merlin1946

Just purchased IS 250 with Nav. Asked the dealer about XM Receiver. $750.00. is there a source to buy the units.\??

saske

Hello,
I ran into the same situation. My dealer called me back and said that the XM Radio can be installed at the port of entry. So my IS250 with Nav arrives on Dec 1st and there the XM will be installed. By going with a port install, I only had to pay $486. Make sure that you get that option because it is much cheaper since the dealership markup is for their labor costs. By the way, what color ext/int. did you get?

zevious

XM is available now? I thought it wasn't available until the spring??

saske

That's what I thought too. I told my salesman that I wanted XM and he said that he would write it down as an IOU so that when it came in, I could have it installed. Later that afternoon, he called me back and said that it could be installed at the port when it arrives here in the USA. It was $486 to have it installed there as opposed to $700 to $800 that some dealers are quoting. It remains to be seen if it will actually happen but my purchase order shows XM installed at the port. I'm suppose to take delivery of my IS250 with Nav/XM on 12/10 so we will see.

Mickeyc001

If XM is installed at the Port, do you get the Shark Fin or the black box? Also, why is it cheaper at the Port? My car was suppose to ship w/ XM installed, but did not because the receiver was not yet available. So, I have no other choice then to have it installed locally.

saske

Not sure what antenna it comes with. I was wondering the same thing. I am hopeing it is the fin and not a little black box on the trunk like I see on some toyotas. I was told that it is cheaper because of installation costs at the dealership. I ordered mine from Alderson in Lubbock. What dealership did you order yours from?

consult350

XM or Sirius will not be installed until Spring on the IS via port. Only Dealer instaled with black box antenna can be installed now. I have investigated this to great length to get the answer. Now on most all IS material it states AVAILABLE SPRING 06. It did not say that until car was released last month on all printed material.

The local dealer went to great length to get the answer for us in writing from Lexus. They want to make the sale now, but we do not want the ugly black box look either. I asked and got the answer in writing from the reginal rep. and I can wait till spring to get a better option for the IS.

Let us know your results.

Lenscap

Both dealer- and port-installed satellite radio require the ugly black box magnetic antenna. This may change when XM becomes a factory-installed option. Since this is scheduled to happen sometime in 2006, my guess is it will be with the 2007 models arriving in fall 2006. At that point there needs to be an antenna solution. Whether that means a shark-fin, some other permanent antenna or something not visible to the eye (glass imprinted?) remains to be seen. I personally hope the shark-fin on the Japanese IS will make its way onto the North American IS for the 2007 model year.

The best thing to do to predict what Lexus will do as far as XM and a fixed antenna is to look at the new ES 350 and LS 460 that should be shown early in 2006 at auto shows. I would imagine those will be the first Lexuses with the option of factory-installed XM and whatever antenna those cars have the IS will probably have as well for 2007.

Here is the release from XM saying XM will be factory-installed beginning in 2006:

http://www.xmradio.com/newsroom/scre...004_12_07.html

Here is an update on that release:

http://www.xmradio.com/newsroom/scre...005_05_13.html

bob2200

There are companies out there that custom-paint XM antennas any color (prior to installation). The price is fairly modest. You ought to point this out to your dealer. I don't have any personal experience, but I'm confident that they would have checked reception through the paint before marketing such a service.

saske

Thanks for the update Lenscap. I guess that answers one of our questions The other question is if my dealer has made a mistake saying that the XM will be port installed on 12/1. I sure hope he is right because I am so spoiled with XM that I can't stand FM anymore. I'll let you guys know when my car comes in if it shows up with a working XM unit. Suppose to be here on 12/10 in Texas. Keep your fingers crossed!!!!