Potential New Owner Questions (long)

[Cliffj]

Hey Gang,

My first Post here, and I have done a lot of searching and trying to gather information. I will be adding a new car to the household sometime between August and November timeframe, and I have narrowed my choice down to either the BMW 335i or the IS 350.

I currently drive a 2000 328i, with 163K on the clock, which I will give to my son when he turns 16 in Nov. I have owned three 3-series BMW's which have been great cars for me, and have been very reliable, so naturally I looked at the 335i as my obvious next car. However, I felt I had to go drive the IS 350. I was more impressed than I thought I would be! However, there was not a single IS 350 with sport package in the southeast, so I had to drive the IS 350 to gauge the features and power, then immediately drive the IS 250 w/ sport package to gauge the feel of the suspension.

As many of you here already realize, Lexus does a great job at providing "value" as far as a lot of standard features, for a better price than BMW. So, a couple of questions from a potential buyer:

1. I would like to hear from former BMW owners (especially 3-series) that have made the switch to the IS (especially the IS 350) and discuss the pros / cons of the switch.

2. Reading the disclaimers in the 07 IS brochure, note 12 mentions that the brake pads may only last 20,000 miles or less. I know this is just "legalese", but I was curious to see what the typical pad life was for normal driving conditions. Not track use or aggressive driving, but normal commuting.

3. Similar to question 2, disclaimers note 16 discusses tire life for the 18" tires to be "substantially less than 15,000 miles, depending on driving conditions". I would like feedback on what owners are experiencing, or a link if this item as been discussed before. Again, for "normal" driving conditions, not track use or aggressive driving.

I drive approx. 20,000 miles per year, and want to factor maintenance costs into the consideration.

TIA

[Cliffj]

Hey People,

I may not have asked the above questions correctly. Only Question 1 was meant for previous BMW owners. Questions 2 & 3 were for all IS owners.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Cliffj

[bartkat]

The disclaimers on brake pads and tires are pretty much in the ballpark.

[lambobaby1218]

1. I would like to hear from former BMW owners (especially 3-series) that have made the switch to the IS (especially the IS 350) and discuss the pros / cons of the switch.

2. Reading the disclaimers in the 07 IS brochure, note 12 mentions that the brake pads may only last 20,000 miles or less. I know this is just "legalese", but I was curious to see what the typical pad life was for normal driving conditions. Not track use or aggressive driving, but normal commuting.

3. Similar to question 2, disclaimers note 16 discusses tire life for the 18" tires to be "substantially less than 15,000 miles, depending on driving conditions". I would like feedback on what owners are experiencing, or a link if this item as been discussed before. Again, for "normal" driving conditions, not track use or aggressive driving.

I drive approx. 20,000 miles per year, and want to factor maintenance costs into the consideration.

TIA

I had a 325i, with about 90k on it that I traded in for an IS250. The new Beemers don't appeal to me, and the Lexus did. The Lexus has a lot more amenities to offer, and I wanted something a little more luxurious than the Beemer. I have had to IS250s since trading in the BMW, one that was a first-generation, and the newest that we got a couple of months ago. I had almost 30k on the first one, when I got the brake pads replaced. I never had a new set of tires put on, as the ones that were on the car never wore (freeway driving, I guess).

Give me an e-mail, or on here if you have a specific question regards the BMW vs. Lexus.

[Cliffj]

lambobaby1218 - thanks for the reply. I agree that Lexus has a better feature set for lower cost. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the Lexus IS 350. I am used to getting about 60-80K out of a set of BMW brake pads, and about 30K miles out of a set of 18" tires on a sport suspension. I drive mostly highway commute, so I expect I should get better than the 15K tire changes, and 20K brake changes.

I believe I will be ordering an IS 350 with Luxury , X-package, Mark Levinson and XM radio. Color yet to be determined, but leaning toward tungsten pearl (silver).

Cliffj