dalerb

There is a Manual Transmission IS 250 in Glacier Frost Mica, Black interior, with Luxury, Nav and Preferred Accessory Packages available at a local dealer. The car is stunning looking and gets me into a nicely equipped IS at a reasonable price.

My only concern is what will happen four years from now when I, inevitably, start thinking about trading up. Will such an unusual IS be difficult to sell?

I am also curious what sort of gas mileage MT owners are getting. Although I suppose in a MT car it depends quite heavily on the driiving style of the individual. I'll do some searching in the forums to see what I can find.

Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.

imaputz

iTrader: (2)

gfm are very RARE... espically with LUX i believe....

ULTiMaX99

iTrader: (5)

that's the same car i have except mine is sgm. what was your price quote for that? anyways, i average 22-25 mpg (calculated with a calculator... not the dash info). this is about 75% city 25% highway.

dalerb

Thanks ULTiMaX99, those MPG numbers are encouraging.

I don't actually have a price quote from the dealer yet (I didn't want to seem too eager), but the MSRP is $36,819. I'm hoping to get a deal that will make my "out the door" price right around that amount.

ULTiMaX99

iTrader: (5)

i was able to get msrp otd. hmmm my msrp was 37,539 including delivery, processing and handling fee.

flyfl1pguy

iTrader: (2)

DAMN! which dealer did you go to? I wanted that instead i got a manual. NIce choice. I say jump on it.

ULTiMaX99

iTrader: (5)

isn't the car the op is talking about a manual too?

gsrthomas

iTrader: (1)

Its at Longo Lexus isnt it? I saw it last Friday.

And I was TOLD by the salesman that they said they dont make a GFM in Manual. Another lie by a dealer.

sailing217

MPG: set the cruise on 72 mph on the highway and get over 36 mpg after break-in. My lifetime MPG on my MT 250 is 30.1 80%+ Hwy driving 2100 miles so far. I beat my car hard this weekend pushing it's limits and still was getting 19 mpg.

Resale: May take longer, but you just have to find the right buyer. I don't think it'll hit more on price since it's alreay cheaper than an Auto, but finding a buyer who refuses to drive an automatic will be harder/longer.

Test drive the car and decide if you like the clutch. My clutch is typical toyota, but one IS I test drove did not engage the clutch until the absolute top. Mine catches half-way, but it still seems a bit high. The throws are average, not short. Some notchyness. I'd call it a toyota clutch thrown into a lexus, not something engineered by Lexus. Opinions will vary.

Nice car, pull the trigger.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

First and foremost, I don't think this is an unusual setup. When selling the car, you basically say it's a Light Silver car with Black interior. No one (except us Lexus people) will know that "Glacier Frost Mica" is. Keep it simple...

Second, although a manual is rare, it will be more difficult to sell than an automatic, but it will sell nonetheless. You may get someone looking for a relative bargain, as it is less expensive than the manual anyways.

Get the car, and know that the car has a good chance in selling in the future.

Bichon

Edmunds.com has a used car appraisal feature that takes into account options and color. You can run some test appraisals on four year old IS to see what kind of impact a manual tranny or an unusual color have on resale value.

Personally though, I'd just buy what I want, and worry about resale values down the road. If depreciation and resale were more important than getting what you want, you'd be better off buying a late model used car coming off lease, since even the most desirable new cars are going to take a huge depreciation hit during the first year or two.

dalerb

I decided to call the salesman today and make an offer on the MT IS, but he told me that particular IS sold yesterday (it was at Longo). He offered to look for another MT model equipped the same, but when I started talking price he said that the best he could do was $1000 under MSRP. I need a much better offer than that before I can justify the purchase financially.

I'll have to give it some thought before I decide where to go from here, but I thank everyone for their replies.

MSMLexIS

Just have the dealer locate or even order a manual for you the more manuals sold the more likely Lexus is to increase there production or better yet offer them in other cars like say the GS300 or even the IS350.

ULTiMaX99

iTrader: (5)

dang shoulda jumped on it! i told my dealer to hold the car and i came down the next day when he told me they had one in the configuration i was looking for. but 1000 under msrp??? that's a ripp! especially in the socal area. goto lexus of glendale n ask for peter kong. tell him you're from cl. hopefully he can find a car for you n work out a good deal.

flyfl1pguy

iTrader: (2)

Yeah they might try to rip you off because of the manual being so hard to find. GL on your purchase. . .