dstopsie

FYI


I sold my 1 year old IS250 Fsport to Carmax for $35,000, so the value did not drop down to $29, 000 as you indicated.

1DRIVEN1

Hi Chuck, I have been lurking around the forum for a while now and figured I would provide my two cents because I am in a similar boat as you.

I am about to purchase a 2014 IS 350 F Sport. It's been stuck at the port of Long Beach since 7/3 and was going to wait till I got her before my first post, but figured I would go ahead and reply here, and formerly introduce myself later.

I briefly considered going with the 2015, but after comparing the two, there wasn't enough to sway me to the 2015, and I was able to get a very good deal on the 2014.

The most notable differences that stood out to me (interior / exterior color changes and rear badging aside) were the dynamic gridlines on the back up cam, Lexus Enform Remote, and the ventilated seats (for the F-Sport).

There may be some other changes but I can let others chime in on those. As for me, dynamic gridlines are a minuscule change that don't make a difference to me. Second, I would not spend $80 a year (personally) for the ability to start my car and control some of it's functions from my cell phone (while the idea may be nice to get it cooling off in the summer or heating up in the winter before I get in, I don't (again, personally) want my car sitting idle for up to 10 minutes before I get into it. Third, I would have considered this feature if Lexus offered cooled seats. While ventilated seats are a nice add to the F Sport line up for 2015, perhaps a deal breaker for some, I only would consider this option more if they were cooled seats, not just ventilated. Finally, the most important aspect for me, cost. The sticker price on my particular vehicle is $48,723.00. The dealership and I agreed on a final price of $43,950.00, which comes to just under 10% off the quoted MSRP, and what I would imagine is close to cost and is below the stated invoice price. I don't imagine that being a number I would be able to come close to on a new model year, also bearing in mind the $400 some increase in base price.

These are the items that stood out to me. I am sure there are some other changes others can discuss (and I am sure others have more experience considering my car hasn't even been delivered yet). There seems to have been some slight confusion around screen size as well for the NAV for 2015, but with as much digging around as I was able to do I found nothing certain indicating that the screen size was going to be increased for 2015 by an inch (someone please correct me if I am wrong).

As for 250/350, I will leave others to provide the input here. This comes down to personal preference and down to what you can afford. For me, it made sense to pay the difference and go with a 350. The 250 felt too slow for me after having driven my current vehicle for several years, I wanted something with more power. This is a longer term purchase for me and I felt like I would be happier with the 350, with just a slight increase in price, and more options (Premium audio, etc.).

I didn't mean for this post to turn into an essay, but I hope I was able to help a little. I'll be sure to more formerly introduce myself to the forum once my car actually arrives.

theoryguy3

I'd get the IS350 F-Sport, I got the AWD for snow, but it don't think that would be an issue for you in KY. Honestly, you should get the 2014 ISS350 F-Sport just because of the pricing. The remote start you can add from Sewell Lexus, just make sure you get the ML package.

tea

the difference in trade in value between the 250 and 350 is reflective on the MSRP. People forget to realize 250 F is about $6,000 cheaper than a 350F. The more you spend on a car, the more you stand to lose in value. Buy a 350 because you want it, not because you think it'll have better value than a 250 when you get rid of it. The difference between the 2 will only get smaller as time goes on.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

no its more like 4k difference between F Sports, and only $3500 between non F Sports. Thats an utter bargain for +100 hp, 8 speed, bigger brakes.

tea

from what i recall when i was shopping, a 250F MSRP is high 42-low 43, and pretty much all of the 350F i saw were in the 48s

FinaLpeace

That's neither a below average price nor a good deal. Below 40k for a 250 luxury package with ML would be a plus, but either way that's what I would call a bargain for a model that is going to be a year old when the 2015 comes out in August or so. Also wouldn't the IS250 value drop lower when they replace it with the IS200T turbo?

Just don't forget that Lexus would probably eliminate the IS250 and bring in the turbo charge IS200T for 2016. Sorry for mentioning it twice haha but I just don't see why you would want to buy a car that is going to be replace the next year.

One thing I regret not doing was to special order mine, where you can get all the options you would like besides the options you cant have in a F Sport or Non F Sport. My IS350 F Sport only has the blind sport monitor option You can special order the park assist and automatic high beam to fill your car with more technology and fun.

FinaLpeace

In terms of the value of the car, luxury package is not a point consider for trade in I believe they only differentiate between F Sport and non F Sport, where F Sport starting price is a bit higher. I got my IS350 F Sport for 45k they're normally 48k though, few thousands more from the 250 F Sport you get a more valuable and fun car

Just don't forget that Lexus would probably eliminate the IS250 and bring in the turbo charge IS200T for 2016.

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

dealers like to add ML and VGRS on the 350s, but if its the exact same car just different engine, its about a $4k difference on the lexus website

tea

Yes I agree that if the exact same options,its about a $4,000 difference, but I'm going with what's available to the masses. I have not seen one base 350f with no options on it. From my experience, the difference in price in so cal is about $6,000 for what's available

Dark9t316

If you are stuck on the MSRP price and comparing base IS250 with the only IS350s with options then you are comparing apples to oranges. One you consider supply and demand, base IS350 is probably on low demand, so if you actually wanted one, the dealer has to find one, which hurts their bottomline so they will pass the cost onto you. Trades, shipping, longer inventory turnover times are all things dealers lose potential profits on. So you'd be surprised at how dealers will give you steeper discount on IS350 with options than without simply because they have that car in their inventory. Using your comparison, the cost difference will be lesser than $6k assuming the dealership isn't in middle of nowhere so the supply and demand is not out of wack.

aznpapaya

iTrader: (12)

Chuck, you have to remember this is a enthusiast forum. That's the reason why many people here prefer the 350 over the 250, they like fast cars. If you join your average housewife lexus forum I wonder how many would recommend the 350 over the 250 lol.

Decide between the 250 or 350 base on what you and your wife needs. You said the 250 would be enough for your wife then you should get the 250. Don't get the 350 because it's the best bang for the buck. How good will the deal be when you spend an extra 3-6k on the 350 for the bigger engine and you/your wife doesn't use it at all?

The final price of the car is subjective based on location and demand. A lot of members here are from CA and FL where the market is flooded with IS so they will most likely get a bigger discount due to competition among dealship.

tea

I wasn't comparing a base 250 to a fully loaded 350. 250 f sports sticker for around 42800 - low 43s here in souther California. 350f sports sticker for around 48. Even considering out the door prices in socal, the price difference is still 5-6,000 between the 2. I was offered under 41,000 otd for the 250f and a little bit more than 46,000 otd for a 350f. I'm just going by what's available at the majority of dealerships in socal, not considering special orders

Glashub

The NX has an IS nose on steroids. Oh my!

chuck64

Thank you and all of the others for your very thoughtful and responsive replies to my post. As one forum member in this thread referenced, there are clearly a number of enthusiastic Lexus owners here. I, for one, very much appreciate the enthusiasm as I have benefited from your advice.

I opted to buy a 250. I test drove the the 350 and would have purchased it but it had nearly 400 miles on it. I know my wife and since this was going to be a surprise for her (I similarly surprised her with a 250 7 years ago.) She put 180,000 miles on that car. Even with the 250 she got numerous speeding tickets. When I politely chastised her about getting ticketed so much for speeding she responded with, "Next time you buy me a car don't get me one where the speedometer indicates the car will do a 160 mph." (She was being facetious of course.) However, I know my wife. On the open road, (she travels a lot for work), she is going to put the "pedal to the medal". Thus, on balance, I think for her the 250 is fine.

The 250 I purchased had nearly $9,000 worth of options. I don't think there was anything it didn't have. I wanted her to have a nice car with all of the amenities. She is 55 years old. Amenities are more important to her than a sporty drive. She really likes Lexus cars but prefers a smaller model to the larger ones (we differ on that preference)

Quite frankly, I could not tell that much difference in driving the 250 versus the 350. I recognize I may be poorly sensitized (or perhaps too old, I'm 64) to appreciate the difference. In any event, I purchased the IS 250 with all of the options including AWD, (yes, it does snow in Kentucky), walnut interior, heated steering wheel, (very nice in the winter), upgraded Mark Levinson sound system, upgraded leather interior and all the rest except for the remote control starter component. The cost was $46,000 including everything (sales tax, license and destination charges). Lexus was terrific in helping me set up the "surprise". They did the same 7 years ago with my last "surprise" car for my wife. We have a great sales staff in Lexington. I am a huge Lexus fan. Again, many thanks for all your recommendations.