Few Newbie Questions

[King85]

Firstly let me say hi as i'm new :)

My current car has finally gotten to the point where its no use to me so after trawling autotrader looking for a new car i've got my heart set on an IS200.

My main concern is reliability relating to milage with the car as my budget is around £4000 i'm looking at higher milages. How reliable are the engines, should I avoid or will I be ok?

If anyone is selling their IS200 in the Birmingham area for the price i'm looking at i'd be interested in coming to have a look so let me know.

Thanks B)

[sparkystav]

VERY reliable!

Though check the Cam belt has been changed (60.000 miles or 6yrs)

Apart from that they're bullet proof.

And Welcome

Stav

[King85]

Thanks for the quick reply! If the cam hasn't been changed how much am I looking at to get it done?

[sparkystav]

Well Charlesworth motor in Glossop (highly recommended) charged me £200 includint belt, pulley and tensioner (genuine Lexus parts)

[Nils]

i 2nd that had mine done last friday, had all the other belts changed at the same time and a new water pump while it was stripped. fantastic price and service highly recommended.

[aztecbandit1]

Welcome to the club matey :D few hints and tips HERE On buying an IS :)

Like Stav says above Charlsworth motors do the cambelt change for a very good price, i had one of our IS's cambelts done last Friday there and very happy with there work and price :D

@ Nils, so it was your IS that was on the ramp while i was there :D

[Nils]

yeah i thk so, im sure urs was being done wen i arrived in the afternoon. there was a red one up t the time

[aztecbandit1]

yeah i thk so, im sure urs was being done wen i arrived in the afternoon. there was a red one up t the time

Yes mate thats our red IS that i was having done, my aztec ones going up in a couple of weeks to have some work done too :D

[Lexus2D]

[Parthiban]

Welcome to LOC! Yep the engines are pretty reliable as long as they've been well serviced.

i had one of our IS's cambelts done last Friday there

Have you got 2 ISs now?

[King85]

Thanks for all the responses guys, i've now just got to wait for something that I like to become avaliable, i'm looking at for an IS200 Sport in black or grey (sub 100k) I hate waiting for things :(

[Gord]

Welcome to LOC! Yep the engines are pretty reliable as long as they've been well serviced.

i had one of our IS's cambelts done last Friday there

Have you got 2 ISs now?

Its his dad's red is200 :winky:

[King85]

Ok i'm going to have a look at this car tonight clicky

He's listed it as £4750 but what do people think I can reasonable expect to barter it down to?

[kam05]

Ok i'm going to have a look at this car tonight clicky

He's listed it as £4750 but what do people think I can reasonable expect to barter it down to?

Looks good, but in his description he has put that that car has a BOSE system. Lexus OEM headunits/speakers are not made by BOSE (they are made by Fujitsu?)- unless the car has a aftermarket system fitted. I thought BOSE systems were OEM fit to VW/Audi/VAG cars?

If you like the car start the bid at £4200 and offer £4500 max if you really want the car. Shame really, these are good cars, but the value of these have really taken a nose drive. Why? Credit crunch/recession/possible increases in road tax (if the plans go ahead- they are on hold atm, you will be paying £400 road tax, as all cars registered after March 2001 will have their road tax based on C02 emissions). Might be better to buy a pre-March 2001 registered car, the road tax is based on engine size (>1500cc), which atm is £185.

Its a buyers market on these cars atm.

[King85]

I'd completely forgotten about the road tax changes they were talking about, thanks for reminding me kam. I think i will have to look at a 2001 model as over the years that will save me plenty. Shame as it's a nice looking car.

[Yeldarb]

That one has a standard stereo in it, you can just about see it in the photo.

[Mannyblue69]

I'd completely forgotten about the road tax changes they were talking about, thanks for reminding me kam. I think i will have to look at a 2001 model as over the years that will save me plenty. Shame as it's a nice looking car.

It would have to be the pre 2001 model, for the not so big tax hike.

[Steviewevie]

The big tax hike has been put off for now. Who knows if it will ever get brought it. Given the current economic climate, I can't see it in the near future.

[King85]

Thats a good point stevie, i'll keep a look out and see what comes along, if anyone see's a decent milage black or grey sport for £3-4k then let me know :)

[King85]

Going to look at this car tomorrow I think clicky never really considered green before but it only has 60k with a full lexus sh and looks quite tidy from the look of it.

Whats every ones opinion on it?

Anyone have any better pics of an emerald green 200 that I could have a gander at?

[Parthiban]

The big tax hike has been put off for now. Who knows if it will ever get brought it. Given the current economic climate, I can't see it in the near future.

From what I understood of it, it hasn't been put off, it's introduction has just been delayed until 2010 - so from then on it's high tax for those of us with post March 2001 cars..........

The problem with pre-01 cars is the bottom slot CD player which are notorious for going wrong - if you buy one be prepared that you will probably have to replace the headunit at some point. If that's your plan anyway then there's no real issue :)

[King85]

The big tax hike has been put off for now. Who knows if it will ever get brought it. Given the current economic climate, I can't see it in the near future.

From what I understood of it, it hasn't been put off, it's introduction has just been delayed until 2010 - so from then on it's high tax for those of us with post March 2001 cars..........

The problem with pre-01 cars is the bottom slot CD player which are notorious for going wrong - if you buy one be prepared that you will probably have to replace the headunit at some point. If that's your plan anyway then there's no real issue :)

I wouldn't want to have to change it but it will still work out cheaper than paying an extra £200 a year tax and hopefully i'll be getting the ipod grom anyway, is the fault relating to the whole unit or just the actual cd player?

What did you think of the car I posted?

[Deeg]

Going to look at this car tomorrow I think clicky never really considered green before but it only has 60k with a full lexus sh and looks quite tidy from the look of it.

Whats every ones opinion on it?

Anyone have any better pics of an emerald green 200 that I could have a gander at?

by emerald green I presume you mean this green???

Hope this helps

[Parthiban]

Yep just the CD player, so the Grom should solve it (as long as it's not a 13902 headunit)

Car looks pretty good, except for the front alloy in the pic looking a bit shabby, the rest of the car looks in great condition, it's always a good sign when it has full Lexus service history and it still has all three keys..........

If you like the colour then it doesn't seem at first sight it looks promising - let us know how you get on.

[Steviewevie]

The big tax hike has been put off for now. Who knows if it will ever get brought it. Given the current economic climate, I can't see it in the near future.

From what I understood of it, it hasn't been put off, it's introduction has just been delayed until 2010 - so from then on it's high tax for those of us with post March 2001 cars..........

The exemption, which includes the IS200, won't be introduced in 2010 either, that's been confirmed. But it hasn't been announced what will happen in 2011.