Tro209

Okay, so I decided a while back that I wanna call it quits on the IS350 and focus all my money and effort on paying off the car (I can't trade because Ill get ripped off due to the fact that I've messed with the fenders, have some slight door damage on the rear driver side, and don't have all stock parts). Anyway, the pace I'm going at now, I won't have my ISF until around August next year. Maybe a little sooner if I come into extra money like I randomly do since my job is weird like that.

But here's the thing.. The ISF to me is like a dream car. It's unique, rare, and just an overall great car that even ex GTR owners come back to due to how well rounded it is. Obviously can't hold a candle performance wise but cars are much more than just that. Now that I realized I can potentially own one myself Im super excited and stopped modding my IS350 full stop in order to get it sooner. However even though it's only been like a month that I decided to go through with this plan, I feel like 1 year of waiting is too damn long for me.

I'm the kind of guy who upgrades his phone every time a new one comes out. The kind that always likes to have things now instead of later. The kind that always constantly improving and modding his ride as soon as he can. So for me to put a stop to this way of thinking just shows how bad I want an ISF.

But I just came back from Blox Evolution 3 in San Francisco and saw quite a few modded Lexus out there including a few ISx50's and damn it now I really really REALLY want to mod mine again. Especially getting it tuned by RR Racing since I've heard good things about it. But lucky for me, I met a guy with a blue ISF at the show who was also entered.

His car was stock from what I can tell except for a Tom's kit. It looked rather basic compared to the ISx50 next to it and the other glorious custom Lexus in the group. But yet, my eye was drawn towards it. The color, the hood bulge, the exhaust, the presence of it just got me.

Then I met the owner and asked him how he liked it and he told me that he originally had an IS250 F sport before he got the ISF... He told me that he had saved over $10k to drop on the 250 and turn it into a show car in one big transformation but then he too realized he now had the potential to buy an ISF instead due to the money he saved and a new job. But it was what he told me next that definitely got to me though... In his own words he said "I realized I'd much rather have a bone stock ISF over a fixed up IS250". Now granted I own an IS350 and it's much faster and interesting to drive than a boring old 250 but still I could definitely see what he meant. The F is just in another league entirely and most people fail to realize that.

But with that being said, I've always been into the whole "Stance" thing and finally having my 350 at a fairly nice place in modding I feel like I can still go further and truly realize the vision that I had from the get go when I first bought this car. It's a nice looking car for sure in my opinion but going to Blox Evolution only made me remember why I started out in this whole thing to begin with. And seeing all these really nice IS's makes me wanna go further again. And then seeing more gold feedback for the RR Racing tune on the 350 makes me think that maybe the performance increase (although small) may be enough to keep me satisfied but I have no way of knowing that until I try it for myself.

This decision is super hard and I'm honestly only posting this here in hopes that all of you current ISF owners can talk me out of not going through with the ISF. In other words guys, please stop me from not buying the ISF and remind me why the ISF is so great again!!

Tro209

Sorry guys, I know the post is SUPER long but if you could please help me out and read the whole post I would sincerely appreciate it!!!

av8or

after seeing how much more i had to go thru in reading your post, i fell asleep after reading your first paragraph.. anyway, you want advice? get the "f" only if you think you can really afford it.. stop spending money on your is350 if you really want to upgrade and save up.. consider you will be paying probably more towards financing the "f" and as you have mentioned, taking a loss on your is350.. considering your situation, smoking, drinking, the occasional saturday trip to the strip joint will have to be lessened if not given up.. ready for that "cup soup" dinner everyday? if you think you are better than these scenarios then by all means go get your "f".. otherwise wait.. save up.. and be patient my young padwan..good things come to those who wait.., or just get the "f".. whatever..

Tro209

The post was longer than I intended it to be lol. But I was being thorough with what my situation is.

Anyway I can definitely afford the F. I just can't get the loan until the 350 is paid off... Also if and when I do get my ISF, I'm selling the 350 to a friend of mine who has always wanted it for a good price. That way not only do I have my ISF, but with the money from the part out and the car itself, I can mod the ISF almost immediately

Edit: To give you an idea of what I'm doing currently, I'm paying over $1k a month on the 350 to be done with it sooner. Not counting insurance lol.

ROYALISF

Have you driven one? Once you sit in that seat and turn it on I guarantee the bug to mod the 350 will vanish fast. You know why the F is special. I only have the usual muffler/2nd cat delete and just doing random pulls makes me grin ear to ear. When the tune for this platform came out it only made it that much more enjoyable. I can't stop buying things for it! I like you had to save up but it wasn't a problem since you'll more than likely have to find the perfect one. I took mine to Cars and Coffee here in KC this past weekend and the crowd it had was crazy, people walking past 335s and M3s to see what this was made it clear I made the right decision in other words, it seems like you want the F badly as did I. Everything else will seem like you settled. Go for the F!

wmjeffreyw

Of course the best financial decision is to wait. Part out your IS350, put it back to stock, sell the parts and the 350, then buy the F.

Now of course you only live once, and the F is a BLAST to drive, In other words dismiss all logical thinking and buy the F and enjoy it NOW!

I love my F, if you tastefully mod it you will turn up the fun factor.....big time!!! I NEVER felt any buyers remorse after buying my F.

BTW I am horrible at giving sound advice. LOL

DarthChu

Sell the IS350, sell the aftermarket parts and get the F. Once you get the F, you'll realize you made the right choice and will forget you had the 350.

F Monster

To give you an idea, I skipped the IS250/IS350 completely and went straight to the ISF. Like Royal said, if you're picky it will take you a while to find THE one. Took me over 3 years to buy a SFP with my liking and low miles, in those 3 years, saving money was a no brainer. But then again I'm also patient whereas most of my friends bought other colors to substitute for SFP since they were all impatient. I never drove an IS250/IS350 or ISF but after owning my ISF and driving my friend's IS250 and IS350, they seem really slow, like Priuses. Lol.

Tro209

To be honest my financial decisions are absolutely awful lol. But hey, you can't have fun if you never spend your money I will wait a little longer before I part out though as I still have about a year or less till it's done. Then I can sell it and move on to bigger things

You know, it's crazy that I haven't. I've been wanting to drive one to see if it even all its cracked up to be but there are none near me. The closest is in SoCal at a Carmax (they're usually good about test driving) but they want $150 to transfer it down to Modesto. I'm hoping maybe a local or nearby member will allow me the honor to at least ride passenger one day lol. But until then I'm mainly going off of what I've seen and heard from others. Also great to hear people at cars and coffee were interested in the ISF! Around here they get no love, although they are bone stock and don't really talk about them.

Tro209

Hahaha like a prius!! Come on now, the 350 isn't THAT slow lol. The 250 on the other hand well.. Sorry 250 owners! Then again there are some 350 owners who swear the difference in acceleration between the 350 and ISF are too small to be worth the upgrade LOL

av8or

here in san diego and surrounding vicinity, the is-f doesn't get any love.. went to c&c mira mesa and fallbrook.. not one glance.. but i'm pefectly fine with that.. "sleeper" and all that ****.. besides, i'd rather be driving the "f" than parking it..

Zelfiris

I say wait the one year. You will be so happy one day when you notice you don't have to make monthly payments anymore. Perhaps you will appreciate the F more knowing you waited a long time for it when next year comes around.

In the interim you can:
- Not buy the next phone
- Make more aggressive payments
- Part out IS350 items
- Keep the ones to transfer to the F
- Shop for the F you like. More $ save can mean a newer model year
- Perhaps even start buying mods for the F in preparation
- Fix your IS350 and sell it

I went from 2011 IS250 FSport to a 2008 ISF. I missed the newer technology package in the IS250 but that was about it.

Tro209

Believe it or not this actually one of my favorite traits in a vehicle. It's unloved because it's unknown. Before I got my 350 I wanted a GTO because at the time there weren't many around here and they're are decently fast cars stock and modified. But I decided I wanted something with a better interior since I was coming from a BMW and didn't want to downgrade in any way. So when I found out about the IS350 and how not many are aware of how it's surprisingly quick for a v6, I had to have it lol. It was in my price range and checked all the boxes for looks, reliability, sleeper-ish, and interior.

The ISF basically is this only better in every way and even less known about!! Lol

F Monster

Haha, maybe not the IS350 but definitely the IS250. My friend's IS350 is pretty fast in the lower power band but after that it doesn't hold up. Plus the IS250 and IS350 suspension is so smooth so it feels more like a luxury car than a sports sedan whereas the ISF lacks many luxury option and has a stiffer suspension with tighter steering so it feels more "race-car" like.

Tro209

Haha but I pay 0 down on my phones due to T mobiles Jump on Demand lol. And true.. Having no monthly payment sounds nice, but having the F sooner sounds even nicer I guess it's time I go hyper overdrive on these payments.. One year is too damn long