle is driven to extremes where the suspension, brakes, wheel bearings, control arm joints, transmission internals, steering mechanism, etc. have all been used to an extreme, I would think those are probably the items with the least lifespan of everything on the car. The windows, seats, frame, trunk, lights, guages, fenders, and such are probably pristine.

Wouldn't work for me. Even a rental car wouldn't work for me--I've seen how people drive vehicles they don't care about.

--

 

It’d have to be at least 30% cheaper than other comparable mileage CPO IS500s to even possibly start potentially maybe considering it as even being in the basket of available options.

 

1:30 "Yeah, I hit a dog"

 

I went to a LPDS and all the participants were constantly encouraged by the instructors to push the cars harder. They stressed that the cars could handle it. I walked away impressed by how much abuse the cars could take. I would never treat my own daily driver this way, however. Even if they were certified, I wouldn’t feel great about owning a car that literally dozens of folks had been encouraged to push as hard as they could.

 

For sure the cars are designed to handle that abuse, but all it means is that they've incurred accelerated wear on all components requiring earlier than anticipated replacement of those components. So one should understand that when picking one of these up.

 

You have to really love an "escort" to marry her.

 

LOL!! Amazing!

 

How can you tell?

 

No, not me. If I was younger and a decent shade tree mechanic, maybe depending on price. You’re buying a problem, you know it. So long as you know this and can do a lot of basic mechanic work yourself, go for it.

 

Should not be an issue since Lexus themselves are maintaining them, and not some dealer or 3p. In addition if this vehicle cant handle some track time, then it would be a poor F moniker vehicle.

That being said, its got to be one heck of a deal before i take it over a new vehicle.