Newbie And Potential Is200 Sport Owner

[cheekyfutch]

Hi all,

Having lost my beloved Golf to a road accident, I now have my eyes set on a Lexus IS200 Sport. I'll be honest though - I can't afford to buy a brand new one and the 2nd hand market for these cars looks very tempting.

It looks like the price I'll have to pay for one of these beauties will range from 10k and above. I can afford to spend probably £12-13k max but want to know if it's worthwhile buying one with high mileage (80k and up). I know most of these would have been used as company cars so they have probably been driven quite hard.

Should I spend less to get a car with more features or bite the bullet and spend more to get a lower mileage car?

Comments would be most appreciated! :D

[Fidgits]

Well basically mate... as far as features go, if you buy a SE or Sport (only about 500-1k difference used), the only extra you can possibly have is Sat Nav.

There are differences between the older models, and the more recent Which is explained here

Generally, the mileage really doesn't matter... they are great cars, and very reliable.. but think about upcoming services.. the big ones are 40K and 80K.. so check the car isn't heading towards this anytime soon..

As long as the bodywork is in good condition, and it has a FSH.. you should be fine..

[cheekyfutch]

Have you got the Sat Nav system on yours then? How is it compared to standalone systems?

I thought they would be reliable - my younger brother has a BMW 328i convertible with M3 bodykit and my dad a CLK 200. I just fancied something that wasn't German having driven nothing but VW Golfs so I thought I'd treat myself this time.

Cheers for the info... I'll let you know what happens! :D

[Fidgits]

Nope.. I don't have the SatNav :(

I can't say I've tried a stand-alone system either...

But if your after the Nav, your better looking for the DVD verison (I think 2001 onwards)

[UKPulse]

Yup the satnav was CD based up to late 2000, then DVD based from there on. The DVD based system has a few more features and obviously covers a much wider area (like most of Europe), but the basics of the two systems are about the same.

The cost of the satnav new is around £2,400 so expect it to hike the price an extra grand or thereabouts, on a 2-3yr old car. Can't say I've seen many other satnav units, but the Lexus one is reckoned to be one of the best available (shame it can't be retro-fitted).

To be honest tho, unless you're a travelling salesman, I'd go for an IS without satnav and spend the extra on a lower mileage/younger model (or a few mods after getting it!) :winky:

[BESTY]

hi mate,i got mine with 65,000 miles on ,ex company.if you check the cars out well enough you will know if its a good en,mine purrs ,its sweet,i looked all over for the sport ,i think its better, rear privacy glass,spoiler ,torsen limited slip diff,sports pedals ,two tone steering wheel,the biz B) :)

[Chris.S]

Well basically mate... as far as features go, if you buy a SE or Sport (only about 500-1k difference used), the only extra you can possibly have is Sat Nav.

There are differences between the older models, and the more recent Which is explained here

Generally, the mileage really doesn't matter... they are great cars, and very reliable.. but think about upcoming services.. the big ones are 40K and 80K.. so check the car isn't heading towards this anytime soon..

As long as the bodywork is in good condition, and it has a FSH.. you should be fine..

The big services are 60,000, and 120,000 as plugs, air filter, pollen filter, oil filter and coolant are all changed among other things.

40,000 and 80,000 only pollen filter and oil filter are changed

PS Welcome to the club Cheekyfutch

[Zee007]

Oh - and welcome to the club matey...... :zee:

[Zaphod]

Hi, and welcome to the club. My suggestion is to look at getting an Altezza - 60 more horsies i.e. more bang for your buck. Mine cost £13500 with just 9000 miles on the clock! Superb car! :D :D :D

[UKPulse]

Hi, and welcome to the club. My suggestion is to look at getting an Altezza - 60 more horsies i.e. more bang for your buck. Mine cost £13500 with just 9000 miles on the clock! Superb car! :D :D :D

Spot on - had forgotten about the Altezza!

There's a thread here started by Mat. If you're interested in the Altezza route, I'm sure he'll be able to help somehow as there's some stunning cars coming thru the auctions :)

[ColinBarber]

The Sat nav should add around £500 to the price of a £13,000 car. I don't think they are worth the money in the IS unless you have a real need for it. It's a great system (one of the best standard fit systems) but a bit fiddly to input destinations compared to the other Lexus models as you don't have a touch screen and you don't get any other features (touch screen audio and climate controls or fuel computer). If you do get one with sat nav then try and get an up to date disc as they are expensive to purchase.

The cambelt needs changing at 100k so that service will cost above average.

I would also suggest you look at an import. However it would be wise to check insurance costs as they can be quite a bit more than a UK IS200.

[SteveAudioX]

Matt... SuperchargedIS340 Knows of some deals.

theres a post up too.

I got the sat nav model IS200 2000 model .. very nice. 39k on the clocks, supercharged and still running sweet as.

[lapat]

hi there

i recentley purchased my x plate 2001 aztec fire is200

its only the base model with 44k on the clock with sat nav i give £12k for it from lexus so have a good luck round they did have sports on the forecourt even a v plate for £11500 it had 60k on the clock and was platinum ice so they are about for the money you want to pay

i went for the base as i had leather in my merc e class before i bought this and it was really cold and un comfy at times,theres really not a lot of difference apart from trim levels and wheel sizes(didnt matter to me as i always by non standard wheels eventually)

good luck anyway

john

[cheekyfutch]

Cheers for all the info guys!

Sat Nav isn't a pre-requisite (but it would be nice to have) so I'd probably favour a slightly more expensive bog standard IS200 rather than a cheaper but more mileage Sport.