2008 IS350 or 2013-15 Mustang GT (Not a Race)
09-06-17, 10:03 AM
#1
2008 IS350 or 2013-15 Mustang GT (Not a Race)
Sorry for the title gore and length post...
Long story short, I just got a decent salary raise at work and am trying to decide between my paid off 2008 Lexus IS350 and a 2013-2015 Mustang GT. I had a fox body back in high school and part of college, loved driving it, and have always been a Mustang fanboy. I wanted to get a 2011 when I graduated college but my starting salary wasn't as high as I expected. Therefore I ended up going with a high mileage IS350 for 17k for a mix of speed and reliability. So now that my salary has increased quite a bit, I started looking at Mustangs again. I would be going with a manual and looking for a mustang in the $18k-25k range. I just wanted to see if there were any Pro's/Con's I was missing while relating the vehicle choices. I like the looks of both the 2013/2014 and the newer 2015 body style, but I feel like the 2015 would be much closer to the quality of car that I drive now. Below I'll list what I think of each vehicle and please correct me if I am wrong about anything.
Current Vehicle: 2008 Lexus IS350 w/ X-Package, Tsudo axle-back exhaust, Joe-Z intake, Aftermarket HID's, 144,000 miles, currently worth 8-10K.
Pro's: Reliable, paid off, gets 28-30mpg on long road trips, 4 doors, luxurious interior (relatively speaking), kind of a sleeper car, looks good but not great.
Con's: Not as fast as the mustang, maintenance costs (when needed), automatic transmission, limited aftermarket.
2013/2014 Mustang GT
Pro's: Fast, great aftermarket, premium interior isn't too bad, cheaper repairs(?), looks mean, manual transmission, $4-5k cheaper than 2015.
Con's: Less reliable(?), regular interior is bad, worse gas mileage by about 3-5mpg, outdated suspension, only 2 doors, traditional key, manual transmission (traffic).
2015 Mustang GT
Pro's: Fast, great aftermarket, still under warranty, nice interior, IRS, looks modern, manual transmission.
Con's: Less reliable(?), worse gas mileage by about 3-5mpg, only 2 doors, manual transmission (traffic), most expensive option.
I love my IS350, but the mild quickness has lost it's muster. My old fox body was just as fast, so I've been at the same speed for about 9 years now. I'm not sure how close the full exhaust and a tune would get me to the new Mustang performance numbers, but I feel like there would still be a noticeable gap. (A quick google gave me IS350 max modded 300rwhp, Mustang stock 380rwhp). Both cars are rwd, both have limited space, insurance isn't exactly cheap for any of the options, and both can be used as daily drivers. Let me know what option you think would be the best financially, fun factor wise, or a combination of the two. Thanks for your help guys!
Long story short, I just got a decent salary raise at work and am trying to decide between my paid off 2008 Lexus IS350 and a 2013-2015 Mustang GT. I had a fox body back in high school and part of college, loved driving it, and have always been a Mustang fanboy. I wanted to get a 2011 when I graduated college but my starting salary wasn't as high as I expected. Therefore I ended up going with a high mileage IS350 for 17k for a mix of speed and reliability. So now that my salary has increased quite a bit, I started looking at Mustangs again. I would be going with a manual and looking for a mustang in the $18k-25k range. I just wanted to see if there were any Pro's/Con's I was missing while relating the vehicle choices. I like the looks of both the 2013/2014 and the newer 2015 body style, but I feel like the 2015 would be much closer to the quality of car that I drive now. Below I'll list what I think of each vehicle and please correct me if I am wrong about anything.
Current Vehicle: 2008 Lexus IS350 w/ X-Package, Tsudo axle-back exhaust, Joe-Z intake, Aftermarket HID's, 144,000 miles, currently worth 8-10K.
Pro's: Reliable, paid off, gets 28-30mpg on long road trips, 4 doors, luxurious interior (relatively speaking), kind of a sleeper car, looks good but not great.
Con's: Not as fast as the mustang, maintenance costs (when needed), automatic transmission, limited aftermarket.
2013/2014 Mustang GT
Pro's: Fast, great aftermarket, premium interior isn't too bad, cheaper repairs(?), looks mean, manual transmission, $4-5k cheaper than 2015.
Con's: Less reliable(?), regular interior is bad, worse gas mileage by about 3-5mpg, outdated suspension, only 2 doors, traditional key, manual transmission (traffic).
2015 Mustang GT
Pro's: Fast, great aftermarket, still under warranty, nice interior, IRS, looks modern, manual transmission.
Con's: Less reliable(?), worse gas mileage by about 3-5mpg, only 2 doors, manual transmission (traffic), most expensive option.
I love my IS350, but the mild quickness has lost it's muster. My old fox body was just as fast, so I've been at the same speed for about 9 years now. I'm not sure how close the full exhaust and a tune would get me to the new Mustang performance numbers, but I feel like there would still be a noticeable gap. (A quick google gave me IS350 max modded 300rwhp, Mustang stock 380rwhp). Both cars are rwd, both have limited space, insurance isn't exactly cheap for any of the options, and both can be used as daily drivers. Let me know what option you think would be the best financially, fun factor wise, or a combination of the two. Thanks for your help guys!
09-06-17, 11:03 AM
#4
I knew someone was going to say the ISF haha. I'm not sure it's faster though. The Mustang has slightly more power and weighs slightly less than the ISF, so if anything I would give the edge to the Mustang. Plus the Mustang aftermarket...
I am aware that a Lexus forum might be biased, but I don't have a membership on a Mustang forum, so I thought I would start here to get your thoughts.
I am aware that a Lexus forum might be biased, but I don't have a membership on a Mustang forum, so I thought I would start here to get your thoughts.
09-06-17, 02:08 PM
#5
I have owned a handful of each Mustang platform. Foxes, a couple 03-04 Cobra's, and an 11 and 13 GT. The car's you are pitting against each other are not comparable. I just bought my IS350 about a month ago, and had a brief mental contemplation of getting almost exactly what you are looking at. Here is what I factored in and why I didn't go that route.
1) Mustang's are money pit's. You will want exhaust, then a tuner, then an intake, the world of mod's is vast for sure, but so is the cost of the car at that point. By the time the dust settles, you are daily driving the car, an you end up resenting your end product. I did this more-so on the older platforms, however, there are some quirks to the S197 (11-14 GT's) platform as well. The MT82 manual transmissions are crap. Since my last car, the diagnosis has somewhat changed, but there is conflict between a heavy flywheel, weak pressure plate, and weak transmission internals. My first 11' GT grenaded the transmission on a hard- clean shift at 6500 rpm's. Took out EVERYTHING under warranty at only 4900 miles. My second, 13' GT was better but not perfect. The clutch use to stick to the floor on powershifts @ 7700 RPM after one run. That was supposed to just be from clutch fluid boiling, but never fully cured that. If I were to consider anything sub-15', it would be an automatic. I have a manual shifter theme tattoo on my arm, so for me to say that is pretty extreme. The automatic's with a converter swap and low boost run 10's with nearly nothing else. Pretty impressive, but again, would you want to daily that? When it's so easily obtainable, you tend to over-extend your reach a bit. I have, an accepted that, maybe you have more ability to leave well enough alone then I do?
2) The two Mustang;s I had never consistently got the mileage you would expect. I did drive like a sane human sometimes and I was never quite comfortable with the mileage they got. I got 26 mpg ONCE with my 13' on a long freeway drive. Rest of the time it was like 22 on the freeway cruising at 70. So the ultimate point I want to make, if i were me (it kind of was recently) I would enjoy your IS at least until you can comfortably afford a 15' GT. The bottom end is more robust, the platform is the most modern, the performance world is on fire with that newest rendition of the Coyote. They ironed out some small quirks and the car is superior to the 11-14' in many ways from what I've seen.
3) The IS-F (quick Google search) appears to run 4.2 0-60 and they got a 12.6 quarter out of it? Assuming those are glory run documented time's, that is very close to the capability of a stock Mustang. The magazine documentations that I remember were high 12's for a stock 5.0, like 12.7 I believe. So average driver with a manual trans, will probably fall to an IS-F stock for stock if that's the case. My best run bone stock, on tires/suspension, ect was a 12.8 on a mediocre track here in Washington. Once I modded my 13' (Boss manifold, Steeda CAI, O/R X-pipe, tune on TSW 20's with Nitto 555 crap tires) I ran a best of 12.2. So to me, even an IS-F vs. GT comparison is null, cause the IS-F to me, is still a much nicer car. KBB and NADA value's will agree with you over time. It only makes sense to have a daily driver that holds value if you aren't paying cash outright, and Mustang's SURELY aren't that gamble.
If you want a fast 4-door vehicle, look into a CTS-V. Whole other can of worms, but it's classy and fast. I finally concluded a daily driver needs to be reliable, comfortable, and enjoyable at the same time. With 300 hp, these car's get pretty good mileage and accomplish all of the above. Car payment's suck, modding a daily with rapid depreciation in addition? Even worse. That is my .05 after having done this multiple times myself and then trying to kick myself in my own *** down the road.
1) Mustang's are money pit's. You will want exhaust, then a tuner, then an intake, the world of mod's is vast for sure, but so is the cost of the car at that point. By the time the dust settles, you are daily driving the car, an you end up resenting your end product. I did this more-so on the older platforms, however, there are some quirks to the S197 (11-14 GT's) platform as well. The MT82 manual transmissions are crap. Since my last car, the diagnosis has somewhat changed, but there is conflict between a heavy flywheel, weak pressure plate, and weak transmission internals. My first 11' GT grenaded the transmission on a hard- clean shift at 6500 rpm's. Took out EVERYTHING under warranty at only 4900 miles. My second, 13' GT was better but not perfect. The clutch use to stick to the floor on powershifts @ 7700 RPM after one run. That was supposed to just be from clutch fluid boiling, but never fully cured that. If I were to consider anything sub-15', it would be an automatic. I have a manual shifter theme tattoo on my arm, so for me to say that is pretty extreme. The automatic's with a converter swap and low boost run 10's with nearly nothing else. Pretty impressive, but again, would you want to daily that? When it's so easily obtainable, you tend to over-extend your reach a bit. I have, an accepted that, maybe you have more ability to leave well enough alone then I do?
2) The two Mustang;s I had never consistently got the mileage you would expect. I did drive like a sane human sometimes and I was never quite comfortable with the mileage they got. I got 26 mpg ONCE with my 13' on a long freeway drive. Rest of the time it was like 22 on the freeway cruising at 70. So the ultimate point I want to make, if i were me (it kind of was recently) I would enjoy your IS at least until you can comfortably afford a 15' GT. The bottom end is more robust, the platform is the most modern, the performance world is on fire with that newest rendition of the Coyote. They ironed out some small quirks and the car is superior to the 11-14' in many ways from what I've seen.
3) The IS-F (quick Google search) appears to run 4.2 0-60 and they got a 12.6 quarter out of it? Assuming those are glory run documented time's, that is very close to the capability of a stock Mustang. The magazine documentations that I remember were high 12's for a stock 5.0, like 12.7 I believe. So average driver with a manual trans, will probably fall to an IS-F stock for stock if that's the case. My best run bone stock, on tires/suspension, ect was a 12.8 on a mediocre track here in Washington. Once I modded my 13' (Boss manifold, Steeda CAI, O/R X-pipe, tune on TSW 20's with Nitto 555 crap tires) I ran a best of 12.2. So to me, even an IS-F vs. GT comparison is null, cause the IS-F to me, is still a much nicer car. KBB and NADA value's will agree with you over time. It only makes sense to have a daily driver that holds value if you aren't paying cash outright, and Mustang's SURELY aren't that gamble.
If you want a fast 4-door vehicle, look into a CTS-V. Whole other can of worms, but it's classy and fast. I finally concluded a daily driver needs to be reliable, comfortable, and enjoyable at the same time. With 300 hp, these car's get pretty good mileage and accomplish all of the above. Car payment's suck, modding a daily with rapid depreciation in addition? Even worse. That is my .05 after having done this multiple times myself and then trying to kick myself in my own *** down the road.
09-06-17, 06:21 PM
#6
Isf with rrracing power pack will be around 410-420 rwhp.
09-06-17, 08:35 PM
#7
08treefidd = wise, and obvious to go that route BUT you already know that $$$$ can easily go into that stang. So many more available options as well, from engine, tranny, etc. I personally am not a mustang fan, of course I'mma camaro guy, so I'll say IS. Lol.
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09-06-17, 08:44 PM
#8
Car **** is my biggest passion, sorry OP, cool to see similar interests within this platform's owners, too.
09-06-17, 09:53 PM
#9
Take your "decent salary raise" and save every dime of it. Every month!! Drive your '08 IS350 for the foreseeable future and retire earlier than most of your peers who would more than likely spend their new found money. That's what I did and I retired in my mid-fifties. Had I been even more careful, it would have possible to retire even earlier. And "yes" retirement is a great thing. This is all just MHO.
If you must spend the money, I say "keep" the Lexus.
If you must spend the money, I say "keep" the Lexus.
09-07-17, 12:33 AM
#10
Pole Position
Take your "decent salary raise" and save every dime of it. Every month!! Drive your '08 IS350 for the foreseeable future and retire earlier than most of your peers who would more than likely spend their new found money. That's what I did and I retired in my mid-fifties. Had I been even more careful, it would have possible to retire even earlier. And "yes" retirement is a great thing. This is all just MHO.
If you must spend the money, I say "keep" the Lexus.
If you must spend the money, I say "keep" the Lexus.
lets just say after getting the F i havent really done any mods to her cause i just dont have time cause with that raise ive been putting 60-90 hours/week
. (lol ive gotten 3 sizeable raises within the last six months and im salary but i still get $$ for extra hours)
09-07-17, 07:51 AM
#11
I have owned a handful of each Mustang platform. Foxes, a couple 03-04 Cobra's, and an 11 and 13 GT. The car's you are pitting against each other are not comparable. I just bought my IS350 about a month ago, and had a brief mental contemplation of getting almost exactly what you are looking at. Here is what I factored in and why I didn't go that route.
1) Mustang's are money pit's. You will want exhaust, then a tuner, then an intake, the world of mod's is vast for sure, but so is the cost of the car at that point. By the time the dust settles, you are daily driving the car, an you end up resenting your end product. I did this more-so on the older platforms, however, there are some quirks to the S197 (11-14 GT's) platform as well. The MT82 manual transmissions are crap. Since my last car, the diagnosis has somewhat changed, but there is conflict between a heavy flywheel, weak pressure plate, and weak transmission internals. My first 11' GT grenaded the transmission on a hard- clean shift at 6500 rpm's. Took out EVERYTHING under warranty at only 4900 miles. My second, 13' GT was better but not perfect. The clutch use to stick to the floor on powershifts @ 7700 RPM after one run. That was supposed to just be from clutch fluid boiling, but never fully cured that. If I were to consider anything sub-15', it would be an automatic. I have a manual shifter theme tattoo on my arm, so for me to say that is pretty extreme. The automatic's with a converter swap and low boost run 10's with nearly nothing else. Pretty impressive, but again, would you want to daily that? When it's so easily obtainable, you tend to over-extend your reach a bit. I have, an accepted that, maybe you have more ability to leave well enough alone then I do?
2) The two Mustang;s I had never consistently got the mileage you would expect. I did drive like a sane human sometimes and I was never quite comfortable with the mileage they got. I got 26 mpg ONCE with my 13' on a long freeway drive. Rest of the time it was like 22 on the freeway cruising at 70. So the ultimate point I want to make, if i were me (it kind of was recently) I would enjoy your IS at least until you can comfortably afford a 15' GT. The bottom end is more robust, the platform is the most modern, the performance world is on fire with that newest rendition of the Coyote. They ironed out some small quirks and the car is superior to the 11-14' in many ways from what I've seen.
3) The IS-F (quick Google search) appears to run 4.2 0-60 and they got a 12.6 quarter out of it? Assuming those are glory run documented time's, that is very close to the capability of a stock Mustang. The magazine documentations that I remember were high 12's for a stock 5.0, like 12.7 I believe. So average driver with a manual trans, will probably fall to an IS-F stock for stock if that's the case. My best run bone stock, on tires/suspension, ect was a 12.8 on a mediocre track here in Washington. Once I modded my 13' (Boss manifold, Steeda CAI, O/R X-pipe, tune on TSW 20's with Nitto 555 crap tires) I ran a best of 12.2. So to me, even an IS-F vs. GT comparison is null, cause the IS-F to me, is still a much nicer car. KBB and NADA value's will agree with you over time. It only makes sense to have a daily driver that holds value if you aren't paying cash outright, and Mustang's SURELY aren't that gamble.
If you want a fast 4-door vehicle, look into a CTS-V. Whole other can of worms, but it's classy and fast. I finally concluded a daily driver needs to be reliable, comfortable, and enjoyable at the same time. With 300 hp, these car's get pretty good mileage and accomplish all of the above. Car payment's suck, modding a daily with rapid depreciation in addition? Even worse. That is my .05 after having done this multiple times myself and then trying to kick myself in my own *** down the road.
1) Mustang's are money pit's. You will want exhaust, then a tuner, then an intake, the world of mod's is vast for sure, but so is the cost of the car at that point. By the time the dust settles, you are daily driving the car, an you end up resenting your end product. I did this more-so on the older platforms, however, there are some quirks to the S197 (11-14 GT's) platform as well. The MT82 manual transmissions are crap. Since my last car, the diagnosis has somewhat changed, but there is conflict between a heavy flywheel, weak pressure plate, and weak transmission internals. My first 11' GT grenaded the transmission on a hard- clean shift at 6500 rpm's. Took out EVERYTHING under warranty at only 4900 miles. My second, 13' GT was better but not perfect. The clutch use to stick to the floor on powershifts @ 7700 RPM after one run. That was supposed to just be from clutch fluid boiling, but never fully cured that. If I were to consider anything sub-15', it would be an automatic. I have a manual shifter theme tattoo on my arm, so for me to say that is pretty extreme. The automatic's with a converter swap and low boost run 10's with nearly nothing else. Pretty impressive, but again, would you want to daily that? When it's so easily obtainable, you tend to over-extend your reach a bit. I have, an accepted that, maybe you have more ability to leave well enough alone then I do?
2) The two Mustang;s I had never consistently got the mileage you would expect. I did drive like a sane human sometimes and I was never quite comfortable with the mileage they got. I got 26 mpg ONCE with my 13' on a long freeway drive. Rest of the time it was like 22 on the freeway cruising at 70. So the ultimate point I want to make, if i were me (it kind of was recently) I would enjoy your IS at least until you can comfortably afford a 15' GT. The bottom end is more robust, the platform is the most modern, the performance world is on fire with that newest rendition of the Coyote. They ironed out some small quirks and the car is superior to the 11-14' in many ways from what I've seen.
3) The IS-F (quick Google search) appears to run 4.2 0-60 and they got a 12.6 quarter out of it? Assuming those are glory run documented time's, that is very close to the capability of a stock Mustang. The magazine documentations that I remember were high 12's for a stock 5.0, like 12.7 I believe. So average driver with a manual trans, will probably fall to an IS-F stock for stock if that's the case. My best run bone stock, on tires/suspension, ect was a 12.8 on a mediocre track here in Washington. Once I modded my 13' (Boss manifold, Steeda CAI, O/R X-pipe, tune on TSW 20's with Nitto 555 crap tires) I ran a best of 12.2. So to me, even an IS-F vs. GT comparison is null, cause the IS-F to me, is still a much nicer car. KBB and NADA value's will agree with you over time. It only makes sense to have a daily driver that holds value if you aren't paying cash outright, and Mustang's SURELY aren't that gamble.
If you want a fast 4-door vehicle, look into a CTS-V. Whole other can of worms, but it's classy and fast. I finally concluded a daily driver needs to be reliable, comfortable, and enjoyable at the same time. With 300 hp, these car's get pretty good mileage and accomplish all of the above. Car payment's suck, modding a daily with rapid depreciation in addition? Even worse. That is my .05 after having done this multiple times myself and then trying to kick myself in my own *** down the road.
Lastly, I haven't seen much on the tunes for our IS350's lately. I figured full exhaust and a tune would push my IS350 up to about 340hp for only $2000-2500. Might be better to just do that instead of spending the extra $16k on an ISF. Unless that extra 35hp over stock isn't really noticeable.
09-07-17, 09:08 AM
#12
I've landed here for the same reason. 2015 Stang for its rear drive Coyote PP and all the improvements to the platform or IS-350/IS-F. Stepping stone, but an 013 USB cam into the picture and I'd have to say it will hold its value longer for that next step.
I can't do Chev or Dodge do to quality issues, so here I am with a payment. lol
In short; casting a vote on 1) reliability. 2) ROI. Hang on to Lex for another year or two and if still needing a thrill, perhaps revisit the 2015 Stang or newer....
GL
I can't do Chev or Dodge do to quality issues, so here I am with a payment. lol
In short; casting a vote on 1) reliability. 2) ROI. Hang on to Lex for another year or two and if still needing a thrill, perhaps revisit the 2015 Stang or newer....
GL
09-07-17, 01:11 PM
#14
This has for sure crossed my mind because I loved my old 1992 Mustang GT (would probably go for the LX now) but I don't have the time or space for it. I've been renting and moving every 1-2 years and rarely do I have a place to keep a 2nd car.
09-07-17, 03:31 PM
#15
Came here to agree with Lexustom. Just think of it this way, your car is most likely fully depreciated. If you sell it today for 9 or 10, it'll be worth 8-9 in two years with 20k more miles. Depreciation on a newer car is going to be much more than that. Looking back ( I'm 35 now ) I got bored with a car and sold it deep into its depreciation curve and could have kept driving it for 2-3 more years and not lost much more money. I would try to keep it until you're just not happy with it any more. I doubt it will need much in the form of maintenance in the next two years, so that gives you time to search for a house or save/invest. Enjoying what you drive is the most important thing though.