TXSci

I am looking for a compact luxury car for my wife and she was not happy with how her previous bmw 325i was rapidly deteriorating so it seems lexus IS is our best bet. Our budget is $15-21k, would be happier to stay on the lower cost of this range. it will be a commuting vehicle with 15k miles per year. We are hoping to get at elast 5-6 years of this car with reasonable maintenance expenses.

Right now I am choosing between 2012 and 2014 models each with about 80,000 miles (2012 is actually 7k less). The price difference is about $5k and I am trying to see if it is worth it. Alternatively, is it worth it to go to 2012 model with much fewer miles vs going with 2014 with more miles.

Is there a reasonable statistics of how 2nd/3rd generation behave for 150k miles?

Finally, any options to specifically look into - with used cars it is really hard to see what was standard vs what was added.

Mrfix

I would probably go with the 2014. 7k miles is not that big of a difference. My question is 20k a year is quite a bit, was it a rental? Have you thought about an ES350 or even a GS350? You get more value for your money in my opinion because the vehicles don't seem to be in as much demand as the ISXXX. You also get a better motor with the XX350 models. Those vehicles are not that much bigger than the IS. Now if it has to be an IS then look for one with less mileage. I would think a 3-4 year old car should be around 50-60k max. Check Lexus Drivers for service history. Create an ID and put in the vehicles VIN number. You can view the vehicles service history.

knyg

2012 model and 2014 model are completely different cars. 2012 is second generation and 2014 is third generation. 2014 lexus IS has addressed some issues with the previous model but some are still apparent.

in my opinion, you should go for 2008-2010 with 80k-ish miles BUT only buy if the owner has done maintenance (changed spark plugs, tune-up, check tranny, etc...) if they havent, you can use that as a bargaining point. It is also about 10k to purchase and you can use your saved money for repairs and upkeep.

i think any relatively new lexus will hold its own for 5-6 years from now. many lexus go as far as 200k miles range.


goodluck with search and buy!

lovekeiiy

I just did that and it didn't show any history for my IS350 or the ES300 I had before the IS. According to CarFax, the previous owner service the IS350 at the dealership every three to four months. The ES300, I only took it to Lexus for service work, other than oil change and rotations. Once I took it to Toyota because the car wouldn't run and that dealership was within my free tow area.

Another option, it's not cheap, but there are services you can pay to have the car checked. More pricey, but maybe your more trusted source, you can have Lexus inspect the car. They have to options for presale inspections. In California, the basic inspection was about $200 and takes one hour. The extensive inspection was about $400 and takes two hours.

As for your decision, it really depends on the car and how it speaks to you. The mileage may not be a big issue if the previous owner(s) did the regular maintenance on the car. If you think the car is mechanically sound, then it's about the features and condition of the interior and exterior.

I recently purchased a 2008 Lexus IS350 with 206,000 miles on it. CarFax said one owner, service it at Lexus every three to four months. My previous, 2000 Lexus ES300 had 175,000 miles on it. The IS was about as mechanically sound as I was going to get for a used car without driving it around for a week or two to confirm. I ended up getting it from a Lexus dealer. They had replaced the two front tires, the water pump, some kind of lining before I took possession. The interior was clean. The exterior had a lot of rock chips, which I'm getting fixed now. Somehow Lexus missed the emergency brake being loose, so I did pay to get that fix at a closer Lexus; I think the other is going to reimburse the cost since I complained right away.

Before I got that car, I was interested in a different IS. Same town. I had made arrangments to have the Lexus near him to do an extensive inspection. Said I would pay to have it down. I even offered if I didn't get the car I would pay him like $100 for his time. He ended up selling the car the night before the inspection appointment.

To me, spending a few hundred dollars to know pretty close to what exactly you're getting, is worth it. If the car needs work, it's a bargaining point to drive the price down. It may turn out the car has a lot of issues, and you know to walk away, thus saving you thousands.