Lexus ISF

[ericmcn]

BUG4LIFE said:

ZX10R NIN said:

Go for the IS-F as much as I love the 55 the Lexus is the better car.

.......and how much it will cost me in the future...!

Dont know if you read my post but if you are concerned on costs its a no brainer, just hop onto Lexus Owners Club if you are in doubt, just trying to help

[ericmcn]

Christmassss said:

Legacy Spec B - 75 Manuals and 180 Autos registered 2018....sooooo can you speak?

Actually just 18 2008 Subaru Spec B MT

FWIW there are 81 2008 Lexus ISFs registered (7 SORN)

[ZX10R NIN]

BUG4LIFE said:

It may depend how much I want to spend on buying a car and how much it will cost me in the future...an ISF will obviously be more expensive to buy, servicing and parts (brakes, tyres etc) will be more, tax is more. Insurance I’m not sure and they’ll both be equally as bad on fuel.

The C55 comes as an estate too, which is a big plus! But I am a massive fan of the ISF and Japanese cars in general. Decisions decisions!

Your wrong on the maintenance side of things like for like the Mercedes will cost more if you're comparing main dealer with main dealer join the Lexus Owners club & it'll cost you even less.

Tax wise the difference is only £200.00, yes tyres will be more but the Lexus will be better on fuel a C55 will cost you around 10k for an okay C55 & around 12k for a nice one:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

The IS-F will start at 15k:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[ericmcn]

ZX10R NIN said:

Your wrong on the maintenance side of things like for like the Mercedes will cost more if you're comparing main dealer with main dealer join the Lexus Owners club & it'll cost you even less.

Tax wise the difference is only £200.00, yes tyres will be more but the Lexus will be better on fuel a C55 will cost you around 10k for an okay C55 & around 12k for a nice one:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

The IS-F will start at 15k:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Dont think he listened to anything I said but by all accounts buy a German car but dont come back crying when it comes to getting it fixed.

[BUG4LIFE]

ericmcn said:

ZX10R NIN said:

Your wrong on the maintenance side of things like for like the Mercedes will cost more if you're comparing main dealer with main dealer join the Lexus Owners club & it'll cost you even less.

Tax wise the difference is only £200.00, yes tyres will be more but the Lexus will be better on fuel a C55 will cost you around 10k for an okay C55 & around 12k for a nice one:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

The IS-F will start at 15k:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Dont think he listened to anything I said but by all accounts buy a German car but dont come back crying when it comes to getting it fixed.

Haha, ok darling, keep your knickers on, I am listening!

As my current car is a Subaru, I'm certainly not one of those 'always buy German' people! I've been a member of the Lexus Owners Club for some time so well aware of the positives of the ISF and would jump on the right one [condition, services history, miles, etc] but the C55 is also a compelling car, especially the estate [I currently have 2 estates on my radar which look very good] and the 55's also have a good rep for reliability.

ZX10R NIN - regarding services costs, I'd be comparing Lexus dealer to Mercedes specialist as I use someone like MSL for the Merc but it appears the majority of ISF owners stick to dealer servicing, which can be very expensive.

Both are great cars so it would probably come down to what's available when I'm ready to buy.

[ZX10R NIN]

I think the differences are small servicing wise the C55 is a beast of a car that V8 is a peach & the low down torque from that engine always makes me smile when I get in my old CLK55 it has the better low down punch but the Lexus counters with a scintillating top end, there's no wrong decision here.

As I said earlier as much as I'm a Mercedes man I'd actually go for the Lexus, but if the car below was thrown into the mix then I'd be looking to buy it for 10.5k & spending the rest on sorting the little issues that a car with this mileage will have:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-MERCEDES-CLK63-AMG...

Also don't discount the CLK55 AMG:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[BUG4LIFE]

ZX10R NIN said:

I think the differences are small servicing wise the C55 is a beast of a car that V8 is a peach & the low down torque from that engine always makes me smile when I get in my old CLK55 it has the better low down punch but the Lexus counters with a scintillating top end, there's no wrong decision here.

As I said earlier as much as I'm a Mercedes man I'd actually go for the Lexus, but if the car below was thrown into the mix then I'd be looking to buy it for 10.5k & spending the rest on sorting the little issues that a car with this mileage will have:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-MERCEDES-CLK63-AMG...

Also don't discount the CLK55 AMG:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I am a fan of the CLK, especially the 63 (a chap on MB Club is about to put a very nice one up for sale) but as I got a little lad, I need rear doors!

[ericmcn]

ZX10R NIN said:

I think the differences are small servicing wise the C55 is a beast of a car that V8 is a peach & the low down torque from that engine always makes me smile when I get in my old CLK55 it has the better low down punch but the Lexus counters with a scintillating top end, there's no wrong decision here.

As I said earlier as much as I'm a Mercedes man I'd actually go for the Lexus, but if the car below was thrown into the mix then I'd be looking to buy it for 10.5k & spending the rest on sorting the little issues that a car with this mileage will have:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-MERCEDES-CLK63-AMG...

Also don't discount the CLK55 AMG:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

That 2005 AMG, want to be brave to get it, I had a Supercharged AMG for all of a month, and went and got a Subaru aftewards. An ISF would be a superior purchase over that IMO if you value your time and dont want it in a garage.

[ZX10R NIN]

ericmcn said:

That 2005 AMG, want to be brave to get it, I had a Supercharged AMG for all of a month, and went and got a Subaru aftewards. An ISF would be a superior purchase over that IMO if you value your time and dont want it in a garage.

The C/CLK55 are pretty much bulletproof they won't be spending time in the garage unless you're leaving it in there & will be just as reliable as the Lexus.

[Acksaw]

Really fancy one of these as I want a cheap(ish) barge to do my commute and some weekend driving in and a sturdy estate like a V70 D5 for the dog carrying and tip runs etc.... Not sure if these fit the bill or not! Seem to be under the radar but sound amazing and the reliability to boot.. The seats look massive though.. Are they comfy? Might chop in my Golf GTD estate (which has 2 and a bit years left on PCP... so not sure if that's a good idea) and get both...

[llcoolmac]

I agreed a deal to buy a 46k mile one of these the other day. Only one owner which was the 65 year old sister of the Lexus dealer who sold the car! Obviously the car has an enormous service history and has got everything it ever needed from the dealer. I haven't paid anything down yet but I am close to pulling the trigger. I currently drive older cars which are appreciating so I am still coming to terms with the thought of losing quite a chunk of cash to depreciation and the high running costs (we have €1800 per annum motor tax on these here).

But I am pretty sick of driving older cars now too. the creature comforts of modern cars are pretty great and the ISF seems to have a lot of stuff that is only coming on newer cars now. Eg adaptive cruise control, automatic lights, etc. The first thing that struck me was how incredibly well it appeared to be screwed together.

I was doing some sums and over 3 years I think this would cost roughly the same in running costs including depreciation as a 2017/18 Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce. As much as I love the Giulia, its only a 4 cylinder and a hell of a lot slower. The one thing that worries me is how hard it will be to sell a car with such high tax in this country.

[jamoor]

llcoolmac said:

I agreed a deal to buy a 46k mile one of these the other day. Only one owner which was the 65 year old sister of the Lexus dealer who sold the car! Obviously the car has an enormous service history and has got everything it ever needed from the dealer. I haven't paid anything down yet but I am close to pulling the trigger. I currently drive older cars which are appreciating so I am still coming to terms with the thought of losing quite a chunk of cash to depreciation and the high running costs (we have €1800 per annum motor tax on these here).

But I am pretty sick of driving older cars now too. the creature comforts of modern cars are pretty great and the ISF seems to have a lot of stuff that is only coming on newer cars now. Eg adaptive cruise control, automatic lights, etc. The first thing that struck me was how incredibly well it appeared to be screwed together.

I was doing some sums and over 3 years I think this would cost roughly the same in running costs including depreciation as a 2017/18 Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce. As much as I love the Giulia, its only a 4 cylinder and a hell of a lot slower. The one thing that worries me is how hard it will be to sell a car with such high tax in this country.

I don't know where you live, but I am pretty sure that these vehicles have bottomed out. I can't see them losing much more value in the future.

[llcoolmac]

jamoor said:

llcoolmac said:

I agreed a deal to buy a 46k mile one of these the other day. Only one owner which was the 65 year old sister of the Lexus dealer who sold the car! Obviously the car has an enormous service history and has got everything it ever needed from the dealer. I haven't paid anything down yet but I am close to pulling the trigger. I currently drive older cars which are appreciating so I am still coming to terms with the thought of losing quite a chunk of cash to depreciation and the high running costs (we have €1800 per annum motor tax on these here).

But I am pretty sick of driving older cars now too. the creature comforts of modern cars are pretty great and the ISF seems to have a lot of stuff that is only coming on newer cars now. Eg adaptive cruise control, automatic lights, etc. The first thing that struck me was how incredibly well it appeared to be screwed together.

I was doing some sums and over 3 years I think this would cost roughly the same in running costs including depreciation as a 2017/18 Alfa Romeo Giulia Veloce. As much as I love the Giulia, its only a 4 cylinder and a hell of a lot slower. The one thing that worries me is how hard it will be to sell a car with such high tax in this country.

I don't know where you live, but I am pretty sure that these vehicles have bottomed out. I can't see them losing much more value in the future.

Ireland, there are very few nice cars on the road here. Hardly any cars over a 3.0 litre so it's hard to predict values. That said, all e92 M3 cars seem to be holding steady at €24-25k so this would be a clearly comparable car. Japanese cars have always had a big following here traditionally so there should be a few fans around in 5 years. The tax is a killer in terms of running costs but I would probably pay quite a bit more for one in this condition in the UK. If they have bottomed out then that would make it easier alright.

[ZX10R NIN]

Buy it that'a a good price you won't regret it.

[ericmcn]

ZX10R NIN said:

The C/CLK55 are pretty much bulletproof they won't be spending time in the garage unless you're leaving it in there & will be just as reliable as the Lexus.

Nonsense, the engine is bullet proof - that's where it ends, the electrics, Active suspension and everything else will break you. There may be good ones out there but its ridiculous to suggest a CL55 is more reliable than a ISF

[BUG4LIFE]

ericmcn said:

ZX10R NIN said:

The C/CLK55 are pretty much bulletproof they won't be spending time in the garage unless you're leaving it in there & will be just as reliable as the Lexus.

Nonsense, the engine is bullet proof - that's where it ends, the electrics, Active suspension and everything else will break you. There may be good ones out there but its ridiculous to suggest a CL55 is more reliable than a ISF

In his defence, he has said C/CLK55, not the more complicated CL!

[ZX10R NIN]

ericmcn said:

Nonsense, the engine is bullet proof - that's where it ends, the electrics, Active suspension and everything else will break you. There may be good ones out there but its ridiculous to suggest a CL55 is more reliable than a ISF

Read what I said C55/CLK55 (of which I have had 4) are very reliable & easily as reliable as an IS-F but they will cost more to run.

[llcoolmac]

ZX10R NIN said:

ericmcn said:

Nonsense, the engine is bullet proof - that's where it ends, the electrics, Active suspension and everything else will break you. There may be good ones out there but its ridiculous to suggest a CL55 is more reliable than a ISF

Read what I said C55/CLK55 (of which I have had 4) are very reliable & easily as reliable as an IS-F but they will cost more to run.

Our experience with that generation c class was excellent even in c200 guise. 220,000 miles from new with no problems.

[llcoolmac]

Put a deposit on a 46k mile one of these today. Very excite.

[jamoor]

llcoolmac said:

Put a deposit on a 46k mile one of these today. Very excite.

Ohhhhh nice.


The noise is great, there isn't much else to say as their faultless