Why Did You Buy Your IS F? (Info For New Owners & Future Owners)
02-28-13, 07:45 PM
#31
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Funny thing is, I've had my eye on an m3 for the last few years and even deemed it my "dream car" until my friend asked me why I didn't consider an ISF. I was lucky to have the opportunity to test drive both an automatic m3 and the ISF back to back at a dealership and here were my thoughts.
1: Acceleration and sound of the engine was better IMO with the ISF. Felt more torque in the ISF (not sure how the stick m3 drives but after driving a 95 civic with a racing clutch in LA traffic all those years, wasn't sure I could get a manual as a DD (My left calf seems to be more defined then my right, haha)
2: Felt much more comfortable in the ISF. Felt like I had less elbow room in the M3 (I'm not even that big of a guy) Always loved coupe cars and liked the M3 coupe much more than the sedan but I liked the idea of going 4drs and not having the option of getting a coupe if that makes sense.
3. Always heard stories about maintenance/repair costs/issues with European cars. Kinda scary to think about your brand new ride being in the shop. $$$$$$ Reliability was also a strong selling point for me and the Lexus brand ensures that.
4. The M3 has a slight exterior edge but I'd have to say the ISF's interior wins by a huge margin...plus, I think you spend way more time in your car than you do outside of it. The way the gauges start up is sick! Lexus leather looks oh so nice! ...and did I mention the silver carbon fiber? The ISF's obsidian paint was also really shiny compared to the jet black M3.
5. Rarity factor. I've had my car for around 3 weeks now and I still haven't seen another ISF on the road. Do you know how many M3's I've seen in that time frame? lol
Still have plenty of love for the m3...but I'm proud to say that I own an ISF.
1: Acceleration and sound of the engine was better IMO with the ISF. Felt more torque in the ISF (not sure how the stick m3 drives but after driving a 95 civic with a racing clutch in LA traffic all those years, wasn't sure I could get a manual as a DD (My left calf seems to be more defined then my right, haha)
2: Felt much more comfortable in the ISF. Felt like I had less elbow room in the M3 (I'm not even that big of a guy) Always loved coupe cars and liked the M3 coupe much more than the sedan but I liked the idea of going 4drs and not having the option of getting a coupe if that makes sense.
3. Always heard stories about maintenance/repair costs/issues with European cars. Kinda scary to think about your brand new ride being in the shop. $$$$$$ Reliability was also a strong selling point for me and the Lexus brand ensures that.
4. The M3 has a slight exterior edge but I'd have to say the ISF's interior wins by a huge margin...plus, I think you spend way more time in your car than you do outside of it. The way the gauges start up is sick! Lexus leather looks oh so nice! ...and did I mention the silver carbon fiber? The ISF's obsidian paint was also really shiny compared to the jet black M3.
5. Rarity factor. I've had my car for around 3 weeks now and I still haven't seen another ISF on the road. Do you know how many M3's I've seen in that time frame? lol
Still have plenty of love for the m3...but I'm proud to say that I own an ISF.
02-28-13, 11:01 PM
#32
I actually read all of those.... It's starting to sound like a CD on repeat. LOL
I had an IS350 from Oct 05 to Feb 08. Feb 08, I test drove the IS-F and it was end of story. Silly grin for at least 10 minutes after I floored it in sport mode. At the time, the M3 was 333 hp, the C55 was junk. There was NO comparable vehicle.
Over the next 5 years, I still think it was the absolute BEST 4 door sports sedan. Reliable, fuel efficient, rare, sporty when you want it, yet civilized. I mean, a Lexus that beats corvettes (obviously not Z06 or ZR1), Mustangs, Hemis, etc. and took me to work day in and day out. What's not to love?
I still say that for the price, the IS-F is the BEST car. I had to spend 3X more (MSRP vs. MSRP) to finally find a car that I could say I like more. But it's still just better only because of traction issues (AWD).
If I had more cash, I'd buy back my IS-F and get the OS-Giken and buckets, Penske/Ohlins, and square Volk setup and take that road racing. I'm too scared of taking the Turbo S racing... Heck, you never know... I might actually consider it (behind the wife's back) and keep it in a garage somewhere.
I had an IS350 from Oct 05 to Feb 08. Feb 08, I test drove the IS-F and it was end of story. Silly grin for at least 10 minutes after I floored it in sport mode. At the time, the M3 was 333 hp, the C55 was junk. There was NO comparable vehicle.
Over the next 5 years, I still think it was the absolute BEST 4 door sports sedan. Reliable, fuel efficient, rare, sporty when you want it, yet civilized. I mean, a Lexus that beats corvettes (obviously not Z06 or ZR1), Mustangs, Hemis, etc. and took me to work day in and day out. What's not to love?
I still say that for the price, the IS-F is the BEST car. I had to spend 3X more (MSRP vs. MSRP) to finally find a car that I could say I like more. But it's still just better only because of traction issues (AWD).
If I had more cash, I'd buy back my IS-F and get the OS-Giken and buckets, Penske/Ohlins, and square Volk setup and take that road racing. I'm too scared of taking the Turbo S racing... Heck, you never know... I might actually consider it (behind the wife's back) and keep it in a garage somewhere.
03-01-13, 03:54 PM
#34
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I took an unexpected job on the east coast and decided to stay here. I moved here with my Honda S2000 and soon realized its not so brilliant in the snow 
Its great whey you want to go sideways all the time 
My wife and I are planning to have kids in the near future, and i wanted a car that is family friendly and still fun. I narrowed it down to a few sport sedans; Audi S4 / Merc C63 AMG / BMW M3 and of course the Lexus ISF. Audi S4 was not even in the same class of performance, steering felt artificial and I can't stand their navigation unit. The C63 AMG had an interior that was really really really outdated. The M3 was awesome in every other way, except when it came to reliability. I almost got the M3 until my friend's 335 broke down (again), and just outside his warranty window...
This is a car i am planning to keep for the next 10 years, so Lexus was the clear and obvious choice. Not to mention 99% of the people on the road thinks its just a IS250/350
Its great whey you want to go sideways all the time My wife and I are planning to have kids in the near future, and i wanted a car that is family friendly and still fun. I narrowed it down to a few sport sedans; Audi S4 / Merc C63 AMG / BMW M3 and of course the Lexus ISF. Audi S4 was not even in the same class of performance, steering felt artificial and I can't stand their navigation unit. The C63 AMG had an interior that was really really really outdated. The M3 was awesome in every other way, except when it came to reliability. I almost got the M3 until my friend's 335 broke down (again), and just outside his warranty window...
This is a car i am planning to keep for the next 10 years, so Lexus was the clear and obvious choice. Not to mention 99% of the people on the road thinks its just a IS250/350
03-01-13, 08:43 PM
#35
I never had a car until after college so I think I'm making up for lost time. I got a job out of college making about $30k a year and ended up buying the owners car. A 1998 BMW 328is manual. Didn't even know how to drive stick. I learned on that car and fell in love with driving. About a year later my income had doubled so I wanted my first "nice" car, so I bought an '03 350Z with 10k on it. Manual again. I really liked that car but went thru 3 trannys by 35k miles. By this time, I had bought a business, house, and got married. I felt like we were making more money than we could spend! I had to get out of the 350Z, so I got a brand new 2007 IS250 and bought my wife my uncles '03 Escalade. I really liked the IS250 and kept it for 3 years (longest I've kept a car to date). I also bought an '07 Jeep SRT8' but then we had our first daughter, so we traded it for a Lexus GX470. I got tired of not going fast in the IS250 and thought about getting an IS350, but it just didn't do it for me. I test drove a 335i and fell in love. Really got into modding with that car, but like VBB had fuel pump issues among other things. Started thinking about an IS-F and even test drove one, but I wanted faster. I traded the 335i in for a GT-R and was living the dream! I drove it everyday for a few months and then bought an RX 330 for a DD. So at this point, we had the GX470, RX330, and the GT-R. I loved the GT-R so much it made me hate driving the RX everyday. Then my wife and I decided to have another child (she's nine month old today), and I decided to get rid of both the GT-R and the RX for ONE nice car. I test drove an IS-F with headers and it felt like a Honda civic to me. I also test drove an E63 and it was the same except real floaty too. I gave up on high performance and bought a brand new 2011 BMW 535i and really loved it. Most beautiful interior I've been in. But again, I missed going fast. 8 months later I stumbled upon a brand new SFP IS-F at Lexus, so I drove it. It actually felt fast now, although I forgot how fast the GT-R had been. My wife had just bought a brand new 2011 Escalade and I felt like I should get what I want with some practicality having 2 children. I took a $7k bath on that BMW, but haven't regretted anything by getting the F. I love it more and more everyday and I only look at cars I'd add to the stable now. I'm keeping this thing! So....coming from a guy who's experienced a broad range of cars, I'd put this one right up with my GT-R as far as my love goes for it. It's really that good.
03-04-13, 04:07 PM
#38
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i ve been a car freak all my life , and i have modded every car Ive had, hondas,acuras,ford lightning,dodge dakota rt,vw's, last one i had was a wrx that i exceeded the moding it had 700whp+ and every single gadget. But when you mod a car like that something will start to give in , and the car started giving me problems , and i decided to sell it while i could , so i did. Started a search for a new car whanted something na high end 4 door and fast, and specially w not too much room for mods , and i ended up with my f , not my fastest car but the best
03-04-13, 06:10 PM
#39
What cars did I consider?
1. Viper
2. Porsche 911 and Cayman S
3. M3
4. Corvette
Why the F?
1. Fun factor--absolutely a blast to drive
2. Performance--adrenaline rush at 4,000 plus RPM
3. Reliability
4. Sick of the German explanations as to why my Bimmer was always failing in one way or another and that it's "normal" maintenance
5. Last but not least, the growl of the beast is addictive.
1. Viper
2. Porsche 911 and Cayman S
3. M3
4. Corvette
Why the F?
1. Fun factor--absolutely a blast to drive
2. Performance--adrenaline rush at 4,000 plus RPM
3. Reliability
4. Sick of the German explanations as to why my Bimmer was always failing in one way or another and that it's "normal" maintenance
5. Last but not least, the growl of the beast is addictive.
08-01-13, 06:17 PM
#40
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Funny thing is, I've had my eye on an m3 for the last few years and even deemed it my "dream car" until my friend asked me why I didn't consider an ISF. I was lucky to have the opportunity to test drive both an automatic m3 and the ISF back to back at a dealership and here were my thoughts.
1: Acceleration and sound of the engine was better IMO with the ISF. Felt more torque in the ISF (not sure how the stick m3 drives but after driving a 95 civic with a racing clutch in LA traffic all those years, wasn't sure I could get a manual as a DD (My left calf seems to be more defined then my right, haha)
2: Felt much more comfortable in the ISF. Felt like I had less elbow room in the M3 (I'm not even that big of a guy) Always loved coupe cars and liked the M3 coupe much more than the sedan but I liked the idea of going 4drs and not having the option of getting a coupe if that makes sense.
3. Always heard stories about maintenance/repair costs/issues with European cars. Kinda scary to think about your brand new ride being in the shop. $$$$$$ Reliability was also a strong selling point for me and the Lexus brand ensures that.
4. The M3 has a slight exterior edge but I'd have to say the ISF's interior wins by a huge margin...plus, I think you spend way more time in your car than you do outside of it. The way the gauges start up is sick! Lexus leather looks oh so nice! ...and did I mention the silver carbon fiber? The ISF's obsidian paint was also really shiny compared to the jet black M3.
5. Rarity factor. I've had my car for around 3 weeks now and I still haven't seen another ISF on the road. Do you know how many M3's I've seen in that time frame? lol
Still have plenty of love for the m3...but I'm proud to say that I own an ISF.
1: Acceleration and sound of the engine was better IMO with the ISF. Felt more torque in the ISF (not sure how the stick m3 drives but after driving a 95 civic with a racing clutch in LA traffic all those years, wasn't sure I could get a manual as a DD (My left calf seems to be more defined then my right, haha)
2: Felt much more comfortable in the ISF. Felt like I had less elbow room in the M3 (I'm not even that big of a guy) Always loved coupe cars and liked the M3 coupe much more than the sedan but I liked the idea of going 4drs and not having the option of getting a coupe if that makes sense.
3. Always heard stories about maintenance/repair costs/issues with European cars. Kinda scary to think about your brand new ride being in the shop. $$$$$$ Reliability was also a strong selling point for me and the Lexus brand ensures that.
4. The M3 has a slight exterior edge but I'd have to say the ISF's interior wins by a huge margin...plus, I think you spend way more time in your car than you do outside of it. The way the gauges start up is sick! Lexus leather looks oh so nice! ...and did I mention the silver carbon fiber? The ISF's obsidian paint was also really shiny compared to the jet black M3.
5. Rarity factor. I've had my car for around 3 weeks now and I still haven't seen another ISF on the road. Do you know how many M3's I've seen in that time frame? lol
Still have plenty of love for the m3...but I'm proud to say that I own an ISF.
08-01-13, 08:57 PM
#42
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hhehehe1st love the performance
2nd love the performance
3nd love the performance
4th love the performance LOL i can go on and on and on and on and on and on to none stop O.o ehheheeheh
08-02-13, 08:03 AM
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08-02-13, 09:29 AM
#45
Back in November of '08, I was in the process of buying my wife a new ES350. I contacted all the dealers in the Phoenix by internet and phone, and got the best price on the "right" car at Superstition Springs Lexus in Mesa AZ. We went there and closed the deal.
At the time, I was driving a slightly modified 2003 Infiniti G35 6MT Coupe. That car was OK, but I really was never really "happy" with it. I had a 93 Lexus SC300 5MT before the Infiniti, and I always missed the features it had that the Infiniti didn't have.
When we arrived at the dealers to pick up my wife's ES, they had 7 ISFs. This was the only dealer in the Phoenix that had any ISFs, and they had seven of 'em. Being a cur guy, I knew what an ISF was, I had read about them, but had never seen one before. We bought my wife's car, and on the way out, I asked if they would start up one of the Fs, when they did, I asked to take a test drive. We left after the test drive, and I mulled things over in my head for a week or so.
1. We had not gone to the dealers to pick up a car for me. I was not even looking for a car.
2. I had never owned a 4 door car before.
3. I had never even considered an automatic before.
Anyway, at the end of the week, I called the internet guy and started negotiations on one of the Mercury Metallic ones. A week later, we had a deal. The card I wanted had chrome wheels, which I made them swap with another one.
The Rest is History.
Note - My Suppressed Desire, back in my High School yearbook, back in 1957, was "To Some day own a Passanger Car capable of 0-60 in less than 5 seconds" With the F, I have finally achieved that goal.
Lou
At the time, I was driving a slightly modified 2003 Infiniti G35 6MT Coupe. That car was OK, but I really was never really "happy" with it. I had a 93 Lexus SC300 5MT before the Infiniti, and I always missed the features it had that the Infiniti didn't have.
When we arrived at the dealers to pick up my wife's ES, they had 7 ISFs. This was the only dealer in the Phoenix that had any ISFs, and they had seven of 'em. Being a cur guy, I knew what an ISF was, I had read about them, but had never seen one before. We bought my wife's car, and on the way out, I asked if they would start up one of the Fs, when they did, I asked to take a test drive. We left after the test drive, and I mulled things over in my head for a week or so.
1. We had not gone to the dealers to pick up a car for me. I was not even looking for a car.
2. I had never owned a 4 door car before.
3. I had never even considered an automatic before.
Anyway, at the end of the week, I called the internet guy and started negotiations on one of the Mercury Metallic ones. A week later, we had a deal. The card I wanted had chrome wheels, which I made them swap with another one.
The Rest is History.
Note - My Suppressed Desire, back in my High School yearbook, back in 1957, was "To Some day own a Passanger Car capable of 0-60 in less than 5 seconds" With the F, I have finally achieved that goal.
Lou
Last edited by flowrider; 08-02-13 at 09:35 AM.
