DANSLEX

Not needed in Aus obviously... only when your wipers have frozen onto the windscreen lol.

I'm 29, and if I can speak on behalf of other gen y's out there, the IS is probably the only model Lexus I would buy. Indeed GS, LS and LX are for the retired (or close to) folk. Have never seen a young(ish) person drive one. They're great cars, but realistically they're too expensive for young people, and don't really appeal to our demographic. RX is for the soccer mums / families. I know I'm generalising. Each time I see an IS on the road, it seems to have an equal mix of various ages etc.

Well, if you really do use it mainly for work, then no problem, there's various methods you can claim it for tax. For people who do not use their cars for work much at all, novated leases are the only way. Here's a small review of the IS350: http://www.caradvice.com.au/89529/lexus-is-350-review/ Looks pretty good, can't wait to drive one!!

i'll pass thanks..... over 2k is a bit much!!! Wait a couple of months and the Chinese will have an exact same copy on ebay for one tenth of the price :)

Cool. Let us know if you get the same rubbing issue.

Oh really? They're great wheels hey. They do feel heavier in comparison to stockies though. I'm not really sure how to fix the rubbing issue. It is a minor rub though, and only happens ocasionally so it hasn't bothered me really all that much. I presume yours rub also? Grrr, had too many committments lately, and not enough cash for fun *sigh* :( I was gonna chuck in cheapie $500 Kings springs, but decided to get something quality that costs a bit more. As soon as it happens I'll post them up. Shoudl look decent then.

Yeah, some companies impose too many restrictions, for no logical reason. I started working at a new place not too long ago now, and I got all of these stupid restrictions removed, now we can buy what we like, where we like, and use whoever we like for the lease. Saves you a fortune. You'll find you will be better off just going to a bank, asking them do do a non-maintained novated lease, you take care of the running costs and sort out your employee contribution side for FBT etc (which will be the same result as a fully maintained lease). I've found those car fleet places are a rip off. The one we had at our workplace, while it was claiming to charge 9-odd % interest on the lease, when you factor all the administration fees and stuff, the effective interest rate was actually 17%, which is outrageous. Got a novated lease through a major bank at 9.7% interest, and my lease payment is lower by 200 bucks a month than if I went though the fleet company.

Company hire purcahse as in, you running your own company as a business, and buying a car through it? That coudl work if you do use it for work mainly. Wouldn't apply to employees though, companies don't like to hold cars on their balance sheets. Also, your tax claim would still need to be proportioned, based on business usage, so private portion would not be deductible. If you don't drive the car for work purposes at all, you would have no tax benefits as it would not be deductible. And just because you may use your car for the first three months, and have a log book to prove it, that log book is only valid up to the point your business usage significantly changes. Lastly, if you do use your car for work purposes mainly, novated lease in your private company can still work. Instead of using the statutory formula method for working out FBT I mentioned previously, instead you can use the operating method, as it then takes into account business use percentage to reduce the taxable value anyway. So for example if you had a 100% business usage vehicle in your company as either novated lease or a hire purchase, the tax effect would be the same. I am generalising a bit, so best to sit down and crunch the numbers to see what works best in your case. :)

Yeah, you really have to makes sure you do the kays, or it can bite your ass hard. I keep track of my kays, each month I do a quick check if I'm on track, no biggie. If I see I'm running behind, I plan a short country trip or something. I wouldn't worry about them changing anything adversely with FBT, not in the short term anyway. There has been a constant mention over the years of changing the way tax it based on the kilometers, as greenies do not like to give greater incentives to drive more (pollution), as that's what novated leases do. I'm guessing they may either flip it the other way around, or more likely just do a flat rate.

I got my IS250 on a novated lease, in my opinion (and for my circumstances) it is the best way to finance a car. End of the day, my tax savings offset the interest on the lease completely, and a lot of the depreciation as well. Basically, the more expensive a car, the more kays you have to do. With a car such as a Lexus, which costs a bit $$, you really have to do 25K kays a year, minimum. Generally the way FBT works, if you do over 25K kays per annum, 11% of the car's value will be taxable. So if you buy a car for say 55K, (5K GST is claimed by leasing company), you finance the 50K, and the taxable value for FBT is 5.5K (11% x 50K). Stamp duty and rego isn't included. (it is 20% for between 15K and 25K kays, and 26% if below 15K kays.) Doing post-tax contributions towards the running cots of the car, will directly reduce the taxable value. So for each dollar spent, the taxable value will come down by a dollar. Doing 25K kays per annum, you'd probably spend: 3K on fuel 1K on insurance 1.5K on maintence/tyres etc 500 on rego and so on. So that's 6K spent already, which means the 5.5K taxable value is reduced to nil. No FBT. In the meantime, you salary sacrifice your lease payments and you save heaps on tax that way. A good benefit is that the resale amount will be much higher than the residual value at the end of the lease, so you'll find when you sell the car, you will pocket a bit of $$, and that will offset your total net of tax lease payments, effectively offseting the depreciation I mentioned above. Tax bracket wiose, it will work even if you're in the 30% tax bracket (i.e. below 80K per annum), though you will get a better benefit the hgiher the tax bracket. Lastly, if you car's value is above the luxury car tax threshold of $57,375 (net of GST), the car will be treated differently in your employer's books for tax, so there may be a slight reduction in your tax benefit. My 2 cents.

There is a mention about radar cruise on the IS350, on the website.

Wrong offset mate, it may rub on the flares. Otherwsie 19" x 10" size is fine.

Given it would have just come out, I doubt any dealer (of any car manufacturer) would be that keen to significantly drop the rrp price. Always worth a try but.

Lexus is good value for money for sure!

Only 5K more than 250?? Awesome!! :) Makes sense though, the car is essentially the same, just different donk...

wow. bit of a difference in choices DANSLEX I miss having more power. I used to have a 300rwhp Soarer few years back and I miss fast accelleration. IS250 is quite a snail in comparison. 135i is a decent car, albeit ugly as hell hence why I prefer the Lexus. I read the price is gonna start in the mid 60s so not too bad. Probably bit more with the satnav and sunroof options, wait and see.

Haha, yep, same here.

Been holding out updating my car for this. Hopefully the price is right, otherwise a used 135i is my next choice.

The dealers had the ipod control thingy available as an option back in around 07. I think it was quite pricey too.

Yeah, I get that too, cold air from the buttons, and a bit from the edge of the door where your arm normally is. It varies depends on how the cabin is pressurised, I think that only happens when air cond is set to recirculate. Would have to check that.

Yeah, some routes it chooses are not the best. What I've noticed is that some roads, which can be considered to be not major, but close enough to major, show up on the satnav as your normal local suburban roads. Perhaps herein lies the problem, as it ignores them and chooses a major road, as opposed to taking a shortcut. I mainly use the satnav if I am heading across to the opposite side of the city, and when I need a specific address or something. If you know your rough way around the city, you should just drive there how you think it's best, and the satnav will readjust itself,a nd let it guide you properly as you come closer to your destination. That's what I do anyway.

Another difference with the X and the Sports Lux (and Prestige for that matter) is that the X doesn't have air-cond seats, just heated. You'll notice the seats aren't perforated, hence no cooling feature.

Expect to pay about 5 to 600 dollars for a standard service. With that, you get a complimentary loan car to use for the day, with full fuel tank. IS250 is a great bang for your buck, when compared to the 3 series or the a4. What you get standard on the lex, you'll be paying thousands in as options in the germans. I'd say, when buying brand new, a similarly specced 3 series or a4, you'd be paying good 30K more. Value for money wise, you can't beat it. Quality wise, Lexus is a notch better as well, though it does have its own minor issues also. Nothing is perfect. The level of service is a LOT better as well. I get about 600 kays out of a tank in the city. About 800 kays in the country, but I got a heavy foot and overtake heaps, so you could do better than that. There are no problems with electrics at all. Haven't really come across any common ones.

Mine rattles a bit in some places, especially the rear roof area. Been to fix it twice, or three times now, lost count. Lost hope too haha. Must be just my car, other IS's I've been in don't rattle at all. Ah well, can't hear it much unless stereo is off so I guess no biggie.

No offence but, are you on crack? Can't take any of what you said seriously.