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Why Are Lexus Is200 So Cheap


nicki d
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Hi all, i have just got a 2001 lexus is200 sport i swop for my golf vr6, the car has done 110000 miles and looks in mint condition. I am wondering what i need to check on the car that are common faults? and things i can do to up grade

The timing belt was done 67000 and i also found the last owner had forgot to put his induction filter back in the box and had been driving with out for a couple of months. (idiot) so i know i need to change oil,filter, even if he did it a few weeks ago.

All help and ideas welcome as i love the car so far and i was wondering why these cars are so cheap to buy second hand when these cars have the lot

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It's probably due to the running costs in this day and age. Also some people who would rather go down the road and buy that BMW or Merc instead of a re badged toyota.

Probably one of the reasons they make a good second hand buy and make you look like you have a lot more money!

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I also nearly lost it going round a roundabout tonight, was only doing 30 but back end went right out towards the kerb. To close for comfort.

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I also nearly lost it going round a roundabout tonight, was only doing 30 but back end went right out towards the kerb. To close for comfort.

Don't forget you are rear wheel drive with the IS200 and replace those slicks with treaded tyres! :lol:

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All cars have problems / common faults even benz / BMW - infact from expeirence & lots of peoples experience they might have bit more and being more expensive in some cases ! the IS200/300 are quite old now been out production late 05 thats over 5 years now atleast ! OT i did see a red is200 sport for sale the weekend as i walked past a car lot it was a 53 reg selling for £5400 something !

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I know when I was looking for a new car about 3 years ago, one of the options was a 03-04 IS200. However around this time there was the potential that because of the CO2 emissions levels of these cars, it was going to cost £400+ a year in road tax. So in the end we bought a BMW 320d. I don't know if the tax was actually increased to that level or not, but if so, that is a potential put off for owners/buyers. In addition, insurance would have been more than for the BMW. I also think the lack of a diesel option for the IS200 now makes it a bit less desirable, especially with the current cost of fuel. So that also helps drive prices down. In our case, we preferred a diesel which was another reason we went with the BMW.

Last year we decided our old Golf Mk III needed replacement, so we once again looked at the IS200 since back in NZ my wife was a fan of the Toyota Altezzas which have become very common there. I was very surprised to see what good value they had become in the 3 years since I had last looked at them. In the end we bought a 2001 IS200 Sport with 72k miles for £2500 - a lot of car for the money in my opinion.

I will admit I kind of wanted a Mk IV VW Golf 2.8 V6 4-Motion, but after a quick test drive of one, my wife said she was scared they were 'too fast' and refused to drive it if I bought one!

So now we have two silver mid sized RWD saloons - how dull!

I think there is probably also an element of badge snobbery about it, which makes people look at the Germans more so than Lexus. I don't actually mind this - it makes the IS200 kind of rare around where I live, which I like.

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I have a mk2 jetta and a Lexus is200 sport and with has a golf 2.8 v6 4motion and a pug 206cc. I had the golf mapped to have all flat spots taken out and it great off the line. Get one. And with the 4 wheel drive it's safer than the Lexus

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The tax increase didnt happen with the IS200/300 as it did with other cars, it did with the IS250 manual though ! & yeah the fuel even for the IS200 isnt that great but it was virtually unchanged since launch in 1998/99, speaking of desirable there are lots of rx8s around and sold well, the second hand prices for the condition and mileage and year are unbelievable !

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The IS200 was a pretty cheap car (relatively) when new as well, so it only makes sense that it's still quite cheap :)

In all seriousness though, they're quite old, plus all the reasons above re fuel economy and such don't help either.

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The IS200 was a pretty cheap car (relatively) when new as well, so it only makes sense that it's still quite cheap :)

In all seriousness though, they're quite old, plus all the reasons above re fuel economy and such don't help either.

Yeah the fuel consumption not too good on the IS200 lol but i can say its better than a BMW 320i of the era, i remember my dad use to own a 320i in the 90s fuel was bad he kept saying even on this day, then he changed it for a Camry 2.5 V6 fuel consumption was noticebly better and performance was better.

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It's very frustrating that the price of an IS200 seems to have dropped so much over the past year. I'm really struggling to sell mine - it's a good example with a full history and I've tried it on the usual websites, but no enquiries. Bought the car when I expected to be doing more miles than I now do, can't justify keeping it now I live 1 mile from the office and rarely drive on motorways.

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