You should definitely get the satnav unit. I didn't and I now wish I had. I mean if nothing else it's just a cooler alternative to controlling your music and climate controls.

It's not the best unit around anymore... the new C-Class and G35/37 have more up to date navs but still, the IS has a pretty cool one.

Edit: And if you get ML, you can watch DVDs on the screen which is a lot better than any PSP or cellphones, etc.

 

Just and FYI, there's a number of aftermarket Nav units with dead reckoning now (they keep nav going if you lose signal like in-car unit does)... many also offer bluetooth, mp3 storage, etc... All the other things it displays (outside temp, etc) are displayed elsewhere on the car if you don't have nav, you don't lose em.

By all means if you hate the idea of something sitting on your dash or love the look of the interior with it and hate it without it go ahead, but bang for the buck it's a non-starter option compared to aftermarket... resale won't ever recapture the cost and you'll pay 10 times more for the nav plus 4 times more each year for updates... and as you noted to fix it would cost a ton if your warranty is up, with aftermarket just spend a couple hundred on a brand new one if it dies.

 

well you are getting a luxury car...nothing ever in a luxury car is ever cheap... point of getting a luxury car is getting it with all the goodies... if not why not try making your own like this (it has more features and its so much cheaper!) =P http://youtube.com/watch?v=BMUhWIV8LgE

 

I wouldn't get this car without Nav. That seems to be the biggest thing people regret not getting. I also disagree that you won't recapture the cost if you choose to sell it later. I think most cars over $30k now have navigation, and if you later sell yours you'll be one of the few that doesn't have it. So while you won't get extra money on your sale, it'll prevent you from losing it relative to the market. All car options are overpriced. A luxury car is overpriced. Those that are in the market for a luxury car tend to be less price sensitive than the average car buyer, and I think this shows in the overpricing of options Lexus (and just about every other auto maker) offers.

Also, I know this is a car forum so a lot of people on here are big into mod'ing or adding stuff to their car, but most people are apt to not do anything to their cars beyond filling the gas tank. Even if there is a better alternative (nav, audio system, etc), I think people are more resistant to aftermarket solutions because it requires some work on their part. I for one am one of the lazy ones that will pay extra for options that come built-in versus ones I have to add on my own. True you won't recoup the value of the options any more than you will the car itself, but it certainly can't hurt the resale value.

One thing I want to point out is that it seems all the problems with special orders and finding cars seem to be with the manual transmission. I've never had a manual transmission car, and there seems to be less of them nowadays, but what exactly does it get you over just taking the standard automatic transmission? I'm a little unclear on the benefit of it, and it just seems that people that want this option are needlessly shooting themselves in the foot trying to get one. Also do you really want an option that Lexus does not seem to support well? I know I wouldn't get a $2,000 computer that wasn't supported well, let alone a $30,000+ car.

 

I wasn't worried about the initial cost, they added navi to our contract for 2,000 dollars...but then again, I don't really have it for that yet, do I? I was thinking about repair costs for a person who keeps their cars for at least 10 years.
Celica 11 years
Volvo 10 years
Acura 12 and still in the family and running great
Sienna 7 years (engine was rebuilt a couple of years ago by Toyota under warranty...still going strong)

We really haven't had to do a lot of repairs on any of these cars...but our household appliances and computers always seem to be another story! That's why I was wondering if we should keep it simple.

After reading all these posts, though, I think that we'll wait for the navi. It seems like something that we would love.

 

I was typing the same time as you, Jdanon. My husband and I take turns picking the car that we want, although each of us helps in the final decison. I chose a van, even though I really wanted something else so we could bring family and friends with us when we went places. I am usually the practical one. I also chose the Volvo before I had my first child. We chose the Celica together and I learned how to drive a stick. It was great and easy to drive. My husband chose the Acura because of the engine and the transmission. He wanted the two door, but with my input, we chose the 4. Kids again.

Now it's my husband's turn again and he insists on a manual. We always have loved the 350Z, but the practical side in us wanted something that could fit more than two. My kids and I fell in love with the IS250 first, and brought my husband to see it. He loved the car when he saw it too.

I don't know if you remember, but we tried to buy a used 2006 just like the one we wanted, but it had 10,000 miles on it and it was almost the same price as the new one. We got the price we are supposedly going to pay at another dealer. Our paper from them did say special order. We went to our local dealership one more time to try to get them to come down to a fair price on the used one. But they wouldn't . We told them that we were going to take the other dealer's offer. They told us then that they would match that offer. We thought that we ordered the car on that day in late May. The rest is bull$%#$.

 

I think that's the right choice. Most of the cars come with nav anyway, so I think looking at it from the perspective of it costs more is the wrong way to look at it. I think you just tell yourself I'm paying X amount of money and this is just one of the features that you get. If you don't get nav, yeah you get some discount, but is it the full cost of the navigation system? I doubt it. People seem to price options individually, but that's not how the dealer sees it when working the numbers. By the way BucBaby, if you're interested in some of the features of the navigation to help make your decision easier, check out this link if you already haven't: http://www.lexus.com/lexus-share/dem...Lexus_nav.html. Also reading through some of the crappy online manuals for the navigation unit available at lexusownersclub.com will give you some more insight into what it does beyond your standard Garmin GPS.

Some aftermarket nav systems are nice, but you know what annoys me the most about them? The cartoonish graphics. I must say the Lexus system is very nice in its presentation. It's clear and very easy to read, and the graphics aren't overkill like the aftermarket systems.

 

I guess whenever I see someone wanting a manual transmission I always envision that it's a pain to have because it's all stop and go driving around here, but I suppose if you live outside of urban areas which I never have, it's not as bad. If I had to choose between manual transmission and navigation, I'd pick the navigation as the manual transmission doesn't actually add anything to the car as far as features go. But then I couldn't possibly appreciate having a manual transmission like you or your husband.

 

You can see/control A/C and outside temp without nav. In fact, one could argue that it's better w/o nav, because you can control the A/C immediately, without first having to change the nav screen.

Is it "worth it"? It's hard to answer. I have it, and I like it a lot. If I had a portable, I probably wouldn't keep it with me most of the time, out of fear that it would get stolen. So, when I suddenly need nav unexpectedly, I wouldn't have it.

 

Not really true. You lose the backup camera. On the non-nav radio, your preset buttons are the normal row of numbered buttons. On the nav radio, the preset button are on the touch screen, labeled with the RDS info (station name and last song title) broadcast the last time the station was tuned.

Not just the look but the convenience. Thefts of portable nav units are skyrocketing, so you really have to remove them every time you leave the car, and re-install them every time you get back.

I've never driven a manual IS, but reports by both reviewers and owners that it's a noisy and balky transmission that wasn't really designed for sporty driving. You'll find many references on the forums to a "marbles rattling around" sound, e.g. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=253475 and here is a thread from someone who traded from a manual to an auto https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=305251. I love manual trannies, but if I absolutely had to have one I'd probably buy a different car.

 

Remove it... or just put it in the center console. That's what I've done with my Garmin for almost 2 years now.

I'll give up a little space in the console to save $2000, thanks... Plus getting to use all the features while the car is in drive *unlike the OEM nav system unless you hack it*

You do lose the backup camera, but honestly this will be the smallest car I've ever owned, I'm not really gonna miss that.

Everything else feature-wise, including bluetooth, dead reckoning, vastly cheaper map updates, plus features the OEM system does NOT offer, I can get in an aftermarket GPS for a couple thousand less...and I can move it to my wifes car if we takes hers someplace... and I can replace it for a tiny fraction of fixing the OEM one later.

I know it's a luxury car, but if they charged $2000 for floormats that were built in versus buying better aftermarket ones you had to add yourself, nobody'd be saying "well, it's a liuxury car, of course you should pay 2k for floormats"

BTW, Navigation actually -hurts- resale in most vehicles-

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...ale-usat_N.htm

Buy OEM and when you sell the car in 5 years you're selling an outdated system that nobody is gonna pay extra for.

The short version- "Those expensive in-car navigation systems actually lower resale value, according to Automotive Lease Guide."

Anyway, I'm really trying to NOT turn this into an OEM nav sucks thread, but it drives me nuts when I keep seeing posts like "You'll want to kill yourself if you don't buy the Nav, it's the best thing since oxygen and triples the value of the car!"


If you take a realistic evaluation of the OEM Nav, including all the drawbacks and the few pluses, and still decide it's worth the cost, knock yourself out... but there's more to the story than "nav is cool!"

(I agree it's cool, I wouldn't not own a nav system of some kind again, I just feel pretty strongly the OEM offering isn't the way to go)

 

No doubt the "it's a lux car" argument is dumb--period. But so is comparing it to floor mats. I've looked around new car sites, and the cheapest OEM nav I've seen is like $1800. The Lex system is one of the tops in the industry, plus it has Bluetooth (which is usually a 300-500 stand alone option) and a backup camera. So the cost is in line with market costs for all cars. In 2000, I passed on buying nav in an Acura--the cost then was an additional $2000 (without Bluetooth, backup camera, voice activation and all the bells and whistles the next gen navs have), so you could argue that , with inflation the costs are coming down.

Yes--you will take a hit on resale. But I'm not buying my car based on its resale value--I'm buying a car based on the totality of factors. I plan to keep my car 6-8 years, so the resale differential by then will be minimal. Those who lease will get screwed the most on the residual value built into their contracts.

And, as far as the nav being out dated, a new DVD will cure some to most of that problem.

 

Yeah, but you'll pay $300 for the DVD, versus $75 for one from Garmin... and it won't add functionality that replacing your inexpensive portable unit can...Hell for less than $300 you can get a whole nother portable GPS unit WITH the most current maps!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the Lexus unit is horrible compared to other OEM units... not AT ALL. I'm saying OEM units in general are a pretty bad deal compared to buying your own. 5-10 times the cost, partly locks itself down while the car is moving, HURTS resale value, can't be moved between vehicles, etc..

And yes, the floormat comparison is kinda silly, but that was the point, to show how silly the "yeah, it's horribly overpriced but it's a luxury car" point was.

 

The nav is a great option IMO. It really adds to the driving experience. I couldn't imagine having the IS without nav.

What I don't understand is the manual transmission issue. The automatic in the IS is wonderful! Very responsive, shifts without delay, is a 6 gear auto, has better performance than the manual, and is one of the best auto trannies on the market. My husband was the same way about having a manual until we test drove the IS auto. Are you REALLY sure you want a manual transmission?? I'm sure that many others in the forum who favored a manual but opted for the auto would agree that the IS auto is a charm.

BTW... I got my 08 IS350 yesterday, pics in a new thread to come in a few days! JM Lexus had both my car and jdanon's car side by side and people couldn't stop looking at them! More in another thread soon.

 

A lot of these things are all about convenience. It's more convenient not to have to pull out a Garmin, stick it to my window or dash, plug it in then go versus just hopping in the car and the nav is there and ready to go when the vehicle starts.

It's like the door locks. We could go back to using a mechanical key because it's cheaper instead of the key fob system that let's you open the door by just touching the handle. Again it's just not as convenient so we're stuck with this expensive way to unlock the car when I personally would be fine with a regular key. Now lots of cars are coming with navigation, push button ignition, keyless entry, etc. This stuff is not unique to Lexus. And I really doubt that any of the above hurts resale. I don't buy cars with the resale in mind either, but in five years from now when most cars built since 2008 have things like navigation you will take a hit in your resale value the same way you would now if you don't have power windows and AC, two things that weren't standard equipment on a car ten years ago.

I think the problem people are not seeing is that when you go to sell your car later, the features will be judged on what is standard at that time. If your car's feature set is close to what is fairly standard for the time you're selling your car then you'll get market price for it. But if you're car is missing features that most used cars on the market have what do you think that does to the price you will get?