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DISCLAIMER: I love my car and there is nothing wrong with it. That being said...
This is something I've sort of been keeping to myself for a while. I go to Portland Cars & Coffee usually every week (if its not raining) ever since I got the car. And yes I know the IS350 isn't an attention seeker, but that isn't really what I'm talking about. Its a sleeper, its not made to get attention (Spoke to a guy who had an R35 that ran 10.4s in the 1/4 mile and even he was surprised when I told him the IS runs 13s). But really its just (and this isn't directed to anyone here at the forums, just in general in the area I'm in) is sort of the lack of enthusiasts who buy these cars. And I get why (limited aftermarket, not the best handling in comparison to other cars, not a lot of HP you can add, etc.) but if you really want to understand what I mean: The cars and coffee event here has 3 parking lots and I went one day and no joke they were all full. People began parking on curbs because of how packed it was. I saw only 1 Lexus there, and it was mine. (Another week I did eventually see another guy who had a very clean 2014 GS350 F Sport, but that was it) There were plenty G37s, 335s, S2000s, C classes, Genesis coupes, even a few Acura TLs. I saw more Chevy Cruzes that day than any Lexus. I don't know about you guys, but is there just a lack of enthusiasts with these cars? I don't know if that is the case with everyone else here but here its almost impossible to find any enthusiast with a Lexus (at least here).
Curious to hear your guys's thoughts though. Do I just live an area with a lack of car enthusiasts or do people really just underestimate this car completely?
Our cars and coffee is pretty lacking as well. It ls definitely a little discouraging. Lol. But with that being said , I am attending a meet tomm that may just break the record of Lexus cars in the US. So who knows? Lol
Sounds like you have enough car enthusiasts in your area, just not the exact ones you're looking for. In my opinion who cares if you're the only one at a meet with a Lexus? I got my IS because I loved it's looks, not because of anyone else. If you want to blend in with the crowd you could have gotten those aforementioned cars at the meet. You can be an car enthusiast and not go to cars and coffee... So it's all possible that the enthusiasts you're looking for just aren't attending for whatever reason.
You can always use the uniqueness to your advantage, making your ride's build stand out from the crowd that much easier.
I know what you mean buddy.In Greece there are only 60 IS sold in all country.I only have one friend to talk to with the same car.The truth is that after 10 years my car has so much attention from everybody because of this unickness and to tell you the truth I love it!There are a few models that can stand out after all these years.Every Sanday I park at the same spot for my coffee with my buddy's and I look at the people who are staring it!
Dude I drove my IS from California to Canada for a roadtrip a few years back. I see a **** ton of Lexus in Cali, but once I got to Oregon and Washington...think I only saw or 1 or 2 (during my drive). I think it's a regional thing.
I see a lot of 3IS but very rarely do I see any 2IS.. there's a lot of modded civics, corollas, and wranglers around here but I've never seen another modded Lexus, let alone a 2IS. I kind of like it though, I haven't seen anything that compares to our cars' image of sport and luxury, and I do get a lot of attention whenever I have my car out or even in my neighborhood. I think it works to our advantage to not blend in with every other car you see, but also not blatantly stand out.
There are at least three in the parking lot at my work. 2 IS250s in the same white. Then a IS200t, I think there are a couple of GS350s as well. I see one on the freeway every day and think, I want one. Do you have any Subaru's out there? I don't see many here...kidding. My boss has a Subaru, she has a 2015, she says its slow. It seems fine when I am in it, but you always feel okay as a passenger. This co-worker borrowed his mom's Jaguar F-Type S. Then he watched me squirm in my seat as he punched it. He said that it even scares him.
We're IS 350 are unique and too expensive to mod that's why young drivers don't wanna get intouch Mod a BMW M series, Mercedes AMG and a Lexus IS350 it's not as easy as a Civic, Infiniti price are high when new but after awhile price drops like Hyundai Kia and some USA cars. There are 4 states and Province that drives more Lexus, California, New York, for Canada there Vancouver BC and Toronto Ontario, i have moved to Quebec and 4 hours away from Toronto Ontario, there are fews 2nd generation IS350 AWD on the road even 3rd Gen but IS250 WOW everywhere, if you're from Canada and you check the Online Car sale autoTrader.ca you'll see about 20 IS350 06-13 and 2-3 AWD 350 but if search for IS250 WOW 200 cars, (the whole country of Canada) . Went for a trip to Toronto last week i only saw IS250 havn't seen 350 but ya they did stare at my AWD IS350, girl can't drive 350 ? why not ?
Wasn't expecting to get this many responses, but I read all of them and to be honest I agree with mostly everything. Where I live has a lack of 2IS models and all of the ones I see are 250/250 AWD. And all of them are stock. I think the first modded 2IS I will see will be mine, and the reason I say that is I took a road trip to Victoria, BC back in August and I saw more IS350s there than I ever did in Portland or even when we passed through aggravating Seattle traffic. But I get the point of use the uniqueness to your advantage. The IS350 is a very unique car and I feel like that is sort of the point of this car - not made to get attention, made to surprise people who don't suspect it. But from what I see, it just seems like people completely overlook and underestimate this car (at least here). I talked to a G37 owner and he said he only considered a G37, A4 3.2 or 335i (sort of amusing because both of those cars depreciate super quickly and parts especially for the Audi and BMW will make you repay whatever you did on the car) so it just be a lack of ownership of 2IS cars here in Portland. Which is funny because if I look on other forums talking about the 2IS they say they are too common and all 250s as well, all of which surprised me. When my friend's TL Type S got totaled and he was in the market for a new car (with AWD) I told him to consider the IS350 AWD (mostly because I was in the market for a IS350 at the time) and he said he would have gotten it if the prices for them weren't so expensive in comparison to a G37x or 335xi. The higher depreciation in those cars could explain why people buy them on the used market. Lots of performance for little money.
If you want another example of what I mean, if I go to Portland craigslist, there are few 350s and a lot of them have salvage titles and almost all of them have ridiculously high miles (110k and above). The closest you'll get to a used 350 here with low miles is a 2011 or 2012 IS350 AWD, and those go for prices I'd buy an IS-F with and also the weather here isn't so bad i'll ever need AWD. But search 250 and you'll get so many more results,. And not to trash the 250 but especially if you're buying used the 350 and 250 are VERY similar. I actually had to have my car shipped here from PA because I couldn't find one here for a good price lol. I could also get the lack of appeal to the IS350 because of the smaller aftermarket in comparison to any German car or Infiniti. You can't add much power to a 350 without a supercharger, which costs $6k+. Aftermarket parts for the IS aren't too much different in price in comparison to Acura or Infiniti, which is why I think I'm just so surprised. Oh well. This should make showing up people at the track or drag strip all that much more fun.
I got a used low mi. 2011 Is350 F-Sport which is super rare here on the Big Island of Hawaii, but I enjoy having a not so common car in my area.
Everybody and their moms have Hondas, Toyotas, Mazda's, Infinitis, bmw's, Ford's and Chevy's...I rarely see 2is around here and when I do its usually a 250.
So i'm proud of the fact I have a "rare around here" 350 F-Sport
Except for the F, I really don't think the IS fell into an "enthusiast/collector" type of category when new. More of just competition for the 3 series. The reason I got mine (a 250), is because I liked the looks much more than the bimmer (and the standard 3 series was at ever corner). Unless there are a bunch of exterior mods, I don't see a lot of Lexuses (Lexi?) at my C&C. Every once and awhile a 1st gen IS will show up (which I love), but other than that, not too much. I think in a gen or two (when they really change the body style), the 2nd gen will start to pop out a bit more. Here are some pics from my last two local C&C, and aside from an RC F, I really didn't see any photo worthy Lexus. Keep in mind, this C&C got out of hand with 100s and 100s of cars (with some in the $1,000,000 range). they had to move it to park. The last one had well over 1000, so most of my pics are the real nice things. (mine is the read bmw 8 series).
Except for the F, I really don't think the IS fell into an "enthusiast/collector" type of category when new. More of just competition for the 3 series. The reason I got mine (a 250), is because I liked the looks much more than the bimmer (and the standard 3 series was at ever corner). Unless there are a bunch of exterior mods, I don't see a lot of Lexuses (Lexi?) at my C&C. Every once and awhile a 1st gen IS will show up (which I love), but other than that, not too much. I think in a gen or two (when they really change the body style), the 2nd gen will start to pop out a bit more. Here are some pics from my last two local C&C, and aside from an RC F, I really didn't see any photo worthy Lexus. Keep in mind, this C&C got out of hand with 100s and 100s of cars (with some in the $1,000,000 range). they had to move it to park. The last one had well over 1000, so most of my pics are the real nice things. (mine is the read bmw 8 series).
I think this is really the main reason this car is overlooked by enthusiasts. Whereas brands like Infiniti and BMW are mainly centered around performance and Mercedes and Lexus on the more luxury side of things (And appropriately so, that 2IS interior is the best interior on a luxury car in its class, period) it makes a bit more sense. At least in my area you'd be hard pressed to find any car with a body kit or extensive body modification even at C&C (unless its an Evo X or E46 M3).
Basically because it appears to be a car more centered around luxury than performance, it will cause people looking for a fast car to instinctively overlook it because there are better handling cars out there. Just my guess.
I got a used low mi. 2011 Is350 F-Sport which is super rare here on the Big Island of Hawaii, but I enjoy having a not so common car in my area.
Everybody and their moms have Hondas, Toyotas, Mazda's, Infinitis, bmw's, Ford's and Chevy's...I rarely see 2is around here and when I do its usually a 250.
So i'm proud of the fact I have a "rare around here" 350 F-Sport
Same here. Everyone here has a 250 or 250 AWD and it would be very difficult for me to spot another 350 here. And to be honest I sort of like it like this. Makes your car ironically stand out more.
10-22-16, 10:52 AM
Bit of a rant
