JulesinSD

Yes, oil does break down over time. I would do what Lexus recommends to avoid any potential warranty issues later on.

I have the standard system in my IS250 and I think it sounds quite good. Mine also has the center speaker in the dash...or at least it has the grill for it. I'll have to check and see if sound actually comes out of it.

Got the chrome wheels installed this week. I think they look pretty good.

I live in North County San Diego, CA. My wife and I own 2 cars, the 2006 IS250 we just bought and a 2003 Nissan Maxima SE. She is a realtor and I'm an accountant. We own a 4bd 2bth house near the coast and we have a 4 year old son.

How is that SMG transmission as far as reliability goes? Man, I'd hate to see what a replacement costs... I haven't really used it at all. Our car only has a couple hundred miles on it though.

My wife and I bought an IS250 last weekend and when I filled up yesterday we drove 288 miles on 12 gallons of gas. That equates to 24 mpg, and I've been romping on it a bit when I've driven it. All city driving with no prolonged highway stints. I'm thinking the IS250 might be the luxury eco friendly car of the year.

Don't suppose you have the scheduled maint supplement would you? Thanks for this though. Excellent stuff!

Well, I'll say this. My local Lexus dealer, Lexus of Northborough, MA, is full of sales people who know little to nothing about the cars they are selling. One sales guy claims the new '07 IS is $1,500 more than the '06. The Internet Sales Manager also told me that the '07 will no longer offer the backup parking sensors. I cannot confirm either of these facts yet. Other than that, I have no info on what the car in '07 will offer or include. But I agree... it's a lot of coin once equipped the way I like it. Adding another $1,500 brings it way over $40,000. That's why I started thinking on the lines of the '07 ES350, or the very affordable, fun to drive TL. I'll have to drive the ES once there's one on the lot to play with. In the meantime, I may take a TL for a torture run. B) I have to say, Lexus Carlsbad has very knowledgable sales reps. There was no pressure whatsoever and when we test drove the car he kept telling my wife to floor it to see how powerful it was. Even after we agreed on a price he took my wife over to this kiosk and started going over the safety features of the car. I almost said to him, "hey, we already agreed to buy it, you don't have to sell us on it anymore" but he was on a roll so I let him go. Learned a few new things about the car that I wasn't aware of too. Our saleman actually owns the same car we bought though so I would have been surprised if he didn't know everything about it. When I stopped in there a few months ago I had a different guy let me take out both the 250 and a 350 for about a 10 mile test drive and he also encouraged me to get on the throttle to see what they could do. Acura was also very gracious with test drives on the TL though. I have no complaints with them on that.

My boss has an Acura MDX and she came from a Lexus IS300. She's the one who told me that Acura wouldn't give loaner cars when she drops it off for oil changes but Lexus would. Acura would make customers wait or give them a ride somewhere in their shuttle van. She told me that she originally thought she'd keep the MDX for many years but is now talking of trading it in for another Lexus. Our neighbor also has a Lexus and she raves about their service. She's had nothing but Lexus cars for the past 10 years. I dropped off the IS tonight to have the chrome wheels installed. I was out of there in 10 minutes in a Lexus ES330 with 7700 miles on it. Nice car but slower (certainly less responsive anyway) than the IS and the steering feel is much lighter with less feedback. Brakes aren't nearly as good either.

It didn't come with wheels?

I don't use it.

I drove the TL and liked it quite a bit but I heard mixed opinions on Acura service. Lexus service on the other hand is supposed to be excellent. The TL is also FWD which I don't particularly care for. We have a 2003 Nissan Maxima SE which suffers enormous amounts of torque steer when you really open up the throttle. Personally, I like the interior of the Lexus more than the TL even though the TL is more roomy. The ultimate decision was my wife's though. She got the car she really wanted. See, this will allow me to get the car I really want in a couple years. I'm not saying the Lexus isn't the car I really want but if it were me I would have held out for the IS350. We'll see what kind of cool stuff is out in a couple years. B)

Idiots. There is no way I'd do that to any car I owned.

Fantastic car. Lexus really did a nice job on the styling. My wife and I were originally considering the Acura TL or the G35 sedan but once she drove the IS it was all over. Granted the IS is a little smaller but it will suit our needs. I drove the IS250 and the IS350 back to back a few months ago and personally would have preferred the IS350 but she felt that the power was adequate from the 250. Since she's going to be the primary driver I didn't argue with her about it. It is Matador Red with premium package and 18" wheels. We got them to upgrade to chrome wheels at no extra charge and they will be installed later this week.

I just clean them often and put a coat of wax on them periodically. The Lexus brakes do produce quite a lot of dust though. Similar to the German cars anyway. We had 2 3-series BMWs and this car seems on par with them as far as dirty front wheels go.