Questions for the IS-F owners
09-02-09, 10:59 AM
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question for all is-f owners
I am thinking of trading in my wife's 08 IS250 for a 2010 IS-F (she will drive my IS350). But I was wondering about the opions from people who actually own one now. What are your pros and cons? Is maintence often on it? What's this I have heard about replacing the pads and rotors at the sametime every time? Anyone use as a daily driver? (That is what I will be doing) For the ultrasonic blue owners do you regret it? Do you still love it? Sorry about all the questions just want to make sure of all the pros and cons before I spend 60k on a car. Thanks for your input.
09-02-09, 11:14 AM
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i use mine as a daily driver. if you're driving by yourself it's an awesome daily driver but my wife complains about how bumpy it is. not sure about the pads. my color is matador red and i really like it....it grows on me more and more.
it has pretty good gas mileage, especially for a v8 i average 21mpg. only con is that it makes you want to drive really fast to hear the exhaust at 4000rpm. haha. gluck on ur decision.
it has pretty good gas mileage, especially for a v8 i average 21mpg. only con is that it makes you want to drive really fast to hear the exhaust at 4000rpm. haha. gluck on ur decision.
09-02-09, 11:29 AM
#5
Lou
09-02-09, 11:51 AM
#6
i've had mine for a year. only maintenance done so far is oil changes by me and it's as simple as any other vehicle. after 13k miles my pads have plenty of life left.
as for pros and cons, i really have no complaints or regrets with the car. it's quick enough for a daily driver, gets better gas mileage than most competitors (m3, c63, etc), and the features such as nav, sound system, etc all work great.
that said i'd dump the car right now if i could get any money for it. after 1 year of owning it the dealer said they'll give me 41.5k. nice 20.5k drop in value.
as for pros and cons, i really have no complaints or regrets with the car. it's quick enough for a daily driver, gets better gas mileage than most competitors (m3, c63, etc), and the features such as nav, sound system, etc all work great.
that said i'd dump the car right now if i could get any money for it. after 1 year of owning it the dealer said they'll give me 41.5k. nice 20.5k drop in value.
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09-02-09, 01:48 PM
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I'll have to be honest with you and admit this is one of the best cars I've ever owned or heck, even driven. Not like I owned a lot of cars in my short life (I'm only 20 years old)… but working in a garage when I was younger, I've driven all kinds of cars and I can tell you there's nothing I'd rather have than this F.
I'll start by saying that the pros far outweigh the cons. For starters, the car is virtually undriveable in the winter. At least this far up north. I know some people who put 245's all around and call it a day in the winter but I'd much rather store mine. The salt they put on the roads here is just horrendous.
The car itself has unbelievable torque and handling and you'll find yourself turning off the radio half the time and constantly playing with the revs just to hear the engine roar right above 3.5k rpm. The second intake and the sound it does when it opens up at those revs just does it for me. It is a very high performance sedan and trust me, you'll feel confident taking on anything the road throws at you in terms of challenges; if that's your thing, of course. Secondly, the ride is not that unbearable and I live in a province where some stretches of highway are in third-world condition. Like I said, bellow 4k rpm it's just another Lexus (at least I find). The seats are comfy and easy to keep clean – darker jeans don't seem to die off on the white, at least for me. If you're hesitant about the 8-speed automatic; rest assured, I was too. I wouldn't trade it up for anything in the world. It is very responsive and hanging on to the gears is very fun… you'll be finding yourself at 60 mph, having just entered the second gear with six more to go. Now, the car doesn't have enough power to sustain performance throughout those eight gears but whoa, it's just unbelievable… but the choice of putting eight speeds in is unjustifiable on Lexus' parts; there is not enough power in this car to make use of them.
Lastly, the gas mileage is great for a V8 of this power. I can easily average 21 mpg… 19 mpg city, 25 mpg hwy.
As for maintenance, a visit to the dealership here for an oil change and general maintenance (topping off fluids, &c.) costs approximately $80-100. There's nothing there that you can't do yourself for a fraction of the price, however. Secondly, I don't know about this bull**** with the pads having to be replaced with the rotors. I did the pad replacement myself because they were kind of tired, but the rotors seemed to me like they still had plenty of life left in them. I think that the brakes are the most expensive part of the car to maintain and most people will likely move to aftermarket big brake kits once they become more widely available for the IS F, as they will be less expensive to maintain than the OEM ones from Brembo. The F really has more braking power than it really needs.
Owning an Ultrasonic Blue myself I have to say that while I do not regret my decision, if given a second chance at picking the color I would've probably went with Starfire Pearl. A long time ago I swore I would never get a 'metallic' color ever again and yet I did and now I remember why. It's a pain in the *** to maintain but it looks absolutely amazing in different lighting conditions. I love the blue but it shows every little defect.
If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.
I'll start by saying that the pros far outweigh the cons. For starters, the car is virtually undriveable in the winter. At least this far up north. I know some people who put 245's all around and call it a day in the winter but I'd much rather store mine. The salt they put on the roads here is just horrendous.
The car itself has unbelievable torque and handling and you'll find yourself turning off the radio half the time and constantly playing with the revs just to hear the engine roar right above 3.5k rpm. The second intake and the sound it does when it opens up at those revs just does it for me. It is a very high performance sedan and trust me, you'll feel confident taking on anything the road throws at you in terms of challenges; if that's your thing, of course. Secondly, the ride is not that unbearable and I live in a province where some stretches of highway are in third-world condition. Like I said, bellow 4k rpm it's just another Lexus (at least I find). The seats are comfy and easy to keep clean – darker jeans don't seem to die off on the white, at least for me. If you're hesitant about the 8-speed automatic; rest assured, I was too. I wouldn't trade it up for anything in the world. It is very responsive and hanging on to the gears is very fun… you'll be finding yourself at 60 mph, having just entered the second gear with six more to go. Now, the car doesn't have enough power to sustain performance throughout those eight gears but whoa, it's just unbelievable… but the choice of putting eight speeds in is unjustifiable on Lexus' parts; there is not enough power in this car to make use of them.
Lastly, the gas mileage is great for a V8 of this power. I can easily average 21 mpg… 19 mpg city, 25 mpg hwy.
As for maintenance, a visit to the dealership here for an oil change and general maintenance (topping off fluids, &c.) costs approximately $80-100. There's nothing there that you can't do yourself for a fraction of the price, however. Secondly, I don't know about this bull**** with the pads having to be replaced with the rotors. I did the pad replacement myself because they were kind of tired, but the rotors seemed to me like they still had plenty of life left in them. I think that the brakes are the most expensive part of the car to maintain and most people will likely move to aftermarket big brake kits once they become more widely available for the IS F, as they will be less expensive to maintain than the OEM ones from Brembo. The F really has more braking power than it really needs.
Owning an Ultrasonic Blue myself I have to say that while I do not regret my decision, if given a second chance at picking the color I would've probably went with Starfire Pearl. A long time ago I swore I would never get a 'metallic' color ever again and yet I did and now I remember why. It's a pain in the *** to maintain but it looks absolutely amazing in different lighting conditions. I love the blue but it shows every little defect.
If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.
09-02-09, 02:38 PM
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The Pros will be that you love it
The Cons will be that its a 60k sports sedan and comes with 60k sports car maintenance
If we didnt still love it we would sell them i think. Though im never going to sell mine, I am getting bored of it ... So im looking into a GTR/Gt3 RS
The Cons will be that its a 60k sports sedan and comes with 60k sports car maintenance
If we didnt still love it we would sell them i think. Though im never going to sell mine, I am getting bored of it ... So im looking into a GTR/Gt3 RS
09-02-09, 02:46 PM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
Now, the car doesn't have enough power to sustain performance throughout those eight gears but whoa, it's just unbelievable… but the choice of putting eight speeds in is unjustifiable on Lexus' parts; there is not enough power in this car to make use of them.
Lastly, the gas mileage is great for a V8 of this power. I can easily average 21 mpg… 19 mpg city, 25 mpg hwy.
Lastly, the gas mileage is great for a V8 of this power. I can easily average 21 mpg… 19 mpg city, 25 mpg hwy.
09-02-09, 02:51 PM
#11
Lexus Test Driver
I drive my car every day, about 11,000miles a year. I love it. Well built, great performance. My last car was a Porsche 911 ('02) so the brake maintenance doesn't even faze me, this is typical for high performance brakes. Also if you can turn a wrench, the brakes are INCREDIBLY easy to replace pads on, so you can do it yourself for much less money.
I think the ride quality is great. Try taking a rode trip in a 911.
Over all the maintenance costs from the dealer for things like oil changes, etc. are cheap in my opinion. Oil change on the 911 was $300.
It's a great car, if you are already in love with the IS (since you have two already) I think the ISF is perfect for you. Have you driven one yet?
I think the ride quality is great. Try taking a rode trip in a 911.
Over all the maintenance costs from the dealer for things like oil changes, etc. are cheap in my opinion. Oil change on the 911 was $300.
It's a great car, if you are already in love with the IS (since you have two already) I think the ISF is perfect for you. Have you driven one yet?
09-02-09, 03:14 PM
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P.S. Fisforfast your color combo is actually what I want atm so I am glad to hear the white interior doesn't pick up dark colors. Thanks for that input on that as well.
09-02-09, 03:39 PM
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It's good to see a new thread of this subject because as time goes on, we have more experience to share. FisforFast gave a good review which I will probably duplicate in several areas. I've had mine a year, it's a daily driver coming up to 15,000 miles.
Let's start with the not so nice stuff since that is probably what you are more interested in. Are there any dirty little secrets?
Winter sucks big time. I'm looking at Winter Tires but we only have a few snow days here in Winter although last winter was the worst snow ever when even AWD cars got grounded on the snow. You'll have plenty of company with the M3 a C63 owners. The summer tires that come with it suck big time when the ambient temperature drops below 68F or rains. I will be swapping to all season when money permits.
Maintenance. It's a Lexus so you will pay. Oil Change and inspection at my dealer is $168 although you can get just an Oil Change for $68 ish. I've done the $168 because if you have a problem, they seem to be all over you to help. The service department at Lexus of Seattle has been nothing but wonderful for me. Shout out to Kevin Murphy!! The clear coat was flaking a little bit on the back wheel and no questions asked, a new wheel ordered. We beatch about dealers but rarely say thank you.
Wheels: Oh man, you better like cleaning them. Brake dust is a beatch but I'm sticking with the OEM pads because I'm hearing conflicting stories about people using non OEM pads. Drive like a lunatic all of the time, yes they will wear down (it's a 3,740 lb car) and you may take out the rotors. But most of us thrash it once in a while and not on a daily basis. So it's no worry for me. For me, I get pleasure out of cleaning the car and the wheels. They are $1800 each, so be careful. I do not like the wheels on the 2010 one bit - but I'm not getting a 2010 so it does not matter to me.
Tires: Check out the prices - but again, only an issue if you drive it like you rented it. I have pleny of tread left at 15 K even though I regularly scare the hell out of my passengers. The VDIM seems to do a good job of preserving the tires.
Ride: It's firm. There are somedays I notice it more than others. If you can find a long stretch of bumpy road, do that at the end of the day when you are tired and hungry. If it does not bother you, go for it. On the plus side, corners nicely with a hint of understear (heavy enginer up front) and is very predictable. Do anything silly and it will bleep at you - take your foot of the pedal and it corrects itself. It's the best system to date in a car.
Audio: The Mark Levison is overated. But you will probably not have a choice. Make sure you get a free IPOD interface installed. It will take out the SAT but in the NW here with trees, SAT craps out all the time unless you are in Seattle where there is a back up terestrial connection. But I switch it off when I am bored, drop down a couple gears and when the rpm hits 3,600 just listen to that raw.
And that's it for the bad stuff. Nothing has gone wrong. And to put it into perspective, an M3 owner at work was asking be about issues with it. I said none and then he went on to say about the $20k of warranty work on his M3. The DCT cannot take the torque (my opinion) and bimmers forum linked to an article recently saying that DCT cannot be used in the future.
Gas Mileage: We're all amazed but we should not get excited about averaging 19 MPG! But 60 MPH will get you 29 MPG, 70 MPH will get you 26 MPG. 80 MPH drops it to around 25 MPG. City sucks of course. But as a whole, I get around 310 miles on a 16 Gallon fill up. An Audi S5 owner commented that you do not buy these cars for mileage but for me it was a serious consideration. And I am glad I did. BTW, S5 is a beatiful car (AWD). Same price. You should at least try it out although zero room in the rear. Expect 15 MPG combined.
Special: You're not going to see many around. Don't stop in traffic with the window down. You will be ask about the car. There is no quick fill up at the gas station, you will be asked what you think of the car. To date, the only neagtive comments was from my neighbors daughter who did not like the exhausts. Not going to disagree with her but I cannot see them when I am driving. Otherwise, "nice car man" is the normal response.
Quiet: 1,600 RPM at 60 MPH. It purrs. Road noise is ok given the tires.
Cabin: Wish the rear seats folded down. Same with all IS series. Oh those seats are nice, they hug you so well. Girlies like them :P. Not sure about the all black cabin.
Torque: It's all about between the red lights. I hope for red lights to and from work. That's where the fun is.
Gears: I have no problem with 8 gears. In Auto mode it may hunt once in a while but not often. Never knew what a lock up clutch was until I got this car. The gear changes are so fast (100 ms), that even stick zealots admit it's good. Put it in Sport and Manual Mode and you can snap the passengers head. And the best bit. You do not have to put it in manual mode to use the paddle shifters to shift down. Love that feature, I use it all the time to brake. Transmission is warranted to 70,000 miles, the brakes are not.
Regrets? Wished I bought Certified Pre Owned due to depreciation but good luck finding one that is CPO.
Advice? I think the engineering on the M3 is questionable for durability and that Lexus have done a far better job. Unless you are unlucky, you will only see the dealer for services. The C63 is a gas hog and I could not live with that. But they are discounting them by up to 17K (so I am told). The RS4 was 80K with the forced options. The S5 was a serious contender but the mother in law would not be able to get out of it.
Good luck.
Let's start with the not so nice stuff since that is probably what you are more interested in. Are there any dirty little secrets?
Winter sucks big time. I'm looking at Winter Tires but we only have a few snow days here in Winter although last winter was the worst snow ever when even AWD cars got grounded on the snow. You'll have plenty of company with the M3 a C63 owners. The summer tires that come with it suck big time when the ambient temperature drops below 68F or rains. I will be swapping to all season when money permits.
Maintenance. It's a Lexus so you will pay. Oil Change and inspection at my dealer is $168 although you can get just an Oil Change for $68 ish. I've done the $168 because if you have a problem, they seem to be all over you to help. The service department at Lexus of Seattle has been nothing but wonderful for me. Shout out to Kevin Murphy!! The clear coat was flaking a little bit on the back wheel and no questions asked, a new wheel ordered. We beatch about dealers but rarely say thank you.
Wheels: Oh man, you better like cleaning them. Brake dust is a beatch but I'm sticking with the OEM pads because I'm hearing conflicting stories about people using non OEM pads. Drive like a lunatic all of the time, yes they will wear down (it's a 3,740 lb car) and you may take out the rotors. But most of us thrash it once in a while and not on a daily basis. So it's no worry for me. For me, I get pleasure out of cleaning the car and the wheels. They are $1800 each, so be careful. I do not like the wheels on the 2010 one bit - but I'm not getting a 2010 so it does not matter to me.
Tires: Check out the prices - but again, only an issue if you drive it like you rented it. I have pleny of tread left at 15 K even though I regularly scare the hell out of my passengers. The VDIM seems to do a good job of preserving the tires.
Ride: It's firm. There are somedays I notice it more than others. If you can find a long stretch of bumpy road, do that at the end of the day when you are tired and hungry. If it does not bother you, go for it. On the plus side, corners nicely with a hint of understear (heavy enginer up front) and is very predictable. Do anything silly and it will bleep at you - take your foot of the pedal and it corrects itself. It's the best system to date in a car.
Audio: The Mark Levison is overated. But you will probably not have a choice. Make sure you get a free IPOD interface installed. It will take out the SAT but in the NW here with trees, SAT craps out all the time unless you are in Seattle where there is a back up terestrial connection. But I switch it off when I am bored, drop down a couple gears and when the rpm hits 3,600 just listen to that raw.
And that's it for the bad stuff. Nothing has gone wrong. And to put it into perspective, an M3 owner at work was asking be about issues with it. I said none and then he went on to say about the $20k of warranty work on his M3. The DCT cannot take the torque (my opinion) and bimmers forum linked to an article recently saying that DCT cannot be used in the future.
Gas Mileage: We're all amazed but we should not get excited about averaging 19 MPG! But 60 MPH will get you 29 MPG, 70 MPH will get you 26 MPG. 80 MPH drops it to around 25 MPG. City sucks of course. But as a whole, I get around 310 miles on a 16 Gallon fill up. An Audi S5 owner commented that you do not buy these cars for mileage but for me it was a serious consideration. And I am glad I did. BTW, S5 is a beatiful car (AWD). Same price. You should at least try it out although zero room in the rear. Expect 15 MPG combined.
Special: You're not going to see many around. Don't stop in traffic with the window down. You will be ask about the car. There is no quick fill up at the gas station, you will be asked what you think of the car. To date, the only neagtive comments was from my neighbors daughter who did not like the exhausts. Not going to disagree with her but I cannot see them when I am driving. Otherwise, "nice car man" is the normal response.
Quiet: 1,600 RPM at 60 MPH. It purrs. Road noise is ok given the tires.
Cabin: Wish the rear seats folded down. Same with all IS series. Oh those seats are nice, they hug you so well. Girlies like them :P. Not sure about the all black cabin.
Torque: It's all about between the red lights. I hope for red lights to and from work. That's where the fun is.
Gears: I have no problem with 8 gears. In Auto mode it may hunt once in a while but not often. Never knew what a lock up clutch was until I got this car. The gear changes are so fast (100 ms), that even stick zealots admit it's good. Put it in Sport and Manual Mode and you can snap the passengers head. And the best bit. You do not have to put it in manual mode to use the paddle shifters to shift down. Love that feature, I use it all the time to brake. Transmission is warranted to 70,000 miles, the brakes are not.
Regrets? Wished I bought Certified Pre Owned due to depreciation but good luck finding one that is CPO.
Advice? I think the engineering on the M3 is questionable for durability and that Lexus have done a far better job. Unless you are unlucky, you will only see the dealer for services. The C63 is a gas hog and I could not live with that. But they are discounting them by up to 17K (so I am told). The RS4 was 80K with the forced options. The S5 was a serious contender but the mother in law would not be able to get out of it.
Good luck.
09-02-09, 05:07 PM
#14
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just my 2 cents.. why buy the IS350 and the IS-F pretty much same but different engine and some different exterior styling... look at other sedans because your pretty much buying the same car that has a bigger engine. 
i dont hate the IS-F or anything... just dont understand why people buy two of the same cars with different engines
i dont hate the IS-F or anything... just dont understand why people buy two of the same cars with different engines
09-02-09, 05:09 PM
#15
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just my 2 cents.. why buy the IS350 and the IS-F pretty much same but different engine and some different exterior styling... look at other sedans because your pretty much buying the same car that has a bigger engine.
i dont hate the IS-F or anything... just dont understand why people buy two of the same cars with different engines
i dont hate the IS-F or anything... just dont understand why people buy two of the same cars with different engines