Zelfiris

Hi Everyone,

Long time lurker and finally decided to register as a member. Had a car accident last week and car is now deemed as total loss so I’m looking to pick up an used IS 250/350. I would like some opinions which option below they would pick below for Toronto driving. I come from a RWD coupe and would like have comfort nice interior this time, also preferably with AWD for winter conditions

Option A) 2007 - IS350 - RWD
Price: $18,000 after taxes
Mileage: 138,000 KM
Features: Navi + Backup Camera + Leather seats + Mark Lev Sound System + Sunroof
Extras: Come with full history of services performed, a set of winter rims, and new summer tires on OEM rims.
My comments: I do not like the exterior colour and will be repainting the car at about $3,000. High mileage is a concern for me but can’t complain about the price. It is also RWD which I did not fancy driving my coupe in winter before. I was told only the water pump was replaced.

Option B) 2010 – IS250 – RWD
Price: $34,000 after taxes
Mileage: 62,000 KM
Features: Navi + Backup Camera + Leather seats + Sunroof
Extras: Brakes replaced, does not come with history of services performed, and owner purchased the car at a dealer at 8,000KM.
My comments: The price is a bit high for my budget but low mileage, newer car and looks to be in excellent shape. However, the car has an US title and no service history which is a concern. The owner may be able to lower the price a little.

Down the road I would like to pick up an F Sport exhaust (I love the sound). I pick this car for its reliability and plan on keeping this car until end of the world. Other car I was looking into was the new Honda Accord 2013 Sedan (amazing interior) but too big of a car for me.

Let me know what you guys think

reyoasian

iTrader: (2)

get the 07, more power and easier to mod

you already said you picked this car for reliability so no need to worry that it's from 2007

BDSL

I hope you are not getting an AWD because you believe it will stop faster in winter.
It is the tires that make your vehicle stop faster...not AWD.

Zelfiris

I'm actually hoping AWD will help prevent the car from fish tailing which I experienced a couple of times in deeper snow with my RWD

reyoasian

iTrader: (2)

but both your options are rwd..?

BDSL

I have RWD vehicles too.

All you have to do is:
- get winter tires (with more than 6mm tread)
- put a bag of salt in the trunk
- and don't accelerate as hard

reyoasian

iTrader: (2)

^ or get LSD lol

Zelfiris

thanks guy.. I got a chance to try a 2010 IS250 AWD from a dealer.. it was not as fast I expected. I'm going to find another dealer with IS350 and give that a try

reyoasian

iTrader: (2)

2.5L v6 ripping 200bhp and 180lbft tq..........on a 3600lb car.......of course it's not gona be fast

one2nite

AWD only I live in Montreal and its a must in the winter

Zelfiris

I don't think I'm searching for the right key words to look for an answer..

When I test drove the IS250 in power mode with the stick shift, it stayed in 4th gear which really shocked me. This means I can only shift two more times and that is really disappointing. I enjoy the car down shifting back to 1 at dead stop so I can all the way back up to 6 manually.

I realize the IS has two more modes, regular and eco. If I had put it back on regular mode, would the dash display 1 again at dead stop?

BDSL

I don't know what you are trying to achieve by accelerating in the 4th gear....especially most engines have narrow torque band. Go to the right gear and accelerate.

BDSL

I have been to Montreal and Mont Tremblant a few times in the winter. All you need is winter tires.....not AWD.

Zelfiris

Hi BDSL, maybe you can educate me. What year is your IS?

I had no intentions of pushing in 4th gear. What I'm saying is, when I was a dead stop (e.g. stop sign) on Power Mode, the IS lowest starting gear is actually on 4th. The salesperson told me it starts at 4th in case people screw up shifting or over revving. I was blown away by that explanation. He then told me I can manually downshift back to 1st when I'm at a full stop then shift all the way back up to 6th .. which is ridiculous.

Note: It was a 2010 IS250 AWD

reyoasian

iTrader: (2)

the sales is a f***ing idiot

that is not a "shifter", it's a gear limiter
it's a 6spd auto, so your gear would go 1-2-3-4-5-6
when you put it to the LEFT, it automatically drop to 4, so your gear would go 1-2-3-4
you can still "shift" the **** up and down to limit the highest gear
you're NOT SHIFTING, and you're NOT TELLING THE COMPUTER TO SHIFT EITHER
you're just SETTING/LIMITING THE TOP GEAR, while the car is still in AUTO

i don't see any reason why Lexus would design to limit top gear to "4" when you move the shifter to the "left" in "s" mode
only explanation would be when you're on the hwy and wanna overtake somebody, you just pop it to the left and WOT

the PWR mode is a little more throttle response and apparently is better for the transmission because it shifts a little faster and more smoothly
but if you were to floor it in PWR mode, it will shift at about 6250rpm while NORMAL mode shifts are 6500rpm, so from a dead stop NORMAL mode is faster