Opinions on this Lexus is220d?

ION08

Hi guys,

The following Lexus IS220d has caught my eye on DoneDeal!

Looking for your opinions on this (and IS220d's in General?)

It's looks like a lovely car and the Spec is nice on them but a few things that worry me:

- No Service History

- Current owner has only owned it for 1-2 months but selling as the wife need something bigger

- I have heard the IS220d's can suffer from Head Gasket/Engine failure and engine replacements are quite common?

- Rumour has it they are quite thirsty for a Diesel (35mpg)

Is it still worth considering or should I run a mile??

Cheers

punisher5112

Possible dealer on the side.

If you were to bite you would want a vigorous test done on it.

fancy pigeon

Rubbish engine with a bit of power that loves to twist the block when the HG fails, hence it's a costly repair. Better off with a petrol one or a Honda i-DTEC if you want a 2.2 Jap diesel.

Source: I've seen too many end up in scrapyards with that problem

colm_mcm

They're just not a great car. narrow power band. geared all wrong, not reliable enough to make up for this.

ION08

Hmmm, think I'll steer clear of this and stick to my trusty A4 TDI.

The Lexus just caught my eye as an "impulse buy" just to move up a few years / fancy a change.

From what I've read, it wouldn't inspire me with the greatest of confidence though.

It's a pity as its a good looking car with great spec, you'd think it'd be the pinnacle of reliability with it being a glorified Toyota

Oafley Jones

Avoid. As mentioned odd gearing, prone to head gasket failure, slow and thirsty. If you're interested in the IS the 250 is pretty much bulletproof and a much better choice overall.

ION08

Regarding the odd gearing, I have heard that "Sport" models actually have different Gearing to the other models so this wouldn't necessarily be an issue on this one?

Muckie

Nice looking car, but i'd avoid, know a chap at work who had one.

HG went after 3 months of owning it.

It then became a fixture in his garden for months!

Sold it for alot less than what he bought it for.

Now has an Audi, so i'd stick with that.

Narks2016

Have same hg problem...is it worth repairing ..2.5k ish...or just take the hit and move on?

colm_mcm

Where did you get a €2500 price for a head gasket?

Narks2016

Non Lexus garage...left car in for service after coolant sprayed all over engine bay..brief overheat. Still looking at it to see if engine goosed.

What would be a more accurate figure?
How long would it give me?
Worth getting done?

dodzy

Narks2016 wrote: »

Have same hg problem...is it worth repairing ..2.5k ish...or just take the hit and move on?

The 2.2 in the avensis was a bitch for this. So much so that TOYOTA extended the warranty to 7yrs. Plenty of reports of new engines fitted under the extended warranty. AFAIR, that was subject to a FSH and mileage not in excess of 120K at the time of the HG failure. A new engine would run into €5K+ territory I guess.

ION08

It's grand lads, I went for an Audi in the end

SBPhoto

Wise choice over the IS220D, well wear.

colm_mcm

dodzy wrote: »

The 2.2 in the avensis was a bitch for this. So much so that TOYOTA extended the warranty to 7yrs. Plenty of reports of new engines fitted under the extended warranty. AFAIR, that was subject to a FSH and mileage not in excess of 120K at the time of the HG failure. A new engine would run into €5K+ territory I guess.

Any link to them extending the warranty?

dodzy

colm_mcm wrote: »

Any link to them extending the warranty?

Dig around you'll find it on piston heads. Trust me though. I was that man. Took a 07 up to a dealer in the north and they were going to swap it out with a new unit. Had done quite a few apparently. Only to be told that it was not the original engine in the car. Sick as a pig did not even come close.