Why did you buy your IS?
08-24-11, 10:53 AM
#61
Luxury , Reliability, and Performance... that's right.... Performance! 
It was time to upgrade from my Civic Coupe which was about 6 years old. We wanted a 4 door but with something a little better than camry or accord. It has to be faster than my Civic or Corolla. So we decided on a luxury car that fits our budget.
IS250 is very well equipped and has all the features we ever need.
The IS250 meets all that and we're happy !
It was time to upgrade from my Civic Coupe which was about 6 years old. We wanted a 4 door but with something a little better than camry or accord. It has to be faster than my Civic or Corolla. So we decided on a luxury car that fits our budget.
IS250 is very well equipped and has all the features we ever need.
The IS250 meets all that and we're happy !
08-24-11, 11:18 AM
#62
My first two cars were 1990 and then 1997 Lexus LS400s. I loved them, but I'd always wanted something sportier with more performance. As a present to myself after saving up, I bought a 2003 Mercedes E55 AMG with about 60k miles on it, a car I'd always dreamed of owning. It was a one-owner, clean CarFax, nearly-perfect condition car, black on black with every option but nav. The car was inspected thoroughly and had no issues/malfunctions at the time of sale, so I bought it for about $26k.
Within 7 months, the car had racked up $15,000 in repair costs. Some of the parts that failed were: intercooler pump, thermostat, automatic clutch, idler pulley, upper and lower control arm, wheel bushing, keyless door handles, cupholder assembly, fuel pump, fuel sending units, and steering angle sensor. I was of course shocked at this, but even more shocked when I went to the forums and found that each of these things was a common problem on the car, and that nearly every owner experienced them.
Luckily the car came with an aftermarket extended warranty that covered about half of the costs, and some of the things (door handles, cupholder, etc) I elected not to have fixed so as to not go completely broke.
I learned two things from this experience:
1) Before any car purchase, do your research by checking out the forums for that model. Nowhere can you find better info on what it's like to own a car or what issues are common on a car than on that model's forums. Consumer Reports/JD Power etc can only test a car to a certain degree, and reviews and surveys like them will never truly capture a car's reliability or cost to own.
2) Never own a German car. If I'd only owned this E55 and no other German cars, I'd limit this statement to Mercedes, but my family and friends have owned BMW and Audi and it's the same story: very poor reliability coupled with extremely expensive and frequent maintenance requirements. As far as reliability, $15k in repairs over 5-7 months is staggering and speaks for itself. And for maintenance, the dealerships were recommending a maintenance package every 1000 miles (laughable I know, and I wouldn't have abided by it, but it shows their mentality). I learned very quickly why a $100K car was selling for $26k with only 60k miles on the odometer.
Anyway, after all that, I knew I had to get rid of the car. I'll be the first to admit that I hadn't fully learned my lesson yet, and I went to Carmax to look at some 330s and 335s. I drove them and was impressed with the performance, but everything else was lacking, particularly the interior. More importantly, I'd read of all the reliability issues these had.
Just down from these 3-Series was a lone IS250. I'd never considered the IS, mainly because I didn't consider it a performance car. I decided I might as well take a test drive. I was immediately blown away by the interior design and quality, the comfort of the seats and the ride...all the things Lexus is known for, and the things I appreciated on my LS400s.
However, I couldn't stand how slow it was. I'm not bashing the 250 - it's a great car, it's just not a performer. To put it in perspective, my 1990 LS400 did 0-60 in 7.3 seconds; the 2009 IS250 is rated at 7.5.
Carmax didn't have any IS350s for me to try, so I searched on my phone for any on nearby lots to test drive. I found one nearby and went to test drive it and immediately knew it was the car I wanted. It had everything I loved about the IS250 I'd tried, but with an engine that could actually throw you back in your seat. It felt just as fast if not faster than the 335s I'd been trying.
I had to dump my E55 before it did any more damage to my wallet, but more importantly I knew I had to sell it at a time when it was not malfunctioning or broken down. The E55 has a big digital display in the gauge cluster that is red when there's a malfunction (for perspective, this display was red for about 75% of my ownership of the car). Somehow, the stars were aligned that week and nothing was showing as malfunctioning (though things actually were, like the clutch, but they weren't throwing codes) so I knew I had to get rid of it then because no one would want a car showing malfunctions.
I test drove that first IS350 on a Saturday. On Sunday I'd located a car at a Lexus dealership that matched what I wanted (black, tan interior, nav, CPO, around $25k) and by Sunday evening I'd traded in the E55 and bought the IS350. I've loved it (save for the dash rattle...).
The dealership decided to put the E55 out on their lot for a while instead of taking it directly to auction. After gradually decreasing the price over the course of the 2 months it sat there, they must have finally taken it to auction because it disappeared from the website. Sounds like others were smarter than I and avoided it.
TL;DR: Don't buy an E55, buy Lexus.
Within 7 months, the car had racked up $15,000 in repair costs. Some of the parts that failed were: intercooler pump, thermostat, automatic clutch, idler pulley, upper and lower control arm, wheel bushing, keyless door handles, cupholder assembly, fuel pump, fuel sending units, and steering angle sensor. I was of course shocked at this, but even more shocked when I went to the forums and found that each of these things was a common problem on the car, and that nearly every owner experienced them.
Luckily the car came with an aftermarket extended warranty that covered about half of the costs, and some of the things (door handles, cupholder, etc) I elected not to have fixed so as to not go completely broke.
I learned two things from this experience:
1) Before any car purchase, do your research by checking out the forums for that model. Nowhere can you find better info on what it's like to own a car or what issues are common on a car than on that model's forums. Consumer Reports/JD Power etc can only test a car to a certain degree, and reviews and surveys like them will never truly capture a car's reliability or cost to own.
2) Never own a German car. If I'd only owned this E55 and no other German cars, I'd limit this statement to Mercedes, but my family and friends have owned BMW and Audi and it's the same story: very poor reliability coupled with extremely expensive and frequent maintenance requirements. As far as reliability, $15k in repairs over 5-7 months is staggering and speaks for itself. And for maintenance, the dealerships were recommending a maintenance package every 1000 miles (laughable I know, and I wouldn't have abided by it, but it shows their mentality). I learned very quickly why a $100K car was selling for $26k with only 60k miles on the odometer.
Anyway, after all that, I knew I had to get rid of the car. I'll be the first to admit that I hadn't fully learned my lesson yet, and I went to Carmax to look at some 330s and 335s. I drove them and was impressed with the performance, but everything else was lacking, particularly the interior. More importantly, I'd read of all the reliability issues these had.
Just down from these 3-Series was a lone IS250. I'd never considered the IS, mainly because I didn't consider it a performance car. I decided I might as well take a test drive. I was immediately blown away by the interior design and quality, the comfort of the seats and the ride...all the things Lexus is known for, and the things I appreciated on my LS400s.
However, I couldn't stand how slow it was. I'm not bashing the 250 - it's a great car, it's just not a performer. To put it in perspective, my 1990 LS400 did 0-60 in 7.3 seconds; the 2009 IS250 is rated at 7.5.
Carmax didn't have any IS350s for me to try, so I searched on my phone for any on nearby lots to test drive. I found one nearby and went to test drive it and immediately knew it was the car I wanted. It had everything I loved about the IS250 I'd tried, but with an engine that could actually throw you back in your seat. It felt just as fast if not faster than the 335s I'd been trying.
I had to dump my E55 before it did any more damage to my wallet, but more importantly I knew I had to sell it at a time when it was not malfunctioning or broken down. The E55 has a big digital display in the gauge cluster that is red when there's a malfunction (for perspective, this display was red for about 75% of my ownership of the car). Somehow, the stars were aligned that week and nothing was showing as malfunctioning (though things actually were, like the clutch, but they weren't throwing codes) so I knew I had to get rid of it then because no one would want a car showing malfunctions.
I test drove that first IS350 on a Saturday. On Sunday I'd located a car at a Lexus dealership that matched what I wanted (black, tan interior, nav, CPO, around $25k) and by Sunday evening I'd traded in the E55 and bought the IS350. I've loved it (save for the dash rattle...).
The dealership decided to put the E55 out on their lot for a while instead of taking it directly to auction. After gradually decreasing the price over the course of the 2 months it sat there, they must have finally taken it to auction because it disappeared from the website. Sounds like others were smarter than I and avoided it.
TL;DR: Don't buy an E55, buy Lexus.
Last edited by calvin2376; 08-24-11 at 11:22 AM.
08-24-11, 12:54 PM
#63
Driver
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: MA
Posts: 154
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My first two cars were 1990 and then 1997 Lexus LS400s. I loved them, but I'd always wanted something sportier with more performance. As a present to myself after saving up, I bought a 2003 Mercedes E55 AMG with about 60k miles on it, a car I'd always dreamed of owning. It was a one-owner, clean CarFax, nearly-perfect condition car, black on black with every option but nav. The car was inspected thoroughly and had no issues/malfunctions at the time of sale, so I bought it for about $26k.
Within 7 months, the car had racked up $15,000 in repair costs. Some of the parts that failed were: intercooler pump, thermostat, automatic clutch, idler pulley, upper and lower control arm, wheel bushing, keyless door handles, cupholder assembly, fuel pump, fuel sending units, and steering angle sensor. I was of course shocked at this, but even more shocked when I went to the forums and found that each of these things was a common problem on the car, and that nearly every owner experienced them.
Luckily the car came with an aftermarket extended warranty that covered about half of the costs, and some of the things (door handles, cupholder, etc) I elected not to have fixed so as to not go completely broke.
I learned two things from this experience:
1) Before any car purchase, do your research by checking out the forums for that model. Nowhere can you find better info on what it's like to own a car or what issues are common on a car than on that model's forums. Consumer Reports/JD Power etc can only test a car to a certain degree, and reviews and surveys like them will never truly capture a car's reliability or cost to own.
2) Never own a German car. If I'd only owned this E55 and no other German cars, I'd limit this statement to Mercedes, but my family and friends have owned BMW and Audi and it's the same story: very poor reliability coupled with extremely expensive and frequent maintenance requirements. As far as reliability, $15k in repairs over 5-7 months is staggering and speaks for itself. And for maintenance, the dealerships were recommending a maintenance package every 1000 miles (laughable I know, and I wouldn't have abided by it, but it shows their mentality). I learned very quickly why a $100K car was selling for $26k with only 60k miles on the odometer.
Anyway, after all that, I knew I had to get rid of the car. I'll be the first to admit that I hadn't fully learned my lesson yet, and I went to Carmax to look at some 330s and 335s. I drove them and was impressed with the performance, but everything else was lacking, particularly the interior. More importantly, I'd read of all the reliability issues these had.
Just down from these 3-Series was a lone IS250. I'd never considered the IS, mainly because I didn't consider it a performance car. I decided I might as well take a test drive. I was immediately blown away by the interior design and quality, the comfort of the seats and the ride...all the things Lexus is known for, and the things I appreciated on my LS400s.
However, I couldn't stand how slow it was. I'm not bashing the 250 - it's a great car, it's just not a performer. To put it in perspective, my 1990 LS400 did 0-60 in 7.3 seconds; the 2009 IS250 is rated at 7.5.
Carmax didn't have any IS350s for me to try, so I searched on my phone for any on nearby lots to test drive. I found one nearby and went to test drive it and immediately knew it was the car I wanted. It had everything I loved about the IS250 I'd tried, but with an engine that could actually throw you back in your seat. It felt just as fast if not faster than the 335s I'd been trying.
I had to dump my E55 before it did any more damage to my wallet, but more importantly I knew I had to sell it at a time when it was not malfunctioning or broken down. The E55 has a big digital display in the gauge cluster that is red when there's a malfunction (for perspective, this display was red for about 75% of my ownership of the car). Somehow, the stars were aligned that week and nothing was showing as malfunctioning (though things actually were, like the clutch, but they weren't throwing codes) so I knew I had to get rid of it then because no one would want a car showing malfunctions.
I test drove that first IS350 on a Saturday. On Sunday I'd located a car at a Lexus dealership that matched what I wanted (black, tan interior, nav, CPO, around $25k) and by Sunday evening I'd traded in the E55 and bought the IS350. I've loved it (save for the dash rattle...).
The dealership decided to put the E55 out on their lot for a while instead of taking it directly to auction. After gradually decreasing the price over the course of the 2 months it sat there, they must have finally taken it to auction because it disappeared from the website. Sounds like others were smarter than I and avoided it.
TL;DR: Don't buy an E55, buy Lexus.
Within 7 months, the car had racked up $15,000 in repair costs. Some of the parts that failed were: intercooler pump, thermostat, automatic clutch, idler pulley, upper and lower control arm, wheel bushing, keyless door handles, cupholder assembly, fuel pump, fuel sending units, and steering angle sensor. I was of course shocked at this, but even more shocked when I went to the forums and found that each of these things was a common problem on the car, and that nearly every owner experienced them.
Luckily the car came with an aftermarket extended warranty that covered about half of the costs, and some of the things (door handles, cupholder, etc) I elected not to have fixed so as to not go completely broke.
I learned two things from this experience:
1) Before any car purchase, do your research by checking out the forums for that model. Nowhere can you find better info on what it's like to own a car or what issues are common on a car than on that model's forums. Consumer Reports/JD Power etc can only test a car to a certain degree, and reviews and surveys like them will never truly capture a car's reliability or cost to own.
2) Never own a German car. If I'd only owned this E55 and no other German cars, I'd limit this statement to Mercedes, but my family and friends have owned BMW and Audi and it's the same story: very poor reliability coupled with extremely expensive and frequent maintenance requirements. As far as reliability, $15k in repairs over 5-7 months is staggering and speaks for itself. And for maintenance, the dealerships were recommending a maintenance package every 1000 miles (laughable I know, and I wouldn't have abided by it, but it shows their mentality). I learned very quickly why a $100K car was selling for $26k with only 60k miles on the odometer.
Anyway, after all that, I knew I had to get rid of the car. I'll be the first to admit that I hadn't fully learned my lesson yet, and I went to Carmax to look at some 330s and 335s. I drove them and was impressed with the performance, but everything else was lacking, particularly the interior. More importantly, I'd read of all the reliability issues these had.
Just down from these 3-Series was a lone IS250. I'd never considered the IS, mainly because I didn't consider it a performance car. I decided I might as well take a test drive. I was immediately blown away by the interior design and quality, the comfort of the seats and the ride...all the things Lexus is known for, and the things I appreciated on my LS400s.
However, I couldn't stand how slow it was. I'm not bashing the 250 - it's a great car, it's just not a performer. To put it in perspective, my 1990 LS400 did 0-60 in 7.3 seconds; the 2009 IS250 is rated at 7.5.
Carmax didn't have any IS350s for me to try, so I searched on my phone for any on nearby lots to test drive. I found one nearby and went to test drive it and immediately knew it was the car I wanted. It had everything I loved about the IS250 I'd tried, but with an engine that could actually throw you back in your seat. It felt just as fast if not faster than the 335s I'd been trying.
I had to dump my E55 before it did any more damage to my wallet, but more importantly I knew I had to sell it at a time when it was not malfunctioning or broken down. The E55 has a big digital display in the gauge cluster that is red when there's a malfunction (for perspective, this display was red for about 75% of my ownership of the car). Somehow, the stars were aligned that week and nothing was showing as malfunctioning (though things actually were, like the clutch, but they weren't throwing codes) so I knew I had to get rid of it then because no one would want a car showing malfunctions.
I test drove that first IS350 on a Saturday. On Sunday I'd located a car at a Lexus dealership that matched what I wanted (black, tan interior, nav, CPO, around $25k) and by Sunday evening I'd traded in the E55 and bought the IS350. I've loved it (save for the dash rattle...).
The dealership decided to put the E55 out on their lot for a while instead of taking it directly to auction. After gradually decreasing the price over the course of the 2 months it sat there, they must have finally taken it to auction because it disappeared from the website. Sounds like others were smarter than I and avoided it.
TL;DR: Don't buy an E55, buy Lexus.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm sure there will be many that will benefit from this thread.
09-25-11, 09:11 PM
#65
Driver School Candidate
For me, I needed something reliable at a good price, and low mileage. I was getting tired of the BMW e39 breaking all of the time and wasting money just to keep it going. So I found a 09 IS350 with 15000 miles on it. It was a good deal IMO. And it's way more faster, powerful and oh way more reliable than the e39. I sometimes go on long trips and this IS can take abuse. Just recently drove about 1100 miles on a trip and it was flawless. another good thing was that I was able to get 32MPG at 85mph. So not bad at all! Can't wait get the KWs on that bad boy!
09-25-11, 10:14 PM
#69
For me, I needed something reliable at a good price, and low mileage. I was getting tired of the BMW e39 breaking all of the time and wasting money just to keep it going. So I found a 09 IS350 with 15000 miles on it. It was a good deal IMO. And it's way more faster, powerful and oh way more reliable than the e39. I sometimes go on long trips and this IS can take abuse. Just recently drove about 1100 miles on a trip and it was flawless. another good thing was that I was able to get 32MPG at 85mph. So not bad at all! Can't wait get the KWs on that bad boy!
09-25-11, 11:18 PM
#71
For me there were a few factors to consider... I needed something reliable, durable, different, and elegant... I was also on a budget and limited timeframe. I my choices at the time were Audi A4, Infinite G35/37, Acura TSX, BMW M3, and of course ISX50. So, I had a two week period to get my car before my birthday (it was my birthday present to myself), I only found A4s, G35s, and ISs for my budget (25k) but they were all either old and abused or new and pricy. So, one Saturday morning I was talking to my friend to go to the nearest city outside our base and while driving we stopped a few dealerships on our last two I test drove both the A4 and IS350, which let me lean more towards the Lexus ... Doing some search now that I was only looking for one kind of vehicle, I went to the stealership drove a few cars and fell in love with the ride quality... Price was the only issue, after looking and looking I considered going for a lease instead of buying at this point my buddy shows me an add online in a city near-by ... I went down there told them my story and came to find out they were former Marines themselves, the owner of the private dealership hooked me up knocked the price down to my budget out the door and explained a few things most dealership would not to a used car buyer... the car was great, on 24.5k miles on it, previous owner which was at site convinced me they were all highway and showed the Lexus service history and I don't know, by this time I had three days to my birthday and I really needed a car, my buddy was getting tired of picking me up at random places random times ... I figured that was it, I spent all my deployment money (other than the savings of course) on the vehicle, the bank hooked me up and gave me a really low interest rate 
Look, I would have rather have the IS350, but I felt in love with the brand and the model line... I saw it and knew it was meant to be mine... so I got it!! I'm happy and I think the wife wants it too, so when ever I upgrade she will be keeping it xD
Look, I would have rather have the IS350, but I felt in love with the brand and the model line... I saw it and knew it was meant to be mine... so I got it!! I'm happy and I think the wife wants it too, so when ever I upgrade she will be keeping it xD
09-26-11, 12:08 AM
#72
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: California
Posts: 1,832
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Here are my reasons of buying 2IS:
Extremely good look both outside and inside
Lexus prestige and reliability
Four door RWD sports sedan
Powerful and smooth V6 engine
On the upper limit of what I could afford at the time
Extremely good look both outside and inside
Lexus prestige and reliability
Four door RWD sports sedan
Powerful and smooth V6 engine
On the upper limit of what I could afford at the time
09-26-11, 12:13 AM
#73
I own a 1990 Toyota Corolla my very first car then I own a 1994 Toyota Celica GT then joined the Air Force went to Japan and owned a 1995 Nissian Skyline in japan couldnt take the car with me went back to the states and purchased a 2002 Toyota Celica GT-S Did a few rode trips from NYC to TAMPA and one time got food poisoning. What a miserable trip. Thats when I decided I wanted something sport with POWER and comfortable so I wanted to get a Nissan 370Z....but once I saw the trunk space and only hold 1 person I was like no-go. My family has always been Toyota...So I looked a higher up and saw the IS series. Notice the IS250 only had 206hp and my celica GT-S carried a whooping 180HP and I thought that was slow as hell so I was in the market for something that is 250HP or higher. Saw the IS350 with 306HP test drove it and Fell in love =0)
Same Toyota feel interior wise but with the added luxary. I was looking at the BMW 3 series but notice the repair cost was extreme compared to the IS average repair cost from 30,000 to 100,000 miles...Clearly the IS was more reliable .. Now I am a proud owner of a 08 IS350 and love it...Eats gas like crazy but price you pay for extra power.
Forgot to add. I dont know about you guys but what also sells me is the Turn radius of the vehicle. Turns just as sharpy as my CElica GT-S most sedans I would always have to do a 3 point turn making U-turns but this car no problem on tight corners.
Same Toyota feel interior wise but with the added luxary. I was looking at the BMW 3 series but notice the repair cost was extreme compared to the IS average repair cost from 30,000 to 100,000 miles...Clearly the IS was more reliable .. Now I am a proud owner of a 08 IS350 and love it...Eats gas like crazy but price you pay for extra power.
Forgot to add. I dont know about you guys but what also sells me is the Turn radius of the vehicle. Turns just as sharpy as my CElica GT-S most sedans I would always have to do a 3 point turn making U-turns but this car no problem on tight corners.
09-26-11, 08:11 AM
#74
Wifes S60 purchased used was beginning to have transmission slippage. Drove a new S60, 3 series, Honda, etc. When she drove the IS250 she fell in love. So smooth, bright lights, reliable & RWD!. She drives alot for work and this car worked. She just wishes for memory seats I'm 6'3" and she's 5'4".
09-26-11, 08:16 AM
#75
Going from most important to least are the reasons I bought an IS250
1) Car with good working A/C (compared to my eclipse GSX)
2) Car with good fuel economy (my 250 gets 35-40 depending on prevailing winds :P )
3) Reliable
4) Luxurious interior
5) Quiet ride
6) Exterior styling
I also wanted something I could take to the track and road course. The GSX makes too much power and has a crappy suspension geometry for this.
1) Car with good working A/C (compared to my eclipse GSX)
2) Car with good fuel economy (my 250 gets 35-40 depending on prevailing winds :P )
3) Reliable
4) Luxurious interior
5) Quiet ride
6) Exterior styling
I also wanted something I could take to the track and road course. The GSX makes too much power and has a crappy suspension geometry for this.