JAD90

Sounds like you've targeted a few of the downfalls with the ISF in standard form! - Nice My comment about the low speed shifting was a bit unfair to be honest, It was pretty darn good considering the age of the vehicle and the nature of the transmission. I think the area that i always picked up on was when you slow for a speed bump and it select 1st gear, sometimes it would hold onto 1st for a little longer than seemed necessary - perhaps just a small error state in the calibration. The ACC was OK i guess considering that in 2008 this was one of the first to be introduced with such technology. The other thing that used to bug me, and perhaps there is a way to do it, is that the ACC only went up and down in 5mph increments? Regarding the handling, perhaps i'll retract that comment. I hadn't pushed it too hard and when i did it was on the awful roads by me. I think the stiff damping felt like it was unsettling the car on bad roads when cornering hard. I'd of liked to do a track day to really understand it's limits and then perhaps i'd of come back with a completely different opinion. Regarding the pumps, perhaps i'm exaggerating a bit and was comparing it to the silent idle from previous LS400 / GS430 that I've owned. They were not direct injection though so not a fair comparison. The high pressure pumps on the ISF however, were absolutely noticeable at idle. Not a negative i suppose, just a characteristic of a DI system. They all do it to varying degrees of intrusiveness. Cheers

I think you're right, If this had been my daily driver then i'm sure some of my views would be different. It's a fantastic daily that ticks all the boxes but unfortunately not special enough to drive to be solely a weekend garage queen.

My old ISF is currently for sale on eBay too, by the trader I sold it to based in Ashford, Kent. I can vouch for it being a nice well sorted example! Terrible advert though

Hello everyone I owned my ISF for about 6 months and sold it recently, here's my pros/cons list from my own experience / opinion. It may help some who are looking to buy, and perhaps push people to go for a later model. It's all in my opinion of course, and some of the things are personal preference. Pros Reliability Looks - Black the best colour 😝 Gear Shifts when driving hard using the paddles Intake noise when secondary intake flaps opens - fantastic Goes like the clappers! 'Blips' under heavy braking and downshifting - intoxicating! Fuel Economy is fantastic for what it is (32+mpg on a run) Cons Harsh Ride (Mine was a 58 plate) but this is common knowledge and I knew this before purchasing. Exhaust note - Mine had a Joe-Z style cat back. I never really liked the way it sounded like at idle and when you rev it a touch. Perhaps a different exhaust would solve that but it's not a touch on the C63 Pedal Map - Normal mode has the most annoying dead zone at the top of the pedal, sport mode is way too sensitive for low speed driving.(IMO) Low speed shifting - found it too shift busy, but it does have 8 cogs to go through, with a fair amount of 'slip' between each at low speed. Adaptive Cruise Control - Who on earth calibrated it - it's awful! Chassis - Never really inspired confidence in the corners, not sure what it is, just didn't feel that nimble or planted in the twisties? Differential - On a car of this calibre, pulling out of a junction in the wet and performing a 'one tyre fire' is not cool. (Hence the 2010+ cars being favourable) What is it? - People think you're driving a £2500 IS250. For some that's a pro, for me it was a huge con. I get more attention in my Golf MK5 GTi daily! The cam driven high pressure fuel pumps are noisy, borderline annoying at idle! - Was worried sick there was an issue, then concluded it was normal! Brutally honest there chaps, and interested in your views / opinion. I found myself driving the car hard most of the time, as found it boring to drive slow as it lacked 'character' I think perhaps i'd consider a 2010+ car a few years down the line when I need a 'one car fits all' approach.... I used mine occasionally in the week but mainly at weekends. It lacked soul and character and the 'special' factor for me, especially as it was predominantly a weekend toy Anyway, interested in others opinions either way.

Over the top price too.... any reason why it’s atleast £6k over priced?

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I decided to go for a low mileage early ISF (45k to be exact) and certainly did pay the extra ~£3k over one with >100k miles. I agree, the engine / transmission are totally fine up to much higher mileage. My justification for spending the extra was; 1) Suspension components / wheel bearings / general chassis components are likely to be more tired on a higher mileage car, and I would expect to be replacing some of those components on higher mileage vehicles during ownership - Labour intensive and unlikely to be cheap 2) Re-sale - not so much the value, but the difficulty to sell. Low mileage sells cars, fact With 45k miles, the car feels 100% tight, and looks / smells and drives like new 😀 Regarding your comment about 2010 cars, those you mentioned must've been high mileage 2010 cars at that price point. In addition, I was too impatient to wait! 2010+ cars are sooo scarce and when they do come up, with sensible mileage, fetch very strong money. Either way you look at it all ISF value is very stable with most the depreciation already gone (£60k 10 years ago). The cars are selling at their current pricing and the rarity keeps the market value stable, imo. Just my 2 cents.

After wanting one since my early twenties, I've finally achieved it, i'll be turning 30 in a couple of months.... So far i'm thrilled with the ISF! does everything so well, the daily commute pottering along listening to LBC, then the weekend blat with the windows down!....Perfect! 😀

dandydons car in the for sale section on here, despite the higher mileage, has fantastic service history record, and is still under Lexus warranty. It's well within your budget, too. Good Luck!

Thanks for the reply, Toothy

This is very alarming, and not far from where I live. Does anyone on here use additional steering wheel locks / braces / clamps etc to add some extra security and piece of mind to their vehicles whilst parked up? Wondering if the DiskLok devices would foul on the steering wheel paddles..... Anyone?

Thanks all for the replies. I'm purchasing an extremely well looked after example from a forum member on here. It's a well known car on the forum. Looking forward to joining the 'F' club! Joe

Thanks, i'm in discussion with dandydons. The service history is very comprehensive, despite the high mileage.

Hi All, Does anyone on here know the history of this car? It looks very clean despite the higher than average mileage https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201911134331311?postcode=da38lg&model=IS%20F&sort=year-desc&make=LEXUS&advertising-location=at_cars&radius=1500&price-from=500&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&page=1 Thanks Joe

Hi Ollie Thanks for responding to my post. By using the term exhausted perhaps I was a little unclear. I wasn’t suggesting that I’d ‘dismissed’ all for sale. Just that I’d seen them all and was curious if any other were coming up for sale soon. The £18k car on autotrader I’d noticed that the front wheels are on the wrong sides (correct me if I’m wrong). Also, perhaps the modifications put me off a little, especially the aftermarket intake. Also, I’m sure this question has been asked many times, and I know the main differences in the hardware, but overall is it worth spending a little more to stretch to a 2010+ vehicle? They seem even less common than the earlier cars. has anyone driven both pre and post facelift vehicles? Regards Joe