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Newbie Here, Hoping To Get An Altezza


garath
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Hi all,

At last I've managed to find a UK forum that inlcudes the Altezza.

Little History about me

I am a total petrol head and currently own the following cars

Mkiv Supra Twin Turbo

Mk1 Mx5 BBR Turbo (Highly modified)

Mk1 Mx5 1.8is

Mk4 Triumph Spitfire, with a dolly sprint engine ;)

I love all those cars, however, as you can see not one of them is a proper 4 seater, and the wife an I are wanting to start a family next year, so I started thinking long and hard about which of those cars I was going to get rid off, the spitfire is never leaving me due to it once belonging to my late father, the 1.8is mx5 was always purchased with the intention of restoring and then selling on, so couldn't be included in this decision, so that left the turbo MX5 and the supra, I have thought about these two for around 4 months now, and I eventually decided it was going to be the supra that goes, the MX5 offers just as much fun and excitement for around a 3rd of the cost, so with my sensible head on it makes the most sense to keep that.

so, with that decision made, the next one was to decide what car I could replace it with, it needed to be something cheaper to run, 4 doors, enough room, rear wheel drive, and enough power to excite when needed, and I think I have found that in the Altezza (however I'm yet to drive one).

So, when I find one I will hopefully be joining the fold.

I would be greatfull if you could furnish me with some of your knowledge of what to look out for when buying one, and also point me in the dirrection of any nice ones that you know are forsale.

thanks

Garath

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Have you considered the IS300? That's got plenty of power and is very comfy.

Don't know much about Tezza's but the IS200/300 are better spec'ed.

Hiya,

yes I have considered the IS300, it looks a great car, but the fact its a 3L puts me off due to fuel consumption, I would guess it would be similar to a non turbo supra, I suspect its even the same engine? hmmmm, that means turbos, hmmm no no no sensible head, must think sensible.................. turNO!!!! NO NO!!!! :)

Also I like the fact that the tezza is a bit different :)

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Have you considered the IS300? That's got plenty of power and is very comfy.

Don't know much about Tezza's but the IS200/300 are better spec'ed.

thanks,

I had come accross that forum, but it appears to be irish based, maybe I'll pop over there :)

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yes I have considered the IS300, it looks a great car, but the fact its a 3L puts me off due to fuel consumption??????? the consumption for the is200 is no better!! :shutit:

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reasons not to buy an IS200/300

From your previous cars the 200 will be under powered and the 300 has auto box

you could buy a SC IS200 ?

as for the tezza being a lower spec it's more of a sporty version being a bit lighter and with more go faster parts.

you can easily swap the interiors over

don't rule out tezzaworld as there is a massive knowledge base on there with members all over the world and a lot from the uk

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reasons not to buy an IS200/300

From your previous cars the 200 will be under powered and the 300 has auto box

you could buy a SC IS200 ?

as for the tezza being a lower spec it's more of a sporty version being a bit lighter and with more go faster parts.

you can easily swap the interiors over

don't rule out tezzaworld as there is a massive knowledge base on there with members all over the world and a lot from the uk

Thanks Fella,

Its the sporty version and driving style I'm after, so its the Altezza for me :)

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first off, good luck in your search for an altezza.

i pretty much was in a similar circumstance, i sold my R33 skyline and bought the altezza because my wife and i just had a kid.

i believe you will be more than satisfied, and my wife is starting to enjoy driving mine as well.

second, an altezza can be AS200, AS300, or RS200.

i am sure you want the RS200, the one that comes with the 3S-gE.

the AS200 is very SIMILAR to the Lexus IS200, both have a 1G-FE.

and the AS300 is very SIMILAR to the Lexus IS300, both have the 2JZ-gE.

the Altezza is a Toyota, and i know that Lexus and Toyota are basically the same thing.

but there are several subtle differences, most of the Lexus models come standard with "luxury" items that were only options on the altezza.

very few altezza models came with leather seats, seat warmers, alarm systems, that sort of thing, posh stuff as you might call it?

That being said, your best bet for dependable transportation is probably a well kept Lexus IS200/IS300, with a good "history" as i have seen it called.

If you purchase an Altezza, you are not going to know what all has been done/undone/redone or not done to the vehicle as far as upkeep.

Not to say that an Altezza will not supply dependable transportation for many years/miles/kilometers to come.

a good friend of mine just bought a GT-R 32 and as he upgrades things, he is finding that much of the car has been restored to near stock;

from what, we are not sure... decent job of it too, just a little disheartening to go behind someone if you are like us.

third, have you tried japan-partner dot com?

they sometimes have good deals.

finally, when you are searching for your car, search for the Z or L edition if at all possible.

Z is sport edition, comes with standard LSD, factory lower ride height, and supposedly sport clocks, but mine has standard clocks, so must be after 1999.

L is luxury edition, comes with leather, seat warmers, and some other, not sure off the top of my head.

there are also 2 very rare special editions, the Tom's E910, and the Netz edition 280T Tom's Turbo.

i want to say there were like 100 or 1000 of the 280T,

and the E910 was something you optioned for, like you would buy your altezza, and send it to Tom's in Tokyo, and they would convert it.

kind of like how Carol Shelby does the Mustang, you order a Cobra, they buy a GT and convert it... not 100% sure on that one.

read this carefully: if you find either of these, make sure you do a very good look over, and request documentation.

there have been people who buy lot's of the aftermarket stuff, bolt it onto the altezza and call it one or the other.

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Like griderjn said look for a RS200 Z or L edition. They come with factory torsen LSD, spot lights, privacy tints on the rear windows, traction control & 17" wheels with either a 6MT or 5AT. The L edition has half leather seats & side airbags on top of this. There are also lots of factory options like super live sound system, sat nav, sun roofs, body kits etc.

Never heard of these sports dials thought. About '01> do have a digital display under the fuel guage. Maybe you're thinking of the Modellista Qualitat model that had a optional sports dials with a 10K rev counter in the centre like the TRD ones. http://z4.invisionfree.com/lexusaltezzaclu...?showtopic=9225

Here's a couple of good sites to give you an idea of what the options & specs are http://www.japanvehicles.com/newcars/toyota/Altezza/main.htm & http://english.auto.vl. ru/catalog/toyota/altezza/ & http://www.net-park.co.jp/etc/toyota/oldtoyota_cat.php

As for the AS300 they only came in wagon/Gita form with auto trans & 4WD.

If you're browsing forums, then the ACNZA is another good one to look at. Probably has more info on it than TW.

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Yellow can look pretty cool. I contemplated getting one with the full legana kit but ended up buying a plane old Millennium Silver one with a elegance kit before I had a chance to look at it.

Here's a few examples

IMG_6086.jpg

Lexus_IS200_Hiro_19_inch.jpg

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the Altezza is not available in a (factory) color that does not make it look good in my opinion.

go look at it in person, and you may find that it is more appealing than you think.

over here they all seem to be the same color as mine, silver... i would personally love to have one in just about any other color.

i think the fiberglass hood looks great on all of the other colors but mine, not that i have or need a fiberglass hood...

maybe you can buy the yellow one, and we can trade when i get to England? (my wife would murder me after all the cash i have invested though)

keep us posted on what you get, and i may be able to pick up some goodies for you while i am here in japan.

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