SonyHome

I think you got smoking deal on your tint and PPF! Mine will come to almost 4x what you paid.

Roads can get nasty here in MN also with all the plow trucks that throw salt and sand. You just got to get away from those if you see it!

They do have precut PPF for 3IS bumpers which I believe is one piece but if I leased a car for couple years I'm not sure if I would be adding all these accessories on. I intend to keep my car for 8+ years and give it to my son or daughter when they go to college. unfortunately I can't deduct my car payments.

Your MSRP is exactly same as mine! How do you like the rear shade and adaptive cruise features? How is VGRS?

IS350S2K

I paid $450 over invoice for a car I ordered back in Aug. At the time it was the best deal I could find and was fine with it. Even though others were finding cars for less than invoice as time went on, I was fine with my deal. I wasn't going to renegotiate a better deal nor would I expect the dealer to do the same if prices were to go up. Do i feel bad about not saving more money? Not one bit. I may not have the best deal but to me it was a fair deal. The only thing I do regret is that if Lexus still makes money on cars selling for leas than invoice, I wished they would have used some of the extra money and put it in the car. If a 50k car can be sold for 40k, the car sure feels a lot less than a 50k car.

Bass Mech

I've only put about 150 miles on the car and little of it on the highway, i did get out today on the highway for about 20 miles and used the adaptive cruise, i must say i am SO happy i got this feature! i don't know if its the cool graphical display and all the information it gives or the fact it seems to work so flawlessly. i was busy playing with the nav and not paying 100% attention to the traffic in front of me and noticed the car started slowing down. AWESOME! i was about to my exit when i had to go through some construction, i had forgotten the cruise was still set and before i knew it the car was just going the right speed following other cars!

oh and i got into my first race last night. some punk *** kid was driving an Acura CL type S with a manual transmission.
he had tried playing with me earlier when we came to the light.
i had myself and about 400lbs worth of additional passengers not including me and i proceeded so smoke his ***!
i normally don't bother but this guy was really trying to show off. anyway i gave him the ricer flashers as we pulled away. he was a college student on his way to the local college. i let him catch up and he flew by in disgust!
i think what i like best is the transmission, at first i wasn't sure about it, its different. i think first gear is a little too low, it seems like it doesn't come out of the hole as fast as my GS ill have to confirm that sometime with my wife in the GS but it feels as fast, but with less drama, can't really explain what i am trying to say.
but i do like the fact that under part throttle it almost feels like a CVT, the tach will bounce between 3 and 4 k rpm as it shifts through the gears.. in this situation it feels like there is just as much pull in each gear and the revs stay relatively low until you get up to speed.

on the flip side, i thought this trans was supposed to rev-match gears on downshift. i would have expected to hear the throttle blip but have not experienced this yet. the gears do change fast, very fast and when getting on the highway it shifts so smooth you can't feel it but the engine suddenly drops maybe a thousand rpm in an instant as it changes.
the intake is not as pronounced as it is in the GS and i am not sure why. maybe it goes through the sweet spot that makes the growl a lot faster because the gears are closer together?

have you researched exactly how and when the VGRS functions? i know you have to be in sport S+ but i think you need to be on a twisty road. all of our twists are up a mountain pass and likely covered in snow at the moment, but i will get to try this out soon enough i am sure.
but if you can tell me what the conditions are that need to be met to vary the steering ratio it might be something i can try to look for and report back.

sorry this turned into a review post.. lol off topic. maybe i should write something about my impressions of the car now that i have had a little seat time?

oh BTW the seat heaters are totally worthless! i even programmed them to stay on and not ramp the temp down. after about 5 minutes i can tell they are on but just barely.
oh well, i don't plan to drive the RWD in the snow anyway, no big deal!

SonyHome

Sounds like you are having good time with the car.

Far as I'm aware VGRS is supposed to be on all the time no matter which mode you are in. Sport + mode may make the steering little more responsive. But overall VGRS is adjusting your steering ratio based on your speed so in lower speed you don't have to turn a lot to make the car respond and at higher speed it will be much tighter and little movement won't make the car swerve around.

Only thing I would be cautious about the adaptive cruise is it won't work below 25mph from what I've read. So it may suddenly disengage at low speed and you will need to be ready to step in. Not sure why Lexus didn't make this full range.

It's disappointing to hear about the heated seats feature. I wouldn't mind that in the below 0 temps here in the winters. It would seem Lexus really took the cheap route with our seats, no cooled seats, fake leather and now dysfunctional heaters.

I'm hoping you get your new wheels and tires put on soon and provide some feedbacks on them. I'm not planning to purchase until spring but if these don't work I need to figure out another set of wheels.

Bass Mech

well curiosity got the better of me, so i just went for a little drive (like that was a tough decision!)
mostly to see if the film i installed on the front emblem had any effect on the radar function. happy to report it works perfectly!
but i actually let the system take over and let me tell you, this is SO cool! so since i got the back window tinted i can see a reflection when the brake light is on in the mirror.
I'm following some traffic at 60 mph set speed but traffic is going about 55 and comes to a stop light in front of me. the system saw this (using the longest distance setting) and it not only slowed the car but as i got near started to apply the brakes, then pretty significantly, then as it slowed to 25 as you mention it stopped trying to slow my speed. but let me tell you, the system will in cases when necessary hit the brakes hard enough to really slow you down!
anyway as i drove a couple times the lights were changing green so the car was slowing to about 30 mph and then traffic was moving again and at one point the car i was following turned off, the system stepped on the gas pretty hard, it downshifted and accelerated pretty aggressively back to the speed limit.
i found it totally awesome almost autonomous that the car for a few lights actually slowed to about 30 then accelerated, then next light slowed all without me doing anything.

VGRS i found a stretch of road without any cars and tried swerving back and forth across the 2 lanes i had while changing from sport s to s+ and back. i can feel the steering get heavier and then lighter. i do know the system uses an electric motor that spins i think constantly to make the VGRS work. i studied the diagram i found online, it uses a flexible ring gear. but i still have no idea how it actually works. i just know there is a motor built into it.
it felt like as the motor spun up, the ratio changed. i really need to be on a winding road to see it in action but i can tell the system is definitely changing the steering ratio.
pretty cool actually!

i am already used to the adjustable shocks because my GS has it and even my wife can tell the difference. add that to the vgrs and you have a car with a very distinct personality in each of the different driving modes.

i have to say, the more i drive this car the more i learn and everything i learn about it makes me love it that much more!
on a side note, I'm really digging the mark lev! for a factory radio it's so good that i don't know if i can bring myself to even out a sub in the back. the ONLY thing it lacks is bass response below 35-40 hz or so.
i could build a 10" ported that is tuned exactly to that range and below but i wonder if its even worth doing.
anyway i should be posting these comments in my own thread. this is about what we paid, but i hope someone finds it entertaining.

alexlude

glad you are enjoying the car!! I'm loving everything about it as well, sans the *****ty Nav software.. when it works it works pretty well but

About seat heaters, mine actually work pretty well in 40 soemthing degree weather we've been having lately in SF bay area, but agree they dont get as hot as my wife's Murano.

Bass Mech

so glad to hear you say this.. i know exactly what you mean.
I've definitely had better deals, it doesn't make me like the car any less, in fact i think personally the car is worth every penny of MSRP in fact, i would have paid more!
i can't really find much to complain about. it suits all the criteria i was looking for, it's very comfy, quiet, sporty, loads of technology, best gauge cluster I've ever seen on a car this inexpensive. banging stereo!, aggressive styling, and the perfect size for me.

if i had any significant gripe is i wish i could have bought more features verses settling for what i can get in the F sport package.
would have liked the parking assist and the tilt in reverse mirrors.
i think i would have liked the lane keep assist, but not sure how often i would use it.
i am mostly OCD about having switch blanks where missing options and features are supposed to be.

speaking of, does anyone know what feature might become of the lonely dummy button on the upper right corner of the A/C controls? my guess is smog sensor will be added just like it was on the 2IS 350
one can hope! i loved that feature!

Bass Mech

the seat heaters in the GS get plenty hot, but also have cooling as well.

i think the problem is the seats are foam injected into the seat cover. for whatever reason, the heater elements themselves probably have to be put into the foam someplace and my guess is not right against the back of the Nuluxe fabric. possibly deeper into the top layer of foam. possibly a totally different heading pad (the ones i installed in my tacoma when i had the interior redone used a carbon fiber mesh) its either the location of the heater, or the material its made from or it could be the foam cannot be subjected to that much heat and they designed them that way.
who knows, frustrating, but not a huge deal.

BOBFSPORT

Wow this stuff is great to hear so i know i am not just making stuff up. My GS feels faster to me as well even though my brain tells me it is not. I chalk it up to the AWD allowing for a better dig without any drama from a stop light. Also the intake sounds much deeper much more like a v8 then a v6. The IS has a nice intake sound but it is not the deep throaty sound the GS makes. Maybe this is because of the different trannys? The 6 speed feels more aggressive to me while the 8 speed shifts seamlessly and feels more refined. Congrats on finally getting your new wheels !

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

IS350 RWD, Nebula Gray / Rioja Red, FSport, ML/Navi, VGRS, BSM. Car was in stock so no waiting

MSRP $48500
Vehicle Price $45700, edmunds invoice wasnt too far from this
$48500 OTD before $1000 Lexus voucher
1.9% for 60 months

pikenp

Thanks alexlude! I'll look into the MSDs. Thanks for the information & pointers!

CtSFox

Maybe its just individual difference in preference, but I find the heated seats in the F Sport to be warm enough for me. I was driving last night in 20 degreee F and they were up to the task.

iampraneel

iTrader: (3)

Here is my pudding. As you can see mine is fully optioned like yours plus the ppf and accessory package. I still calculate your car's invoice to be $46,082.

I'm not calling a fellow CL member a liar and I sure as heck ain't lying. If your dealership told you your paying $500 above invoice and that number is $46,932 it doesn't take Judge Judy to figure out who is lying.

Also my deal didn't have a trade factor.

mj7801

IS350 RWD, Ultra White / Rioja Red, FSport, ML/Navi, VGRS, BSM.

MSRP $48,548
Vehicle Price $44,478
39,000 OTD w/Lexus voucher and Mil discount/$7000 trade-in
2.49% for 60 months

Jacksonville, FL

Bass Mech

looking back at my post and my paperwork i think i made a typo, your guess at the invoice looks right to me. so whatever 500 over that figure is what i paid.
i found a number on the paperwork that i thought was the purchase price but now i can't find that page or that number.
i just recall looking at the invoice sheet they printed for me and whatever that number was exactly 500 over the invoice price.
without looking at the actual figures now i just remember doing some quick math in my head it seemed like invoice was in the neighborhood of 3k less than sticker maybe a few hundred more or a few hundred less. i remember $48,9xx msrp and something like $46,4xx maybe $46,3xx? i remember rounding the 48,900 to 49k and counting backwards to the price they told me that included 500 over. so yes that looks accurate and thats the same figure they came up with.

i was looking right at the official invoice price sheet that had MSRP on the left and invoice on the right as optioned.
since i cannot recall the exact number ill use yours. i guess it's apparent now how important it is to me and how much i care what that actual number was. i know it was 500 over simple as that.
sorry for the typo!
i know i pay within a dollar per month of another member who paid much closer to MSRP for his car with less features. no ML , no PCS, no rear shade for the same money down and for the same number of months and with similar credit as me which works out about right as those items raise the price about 2500 bucks.

anyway, i am happy with the price i pay, happy with the payment, happy with the car and i know for a fact the dealer is not stupid enough to try to slip something past me just based on the relationship i have with them. in short it just would not happen, no way, no how! nothing would be gained to lie to me about the price i paid and frankly I'm not in the least bit worried about it. i like the deal i got and that's all that matters.

but thanks for looking into it, hope you didn't go to too much trouble to find that out.