MBTC

Better yet, if you don't mind, ask your parents if they want to adopt a 40-something year old dude with a mid-life crisis? Parents that demand their son look at BMWs, Infinitis and Lexus when all he wanted was a civic, well they make me want to be their son

CleverName

I entered the Lexus world on a used car shoe-string budget.
Came from an 05.5 Audi A4 I recently totaled, and had a set price that left me looking at 4 year old cars.
The Audi taught me about luxury, (something I had never seen before in my Mitsubishi's), but it also taught me about high maintenance costs (something I never seen before with my Mitsubishi's )
The Lex had many plus's from the amazing power to the clean lines, and a reputation that oozed of reliability.
I miss my Audi (still adapting to its loss), but the monthly trips to the dealership for yet another check engine light is the reason I did not return to them or BMW. The G35 Coupe left me completely unimpressed.

The interior fit and finish of a Lex is good, but it does fail against Audi's, but then, Audi has dominated that market for years. My '06 Lexus is not even in the same competition.
Beautiful interiors do not a car make..... I got to caress the Audi's while I parked alongside the road waiting for my flat tow to the shop...

A good collection of options, great power with fuel economy, and a name known for reliability was the clincher.

Already looking at simple mods to make it closer to the Audi in features and accessories... Best of both worlds...

Vince

Fizzboy7

I felt the IS was the best compromise at the time for me. I really wanted the B8 A4, but it was not out yet when I needed to get a car (2008). So the IS was the next best decision. I may just end up keeping this if I really want to be smart and not have a car payment one day. But then again, I say that with every car until something else comes out that I must have.

dsadsauser

Are you sure about that???

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=406353

Anyways, it was tough between the 335i, MB C350, G37 and Audi S4. I really looked extensively into each. I would have saved 4-5 grand going with the G37, but the Lexus is so much nicer. Even far nicer than the 2010 with the revised interior.

Wicked GS

iTrader: (4)

Had an SC, needed a 4door with a baby on the way, but yet still wanted the sporty feel an look... reliable an safety for sure.... an 250 so definitely no speeding for me

BlackFish8

iTrader: (9)

Before my IS, I drove a BMW 5-series (e39) for several years. For those of you who've owned an e39 (you can understand where I'm coming from), with this model in terms of repairs: "when it rains, it pours." I wanted something more reliable, so originally I was in the market for a new Toyota Camry. Later on I realized I didn't really see myself in a camry and I wanted something sportier. I went to a dealer and test drove the IS and now I'm part of the club

syzygy

Coming from a 335i coupe, I can tell you right away that a stock 335is handling is noticeably superior to a stock IS350s handling. I've been dealing with absurd body roll for the past year, mostly because the benefits of superior reliability (no more fuel pump failures) and the peace of mind associated with the IS350 far outweighed the cost of losing handling ability. If Audis are anything like BMW on the handling front, which I suspect they are, you'll want to get F-sport sway bars as one of your first modifications. Night and day difference for the IS350.

Before, the IS350 was a blast to drive on straights due to its amazing power. Now, it's a blast to drive on twisty roads as well.

TwiBlueG35

A few reasons I chose IS over 3-series and G35/G37 sedan.

1. The looks of the IS both inside and out outshine those two.
2. The reliability of Lexus are more trustworthy.
3. There are another BMW in my family, I don't want another one.
4. My previous car was an Infiniti G35 sedan, want to try something else.

Karlson

iTrader: (1)

I came from driving a 05 G35, and I was looking into other cars. The infiniti's interior was bland and not impressing me. And I was concerned about the reliability of BMWs, and plus they all look the same. There are about a zillion BMWs that look almost exactly alike. I decided on the IS because I've always daydreamed about the first gens when I was in high school. And the second gen was even more beautiful. Lexus's reputation and reliability played a huge role in purchasing my car, you see a lot of older Lexus makes on the road than other older year luxury cars. The aggressive and sleek exterior combined with the classy interior topped it off, and to boot you get a @$$ kicking 300+ hp engine. I felt like this was the car I can keep for years to come.

mikez

I had an Integra before this car. I was looking at an A4 when I bought the IS.

For the same price of the A4, it came with leather seats, 6 disk cd, HID, automatic transmission, and heated seats.

For 4k cheaper than the A4, I got wood trim, leather seats, ventilated and heated seat, HID and AFS, 6 speed cd changer, dimmed rear mirror, dual zone etc

I was also secretly afraid of replacing turbos on the Audi, and the fact that its a 4 banger so I wanted a v6 but that wasn't a deciding factor, price was.

The a4 did look mighty nice tho :P Wonder what I would be like now being a euro head lol

CleverName

lol Already ordered!
The Audi A4 was grotesquely nose heavy so I suspect the Lex will do better in corners, but like your BMW, you could run the Audi up to 145 with one hand on the wheel. Just plain amazing....
No way this Lex will do more that the sad 130 limit and then only with two hands and white knuckles!

Like the Lex, the Audi cost a lot to mod... but the options for an A4 were 10 fold what I see for the Lex.
You don't loose turbos with Audi, just cams and fuel systems.
The Euro crowd is great, although some could be a bit snooty, and they pull events like renting tracks for performance schools. May keep up my membership just to have access to those!

V

cadfael_te

For me it was the dealership. I was looking at three cars - the lex, the audi S5 cabrio, and another Mini Cooper Cabrio. The Mini dealership was too far away. The lex, to be honest, started out as my third choice and the Audi my top. Couldn't ever get a call back from the Audi dealership and the Lex dealer was very 'proactive'. Looked at BMW a bit too but they were moderately interested in my business and had the cars all strangely specced for my taste.

chikoo

All of the above, plus over the years I have driven 3.0L V6 engines and the 2.0L 4 cylinders too.

The 2.5L V6 provides best of both worlds. Light like a 4 cylinder, and smooth like a V6. A winning combination. For me it is the dream combination. As an engineer I always wondered what is keeping the auto world from making a nice small v6. No longer.

IS-SV

Good points on the refinement and smooth sound of the V6 (versus any 4 banger), which contributes to the strong sales sucess of both the IS250 and the 328.

Synetix250

i had a couple friends in college that had the 1st gen IS so i was always around their cars, then the 2nd gen came out and i liked it even more. both my parents already have an acura and infiniti so i wanted something different. audi's are nice, but overpriced in my opinion and reliability is skechy. bmw's reliability after a few years (if its bought brand new) is really skechy and expensive. went with a reliable high end toyota, sporty/luxury, 4 door..