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Is200 Dilema Se Or Sport


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Hi,

Im thinking of buying a used is200, either the SE or Sport spec. i have not yet test drove the is200 just been looking at the price'es., as i have not had the time(busy with work)

What i want to know is- how much of a difference in handling is the sport compared to the se? and is the sport worth the extra money?

and also from what year did lexus modify the cd player i.e put the cd above the display?

im basically just gonna use it to get to and from work as we have more than one car in the house, so for example would a is200 thats done 120,000 miles, be just a good as one that done 50,000 as long as its had a good service history.

we have 3 toyota's at the mo so i know that the engines r bullet proof, as one of them is touching 200.000 miles and all its ever needed replacing are the brakes and pads every now and then, and the clutch at 90k, thats it!.

Many Thanks

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personally i'd rather have one that has only done 50k than 120k, but any lexus owner will tell you that these cars like to go forever, so yes a good service history by 120k would indicate the car has still plenty of life left in it

I have an SE, but only because insurance was twice as much for me to get a sport, due to my lack of driving experience, If you can afford to get the Sport as opposed to the SE, get the Sport, since you are looking to buy a used one, you will find Sport models and SE models are pretty much the same price range

check the wheels for corrosion if the mileage is high, clean them regularly to prevent further corrosion

the cd player was changed around in 2000 as far as i'm aware, if not, late 99, mine's 2000 with the newer system, and every 99 i've seen has the older one, however mine wasn't working when I bought it, despite Lexus changing the stereos after 99, they hadn't fixed the common problems, I was lucky to find one on eBay for £100 that worked to replace mine (been fine since)

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im gonna go and view a is200 sport tomorrow 98k and is for sale at £5k with lexus body kit--Fair Price?

..also it has sat nav, it it dvd based or cd-rom based?

chandru- im from the cannon park/gibbet hill area of Cov..towards Birmingham.

Cheers!

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have a good look on the bumper and bonnet for stone chips too, there will be some, just see if its not too bad, check the service history for the cambelt too, a lot of owners were under the impression (given by the owners manual) that this only needed doing at 100k or 10 years, but its not, its 60k and 6 years, as you may have already seen, make sure its been done, or get more discount :D

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Get the sport :D

Think it was the 2000 modles onwards that had the new top loader stereo's

Some pre 51 plate cars had the top loading stereo but try and get a 51 plate or newer, you get a few other sublte extras, i.e extra air bags, etc etc.

Not a huge amount of difference between a sport or SE, the newer sports did however have a Limited Sliff diff.

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Some pre 51 plate cars had the top loading stereo but try and get a 51 plate or newer, you get a few other sublte extras, i.e extra air bags, etc etc.

Not a huge amount of difference between a sport or SE, the newer sports did however have a Limited Sliff diff.

Don't all Sports have an LSD? :blink:

I agree though, if you can, try to get one of the mildly facelifted ones ('51' plate onwards) as there are some benefits over the early ones.......

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You cant use and abuse a lexus :o it must be looked after and be the pride of your garage :P

I've got a Y reg 2001 and that has all airbags and top loading cd player.

You'll be able to find plenty in that price range :D

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ive been lookin at autotrader(now raised my budget to £10k) and have been looking at the is200 limited edition..what is limited about it?

also if i was to get a is200 and wanted to fit a body kit(standard lexus one), how much roughly will it cost

any info would help

cheers!

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I had originally been told that the older Sports didnt have Limited slipp diff.....

The later limited edition IS came with pretty much everything I think, Sat nav, leather seats, different paint colours, maybe some other small extras....

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The limited editions (in the special colour Kodiak Sky) do not have Sat Nav. They do however have full leather and I think the manual had an armrest (which manual IS200s don't normally have).

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seen a few, and after driving a couple i felt i wanted a bit more power(as im after a auto), so i have now decided to get a is300, going to view one on wednesday...

any tips on what to look out for on the 300?

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make sure the badge on the back says 300 instead of 200 :D

i'm not sure if the major service on the 300 is at the same year/mileage as the 200s, but i'd check other things like even tyre wear and the cd player etc, these usual niggly things will annoy you most if you only find them after you've bought the car, is it from a dealer? what kind of warranty are they offering?

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  • 3 weeks later...

well after a few of test drives in is200's, i felt that it was not enough power for me(coming from a cayenne), so i took a test drive in a is300 yesterday(04 LE) at local lexus dealer..what can i say...

wow - what a difference compared to the 200. so powerfull and smooth as a babys' bottom. ..id say it would out accelerate a v6 - 3.2 litre cayenne- model i had.

auto box- boy its smooth(E-Shift is fun too). power delivery is awesome....got it up too 125mph, even at that speed the ride was smooth as silk.

gonna put deposit down friday, hopefully ill have it late nxt week...cant wait.

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