r/LexusIS500

Hey everyone, looking for some real-world advice on our household car situation!

Our Situation & Commute Dilemma:
Current Setup: We currently share one car—a 2016 Lexus RX 350 (~88k miles).

My Drive: Totaled loss my Honda Civic in 2023 and worked remotely until recently. Now I’m on a hybrid schedule (2–3 days in office). My commute is 1 hour each way. Main goals: reliable commuter, enjoy the ride, easy for errands/groceries.

Husband’s Drive: Also hybrid (2–3 days in office), but his commute is only 20 minutes away. When our office days overlap, he has to sit around waiting for me to get off work @ 4:00 PM or so I can drive over to pick him up.

His Preferences: He isn't in a huge rush because the RX works fine for now, but he wants raw power, speed, and performance. He finds the standard V6 boring (feels similar to our RX 350). He’s been eyeing the BMW M340i and 350i

Budget & Options: My budget for my own car is $60k, while my husband is comfortable spending up to $100k for his own performance vehicle if we buy separately. I personally love the styling of the Lexus IS lineup over BMW.

We are weighing three main paths:

Lexus IS 350 F Sport: Practical, gorgeous looks, rock-solid reliability, but definitely won't satisfy my husband's itch for speed when he drives it.

Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance: Blends the sharp Lexus aesthetic I love with a naturally aspirated V8 speed/power that hits his performance needs.

Buy two separate cars entirely: Keep the RX 350, I get my dedicated comfortable commuter, and he gets his own performance car (like the M340i) so we stop trying to compromise on a single vehicle and fix our commute timing conflict.

Questions for the community:
is the IS 500 comfortable and practical as a daily driver, or does the IS 350 make way more sense?

Has anyone cross-shopped the Lexus IS 350/500 vs. BMW M340i? How do they compare for someone prioritizing fun vs. daily comfort?

For couples with vastly different commute distances and car tastes, did buying two separate tailored cars end up being a much better move than sharing/compromising?

For the women—did you start out not caring about speed/performance, but end up loving a fast car once you daily-drove one?

Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!

Hey everyone,

I'd really appreciate some advice here, because I'm honestly torn.

I bought my IS500 Ultimate Edition new at MSRP and absolutely love it. It sounds amazing, it's fun to drive, and it looks incredible. I will put about 25,000 miles a year on my cars and I don't have any real complaints, including the transmission. In Sport+ and manual mode I think it shifts just fine, and I have a pretty high bar for transmissions after driving a number of dual-clutch exotics on track.

It's my daily driver, mostly on long, straight roads in SE Florida. I ended up in an IS500 because my previous car, an Isle of Man Green G82 M4 xDrive, was T-boned and totaled. I loved that car, but I'm very particular about spec and couldn't find the same one at a good price.

I went with an IS350 since I'd had one back in 2015 and liked it as a daily, but I quickly started craving the NA V8. Shortly after, I became friends with the manager at the dealership, who got me an IS500 UE at MSRP and gave me exactly what I'd paid for the IS350 a month earlier as trade-in value. The UE now has 13k miles, is paid off, and has a 100,000-mile warranty.

My one gripe is the interior ( which is important as my car is like my second home ). It doesn't feel anything like a $70k car, and it's basically the same as a base IS350 you can get for under $40k.

I loved the performance of the G82, and when mine was totaled I realized how well they hold their value, especially with a desirable spec. Insurance paid me exactly what I'd paid for the car two years earlier, even with 10k more miles on it. The G80 xDrive is also a very reliable platform, insanely fast, and has a great interior.

Then I got really lucky. I got a MY2027 M3 xdrive allocation at MSRP in SE Florida isn't easy because demand is so high, and even with an allocation you're usually waiting about a year. When I called my local BMW dealer in mid-September, the salesperson had just gotten off the phone with someone who backed out of a build that was about to go into production. I had one day to change the spec. I put down a $2,500 refundable deposit, built the car exactly how I wanted it, and it's scheduled to arrive at the dealership November 1, which is pretty much unheard of.

In a perfect world I'd keep both, since having a fun car that holds its value matters to me. But paying for two insurance policies, and giving up about $6,000 in tax savings by not trading in the UE, is a lot of money to throw away.

Part of me wants to trade the UE in for the G80 xdrive, then later pick up a nice used 2023+ RC F as a second car. I love the RC F too, and it would keep miles off the M3. Gas prices aren't really important to me as I don't pay for it.

What would you do?

TL;DR: I have a paid-off IS500 UE with 13k miles that I love but the interior feels cheap for the price. I also have an MSRP 2027 G80 M3 xDrive arriving November 1 ( one month from this post ).

Should I trade the UE in (and save about $6k in taxes), keep both, or trade and add a used RC F later?

Hello, my Lexus IS500 was stolen on Monday night (09/28). Unfortunately like an idiot, I never got it enrolled on the Lexus app, and I had originally bought it used. I'm trying to get in touch with the original owner if possible, as the app still has them registered as the active user.

I know I cannot enroll at this time as I need to be in the car to do so, but hopefully this community can find them and see if they can provide details to who might still have access.

2022 USB Lexus IS500. Originally purchased around Garland, TX. VIN JTHAP1D20N5001806.

Hello everyone,
I have Blue Vector IS500 with 22k km on it, full PPF super clean car. There is a 2021 RCF Track edition with only 17k km on it, I’m very tempted to add a bit cash and trade my is500 for the RCF.

I would love to hear some feedbacks.

Thanks