schitzo1978

thanks, hmmm given that i dont have a navi (friggin thing was not even available with the configuration i wanted). and given that the kit that havoc627 is mentionning is 200-300$ cheaper. I think it makes sence for me to go with a less expensive kit (around 50$). it would be nice to have the radio dimming/pause feature, but 200-300$ is a lot of money. thanks for the info smooth much appreciated!

smooth are there any links avail for these kits you mention. thanks, s.

Hello, I always follow the manufacturers recomendation and fill up my is250 with super gas (91 octane). One chain of gas stations here in montreal (petro canada) also offers a 4th option which i like to call super-duper is 94 octane. It supposedly helps clean your engine and burns very cleanly. 94 O is normally a few pennies more per liter (yes we are metric for most things, yet i don't know how much i weigh in Kilos only pounds). http://www.petro-canada.ca/en/productsandservices/314.aspx (they call it Super Premium) is higher octane worth it in the long run, do you get more power and a cleaner engine or is it all bunk ? thanks all, schitzo1978 in Montreal Canada

found the how to, just looking for info on my other questions

No it's just an IS250 with all of the extra F-Sport Add-ons i got an is250 strictly because i wanted a sports car, to me a sports car is RWD and 6 speed. I would have loved a 350 with the same options, but 1- its not avaiable 2- my wife can drive it (that alone is a big no no). so 6 speed it was.

can you link to your painting calipers how to, am having a hard time finding it with the search. Beautiful car, great shine on it, what kind/size are those wheels and tires? were they straight bolt ons or did you have to have the suspension lowered/modified. I am toying with getting some new rims (i have staggered 18s). I have an IS250 6 Speed RWD (that I had to have trucked in from florida (I am in montreal canada..was impossible to find anywhere)). It came with a sport package that had the front lip spoiler as well. I do have to say that the front lip spoiler makes the front end look VERY aggressive, given your Rims, tires, calipers and lack of rear spoiler (which i totally agree with you), all you need is a front lip spoiler and not one other thing! (ps your tint is pretty aggressive too) I do recommend the Lexus factory one, as some of those aftermarket ones are a little too decorative for my taste (and flimsy). great pics!

you can't tell what color the car is when you're sitting in it and cruizing at 90 mph. Color for me is not a big issue, i wanted white, black or dark grey...dealer/broker could only find what i wanted in silver...so silverit was. I can tell you that the green and champagne colours are relatively uncommon. I also dont see too many red ones out there, the colours i listed above are way more common. like the last poster said....you need to live with it, but in the end i am sure you'd agree that it is way more about the drive than what it looks like (even though 250-350's) are FRIGGIN sexy. ps. that green could look killer with some gunmetal or black 18 or 19 inch rims.

Hi, Canadian here from soon to be snowy canada. I have the is250 with the 18" rims and summer tires from the factory. We MUST have winter tires here. Obviously I dont want to get 18s or use my rims this winter as they can get damamged by all the sand and salt that we put on our roads for adherence. What i wanted to know is if I move down to a 16" configuration for the winter, what size tires should I get. and are there any peculiarities. I will be buying rims and tires in the next week or two, any help would be most appreciated. schitzo montreal

Hi, I am wondering what all of you are doing for IPOD connectivity in the is250/350. Meaning how are you mounitng it what holders are u using and what does it look like. I have found a cell phone holder on ebay made specifically for the is250/350, and was thinking of putting an ipod holder on it, but dont think that it makes too much sence to put it there if the cable has to be plugged into the arm rest (that is where the cable goes right ?) Any thoughts or suggestions for products, Thanks, Schitzo1978

Thanks guys, it was dark and late and i didnt have my manual handy, I havent had a chance to snoop around. as of yet this car has been totally great! thanks for the support, This is a great forum and a great community. schitzo1978

Guys, montrealer here who just got his car in from Florida last friday (i can send pics if you want). I would SERIOUSLY recommend, using a car broker who will take care of it all for you. In general they take a few grand as a fee lets call it 2-3K, but in general they have business relationships with dealers in the states and get get a way better price then u can. So the service almost pays for itself, and they are pros at dealing with red tape and all the forms and paperwork. If you have called around the dealerships in the US, you'll know that as soon as they hear that you are canadian they will refuse to sell to you. They are restricted form doing so by LEXUS USA. Unless you know someone who is willing to risk their dealership for you, they generally will not sell direct. Brokers have relationships that spare you the trouble. I tired buying myself and no one would even quote me a price when they hear ur a canuk. In my case i saved around 11k on the "web price" when speccing the car out, a buddy of mine saved over 13K, cause his car had more features (he took the AWD with Navi, I wanted the Manual with Sport). Anyways if you have any questions about the process, you can message me on this thing, but I would really recommend finding a dealer. The APA has tons of ressources and they can put u in contact with a broker who does the importing. peace, schitzo1978 PS guages and temps are all in Miles and Ferenheight, do not convert, u will void warranty, just leave as is. It;s kinda cool to have it taht way anyways. If you want a switchable guage buy a cadillac CTS. You and grandpa will be able to tell stories how you can change ur units on your cadillacs. hahahha

Hi Got my is250 MT RWD, Sport+Lux Package last friday. Tonight I opened up the trunk to get something and I noticed that there was no Light on. My old Honda's light used to come on like 30 seocnds later so i waited, I even closed the trunk and then reopened it, but to no avail. Someone please tell me that Lexus remembered to put a light in there? I am hoping it's just a bulb issue and not that there is just no light. Can anyone confirm that the is205 does in fact have a light in the rear trunk. Thanks, Schitzo1978

ill call u p a local dealer and have them look at it. US car warranties are supposed to be honoured in Canada. That is the official statement by Toyota/Lexus. Let's see how it goes. If any of you know another reason why the CHECK SYSTEM (!) indicator would be on, please let me know. As it stands now the only thing that I can see is that it is related to tire pressure, and as it stands now, I have fine tuned the pressure to be exactly 35 in the front and 38 at the rear. Thanks for your help, schitzo1978

Hi, I bought a digital tire pressure guage and checked the pressure. They were all in the low 40's (42-43-44-45) which is wayyyy too high, i set my pressure to 35 in the front and 38 in the rear as the instruction guide says. I checked that set 1 is selected and not set 2 (although I don't really know what this means (I havent gotten that far in the guide yet)). But the Check system indicator is still on. I checked the guide and its the symbol that looks like this (!), when I turn on the car it first flashes about a half dozen times or so, and then stays on. Is there any way to reset the error and see if it happends again. I am thinking that there was an error (in pressure too high), but now that I corrected it, it needs to be reset. Alternately It could be a problem with the presure sensor althogether, but before I take it into the dealership I want to make sure that it's not something as trivial as resetting the error on the dash. Asides from that, this car has been great. IS250 RWD MT - with all the available bells and whistles on the MT (no navi avail). thanks, schitzo1978

Hi I picked up my car today from my car broker, car is GREAT! All is 100% except the car has the red triangle with the exclamation point lit up on the dash and it says check system. And in the bottom right hand corner of the dash there is the little yellow exclamation point lit up. I checkec the manual and it says its the tire pressure or a problem with the sensors. When I turn on the car the yellow exclamation flashes a hand full of times then it stays on. The car was imported from FLorida (I am in montreal canada). I got it with 31 Miles on it. Should i just put one air in the tires? or does it sound like its a problem with the sensors. I have the 18" 5 spoke sport wheels (from Lexus) on it. I was under the impressio that you could see what the actual pressure of the tires is? Any insight would help thanks. schitzo1978

6.1% to be exact...but even with that, i still saved around 10K. Anoop another dude saved 13K (his car was more expensive to begin with though). schitzo PS i picked up my car today amazing !

unfortunaetly not, its an analogue dash and the miles appear above the Km. Also the odometer is in miles and the temp ratings are in Farenheight. These are the 3 things that cannot be changed. Other cars like cadillac cts can be switched with one button. Quite honestly, this is not a big deal given the amount of cash that can be saved when purchasing from the US (over 10K). I am supposed to pick mine up today. I'll keep u posted. Where are you located? schitzo1978

apparently it's till there so the process should begin... i tried to see if they would throw in the trunk lip spoiler, but the dealer wouldnt throw it in and said that he'd rather no as the ordering, installation etc could take up to a week? anyways ill look at an aftermarket lip spoiler, hopefully this all works out. eric.

If the stars align just right then tommorrow my importer will find out the that exact car that I was that was sitting on the lot last friday in Florida will be sold to him and then the importation process will begin. This is what I should be getting which is apparently extremely Rare. is250 in 6 speed manual transmission with the X package with additional option (that also includes the premium package), zenons, leather, 18s etc... You would not believe how hard it is to find this configuration. In canada they have only 1 unit is the ENTIRE county and its 500 km away in Ontario, and its a Demo that's green. Apparently...AWD and Automatics are in demand in the North East, (due to the driving conditions, ice, snow etc). So if all goes well my 5000$ cheque gets cashed tommorrow and the process begins. For those of you in canada who are wondering if it is worth it to import a car from the US. MSRP plus tax in my province is 54 800$ CDN The importer will be getting it to me for 43 500$ CDN (all included, taxes, duties, federal tax, provincial tax, transport, exchange etc.) Given that lexus dealers in canada barely budge their price, i;d say GOD BLESS AMERICA. Speak to you all soon, Schitzo in Montreal

I heard that Canadian prices were set to include the levy on Japanese products (6.1% for models not assembled in North America) and that fact that the Candian dollar was trading at about 1.50 about 2-3 years ago. At that time the prices made sence, 30k USD was about 45K canadian or so (maybe just a little less.... Now 30K USD = 32 500 CAD$ so the prices just dont make sence anymore....Given that the demand is there, Candian Lexus dealers have no reason to decrease their prices..... God bless capitalism...... As an informed consumer, I want to have the choice to buy from the seller who is willing to sell for the least. In this case its the Americans due to circustance. Another member here is working on having a few imported, so I will try to work with him to see if I can get one legally imported through the US. If not I'll just have to buy from a dealer who is willing to sell to canadians...apparently Infinity dealers will....... So i may be forced to pickup a G35 instead of an IS250...we'll see how all this turns out. cheers, Has anyone here had success with importing or exporting a car to a neighboring country, or is anyone aware of a lexus dealership in the US (anywhere) that will sell to a Canuk (any maybe fudge their books a little to make it look like it was a Yank who bought ?) TTYL, Eric. in montreal

the paper work is not very complicated, a few hours of reading and you are all set. Anoop, we need to chat, based on your estimate you're saving well over 10K, which is jsut about what i estimated. email me at eattard @ gmail . com i have family members in the US, but am missing a few bits of info, with regards to the portion whereby the US resident buys the car for you. I have the other details and potential paperwork all sorted out. or let me know how i can reach you. Thanks, eric. in montreal.

at retails listed price.....US dealers are alot more aggressive with negotiating. there are reports of people buying at under dealer invoice price. You can assume a 3k rebate if your negotiating skills are decent. In Canada you'd be lucky to get 500-1000$ of sticker price. Montreal which serices around 2 million people has 4 lexus delaerships. Jersey must have close to 20. My question is, if someone in the US buys it then it will be registered and titled to their name, that will seriously complicate matters when iporting it to canada. Especially that US customs requires a 72 hr minimum notice (with title) when exporting a car from the US. I don't think that having someone else buy the car for you will be the solution. How would the car get signed over to you (the canadian)? But I do know of some people who went to the US to buy scion xB's cause we dont have those in canada, how did that do through? eric in montreal.

well the 6 speed manual is 36 550, plus delivery and prep, the sport package is 9600$ (which is totally rediculous) so we're up to 46, 150. plus 15% tax. I am assuming that ill be able to negotiate a thousand or two down, but i am still at 50k. it could go down to around 40 if you take a base 250 in stick with no options on it., But if you compare the car i specked out above with one purchased in the US, add in all the taxes, duties and exchange rate....and you get to around 10 000 $ less when buying from the US and driving it home. what did u get and what kind of deal were you able to swing with the dealership (cause i may have no choice but to buy from a canadian dealership, if i cant solve this US problem). Thanks in advance, eric.

Hello All, New member here. I am situated in montreal, canada and have been researching the option of purchasing a car in the US and exporting it to canada where i will register it. It seems as though Once all the duties (6.1% cause its assembled in Japan) and taxes (15% Federal and provincial taxes) as well as the exchane rate (around 8% these days). I could end up saving in the neighborhood of 10 000$ for the is250 in 6 speed manual, with the X package at 3650$ on the website. Assuming i could negotiate the price down a few grand, of course. Anyways, My grandmother lives in albany NY, so I called the local Lexus dealer in Latham, and I wanted to ask a few questions. As soon as he heard that I was canadian he told me that he cannot sell to me. Lexus requires the car to be titled and registered to a US address (or citizen?) I forgot exactly what it is that he said. Anyways, i've spoken to canadian and US customs officials and they have no issue with me importing a lexus is250, it's fully legal and can be easily done. Is this rule that he told me about a sweeping rule the US lexus dealers have been forced to follow by lexus USA? An is 250 runs you about 50 grand in canada (manual) and from the us once all is said and doe its around 40k. I am considering buying the car in Jersey as I have some other family members there (not too far from route 17). Any help or ideas would be appreciated. Do any lexus employees frequent this user forum? thanks, schitzo1978 in montreal