Having had both, (two 2006 GTOs, and IS250AWD and an IS350AWD) it depends. The interior on a GTO is bland, but much higher quality than most GM products from the same era. They're SOFT, heavy, and do have some inherent issues. GTOs are also IRS, so they are NOT good drag cars. They wheelhop and camber gain.

Honestly, I loved my GTOs. Granted, I replaced every single bushing, the struts/shocks, springs, and sways in my second one. I had 3k in suspension and it still had stupid slow steering. I hated that about the car. The steering ratio could've been halved and still been okay at high speeds. Not being able to fit bigger than a 275 in the back with a drop and body mods sucked too. However, the car stuck well, had plenty of power, would've gone 12.7 on a drag radial, but I wasn't willing to beat up my daily driver like that, nor did I have money to put into the drivetrain, so the car went consistant 13.1@107.5mph with a 2.0 or 2.1 60's. I would've been faster with an auto, but I would've been much more bored.

 

Ill tell you, My buddy has a GTO and its pretty sick.... Its wicked fast compared to my IS250... here is a few pictures if you havent seen the ox blood interior... Its Sick Nasty!





Definately wont be more reliable then your Lexus IS... AND THERE IS A NAV FIX if your unit goes bad... It takes about 4 or 5 hours... not too hard though.... But The GTO will cost 1/6 to fix...


Lexus is starting to loose my intrest with this IS.... It seems that when they build something that is defective, they MIGHT issue a TSB... but you have to give your first born to the dealership to get the TSB done...

Oh Lexus... what happend to the days of 100,000 miles with no mechanical problems... I miss you!

 

Actually, electronics really should last, especially when they have no moving parts. It's mechanical parts that break eventually from wear and tear.


Heh, that's a "pet peeve"? You shouldn't take cars quite so seriously... Besides which, while Japanese cars (specifically Toyotas and Hondas) are generally more reliable than American cars, LS engines are rock solid, and there are a lot of other high quality domestic cars. Ford especially makes some durable and reliable machines.

My "pet peeve" is people who make ridiculous, sweeping generalizations and refuse to look past where a car was manufactured to see what redeeming qualities it may have.

... Of course with all that said, I would not trade an IS350 for a GTO. But a 2011 Mustang GT or an older C6 Corvette? Yeah, maybe so. EDIT: I also love the G8, but it's a bit too big for my needs, and the result of a big engine with a big car is pretty poor mileage.

 

Lol at a goat.. Come on son, that's a cavalier with a ls engine at least get the G8

 

I would never trade my 350 for a GTO but a G8 GXP was a second choice for me when I was looking. The better MPG's, reliability, and fit/finish won me over. Only time I second guess it is when I see/hear one with a blower, cam, exhaust.... hmmmmmm

 

Ehh.. Skip the GTO..I'll jump straight to a Boss 302. M3 killer on the straight and on the track. All for under 50k.



Edit:

 

Lexus FTW. I had a GTP and a GTO then went Acura then Audi now own an Acura and Lexus. My personal opinion is you are getting an overall better car with better value going Acura or Lexus. My history with these cars is I have had far less issues with my Acura/Lexus vehicles then with my Pontiac at the same repair costs. Just my two cents.

 

Its quality is ****, not gonna lie. I've driven my friends GTO and it is complete garbage. Sorry, but truth is, American Cars are crap unless they are Super Cars, something like the ZO6. I can prove why american cars are crap... they are going out of business....! they almost needed the government to bail their cheap *** out of debt. And soon enough, they are going to be out of business...! sorry to say it, but Domestic cars are cheap and a piece of junk...! There cheap in every way possible, quality, price, and the dealerships look ugly as hell lol.... just saying.... Domestic Cars got nothing on Foreign cars....! You might be White (American), but lets face the truth, Doemestic cars are crap bud...!!!!

 

That pontiac interior looks horrible

 

^^ Yeah is that a joke (the interior)..

 

There's more ignorance floating around in this thread than I care to address, so I'll just say this. Smoky hit the nail on the head. Buy a Mustang GT Premium or a Boss302 and don't look back. A GTO will NEVER have the handling feel of an IS, but the Mustang (having driven a new 5.0/Brembo car) WILL, and be leaps and bounds faster. It is fast enough to actually outweigh the lower quality interior. The GTO is not. The GTO is a grand touring car. It does one thing well, and that's transport you in MASSIVE comfort at high speeds down the highway. I tried to make mine a C5. It wasn't, and it never would be.

 

Getting back to the OP's true questions...

1) It's true that the best way for you to safeguard yourself against any potentially expensive repairs is an extended warranty; however, you're not eligible to purchase one. If you're out of factory warranty, you can only purchase an extended VSA warranty at the time of used vehicle sale. From the Lexus website:

Lexus Extra Care plans for Lexus Used vehicles can be purchased only at time of used vehicle sale. Used vehicles qualify if they are within current plus 9 model years.

So a Lexus extended warranty is out for you, unfortunately. But you could probably get a good deal on a third-party extended warranty because it's a Lexus and has low miles. Do a Google search and get some quotes on extended warranties and see what you think.

2) As far as prices, the best bet is to check Autotrader and Cars.com for similar cars and see what they're going for: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...=1313501423183

That's a search for 2006 IS350s anywhere in the US. There's not a single one on there with mileage as low as your 23k, but there are cars listed there with mileage around 30k for $23-26k. I think given your mileage, the new tires, and the nav/mix of options you have would put you at around $25-26k private party. Figure closer to $21k for a dealer trade-in - dealers would be ravenous for this car because 1) it's low miles, 2) it's a 350 which is rare on the used market, and 3) they could certify it.

3) What have you had done to your car? The common issues on the IS350 outside rattles are: cam gear TSIB, gauge needle LEDs dying, and nav screen failure. Outside of these issues, people have very few problems with their 350s. If you look on CL, you can find multiple threads of people with 350s at 150k miles and more that have had no issues outside the ones named above, and all they did was kept up with minor maintenance (oil changes, etc). You're still within the powertrain warranty, so if you haven't had the cam gear TSIB performed, I'd recommend getting it performed - just search for the engine grinding/cranking thread on CL, record the audio clips people have linked to on your phone, bring it into your dealer and tell them it's been making that noise intermittently on startup. Gauge needles are an annoyance but obviously not a big deal at all and don't affect operation or driveability of the car.

At that point, your only concern is the nav screen failure. Is that enough of a worry to dump your astonishingly low miles Lexus? If it is, check out an extended warranty that covers nav.

There are a few considerations at play here. Personally, I think the choice between an IS350 and a GTO/G8/any Pontiac is laughable. If you value straight-line acceleration and modding capability over everything else, go for it, but even in that case, I think there are better options. You'd be trading into a less comfortable ride, lower quality and less appealing interior, and in my opinion a far less attractive exterior. But again, this choice is up to you. If you do want to switch cars, I personally would be looking at Mustangs over Pontiacs.

Another consideration is when you think you might get rid of the IS350. Used car prices are at their highest right now. If you think you're going to keep your IS for maybe only 1-2 more years then sell it, I highly advise against it. That's because you should sell it now instead and take advantage of the fact that you can sell it for a few thousand more than if you were to sell the same car in a used market that isn't as inflated as it is right now. However, if you think you're going to keep the IS longer than that (which is what I'd do), then this isn't as much a concern.

You're right that the next-gen IS will be coming out relatively soon, but don't expect the prices of the 2IS to tank just because there's a new model. The 2IS is a highly desirable car and has performed extremely well on the used market. Its options, interior, and most of all exterior are very modern and will stand up on the market even in the face of the new design - much better than the more uniquely-styled and enthusiast-oriented 1IS did in the face of the 2IS.

 

Both these statements are downright ignorant.

There is no perfect car, despite some brands holding up better than others. There are some buyers who never experience any problems with their Chevy or BMW, and some who bought their Honda thinking it was bulletproof and were proved otherwise. In recent years, there has been a decline in Japanese quality and a steady rise in American, Euro and Korean. With a more level field of competitors today than years of yore, buyers choose whatever best suits their needs. Image is subjective. If they chose to buy from an American make over a Japanese make, clearly the strengths of American one trumped that of the Japanese one.

Pontiac went out of business because old GM mismanaged and diluted the brands sporty heritage with poor cost cutting, platform sharing, and no imagination. Had they known now what they didn't know then, the Pontiac nameplate could have been saved. A real shame considering the G8 would have changed the brand in the right direction.

And your argument is based on what? Materials used? Engineering? Design? Innovation? Assembly? The year 2006 saw a good number of American vehicles raise their standards in regards to the aforementioned categories. Today the American auto industry has been completely revamped and is now more competitive than ever. Have you even been in a current domestic vehicle? This isn't your daddy's caddy. Everything from materials and fit and finish to engineering powertrains designs and safety have made leaps and bounds. Unfortunately there is still much ignorance when it comes to American image and nameplate association. The only reason foreign cars get a pass over domestic is because of image. Europeans get the nod over their American counterparts due to their prestige pedigree and plush interiors despite the SAME poor reliability (and often worse electronics). Japanese makes get the nod because they proved their metal in the 70s 80s and 90s. Of course here we are in the new millennium and Japanese quality has seen a decline. Not to mention design language from some (most notably Honda) have begged the question. What Happened!?!?

… a true car enthusiast will look past brand and name and image, to build up and utilize whatever vehicle they’ve chosen to its full potential. Obviously a GTO and IS350 are different in many ways (different strokes for different folks), but both are vehicles with which advantage falls to the owners preference (Luxury and comfort or rawness and speed in this case)

Have you driven let alone sat in a domestic car that's not from 2004-06 ie your friends GTO? As I mentioned above, these are not your daddy’s cars, these are well rounded vehicles that are full of innovative tech, engineering and design that can compete with the very best that Europe, Korea and Japan have to offer. Whoa now your being a little hypocritical. The Z06 has a cheap interior and inferior seats. I won’t even mention the Vipers interior.

Seriously what are you smoking? American cars are crap because they are going out of business? Ford whittled its brands from 8 to 2 to keep from bankruptcy, which has given them more focus on their core brand and luxury brand. GM and Chrysler repaid their government loans within a fraction of the time it was conceived to be done. All three have rising sales figures. The Ford Fusion has a higher resale value than a comparable Toyota Camry. Ford and Lincoln have been atop J.D. Power listings for quality for several years now. Lincoln and Buick were atop the ACSI (American Consumer Satisfaction Index) for the first time in 2010 and rose even higher in 2011 (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...time-ever.html). Or please visit my Recall thread (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ll-thread.html) where you’ll note more Asian manufactures are having problems. American cars are going nowhere and are here to stay.

Your bias and criteria for "crap" is based on how a dealership looks? Do you get off trolling?

Here’s the skinny of it. There’s no denying the past (European cars take note…), but as we are in the present and heading into the future, all these biased opinions of American automakers are becoming tiresome and need to end. If you want to revel in the past and follow the cliché that American cars are bad go right ahead as you are entitled to your (subjective) opinion. But market share, sales figures, awards and winning reviews/comparison tests don't lie. American cars are good cars.

I guess for Trolls, Ignorance is bliss.



Back on topic:

OP, depends on what you want. With the GTO you'll lose the luxury and comfort of the Lexus but gain rawness and power. Between the two in this case, the Lexus is more likely to hold up in the long run whereas you can mod the GTO more though. To be honest, how you described the condition of your current car, there’s nothing wrong with it. There should be many more years of fun and enjoyment to be had.

 

Thanks Hoovey. You've articulated most of what I wasn't willing to.