trout Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 I am in the market and had my heart set on the new 05 mercedes c230 sport sedan but I am worried about quality....long term. I am looking to keep this car for 7 yrs or longer. My wife has been happy with her rx300 so far and lexus seems to be top quality. Can you guys offer any opinions as far as a the lexus being a long term car? Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 The IS 300 is a much better ride than the "equivalent" German cars, IMHO. I've had mine for 2 years, 32000 miles and not one problem. The IS rides better, but still handles really well. Properly maintained, the car will last as many years as you want to keep it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted November 30, 2004 Author Share Posted November 30, 2004 The IS 300 is a much better ride than the "equivalent" German cars, IMHO. I've had mine for 2 years, 32000 miles and not one problem. The IS rides better, but still handles really well. Properly maintained, the car will last as many years as you want to keep it. ← Hmmm, is will indeed check them out. My local dealer just emailed me quote of 27,888 for a silver with manual trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Quote for a new 2004 model? If so that's really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted November 30, 2004 Author Share Posted November 30, 2004 Quote for a new 2004 model? If so that's really good. ← I just emailed him back asking for the year and options that it has. Does anyone here know what exactly sort of incentives lexus offers for this "december to remember" event? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 You can go here and plug in your data, options, etc and get true market value prices. Also there's a place to click for incentives. http://www.edmunds.com/new/?tid=edmunds.h..new..1.* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted November 30, 2004 Author Share Posted November 30, 2004 Allright...here is what the dealer told me. MSRP 31239, offered for 27888. This is a 2004 is300 manual. I assume it has no options looking at the msrp.?. So...$27888 sounds pretty good? This was the initial quote, no negotiating at all. I simply emailed the dealer and told them that I had pretty much decided on the mercedes but wanted to give lexus a look since my wife has been happy with hers. The lexus website does not give any specific info on the 'december to remember' incentives other than that special APR and lease rates are avaiable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 New left over 2004 or used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted November 30, 2004 Author Share Posted November 30, 2004 New left over 2004 or used? ← This is a NEW remaining 04 model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Looks like you're getting a good price. It's real close to the dealer invoiice cost. For a new 2004 with that msrp. $31,445 = MSRP $27,764 = Invoice $28,417 = True market value. When I was looking at 2003 models, they were asking around $29,500 for new base IS300's. I ended up buying a year old 2002 model for $24,900. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 If you haven't driven an IS300, I strongly suggest you go test drive the car you are pricing. I think you'll be impressed. Be sure to try both city and highway driving. The IS really shines at highway speeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted November 30, 2004 Author Share Posted November 30, 2004 I emailed him back, hopefully he will email me and let me know if it has any options. Are you pretty happy with yours? I am coming from a ram truck with the 345hp HEMI...Im sure I will miss the power but will gain ride, quality, etc. Like I mentioned before, Im just looking for something nice that will last a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 I drove up to the Toyota dealer the other day to buy a cabin air filter. The sales guy (son of a co-worker) wanted to trade me out of my IS. I told him he'd have to give me a free car to get me out of the one I'm driving. I've had the car since May of 2003, driven 15,000 miles, and I still love to drive it each and every time I get in it. I honesly do take little 10 mile drives just for fun even when I'm just going out for cigs or something. My previous car was a 94 Firebird LT1 and at the same time I had a 01 Civic. For me, The IS300 has enough power, great handling, and it gets some looks and compliments around here (Inetnsa Blue Pearl). I find it to be a great combo of power, looks, handling, and quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted November 30, 2004 Author Share Posted November 30, 2004 thanks for the info! here are the details he emailed me... sun roof, leather, 6-disc CD changer all standard with multitude of other features I will show you when we test drive. Only option not included is navigation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartkat Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 thanks for the info!here are the details he emailed me... sun roof, leather, 6-disc CD changer all standard with multitude of other features I will show you when we test drive. Only option not included is navigation ← That truly is a great deal then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted November 30, 2004 Author Share Posted November 30, 2004 Thanks again. I will go drive it soon as i can. I just listed my truck for sale, so hopefully I can sell it quick and move on this one. I LOVED that benz...but I just dont know about the long term quality of it compared to the lexus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kel_zhang Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 I'm sure you will love the car. I traded-in my 2000 Celica with IS-300 2004 in August. It has much better road feeling and more power than Celica. That is the best car I have had. I bought it at $28,500 which MSRP was over $33,500. It is a E-shift car with both front heated seat, tie lock and carpet. Because it was a show room car, the dealer had installed XM radio, 2 rear seats head rest LCD entertaiment system, hidden radar detector and rear view camera. The dealer gave me all these off market equipment for free. The car had only 50 miles when I bought it. I bet it should be the best deal in the market. After 2 weeks, I heard the sales left the dealership. Perhaps he was fired because of this deal??? :D :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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