excel monkey

Was this a special edition, only sold in Spain?

Great to hear your LS is doing so well. Do you think in 10-15 years time that these cars will be on sale at a modern classics dealer like 4 Star Classics (as opposed to the "under a grand" section in Autotrader?) As an example, right now they have a 34 year old BMW 5 series, just a plain 520 model, up for sale at £9995. Admittedly this is an immaculate and very low mileage car, but the price is still staggering. http://www.4starclas...2-520-For-Sale/ Can we expect to see immaculate early LS400s enjoying the same demand in the future? Or is there still a slight stigma around Japanese cars that prevents them from being seen as "proper" classics in the UK?

There was a recent thread in the IS200/300 section titled "Are early IS200s too cheap". The general consensus was that prices are about right (i.e. under £1000), given the lack of demand for cars perceived as unfashionable and expensive to run. Despite this, I think the IS will follow the same price and desirability trajectory as the E30 (late 80s / early 90s) BMW 3 series. A few years ago you couldn't give them away (M3 excepted) but now demand is picking up for well looked after 320s and 325s. The IS is an enthusiast's car, with RWD and a non-turbo engine, and once all the tatty ISs have been killed off, the remaining nice ones should experience a gentle rise in desirability. Following on from this, can we see a point in the future where Lexuses will become collectible classics, and which models? Lexus is an unusual case, being a completely new brand, having to establish itself against companies like Merc and Jag with centuries of heritage. I think the original LS will definitely become a classic, as it was such a huge leap ahead of the industry standard at the time. The IS might do the same, but probably not to the same extent.

Hi there. I had huge problems trying to find cars in my price range and I felt that if you put a pin in Reading and had a hyperthetical 200 mile radius. Outside of this radius the cars can be upto £1000.00 cheaper than inside. The SportCross I bought had 122000 miles on the clock, bu had done only 10, 000 in the last 4 years. I was very lucky with the price. The garage had the car for nearly 6 months, they kept on reducing the price. I think the fuel economy put a lot of people off, the rest of those who didn't buy it just didn't realise the is200 was available as an estate and ignored it. Stuart. Thanks for your comments - very interesting. Am not in a rush to buy, so will keep an eye on the classified ads and wait for a good one.

Thanks for the heads up. I had seen this car on eBay, and will wait for a few weeks to say if anything else comes up in the south of England before looking at that one. I'm in London, so Hartlepool is a long round trip, especially if the car turns out to be rubbish when I get there. I know I had said "willing to travel", but anything more than 200 miles away is probably a bit excessive.

Looking for a good IS Sportcross, up to £3k. Would prefer an IS200 over an IS300, but will consider either. Any age, any mileage (within reason), just looking for a good well maintained car. Am based in London, but willing to travel for the right car. Please reply to this message if you have a car you are looking to sell.

Thanks for the advice. With only 5 SportCross models currently on Autotrader across the whole country, it could be a while before I buy :-(

I want one because I consider myself an enthusiast and want a car that drives and handles well. My car will be a second car doing low miles, so the mpg is not a big deal for me. But there are not many people out there with the same priorities. I never said dated, I said "very late 1990s" and I stand by that comment. The rear lights (although they spawned thousands of imitations), the angular body lines and the fussy dashboard are all very much "of their time". Personally I like the look - I'm so much of a fan I even like the SportCross - but I think most people in the street would not see it as cutting edge these days. To be clear, I'm a new member on this board, a BMW owner coming in peace! I'm a fan of the IS, but am trying to be realistic about the cars value and its place in the market these days. If anyone has a decent SportCross in the south of England they are looking to sell, I'm all ears. Agree that "plenty to go wrong" was an unfair comment. I should have said "heavy on consumables". On this message board, I hear plenty of stories of fragile suspension alignment, rapid tyre wear, and corroding alloys. If I had to recommend a cheap family car to someone, I'd recommend an Avensis over an IS. As someone else on this thread has already said, the IS has quite a narrow appeal as it's really only for the enthusiasts now, it's not a cheap car to run and maintain.

Honestly, would you really recommend a sub-£1k IS200 as a cheap family runaround, with its limited rear seat room and non folding seats? I'm delighted that your car has been so trouble-free, but other threads on this forum would suggest that there are plenty of things to go wrong.To use an old cliche, these cars are worth what the market will pay. I would say the values are comparable with 318s/320s and A4s of the same age. The IS is an old design that looks very "late 1990s" both inside and out, and relative to its BMW/Audi/Merc peers it has a reputation for poor economy (deservedly) and gutless engines (undeservedly), along with a slightly dodgy "Fast and the Furious" image in certain parts of the country. OP - if you think these cars are too cheap, how much do you think they **should** be selling for? On the flip side of this debate, I am looking for a SportCross and am finding it impossible to find a decent unmolested one for less than £3k! Very jealous of the one that was posted in the New Members section recently.