ISF Pricing

lexus-chris · September 27, 2022

I've been looking into getting an IS-F for a while now but was hoping for the used car market to move back towards some more sensible pricing. As that doesn't appear to be happening any time soon I've started looking more seriously on AutoTrader and it looks like anything from a trader is going to be in the £20-£25k range depending on age / mileage. But this week, this one has turned up:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209260113149

It's on 50,000 miles which is about par for the course, so nothing special there, though it is a '12 plate which is the newest one I've seen. What I can't wrap my head around is the price. Am I missing something here or is this staggeringly overpriced at £31k?

Killysprint · September 27, 2022

looks like a cracking car, and in great condition. Right colour, Face lift, sunroof and option wheels, so as desirable as they come.

like the £60K GSF, the dealer's chancing his arm. I'm sure a deal could be done, but depends on how desperate they are to sell, and how much you want it. I'd guess it £4.5-5k over the top of the market.

There's a very limited market for all of the 'F' cars (even more so from the events over the past couple of days) , and they won't have a line customers knocking on the door enquiring about it, I'd have a look, see what they say, and make an offer.

They can only say no. If you feel its too rich, walk away and keep looking.

royoftherovers · September 27, 2022

2 hours ago, lexus-chris said:

I've been looking into getting an IS-F for a while now but was hoping for the used car market to move back towards some more sensible pricing. As that doesn't appear to be happening any time soon I've started looking more seriously on AutoTrader and it looks like anything from a trader is going to be in the £20-£25k range depending on age / mileage. But this week, this one has turned up:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209260113149

It's on 50,000 miles which is about par for the course, so nothing special there, though it is a '12 plate which is the newest one I've seen. What I can't wrap my head around is the price. Am I missing something here or is this staggeringly overpriced at £31k?

Philip, a warm welcome to our club.

Quite simply, if is more than one is prepared to pay, then it is almost by definition over priced.

Be dispassionate and the right one for you will turn up.

Good luck in your search.

lexus-chris · September 27, 2022

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I did see that GS-F thread too and take that point. I guess I was looking for a reassuring "Don't worry, no-one will ever pay that price so if you wait a week or two it'll come crashing down.", but if someone wants to pay it, they'll pay it.

Even with a hefty discount that'd be towards the top of my price range so I might sit tight for the minute and see what else comes up.

Shame as that's the colour / leather combo I'm looking for!

hockeyedwards · September 27, 2022

Congrats on looking at some lovely cars, but we may be biased 😉

The car market is cooling in general, but for cars that don't move very frequently (F cars included), dealers are possibly going to wait it out and try max their profits. Tim and John's points are both valid and I would echo - decide what you are willing to pay, discuss with the dealer and if they say no, walk away and hold out for another car to pop up.

If the cars aren't moving and they have genuine interest from yourself, if you go look at the car, show face rather than a phonecall, might be surprised in what they'd be willing to do for a sale whilst they have you there 🙂

Therickster · September 27, 2022

That’s the 1st 2012 ISF to be on the market for a good while!! And it’s got a sunroof ,face lift and the rare wheels,and Blue is the fastest colour 😎,I don’t think it’s too overpriced if your looking for that specific car?
Having said that there seems to be more for sale recently (I’m yet to see a 2014 for sale)so there’s a bit more choice.

Therickster · September 27, 2022

1 minute ago, Therickster said:

That’s the 1st 2012 ISF to be on the market for a good while!! And it’s got a sunroof ,face lift and the rare wheels,and Blue is the fastest colour 😎,I don’t think it’s too overpriced if your looking for that specific car?
Having said that there seems to be more for sale recently (I’m yet to see a 2014 for sale)so there’s a bit more choice.

Ps, You won’t regret buying one , I love mine ,fantastic car ,I daily mine and it hasn’t put a foot wrong in 4 years!!

hockeyedwards · September 27, 2022

2 hours ago, Therickster said:

a 2014

didn't think you could get anything later than a 2013 IS F in the UK? 🤔

ColinBarber · September 27, 2022

21 minutes ago, hockeyedwards said:

didn't think you could get anything later than a 2013 IS F in the UK? 🤔

that's why he has never seen one 😉

Therickster · September 27, 2022

Your right last one was 2013 (a couple imports registered later) 12 cars registered in 2013 and only 11 in 2012!!!!

BillNick · September 28, 2022

I think this £31k ISF could be the car I nearly bought back in Summer 2020 - it was £25k then.

My personal opinion is that if you have £31k, you should be looking at an RCF with that being a newer car - unless you need/prefer 4 doors or simply prefer the ISF of course.

£25k is prob about right for a VERY nice ISF.

Good luck.

lexus-chris · September 28, 2022

4 hours ago, BillNick said:

I think this £31k ISF could be the car I nearly bought back in Summer 2020 - it was £25k then.

My personal opinion is that if you have £31k, you should be looking at an RCF with that being a newer car - unless you need/prefer 4 doors or simply prefer the ISF of course.

£25k is prob about right for a VERY nice ISF.

Good luck.

Thanks, I do definitely need / want the four doors and £25k is more in the ballpark so fingers crossed a decent IS-F turns up!

ubersonic · September 28, 2022

On 9/27/2022 at 9:08 AM, lexus-chris said:

What I can't wrap my head around is the price. Am I missing something here or is this staggeringly overpriced at £31k?

Not really IMO, ISFs have been chronically underpriced over here for a number of years until recently which has made many of them appear to become overpriced but in reality it was more of a price correction.

Whats driven this is that over the past couple of years YouTube has practically exploded with ISF channels as 2008s have finally dropped under $20k in the USA putting them in the hands of the type of enthusiasts that previously bought Supras and the like before they became too expensive, this means what was a quite unknown vehicle has now recieved a massive amount of global publicity with car enthusiasts which has in turn increased its popularity/awareness significantly. Back in 2019 I had car enthusiast friends straight up mock me for buying an ISF over something like an Evo-X or a 370z, but nobody would blink an eye at it today, back then I would go to Jap car shows and often be the only ISF but this year the was at least a dozen at some of them and people were actually stoping to look at them.

This is why I can't see the prices ever going back down to what they were, because that would require the awareness and demand to drop too and that's unlikely to happen.

With regards to that specific car I think the price may possible be a tad high but it's definitly in the ball park, a good basis for comparison would be to look at RCF prices. Because a 2012 ISF in one of the most sought after colours should fetch at least the same as a 2015 RCF with equal mileage.

RichGS11 · September 29, 2022

I would say prices bottomed out in the F range a year or two ago. They seem to be steadily increasing regardless of current world affairs.

Next year will be a testing time financially for many with some predictions that house prices may drop 10% in parts of the country. That 'may' have an affect of pricing but the used car market is anything but predictable right now.

I'd go with the suggestion already made and show your hand to the garage, give them a price you'd be interested in, let them stew on it and see what they come back with.

The ISF is a good choice of car. I absolutely love mine. I toyed with moving it on at one point (through boredom because of not driving it), then I drove it and remembered that there isn't a worthy 4 door to replace it with in my eyes.

I'd buy your time, I can't see many people wanting to spend over £30k on as ISF any time soon so there shouldn't be a mad rush for it. The garage might just want to shift the car on rather than keep it.

BillNick · September 29, 2022

If I were looking for an ISF, that is the one I would want, highly desirable!

But I would want to pay more like £27k max I think.

DamianLEX · September 29, 2022

Personally I would price my own RCF around £27k with 69k on it and TVD etc. There is no way for me to pay anything similar for any ISF, sorry. £31k? I would run to the bank for few extra £££ and get GSF all the way. Please bear in mind we just had a forum member with red ISF 2010 that went for something like £14800? I really like ISF but once they exceed £30k for 10+ years cars then why are you surprised that some dealer priced GSF for £60k? Between £31k ISF and that particular £60k GSF I would choose 2nd option…

On the other hand nothing seems to have any logic today, so good luck 🙂

4969_LXS · September 29, 2022

@lexus-chris If you can stretch your budget, the 2010 on autotrader at just under 27k is an ex forum members car and was local to me, before that it was owned by Lexus. It's in very good condition and would be my choice if I didn't already have an ISF, it's a true 2010 with the facelift headlights, there are a few 2010s that are 2009's registered later on.

Echoing @ubersonicI agree the ISF is underappreciated and undervalued in the UK. The prices are a lot stronger in the US and the car is slowly getting the recognition it deserves. It was miles ahead of its time when released, there is a lot of untapped potential and it will always be Lexus's first attempt at a sports/super saloon. And only 200ish were ever shipped to the UK.

lexus-chris · September 30, 2022

On 9/29/2022 at 2:47 PM, 4969_LXS said:

@lexus-chris If you can stretch your budget, the 2010 on autotrader at just under 27k is an ex forum members car and was local to me, before that it was owned by Lexus. It's in very good condition and would be my choice if I didn't already have an ISF, it's a true 2010 with the facelift headlights, there are a few 2010s that are 2009's registered later on.

Echoing @ubersonicI agree the ISF is underappreciated and undervalued in the UK. The prices are a lot stronger in the US and the car is slowly getting the recognition it deserves. It was miles ahead of its time when released, there is a lot of untapped potential and it will always be Lexus's first attempt at a sports/super saloon. And only 200ish were ever shipped to the UK.

Yeah I saw that one on AT and it does look great, though I'd love to get the cream interior.

We're just in the middle of remortgaging (thankfully fixing the rate back in June) and it's my company's end of year so it's all on hold just at the minute while I see where the finances are (and whether Britain collapses into a third world state, in which case I guess I'll be shopping for a Hilux and a 50cal).

I'd loved to have popped in and have a look but that one's about 300 miles away from me!

MNMJ · October 3, 2022

On 9/30/2022 at 5:17 PM, lexus-chris said:

shopping for a Hilux and a 50cal

Now that is a group buy I could get on board with

alter ego · October 17, 2022

I was recently offered a minimum of £25k for my 2011 USB/W/L int.41000 mls against a LC that's what I paid for it in Jan.2019 so prices defo on the up.

Supacool1 · November 6, 2022

On 10/17/2022 at 6:21 PM, alter ego said:

I was recently offered a minimum of £25k for my 2011 USB/W/L int.41000 mls against a LC that's what I paid for it in Jan.2019 so prices defo on the up.

Dammit! I was hoping to buy one in the new year after selling my FSTI!

PRT68 · November 6, 2022

I've had an ISF so have experience of one. Whilst a very good car, I do think the majority are over priced now, considering the present economic situation.

They are also getting on a bit now, and although relatively bullet proof, a problem now could be very expensive to rectify, especially as most are now out of extended warranty.

Which brings us to the RCF. If you don't need 4 doors, you get the next best thing.

Same performance, newer, more modern looking, and the massive benefit of the Relax warranty.

Excluding those as write offs, there are a few about at £25k, and a good choice below £30k.

I know what I'd go for.