[isdisisdat]

This question is for all you IS owners/lovers and prospect buyers:
Given that everything else stays the same, would you(have) consider(ed) buying a 3-series over the IS if it had cheaper parts and the same quality and complete customer service and satisfaction that Lexus offers?
Sorry if this was discussed before but I didn't see anything from the archives.

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Anxiously waitin' for my manual '02 GGP...

 

[MAmornIS]

Yes, i was considering the 330i, but with options i wanted the price skyrocketed over the IS's price. I like the E46, but the E36 is better i think...

 

[hasanazhar]

It would be a tough choice. I like both cars. At the moment, I think Lexus offers a better value with more standard features, exclusivity, and better customer service.
Performance wise, the cars are pretty much neck to neck. The Bimmer is more luxurious and offers way more options but then if I were spending that much money I'd rather just get a bigger car.
Again, if BMW offered better CS and was a bit cheaper, I would've been very confused.
For now, I love my IS.

black/ivory
17"

 

[brad]

Fantasyland post. But okay, sure.

 

[Chiphead]

http://www.is300.net/forum_new/Forum1/HTML/002872.html

Same topic.

 

[isdisisdat]

Fantasyland post. But okay, sure.

Can't a guy dream?

Same topic.

Uhh...Not exactly the same question. He's asking if they were the same price?
Kota, I thought someone said you deleted all your Kota posts. Looks like you forgot that one.

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Anxiously waitin' for my manual '02 GGP...

[This message has been edited by isdisisdat (edited November 09, 2000).]

 

[Chiphead]

There's a few I missed.

 

[mrclam]

if i oculd get a fully loaded 330, YES. if you want to get them at the same prices, no. i'd rather have a fully loaded IS than a base 330

 

[chromaplast]

if its the same price full option it would be a tough decision for me.. I mean bimmers are nice and all, but they've been around for a long time. Many people already have them. If the new Mb C320 costs the same and comes out a month early I would get it though.

 

[Lexus_IS300]

nope...unless its the new m3..hahah. the IS300 will have wayyy more aftermarket support than the bmw..

 

[sambusik]

I looked at both cars and I echo other peoples' opinions.

I think the cars are very close and I would be a happy owner if I owned either. However, I would rather have a fully loaded IS 300 than a 330 with cloth seats

My opinion is that if you can't buy the top of the line, don't buy it. All those 323 drivers bug me. Besides, a well loaded 300 will reach into the low forties, and remember luxury tax here in CA.

 

[ckolsen]

That's funny, cause there's TONS of aftermarket support for BMW, relatively little for Lexus.
Anyway, the 330 and 325i have much too light steering to be much fun, so unless they fix that problem, I wouldn't buy a new 3 series. I didn't want an auto IS300, so I bought a '95 325i, which is awesome - much more road feel and fun to drive than a 330, even though it's a lot slower. I'd buy a 5 speed IS300 over a 330 or 325, unless BMW fixes the steering, then I'd prefer the BMW.

Originally posted by Lexus_IS300:
nope...unless its the new m3..hahah. the IS300 will have wayyy more aftermarket support than the bmw..

[This message has been edited by ckolsen (edited November 09, 2000).]

 

[mrclam]

sambusik, i agree.

and about aftermarket
for bmw you have hamann, ac schnitzer, AA(for FI), dinan, the list goes on and on.

for lexus you have "l-tuned" and a number of shops that will install an SC or turbo on it. you tell me which has more support

 

[goldenboy4life]

in l.a, especially west l.a., everyone and their mom and their mom's accountant and their mom's accountant's bastard son has a 3 series (most of them silver)... for the sake of being a lil' different, i'd definitely take the is300.

but i bet in a few years the is3 is gonna be as ubiquitous as the bmw 3...

 

[Young]

Originally posted by ckolsen:

Anyway, the 330 and 325i have much too light steering to be much fun, so unless they fix that problem, I wouldn't buy a new 3 series. I didn't want an auto IS300, so I bought a '95 325i, which is awesome - much more road feel and fun to drive than a 330, even though it's a lot slower. I'd buy a 5 speed IS300 over a 330 or 325, unless BMW fixes the steering, then I'd prefer the BMW.

Lighter steering or no, the 330i is still a total blast. The extra oomph and the purr of the engine make up for all. And the whole steering issue is overblown. By all accounts, it's as precise as ever and in some ways it's preferrable to the old...it makes the car feel more tossable. At first, I protested against the steering, but having lived with it for 3 months and 11,100 miles, I probably wouldn't take the old steering even if BMW offered to retrofit it for free.

Finally, the 330i is a GREAT track car, one that can more than hold its own against the E36 and E30 M3s. The instructors who've driven and ridden in it have been very impressed by it. They tell me it feels just as fast and seems to handle just as well as the M3s. And the sound...oh the sound... the rumble of the engine is incredible at full throttle...someone listening from the paddock at Sears Point as I floored it down the home straightaway told me that he was very surprised by it. He first thought it was an M3 or an M5 in full song.


[This message has been edited by Young (edited November 10, 2000).]

 

[Young]

I bought my BMW for one reason. Driving fun. Well..actually..four seats and luxury were also factors..but the overriding consideration was driving fun. If your overriding consideration is something else....if you'd rather pose on the strip than take your car to the track...if _looking_ different is more important to you than actually _being_ your own person...please...please...I beg of you, DON'T BUY A BMW. Get an IS300. Get a Mercedes. The BMW is not for you.


[This message has been edited by Young (edited November 10, 2000).]

 

[yamaot]

just learned today a base 330ci is 42K!!! and the options can tip the 48K mark! now that is overpriced. But i like the interior over the is though.

 

[IS300]

This topic is subjective. I tested both cars. If you want to compare anything between both cars, 330i is, in fact, a better one. But a full-load 330i also costs about 20% more. Personally, IS300 is a better deal because it has everything I need and it performs as well as 330i does.

 

[Young]

Originally posted by IS300:
Personally, IS300 is a better deal because it has everything I need and it performs as well as 330i does.

That it does not. The IS300 compares well to the 328i, but the 330i is a different beast in terms of power. I'd guess at least a half second faster 0-to-60 for the 330i automatic and nearly a second-and-half advantage 0-to-60 for the manual (C&D and Motorweek have gotten 6.1s in their independent testing). And, from published accounts, the 330i will handle better at speed...at 9/10ths and 10/10ths. But we'll never really know that about the IS300s will we...because, whereas BMW owners take their cars to the track, the IS300s only seem to race from stoplight to stoplight in suburbia. -_^


[This message has been edited by Young (edited November 10, 2000).]

 

[Young]

Originally posted by yamaot:
just learned today a base 330ci is 42K!!! and the options can tip the 48K mark! now that is overpriced. But i like the interior over the is though.

No, it's $34,990. You might be thinking of the convertible, the 330Cic. The base price for the convertible is $42,400. By the way, the base price for the sedan is $33,990.


[This message has been edited by Young (edited November 10, 2000).]