I am thinking about purchasing an IS250 - used. 06 or 07. Ive always loved this car ever since I first saw it. Has been a dream of mine to own one and now I am finally in the position to where it is possible. Ive been reading a lot of the threads posted on here to get ideas for mods, maintenance info, etc. I have seen quite a few threads posted up about little problems going wrong with the car. Weird noises, electrical problems, and so on. It kinda makes me nervous because if I buy one used it may or may not be under factory warranty. I would not buy one unless it passed a carfax inspection. If I get one and it is no longer under the factory warranty I will get raped by the dealerships if something goes wrong with it and I take it in to them to get serviced. Everyone knows the dealers charge an arm and a leg to work on their vehicles. I drive a nicely modded honda right now and I take it to a place that works strictly on hondas and acuras that does all the work for about half the price as a dealer. Kept up all my scheduled maintenances. Even got a new tranny installed from a dealer for $300 because the original went out and I was able to provide them with paperwork showing that all maintenances had been done. I dont know of any shops in town that do work like this on toyotas and lexus' so I think I would be SOL. So again, do you think it would be a good idea to get an IS or not? Is the IS a reliable car or not?

 

"Ive always loved this car ever since I first saw it. Has been a dream of mine to own one and now I am finally in the position to where it is possible."

enough said

 

^lol yea but is it reliable?

 

The only major problems that people have had with the car are minor things such as some wind noise and dash rattles. There can be creative fixes for such issues, but nothing standardized across the board (with the exception of TSIB issues [such as brake pads and AUX filter], which are covered under warranty). If there are any electrical issues that arise from our members, it typically is a one-person issue that should be addressed by the dealership.

The IS is a reliable car. Although the quality of materials and fit/finish may not match that of the LS or GS, it still provides a lot of luxury amenities. The reliability and quality of the IS far FAR exceeds 95% of other cars out on the road, so unless you want the top 4% of reliable cars out there, the IS does suffice.

 

thanks, good to hear that.

 

You can't base the car's reliability on posts in this or any forum. It's not like a scientific poll. You are unlikely to find too many "My IS is great, no problems" threads. Per PhilpMSPT, if squeaks and rattles are the big problems, you are way ahead of the game. But read up in Consumer Reports and other similar surveys, and see for yourself.

BTW--theres a whole thread in Car Car regarding the recent "down grade" of Toyota by CR--in the past, Toyota cars have been SO BULLET-PROOF, that CR automatically said they would recommend new models, prior to testing, based on historic ratings. Now, they will no longer do that--they will actually test, and state "no data" for new models. Toyota/Lexus/Scion are 3 of the top 6 recommend brands by CR, and like 17 of the top 39 models. I wouldn't sweat it.

 

i would suggest test driving a IS350 if you can, there is a huge difference in that car, some people regret getting a IS250 once theyve seen what the 350 can do

 

^trust me i know, i would LOVE to have a 350 but i think those are a little out of my price range, even used. with the 250 i could get the same appearance, just minus the performance. I will be putting a CAI, header, and full exhaust on it so i could get a little more power out of it, but i dont think ill be taking the car to the track so a 250 would suffice for a DD. plus i will be debadging the car except for the lexus symbol so no one would be able to tell

 

brake rotor/caliper size is a dead giveawy b/t the 250 and 350, that is primary way I check another IS to see if its a 250/350

 

lol, or not

 

Even with all the problems listed, its so minor that it shouldnt be anything, people are just being PITAs IMO, sorry I dont mean to offend anyone but its the truth.

 

Sorry, I've got to say that debadging your car to fool people into thinking you have a better car is pretty weak. That's straight out of poseur-town. My advice is to get the 250 and be happy with what you've got; any IS is a great ride.

 

lol, no im not debadging strictly to fool people. i think it looks clean on a car when it is debadged. did it to the car i am driving now. honestly, look at the back of your car, wouldnt it look a lot cleaner that way? IMO it does

 

Well that I can agree on....it's just that filling the holes just sounds like a pain.

I debadged my 330 because one of the 3's broke and it looked like 3j0

 

ROFL... compared to what??? its a friken toyota dude... where you been the last couple o decades?

Never have I heard such a question when talking about toyotas...

*edit* CAI/headders/xpipe/mufflers on a is250...for sound??? thats kinda xpensive... if you want sound just swap the mufflers it'll be much cheeper.