JOYRIDER

Hey all,

I'm new to Lexus, the IS lineup and this forum. I'm considering a used, automatic 2006-2009 IS 250 or 350 as my next vehicle and wanted to get the opinions of those that really mattered - the passionate owners here on this forum. I'll try to get the point as quickly as possible, but now you know up front what I'm looking for - your reviews, recommendations and warnings about this car. Beyond it's good looks, how does it drive, handle, etc?

SOME BACKGROUND:
Previous vehicles have included a Subaru WRX, Nissan 350Z, and a couple streetbikes (currently a Honda VFR800). 'Car guy' and motorsports lover through and through. Ideally I'd put a Nissan GTR in my garage, but that's a little outta the budget right now Ok, a lot.

ROLES FOR THE NEW LEXUS:
This car will have to serve 2 distinct purposes. 1) Family hauler for my wife and I, and our soon-to-be son as of April 2011. 4 doors, leather, room for a car seat, decent trunk and good safety features is all this really requires in my book. For now, at least. 2) Dad's luxurious yet sporty ride on days I choose to take it to work, weekends, special events, Cars and Coffee etc. My daily driver is a Honda Civic Hybrid due to my lovely 100 mile commute. Before you laugh, note that it gets me in the HOV lane and shaves 30 minutes as well as countless headaches off my commute, otherwise I certainly wouldn't be in a soul-less econobox. It replaced the Nissan 350Z because the yearly cost in gas, tires etc was killin me.

BUDGET:
$20 - 25k

MODIFICATIONS:
I’m a fan of tasteful, clean modification. All I plan (key word is plan) to do is add some nice 19" or 20" wheels and just maybe, a slight drop, as long as ride quality is not sacrificed. Don’t need junior getting tossed out of his car seat over every bump, but I like a responsive car when it counts. The drop would be more for aesthetic reasons to eliminate some wheel well gap really.

So, what say you? Are there model years I should avoid and why? Is the 350 really worth the extra money over the 250 given the primary role this car will serve? Are there packages/features/options that are a must have? Others that may sound good but you can go without? Prominent mechanical issues I should be aware of when looking at used cars? All feedback is welcomed and thank you in advance!

jadu

iTrader: (42)

dont know how tall you are, but the backseats are bit crammed.. the first few months you or your wife will be sitting in back with your lil one.. congrats on your lil boy and gl

RTIS250

iTrader: (9)

If you're ok with 204hp, then the IS250 will work for you. I drove one for 3 years, and it worked fine for me. I had a newborn shortly after buying the car, and a car seat fits, but you have to move the passenger seat up a bit. You'll love the car. The mileage is pretty decent for what it is, i averaged 28mpg in my IS250. I eventually moved up to an IS350 recently. Same basic car, but more power, etc.

ScKcBc

iTrader: (2)

i have a 2 year old, she fits in pretty good. I love my car, def get the 350. I drove a 250 and it was rough to appreciate. I also have subtle mods, just 20's, slight drop, 1 12" sub, and some lighting stuff.

JMcDonald

iTrader: (2)

IS sucks for newborn! I have a 4 month old, its a pain to load and unload and My seat has to be put up a little for me to fit her back there lol. But other than that, its great! Once she gets into a regular car seat, it will be better.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

Given the other cars you've had, don't even bother looking at a 250.

The 350 is 50% more power for 10% more cost. That's a no brainer if you care about performance at all, which you seem to.

I'd put the F-sport sway bars in the "must have" category for mods... as far as factory optioning I'm a big fan of the sport package but it tends to be harder to come by than the luxury package.

JOYRIDER

Great feedback guys thanks, just what I was looking for. I'm sold on a 350 now just need to drive one.

Something else I've been hearing is to get a CPO due to warranty, the amount of inspection they do etc. I hate buying from the dealer however. Does that advice ring true for any of you? Worth the extra expense?

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

While the car is very reliable, parts costs from Lexus are insane, so I'd want SOME kind of warranty.

A different (better?) option would be buy private party, but buy one that is still under the factory warranty (4 yr/50k miles)... you will then have the ability to buy the Lexus extended warranty, which will likely be cheaper than the "premium" of buying CPO at a dealer... plus you have more options for warranty length... (CPO is 100k miles or 3 years from when you buy it used... the Lexus extended can go as much as 4 years past the end of the factory warranty (or 8 yrs from first in-service date) and up to 125,000 total miles.

There's a few dealers who sell the Lexus warranties a lot cheaper than your local dealer likely gets for it too... (usually 30-50% less than the local dealer)


Right now any 2008 or newer with less than 50k miles is still under factory warranty... and most 2007s are too, but not all of them (you'd need to check the in-service date to insure it's less than 4 years)... pretty much all 2006 models will be beyond 4 years at this point unless you find one bought as a pretty late leftover model originally.

JOYRIDER

Damn. I'm 6' my wife is 5' 10".

JOYRIDER

Edmunds.com shows that there is a 'Significant Reliability Issue' with the 07 IS350.

http://www.edmunds.com/lexus/is-350/...liability.html
"A periodic problem with this vehicle is failure the Intake Camshaft Gears.

The cost to repair the Intake Camshaft Gears is estimated at $613.00 for parts and $1703.00 for labor. All prices are estimates based on $65.00 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax."

Any insight on this? Is this accurate and common?

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

That would be the issue addressed by this:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/5702399-post5.html

Free fix under warranty.

Well, that's the one for the IS250... it's the same issue on the 350 though, fixed the same way under warranty.

It only happens to some folks, and it's just an annoying noise on cold starts, not an engine failure or anything.