kuneefay

Hi everyone, im new to lexus but have experience with Toyota(land cruiser). Which has made me take a solid look at possibly choosing the is250 or 350 for my 180mile per day commute. Fuel mileage is important but so is resale value, overall reliability, and smiles per gallon. And the two options have really strained my decision making. For some background im 25 years old and live in the pacific northwest, 2 kids, a wife, and a dog. The reason why I've decided on a lexus is because of the heritage of reliability, safety ratings, and the overbuilt platforms and drivetrains. I plan on keeping this next vehicle for 2 years and will put approximately 80k miles on it by the end of its life with me. I do all my own maintenance unless its something like a timing belt or clutch. I will be buying used and probably at around the 50-90k mile mark. I was wondering which you think is better for my commute, has better resale value around the 130k-160k, and which has lower overall maintenance costs(I will be doing full synthetic oil changes every 3500-4000miles). Fuel cost difference between the two will be roughly $600 per year which may be a factor if the resale value is negligible.


Thanks for your opinions and time!

Zmon

iTrader: (2)

The 350 will have better resale in the long run. The 350 also has the more dependable engine due to the carbon build up issues on the 250, especially in the long run. Maintenance costs should be nearly the same. It's up to you if you feel the better engine, the extra horsepower, the 1-2mpg difference, and the extra cost is worth it for the 350. Test drive both and see how you like each of them.

MikeFoxx

iTrader: (8)

The extra hp with the 350 will come in handy for the commute... but if it were me with a 180mperday commute I'd be all over a Prius. Don't knock it till you test drive it. Heck you could even rent one for a day and take it on the commute. I drove one from Lodi, CA to San Diego and still had 1/4 tank left... $32 got it back to full.

kuneefay

A prius goes against everything I've ever appreciated about the automobile world. If I wanted the 40+mpg I'd get a vw diesel. I had seriously thought about a sport touring motorcycle for about 4 months but the family doesn't like the idea. I'm basically looking for something that gets 25-35mpg freeway that can still put a smile on my face. I was thinking about going back to a wrx but I wanted something more refined and family friendly.

pheonix72

iTrader: (6)

The resale value of any car will be significantly lower once you racked up over 90k miles! Hybrids might not do much for you if the commute is mostly highways. I would recommend looking into a Civic or something like that. Or have you check out the CT 200h?
LMAO at the VW Disiel! You must haven't reading up on the cheating debacle at VW. Who knows what is going to happen to the performance and efficiency of their TDi engines after the fix? but i am pretty sure you could probably pick one up for pretty cheap now!

jgr7

iTrader: (1)

I would get the 350, and to save some money you would not need to change oil every 3500-4000 miles given that your miles will be highway miles, unless you have a lot of stop and go miles in that 180 mile round trip. Highway miles are the best miles you can put on your car. I'm sure with syn oil you could go 7500 - 10000 between changes.

AJLex19

I agree with the other posters here. Get the 350 - the power and refinement is something you'll appreciate. I had a brand new '15 loaner IS250 a few times and even the lexus loaner driver agreed that my '11 IS350 base had better overall characteristics than the new IS250 base.

The IS250 lacks power.

The real world gas mileage difference will also be negligible especially if you can take it easy on the pedal.

MikeFoxx

iTrader: (8)

Fair enough ... I hear you they don't make the drive fun enough to smile. IS350 will do it on every on ramp ^_^

Sticking to just these two there really isn't a reason why you shouldn't get the 350 if you can find one.

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

Smiles per gallon; love it! If you even care about that, then you'd want to get the IS350.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

350 will def be more fun but if you want mpg....go for 250

LP817

iTrader: (1)

418 miles til empty on a 250? nice
i just filled up today and im getting 325 til empty in a 350

srt1

Thats still damn good! I'm getting less maybe cause I'm driving a lil faster at times.
At any rate I'm very happy with my 350. Has the power I need and everything else to go with it.

So you're against the better fuel mileage cars because the lack of look and power and yeah I can see why. From others have said you have opinions and then facts about these cars. I would sugg the 350, as mentioned above more power and less issues. I haven;t had one major issue with mine at all and I bought it used. Oil changes are longer anywhere 6-8k but for the use of yours maybe sooner. This has a timing chain so hopefully no worries there, "should" last the life of engine. You'll have to change out the water pump which is easay as hell.
GL

VTsuckah

iTrader: (1)

Resale shouldn't even be in the cards with the amount of miles you will rack up in a very short amount of time. Gas mileage should be a non factor as well. $600 difference over the course of a year is not much in the grand scheme of things, especially if something were to go wrong. Parts are not cheap. With that said, the engine of the 350 is pretty reliable compared to the 250's carbon build up issue.

I bought a 2 year used 350 for my daily commuter a few years back and was on track to 25k miles a year after my commute doubled 8 months after buying the car. I ended up buying a used Tacoma to save the mileage and wear n tear on my 350 since my warranty was quickly expiring due to the mileage...I do all maintenance myself, but like I said, Lexus parts are expensive. I still have the 350 for weekend and occasional Friday commutes. It's a blast to drive and I couldn't bring myself to give her up. +1 for a 350, you will not be disappointed.

srt1

Let me say that parts are not that expensive depending on the work. All vehicles need work done at one point or another. Lets take an example;
2007 civic A/F sensor is about the same price as the IS350. I actually bought mine cheaper, online, from rock auto(Denso). Also "expensive" could mean different to anyone and that's a personal belief. I could say" man JDM is bank" but am I comparing it to another vendor, company, or comparing it to my bank acc? Maybe I'm talking out of my a$$ but imo.

This OP stated he can do his own maint and possibly other work. So that is not an issue. If you take it to a stealership they will rip you off, no matter if it's Honda, Nissan or Lex! All resales will DROP dramatically if there's massive miles on it no matter what type of vehicle.
Don't take it personal I'm just trying to help out the OP

ALewIS250

Two weeks ago I was faced with the same decision. I test drove both cars, fell in love and my search began. I was looking because my new job is a 90 mile commute each day (half of yours but still feels like a lot). and my f150 was killing me at the pump. Both cars seemed to be priced very similarly for the years I was looking (about 3-6 yrs old).
2 weeks ago I handed the Lexus dealer a big wad of cash and I drove my 2009 85k mile IS250 home. Would I like the extra power from the 350? sure. But I have zero complaints and plan to drive this car well over 200k miles.

Ultimately you won't be upset with either choice, I have averaged 27mpg on the 4 tanks so far and I have not been taking it easy. It is fun to drive and gets up and goes plenty fast for daily driving. Ive taken it over 100mph on every highway ramp so far and gets there before I realize it. My suggestion is to go with whichever one you can find the better deal on. within a weeks time I test drove over 15 IS models and drove 3 hours to finally end up with my 250 and never looking back!