Looking at IS-F

4546 Views 19 Replies 11 Participants Last post by JHL77, Dec 21, 2008

whatdoesFstandfor?

Discussion Starter · Dec 15, 2008

I am in the search for a new car. To cap it off it has to be a car I cannot and will not modify. I drove the IS350 and loved it. I can only imagine the IS-F and how it performs. This will STRICTLY be a daily driver so no track days or anything! Just the pure joy and nice highway runs and sweeping turns for me!

Has anyone had any issues besides the dash seem gap problem? lol...what a silly thing to worry about imo.

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Jeff Taylor

· #2 · Dec 15, 2008

My car has been perfect except for some rattling with the passenger window seals. I've treated it a couple of times and the rattles come back so I suspect after a few more treatments I should be good. I had the same problem with my previous car, an Acura TL.

My dealer bends over backwards to keep me happy, so if I have no success, I'm confident they will take care of it one way or another.

It's a great car and I really enjoy it. The only slight down side is that driving on normal roads, I can't really appreciate its full potential. Even in traffic, it is a lot of fun to drive, though.

Good luck,

Jeff
08 Smoky Granite Mica IS-F

BigMikeISF

· #3 · Dec 15, 2008

Welcome to the site and nice forum name haha

I have personally had no problems with my F and every time I get in it, I remind myself why I purchased it. It is a great car, tons of fun to drive, speed when you need/want it, handles great for such a heavy car imo, I love it. I just drove it 200 miles yesterday (from Austin to Dallas TX) and it was so quiet and smooth on the freeway, it just made me grin and punch it

I can't say enough good things about this car. Like Jeff Taylor said though, you can't really use it to its full potential in traffic but it's still a lot of fun to drive.

There really isn't a huge market out right now for aftermarket parts (a few here and there for performance and suspension and more for cosmetic appearance) so modding wouldn't be a huge worry (for now

). The only recorded problems are a questionable TSB for the belt drive on the first 500 F's. I brought mine in today and he said he hadn't heard of anything and there definitely wasn't one on mine (purchased June 2008) nor on any of the 09's.

Another common complaint is the brakes. They have a tendency to squeal when it gets cold out. Nearly every single other high friction/high performance brake pad does this so I just tell people to step on them hard a few times and get them up to temp

Other then those two minor issues (the TSB won't affect you, and depending on where your located, the brakes might never bother you either

).

Have you been to test drive one yet? Look at them? I hope your search goes well, let us know if we can help out in any other way

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bchoi27

· #4 · Dec 15, 2008

i agree with bigmike... one additional problem you will run into is from all the little "punks" in their fixed up (fill in the blank) rolling up to you thinking they can outrun you....

this will result in:
a big smile on your face when you are constantly looking at them in your rear view mirror....

definitely a very enjoyable car to drive... i drive mine as a daily driver and have no complaints. the way i see it, you get the best of both worlds... comfort and smoothness with the power and speed when wanted / needed.

A03

· #5 · Dec 15, 2008

Mine was purchased 03/31/08 Brand new like lot of members at least so far I know of that most of them purchased new anyhow I believe me and only few members here purchased the F below April but for me I have 13K as of now with NO PROBLEMS except for the occasional squeaks on the breaks..
Like any car IF maintenance is done properly on time shouldn't be problem..

whatdoesFstandfor?

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 15, 2008

Well, Thanks for the replies! I am not worried about the brakes..I live in Florida.

I'm not to fond of the negative attention the car gets though...

ISFChamp

· #7 · Dec 15, 2008

What do you mean by negative attention?

Jeff Taylor

· #8 · Dec 15, 2008

I would assume that they are talking about every goofball in a modified Civic or whatever trying to race you. The finance manager at the dealership where I bought my car has this problem too and was telling me about it.

Luckily for me, my Smoky Granite Mica IS-F seems to fly under the radar and I've only noticed two people checking it out. No one has tried to race me, thankfully.

Jeff
'08 Smoky Granite Mica IS-F

lowrider

· #9 · Dec 15, 2008

I've had mine for nine whole days now. Can't get the smile off my face

Lou

whatdoesFstandfor?

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 16, 2008

Yeah, by negative attention I mean the idiots who want to race you every second because they think they can smoke you.lol. Yeah, I really like the smokey granite color. My mom has that color on her SC430 and she likes it! I would never get Ecru interior though....it looks great but gets dirty way to easily!

So how available is the IS-F? Could I go to a dealer and test drive one?

BigMikeISF

· #11 · Dec 16, 2008

^^Depending on where your located and the dealership, you probably could. there are a lot of 08 IS-F's sitting on lots at great prices. I would definitely stop by and ask for a test drive!

whatdoesFstandfor?

Discussion Starter · #12 · Dec 16, 2008

BigMikeISF said:
^^Depending on where your located and the dealership, you probably could. there are a lot of 08 IS-F's sitting on lots at great prices. I would definitely stop by and ask for a test drive!

I am in South Florida so likely I will go to JM. Everyone seems to be happy and very excited about their F.

I have been checking out a couple more cars. I have been looking forward to the new Nissan 370Z and I know they are 2 different cars completely..but I know I'll get more car with the F.

A03

· #13 · Dec 16, 2008

whatdoesFstandfor? said:
I am in South Florida so likely I will go to JM. Everyone seems to be happy and very excited about their F.

I have been checking out a couple more cars. I have been looking forward to the new Nissan 370Z and I know they are 2 different cars completely..but I know I'll get more car with the F.

370Z? You might as well get G37..Get the F..you won't regret it..I mean yeah, it's little steep on the price but the performance is worth the money..
BTW, if you get the 2008 model its lot cheaper..Ask some of the Lexus Reps around this forum such as Andy and few other guys here..

FChampOH

· #14 · Dec 16, 2008

If in fact you decide that the IS-F is the car for you and you want an 08' at a great deal, I do have 1 Smokey Granite available and is ready to be in warm and sunny Florida! I'll put a link here to it if you want to check it out. Also keep in mind that finance rates on the 08' IS-F are as low as .9% until Jan 5th only! Feel free to e-mail me or PM me if you have an interest.
http://www.lexusf.com/forums/showthread.php?t=902

whatdoesFstandfor?

Discussion Starter · #15 · Dec 17, 2008

FChampOH said:
If in fact you decide that the IS-F is the car for you and you want an 08' at a great deal, I do have 1 Smokey Granite available and is ready to be in warm and sunny Florida! I'll put a link here to it if you want to check it out. Also keep in mind that finance rates on the 08' IS-F are as low as .9% until Jan 5th only! Feel free to e-mail me or PM me if you have an interest.
http://www.lexusf.com/forums/showthread.php?t=902

Damn thats the one I would want!!!! Can you PM me a price???

FChampOH

· #16 · Dec 17, 2008

I can pm that to you once I get to a pc. However, if you click on the link I'm my previous post that will take you to the pricing. It's all the way at the bottom below the pictures of the car.

crazee

· #17 · Dec 17, 2008

A03 said:
370Z? You might as well get G37..Get the F..you won't regret it..I mean yeah, it's little steep on the price but the performance is worth the money..
BTW, if you get the 2008 model its lot cheaper..Ask some of the Lexus Reps around this forum such as Andy and few other guys here..

I would so have to seriously disagree with you AO3 I rather choose the G35 over the G37. G37 looks to feminine even though the engine has a little upgrade but still it looks like a chick's car. 370Z isn't too bad at all but if you're comparing it to the F it's like comparing apples to oranges. The 350Z with the nismo package is pretty SEXY!!!!

A03

· #18 · Dec 17, 2008 (Edited)

crazee said:
I would so have to seriously disagree with you AO3 I rather choose the G35 over the G37. G37 looks to feminine even though the engine has a little upgrade but still it looks like a chick's car. 370Z isn't too bad at all but if you're comparing it to the F it's like comparing apples to oranges. The 350Z with the nismo package is pretty SEXY!!!!

Actually if you read my post correctly the person who posted this thread is/was considering a 370Z which is basically same car as G37..I didn't say anything about G35..Also I wouldn't say apples and oranges for F and 370Z b/c there is somewhat of a price difference..not to mention the speed difference of supposely 5.1(Could be less or more) sec for 0-60 timer for 370Z vs F has somewhere around 4.3 to 4.6 0-60 timer fluctuation..
But I'll say this, never driven a G35 but I did drove 350Z thru a buddy who owned one before getting a Evo and I say that not bad at all..Also test drove G37 not much of a difference except maybe a slightly more luxury, Yes?

Fig

· #19 · Dec 18, 2008

Get the F, you will love it. And if you have not test driven it....that will seal the deal. Interior, performance and the piece of mind that it will go forever if properly cared for are why I chose the F. I got the race an c63 AMG today also and left him by 4 cars pretty easily twice. That made me feel even better about the F. Join the club, its a good one

JHL77

· #20 · Dec 21, 2008

Like the OP, I have been looking at the IS-F for the same reasons. I'm not looking to modify at all or taking it to the track, but I like the idea of the power at my fingertips if I so need it. I was also considering looking at the new Audi S4s and possibly the S5s, but as I currently already own a Lexus, I love the reliability that I've enjoyed with them thus far, so I'm hesitant on going German.

I've been cruising the boards for sometime and reading what everyone has to say, and there is definitely great information here and I appreciate everyone insight, but I do have a question on how well the car handles in terms of traction. In terms of how well the car glues to the ground and how much slippage do you guys typically see? Like if I'm at a stand still and like floor it, do you tend to see a lot of wheel slippage or burning out with all that power to the rear? I'm also take into consideration that some of this will factor in as to how worn down your wheels are and whether traction control is on (in this case let's assume it's on). Some of these questions I assume can be answered through a test drive, but sadly I haven't had a chance to make it out. Thanks in advance for your knowledge, and hopefully I'll be able to join the ranks of IS-F owners soon!

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