looks sweet in white! nice!

are those HID foglights Lexus OEM ones or aftermarket?

it seems more and more people on here are either getting an IS250/350 or a G35 instead of a TSX or are trading in their TSX or selling it to get one.

 

Those are factory HID's. All 2007 model IS's have a forced HID add on option. 2006's didnt come with HID's without an expensive package.

 

My boss has a black IS250 with navi and I like it better than my TSX. The rear wheel drive is the main reason. The car has more torque, so it feels faster than my TSX and it is smoother and quieter. Only complaint with her IS is you can't operate the navi when the car is in motion.

But, like I read above, for the same price as an IS250, you can get the MUCH FASTER G35. Drive the TSX, then the IS then to try the new G. If ya got $34K to throw around, I expect you will take the G home.

 

X50,

I posted this before, but I'll post it again. I'm not really that impressed with the G. Yes, the 306hp are a nice thing to have, but I'm not really that concerned with speed. Also, the G35's fuel efficiency is below what I want. I do not want a car that is below 30mpg on the highway. The G35 is around 4mpg less than the TSX and the city mpg numbers are below 20, which is unacceptable to me.

I think the Accord will be around those numbers when it comes out so I'm waiting to see how it looks because the looks are what are going to determine whether I'm getting it or not.

 

And that's your opinion because a lot of AZ members and consumers like the new G35. I'm thinking the real reason you don't like the G is because of gas milesage which is silly. Sorry to tell you this, but if you're really concerned with fuel efficiency, you should just get the Honda Accord Hybrid or a Toyota Prius. The Accord hybrid has 253 hp and gets 35mpg.

No luxury car companies have that many fuel efficient cars anyways. The consumers who buy a luxury car care more about luxury appointments, reliability, and performance. Gas is also a concern too, but why would you spend more than $30K and worry about gas mileage and complaining they're too high and can't afford it? That means you shouldn't be buying a luxury car in the first place.

 

Do yourself a favor and check out the G35.

 

I don't think worrying about fuel efficiency is silly at all. There are plenty of reasons to be concerned with fuel efficiency beyond the cost you pay at the pump.

There's also no reason not to find a happy medium. Many of us could probably be driving a Prius or Corolla to meet our basic transportation needs. However, by choosing a TSX, we get a car that gives up some mileage over those options, but still gets decent mileage and power.

 

You have a point. Many of us say that if you can afford a vehicle then you can afford the upkeep or gas it consumes. That's true, I think. However, I'm still concerned with the environment and I am compromising the fuel efficiency that I would get with another car (such as the Camry Hybrid or Accord Hybrid) for the looks and luxury that I would get with the TSX and the IS.

I am going to go look at the G35 tomorrow. I've never been too impressed with Nissan and the reliability/resale value is not as great as Honda and Toyota. Who knows, maybe I'll fall in love with the G35 and not care as much about the fuel economy. However, I am not a performance-oriented person. I don't really care much for the "high performance" vehicles any more. I have become more practical as I've gotten older. Maybe when I turn 45 and have my mid-life crisis I'll want a Porsche or another performance car but, for now, a four-door car that gets me to point B and has a few creature comforts that I want will do.

 

Depending on your needs, it might be worthwhile to wait a year. Since Honda and Toyota are your primary choices and seeing where the bar has been raised to, I'd be willing to bet the next gen Accord/TSX/TL will be a very compelling product. Honda has stumbled a couple of times recently (RL, RDX) but the chances they will make a really compelling product in their primary money makers (American Accord and the TSX/ROW Accord) are going to be sky high. It might also give you a chance to see the new TL. Generationally, this would probably be the point at which there will be the most model cycle overlap between most of the makes and models you are interested in.

 

sorry to hear you had bad experiences with your acura dealer but that does not mean all acura dealers are bad. There are bad and good ones with all brands. I think the one I deal with (lehigh valley acura in Pa) is excellant and go out of there way to get things done.

 

I looked at the IS250 and TSX when I was car shopping in December.

I went with the TSX since,

1. IS250 was a V6, but seemed slower than the TSX.

2. TSX came in 6spd manual. IS does also, but is very low popularity. Dealer would order one if I signed my papers. They only sold one since it came out.

3. IS250 came with wooden interior, which I hate.

4. TSX came with HID's and all the other goodies for a lower price.

5. IS350 is too high of a price for me, and I wanted to pay in cash, and not have any debt. (although it was painful) TSX was in my price range for what I could afford.

 

What do you guys think about leasing a TSX for 24 months, 15K miles/year just to get me over the hump of the new Accord and new TSX coming out later this year and a year from now, respectively?

I could probably lease an 07 w/navi for around $450 for the 24 month lease or $320 for a 36 month lease.

 

That two year lease deal is horrible, your paying as much as I did on my car that I had for 3.5 years and put 42k miles on. Yes it was more out of pocket it up front, but when I sold the car it cost me about what that two year lease costs, my cost included tax, which that deal probably does not.

Your really mind fucking this, drive them all and get the car you like the best, if you play the game of waiting for the next best thing you'll not only never get a car, you'll never be happy with one and be paying a premium every step of the way. For me I owned a TSX and it was a great car, I looked at a 328i, IS350, TL and the new G35 made the choice VERY easy for me. With 7k miles on my new G I am now getting 21MPG, which is pretty good for a car with 300+bhp. If the current G was available when I bought my TSX I would have gotten it instead, every compliant I had about the old G they not only addressed but surpassed my expectation. Its not a perfect car by any means, but for value in its segment its a no brainer. And resale value on G's and M's is superb, so again no reason to worry about it; though you can expect residual's to drop a bit on the TSX because its a 3 year old platform, and when the new body style comes out they will start to tank, much like the first gen G35s did.

 

If you have already done 1-4, than go ahead and spend the max you can on your car, otherwise, tone it down, buy the TSX, and work on 1-4.[/QUOTE]






I agree... Honest, Lexus is just Toyota is Jap and it is quite being over-prised... just for the sack of the brand..... also, the interior is soooooo small and you will feel much roomy in the TSX.

Unless if you have too much money to spend.... otherwise, TSX is great

 

I didn't end up test-driving the IS because I thought it was expensive feature-wise, and if I wanted to pay that much, I'd probably end up getting a 3-series BMW, or maybe the G35. But in the end, I didn't think any of those was a smart use of money, but that's just me. The G35 is a great bang-for-the-buck buy. But I thought there were some cheaper cars that I could have been happy with too. The TSX just seemed to hit the "sweet spot" of sportiness, comfort, and value.

And yeah, it needs summer tires.

 

I went thru the exact same situation as you and I live in the same area (MD). I am a toyota guy (see my siggy) and the Lexus exterior is great. But I wanted an allweather vehicle (i.e.. no rear wheel drive). I also threw out the TL because its too large, costs more, and didnt have a fold down seat (once you own a series of hatchbacks its impossible to live with just a trunk).

I ended up (obviously) with a M/T TSX. And the seat folding down is a huge +. I only missed my Tc when I made a trip to the landfill this weekend. If I had another 10K to spend I would have gotten the AWD IS but it was too much money for too little more car (and I would be stuck with an auto)

Tim Plessing
Columbia, MD

1990 celica turbo alltrac - blue/blue cloth - 152K - Under restoration
1993 MR2 turbo - blue/black leather - 57K
2005 Scion Tc - 5 spd, SAB - Traded in
2006 Acura TSX, 6 spd, Navigation

 

Thanks for the opinion Boosted. Where did you buy your car?

 

I live in Harrisburg PA, but i actually work in Mechanicsburg PA, at Bobby Rahal Lexus..

Its pretty neat to work for an auto park as large as ours, because we have Bobby Rahal Acura, and i get my discount there.. So thats why im getting an Acura

 

I'd rather get IS350 for 39k.....43k if u want it fully loaded....
IS250 what a joke........

or get a G37

 

I bought it from Laurel MD (Tischer ?). I also was talking to Radley in VA (they had 4 manual 2006's left) but decided to buy local. Black wasnt my first choice in color but it wasnt last either. It was darn hard to find a manual (very easy to find an auto)

Tim Plessing
Columbia, MD

1990 celica turbo alltrac - blue/blue cloth - 152K - Under restoration
1993 MR2 turbo - blue/black leather - 57K
2005 Scion Tc - 5 spd, SAB - Traded in
2006 Acura TSX, 6 spd, Navigation

 

I was in the same spot before I bought the TSX. I drove both and was impressed with the fit and finish in the IS but the 6 cylinders I drove have all been Honda's so when I compared the IS250's miserly 205hp 6 cylinder I was more than disappointed. I am 6'0 tall and the IS felt small and confined which to me is an annoyance in a car that is overall larger than the TSX. The back seat was more worthless than my TSX, the TSX can fit adults in the back with the fronts moved forward a bit, for me to fit in the IS back seats I had to move the front seat uncomforably close to the dash which was another turn off. Also the push button start was just a pain, get in and push a damn button and wait for the "opening ceremony" for the gauges, waste of time IMO. I want to get in my car and start it and go! not wait for the gauges to flick around and be cute lol.

There are far more "toys" availiable for the TSX so you can truely take that car and after some money, about the money you'd blow on the IS and make it a whole new car! You can find plenty info on mods and what works and what doesn't on here. Body style wise the TSX is still more attractive, the rear lights on the IS look like insects, or (no offence) asians =P lol. The IS also has more of a "boaty" appearance compared to the TSX. Handeling the TSX is much better, but if you want a cush ride then Lexus is the way to go, plus one negative of the TSX is road noise, but like I said I have only driven Honda's and they all are noisy, then I slap an exhaust on them and make em noisyer so noise is no issue to me.

IS had a nicer sound system, but I am passed stereo's in my life, if it plays CD's it works for me. Navi on the TSX is FAR more advanced than lexus and better looking IMO, plus I think Acura is using Alpine for navi and Lexus uses Pioneer (correct me if I'm wrong) but I'd take Alpine over Pioneer any day of the week. Plus the TSX just looks mean compared to the IS, the IS looks like it wants to be mean but is still a cuddly kitten.

So anyways that's my opinion on the two, a bit long I know but i wanted to be comprehensive for ya and let you know why I took the TSX over the IS, good luck either way! Anything over the TC will feel great to you!

 

That's the nicest Dodge I've seen since they discontinued the Dart.

 

I just went through this process last weekend! The IS is SEXY! But it's also expensive, doesn't run any better than the TSX, and the manual transmission in the IS isn't as good as in the TSX. Both of them are low on power as far as I'm concerned (I also have a S2000, but even my Tacoma will hand the TSX it's ass). In my opinion the TSX is a better value and that's why I bought it over the IS. Get it with navi and you'll be happy.

Mark

 

I saw in another post that you just bought yours in Cali. How much did you pay before TT&L?

 

Nogard13,

I appreciate the decision you have to make - I too considered the IS 250 - in fact was my front-runner until I drove the TSX. I, like you, could afford 35K if I wanted (not that I'm rolling in it by any means, but cars in that price range are within my means without having to eat tuna fish and top ramen). For me, it came down to do I really want to spend $5K on cooled seats and a particular look? On a 3 year loan that's ~$167 per month. So the question is, what other things could you do with that money over 3 years? Add to it cheaper insurance (I'm assuming) and gas costs. What if it was a $200 / month proposition? If you're fighting your frugal side vs. your want side, how did you go about your other major purchases? Was your condo a "TSX" or "IS250"? Were you happy with the decision?

You may also want to look ahead to what life may have in store for you in the next 3-5 years. Will you marry? Have kids? To me, the lower payment gives me more choices and options. I have a nice car, but I'm not a slave to it. Maybe I wanted the IS more, or a 3-series, or a.....but you know for me I'd rather have the TSX and have more choices that pour it all into a car.

BTW I found an 06 TSX used with 5K miles - paid $26500. Made the decision very easy. Good luck with your decision!

 

Thanks 1Louder.

You are absolutely right and that's why I think that I'm going with the TSX. I've even changed the background picture on my laptop to the TSX's cockpit. Every time I log on I get this little kid at christmas feeling just by looking at that picture.

I still wish they would've figured out another place to put the buttons on the bottom of the steering wheel (the one for the MID and the Bluetooth) but, other than that, it's a very, very handsome cockpit.

I am not buying my car until the summer (June or July) so I might just be lucky enough to get a glimpse at what the 2008 model changes will be and maybe, just maybe, what the 2009s will look like.

 

Good choice. I just wanted to add that the TSX will age gracefully - the Lexus front end already looks a bit dated. The other good point is the actual fuel economy in normal driving conditions is better in the TSX - a buddy has an IS250 and his car consumes about 15% more fuel than me and lastly I think the TSX's material quality is better than the IS - which is suprising but I've noticed a bit of a slide in Lexus and even Audi's material quality in recent years.

 

Hi Nogard13,

2006, 6MT, Milano Red/Ebony with Navi, only 15 miles on the clock for 25,563 before tax and license. $28,000 out the door.

 

Well guys, just wanted to let you know that I made up my mind. Not only that, but I actually went out and got my TSX this weekend (I had some knee trouble on Tuesday when I went out with the g/f in my old car and she can't drive a stick so I had to drive in pain).

So, here she is:

 

Congratulations!

 

congrats!

 

Looks great nogard13! We want details! Got Nav? Where did you get it?

 

What car again did you sell to get the TSX?

 

Is it June already? Man this summer is flying by.

Congrats on your new car. Looks nice

 

Congratulations on a fine choice!!

I took my TSX out yesterday along the shore with some dips and curves and man oh man, after over 2 years of ownership, I still absolutely positively LOVE this car as much as I did the day I picked it up from the dealership.

 

Yes, I got Nav and floor matts for $28,032 plus TT&L. I traded in my tC and got $13,000 and I owed $3461 on it so I made almost $9500 on my trade in.


I posted the reason why I went for it early. I have left knee (and back) problems and my knee started to act up Tuesday night when I was out with my g/f. Since she can't drive a stick, I had to drive home in pain. Obviously it made it worse which lead to me not sleeping much that night and having to take a day of vacation at work the next day. It would've been much less severe if I had an auto that she could've driven home. Sooooo, that's why I upped my purchase time.

Now I can't wait for my USA Spec to get here so I can hook my iPod up and be able to keep it in my glove box.

 

Oh, btw, I bought it at Radley Acura which give you free oil changes for as long as you own your car. Saving $30 4 times a year is a $120 a year savings. Over the 5-year payoff of the car, that is a savings of $600! It really adds up.

 

she's a beauty.....

 

That's a great savings!

 

congratulations! hope you enjoy your new ride! and you shoudl get that knee checked out.. don't see many 98 year olds driving stick these days