New Member

[danbobnix]

Allow myself to introduce... myself. I'll apologise for giving you my life story if I ramble.

I'm Dan, 23, in Lancashire, had an erratic car history, think I'm on my 8th at the mo. it's a toyota yaris t sport and I planned to supercharge it with a TTE charger. I'm in need of the money I invested into it so I'm selling the supercharger kit to pay for numerous happenings in the social calendar around Europe that I've had to book on a hideous credit card!

I have decided on the IS200 sport as the next motor, would have kept the yaris if I were to supercharge but it doesn't do much for me anymore.

I can't make my mind up on colour, without the cream interior, either Red, Yellow or Blue. Black at a push, but they're a pain to keep clean! Not sure how long it'll be before I get one, a friend of the family runs a large car trade centre so I'm going to take my requirements to him and give him as long as he needs to find me one with full Lexus history and in a good condition.

It will be my daily and probably not modified at great pace as I'll be putting money away for a house with the other 2/3's once I get the 200. Love the stance on a nice set of wheels and a drop

Looking forward to getting to know the club and some of its members.

Ciao for now!

[Stuart Aspey]

Hi Daniel. Welcome to the club. Whatever colour and interior you get, you're gonna love the is200.

[The-Acre]

Welcome to LOC.

Phil

[steve2006]

Hello and welcome to the LOC.

[IHgs300]

Welcome aboard.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Hi and welcome :)

[TonyGoose]

Hello Dan

Surprise surprise seeing you round here

Welcome to the club - hope you find it useful ...

TG

[petayV8]

Not surprised the yaris doesnt do it for you anymore, no offence. great cars, just a bit on the basic side eh? I was in the same boat when i had my focus, just wanted something with a little more character, comfort and toys!

Good luck with the search anyway as there are some battered ones out there. It seems everyone has there own opinion on colour choice, but for me it had to be Platinum ice, Blue but really wanted white but couldnt be bothered to wait for one to come up, especially as i wanted a auto and with navi. Didnt take to black either. Reds nice but on the rare side. As for yellow even rarer. If you end up with a cream interior i would swap you :P

[danbobnix]

Not surprised the yaris doesnt do it for you anymore, no offence. great cars, just a bit on the basic side eh? I was in the same boat when i had my focus, just wanted something with a little more character, comfort and toys!

Good luck with the search anyway as there are some battered ones out there. It seems everyone has there own opinion on colour choice, but for me it had to be Platinum ice, Blue but really wanted white but couldnt be bothered to wait for one to come up, especially as i wanted a auto and with navi. Didnt take to black either. Reds nice but on the rare side. As for yellow even rarer. If you end up with a cream interior i would swap you :P

Think the blue is winning at the moment, forcing myself to wait for longer too, will have more power over the seller that way. It's just hard not to keep looking at them all over the internet haha.

The Yaris was an attempt to settle on a car to put money away, an eco, warm hatch. It's reliable enough but just feels cheap like you say. My own fault for having 2 RX8's before that, a celica 190, and an abarth 500 previously.

Tried running smaller, runabout-y cars but can't.

Got a much steadier job now as I was previously self employed, so the yaris can go, took a small pay cut but the ceiling is higher in the long run :)

Thanks for all the welcomes as well.

[jpjsavage]

Yes, good luck with the search. I've had loads of different cars over the years but I can't imagine anything but a Lexus at the moment. Great cars.

[petayV8]

Not surprised the yaris doesnt do it for you anymore, no offence. great cars, just a bit on the basic side eh? I was in the same boat when i had my focus, just wanted something with a little more character, comfort and toys!

Good luck with the search anyway as there are some battered ones out there. It seems everyone has there own opinion on colour choice, but for me it had to be Platinum ice, Blue but really wanted white but couldnt be bothered to wait for one to come up, especially as i wanted a auto and with navi. Didnt take to black either. Reds nice but on the rare side. As for yellow even rarer. If you end up with a cream interior i would swap you :P

Think the blue is winning at the moment, forcing myself to wait for longer too, will have more power over the seller that way. It's just hard not to keep looking at them all over the internet haha.

The Yaris was an attempt to settle on a car to put money away, an eco, warm hatch. It's reliable enough but just feels cheap like you say. My own fault for having 2 RX8's before that, a celica 190, and an abarth 500 previously.

Tried running smaller, runabout-y cars but can't.

Got a much steadier job now as I was previously self employed, so the yaris can go, took a small pay cut but the ceiling is higher in the long run :)

Thanks for all the welcomes as well.

Yeah i was surfing for 2 months every day looking at different ones! When the right one popped up i just knew it was the one somehow. Went to view it, everything checked out and drove it home, a very exciting day for me :D. I even hagled him down a bit too which was a bonus even tho i was willing to pay the asking price

[petayV8]

btw cant believe your car history when you say your only 23, insurance must of been extortionate. Ive always wanted a IS but couldnt afford the insurance until i hit 25 and was a present to myself haha

[danbobnix]

Cheers for all the replies folks, I've been a little bit out of the loop for a while and my apologies for not checking back in sooner, i hope all is well.

Still not purchased a car yet, still not ready to purchase a car, generally as life tends to happen so does paying for it! A few stag do's, one this weekend actually, and a few holidays booked for this year means money is being spent elsewhere currently.

Kept my eyes open for cars however, went to view a couple of altezza rs200's, and i've had my mind dead set on them for a couple of months and, due to costs of finding and importing one in good nick from Japan has kept me looking into the 200 and even onto the 300. At the moment I'm looking into 300's, currently enjoying the thought of the huge pimpin' (HA!) 3.0 auto.

I'll change my mind more often than my underwear in between now and buy time, and guess the only way i'll know which to buy is test driving both the manual 200 and the auto 300. That and google-ing/searching IS200 vs 300, obviously haha.

@Petay, yeah, it's excessive and ultimately if i could go back I'd stick with just one or two of them and save the money i've wasted; in saying that, i'm glad to have been lucky enough to own and drive the cars I have done. Insurance was piggy backed onto my old mans and due to that i'm only just upto 2 years NCB on my own policy. Even i find it quite shocking that the Yaris is the car i've owned the longest at about 14 months. Boys will be boys...

[petayV8]

Yeah wish i got a 300 now, especially since i wanted a auto anyway, its a no brainer. my advice is test drive a IS200 too as permormance seems to run in your vains you may not be able to live with it! lol so a 300 or altezza is a good choice. anyway keep us posted on what you find

oh about insurance yeah i would of been the same if i had the money to burn, but i wasnt fortunate enough in my hay days lol spent all my saving traveling when i was 17/18 and then uni for 3 years, then got married! only now im starting to have a bit of cash lol until i emigrate next year then it'll be back to square one

[danbobnix]

Yeah I will listen to the advice and test drive the 200 as well, although i'll probably have made my mind up regardless haha.

Keep waltzing over to Watford Car sales website, theres a grey one on there that if i had the money I'd be over in a shot to look at it. Bit far to go down with no intention of buying though haha. I'm a nightmare, can't wait for nothing!

Guess it would cost a lot to take your 200 over there? (wherever there is? OZ?)

[petayV8]

Just had a nose at that IS300, its a very nice example, got the navi too, wondering if its a LE with those wheels too.

No, California, USA. Wouldnt actually cost that much, around a grand plus i could fill the container with other junk, but being a right hooker woundnt work over there for obvious reasons. its a shame because a good IS300 over there costs around $12k for some reason! a highly respected car over there as it should be

[janey]

Hi, welcome & good luck with the search Dan :D

[Rory]

LE only came in one colour, Kodiak Sky, anything else simply isn't the LE, Dan where about in lancs are u?

[petayV8]

LE only came in one colour, Kodiak sky, anything else simply isn't the LE, Dan where about in lance are u?

ah i see. this i didnt know

[danbobnix]

I'm in Hambleton, Rory, near smackpool, I mean, Blackpool.

[danbobnix]

Well, my lunchtimes at work consist of me browsing the web and willing weeks to go by to give me enough money to start really searching for the car.

Anyway, am I right in saying, looking at the spec sheets and all I've read, that in the uk, the 300 were made as the same spec across the board apart from the limited editions and the models bought with the Navigator? The green is growing on me too, one on eBay that looks decent (from the computer screen) hope it doesn't shift for a month or two!

Really enjoying browsing the forums.

[J Henderson]

Yeah, there's no SE or Sport, just the "IS300". Apart from body/trim colour, the only differences you're going to find are whether or not Sat-Nav is fitted, or any dealer fit options like the "Aero" package.

The LE model has a different grille and a unique paint colour. Also, the 11-spoke wheels and a storage bin on top of the dash, but these became standard equipment on late models. The other things that distinguish an LE in IS200 guise (HIDs, auto-dim mirrors, full leather, front armrest) are standard equipment in a 300, so unless you really want that Kodiak Sky colour, there's little reason to seek one out.

[danbobnix]

Thanks for that, very thorough.

To be honest the LE isn't something I've found myself pining for, not too fussy on a colour at the minute, I think the only colour I wouldn't have is black; always regret my decision on purchasing a black car - massive pain in the backside to keep clean. Even a 25mile daily round trip to work (80/20 A road/M'way) car gets filthy after a couple of journeys.

[danbobnix]

Afternoon all I like to keep active on forums and will use this as a documented hunting thread for the IS of choice, when it gets going. Apologies.

Buying power has been pushed back again a lot, but for the better; I have had a loan with Zopa (peer to peer lending, fixed interest rate over the term) for about 3 years which was due to finish next April and took up about a tenth (as of last October) of my wage. Just paid off the remaining amount to clear myself of it and save properly. Which was the reason for the Yaris T Sport, eco-ish driving, it's boring but did me some favours I guess. I'm very happy this has gone and can now concentrate on saving for the car! Happy days!

It's one step closer to owning the IS of choice and i'm itching to get started. Currently reading every piece of information i can on buyers guides, from the US as well and browsing everything Lexus. Think I've got a problem...

Happy motoring everyone!

[danbobnix]

Seen a very low priced 300. High (to me) mileage on it however, with 130,000 on the clock, although i'm not put off and understand if it's well maintained it should only be wear and tear items that go pop. Upto now I have asked about service history and for more detailed pictures of any imperfections. Done a few searches and seen the usual cambelt service - anything that I should look for specifically with it being of this age if I go to view it?

Obviously if it comes back with no service history i'll not go near it. Only had 3 owners and the last has been since 2007. Hoping there will be evidence of major services and plenty of receipts. Will have to wait and see.