^^
I also love the IS as a cruiser, very smooth ride despite the sportier suspension compared to the average Lexus. And i never feel tired after a journey.
Not sure about the servicing either but i think its still 5k.
Incidentally i was offered a service plan of 1200 big-ones for 24 months of coverage but i haven't gotten back to them.
What annoys me about most of these 'plans' are
a) coverage/price ratio isn't particularly great and
b) 99% of what they do is 'check'/'inspect'...meaning you will still have to pay if they 'feel' something needs replacing/fixing.
And its more of a ripoff now that most manufacturers have excluded brake/calliper replacement (granted some drivers were abusing this) and air-con refills in both warranty and servicing.
So unless the car is a lemon, or randomly fails, the packages are mostly worthless. You're essentially overpaying for an oil/filter change and for a engineer to tell you why you need to spend more money.
I haven't felt that, but I'd say the old IS300s had far stiffer suspension than the 2nd generation. The 3rd generation is softer, but the ugly grill...
I'm one of those customers. Back when pads and rotors were covered in the old days, I'd abuse the cars before a service period. When I bought my Pilot nearly a decade ago, my extended warranty offered quite a lot including 5 brake pad changes, rotor changes if needed, free oil changes for the life of the extended warranty, roadside assistance, etc. The warranty was transferable so when I traded it in 2 years later, the next customer was likely very happy. I believe it was a locked in warranty which meant Honda USA couldn't change the terms. The Pilots in those days burnt some oil and took quite a bit of oil. Changing the oil on them wasn't very easy either. There was always a few mechanics who'd bitch silently under their breath whenever I took it in for a free oil change including filter, engine detail and other stuff. I believe customers like me were the reason Honda stopped going the extra mile. I abused that car the last few months I had it. Even caught some air in it. The dealerships here are in a very affluent area, so they often treat their customers to quality pastries, cappuccino and sparkling mineral water. I probably won't go back to Japanese cars again, sans Lexus. They're good, reliable cars save for maybe Mazda under Ford's partnership. They don't have the oomph, again apart from certain Lexus models. In 2-3 years when my kids are older and I don't need a giant SUV, I'd love to get a GS F-Sport but paying 80,000 for a car that just can't compete with an M5 on the performance part makes me feel a bit ill. If a person is paying that much for a car, they expect a little more power. Granted the M5 costs much more if you option it out, but at minimal options one can be had for a hair over 100,000. I'm not inclined to get a MBZ sedan because of the tablet issue, and likely not a BMW. As I said last week, I'm very fond of the A7/S7/RS7 styling. It is incredibly unique. It's a bit like the CLS, eyesore at first, but you end up appreciating the lines of the car. Plus, having seen it in person, which is rare as it's not a particularly popular model, it is stunning. I'm sure this makes
@AutoUnion39's bits tingle with joy that I'm coming to the dark side. Though with a Lexus GS F-Sport, I can sell it 4 years down the road for around 35-40K.
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Oh wow. I think should have purchased a Toyota Camry instead of this Lexus
I wouldn't worry about it. Those are extreme issues. You can easily drive a modern Lexus up to 200K miles and maybe spend 15K on it total. The 2nd generation IS have easily hit 150K miles with zero issues. I had a fluke with mine. And you're not going to be changing headlight housing unless you have vandals in the area who go around smashing headlights. I'd say a new Lexus like yours is more reliable than a new Lexus from the 2nd generation IS.
But as I said, issues do happen, but they are rare compared to a German car. To give you some perspective, the first five years of the LS400 run, 1990-1995 are now showing issues that cost a decent sum of money. Transmission and the engine computer. Transmissions start faltering at very high mileage and the ECUs stopped being made a while back, but I believe you can find a Bosch ECU and put it in. I think it's Bosch.
There was a woman on Club Lexus several years back who managed to put around 300K miles on her IS350. She worked in business and traveled with her own car as the company she worked for paid for gas and insurance, and I guess other stuff as well. She encountered little trouble.
You can go ahead and get a used LS430 with around 70K miles and it'll set you back quite a bit. You could put 100K on the odometer and have very little problems. But when something serious does go wrong on a Lexus, you will pay the German equivalent. That LS430 will probably cost you around 15,000 to buy and it'll be over 10 years old. Run just as well as the day it rolled off the line. You could also spend that money or even far less on an E39 5 series and face issue after issue. The Bimmer in excellent visual condition will cost around $6,000 and then slowly the problems will arise. Plus, as much as I love E39's to death, because they're visually stunning, they can't hold a candle to the LS430, and I'd say even the old LS400's.
Of BMWs, you could easily drive a 3 or 5 series and encounter little trouble if you're on top of things before they go bad. I've seen plenty of old E46's with more than 140K miles with few issues. Of the E9x generation, I can't say the same. I've heard of too many N54 engine problems, even though the engine is built like a tank. The N55 addressed many of the issues, and even the carbon build up to an extent. With N54 and N55 owners, aside from regular maintenance, they need a carbon blast every so often. This can set them back a few hundred at an indie shop.
You did yourself a favor by getting a Lexus and not a Camry. Camry's, to me, say "I'm good with my money and don't care what I drive. I see my car as a device to get me from point a to point b." They're the Band-Aid of cars. Boring and uninspiring. I also feel they don't look quite as nice as an Accord.
You have one life. If you're successful, I say go for what your heart wants. Within reason of course. Enjoy the time you have on earth. Just don't ever buy a modern Maserati.
[doublepost=1465700086][/doublepost]Or a Tesla. I like what Tesla is doing with car tech, but you're paying a premium price for something that you're practically alpha testing. The car looks nice on the outside, but it's drab on the inside. I can't imagine spending that type of money where the interior leaves a lot to be desired, there's a strong whirring of the motor and wind noise. I've overheard Tesla owners compare their car to a modern S class or even the 7 series, claiming it's faster (at start they have a point), more luxurious and a pampering ride. I'd really love to have some of the stuff they're smoking, to be honest. I saw a review 2 days ago comparing it to a Rolls Royce. To me, Tesla is like the Whole Foods of cars. Nice name and ring to it, but you're buying the exact same products that came from the same farm per labels that you'll see in a store like Trader Joe's or Costco, if you wanted to go plus size. After seeing multiple food products coming from the same farm, same field and lot number, I question WF's claims of being the best, the same way I question Tesla's marketing strategy.
/Rambling.
