RE: Lexus IS-F | Spotted
Discussion
stuart100 said:
jim-k0nxx said:
20k though. I mean, I know stuff is expensive now but, it looks like maybe 5 or 6k to me, max.
5 or 6k? For a premium performance V8? You sound tighter than a drum.Bladedancer said:
stuart100 said:
jim-k0nxx said:
20k though. I mean, I know stuff is expensive now but, it looks like maybe 5 or 6k to me, max.
5 or 6k? For a premium performance V8? You sound tighter than a drum.6 grand is a bit ridiculous, maybe appropriate for other similar looking models that arent an IS-F but definitely some value to this even if its not to my eyes, 20 grands worth.
Definitely one of those cars that are on the radar, I know it wont be cheap to run but there is more confidence in owning something like this than the M3/4 with its crank hub and turbo issues, plus the number of sketchy examples out there is terrifying, its a minefield. Suspect the costs would be more predictable with less chance of an expensive surprise, but obviously any car, especially performance ones can always still give your bank balance a pasting.
Bet its a lovely thing to own, and if bought at the right money, you miss out on depreciation, so the fuel and VED then arent such an issue.
Definitely one of those cars that are on the radar, I know it wont be cheap to run but there is more confidence in owning something like this than the M3/4 with its crank hub and turbo issues, plus the number of sketchy examples out there is terrifying, its a minefield. Suspect the costs would be more predictable with less chance of an expensive surprise, but obviously any car, especially performance ones can always still give your bank balance a pasting.
Bet its a lovely thing to own, and if bought at the right money, you miss out on depreciation, so the fuel and VED then arent such an issue.
Jon_S_Rally said:
I don't understand why the article complains that the interior is dull to be honest. Is the interior of an M3 that thrilling? Just like this, it's basically the same as the bog standard models, just with different seats. That's the same with virtually every other performance variant of a normal car.
They teach this to motoring journalists on day one, to come up with utterly banal and asinine criticisms of Japanese cars that make no sense under the slightest scrutiny. As you say an M3 has the same interior has a 318i but with some carbon fibre effect plastic if you're lucky.They used to criticise the interiors and supposed lack of character of the likes of the Toyota Corrola against such scintilating and well build paragons of style as the Sierra or Cavalier, while failing utterly to mention the reality of far superior engineering and quality in every aspect of the Japanese car.
I missed out on decades of brilliant Japanese cars because I naively believed the criticism in the UK press, what an absolute eye opener it has been to see these things with my own eyes and see in retrospect how hopelessly outclassed most European cars were from the mid 80s onwards. If the press hadn't been such staunch allies it would have been very much worse for purveyors of crap cars like Ford and GM Europe.
These IS-Fs didn't sell well brand new because new buyers don't care a jot about durability and real quality because almost nobody keeps their cars for that long, and the "imagine" is more important than any other factor for the new buyers of most performance metal, but the second hand value of these vs the million knackered knocking engine M3s you see tells the story about real quality.
I drove one when they first came out and loved it. Then I didn’t buy one years later when I was able to and got a CLS55 instead. A friend had an ISF and had zero problems with it.
The engine is epic - no turbos, a real peach. I’d have one over the V8 M3 any day of the week but the ISF or a nice 6.2 C63 would be a tougher choice. The build quality is what you’re paying for really - they simply don’t break unless you’re really unlucky. Steering columns can go, valley gaskets can go on super high miles/ hot country cars, and I think that’s about it. Best bit - hardly anybody knows what it is.
The engine is epic - no turbos, a real peach. I’d have one over the V8 M3 any day of the week but the ISF or a nice 6.2 C63 would be a tougher choice. The build quality is what you’re paying for really - they simply don’t break unless you’re really unlucky. Steering columns can go, valley gaskets can go on super high miles/ hot country cars, and I think that’s about it. Best bit - hardly anybody knows what it is.
Lexmaster said:
Iron Jango said:
Intriguing car. But weren’t brakes notoriously expensive to replace on this?
If you go to Lexus and order the brakes thru them, then yes they are expensive. But if you don't have two left hands, you can do it yourself and save quite a lot on parts prices. Iirc i paid ~600-700€ for OE brembo discs and pads front and rear.They are worth every penny btw
My local EuroCar Parts provided the necessary parts for £300. And that was 2x Brembo discs and 4x pads. I then changed them on the driveway and kept the £700 in labour and markup in my pocket.
Because it was a Lexus / Toyota, the engineering of the parts meant that it was well within the grasp of anyone who knows what a spanner or a punch looks like to change the parts themselves. I tried similar on an Audi I had and the retaining pins were made of cheese and you needed 2 elbows to get the bits and pieces refitted.
J4CKO said:
6 grand is a bit ridiculous, maybe appropriate for other similar looking models that arent an IS-F but definitely some value to this even if its not to my eyes, 20 grands worth.
Definitely one of those cars that are on the radar, I know it wont be cheap to run but there is more confidence in owning something like this than the M3/4 with its crank hub and turbo issues, plus the number of sketchy examples out there is terrifying, its a minefield. Suspect the costs would be more predictable with less chance of an expensive surprise, but obviously any car, especially performance ones can always still give your bank balance a pasting.
Bet its a lovely thing to own, and if bought at the right money, you miss out on depreciation, so the fuel and VED then arent such an issue.
It looks like the posts so far have worked out that it should be around £15-16k. But they will hold their values as second hand based on reliability.Definitely one of those cars that are on the radar, I know it wont be cheap to run but there is more confidence in owning something like this than the M3/4 with its crank hub and turbo issues, plus the number of sketchy examples out there is terrifying, its a minefield. Suspect the costs would be more predictable with less chance of an expensive surprise, but obviously any car, especially performance ones can always still give your bank balance a pasting.
Bet its a lovely thing to own, and if bought at the right money, you miss out on depreciation, so the fuel and VED then arent such an issue.
There are always going to be outliers: the odd ISF that is not reliable and the odd M3 that has not needed any work on it other than routine maintenance. But just this statement explains why the ISF holds its value as a second hand proposition.
Cups Renault said:
It's a 16 year old Japanese saloon closing in on six figures mileage.
It should be far nearer 5/6k than the delusional 20k
Wasn't special new, has never been acclaimed as a great of it's era. Comical pricing and defence of the price here.
You don't know what you are talking about. The British press always have had a chip on their shoulder about Japanese cars...It should be far nearer 5/6k than the delusional 20k
Wasn't special new, has never been acclaimed as a great of it's era. Comical pricing and defence of the price here.
The facelifted ISFs are every bit of a match for an M3. Lexus kept improving these every year. For something that was never "acclaimed as a great of its era", it was able to match the lap time of an M3 around the very long Virgina International raceway: https://lexusenthusiast.com/2011/01/02/2011-lexus-...
I've owned my ISF for almost 5 years. With exhaust, headers and remap it was dynoed at 484hp. The engine is an absolute peach, revs to 7000 (some tuned ones are revving up to 7600 rpm with no issues), sounds glorious and is capable of a very hard 300,000 miles without reliability issues. Its a great car to drive at 7/10ths on a back road or 8/10s on a track. You'd swear an M3 was a 10/10ths race car the way some people talk...
I have never experienced any reliability issues in that time whilst covering almost 45,000 miles in it. The gearbox is great in these. It was the ZF 8 speed before the ZF 8 speed existed. DCT is probably better for track but the auto is better more of the time.
I thought about changing it for an M3 numerous times and was never ever impressed when I drove them. Particularly the manual ones were unimpressive.
fflump said:
He is right that £20k is a bit punchy for a 16 year old Japanese saloon. You could get a similar age /mileage Bentley Continental for that
And that bentley will regularly throw big bills at yet, whereas this dull japanese saloon will just run and run.Edited by fflump on Thursday 23 May 08:02
The maintenance costs of the bentley will soon exceed the purchase cost of this and keep on rising.
I'd rather have the lexus
I absolutely love mine. Definitely a Q-car in the right spec as it's one of those cars nobody bats an eyelid. Even car enthusiasts I've spoke to have no idea about the ISF.
Had a friend say "nice car, 2.5 litre?" Done a pull shortly thereafter and he couldn't believe the sound - it sounds epic with a Hayward & Scott exhaust.
I'd opt for 2010 onwards as they had an LSD. Many other changes throughout each model year up to 2013 including suspension and improved ride comfort.
Mine is a Japanese import and tax is only £325 for the year.
Had a friend say "nice car, 2.5 litre?" Done a pull shortly thereafter and he couldn't believe the sound - it sounds epic with a Hayward & Scott exhaust.
I'd opt for 2010 onwards as they had an LSD. Many other changes throughout each model year up to 2013 including suspension and improved ride comfort.
Mine is a Japanese import and tax is only £325 for the year.
GeniusOfLove said:
Jon_S_Rally said:
I don't understand why the article complains that the interior is dull to be honest. Is the interior of an M3 that thrilling? Just like this, it's basically the same as the bog standard models, just with different seats. That's the same with virtually every other performance variant of a normal car.
They teach this to motoring journalists on day one, to come up with utterly banal and asinine criticisms of Japanese cars that make no sense under the slightest scrutiny. As you say an M3 has the same interior has a 318i but with some carbon fibre effect plastic if you're lucky.They used to criticise the interiors and supposed lack of character of the likes of the Toyota Corrola against such scintilating and well build paragons of style as the Sierra or Cavalier, while failing utterly to mention the reality of far superior engineering and quality in every aspect of the Japanese car.
I missed out on decades of brilliant Japanese cars because I naively believed the criticism in the UK press, what an absolute eye opener it has been to see these things with my own eyes and see in retrospect how hopelessly outclassed most European cars were from the mid 80s onwards. If the press hadn't been such staunch allies it would have been very much worse for purveyors of crap cars like Ford and GM Europe.
These IS-Fs didn't sell well brand new because new buyers don't care a jot about durability and real quality because almost nobody keeps their cars for that long, and the "imagine" is more important than any other factor for the new buyers of most performance metal, but the second hand value of these vs the million knackered knocking engine M3s you see tells the story about real quality.
I've had my 2010 ISF for 16 months now and did 16k miles in the first year, and it's been fantastic. I've modified/improved mine slightly with an exhaust and some coilovers (the standard ride is atrocious) and it hasn't put a foot wrong. Cruises down the motorway with ease due to the 8-speed gearbox, and sounds awesome once you put your foot down.
Tax aside (£735 now!) it is one of the cheapest performance cars to run I've ever had.
It does 35mpg on a run.
I replaced all 4 discs and pads myself for £350.
Oil and filter service is £120 at my local specialist (I provide the materials).
Most consumables/parts are just from the other V8s in the Lexus range and loads of parts available from the states which are dirt cheap.
Hardly anyone knows what it is either. I get the odd nod of approval or thumbs up but most people haven't got a clue what it is.
Tax aside (£735 now!) it is one of the cheapest performance cars to run I've ever had.
It does 35mpg on a run.
I replaced all 4 discs and pads myself for £350.
Oil and filter service is £120 at my local specialist (I provide the materials).
Most consumables/parts are just from the other V8s in the Lexus range and loads of parts available from the states which are dirt cheap.
Hardly anyone knows what it is either. I get the odd nod of approval or thumbs up but most people haven't got a clue what it is.
Edited by T_S_M on Thursday 23 May 12:12
It is a Lexus
It will go on forever- and unlike rivals, it will generate no nasty sudden expensive bills- just fair wear and tear replacements over time
A close friend has a big Lexus- it has done over 200,000 and if it were clocked to 25,000 you would really struggle to realise it
Their build quality is legendary- and that represents a real world saving in terms of money and peace of mind to me
I have had almost every type of fast BMW and several fast MBs and Audis- and every time after a while a bill has been thrown up at me and bitten me hard on the ankle.
The 4 Lexus (Lexi?) I have owned have never presented me with any bills other than just consumables such as brake pads etc
It is a steep price- 6K is too low but at crca 15K it will still be going when most of us are long gone
T_S_M said:
I've modified/improved mine slightly with an exhaust and some coilovers (the standard ride is atrocious) and it hasn't put a foot wrong.
Agreed, the ride on the earlier 2008-10 models was horrid. In fairness to Lexus they listened to feedback and improved ride quality with Sachs dampers in the later models. Which coilovers did you opt for?EK9_CTR said:
T_S_M said:
I've modified/improved mine slightly with an exhaust and some coilovers (the standard ride is atrocious) and it hasn't put a foot wrong.
Agreed, the ride on the earlier 2008-10 models was horrid. In fairness to Lexus they listened to feedback and improved ride quality with Sachs dampers in the later models. Which coilovers did you opt for?I've always liked these as a nice alternative to the M3/C63. I've grown to love 2 pedal cars over the years in fairness, but I wouldn't mind trying both this and the C63 with a manual gearbox though.
I think personally I'd much prefer the engine in this(and the C63) over the relatively torque light V8 in the M3 to be honest. The V8 in the M3 never felt like a V8 to me if you understand what I mean.
I think personally I'd much prefer the engine in this(and the C63) over the relatively torque light V8 in the M3 to be honest. The V8 in the M3 never felt like a V8 to me if you understand what I mean.
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