[SilvyinLA]

I have been looking for a sedan as a daily driver that can be on the sporty side too. I currently have a piece of crap Taurus for daily driving but in my garage is a M Roadster to make me forget about the Taurus.
I am looking at having something fun to replace the dud so 5 days a week it wont feel so bad to be driving. After the test drive I was impressed! The car drives real good around town with lots of torque down low. I didn't take it on the freeway but hope it has good highway passing power. I was looking at 325i but for less I can have thios car with 215 bhp! And take it to the track and still enjoy the day.

The IS300 that I saw and liked is silver and had cloth seats with a sunroof. The salesguy said this is rare. I like the cloth alot, I didnt see a whole lot of leather in the leather cars. It seems to be mostly the alcantara type material...or whatever they cal it at Lexus.

Now my question: Does the cloth wear well? I liked the way it grips and it felt durable. Will I regret it later?

Is the CD changer going to give me problems, I heard the 6 disk in dash can be problamatic?

Is the rear cramped for me and 3 friends to head to Vegas and expect 2 people to be comfy for 4 hours back there?

Would it be possible to find such a car but with LSD? This one didnt have it and sales guy said only lux package cars have it.

How much should I pay for this car?

Thanks for all the help!!!
Silvy
nullMy Sitenull

 

[QuikVR6]

Dude, I'm sorry I can't be any help about the IS300....but I just checked out your website....


Dude, those girls are hot....why don't you share the wealth!!!

Mario

 

[SeattleSheila]

I use mine for the "daily driver" too...it's my only car. Love it. Drinks to d_ _ mned much gas, but I knew that when I bought it, so no big deal. It's just plain fun to drive and feels great, especially after a hard day in the office. Crank up the stereo and have a good commute home.
It does have passing power..

No trouble with the CD player. Had the car since last September. I do run the CD player a LOT. However, I have a few of my favourite CDs in it and I don't change them often.
LSD may be hard to get with cloth upholstery. Not many ordered that way.
The rear is cramped for most adults. I wouldn't force folks to sit there for a long trip unless those in the front have the seats well forward. Check it out at the dealership. Set the driver's seat where you need it and then crawl into the back seat and see how much room there is. Not much.

As for price, I think you can get something around or even under 31K if you take what's on the lot and it has cloth seats and no LSD. I paid 33 last August with leather and LSD, but no moon roof. They will be wanting to get the 2001s off the lot this time of year. (Check the VIN number to make sure you have a recent one that already has the ECU/Trac upgrade...someone else here apparently got "old stock" even though he just purchased the vehicle.)

Anyway, bottom line is that I just love driving the beast and after all these months I'm still looking for excuses to take the long way home...preferably on a winding road.

 

[SilverLex]

If you like the giddy up down low, then you'll definetely like it at higher speeds. I sometimes feel it lacks at lower speeds, but I love it's passing response.

 

[BigDaddyRich]

Silvy

I dont know anyone that has cloth.. but i love the way the suede/leather seats hold my booty in place on curvy roads.. veyr comfy.

The CD changer is fine.. justdont fall into any craters otherwise it may jam. I hit a pothole from hell and bent my rim, bubbled my tire and fudged up the cd's in the changer once. but other than that the CD works great!

Theres plenty of room for 4 people. I had 4 people in my car on a 9hr drive from NYC to Toronto. Was comfy and rie was cool with a trunk full of luggage.

LSD can be added to ANY car when the dealer orders the car from the factory. It doesnt go buy luxury package or other stuff like that... ie: I wanted an LSD equipped car.. I made my dealer order me the EXACT car that I wanted. remember you're buying the car.. they just selling it.

I paid $30,800 for a fully loaded (LSD and graphite wheels) look for a rpice around there.

 

[siLveR_iS300]

silvy is a woman , right????
and she has a M roadster,right????
all i can say is dayam~~~!!!!!

 

[sacremon]

I have cloth in mine - it has been quite nice so far, with a little over 5K miles on it. Getting LSD with cloth will be a problem, as they will likely have to order it from the factory to get that. The power on the low side has been increased with the ECU update - the car you drove may have it already.

BTW, you want rare? Try yellow with cloth

 

[SilvyinLA]

Thanks alot guys!
This helps allot!

Sacremon: As you own the car now do you regret not getting leather?

I just feel the $1,000 I save can go to new tiresfor the MZ3. You guys complain, I need to replace and I'm at 17K miles!

My other choices are a WRX or a Passat V6 which are both under or around $25,000. The great thing about the IS300 is I can take it to high performance driving school through the BMW car club. They wont allow convertibles in...it sucks!

But I see me keeping the IS300 much longer than the Passat or the WRX. Also VW gives a crappy warranty.

Thanks agin for all the help...more responses will help and I will check back.

Silvy
Female
99M Roadster
My Site

 

[ckolsen]

Silvy,
The BMW event (Boston Chapter) I went to in New Hampshire had Z3s, though I can't remember if they had roll bars. It depends on the club - and some other clubs (Alfa,PDA,COMSCC?) allow them - maybe you should look around?
How about the Mazda MP3? It comes out in a week or so, would be a great commuter car/occasional track car for $18,500. Probably would be faster than the IS300 stock as well on the track. Of course you'd look better in an IS300.

Originally posted by SilvyinLA:
Thanks alot guys!
This helps allot!

Sacremon: As you own the car now do you regret not getting leather?

I just feel the $1,000 I save can go to new tiresfor the MZ3. You guys complain, I need to replace and I'm at 17K miles!

My other choices are a WRX or a Passat V6 which are both under or around $25,000. The great thing about the IS300 is I can take it to high performance driving school through the BMW car club. They wont allow convertibles in...it sucks!

But I see me keeping the IS300 much longer than the Passat or the WRX. Also VW gives a crappy warranty.

Thanks agin for all the help...more responses will help and I will check back.

Silvy
Female
99M Roadster
My Site

 

[sacremon]

Silvy - no regrets on getting cloth. It's a heck of a lot easier to keep clean that leather, and I imagine a lot cooler after sitting in the sun all day.

Lexus does seem to tie a lot of options together. The LSD seems to be tied to heated seats, as Lexus sees it as a cold weather thing. Heated seats only are available with leather, hence LSD is only available with leather. There is a Lexus tech on this board who has an IS300 with no options other than LSD, but I presume he had to get it special ordered, or added the LSD himself.

 

[SilverLex]

Originally posted by SilvyinLA:
I need to replace and I'm at 17K miles!

Don't expect much more from the ISs tires

 

[Kozmo]

Silvy,
The VWs are poor quality/crappy warrenty.
Go with the Lex!
The WRX is nice mechanically, but ugly and cheaper looking.
Lexus has the best reliability/quality.
The IS300 is the car.
Vegas Rocks!
When your there, be sure to party like a rock star.

And crusie the strip in the Lex!
Also, get the Specta Blue Mica, It's the coolest color. If you have not seen it in person, make sure you do before you buy silver.
-Kozmo

 

[IS300GTE]

silvy, you shouldn't pay more than 31.5k. you'll like the IS best, especially if you plan to take it to a driving school.

on a side note, any chance you are coming out to MD any time soon?

 

[is300soon]

is300=gas hog!

 

[SeattleSheila]

Originally posted by is300soon:
is300=gas hog!

Well, yeah, but I find it an acceptable trade off...