Your Good Friend Tells You He's Going To Buy A Lexus IS350 - How Would You Talk Them Out Of It?

It would be nice if people would realy post good comments. Not EL34 type post, that could have been made by a retard.

What do you mean "could have been"? I just assumed they were.

Tell him nothing, its is payments when it all boils down, end of story.

Why did you predict a head-on collision with a wall and then proceed to steer and accelerate into a brick wall?

There is little chance for this to happen, I don't have friends that are older than 60.

I think the title should have read : " Your Granny Tells You She's Going To Buy A Lexus IS350 - How Would You Talk her Out Of It?"

Ok this one was for Huu, and it's well deserved...

The IS is a good car, not my pick but nonetheless a good car. There's no reason the talk someone out of it.

"Your Good Friend Tells You He's Going To Buy A Lexus IS350 - How Would You Talk Them Out Of It?"

You first of all punch them dead in the jaw, then ask what the hell is wrong with them! Then you take them out for lunch and talk some sense into him while he's nursing the lump on the head which he obviously wasn't using when he broke the news of the potential purchase. Then you gently show him a few BMW 335i's or a C-Class or an Audi A4, and if you have to the Infiniti G37, but only if you think you have to

Good friends don't let their friends buy Lexuses except if they are gifts for their grandparents.

the lump on his head is from him staggering and hitting the floor after the punch to the jaw... in case you were wondering :)

As an owner, I'll give some first-hand feedback on cons to owning an IS350 (which I have used when 'friends' are shopping). No, I do like my car, however, I am mature enough to admit where improvements could be made.

Things 'normal' folks care about:
• Vestigial back seat (Yeah, they all say that about the small sport sedans...no really, it is really damn tight back there and only demented dwarfs would enjoy sitting on 3rd seat 'hump')
• Center stack is dated and some of the smoked plastic with 'shine through' lettering looks much like your average alarm clock
• Taller folks may find the front seating a bit claustrophobic - same for two guys with wide shoulders...it gets friendly up there ;)
• Electronics are getting a bit dated and some have restrictive functionality (certain Bluetooth functions are nixed or not present, for example))
• Outside of Sport or Lux packages, lacks seat memory

Things car-folks may care more about:
• Abysmal under steer (only brought up if the 'friend' has any idea what that it) along with numb steering
• Lack of either a manual or even a double-clutch automated manual. Auto only with worthless paddle shifters.
• 2007 forward safety nanny gear can be disabled, but you have to work at it. Prior to 2007 you had to learn the 'pedal dance' ;) VSC is overly intrusive, even during the most lightly spirited driving...some mode between OFF and ON would go a long way
• Lack of nearly any performance upgrades beyond basic I/E, wheels, and cosmetics
• DIY oil changes are “fun” with the cartridge filter (but at least it has a dipstick to check the oil level with!)
• Male friends may be prone to comment on your ‘girls car’ :0
• Nearly universally hated on Autospies.com ;)

It is nice to see an intelligent post and not more mindless name-calling. Thank you.

(see below for perfect example of how not to post)
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finally...someone who actually answers the question asked.
My aunt had one of these and it was great for her 5'4" frame - she switched to an RX which probably validates some of the other posters. I'm 6'3" and the back seat is probably the worst of any in this category...front is fairly snug as well.

I'd pull for the G37 or 3-series due to the more driver-centric nature of the cars and more room IMO.

I'd quickly remind them that a majority of Autospies posters talk crap about all things Lexus with great frequency.

And I'd recommend he buys something, anything else really, to avoid having all those single/lonely/immature/German-only fanboys think less of him.

I'd actually encourage this friend to buy this car. Why? Because it generates the most-negative and polarized attitudes on AutoSpies.com, which probably means that in reality, it is one of the better cars out there.

It depends on what that person likes in a car. If it is luxury and not performance, then it might be difficult to talk them out of it. If it is Performance and less luxury then any other car on your list. I personally think the G37 is the closest to getting both worlds with a slight edge on performance at a fair price. IMO the G37 is the best bang for the buck of any of these cars.

i believe when this car was introduced, it had the best performance numbers of any of it's counterparts.

soon after, BMW/MB/Infiniti went back to the drawing board and improved to one-up Lexus' bold move.

When the next generation IS is introduced, 2011/2012...it'll do the same

If my friend told me he/she are buying a Lexus IS350 I wouldn't tell them not to. I had an accident a couple of weeks ago and I have been test driving many cars. Lexus makes an excellent product. I might ask them if they have ever heard of BMW?

if they'd heard of bmw, and esp. of all the gremlins and COST of keeping 'em on the road, you'd NEVER talk them out of a Lexus.

I'd talk them out of it and tell them to get a G37. But if they are already considering the Lexus? Then they are a lost cause and car knowledge isn't one of their strong points. I'd probably tell that person to get a V6 Honda Accord and be done with it.

My mom likes Lexus, but she didn't like the IS loaner because it was too stiff, the steering wheel too small and direct and stiff, and the trunk opening was too small, making the trunk uncomfortably deep. In other words, if my friend likes to keep his car to himself, he won't have a problem if he manages to purchase it with the approval of his mother. lol

Couple of reasons to talk somebody out of buying a IS350:

1) It's nearing the end of it's product lifecycle. A new one is right around the corner.
2) Back seat VERY small.
3) If the friend is a badge whore, he would be better off in a BMW or especially a Benz.

Otherwise, test drove a IS350 about a year ago. Was a great driver's car. Not as great as the BMW 328i, but it was close and much better than the 2008(Old) A4 I drove, as well as the C-class. Only thing that really sucks about it is the ridiculously tight back seat. It's soo tight back there they should have just made the IS a strictly 2 door coupe from the beginning.

I would suggest that they test drive the G37 or 3 series and that would probably solve the issue right there.

Hmmm...........max torque not achieved until at least 3500 rpm......nuff said...

if the buyer has penis and is under 50, pick another car.

I knew you where kind of sick but I did not know you where into that kind of stuff

My friends would WANT me to shoot them if they were about to sign up on an IS.

I would congratulate him because he bought a reliable car that goes 0-60 in 5.2 seconds and will last 300,000 miles without anything major going wrong with it. Yea the back seat is bad but at least it's better then a coupe!

pennfootball,

"and will last 300,000 miles without anything major going wrong with it."

- That simply isn't true. Unless you don't call, a couple of transmissions, about 3 clutches(if manual), a few fuel pumps, oil pumps, and a complete engine rebuild,"major".?

That's at least about what it would take (and much more) to maintain any vehicle to 300,000 miles. Lexus isn't any different. Don't fool yourself.

300,000 miles far exceeds Lexuses life expectation for the transmission (look at the manual) and perhaps the whole entire vehicle.

too funny...

i own a japanese vehicle right now with over 200k miles, and have done only maintenance work.

-1999 G20t manual, 225k miles -- normal tune-ups, changed oil on time and clutch/resurfaced flywheel once. brakes/tires/etc is normal maint

toyota's last long periods, so long as the owner isn't neglecting scheduled maintenance and not constantly trying to be a racer on public roads. My ES300 has 160k miles with only maintenance work done and it drives like it just came off the lot when I purchased it.

the GS300 i own has 26k miles, no issues other than a faulty tire pressure sensor, warranty replaced.

Honda odyssey has 170k miles and has only had one transmission failure, which was common amongst them. replaced under warranty at 30kmiles and drives impeccably to this day. maintenance only otherwise.

my SC300 manual has 287k miles and has only had maintenance work done and a fresh coat of paint. though this vehicle is lowered springs and a set of aftermarket wheels, it drives perfectly fine. no issues other than maintenance work as well.


and a good friend of mines owns a 2007 Yaris S (manual) that just crossed 350k miles, and has only done the drive belts and an alternator. still using original clutch, flywheel, brake pads, etc. maintenance work doen accordingly. this vehicle is also modded with an aftermarket exhaust manifold and exhaust, lowering springs, rims, and MPG-helpers as well.

High Performance Vehicles such as the IS350 falls into a different category than every car that you've mentioned. A Yaris's maintenance record doesn't have anything to do with IS350's maintenance record. If an IS350 is driven hard, you are going to have to replace parts. Lexuses aren't Diamonds.

japanese vehicles DO last a long time with minimal downtime and costs.

i had a 1971 toyota, for which the total cost of replacing FAILED parts was less than $25 OVER A TOTAL OF SEVEN YEARS. all other expenses were just for maintenance, and normal wear and tear items.

with an '86 nissan truck, similar cost was $56 over 7 years. (brake hoses failed.)

with a '94 toyota truck (still owned), the cost so far has been ZERO.

ditto for an '03 toyota daily driver.

these cars simply DO NOT BREAK! and i don't necessarily baby my vehicles either.

I would say that although it's a fairly nice drive, it's now BMW in the handling department AND the ride is worse, especially over concrete seams. I've driven an IS350 on an autocross course and ridden with my friend in his on the street and if I had to live with that car, the ride would make me throw myself in front of traffic. This from a person that had a stiff autocross set up on a BMW. As was also mentioned, it's is very cramped inside, even smaller than an E36 BMW.

Many stupid comments here that are off the topic, as usual. But, my answer to the question is, to go with the G37, it has the Lexus reliability and quality and yet the fun driving of a 335i. The IS350 is crazy on a straight line, but steering wheel isn't sporty enough. And the 335i, is just a waste of money and horrible reliability, so stay away from it.

LexSucks You have no clue the Is 350 IS NOT EVEN AVAILABLE WITH A MANUAL TRANSMISSION Just a brilliant 6 speed automatic with paddle shifters yum yum. Check your Service Manuel Chief!

As for water pumps they get changed every 90-100k in a Lexus under routine maintenance when they change an engine belt if equipped.(FYI the Is350 uses chain driven cams no belt needed) But you wouldn't know that you never owned one I have! I know a guy who has an Lx470 that is still on the same tranny at 250k he, changed the engine belt for the first time at 200,000 miles, which is dumb but the thing keeps running and running and running.

"LexSucks You have no clue the Is 350 IS NOT EVEN AVAILABLE WITH A MANUAL TRANSMISSION"

- And that's a good thing?

Lexus did eventually offer a Manual Transmission with the last gen IS300. I thought that they might have done the same with the 350.

The Is 350 has a power steering pump that is electric that is pretty robust and has an almost indestructible brush-less electric motor. Now Oil pumps are the only Question I can not answer, but a 250 dollar part that costs you a grand to fix the car is not to bad after 180,000 miles or so!

First thing i'd tell him that there are three better choices out there.

shempy just associates with IMBECILES, and obviously their stupidity has rubbed off on him! LOL!