I'm New ! Hello !

[tony_hetherington]

Hello everybody!

Well this is officially my first post!

I'm 22yrs old and currently own a '93L stage III Escort Cosworth. I've had the car 2 1/2yrs and have decided to sell it. I only use it at weekends and mostly during the summer and drive a 1.1L 205 XL during the week!!!

I intend to sell both and get myself a car which I will use each day. I'm SERIOUSLY considering an IS200.

HOWEVER.....I dont know TOO much about them. I'm looking at not spending too much. This is my list of "wants" but realise I might be pushing it a little. See what you think....

year 2000 or newer

<50,000miles

<= £13k

manual

CD player

now.....I'm learning daily about different specs, and I rather like the spec of the IS200 sport. What sort of things should I know / look out for? Am I just being too hopeful and won't get one for the sort of money I'm looking to spend?

All information you could possible give me really would be a help.

I'm looking to buy end jan/early feb but am starting to learn and research now so I do it right.

Once again, thanks for any help.

Tony

[Chris.S]

Welcome to the club Tony !

You've come to the right place

1st thing I'd be very supprised if you were able to get an IS200 Sport (2000 or newer) with less than 50,000 miles on for less than 13k

Secondly all IS200 come with a six disc indash autochanger as standard so there's no worries there

[Matthew_McNally]

I'm looking at not spending too much. This is my list of "wants" but realise I might be pushing it a little. See what you think....

year 2000 or newer

<50,000miles

<= £13k

manual

CD player

Tony

welcome to the club mate.

The IS200 is a great car - and I'm sure you'd like it (I really like mine)

unfortunately (and I'm no expert) I don't think you would get a one year old car for less than 13 grand

:(

I'm sure other, more knowledgeable people will repsond, with better answers - but I think a 2000 or newer sport would go for more than £13k

[tony_hetherington]

Thanks for the reply.

Was hoping I wasnt going to get told that, but ok - seems I have to think otherwise!?

The reason I want low miles is that cars I've had to date (ESPECIALLY my current Escort) have all been high maintenance cars. Don't get me wrong - I've enjoyed my Escort tremendously, but to worry that it will break every time you turn the key isn't too reassuring, and spending 000's on it when things go wrong is very difficult to keep doing. So the reason I look for low (relatively) miles is to not have to worry about those issues.

Better way to put it then.....are >50,000mile IS200 sports still fairly reliable? I understand they have a good build quality, so am I (relatively) safe getting myself a standard nicely looked after model?

Obviously the one thing I will miss is the speed - and the attention - but slowly and surely I need a more realistic car and I love the looks of an IS200!

Thanks again for your comments, and here's to me learning more!

[Chris.S]

I've done some investigating and you should be able to pick up a 2000(V) or (W) for under 13k with approx 50,000 miles

have a look on :- www.autotrader.co.uk

[tony_hetherington]

Yeah, I'm looking on autotrader also!

I've picked up this page.....

Click this

and there's some nice examples. Still very unsure of options, or wheels. As I understand it all IS200 SPORTS come with leather, boot spoiler, air con, electrics etc anyway. They came with 17" wheels as std (over the IS200 16" wheels) but I sometimes see ones with 18" wheels - is this an aftermarket thing, or just a factory option?

[Chris.S]

The blue one with 35,000 miles doesn't look bad and for only 12,300

[Chris.S]

18" alloys are only an option on 2001 on,spec IS200 sports as a styling pack

[tony_hetherington]

That caught my attention too!

Also the black one with 36k for £12,899

What is the most sought after colour? I personally like the blue and black, but not too keen on getting them if it will be a pain to sell in a couple of years.

[Chris.S]

Silver and blue are the most common colours followed closely by black and granite sky,green seems to be least popular on the Sport

[tony_hetherington]

Thank you.

So what should I look out for? What are the problem areas on a mid-mileage IS200 Sport?

Things like locks or lights or bulbs etc. etc. - I'm sure you all have many experiences of the car's good points but also bad points....please tell all!?!

Thanks again

Tony

[Chris.S]

To be honest Tony there isn't a lot that goes wrong with them

The main things are

Stonechips

pitted alloys

general tyre wear

But I'm sure other owners have different opinions

try and find something with full service history

[marshy]

I'm 22yrs old and currently own a '93L stage III Escort Cosworth.

I'm SERIOUSLY considering an IS200.

year 2000 or newer

<50,000miles

<= £13k

manual

CD player

I'm looking to buy end jan/early feb but am starting to learn and research now so I do it right.

Have you got an insurance quote yet?

Servicing is every 10000 miles and the 60000 is a biggie. You don't really want to be lumbered with that shortly after buying the vehicle.

I have just bought a 2000 (X) IS200 SE with 20000 miles in Astral Black as an Approved Used Lexus from a dealer. I paid £14650. The Sports were quite a bit more expensive with no real gain. It's not faster, insurance is higher and you end up paying for bits of plastic, drilled pedals and smoked rear windows.

From the research I have done you need to look mainly for a juddering clutch. If you get to test drive one, try a 1st gear pull off with almost no throttle.

[tony_hetherington]

Hi

I have an insurance quote - £800 from Elephant. I'll be honest - insurance isn't my biggest worry. I owned an Esc Cos from 19 and paid £4150 the first yr, £2300 the second, so whatever happens my insurance costs will go down !!!

I understand your point about the sports not being any quicker - I read the IS200 spec sheet posted on here. It's a valid point, but I do want a more sporty looking car (look at what I've been used to for 2 1/2yrs!)

Thanks for the point about servicing and the 60k. What sort of money (ROUGHLY - I realise regional variations) would I be looking at for 10k services and the 60k service?

Oh, and point noted about the juddery clutch, pitted alloys, stone chips etc - thank you. These are the things I'm learning about and making a list for myself so I may be more knowledgable when it comes to buying (2-3 months)

Thanks again for all your help and replies

Tony

[ricky_is200]

The sport doesn't really look much more sporty, it has the same bumbers, trim. wheels. Its only the later models that had a slightly slower ride.

It does have a small slip spoiler, smoked rear windows but you could fit these quite cheaply.

[tony_hetherington]

I thought a main advantage of going for the sport was that they came with 17's as standard rather than 16's?

Thanks for your thoughts

Tony

[Chris.S]

The SE is virtually the same spec as the Sport but doesn't have darkened rear windows,limited slip differential,two tone steering wheel,rear lip spoiler and aluminium pedals

[javadude]

I thought a main advantage of going for the sport was that they came with 17's as standard rather than 16's?

The SE has 17's as standard - it's only the base edition (and bizarrely the IS200 Sportcross) that has 16's.

[marshy]

Thanks for the point about servicing and the 60k. What sort of money (ROUGHLY - I realise regional variations) would I be looking at for 10k services and the 60k service?

On the odd mileage (10k, 30k, 50k etc) there is an oil change and lots of inspections, I have been quoted figures around the £150-£200 mark for these.

Even ones range from £250 - £550.

[Claire G]

The SE is virtually the same spec as the Sport but doesn't have darkened rear windows,limited slip differential,two tone steering wheel,rear lip spoiler and aluminium pedals

The sport is slightly lower and does look quite sporty - it depends what you are after really. It may be cheaper for you to get an SE and tint the windows, add a lip spoiler etc as and when you can afford it. Some of the guys here have added an HKS exhaust etc and that looks really good.

[ricky_is200]

The sport is slightly lower and does look quite sporty - it depends what you are after really.

Only on the later models...

[heath]

Hi

My advise is only buy a second hand low mileage motor from a full Lexus dealer as the car is prepared as new my 3yr old 20k was delivered as if out of box,stuck private plate and it looks like a 2002 model, there ruling is that any car they sell must be as new or if not better, very high standards, all my stone chips were removed and alloys re-ground better then new,also the years warrany you get far out ways that of a normal dealer and what with the Cd player being a little like a women,I would recommend this route as youve read 1: Pitting of alloys if this happens they will change them. 2: Stone chips, soft paint work, these are the only things i can fault this motor for other then this AMAZING !!!!!!!! go get one ...still rear sight on roads .....

Remember resale value is always going to be high as in demand... All best. B)

[UltraViolet]

With the cash you are spending, don't limit yourself to only looking at the sport.... SE or Sport both are almost identical - the only real difference is the LSD on the sport - but since the car isn't exactly 'hot' - the LSD is a bit overkill, and certainly I've never felt the need for an LSD on a car this heavy with only 150bhp.

The LSD is also a heavy peice of kit, so the sport has a lower power to weight ratio than the SE.

The only thing that I wish my SE had that the sport has - the tinted rear windows! :P

As for reliability - the car is Japanese - you won't have a problem.... I had a few performance Fords - then I bought my first Japanese car .... never looked back! One of my cars is a '91 and went for an MOT last saturday - the tester informed me that he had never seen a car so clean underneath - he told me it was in better condition than a lot of 1 year old cars he gets in the garage!!

A friend of mine has two Preludes - his wife's car has covered 260,000 miles, his has covered 120,000 miles - both going very strong, no reliability issues, and one of them does track days on a regular basis!

I enjoyed my old RS Fords, but I love the Japanese cars much more - performance doesn't mean having to visit the garage every 4,000 miles, or wondering if the car will start, driveshaft pop out, electrics will fail... etc etc.

I would guess the Lexus IS200 is just as reliable at 100,000 miles as it is at 10,000 miles!!!

The only downside to high miles would be trim - some of it isn't high quality - but then you've been used to a Pug..... so comparitivly - a palace! :D

[tony_hetherington]

The only downside to high miles would be trim - some of it isn't high quality - but then you've been used to a Pug..... so comparitivly - a palace! :D

Yeah.....that's one reason I'm going for a more sensible car that I can use every day. It's all well and good having an Escort Cosworth in the garage (full leather, electrics etc.) but when I'm sat in traffic going home from work on a cold night in a 205 it doesn't help me much!

------

Thanks for all your comments, I am learning a great deal very quickly. I take note about not limiting myself to a sport, and considering the SE. Is there THAT much price difference for comparable cars between SE / Sport ? I guess insurance would be slightly better for me.

Glad to hear the reliability is good - as I mentioned in my first post, that's one thing I REALLY do want (which is partly why I do want a low mileage car). Fast RS' are wonderful, but the problems I've had are too costly and too much of a hassle!!

I think I might give my local Lexus dealer a ring today, and book a test drive for sometime tomorrow.

Thanks again to everyone, I really am grateful

[UltraViolet]

My avatar has gone - so you can't see my weekend car .... but she is beautiful!! :D