I currently have a 2005 E46 M3 ZCP as well as a 2000 Lexus ES300.
coming from the audi platform to the bmw platform, i have been fortunate enough to have driven relatively fast cars over the last few years. Up and till now, none of the Lexus vehicles have caught my eye. simply put, i have many friends who own the 350 and the performance is marginal at best, not to my standards.
I had a chance to test drive the ISF today and was decently impressed. car accelerates well, seats are very comfortable, very quiet until you step on the throttle and get the revs past about 3600Rpms.
I am also looking at the C63 AMG namely. owning a BMW, i want something different, thus not considering the new M3 with DCT at this time. i had a b5 stage 3 s4 before the M3 so im not looking at audi. plus, their residual is horrible, almost as bad as AMG mercedes. i would like to trade in the ES300 towards this car but i have a few questions for you guys.
1. how is maintanence? any quirks/problems that i should be worried about? obv BMW has the 4yrs/50k maintanence plan, although in one of these other threads some guy said u can purchase a maintanence plan for lexus that covers all maintanence. if so, how much is that?
2. any lease incentives? if any of you lease the ISF, im interested in if you guys got any incentives. when i worked with the finance rep, we were looking over the money factory and lease rates. i have good credit (mid 700s FICO) and he said that with a 5k driveoff, i could get a 36 month lease with 10k miles a year with payments around $885/month. thats with 5k driveoff, and a residual around 50-52 percent for 3 years. Thats with a buyout of around $31k after the lease term expires. how does that compare with some of the deals you guys have?
3. the wheels. the car comes stock with 225/255 PS2s or Potenzas. Is that enough rubber for you guys to launch the car or take turns hard? hows the suspension with hard cornering? i was able to push the car in the straights when i test drove it today but did not get a chance to push it into a corner. I would like to know if you can go wider and if so how much? my M3 runs on 275/285 PS2s with DINAN wheels.
basically narrowed it down to this and the C63 AMG. pros and cons for each are as follows.
Lexus ISF Pros: good overall package, M. Levinson sound system is amazing, reasonable price, hopefully lexus reliability, better on gas than its counterparts.
Lexus ISF Cons: little less torque then MB, Lexus first shot at a performance vehicle, not sure about longterm reliability
C63 AMG Pros: amazing motor, 451hp/443ftlbs, handles great, looks sleek.
C63 AMG Cons: Price is about 12k more than the ISF fully lodaed, very very thirsty (6.3LAMG V8)
Overall, in looks outside id give the nod to the C63 AMG. even for as heavy as it is they make the car look very sleek. interior, i give the nod tolexus. more comfortable seats, more comfortable suspension, quieter.
its a really tough decision and im really kind of split.
thats about it for now. thanks
coming from the audi platform to the bmw platform, i have been fortunate enough to have driven relatively fast cars over the last few years. Up and till now, none of the Lexus vehicles have caught my eye. simply put, i have many friends who own the 350 and the performance is marginal at best, not to my standards.
I had a chance to test drive the ISF today and was decently impressed. car accelerates well, seats are very comfortable, very quiet until you step on the throttle and get the revs past about 3600Rpms.
I am also looking at the C63 AMG namely. owning a BMW, i want something different, thus not considering the new M3 with DCT at this time. i had a b5 stage 3 s4 before the M3 so im not looking at audi. plus, their residual is horrible, almost as bad as AMG mercedes. i would like to trade in the ES300 towards this car but i have a few questions for you guys.
1. how is maintanence? any quirks/problems that i should be worried about? obv BMW has the 4yrs/50k maintanence plan, although in one of these other threads some guy said u can purchase a maintanence plan for lexus that covers all maintanence. if so, how much is that?
2. any lease incentives? if any of you lease the ISF, im interested in if you guys got any incentives. when i worked with the finance rep, we were looking over the money factory and lease rates. i have good credit (mid 700s FICO) and he said that with a 5k driveoff, i could get a 36 month lease with 10k miles a year with payments around $885/month. thats with 5k driveoff, and a residual around 50-52 percent for 3 years. Thats with a buyout of around $31k after the lease term expires. how does that compare with some of the deals you guys have?
3. the wheels. the car comes stock with 225/255 PS2s or Potenzas. Is that enough rubber for you guys to launch the car or take turns hard? hows the suspension with hard cornering? i was able to push the car in the straights when i test drove it today but did not get a chance to push it into a corner. I would like to know if you can go wider and if so how much? my M3 runs on 275/285 PS2s with DINAN wheels.
basically narrowed it down to this and the C63 AMG. pros and cons for each are as follows.
Lexus ISF Pros: good overall package, M. Levinson sound system is amazing, reasonable price, hopefully lexus reliability, better on gas than its counterparts.
Lexus ISF Cons: little less torque then MB, Lexus first shot at a performance vehicle, not sure about longterm reliability
C63 AMG Pros: amazing motor, 451hp/443ftlbs, handles great, looks sleek.
C63 AMG Cons: Price is about 12k more than the ISF fully lodaed, very very thirsty (6.3LAMG V8)
Overall, in looks outside id give the nod to the C63 AMG. even for as heavy as it is they make the car look very sleek. interior, i give the nod tolexus. more comfortable seats, more comfortable suspension, quieter.
its a really tough decision and im really kind of split.
thats about it for now. thanks