2003 Lexus IS300 from North America - Comments

- The tires wear out quickly

- Not realibe as first thought

- The Suede seats starting to look worn (dirty look)

I bought this car basically because I couldn't afford a BMW 3 Series at the time and this car was my second choice.

This car is a cheap knock off of a BMW series, Its not engineered as well as a BMW, and costs more to service. The tires worned out at 20,000km, and cost me $1000 to replace them with better tires. The interior layout is ugly, seats look dirty, and intrument panel is a joke. I used to own a 1996 BMW 318i with 4 cyl 1.9litre 138hp, and that felt more sporty and reliable than this car. I hope to trade this car in for a 2005 BMW 330i with the "M" performance package in the near future.

I am thinking of buying an IS300. It seems strange that these comments like "ugly interior, instrument panel a joke and dirty seats" should have been obvious to the buyer before he/she bought the car. Why did he/she buy it in the first place if these were important factors?

Second, the tires that are on the standard IS300 models I am looking at are the highest rated tires. Not sure why they would wear out so quickly. Could it be because of the driving habits?

I have a 2001 IS with over 100,000 miles and no major issues (replaced one O2 sensor) -- knock on wood... My first set of tires got way over 20,000 miles, but they do have a warning on the windows saying they are performance tires that may get less than 20,000 miles.

The price point of an IS300 to a 330i to an M3 is very different -- interesting that you got the IS300 because you couldn't afford the 330, but now you are trading up to an M3. The M3 is awesome, but this begins to become a religious argument. Are you more interested in the 'zero defect', high quality of a Toyota / Lexus or the fast to market, higher-performance BMW. BMW is notorious for sending cars to market before being thoroughly tested and worrying about the problems (especially electrical) later. That is the main reason I went with the Lexus...

Performance, price, reliability and resale will all go against you if you stray away from your current IS300. Then there is the new 2006 IS250 and IS350...How will they perform against the Bimmers? What do the trade publications say? Time will tell.

It really sounds as if you and your Lexus had some personality conflicts. I sense anger and animosity. You should have separated from your Lexus a while back. Sounds like your IS300 brothers will not miss you. I'm sure BMW would love to sell you a brand new '05 or '06, performance 330i or M3:-) Too bad I don't work for BMW, ca-ching! Thank you very much.

I have only heard good things about the IS300, Lexus added the one feature the car originally lacked - a manual trans in 2002. As for your issues with the car, what reliability issues did you have and why haven't you listed them?

Of course the BMW has a much higher quality, let's compare a Sentra and 350z to see which has more options and higher quality. You get what you pay for. That said, the 2JZ-GE inline 6 is a proven engine that has been used in various Toyotas since the early 90s. It's reliable and the rest of the car should last just as long as the engine. Repairs will be expensive, but show me a BMW dealer that won't charge just as much, if not more, for repairs.

You mentioned that the escaine seats became dirty looking. What color interior did you have? I have the black escaine interior and I have two children. We use my IS300 as a daily driver and to this day (75k miles) the seats still look superbly clean and spankin' new. I don't see how you making your seats dirty can be labeled as something wrong with this car. That can be said towards ANY car!? Also, it's a little hard to believe that you expected more reliability out of this fine vehicle. What exactly has gone wrong with it? 75k miles on mine and I've only changed tires and oil. It also makes no sense to me that you'd think the interior is ugly, yet you purchased the car. I would never spend $30k on a car if it didn't please me at least 95%. There are far too many other cars out there within that price range that can be had as well. Did you really even own an IS300?

This car is amazing. I have a 2001 IS300 and I've never had any problems with it. The IS300 is a blast to drive, but granted if you want the higher performance BMW, be ready to shell out the money for maintenance. BMW = Bring My Wallet.

I agree, why would you go and buy the car if the interior was "a joke" to you??.. That's on you.. I have an 01 IS with over 100,000 miles on it and it's still going strong.. the only thing I've had to do is an oil change and replace tires.. and on the seat topic, my interior is tan and still looks brand new!... try taking better care of your car buddy!..

I've raced plenty of 330's, haven't lost yet (granted my car isn't stock, just a ram intake & new ECU, not much)

I owned an IS 300 2003.. so far I have put 105k miles on it...

High performance tires can last you up to 30k.. if you rotate every 6000 miles, inflated them with nitro (you save gas too)... make sure to get any good pair and not spend over 500 bucks.. (Rinken Raptors or FUZION HR1 are good). It originally came with some TOYO, but I did not feel like paying 800 for a set that will last me only one year...

I believed that at 115K I have to change the timing belt.. but the car will last me another 100k miles..

The interior tends to get damaged quickly.. but if you are not a clean person FORGET IT >>> Car washes are cheap; 10 bucks a month is worth your investment...