Do You Remember...

[VVProtocolVV]

So whens the first time you saw a Lexus is200 and what made you buy it? I think the first time i saw a lexus was when it must have been around 5-7 yrs ago in Hong Kong (may have been an Altazza, but they are similar in apperence to the is200). There was quite a few about and at the time i didn't know that alloys was standard and that kinda highlighted the car for me..took me a long while to get one, think i was driving a red Ford Escort back then lol. I think even today theres no car on the market that looks as nice as the is200 (without going into the unless you earn millions a yr job!)

[aztecbandit1]

With me it was when my brother brought one 5-6 years back cant remember seeing one till then but after a drive of it and a bit of luck in that my girlfriend brought me mine for my birthday after seeing it for sale :) She said i was doing her head in because i wouldnt shut up about how nice they were so she brought it me to shut me up and now i go on about it even more But she did get her own back when i brought her the jeep she wanted for xmas as i spent a lot of time fitting all the bits she wanted on it ;)

[Rikos]

I saw an IS a long time ago and always thought it was a lovely looking car with so much class but i had never considered buying one as i just thought the price would be way over what i could afford.

Then when i looked into it i was shocked at how you could pick them up for similar prices to Audi's and lower spec BMW's. So then came the mission to find one and get the money!!

As you can imagine i did and i did and here i am, the rest is history!

[kam05]

My uncle had a IS200SE auto as a company car back in 1999 (V plate), he took me for a spin in it and I was totally sold- I wanted one. I was at uni in 1999, when I graduated in 2003 and got myself a job 1st thing i did was go out an buy myself a 2000 (X plate) IS200SE (manual) in Astral black, never looked back...

[Lexus2D]

Carnt remember was a long time ago but loved it the moment i saw it :heart:

would drool over it @ the motor show & dream

never ever thought id get 1 due 2 price

Id never been in 1 or driven 1 but wanted 1 so bad

[WylieCoyote]

Fabulous nostalgia. Mine was back in 1999 and me and my friend went to the Lexus dealer in Birmingham/Coventry (can't remember which) and they'd got the IS by the main entrance and I thought 'I must own that car' and 8 years later I bought my 2005 car :)

[sparkystav]

About 7 years ago when i saw a white Altezza parked up.

I just wanted one!

Stav

[Steve_D]

5 years ago I saw a nice black IS200, i could have afforded the car but not the fuel consumption!! waited until now when I can afford both ^_^

[swfcdan]

I was at school, must be not far off 10 years back. My friends brother picked me and my mate up from school, he'd got the the IS200 the first day it was launched over here and took us for a spin. i loved the speedo dials and what at the time looked like HUGE wheels.

always wanted one since then, and when i got the oppertunity, i couldnt say no.

i really think the IS shape is a quality design, getting on towards 10 years old, and whilst its starting to look a bit dated, it looks fab considering its age.

plus what would the chavs have done if it wasnt for 'lexus lights' lol

[Vyker]

Good Topic...

Im probably the most unusual buyer, I never really had an opinion on the IS, i dont even remember it when it came out in 1999, a friend had one, and i thought it was a nice car, but never even thought to even consider ever even owning one ever! :P

So when I was looking for a car, using a hire car on the company, i got alot pressure from my boss to get a car asap as im costing the company too much in hire ca costs.

At the time i was looking at Golf's Bora's, A4's, but never liked the fact they were so gadget less, which is when my mate said "what about that lexus"....

First autotrader search of it, and i loved it, had everything, then i spotted one with satnav, thought "wow gadgets, must get it", first IS i saw that was in budget, i went out and bought... and the rest is history :)

I wont keep it long though, as i really want an IS300 with TTE bumpers and Widescreen Satnav! but they are sooo hard to find!.

If i dont get that, ill end up in an overpriced e46 330ci :)

Keep your posts coming, this is an interesting read!

[ibby]

I went out to buy a civic

ended up with a lexus!

[Rillo]

1999 when my dad came home with an IS200 SE!

[SINGH182]

first saw the IS road testing, on tv when it first came out in 1999, i was only 13years old at the time(yes 13) and at that age i just thought wow and wanted one as soon as i could afford one.

now 22 bought my is300 at the age of 21 and loving every minute off it...but due to a new job in canada im gonna hav to sell my pride & joy.....on the other hand a MANUAL is300 sounds rather tempting lol.

[Rory]

I can remember when I was about 20 I decided I wanted one, but I can't remember where i'd first seen one to make me want one

[Mincey]

Way back in '99 I saw a photo of an IS200 in the Sunday Times Motoring Section. I knew I had to have one. The bummer was waiting until September '99 so I could have the personalised plate I wanted. I was I think the third person in Peterborough to have an IS. I could have been the second had I overtaken the delivery driver from Marshalls of Cambridge (God rest their souls... not. Pour me a drink and I'll tell you my Marshalls of Cambridge Lexus "Experience") on the way home.

[Noel]

about 7 years ago i saw a green IS200 with beige leather interior parked up at work (visitor) and just loved how class it looked.... these cars are very expensive over here due to our tax system so I've waited along time for secondhand prices to become reasonable... then over two years ago i was looking at another IS200 which was 160 round trip and walked away disappointed as it wasn't well looked after and it a moment of madness on my way home called in to an Importer and took an Altezza rs200 for a spin, fell in love and within a week i found the perfect one for me... :)

[johnboy]

I was working in a Lexus Dealership, in 99, and i went to Epsom racecourse to test the NEW IS200 before it was officially launched.

I loved the car then, and vowed to have one 1 day.

[durg]

I remember more the first time I heard one, and that made me look properly. With the sound of a lovely straight six-engine coming towards me I expected to see a BMW but there was a beautifully understated Lexus IS instead. Pleasant surprise :D

[Gord]

One of the reps at work had one, back in 1999, T reg Aztec fire is200, fell in love with it then, had a test drive but found the is200 very slow, i had Volvo T5 at the time, was a number of years before i went and got myself one mind :D

[The_Stig]

For me I actually first looked at one just before I bought my fiestaST in 2006, but it was rear-wheel drive which made me look at it for a few seconds and I then decided that the IS wasnt for me.

A year on (and pulling my hair out with the fiesta), I went to lexus Derby and saw an IS200 Limited Edition there. They say that a person makes up their mind about a property in the first 11 seconds of viewing and I think this applies to me with cars too. When I saw that car, walked round it, and heard it start...I knew I had to have one (if only I'd had the first one I looked at Lexus...instead of holding myself back another month or so!)

Stiggy

[Gareth Rose]

I kind of remeber seeing them when I was a kid, but the first time I saw one properly was when my dads friend called round with a blue SE. He let me have a drive and me (a 17 year old with a J reg nissan micra) it was a dream car. Now 5 years on my dream has come true and Ive got a Sport with styling kit and smile everytime I see or drive it.

[WylieCoyote]

What occurs to me is that in a kind of perverse way, everyone's story (including mine) of their first experience of an IS is kinda like a love story where they end up owning one. I think it's sweet

[Parthiban]

What occurs to me is that in a kind of perverse way, everyone's story (including mine) of their first experience of an IS is kinda like a love story where they end up owning one. I think it's sweet

Sorry to burst the bubble but wasn't like that for me unfortunately, somehow the IS had never been on my radar and only thought of Lexus as the LS and GS (the earlier uglier versions) which I didn't like very much at all.

Purely by accident test drove the IS when I was set to buy a 3 series, and it was so much bettter..........and as they say the rest is history! :D

[boddamloon]

I also went out looking at a 3 series(had 3) and saw the IS and took it for a spin and in my opinion there was no contest !

[Noel]

only thought of Lexus as the LS and GS (the earlier uglier versions)

earlier GS ugly? :duh: