bobbo1978

Came from a BMW. Got that itch scratched and didn't care for the extra performance it compensates for reliability downfalls. Will get a weekend car eventually to substitute the craving for a tossable car. IS is the best DD for me right now.

kumquatism

iTrader: (10)

Came from a tC. The IS won me over with aesthetics. I was in love with the color and the overall look on the car. I was shopping for a G35 coupe or an IS300. There were too many G35's on the road, and I wasn't really impressed with any of the colors. I was thinking I would just "settle" for a graphite color, which honestly doesn't look bad, but just a bit boring and common.
I really wanted an IS300 stick though, white exterior, with black interior, which was ridiculously hard to find. Never found it, but instead found a 250 at a really reasonable price, cheaper than what I was looking to spend on a G35 by a few grand.
Everything else that I liked was just too expensive. A3, A4, 135i, SLK350.

MBTC

Possibly, but as I said in my first post I need a car with modest HP to have reasonable driving habits Also while I think the IS 350 MPG is reasonable, most folks with 350's that report great gas mileage don't always consider that with the same driving, they would be getting 10-20% better MPG in the 250.

How significant that 10-20% is to you depends on many variables. In my case, I have a long commute to work and it's not unlike me to drive 25k miles or more per year, so a savings in mpg can really add up.

516IS

iTrader: (12)

For me it was comfort and reliability, and no other brand could beat Lexus at that. Also the Fact that the IS is really good looking made my decision that much easier.

TokerIS350

iTrader: (13)

4 Door, Reliability, Interior, 306 HP

Considered the 335i, But the Sedan looks like crap, and the Coupe is More Pricier, + it would be just a pain having a Coupe. I Carry Passengers very frequently.

If i had to do it again, probably go with a 335i this time, i just need more power, and All the money i've spent for the Exterior of this car, if i spent it on a 335i, it could've been a rocket

Likwid XTC

iTrader: (5)

the awd was apokus for me i had the 02 is and a 01 s2k at the time, sold the 02 is and got an 08 awd which was great.

i didnt even test drive the car before ordering one, which was a ra tard move but i ended up loving it anyways, bought the is from the same dealership i got my 02 is so i got treated well

slvrboolet

When i was looking for a new car waaaay back when the IS300 had just came out it was everything i was looking for. Style, sporty, nice interior and lexus reliability. There wasnt anything else on the market that could really compare beside the bmw which i wasnt really interested in.

I still have all these years later and never had a single problem with it inface i went and bought a turbo Is300 once my other one was paid off as i wanted some mroe hp lol.

shadowman

iTrader: (2)

We were shopping for a BMW328i , Acuras TSX, Lexus IS. Basically a 4-Dr car for the future baby.

Acura MSRP was around 30K.

Lexus IS250 was a 5K higher but I was confident I can talk the price down to 30K.

BMW 328i same as Lexus.

We picked Lexus because the service was superb and the name/brand image. Performance is also pretty good and loaded with the luxury features that we like. Gas Mileage is also decent for this car and comes pretty close to wifes base RSX.

BMW was eliminated because they had pretty S***ty service. They were arrogant and refused to even offer us any help on the lot. I can see why the whole lot had noone there expect sales people. LOL.

Tungstn-IS

I was coming from a G35 Sedan. I was leaning mostly towards an Audi S4, but the reliability issues and 13mpg that I read so much about was a deal breaker, especially since it is was to be my daily driver. I liked the Acura TL Type-S, but I wanted something with a little more go to it and the FWD is a definite deal breaker as well.

So I decided on the IS350, although the automatic was just about a deal breaker....but the car was nice enough to get me over it to some degree. I did not want an automatic car, and I still wish they made them with a 6MT though.

metalgear

i went with the IS350 because everything about it is just beautiful. from aesthetics to performance and reliability. to me it looks way better than the 335i and G35/37. i love my car so much i wanna marry her haha lol. that's why i'm keeping mine until it dies.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

congrats on the baby.....the IS is not big enough...you need a RX! LOL

shadowman

iTrader: (2)

^^ Thanks... RX is too big. I want something that I can carve the canyon with. IS250 will do that better than a RX. Baby has no excuse for theme parks... just use the IS.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

the carseat we have wont fit directly behind me....so I have to get her a bigger car (perfect excuse to buy the RX) LOL

MBTC

I thought about discussing nav in a completely different thread, I've just been reluctant to do it because I think most people here like the built-in ones. But, have you thought about just getting a Garmin portable? I figured out a long time ago that I don't ever want built-in nav. The cost for the priviledge is not worth it (several thousand), you get a fraction of that back added to the resale of the car, and the truth is you can get a portable nav system that works better than almost any of the built-in ones that will let you use the controls while driving (not a good idea but your passenger might want to), for only a couple of hundred dollars. The one I have now was about $200 and has everything you want in a nav system (including bluetooth if I ever didnt want to use the BT in my car), speech to text, etc. And you get a free map update for that price, and can get lifetime map updates for another $100 or so. Mine is about the size of an iPhone that just goes in a leather case in the glove box when I'm not using it... that's the key, I don't need a nav system every day, only when I'm in unfamiliar territory. And even if I did need it every day, its so small and the suction cup mount is out of the way. Plus if I ever need to travel out of town I can take it with me, use it in a rental etc.

I do understand the bling factor of the built-in nav, they are fun, but you also have the risk of the nav, stereo and other electronic componentry being so tightly integrated that replacing one means a massive expenditure (a friend of mine had problems with his DVD player and found out to fix it he would have to spend thousands to replace the nav, climate control etc...pretty much everything in the center console).

I love portable navs and I doubt I will ever spend much on an integrated car nav until both the systems and the updates get a lot cheaper.

kuuqi

Let's see...I was 18 years old at the time and I wanted (and also needed a car) to drive to commute to college and work everyday. Parents said they'd get me one and I wanted something small and sporty but not too pricey. Chose a civic si and subaru wrx as my choice. Mom gave me a stern no and said to get an audi. I went to an audi dealer, infiniti dealer, bmw dealer and a lexus dealer. audi had ****ty interior and was pricey (at the time before the new ones came out). infiniti...i felt old in it. and bmw was outright too expensive and the rough suspension didn't make me feel like it was worth the money at all. the is250 awd base models had all the options i wanted, parents wanted nav and well it worked out to be the best deal overall.

not to mention i talked them down to whatever the invoice was on edmunds (it was lower than kbb's value). it just seemed like the better financial move. now that i work full time well it's about time i buy my parents their next car haha!