Got It Saturday!

[gocardinals]

Well guys, I'm sure you are familiar with me, after 6 pages of the NAV or no NAV debate. Saturday, I took possession of my first Lexus. It's an 08 IS 250, AWD, no NAV, with XM. I'm still feeling a little bad about the no NAV ... I guess just because I know the IS is so cool with it. I think more than the NAV, I will miss the Bluetooth for hands free phone. What are my best options? Also, what are some cool, inexpensive (within reason) mods? Thanks for all of your advice.

[mr_raider]

Nice choice. I hesitated for a long time between your setup vs. Tungsten Pearl w. black interior. In the end, I went with the latter, since I'm not a fan of the two color treatment that the sterling and cashmere interiors got.

For nav, I just picked up a Garmin Nuvi 760 which on special at Costco.ca online. I it is chock full of features including bluetooth, and 3 months of free FM traffic. Alternatively you can wait for the voice activated 800 series Nuvi.

If you want a separate bluetooth setup, I suggest looking at Parrot products. They have a simple model that clips on to the visor, but I went with a CK 3000 that mutes the radio and sends audio to a speaker. The voice commands are pretty nifty. Installation is far from simple, and I paid a shop to do it.

[gocardinals]

Nice choice. I hesitated for a long time between your setup vs. Tungsten Pearl w. black interior. In the end, I went with the latter, since I'm not a fan of the two color treatment that the sterling and cashmere interiors got.

For nav, I just picked up a Garmin Nuvi 760 which on special at Costco.ca online. I it is chock full of features including bluetooth, and 3 months of free FM traffic. Alternatively you can wait for the voice activated 800 series Nuvi.

If you want a separate bluetooth setup, I suggest looking at Parrot products. They have a simple model that clips on to the visor, but I went with a CK 3000 that mutes the radio and sends audio to a speaker. The voice commands are pretty nifty. Installation is far from simple, and I paid a shop to do it.

Thanks. I agree with the two-tone interior, but it is growing on me. I considered Tungston, too, but my last 3 cars have been silver, so I thought it was time for a change.

I'm wonder if the Garmin NAV with Bluetooth, or a separate Bluetooth would be better? How are you mounting your Nuvi 760?

[mr_raider]

Suction cup on windshield for now. I'll look into the dash disc later. Not a fan of vent mounts.

[PA350]

Nice, congrats, good luck...now go forth and drive!

BTW...I have Tunsten Pearl w/Grey and I really like the Grey and black. My TL is Silver & Black and IMO gets a bit monotonous inside.

[gocardinals]

Nice, congrats, good luck...now go forth and drive!

BTW...I have Tunsten Pearl w/Grey and I really like the Grey and black. My TL is Silver & Black and IMO gets a bit monotonous inside.

Thanks. :)

[JENunnez]

Nice thats the color I wanted but got TS.

Great looking car.

Enjoy that beauty. Congrats.

Might want to block your tag in the picture.

[clay1]

Well guys, I'm sure you are familiar with me, after 6 pages of the NAV or no NAV debate. Saturday, I took possession of my first Lexus. It's an 08 IS 250, AWD, no NAV, with XM. I'm still feeling a little bad about the no NAV ... I guess just because I know the IS is so cool with it. I think more than the NAV, I will miss the Bluetooth for hands free phone. What are my best options? Also, what are some cool, inexpensive (within reason) mods? Thanks for all of your advice.

sweet color combo congrats... enjoy and stop secondguessing the nav....

[smooth1]

Congratulations! I'm glad to hear and see you got it! Nice color choice! And atleast the car drives the same as it does with Nav, so your not missing out on any performance of a AWD 250.

I think a great mod to start with is getting the stance right by lowering it just 1 inch. I've seen spring kits for this car starting around 250 bucks, and Eibachs, that I know makes great springs are around 350 bucks. The F series "performance" parts for this car are like 260 bucks, and you can get those from the dealer, and they will install them and they offer a warrentee on em!

[Gaugster]

Excellent choice! I am sure that you will enjoy the AWD IS250.

There are lots of small mods’ that can be made to these cars. Intakes, Exhaust, Appearance etc…

I am in the process of adding a JoeZ intake tube along with a set of Mazzuri headers. The intake is a reasonable modification that won’t break the bank. The headers are more of a commitment but that is okay for me.

Tanabe, Lexus (HKS), etc… make axle back muffler systems but the are mostly for adding sound and nor much real performance.

The sky is the limit for appearance mods’ – Red-outs, IF-F tail lights, Tint, Wheels, Grills, HID, etc…..

Do some research online and see what stuff is out there but most of all, enjoy you new car.

Regards,

PS - Let hope we get some good weather finally!!!!!!

[Dallas250]

The first thing I did to my 250 was had Lexus add the trunk spoiler... Looks GREAT!!!

[IS_Willie]

Beautiful!!

Let the modding begin!

[gocardinals]

Guys, thanks for making me feel welcome! How do you guys feel about tinting the Starfire Pearl? In Illinois, no tinting is allowed on the front, but anything goes on the back. I was thinking something real subtle on the back, but would it really help the looks? And, does it affect factory XM or FM/AM?