Thinking of Acquiring a High-Mileage IS250. . . Thoughts?
#17
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The purpose of the Lexus, Merc, et al for me is the luxury / comfort and general appearance of the car. Also safety is another concern and I'd rather something a tad larger/heavier than your typical econobox.
Don't get me wrong the Civics and Camrys are great cars and I loved my Civic Si but with my job etc it wouldn't be appropriate, and I have to admit I have been spoiled by the G35.
I am a performance guy too but this car would be for a daily driver / commute and the weekend car will probably end up being a Z06 or early model GT-R if I can swing it.
Believe it or not I had also considered the VW Phaeton which can be had for relatively little money, but the gas was just a killer for something I would only be going up and down the Interstate in.
Thanks for the replies everyone I appreciate the advice
#18
I've put 80k miles on my IS250 in the last 4 years and heres some things you might want to consider.
1. Cost of tires is expensive and they don't last long. A set of good all seasons will run you about ~$460 for the fronts which will last ~25k miles. The rears are $520 and will last you around ~32k miles. I've spent about $2500 for tires total for this car. If I drove a civic/corolla I'd only need to spend like $800 total.
2. Lexus parts are expensive. When you hit 120k you might start seeing issues with your transmission, shocks, navigation, electrical just to name a few. This will cost you probably 2-3 times as much as a "regular" car.
3. If I were you, get a cheap beater and a nice weekend car.
1. Cost of tires is expensive and they don't last long. A set of good all seasons will run you about ~$460 for the fronts which will last ~25k miles. The rears are $520 and will last you around ~32k miles. I've spent about $2500 for tires total for this car. If I drove a civic/corolla I'd only need to spend like $800 total.
2. Lexus parts are expensive. When you hit 120k you might start seeing issues with your transmission, shocks, navigation, electrical just to name a few. This will cost you probably 2-3 times as much as a "regular" car.
3. If I were you, get a cheap beater and a nice weekend car.
#19
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I drive 200 miles round trip four days a week. I bought a brand new civic off the show room floor in 2004 and it has been in the road ever since. It has 371000 miles and still going and it still gets 35 miles to the gallon. I also have the IS 250 and love the car but I would never consider driving it to work. If you want my advice buy a civic around a 2005 model and drive the tires off of it, you will not be disappointed! You can pick up one for around 7 grand and around 120000 miles. You can still buy an IS to pimp around on the weekends. The civic around this year are better than the new ones. They are having reliability issues witht the new civics. Just my two cents.
#20
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Well frankly this should make your decision right there. I was approaching this thinking you were looking for a car that would be your only one, so it would have to balance not only fuel economy but fun/performance. If you're serious that you're going to be looking at getting a Z06 or GT-R, then it seems a no-brainer to get a high-mileage, high fuel economy daily driver you can buy and repair for cheap, rack up the miles and drive it into the ground. If you have a GT-R you're never going to drive the IS250 for fun. So why not get a sensible/econobox car for your daily driver at a higher trim level (with leather etc) to balance the luxury you're looking for?
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FWIW if anyone's interested, after shopping around I think I am going to stick with my current G35. After doing more reading and research, it pretty much boils down to depreciation and it makes more sense to put a lot of miles on my current car which is already more heavily depreciated. Unless I got a car with truly a lot of miles, the price would completely offset fuel savings in a 250, and definitely on a 350.
I looked into a couple econoboxes, particularly the '12 Ford Focus, but the 1st year depreciation hit even after discounts would be massive and probably negate any fuel savings anyway. Plus to get the features I want it turns a $16k car into a $26k car.
Thanks guys!
I looked into a couple econoboxes, particularly the '12 Ford Focus, but the 1st year depreciation hit even after discounts would be massive and probably negate any fuel savings anyway. Plus to get the features I want it turns a $16k car into a $26k car.
Thanks guys!
#22
depends.
Just doing the top engine clean, which is the old "fix" is like 300-400 bucks I think having a shop do it... at least one guy on here did it himself for a lot less... This doesn't fix the problem, it just cleans up the carbon until it builds up again.
If you want the "new fix" that involves new pistons and rings... that's gonna be well north of a grand... this also doesn't actually fix the problem but is presumed to make it so it's a lot more miles before it reoccurs
Either is covered under the 6 yr/70k mile powertrain warranty... but probably 1/2-2/3rd of 2006 models are beyond this on time alone by now, all 07s are still under it (though mileage will still cut this off of course)
routine wear items (ie replace when worn out) would be tires, brake pads (and eventually rotors), windshield wipers, and the serpentine belt.
Just doing the top engine clean, which is the old "fix" is like 300-400 bucks I think having a shop do it... at least one guy on here did it himself for a lot less... This doesn't fix the problem, it just cleans up the carbon until it builds up again.
If you want the "new fix" that involves new pistons and rings... that's gonna be well north of a grand... this also doesn't actually fix the problem but is presumed to make it so it's a lot more miles before it reoccurs
Either is covered under the 6 yr/70k mile powertrain warranty... but probably 1/2-2/3rd of 2006 models are beyond this on time alone by now, all 07s are still under it (though mileage will still cut this off of course)
routine wear items (ie replace when worn out) would be tires, brake pads (and eventually rotors), windshield wipers, and the serpentine belt.
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