Here is my experience of ownership of my 2011 IS-F last 10yr, 7 years spent as DD from suburbs to NYC 5 DAYS week. As well as be member of Clublexus and two other forums for 15 yrs, as well as owning other Lexus cars.. The two main issues with ISF are Valley Plate leak, which is nothing more than instead of using gasket Lexus used sealant. Lexus is very good at once identifying issues they create TSB and fix these issues. I've seen Valley plate leakes fixed for $1200 by dealers. The other issue is headers cracking. Now you can be replace them with new headers but they are expensive, they have primarily cats attached . IS-F have 4 cats 2 primary on headers and two secondary attached to exhaust. You can re-welded them if not to bad or replace them with after market headers. If you replace them with PPE or Skikky Headers you get pretty decent increase in power due to restrictive design of oem headers. If you keep factory exhaust no major increase in exhaust note, you get deeper tone. But you do feel bump in power. Labor cost to replace headers I've seen between $600 and $1000 depending on shop and experience its big job. Shop that have experience changing headers can be done in as little as 6hrs not as much experience 8hrs. In 10yrs be member of 3 different IS-F forums only 3 transmission going bad. Engines rock solid when they have gone bad typically its been due to owners e abuse or lack of maintenance. Every thing else if for the most part has been pretty minor issues. Thats why of three, IS-F tend to be most expensive pre owned due to their low maintenance costs. Lexus Identified the problem with the water pumps early on and 90% of them were all replaced by Lexue for free, even cars that were out of warranty. This problem existed in 2008, 2009 and 2010. They redesigned them by 2011 issue was gone. For 10yrs I've done nothing but Routine maintenance brake pads oil tires spark plugs etc. Mind you IS-F has been FBO for 9 yrs! Tuned for several years and NO major issues. At 105k miles I had Lexus do 100k inspection. Car was fine, no issue decided to change belts since I was changing belts I decided to change water pump, idler pulley as well strictly preventive maintenance. Change transmission oil and gear oil and new spark plugs. Had compression test done it passed with flying colors. I could have just changed belts and spark plugs, but I'm keeping my IS-F for another 10yrs. This just guaranteed another 100k plus miles with know issues. I've seen people buy IS-F with 200kplus miles on them with just minor repairs. Pics of my IS-F on IG @weaponisf. M
That gets me pumped! I just recently found out that the Valley Plate was done amongst other routine maintenance, so I'm happy with my purchase. I'll probably end up driving it 100 miles a day if I go back to the office, but for now, it's just an enjoyable car. Where do you get your parts from? i.e I need a suspension :)
@@mannylupercio8194 One of best sources is Figs Engineers they sell just about every suspension component you need or want from their products to top companies such as Ohlins and Penkse coilovers. If your going to DD it I would suggest there 90 durometer LCA, this gets rid of inner tire where that all IS-F IS350 IS250 suffer from. Its due to Lexus using rubber LCA filled with liquid great for soft ride but you end up with LCA having alot of movement especially during braking. This will you money on tires having premature inner tire wear. Another plus is increasing steering feel huge difference way better turn in as well. You will have some increased NVH Noise Vibration Harness but very little its worth it. I have them on my IS-F. RR Racing also sells suspension components they have there own LCA with their own housing design and 95 durometer its also great design but is bit harsher great for those that track their cars or have excellent smooth road conditions. I also used RR Racing LCA still have them in my garage. Both Figs Engineers and RR Racing are great companies extremely helpful great guys at both companies. If you really want to find out more about your IS-F may I suggest joining Clublexus forum, if your ot member already. They cover just about every topic you can think of on IS-F, DIY, Rims and tires, power adder, exhaust, common issue etc.
@@mannylupercio8194 Here are some videos on LCA showing you movement you can also get Figs in 80 durometer if you're just i to cruising around most get 90 through. Figs Engineers Video ruclips.net/video/ZkE_yoFGpco/видео.html RR Racing video ruclips.net/video/C6I9tiI0o2U/видео.html
If you keep your ISF for 20 years, it would be cheaper than 320i!!! (considering the lifespans of both cars) Of course, your ISF is also at least two times, probably three times more fun than 320i...
my 2011 ISF is the best car I have owned - we were doing 165mph down the german autobahn on holiday and you could still talk quietly to each other - it wasnt flat out and wasnt struggling at all. No issues so far after 2 years.....managed to renew the lexus warranty so full extended warrantyy and recovery till 2023 !!! ( that will the last time I can do that tho)
I have to say, I have owned almost 30 cars and I have to agree. It does everything well. While it doesn't do any single thing better than the competition, I'll take what it gives when I don't have to worry about costly repairs every few months. :)
For the valley plate leak you can always try and find if there's a local mechanic willing to do it for way less. Depending on where you live you can try and join your local F club and they might point you to the cheapest mechanic in your area. We have a guy here in Tampa that owns a shop and will fix the Valley Plate leak for $750 and he owns an RCF so he knows the F cars extremely well.
I bought a high mileage ISF because it was a one owner with good maintenance records, and well, because it’s an ISF. Very well built, fun and a sleeper! Like other commenting here plan to keep it for a long time.
Hi Ive bought a 2011 Lexus ISF in July here in South Africa. Awesome car, I dont have any issues, other than the required maintenance and some extra maintenance I decided to get done. I still need to get the drl headlights as mine came with the older gen headlights for some reason.
I had to change the tensioner on my ISF the second day I owned it. Swapped out the water pump while I was at it and it took about 2 hours in the driveway on a Sunday afternoon. It had 114k on it at the time and the repair cost was only a few hundred bucks in parts. It's still a Toyota, Its very straight forward to work on.
@@mannylupercio8194 And drop the engine? For the water pump? Oh no, you just take the intake off and the overflow tank and it's right there in front. It takes longer to do a 1995 civic water pump.
I currently own 2017 GSF(used) which I bought in Nov 2017. My previous car was 2007 G35S(30K miles used) which I bought in 2010. My son is still driving that Nissan(125K miles now) with ZERO issue since 2017. Actually German cars are not bad. The reason why they feel bad is these Japanese cars are doing TOO WELL!!!
The Lexus is by far the most reliable. It's not even a competition. The interior is luxurious and has features that Mercedes and BMW don't even have (real push start, better looking interior etc). I'm at 195k on my IS350 and it still idles so smooth, that you thought it shut off. Lexus ALL the way, and I used to be a die hard Honda guy.
Yeah, not sure Lexus ages, as well as the German cars in terms of styling but that, wouldn't matter to me if I had a Christmas tree on my dash for the entire life of the car. I'd also take Lexus over Acura - feel it's more premium.
![LAVROV's interview with Tucker CARLSON 😁 [Parody]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/mbMemqc-QEk/mqdefault.jpg)
Here is my experience of ownership of my 2011 IS-F last 10yr, 7 years spent as DD from suburbs to NYC 5 DAYS week. As well as be member of Clublexus and two other forums for 15 yrs, as well as owning other Lexus cars.. The two main issues with ISF are Valley Plate leak, which is nothing more than instead of using gasket Lexus used sealant. Lexus is very good at once identifying issues they create TSB and fix these issues. I've seen Valley plate leakes fixed for $1200 by dealers.
The other issue is headers cracking. Now you can be replace them with new headers but they are expensive, they have primarily cats attached . IS-F have 4 cats 2 primary on headers and two secondary attached to exhaust. You can re-welded them if not to bad or replace them with after market headers. If you replace them with PPE or Skikky Headers you get pretty decent increase in power due to restrictive design of oem headers. If you keep factory exhaust no major increase in exhaust note, you get deeper tone. But you do feel bump in power. Labor cost to replace headers I've seen between $600 and $1000 depending on shop and experience its big job. Shop that have experience changing headers can be done in as little as 6hrs not as much experience 8hrs.
In 10yrs be member of 3 different IS-F forums only 3 transmission going bad. Engines rock solid when they have gone bad typically its been due to owners e
abuse or lack of maintenance. Every thing else if for the most part has been pretty minor issues. Thats why of three, IS-F tend to be most expensive pre owned due to their low maintenance costs. Lexus Identified the problem with the water pumps early on and 90% of them were all replaced by Lexue for free, even cars that were out of warranty. This problem existed in 2008, 2009 and 2010. They redesigned them by 2011 issue was gone. For 10yrs I've done nothing but Routine maintenance brake pads oil tires spark plugs etc. Mind you IS-F has been FBO for 9 yrs! Tuned for several years and NO major issues. At 105k miles I had Lexus do 100k inspection. Car was fine, no issue decided to change belts since I was changing belts I decided to change water pump, idler pulley as well strictly preventive maintenance. Change transmission oil and gear oil and new spark plugs. Had compression test done it passed with flying colors.
I could have just changed belts and spark plugs, but I'm keeping my IS-F for another 10yrs. This just guaranteed another 100k plus miles with know issues. I've seen people buy IS-F with 200kplus miles on them with just minor repairs. Pics of my IS-F on IG @weaponisf.
M
That gets me pumped! I just recently found out that the Valley Plate was done amongst other routine maintenance, so I'm happy with my purchase. I'll probably end up driving it 100 miles a day if I go back to the office, but for now, it's just an enjoyable car. Where do you get your parts from? i.e I need a suspension :)
@@mannylupercio8194 One of best sources is Figs Engineers they sell just about every suspension component you need or want from their products to top companies such as Ohlins and Penkse coilovers. If your going to DD it I would suggest there 90 durometer LCA, this gets rid of inner tire where that all IS-F IS350 IS250 suffer from. Its due to Lexus using rubber LCA filled with liquid great for soft ride but you end up with LCA having alot of movement especially during braking. This will you money on tires having premature inner tire wear. Another plus is increasing steering feel huge difference way better turn in as well. You will have some increased NVH Noise Vibration Harness but very little its worth it. I have them on my IS-F. RR Racing also sells suspension components they have there own LCA with their own housing design and 95 durometer its also great design but is bit harsher great for those that track their cars or have excellent smooth road conditions. I also used RR Racing LCA still have them in my garage. Both Figs Engineers and RR Racing are great companies extremely helpful great guys at both companies. If you really want to find out more about your IS-F may I suggest joining Clublexus forum, if your ot member already. They cover just about every topic you can think of on IS-F, DIY, Rims and tires, power adder, exhaust, common issue etc.
@@mannylupercio8194 Here are some videos on LCA showing you movement you can also get Figs in 80 durometer if you're just i to cruising around most get 90 through. Figs Engineers Video ruclips.net/video/ZkE_yoFGpco/видео.html RR Racing video ruclips.net/video/C6I9tiI0o2U/видео.html
If you keep your ISF for 20 years, it would be cheaper than 320i!!! (considering the lifespans of both cars) Of course, your ISF is also at least two times, probably three times more fun than 320i...
@@donaldlin586 That’s the plan, thanks Donald! I’d pick a Lexus every day of the week.
I just raced an ISF yesterday. They’re clean looking cars for sure. I was surprised they had a V8!
What do you drive?
@@mannylupercio8194 MK7 Golf R. The race with the ISF is on my channel if you wanna see it!
my 2011 ISF is the best car I have owned - we were doing 165mph down the german autobahn on holiday and you could still talk quietly to each other - it wasnt flat out and wasnt struggling at all. No issues so far after 2 years.....managed to renew the lexus warranty so full extended warrantyy and recovery till 2023 !!! ( that will the last time I can do that tho)
I have to say, I have owned almost 30 cars and I have to agree. It does everything well. While it doesn't do any single thing better than the competition, I'll take what it gives when I don't have to worry about costly repairs every few months. :)
For the valley plate leak you can always try and find if there's a local mechanic willing to do it for way less. Depending on where you live you can try and join your local F club and they might point you to the cheapest mechanic in your area. We have a guy here in Tampa that owns a shop and will fix the Valley Plate leak for $750 and he owns an RCF so he knows the F cars extremely well.
I’ll have to check that out if it comes down to it, but found out mine was done 30k miles ago so I’m good for now. 🥳
I bought a high mileage ISF because it was a one owner with good maintenance records, and well, because it’s an ISF. Very well built, fun and a sleeper! Like other commenting here plan to keep it for a long time.
Man, fuck the vanos issues, new main bearings every 50k miles is not reliable.
You’ve experienced this in your ISF?
@@mannylupercio8194 I think it's a common issue with m3s and m5s
Hi Ive bought a 2011 Lexus ISF in July here in South Africa.
Awesome car, I dont have any issues, other than the required maintenance and some extra maintenance I decided to get done.
I still need to get the drl headlights as mine came with the older gen headlights for some reason.
I had to change the tensioner on my ISF the second day I owned it. Swapped out the water pump while I was at it and it took about 2 hours in the driveway on a Sunday afternoon. It had 114k on it at the time and the repair cost was only a few hundred bucks in parts. It's still a Toyota, Its very straight forward to work on.
I’ve heard both - it’s easy but some parts are hard to get to and at times it’s easier to just drop the engine. That’s some bad luck, though!
@@mannylupercio8194 if I had time to wait on the parts I could have spent half of what I did. But I got them that day from lexus and paid the premium.
@@mannylupercio8194 And drop the engine? For the water pump? Oh no, you just take the intake off and the overflow tank and it's right there in front. It takes longer to do a 1995 civic water pump.
I currently own 2017 GSF(used) which I bought in Nov 2017. My previous car was 2007 G35S(30K miles used) which I bought in 2010. My son is still driving that Nissan(125K miles now) with ZERO issue since 2017.
Actually German cars are not bad. The reason why they feel bad is these Japanese cars are doing TOO WELL!!!
I had a G37 myself and regret selling it most days. They’re fun! They just depreciate so fast and aren’t as fine tuned like these 3 sadly IMO.
Do you have the link for the Lexus ISF buyers guide? Please post it here
www.clublexus.com/forums/is-f-2008-2014/898593-purchasing-a-used-isf-the-buyer-s-guide.html
Here ya go!
The Lexus is by far the most reliable. It's not even a competition. The interior is luxurious and has features that Mercedes and BMW don't even have (real push start, better looking interior etc). I'm at 195k on my IS350 and it still idles so smooth, that you thought it shut off. Lexus ALL the way, and I used to be a die hard Honda guy.
Yeah, not sure Lexus ages, as well as the German cars in terms of styling but that, wouldn't matter to me if I had a Christmas tree on my dash for the entire life of the car. I'd also take Lexus over Acura - feel it's more premium.