Discussion
Ours didn't need one in the time we had it, but it was only at 40k miles when it was sold. Our other Lexus ( elderly 04 plate IS300 ) had one at 60k miles, but some of the cost was saved because it was already in bits at the dealers having a cambelt service, so we were more or less only charged for parts on top of the quoted menu price of the service. I think the pump on that was something like £250.
Viewed one today and took it for a short test drive. Build quality was good, everything was nice and solid as you would expect from a Lexus. It was raining so didn't really get to test the performance but the gearbox seemed seamless. The blip on the downshifts were nice. Cabin seems a little cramped though, I'm only 5' 10" but with the drivers seat in the right position for me there wasn't a huge amount of space in the passenger seat behind me. Had a look around a E90 M3 saloon afterwards at a different trader and that seemed to have more legroom.
I might go view another one that's local (ish) next weekend to have another look around the interior. The lack of a middle seat is slightly annoying but I only carry 4 passengers in my current every so often so it's not a deal breaker as such.
The tip are actually "diffusers". You can swap them out for aftermarket exhausts with a tip on each end or a pair.
The tip are actually "diffusers". You can swap them out for aftermarket exhausts with a tip on each end or a pair.
I owned a 59 model for about 2 yrs. The ride is firm, but to me it was fine and reminder that I am driving a performance car.
Reliability, no issues, sounds great and the 8th gear is useful on the motorway. They are still expensive, which is a good thing for resale.
Would I buy one again? Hell yes.
Reliability, no issues, sounds great and the 8th gear is useful on the motorway. They are still expensive, which is a good thing for resale.
Would I buy one again? Hell yes.
Heaveho said:
Thankyou4calling said:
I can't really comment on the IS-F but the RC-F is definitely on my radar come the time to change.
They are very rare, look great and the figures for performance sound good too.
At the moment they are still close to 50k used but if they are c 40k in August I'll be giving them serious consideration.
Might be able to help you there if you fancy buying a little earlier than that...................They are very rare, look great and the figures for performance sound good too.
At the moment they are still close to 50k used but if they are c 40k in August I'll be giving them serious consideration.
I have one, late model with uprated diff etc, the ride is fine, yes it is stiff, but hey!!
I think the car is amazing, this is my 4th Lexus and although I have not put big miles on any of them, 60k- 80k, I have spent nothing on any of them, servicing apart, absolutely nothing, not even a bulb, couple this with the Lexus customer service and I struggle to find fault.
It all depends on what you want, I did not want an RS, AMG, M3, not because there is anything wrong with them, clearly not, I wanted something slightly different, I was happy with Lexus therefore it was an easy choice.
Have a look on the owners club website, see what we think.
I think the car is amazing, this is my 4th Lexus and although I have not put big miles on any of them, 60k- 80k, I have spent nothing on any of them, servicing apart, absolutely nothing, not even a bulb, couple this with the Lexus customer service and I struggle to find fault.
It all depends on what you want, I did not want an RS, AMG, M3, not because there is anything wrong with them, clearly not, I wanted something slightly different, I was happy with Lexus therefore it was an easy choice.
Have a look on the owners club website, see what we think.
Over two years of ownership for me, having previously had all kinds of performance cars including an NSX. The ISF topped them all. Faultless reliability, very fast, amazing noise and ultra-rare. Every (vaguely) long-run averaged over 30mpg and over my ownership fuel consumption was over 24 mpg. In spite of it being an earlier car, I didn't find the ride bad at all - nor did my wife and family!
I honestly think that the ISF will become an iconic car, much like the Ford RSs because, in many years time, the ones that haven't been written off, will still be working fine; they are rare now so seeing one in 10 years time will be even rarer. As such I really don't see the value of ISFs dropping much lower than they are at the moment (for the pre-2010 cars).
In this day and age, there is no contest if you want a V8 saloon car of that vintage.
I honestly think that the ISF will become an iconic car, much like the Ford RSs because, in many years time, the ones that haven't been written off, will still be working fine; they are rare now so seeing one in 10 years time will be even rarer. As such I really don't see the value of ISFs dropping much lower than they are at the moment (for the pre-2010 cars).
In this day and age, there is no contest if you want a V8 saloon car of that vintage.
It presses on well on B roads and is predictable in terms of back end movement. As mentioned earlier the down shift blips are intoxicating! Also, for a gearbox that is not a double clutch it is extremely capable and I believe from paddle press to gear change is 0.2-0.3 seconds. It feels big because it is but it is very capable. The sound (with an exhaust) is very c63 esque and is just epic. So epic!
I changed to a lotus Evora as I wanted a sports car and didn't need 2 family sized cars otherwise I would still have mine. I genuinely don't think there is a better all around package (performance, reliability, spec, rarity etc) at the price.
I changed to a lotus Evora as I wanted a sports car and didn't need 2 family sized cars otherwise I would still have mine. I genuinely don't think there is a better all around package (performance, reliability, spec, rarity etc) at the price.
Heaveho said:
jamieduff1981 said:
Each to their own and all that but road surface imperfections are part of the appeal of driving for me. That's involvement.
It's not like the car needs full-on attention to drive to the shops. 'Perfect' handling leaves me bored stiff in a road car.
Fast driving = slow driving but faster.
The IS-F wasn't uncomfortably stiff.
Opinions vary. Road surface imperfections are unavoidable, they all have them. It's how a particular car deals with them that I take issue with. I didn't tend to use it to go to the shops in, I used it for long trips, and A-road blasts in and around Hampshire mainly. I've never subscribed to the theory that a car has to be more uncomfortable than necessary to handle well, and it's been borne out more than once on cars I've had, but that's just my opinion, and I'm no expert. I found it to be a more enjoyable car that I could drive faster, more of the time, with the modified suspension, which is the whole point, as far as I'm concerned. Much the same thing with the Evo after it received Bilsteins.It's not like the car needs full-on attention to drive to the shops. 'Perfect' handling leaves me bored stiff in a road car.
Fast driving = slow driving but faster.
The IS-F wasn't uncomfortably stiff.
Don't understand the " Fast driving = slow driving but faster " comment, I'm afraid, maybe I'm just reading it wrong.
How long did you have your IS-F for? Was it an early car?
The car I drove wasn't mine, it was owned by a close friend. He bought it in late 2009 and I think it was an ex-demo on an 09 plate. Perhaps the ride might have started annoying longer term but it was never something that really registered with me compared to, say, not being able to find any controls on the dashboard. There wasn't anything wrong with the switchgear layout - it just wasn't the sort of layout I was used to!
I enjoyed my drives of that car though.
jjr1 said:
What sort of price are we talking?
There is some discussion within the family about what would be the lowest acceptable price, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I'll let you know in the next couple of days.The mileage is 2700, we've had it from new. Black paint, black and red leather interior. It's obviously still mint.
stuno1 said:
Boom! Quick work. Congratulations.
Cheers. Decided not to faff about, no matter how I cut it I don't feel that the C63 or the M3 are worth the difference in price Especially not when you consider the amount of depreciation left on them. Just got a 7 hour round trip to view the car before everything is finalised.
Harvey Mushman00 said:
You will not be disappointed!
Hopefully not, the only two things I will need to sort out post purchase is an exhaust and iphone/spotify integration. Just hope I can sell the current car without too much hassle.
There's also the fact that the Merc and BM are almost certainly likely to be more aggro reliability wise, and therefore more costly as an ownership prospect over any given period of time...........it would have to be quite a car to more reliable than an IS-F. Reading all this has just convinced me all the more that I should have kept ours when I had the chance.
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff