Hi All,
I'm new to the Lexus club. Just sold my 03 G35 sedan to Carmax. My Matador Red IS350 is ordered and should be in my garage in a couple of weeks (so my salesman says).

I was talking to my salesman today and he said that my car may have to be driven in from a different dealship. I told him I was concerned about the person who drives the car. I didn't want the car driven to hard before the break in period was over. He told me that the new IS does not have to be broken in. Has anyone else heard of this? Granted, I've never owned a Lexus but, I've always tried to drive my new cars (Honda, Acura, Infiniti) very conservatively for the first 500 miles or so.

Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Welcome to CL!

The first 500 miles are crucial in my opinion. Drive it easy the first 500 or first 1000 if you wish. it's best to vary your engine speeds (not overreving) and not using the cruise control of course. Doing the proper break-in saves you from replacing leaky valve cover seals oozing with oil down the road.

 

Man, sales people are so full of crap!!

Even in the owner's manual (page 84) it says the following under "Breaking in your new Lexus"

To extend the life of the vehicle, the following precautions are recommended to observe:

Lex

 

Their break-in instructions are very vague. What are extremely high speeds? How can I not continously not drive in low gears, should i shift into 3rd or 4th even though the speed limit might be 30 on a long stretch of road? Should I slow down in order to avoid driving at a constant speed and then accelerate?

 

The mileage numbers given are pretty funny too. If you stop suddenly with 185 miles on the odometer, your car will explode, but if you do it with 187 miles, no problem...

 

I don't know about the break-in period since I haven't owned a Lexus yet. But I would be interested in knowing which dealer this is. I know at least 2 Lexus dealers here in So Calif. who will deliver your new car to your house on a flatbed truck. If your dealer offers the same service, why wouldn't they use a flatbed truck to pick up that car from another dealer?

 

Hey erock901, did carmax give you a good deal? I also have a 04 G35 to sell. What can I except when I go there? What will they offer as far as Kelly BLue Book is concerned, retail or trade-in value, or something ridiculous? Or should I just trade it in at the lexus dealership or try to sell it on my own. I'm hoping there is still some interest in my G35 if I sell it myself, its still pretty popular. I just ordered my IS350 with Nav/Lev and Lux, i think I have a couple of months before it will get here to try to sell my car.

any suggestions guys and gals...

 

Obviously converted from no sudden stops in the first 300 km or the other stuff in the first 1000 km, but as you point out there is nothing magic about a particular number. . To make it easier to remember, I'd have "translated" it as don't make any sudden stops in the first 200 miles and don't have any kind of fun until after 600 miles.

 

I actually asked my salesman about that. He said that arrangements could be made so that the car would be trucked up to my location. However, he said that would add another week or more to my delivery date. Honestly, I don't know if I could wait that long. In any case, my salesman is still hoping that he'll be able to give me a VIN# on 11/1. If he can't, he'll try to get my car from another dealership.

 

I felt that Carmax gave me a fair deal. I know I could've gotten more if I sold the G35 (03 sport, 58k miles, excelent cond) myself but, I just don't have the time to do that. KBB trade in = $16,900. Carmax gave me $19,000. KBB private party price = $22,000. I asked my Lexus dealership if they can match Carmax. They said "no way". They blame that on the "expensive" restoration they have to perform on trade ins .

 

Don't know if it's the same for the IS, but when I got my GS last week, the guy who drove and delivered the car to my house said that nowadays, cars don't have a break-in period and he said I should just drive it as I normally would, assuming that I don't drive like a mad man. The break-in section of my manual just said to avoid sudden hard breaking during the first 200 miles, which I've managed to do so far. I currently have 300+ miles and hit 100mph over the weekend on my way to Tangers Outlet. I have confidence that these newer engines don't require an actual break-in period like older ones. As long as you don't redline all the time or keep it on cruise control, you should be fine.

 

thanks for info EROCK.... I am shocked how much our G's depreciate after only 3 years. I've had my car for almost two years and its still holding its value on KBB, trade-in is $29,500 and private party is $31,500. I better sell it quick before it goes down any further. I only have 18K miles on it and so I hoping to get between trade-in and private party. That is very discouraging, I hope the IS350's don't depreciate that quick, I'd hate to see my $47K car be worth half in 3 years.

 

congrats on the purchase... matador red

 

I know that engineering and manufacturing these days has gotten to a ridiculous level of precision and error control, but nonetheless there's a lot of parts moving around in that car that haven't yet had time to completely mate together. I'd still take it pretty easy on the car for the first 500 mi or so, then reset the ECU and drive it like you stole it