I am giving up my 2008 M3 and am thinking of getting an IS-F instead of another M3. Other than the somewhat lower price and possibly better reliability (my M3 has had zero problems to date), what are the advantages of an IS-F?

(when I got my current M3, I looked at and liked the 08 IS-F but the BMW dealer was much better to deal with and I got a great deal)

Thank you very much!

 

A lot more torque!

 

why are you giving up your M3?

 

Rear end collision.

 

stick with your M3 if you are happy with it. other than better long term reliability, i don't think you will gain much by switching to ISF. if you are tired of the M3, that would be a different story.

 

search the threads. There is an in-depth comparison between the two by people who either had one or the other.

 

Get a C63..........

 

I'm not wild about Mercedes and think the C63, along with a lot of current Mercedes, are pretty heinous looking. I love Mercedes from the 70s and early 80s.

 

I think Slay is like me and some other ISF owners who love the exclusivity of the ISF and thus discourage others from buying one...hahaha.

 

Not to drag on a discussion... But ive never met anyone who has said they regret getting a IS F. I hear it from M3 owners after we race, C63 owners after they give problems, but never from an IS F owner.
Haha...

 

sleazeball,

I suggest you use the advanced search feature of Club Lexus
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/search.php

Point at the IS-F forum off to the right and use keyword 'm3' and search thread titles only. You'll find a bunch of threads where this topic has been discussed including these

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...l?highlight=m3

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...l?highlight=m3

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...l?highlight=m3

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...l?highlight=m3

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...l?highlight=m3

 

Don't mean to start a flame war, but I have been intrigued by the numbers of the 2011 CTS-V Coupe. I know bite my tongue, never thought those words would ever come from my keyboard.

 

Sleazeball... I switched from an '08 M3... to the IS-F... No regrets here! I typically only keep my cars about 6 months to a year... so no real reason on my switch, other than to try something different. I've considered if I were to go back to an M3... I'd do a DCT car... their manual transmission left quite a bit to be desired IMO.

M3 is a great car when driven at 10/10ths... but M3 is lacking in every day driveability down low (in the RPM band). I enjoy the F, as you don't have to 'ring it out' to get out of peoples way if you know what I mean.

Also, reliability... German cars don't know how to make cars that don't need regular dealer visits once they hit 40,000+ miles on the clock. Not that I'd probably have a car for more than 20,000... but it's nice knowing if I stuck with the F long term... odds are, it will be just like a Camry for reliability.

Interior of the F is more involved, and I prefer it.

My gripe with the F... is not being able to turn traction control off 'while moving'. You have to come to a complete stop to accomplish this. But that is probably my only gripe...

I just raced a 2 Door M3 a couple days ago... and pullled on him nicely... from a dead stop, and just kept pulling. The F should be quicker, all things equal... but honestly... I drive my F a lot 'softer' than I did the M... as you still feel satisfied driving just day to day... whereas the M really wanted to be wrung out a bit more (IMO).

One other gripe with the F... no LSD... (real one) unless you're getting a 2010 and up. It's nit picking though... I never 'really' notice it any more... but those are my two areas of nit pick.

Another win (interior/convenience wise) for the F... I love the back up camera!

Dave

 

Thank you. I am going to be checking out the '11. Hopefully the Lexus dealer will let me do more than drive around the block this time. I love my M3 but having recently been rear ended, causing frame damage, I am thinking of moving on. It sounds like Lexus/Toyota has been making incremental improvements each year so I am looking forward to checking the '11s out.

 

ISF interoir is more eye catching and racy

Instant power/ Muscle feel

ISF looks more unique.. stand out more.. M3's are dull looking to common people

ISF has better paint jobs from factory

ISF more features/luxury

Better as a DD

ISF better value

Not as common



These are things that I've notice when it come to ISF > M3