Fragger

Hi Friends,

Hope everyone is well. I am currently an M3 owner, and have been thinking of perhaps getting into an IS-F.

But I have a very specific question... If do buy an IS-F, I will buy one that's relative high mileage. Reason being, I want to stay under the 35K range, preferably less.

So here's my specific question:

As a Bimmer owner, I can attest to people heeding the warning of, "Don't buy a BMW without a warranty, or sell it when it's up." While I don't have nightmare stories of my own to share on that topic, the over engineering and preventative maintenance guidelines from BMW does make me see the truth in that advice.

So simple question being, how screwed am I, getting an IS-F with let's say, over 70K miles for an 08 and without warranty? I intend to use it as my secondary car though... not a DD.

Also, since I am super Noob, can someone educate me on what exactly a Lexus warranty is, anyway and how long it lasts and what have you?

Thanks for your time and help!

CalitriSC

iTrader: (13)

I really don't think you will have issues with a higher milage IS-F. There are many members are here getting up there in miles without issues. You can check to make sure the car was always serviced at Lexus.

PurduePete

Basic Bumper to bumper is 4 yrs & 50K miles. Drivetrain is 6 yrs & 70k miles. Assuming that the car has a good service history and you did a thorough check, I wouldn't worry, as Lexus quality is top notch. But make sure, it's not a tuner car.

Fragger

Ah, thanks for your quick responses, fellas!

So can you educate me a bit more on what are some of the things to check for, and what are some of the biggest issues/nightmares you have seen for the 08s, and what is the fix or solution for it?

How about maintenance? Is it as crazy as the M3, with the special oil, change of fluids every 15K miles, change of bushings, radiator parts, and blah, blah, blah! LOL! I am so tired of that stuff, just keep track of it and stuff...

Would love to get some more opinions and advice on this, thank you!

Fragger

And what exactly is a "tuner" IS-F? Can these things be force induced and etc?

lexsane

Lexus platinum warranty is only around 1500 bucks.. depends on deductible and mileage/year coverage..It covers almost everything except wear and tear parts. Lexus is built to last and more dependable than most car manufacturers..they are always in top three every year on J-D power ranking of problems per 100 vehicles even ahead of Toyota even though they are a subsidiary of them because Lexus is held to a higher standard...even the assembly plant in Canada for the RX is like walking into a hospital..the cars are put together with surgical precision..the standards are even higher for factories in Japan..but
it is still a machine and machines can break. I don't daily drive my F but still got warranty..Mark levinson amp is 1200 bucks.. anything navigation related is expensive and tranny will run you 12 grand. No one at the dealership is going to cry a river for you if something breaks on an almost $70,000 brand new vehicle..they are just going to send you to the cashier to pay. bmw or lexus go with out warranty at your own risk. Lexus is more reliable but they are too many variable at play to call any car bulletproof in my opinion.

Just F Me

Make sure you check the transmission...LOL...See my thread.

iH8RICERZ

iTrader: (3)

I picked up my 2008 ISF with 75k on her... and I daily drive/commute with my car. No problems what so ever so far, and I don't expect that I'll run into any problems or issues. The only things to look out for (common flaws on the 08's) are the faulty/leaky water pumps (not an expensive fix) and the steering pulling to the right every so slightly. THATS IT!!!! Besides from the basic maintenance, there's really nothing "huge" you need to do.

I think the term "tuner" for our cars is pretty irrelevant since modding this car is very limited to intake, headers, exhaust, nitrous, suspension and cosmetic parts. There have been a couple attempts at forced inductions on these motors, but they have been unsuccessful since tuning is damn near impossible at this point.

Good luck on the purchase if you decide to do so.

lexsane

some people have done rear turbo..nitros..headers..exhaust..intake..or beat the crap out of em while not following
proper maintenance schedule.. never clean their wheels and the break dust pits them out cause they are lazy.. look for garaged..one owner..clean car fax..owned by older person..i think their are some baby boomer owners of F's..look for their cars

PurduePete

A "tuner" car is what you described....lol. It's a general term for a modified car. I can't believe you say buying an IS-F with NOS history is irrelevant. The reason you don't want a modified/tuner used car is that it is generally understood that the car has been driven very hard during its previous ownership. Why do people install intakes, exhaust, headers, NOS, and turbo? What do you do with all that extra hps? It surely isn't to improve your gas mileage.....lol. Again I can't believe you don't understand this concept when evaluating a used car.

MisterSkiz

iTrader: (2)

Things to check on a 2008 Lexus IS-F with high mileage:

1) Water Pump is not leaking (2008 IS-F's had issues with the water pump seals seeping)

2) Rear Axles clicking when driving hard or coming from/to a stop (most likely needs lube/retourque of bolts)

3) There is supposed to be a valve spring check at 60k miles, however I am not sure many people do it.

4) Check that the rear subwoofer in the back deck is not blown. They can blow easily if you turn up the bass too high, then crank the volume to 50 and proceed to play 2Pac

5) Verify the front tires insides are not worn to cords, the IS-F has aggressive alignment settings from the factory, along with a bushing set up that causes more toe when breaking which adds to the tire wear.

6) Verify when you turn on the car that the A/C light doesn't flash, this means there could be an issue with the A/C system or blower motor (many owners break the recirculate door when trying to change the cabin filter themselves)

Good Luck

iH8RICERZ

iTrader: (3)

I came from the honda world, where I built my integra from the bottom up... high compression pistons, polished and blue printed bottom end, port and polished head, stage 2 race cams, titanium valve springs and retainers, ported manifold, tuned on the dyno, etc etc etc.... in my head, this would be a "tuner" car, hence the word "tune". Coming to the Lexus world and owning an ISF now, I find modding this car VERY difficult since we're extremely limited since tuning really isn't an option yet. Yes, I admit, I didn't mean to say buying a car ran with nitrous would be a safe bet or "irrelevant", but I do feel that our ISF's are pretty much built solid and dummy proof. Also, not all of us beat our cars hard even if we have I/H/E or aero parts on our car... some people dump money in their cars, and they only cruise around on the weekends or "hard park" the thing at shows and meets. There are a few of us who do take advantage of what this car has to offer and track the car, but its a small percentage from what I've seen.

RizOne

I am lucky to have both a 2011 E90 M3 6 speed with 700 miles and a 2012 ISF with 500 miles. The BMW has free scheduled maintenance for 4yrs/50k miles. I will usually pay for every other oil change because I think the BMW interval is too long. The dealer charges about $190 for oil change. The M3 takes the really expensive Castrol 10W-60 oil. I am hoping the Isf is somewhat cheaper. What is factory fill for the ISF oil? BMW will change the rear diff fluid at 1200 miles on the M3. Does the ISF need anything changed at the 1000 mile service?

vbb

iTrader: (3)

Curious, why do you have essentially brand new versions of two very similar cars? Not knocking you or anything, just curious what went in to the decision to get an M3 and an IS-F. Is one for track duty? If I were going to pay $65K for a 2nd car, it'd be probably the opposite of an IS-F (probably a luxury SUV of some sort).

At any rate, the IS-F takes 9.8 Qts of 5W30 oil, and it is recommended that it is changed every 5000mi. Some people have had their oil analyzed however, and have discovered that with a quality oil, you could go 10K miles or more without any significant degradation in lubricant quality. Whether you want to do that or not is really a personal choice that has been argued a thousand times. I run Amsoil and plan on taking it about 7500mi between changes.

I picked my IS-F up with 13,600mi on the odo, so I can't tell you want needs or doesn't need to be done at 1,000mi.

To the OP, the one thing that is fairly expensive on this car (especially if you don't do it yourself) is the fact that brake pads and rotors have to be replaced more often than on some other cars. Other than that, and some issues with the water pump leaking, rearview mirror shaking, and sub blowing, there really aren't any other major maintenance or repair items that this car typically needs. Just F Me's transmission going out was easily the biggest problem that I've seen anyone have, and it appears for now that his was an isolated incident rather than a systemic problem with these cars.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

Slight correction - valve lash inspection at 62k miles (100k km). The alignment is not aggressive at all. The bushings are soft and the harder you brake, the faster you'll wear the inside edges of your front tires. If you do mostly freeway driving on clear roads, you'll never have a problem. For the rest of us, there is a thread on Reconsidering the Factory Alignment, and FIGS Engineering has a fix for the squishy doughnuts.