1st Post - Benz Owner Going Lex

[MercLurk]

Hello,

This is my first post. I am considering an 03-05 Lexus IS300 manual. I currently drive a 2000 MB E430 4matic. I'm looking for any Lexus owners on this forum who have gone from MB to Lex and care to share their story. What did they notice going from MB to Lex? Who on here has experience with both?

Granted I have a tried and true pre-2003 MB. 2003-2005 is when MB quality went really downhill, but I'm still kind of fed up with my car. It's heavy, bulky, not very fast, the 4matic front suspension is rough (even with new shocks I got) and I was expecting more comfort and less problems.

MB is INSANE to get worked on. I'm not a mechanic. Lexus/Toyota must be atleast a bit cheaper to maintain and repair.

I miss a manual car. The benz 5spd automatic trans I have is a shame. It shifts horrible and I had the car dealer serviced with new trans fluid and filter. I used to have an eclipse GSX/Evo and ended up totalling the EVO so I got away from speed and turbos and went for somethin more grown up, like an AWD V8 benz... Now I'm bored of it, i don't want to drain my paychecks to keep everything working.

I didn't see a sticky thread for Noobs. What are the common problems with IS300's? What goes bad? What has been recalled?

I'm looking to spend $15-17k on an 03-05 IS300 manual with less than 60k miles and documented service history from a private owner. Does that sound feasible?

My reasoning for getting a 4matic was the snow/ice conditions we get in Ohio. Do you guys find that the rwd IS300 is fine with snow tires? Kind of off-topic, but here's a question. Which would perform better-- a RWD car with the best snow tires? or an AWD car with summer tires? I assume the AWD car... But I have an AWD with all-season tires and I'm sliding around alot just like a RWD car... So it makes me think the tires play an even bigger role than the drivetrain.

Any current/former Benz owners who've gone Lex -- Please share.

Thanks.

[1990LS400]

Hey, that gives me an idea. Maybe we should have a "sticky" in General Discussions where all the Mercedes bashing could be done in one place.

But seriously, if you search the forums (not just the IS forums) for "Mercedes" you can find plenty of past threads and posts from people like me who have switched from Mercedes to Lexus and from people who currently own both.

[MercLurk]

Hey, that gives me an idea. Maybe we should have a "sticky" in General Discussions where all the Mercedes bashing could be done in one place.

But seriously, if you search the forums (not just the IS forums) for "Mercedes" you can find plenty of past threads and posts from people like me who have switched from Mercedes to Lexus and from people who currently own both.

I guess I should have searched for "bash" heh. I did the search for Mercedes and got alot of thread results that were mentioning the name, not necessarily comparing the two. I see your sig says you were an MB owner, now a Lexus owner... I guess I'm wondering about differences between the E class and the IS.

[smooth1]

Hello,

This is my first post. I am considering an 03-05 Lexus IS300 manual. I currently drive a 2000 MB E430 4matic. I'm looking for any Lexus owners on this forum who have gone from MB to Lex and care to share their story. What did they notice going from MB to Lex? Who on here has experience with both?

Granted I have a tried and true pre-2003 MB. 2003-2005 is when MB quality went really downhill, but I'm still kind of fed up with my car. It's heavy, bulky, not very fast, the 4matic front suspension is rough (even with new shocks I got) and I was expecting more comfort and less problems.

MB is INSANE to get worked on. I'm not a mechanic. Lexus/Toyota must be atleast a bit cheaper to maintain and repair.

I miss a manual car. The benz 5spd automatic trans I have is a shame. It shifts horrible and I had the car dealer serviced with new trans fluid and filter. I used to have an eclipse GSX/Evo and ended up totalling the EVO so I got away from speed and turbos and went for somethin more grown up, like an AWD V8 benz... Now I'm bored of it, i don't want to drain my paychecks to keep everything working.

I didn't see a sticky thread for Noobs. What are the common problems with IS300's? What goes bad? What has been recalled?

I'm looking to spend $15-17k on an 03-05 IS300 manual with less than 60k miles and documented service history from a private owner. Does that sound feasible?

My reasoning for getting a 4matic was the snow/ice conditions we get in Ohio. Do you guys find that the rwd IS300 is fine with snow tires? Kind of off-topic, but here's a question. Which would perform better-- a RWD car with the best snow tires? or an AWD car with summer tires? I assume the AWD car... But I have an AWD with all-season tires and I'm sliding around alot just like a RWD car... So it makes me think the tires play an even bigger role than the drivetrain.

Any current/former Benz owners who've gone Lex -- Please share.

Thanks.

Well, first, welcome to the LOC. :)

As for the IS 300 and it's issues, really, the 3.0 liter 2JZ inline 6 has a long history of reliability. In fact, it will probably go down as one of the best all time motors. The only issues are a heated 02 sensor that seems to go every so often. (Usually around 70 bucks to change out.) other than that the car is solid. I have allways loved how the car feels in your hands. It seems to just jaunt thru traffic. The CD player has an issue though. They tend to jam up alot. But that's an easy enouph fix.

[1990LS400]

The IS is a much smaller car than a Mercedes E-class and is more similar in size to a C-class. An E-class Mercedes is large enough to carry four adults comfortably on long trips.

The IS has far, far less rear space and especially far less rear leg room than an E-class -- an IS rear seat is only suitable for children or very short trips if carrying adults. An IS even has substantially less rear leg room that the smallest Mercedes C-class sedan -- check the specs. I'm only 6' feet tall and I can't even begin to fit in the rear seat of an IS -- I've tried. It is not that I am merely uncomfortable in the back seat of an IS -- I'd have to be a double amputee to fit.

[smooth1]

The IS is a much smaller car than a Mercedes E-class and is more similar in size to a C-class. An E-class Mercedes is large enough to carry four adults comfortably on long trips.

The IS has far, far less rear space and especially far less rear leg room than an E-class -- an IS rear seat is only suitable for children or very short trips if carrying adults. An IS even has substantially less rear leg room that the smallest Mercedes C-class sedan -- check the specs. I'm only 6' feet tall and I can't even begin to fit in the rear seat of an IS -- I've tried. It is not that I am merely uncomfortable in the back seat of an IS -- I'd have to be a double amputee to fit.

I was curious about the size change. The IS is a smaller car, although I kind of disagree with you about the back seat. I'm 5'11'' and I was surprised at the fit. There seems to be more room than it looks back there. I was quite comfy.

[MercLurk]

Im comparing a C43 AMG to a ES300 and they are in two different class', so if they were more evenly matched I don't know probably the Lexus at that point :D

Thanks-- I see you own a fleet of cars and must be doing pretty well financially. If you were a single guy in an entry-level job pretty much, with ONE car, and the desire/ability to only own ONE car, would you take the benz or the lexus? I'm thinking just on maintenance costs and fuel economy alone the lexus is a no brainer. I'm after the luxuries I guess... I don't want to own 3 $5000 cars each serving a different purpose, I'd want ONE $15,000 car that is as new and fresh/ option-loaded as possible.

My V8 AWD benz (same 4.3L as your C43 I believe, except in a larger body and AWD) gets a staggering 15mpg on average city, maybe 19mpg highway if I drive slow. And 9 our of 10 of my commutes are all city driving. I'm thinking I just bit off more than I can chew with this car and did not get it properly inspected... only to find numerous suspension problems and ac/electrical issues that all need hundreds if not a $g or 2 dumped in to it. I have read that the 4.3L is pretty bullet proof, but the trans can be quite a money pit if it's not perfectly maintained from the start. I'm going to run it through the winter and decide come spring time if I'm going to try to dump it and get an IS manual, or just bite the bullet and keep throwing $ into it.

[todda]

Hello,

This is my first post. I am considering an 03-05 Lexus IS300 manual.

...

What are the common problems with IS300's? What goes bad? What has been recalled?

...

My reasoning for getting a 4matic was the snow/ice conditions we get in Ohio. Do you guys find that the rwd IS300 is fine with snow tires?

I have a 2003 IS300 which I love. It is a fun car to drive, and incredibly reliable. However, there are a few things I do not like, and they may relate to your questions.

I have the 5 speed manual transmission, and in my opinion it's a really lousy transmission and clutch. I've driven manual transmission small cars since the late 1970s, and this one is by far the worst shifting one I've owned - very difficult to shift smoothly, and the shifter itself feels sloppy. My impression is that Lexus offered a manual transmission in the IS300 as an afterthought, and didn't really do a "Lexus quality" job with the design. However, aside from not liking the way it shifts, I have had no trouble with the transmission. (I complained about this when I bought the car new, and the dealer let me drive a couple of other new ones to show that they're all the same way.)

I think you really need to watch out in terms of snow and ice, although I can't say how it is with snow tires. My car is TERRIBLE in any wet or slippery weather. It is by far the worst car I've ever had in that area - very difficult to even drive in rainy conditions without tire slip. I have to suspect that it's partly due to the sport tires you have to use on this car - but I'm on my 4th set of tires now, each one a different brand, and it's had wet weather traction problems with all of them. In my opinion, you'd be happier with either front wheel drive or all wheel drive in that respect.

As to repair costs, it's hard to say since the car never breaks!!

[MercLurk]

Ya if I were you I would just get an IS its such a great car it wont disappoint you.

So in the end its all personal choice, is the Benz really worth it to you?? For me I wouldn't have a C43 as a daily driver, I would love to but costs wise its just not practical, that's why its the fun weekend car :)

PS. I got my 92 ES300 5-spd in Columbus, OH, Hows the weather down there :D

The weather was nice this weekend, 68 degrees on Saturday... That means it was 0 degrees with a -20 windchill about a week ago, and yesterday it got up to 68. Ohio is crazy and usually freezing and some type of wet. It doesn't compare to the MN tundra though.

I have a 2003 IS300 which I love. It is a fun car to drive, and incredibly reliable. However, there are a few things I do not like, and they may relate to your questions.

I have the 5 speed manual transmission, and in my opinion it's a really lousy transmission and clutch. I've driven manual transmission small cars since the late 1970s, and this one is by far the worst shifting one I've owned - very difficult to shift smoothly, and the shifter itself feels sloppy. My impression is that Lexus offered a manual transmission in the IS300 as an afterthought, and didn't really do a "Lexus quality" job with the design. However, aside from not liking the way it shifts, I have had no trouble with the transmission. (I complained about this when I bought the car new, and the dealer let me drive a couple of other new ones to show that they're all the same way.)

I think you really need to watch out in terms of snow and ice, although I can't say how it is with snow tires. My car is TERRIBLE in any wet or slippery weather. It is by far the worst car I've ever had in that area - very difficult to even drive in rainy conditions without tire slip. I have to suspect that it's partly due to the sport tires you have to use on this car - but I'm on my 4th set of tires now, each one a different brand, and it's had wet weather traction problems with all of them. In my opinion, you'd be happier with either front wheel drive or all wheel drive in that respect.

As to repair costs, it's hard to say since the car never breaks!!

Thanks for the info. This is good to know, going into potentially buying a car, what current owners like/dislike about it. So the trans isn't that great huh? I know what you're saying about sloppy shifts... I've driven quite a few manual cars and none really pop into mind as being "great" shifting. Off the top of my head, here's the manuals I have extended (more than 1 drive) experience driving.

1991 300zx n/t 5 speed

1995 Eclipse gsx awd 5 speed

1992 VW Corrado VR6 5speed

1992 Camaro Z28 5speed

2003 Mitsubishi EVO 5 speed

2002 Acura RSX-S 6 speed

1996 Honda Accord 5 speed

2003 Honda S2000 6 speed

2004 VW GTI 5 speed

2002 BMW 540i/6 speed

So that's quite a few different types of manual transmissions. Of all those, I'd say the bimmer 540 was the smoothest/easiest/best shifting of the bunch. The camaro or accord were probably the worst. I've never driven a toyota/lexus manual. I rode in a supra TT manual a few years ago, but I didn't get to drive it. I would think the RWD setup would make the trans shift easier, as I've found to be the case with rwd cars.

You have more experience than me, by a couple decades I imagine, so I wonder what cars would you say, in your experience, had GREAT manual transmissions?

I guess I'm keeping my ever-plummeting-in-value benz for now. It's getting me from point A to point B. I can't deal with it being worth like $10k in this market. The car was $58k brand new in 2000 (have original window sticker) and now it's worth 1/6th of that, I bought it for $14k about a year ago. It's really so much car for the money. It'd be really nice to have it working 100% and I'm just going to have to dig in and find a way to DIY some of the maintenance on it.

The IS300 is a nice car though... I am searching for a manual IS within 25 miles of here to go test drive and I will post back here with my impressions after that.

[1990LS400]

The IS is a much smaller car than a Mercedes E-class and is more similar in size to a C-class. An E-class Mercedes is large enough to carry four adults comfortably on long trips.

The IS has far, far less rear space and especially far less rear leg room than an E-class -- an IS rear seat is only suitable for children or very short trips if carrying adults. An IS even has substantially less rear leg room that the smallest Mercedes C-class sedan -- check the specs. I'm only 6' feet tall and I can't even begin to fit in the rear seat of an IS -- I've tried. It is not that I am merely uncomfortable in the back seat of an IS -- I'd have to be a double amputee to fit.

I was curious about the size change. The IS is a smaller car, although I kind of disagree with you about the back seat. I'm 5'11'' and I was surprised at the fit. There seems to be more room than it looks back there. I was quite comfy.

OK, "Smooth", since you own an IS350 and disagree with my opinion about the usefulness and the size of the back seat of an IS, tell me how you fit an adult male human in it when two adult male humans are occupying the front seats. I tried it again today in the same IS250 in which I tried it a few months ago and with the same three friends. It was not pretty.

I again got relegated to the back seat since at 6'0" I'm the shortest by a couple of inches and, of course, it's not my car. This time, instead of sitting behind the driver, I tried the back seat behind the front passenger seat which was probably most or all the way back since the guy sitting in the front passenger seat is 4 - 6 inches taller than me. With my butt pressed as far as it would go into the seatback, I could not even begin to swing my legs into the car -- my knees hit the hard side of the front seat back and there appeared to be only about three inches between the backseat cushion and the front seatback. Is there some kind of trick or is the IS backseat only for gnomes?

The only way we were able to proceed was by having the front passenger slide the seat forward and have his knees pressed to his chin -- we made it - painfully - the couple of miles we had to go. My friend sitting behind the driver wasn't too happy either and the driver wasn't too happy because he had to sit too close to the steering wheel.

I've had these same three guys in both my previous 90 LS and current 00 LS and even in our Camry and it hasn't been a problem -- or at least there was enough room that no one was screaming.

I thought my memory might have faded but today's experience confirmed to me that the IS is mainly a two passenger car with a back seat for small children or pets - or gnomes.

[lexuseng]

Hello,

This is my first post. I am considering an 03-05 Lexus IS300 manual.

...

What are the common problems with IS300's? What goes bad? What has been recalled?

...

My reasoning for getting a 4matic was the snow/ice conditions we get in Ohio. Do you guys find that the rwd IS300 is fine with snow tires?

I have a 2003 IS300 which I love. It is a fun car to drive, and incredibly reliable. However, there are a few things I do not like, and they may relate to your questions.

I have the 5 speed manual transmission, and in my opinion it's a really lousy transmission and clutch. I've driven manual transmission small cars since the late 1970s, and this one is by far the worst shifting one I've owned - very difficult to shift smoothly, and the shifter itself feels sloppy. My impression is that Lexus offered a manual transmission in the IS300 as an afterthought, and didn't really do a "Lexus quality" job with the design. However, aside from not liking the way it shifts, I have had no trouble with the transmission. (I complained about this when I bought the car new, and the dealer let me drive a couple of other new ones to show that they're all the same way.)

I think you really need to watch out in terms of snow and ice, although I can't say how it is with snow tires. My car is TERRIBLE in any wet or slippery weather. It is by far the worst car I've ever had in that area - very difficult to even drive in rainy conditions without tire slip. I have to suspect that it's partly due to the sport tires you have to use on this car - but I'm on my 4th set of tires now, each one a different brand, and it's had wet weather traction problems with all of them. In my opinion, you'd be happier with either front wheel drive or all wheel drive in that respect.

As to repair costs, it's hard to say since the car never breaks!!

I would agree with sport tires the car is scary when wet. I switched to Yokohoma's (from Discount Tire) about 6 months ago, what a difference! It's not just because of new tread either, my old tires had decent tread on them when I bought the car. My confidence in the rain has quadrupled, I use to have to drive like grandma in the rain.

[smooth1]

The IS is a much smaller car than a Mercedes E-class and is more similar in size to a C-class. An E-class Mercedes is large enough to carry four adults comfortably on long trips.

The IS has far, far less rear space and especially far less rear leg room than an E-class -- an IS rear seat is only suitable for children or very short trips if carrying adults. An IS even has substantially less rear leg room that the smallest Mercedes C-class sedan -- check the specs. I'm only 6' feet tall and I can't even begin to fit in the rear seat of an IS -- I've tried. It is not that I am merely uncomfortable in the back seat of an IS -- I'd have to be a double amputee to fit.

I was curious about the size change. The IS is a smaller car, although I kind of disagree with you about the back seat. I'm 5'11'' and I was surprised at the fit. There seems to be more room than it looks back there. I was quite comfy.

OK, "Smooth", since you own an IS350 and disagree with my opinion about the usefulness and the size of the back seat of an IS, tell me how you fit an adult male human in it when two adult male humans are occupying the front seats. I tried it again today in the same IS250 in which I tried it a few months ago and with the same three friends. It was not pretty.

I again got relegated to the back seat since at 6'0" I'm the shortest by a couple of inches and, of course, it's not my car. This time, instead of sitting behind the driver, I tried the back seat behind the front passenger seat which was probably most or all the way back since the guy sitting in the front passenger seat is 4 - 6 inches taller than me. With my butt pressed as far as it would go into the seatback, I could not even begin to swing my legs into the car -- my knees hit the hard side of the front seat back and there appeared to be only about three inches between the backseat cushion and the front seatback. Is there some kind of trick or is the IS backseat only for gnomes?

The only way we were able to proceed was by having the front passenger slide the seat forward and have his knees pressed to his chin -- we made it - painfully - the couple of miles we had to go. My friend sitting behind the driver wasn't too happy either and the driver wasn't too happy because he had to sit too close to the steering wheel.

I've had these same three guys in both my previous 90 LS and current 00 LS and even in our Camry and it hasn't been a problem -- or at least there was enough room that no one was screaming.

I thought my memory might have faded but today's experience confirmed to me that the IS is mainly a two passenger car with a back seat for small children or pets - or gnomes.

OK, "Smooth", since you own an IS350 and disagree with my opinion about the usefulness and the size of the back seat of an IS, tell me how you fit an adult male human in it when two adult male humans are occupying the front seats. I tried it again today in the same IS250 in which I tried it a few months ago and with the same three friends. It was not pretty.

Well, first, I thought we were talking about the IS 300, not the ISx50. In the IS 300, the cabin is a bit longer and there is more space back there than the ISx50. Regarding the rear seat space in the ISx50, what year does your friend have? In 08' they changed the back of the seats to a "caved inward" design to make more leg room there. I often take a few of my employees to the local lunch joints in it, and no body has complained or said they needed more space. We are all about 5'10'' to 6'2.

[1990LS400]

The IS is a much smaller car than a Mercedes E-class and is more similar in size to a C-class. An E-class Mercedes is large enough to carry four adults comfortably on long trips.

The IS has far, far less rear space and especially far less rear leg room than an E-class -- an IS rear seat is only suitable for children or very short trips if carrying adults. An IS even has substantially less rear leg room that the smallest Mercedes C-class sedan -- check the specs. I'm only 6' feet tall and I can't even begin to fit in the rear seat of an IS -- I've tried. It is not that I am merely uncomfortable in the back seat of an IS -- I'd have to be a double amputee to fit.

I was curious about the size change. The IS is a smaller car, although I kind of disagree with you about the back seat. I'm 5'11'' and I was surprised at the fit. There seems to be more room than it looks back there. I was quite comfy.

OK, "Smooth", since you own an IS350 and disagree with my opinion about the usefulness and the size of the back seat of an IS, tell me how you fit an adult male human in it when two adult male humans are occupying the front seats. I tried it again today in the same IS250 in which I tried it a few months ago and with the same three friends. It was not pretty.

I again got relegated to the back seat since at 6'0" I'm the shortest by a couple of inches and, of course, it's not my car. This time, instead of sitting behind the driver, I tried the back seat behind the front passenger seat which was probably most or all the way back since the guy sitting in the front passenger seat is 4 - 6 inches taller than me. With my butt pressed as far as it would go into the seatback, I could not even begin to swing my legs into the car -- my knees hit the hard side of the front seat back and there appeared to be only about three inches between the backseat cushion and the front seatback. Is there some kind of trick or is the IS backseat only for gnomes?

The only way we were able to proceed was by having the front passenger slide the seat forward and have his knees pressed to his chin -- we made it - painfully - the couple of miles we had to go. My friend sitting behind the driver wasn't too happy either and the driver wasn't too happy because he had to sit too close to the steering wheel.

I've had these same three guys in both my previous 90 LS and current 00 LS and even in our Camry and it hasn't been a problem -- or at least there was enough room that no one was screaming.

I thought my memory might have faded but today's experience confirmed to me that the IS is mainly a two passenger car with a back seat for small children or pets - or gnomes.

OK, "Smooth", since you own an IS350 and disagree with my opinion about the usefulness and the size of the back seat of an IS, tell me how you fit an adult male human in it when two adult male humans are occupying the front seats. I tried it again today in the same IS250 in which I tried it a few months ago and with the same three friends. It was not pretty.

Well, first, I thought we were talking about the IS 300, not the ISx50. In the IS 300, the cabin is a bit longer and there is more space back there than the ISx50. Regarding the rear seat space in the ISx50, what year does your friend have? In 08' they changed the back of the seats to a "caved inward" design to make more leg room there. I often take a few of my employees to the local lunch joints in it, and no body has complained or said they needed more space. We are all about 5'10'' to 6'2.

It is an 08 IS250. Are you saying that an IS300 has more rear seat space than an ISx50? The specs on the Lexus website say that the 08-09 IS has more rear legroom than the older IS300. Go out to your IS350, run the front passenger seat all the way back as if a tall person is sitting in it, recline the front passenger seat normally for a tall occupant, and tell me that you can even begin to swing your legs into the car when you try to sit behind the right front passenger seat. Betcha you can't. If you tell me you can, I still won't believe you since I couldn't even begin to do it and I'm a normally proportioned 6 foot person. OK, I do have long arms and my knuckles tend to drag on the ground. LOL.

My main point is that an E-class Mercedes, which I have also owned, while still a little short on rear seat legroom, has far more rear seat legroom than an ISx50 or IS300 and can carry a fairly tall person in the backseat while a fairly tall person is riding ahead in the front seat. An IS simply can't do that. It is physically impossible to have a 6' foot person sit in the back seat of an IS if a fairly tall (6'4" to 6'6") person is sitting in the front seat. I'm not saying that this is a completely bad thing but that it is a bit unrealistic for a person needing to carry adult passengers in the rear seat to consider moving from an E-class Mercedes to a Lexus IS. The two cars are in completely different size classes.

I think the IS is a really fun car -- but it is mainly a car for two adults except if carrying four adults on very short drives with all four occupants being very pressed for space.

[ISlexusGX]

Never had a MB, but I do have a comment about the RWD. I have a 2006 Infiniti G35 6MT coupe that is RWD and it is a !Removed! in the snow. There is no way that I would drive it. In fact, it's the reason we bought the IS 250 so that I would have something to drive in the winter.

[lenore]

didnt see this post before, but we sold our Mercedes Benz 190E (1987) for the RX300. I miss the handling and absolutely the best steering that I have ever experienced in an automobile. God that thing could turn on a dime. RX, well lets just say it takes a good wide two lanes of road if you are lucky. The engineering in that old MB was quite interesting for a mechanical guy like me, mechanically the car was super, but the typical MB teutonic interior was something else, functional yes, plush no....loved the car,and was a great car replacement for our 1990 Honda Accord especially when your back pain gets worse. The MB solved the back pain on long drives. Found the seats very comfortable. But alas we needed more room for our trip to North Carolina for the birth of our first grandbaby, so I tried a used MB320 for exactly 24 hours, but something told me I was driving something wrong. I did a history on the 6 month old car and found it had been in the shop over 32 times for a lot of problems...I backed out and dumped the car (no loss to me because of California law of disclosure) Moved to the RX300 ( brand new) in November of 1998 and still have it. Love the car, been very comfortable, lousy steering radius, but never the less a great car. Only one major complaint, the transmission failure at 100k two states away, but that is what you get, trusting the reliability of toyota. Still love the car, distrust the tranny, but at 160k miles it is still going..............Still have an affection for my first and last MB, it was an experience to remember....

[bartkat]

Isn't the Mercedes E a midsize car while the IS is a compact?

There's a trick to getting in the back seat of a 2nd gen IS. I do it every time I clean the back window or the seat leather.