Sonnyk9

Just bought the is250 2 days ago. It's a very fun car to drive, but I wish it had more power. I didn't buy the is350 because I want a daily driver and wanted a car with good gas mileage. But the is250 being AWD, I don't think the mpg is that much different between the two cars. Is it possible that the dealer would let me return and trade up to the is350? I leased the is250 btw

Fizzboy7

Just give it a little time. 95% of the time a new owner gets used to his new car and starts liking it over time.

Mv350

iTrader: (23)

depending on how many miles you put on it, i would try because if you already feel that way i would trade up, the 350 is alot more fun to drive. there is nothing you can do to make your 250 as fast as a 350

Sonnyk9

I'll give them a call, just don't want them laughing at my stupid request. It has 120 miles on it.

iRock

iTrader: (12)

U can trade it back in but bottom line is that it's used. They are not goin to just take it back

iSAWd

^ I agree, the paperwork for ownership has been done. And you are also stuck on your contract for the lease which will really hurt your wallet if you plan to cancel it. Let alone new cars lose 10-25% of their value once they roll off the dealership.

Mv350

iTrader: (23)

ya but maybe they would take it back because your lease will go up in price

Sonnyk9

Ok wow. No way I am paying the sales tax twice on a 40k car (my state you have to pay the tax on the purchase price even for a lease).

It's still a very fun car, in fact I like it more than my last 3 series BMW. Just wish it had more torque. Guess I will keep it for the term of the lease.

syzygy

To this day it still boggles my mind that IS250s outrank IS350s in a ratio of approximately 10:1, when IS350s cost (relatively speaking) not much more than IS250s and can be driven in such a way as to virtually match the gas mileage of IS250s.

Honestly I think the sales people are to blame. They grossly underestimate how much faster the IS350 by citing the egregiously conservative claims by Lexus.

Hell, my sales person tried to convince me that the IS350 was "almost as fast" as the LS460 and if it felt faster it's only because of the reduced weight (a statement that, from a physics standpoint, actually is nonsensical).

No - try...it feels faster than an LS460 because it - surprise surprise! - is faster than an LS460.

The sales people also grossly overestimate how much better gas mileage the IS250 gets.

I figure it perhaps stems from a supply-demand standpoint. After so many years of people passing up the IS350 for the IS250, dealerships tend to have very few IS350s on their lot at any given time. They have boat loads of IS250s, but few IS350s. It makes sense, I suppose, from their standpoint to make sure the demand for IS250s remains significantly higher than the demand for IS350s. That's the only reason I can think of.

You cite "40k car" - I'm assuming you paid 40k for your IS250. I paid $40k out the door - tax, title, everything - for my brand new 2009 IS350, although I only have premium package (no luxury package, no mark levinson or anything like that).

dojoman

iTrader: (5)

You can definitely return it back to the dealer as long as you buy another car from them. My dealer definitely allows that for sure. 120 miles is nothing. Better do it sooner. I can't believe so many people her in CA bought AWD, it's pretty much useless except skiing trip. MPG on AWD sucks.

Mv350

iTrader: (23)

for the record on average i get 22mpg in the city and close to 28 on the highway in my 07 is350

Sonnyk9

I will tell you why I chose the 250 even though I did care for performance- the is250 is just in the sweet spot price wise. The extra 4-5 grand makes the payments that just seem too high. That and I cannot believe that the extra performance doesn't come at the expense of gas mileage.

What I didn't realize however is how much I would miss the extra power.

Flipsonic

Yes, of course the dealer will let you trade up for a IS350...for a price. They will not take your 250 back and you cough up the difference for a 350, if that's what you think. You will have to factor in the depreciation of your car. I felt like you for a short time after driving a friend's IS350. But as I drove my 250 around more, I forgot how the extra power in his car felt and the lure to trade in for better performance wore off. As I got older my driving style calmed down and I remembered this is why I bought the 250 to begin with. Driving his car just brought back memories (adrenaline rush and traffic tickets). I felt the extra 4-5k can be spent on something else that didn't depreciate. My advice, if you are not over that hump yet and still require the adrenaline rush, trade it in. But if you're like me, believe me, you will be thankful you didn't trade up. Good luck.

052SI

If it's only 2 days and the miles are less than 200 bring it back, it should be ok.
250's outsell 350's so much more so because of their great publicized national/regional lease deals.

darkdream

Also, salesmen try to get people to buy IS250. When I went to Lexus, the salesman was trying to sell me a IS250 when I went there for a IS350 and made it clear to him, yet he continued to tell me the cons of it.