smooth1

Yeah, just a bit... lol!

The ride is better imho. And no rubbing issues either. I've even put new rims on since this thread with more aggressive offsets and I still don't rub. If you click on the link below you can see it for yourself. pic of car with new rims

Well, see, I would do this for an auto cross set up. The M3 chassis is a much better design. If we are keeping the budget under $80K, I could get an M3 and have plenty of cash left over to address all the upgrades I would need to make. Not to mention all the parts and design issues have already been address and are plentiful. (Though the BMW stamp still makes it all more expensive than other alternatives.) If the budget dropped to say $50K, then I would go the Mitsu Evo route. And if the budget was $30K I would go Ford Mustang, and if it was under $20K, I would watch from the grand stands and save up for awhile. :)

Well as it stands: I'm working 5 days a week, going to start school in the fall but think I could be a full time student with the 2 days right?! But anyways getting $400 a week, roughly have around $1,600 by the end of the month so if I subtract the payments I'm left with $900, and just to be safe I'm going to take $100 out to for gas (thinking thats the minimum considering gas is about to go over $3 a gal. here in SO Cal.) and another $100 for maintenance & care. So I'll be left with $700 for me... I think I'm going to be having to pay rent in a few months so thats something that will play a big role on my decision... Plus in order for me to actually have the deal go throw my dad wants me to give him $2000 for the down payment for his benz so thats something thats making me think twice! If i don't take it then he'll just trade it in when he gets the benz... So total for the is250 will be 17,500+2000= $19,500 PROS: Will have Insurance payed for until the cars payed off. Will have my dad help me out if cant make the payment for that month. Will completely own the car after July 2011! *BLEEP*.... Its a IS250!!!!! :D Cons: The $2000 that he wants me to pay so he could add it to the down pament. Got the 65000 Miles on it. Dont really know how my $$$ school and just personal purchases are going to take in the coming months. (New College student & Just move back to Cali.) Still need to go to the dealership and get all 3 of the recalls done. Thoughts and comments Plz?! lol I'm a business owner and I have a family. In these times such as they are, I would say to you to consider 75-80% of your income as the total of you income. In your case 1600 should really be $1,200-$1,300 counted as "spendable income".The other 20-25%, that's the amount gas, groceries, rent and the general cost of living is going to go up. So, you might as well get used to it now, and save that money along the way. It kind of sounds to me as though your dad is thinking a bit more about getting a new car then he is thinking about his (son/daughter)'s financial beginnings and start up responsibilities. $700 a month for a car is alot of money to commit to in your situation. I would think your buying or not buying the car wouldn't have anything to with him helping out on a payment and with the insurance. So if I were in your situation, my answer would be " While the IS250 for $19.5 is a great deal, it's still too much money to commit to while your still "setting" up your life and have so many unanswered questions. And then look for a nice car around $10k. Thanks smooth1, truly appreciate your input on my situation, I really do feel that that was what his true intentions were to begin with but hearing it from someone else really puts thing in perspective... I really do love the IS250, but when your right your right, and smooth1 "Your Right!" (Really wanted to have a 250 as my 1st car tho.... his going to trade it in if I dont take it :( ) so I guess those "cheaper" alternatives are back on the menu for me... so what do you think they might be? Oh, your in luck. I just so happen to know of this: great used car for 10K. Click on that. But heck I've found 02/04 Honda Accords, 04/05 Mazda 3's and 6's. An 06 Nissan Sentra. $10K pretty much opens the gates to a good used car that's only a few years old. You stick to this price range, and you'll not only have a nice car, but plenty of cash to cover all the things that come up in life. And trust me, they always do. And if you do choose to go this route, then your car payment and insurance should still only be about half of what you are looking at spending now. And then you won't need your dad to cover you.

I would probably get an M3 and work on it.

Well as it stands: I'm working 5 days a week, going to start school in the fall but think I could be a full time student with the 2 days right?! But anyways getting $400 a week, roughly have around $1,600 by the end of the month so if I subtract the payments I'm left with $900, and just to be safe I'm going to take $100 out to for gas (thinking thats the minimum considering gas is about to go over $3 a gal. here in SO Cal.) and another $100 for maintenance & care. So I'll be left with $700 for me... I think I'm going to be having to pay rent in a few months so thats something that will play a big role on my decision... Plus in order for me to actually have the deal go throw my dad wants me to give him $2000 for the down payment for his benz so thats something thats making me think twice! If i don't take it then he'll just trade it in when he gets the benz... So total for the is250 will be 17,500+2000= $19,500 PROS: Will have Insurance payed for until the cars payed off. Will have my dad help me out if cant make the payment for that month. Will completely own the car after July 2011! *BLEEP*.... Its a IS250!!!!! :D Cons: The $2000 that he wants me to pay so he could add it to the down pament. Got the 65000 Miles on it. Dont really know how my $$$ school and just personal purchases are going to take in the coming months. (New College student & Just move back to Cali.) Still need to go to the dealership and get all 3 of the recalls done. Thoughts and comments Plz?! lol I'm a business owner and I have a family. In these times such as they are, I would say to you to consider 75-80% of your income as the total of you income. In your case 1600 should really be $1,200-$1,300 counted as "spendable income".The other 20-25%, that's the amount gas, groceries, rent and the general cost of living is going to go up. So, you might as well get used to it now, and save that money along the way. It kind of sounds to me as though your dad is thinking a bit more about getting a new car then he is thinking about his (son/daughter)'s financial beginnings and start up responsibilities. $700 a month for a car is alot of money to commit to in your situation. I would think your buying or not buying the car wouldn't have anything to with him helping out on a payment and with the insurance. So if I were in your situation, my answer would be " While the IS250 for $19.5 is a great deal, it's still too much money to commit to while your still "setting" up your life and have so many unanswered questions. And then look for a nice car around $10k.

I got mine at autosport.com (I actually saw it at a car show I was at and when I got back I ordered one. I like that it keeps all the dog hair in it also. I've only had to take our dog 2 or 3 times, but it fits in the wifes S40 also so it gets used alot there.

Oh, much different. (I did ask if it was a 5 year lease first.) I'm still not sure I would take the deal as it stands. How do you feel about a $700 car payment every month? I don't know what your income is, and what financial obligations you have. But $17k for an 06 IS is a good deal. Can you buy it from him and get your own loan on the car?

I think if you went in there today and leased a brand new one, you'd get one for alot less then that. I'm seeing ads on tv now for 359 a month. I don't remember how many months the lease is for in the ads, but 359 is almost half the monthly payment, so you could drive the car for 48 months and spend the same amount of money. Or spend half a much in the same 24 months. You could save 8500 bucks or so. That's alot of cash.

700 bucks a month on a 5 year lease for a 250?

I knew you'd come to your senses!

The one I have is more like a big blanket that goes from the headrests on the back of the front seats, down and across the backseats, and back up to the headrests of the backseat. Sort of like a huge pocket for the dog. And it keeps them in the back seat.

One of the safest ways I know of is to use some warm soapy water and non waxed dental floss and "cut" the glue between the dash and the dash kit material. You can also use a hair drier on the dash kit to help loosen up the glue a bit first. Seeing as you don't care about the dash kit peice that your taking off, then you won't have to worry about burning it. Once it's off, I would use some NAPTHA VMP and a terry cloth type towel to get the rest of the glue residue off. You can get that at any Home Depot or Lowe's type of store.

Maximum power for?????? Drag racing?, street racing?, autocross?, what... do you want to stay on pump fuel or are we forgetting streetability and going track only? You have to know exactly what you want in order to know exactly what you need to get there. If your only going to give general ideas, then your only going to get general answers.

It's a 1990? Yeah, it could just be the PS. When the car first starts up, it's in an open loop mode. (Kind of like an automatic choke.) So it's a bit richer until all sensors get up to temp. The PS might be causing a small amount to pool and hence your getting some smoke. Just fix the PS and it should go away.

Hello, welcome to the US LOC! I've done both, and also turbo'd the 2JZGE with great results. What kind of power are you looking for and how big is your budget. The wallet, and parts availability will determine the way you should go.

Welcome to the LOC. You might want to start with reading this thread, maybe you can get some ideas from here: Modifying an IS300 Chronicles of a dream ride.

If your windows won't go up or down even with the corrosponding door switches, first make sure you have the window up/down disable switch off. It's on the driver's door control panel. It's the square button with a picture of the door window on it and it has orange around the outside of the button. Then see if each door window switch works. Then go around to each door and lower the window all the way, then raise it all the way. The master control on the driver door should now open and close all the windows.

Well put, and ditto. 6'4", AND 51 yo here. I prefer a bit tighter fit in a car, just because I like to feel the car around me. The only detractor I find, keeping in mind that my previous three cars were an Infiniti G35, BMW 525, and Acura Legend, is that it is a bit on the tight side entering and exiting the car. Once inside, I'm good... but as LEXUS IS250 AWD said, there isn't even enough room for an aardvark behind me. But then I plan to buy a Porsche 997 once my lease is up, so, maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment! vigoruos yoga will help alot with this........LOL!!!

window pane

What kind of hp are you looking for? or should I ask, what kind of speed and type of driving do you do? Are you looking for drag mods, or street modding? auto cross, drifter, DUB, VIP, tuner, showcar.....etc.etc.etc. The GS is a great platform. The new IS is still mostly untouchable for performance modding, but the 350 is so quick stock that if you want a great daily driver that you can have alot of fun with and just spend some money on show mods and suspension instead.

morbid

Factory IS300 didn't offer staggered set ups, so one of the widths are wrong, ( Pretty sure the 7'' they list is really 7.5 also.) or they aren't factory rims.

I can rank them for ya, and you decide: 1) Michelin Pilot Sport (I really like the design of these tires. Quiet ride, plenty or grip, and the sidewall construction matches up well with the IS suspension.) 2) Michelin Exalto (Not as good as the Pilot Sport, but it is a better winter tire.) 3) Pirelli PZero ( These start out great but about 10-15K miles in, the behind the times compound shows it's limitations and the ride becomes a bit buzzy and loud.) 4) Bridgestone RE960. ( I don't understand why this isn't a better tire. Steering just feels mushy. Most people I have talked to said they wouldn't buy this tire again.)

Welcome to the LOC.