Looking To Buy Lexus Is200

[liamb7]

Hello, i am new to this website but hope to be a regular in the not to distant future.

My question guys is i have found a nice Is200 sport manual in silver on a W plate with 87,000 miles on it. I have taken it for a test drive and all seems good, very tight and i am happy with the way it drives, body work is 95% and interior is in good condition. The problem is it has No Service History what so ever. Just wondering what some of you think about this? Should i snap it up or leave it alone, really in 2 minds at the moment.

Also any other advice with buying a Is200 sport would be appreiated. :winky:

Many Thanks.

Liam

[Rory]

I have very little mechanical knowledge, I personally would steer clear, theres plenty popping up all the time with service history, as bullet proof as they are, I drove one only a few weeks ago that was advertised as showroom condition, and couldn't have been further from it

[Asi]

i bought a car that had non toyota serivce history and the guy put wrong spark plugs in due to that the spark plug broke in the engine so engine replacement so i would steer clear and keep looking for a good buy. just take your time dont rush into it.

[James S]

Hello, i am new to this website but hope to be a regular in the not to distant future.

My question guys is i have found a nice Is200 sport manual in silver on a W plate with 87,000 miles on it. I have taken it for a test drive and all seems good, very tight and i am happy with the way it drives, body work is 95% and interior is in good condition. The problem is it has No Service History what so ever. Just wondering what some of you think about this? Should i snap it up or leave it alone, really in 2 minds at the moment.

Also any other advice with buying a Is200 sport would be appreiated. :winky:

Many Thanks.

Liam

Use it as a way to get price down mate, then spend the cash on having a proper decent service done at a garage you trust or at lexus.

If they not interested, keep looking. Plently of IS200s out there. Would defo go for a Sport model if you can find one. I wish I had with mine.

James

[IS300]

I bought my IS200 Sport 2002 brand new and on driving it from the showroom it suffered with a 'clonk' when going from 1st gear into 2nd. Apparently many other models suffered with the same problem. Nothing they could do would solve it. So had to live with it until I sold it and bought an IS300 which came with an auto box

Other than that it was great!

[Rabster]

If you have RAC Break down etc it might be worth getting them to go and do a full check on the vehicle cant remember what its called under there info blurb

but iwould still get a vehicle fully serviced once i got it ifit had no history that way you know where you stand.

With that millage i would hope the belts have been done but no way of telling with out the service logs.

as said above haggle the price so that your not to out of pocket for a full service

Rabs

[Steviewevie]

The car should have some service history really. As others have said, you should use this to your advantage and you should be able to get the car for an even better price than because of this. If you're in any doubt whatsoever though, just walk away, there are loads of IS200s on the market and you will find plenty more.

You need a good reason to buy one that's got something "wrong" with it (e.g. lack of history). A very good price could be that reason.

You may be able to find out service history if you can find out where it was serviced, e.g. if you find out who owned it, whereabouts they lived and perhaps see if Lexus/Toyota have any records for it. Then again, you might draw a blank.

Bear in mind that the cam belt might not have been changed, the previous owner might have been going on the original interval of 100,000 miles for this. But it should have been changed at 60,000 miles. It's easy to take off the cover and have a peek at the belt though - again, another possible negotiating tool.

[liamb7]

Thanks for all the advice and info guys, i will see what i can do on getting the price lowered, i am in no rush to buy, its just that this one is local to me so was an easy option to have a look and test drive. I cant fault it in any way except for the No Service History. I might make a low offer and see how that goes.

Thanks again peeps :winky:

[wildybeast]

my is200 came with no service history but checked with lexus who had on there data base all the service intervals logged so all was well.also i think you can check online the milage of the car through the mot certificate.

[Steviewevie]

If you haven't done so already, check out this article in the Knowledge Base on what to look for, some useful tips in there.

[liamb7]

If you haven't done so already, check out this article in the Knowledge Base on what to look for, some useful tips in there.

Nice one stevie :winky:

Thanks mate

Liam