LOTS of IS200 questions.....
LOTS of IS200 questions.....
Well I'm of to Norway tomorrow , but I think I'll pop in to the dealers when I get home and see what pish excuse they will give me for saying no . Is there any conditions for them to do it ???
My break callipers had a seizing issue last year and thats it for a 9yr old car. Cost £300 to get them reconned and back up to spec. I have a small bit of rust on the drivers side wheel arch, but seeing as it's got a 12yr warranty i'll look in to getting that sorted for free
Moley Well I'm of to Norway tomorrow , but I think I'll pop in to the dealers when I get home and see what pish excuse they will give me for saying no . Is there any conditions for them to do it ???
Moley Well I'm of to Norway tomorrow , but I think I'll pop in to the dealers when I get home and see what pish excuse they will give me for saying no . Is there any conditions for them to do it ???
After a week or so of prodding around the web for info about early IS200's I still can't find any major bad points.
Plus points so far.
It seems that the engine keeps going as long as you keep supplying it with petrol and the occasional service, It's not a BMW 3 series, All the body panels that can get wet are galvanised, Reasonably adjustable suspension geometry, It's still not a 3 series, Insurance cost isn't excessive, Good security as standard, Not to difficult to service yourself and the price for an immaculate 1999 to 2001 plate car with all the toys still only tops out around £2500.
Bad points.
They're a bit thirsty (No problem. It's going to be a weekend car anyway) and whatever one I get will probably need the alloys refurbished (I used to work for an industrial powder coaters many moons ago. 80 quid would get all four chemically stripped and sprayed in the colour of my choice).
I even popped into a Lexus dealer to quietly interrogate one of their "Technicians" (A posh spanner monkey? :tongue_smilie. He said he "doesn't like seeing them at work as there's only so many times you can service the bl00dy things before it gets repetitive". he went on to say that "When an old IS200 turns up in one of the bays, 99% of the time it's just for a service. The other 1%'s when some old git needs a new clutch because for the last 5 years, Rather than use the handbrake he'll have been holding the car on the biting point for minutes at a time for every uphill set of traffic lights he's been stopped at"....... Nice.
Thing is, I'm not a "Glass half full" type of person (As a colleague once pointed out, I'm more of a "Where's my glass? Some f**kers stole my glass...... Bl00dy hell, I'll never be able to get another one like that. I really liked that glass...... S0d it, I'm going off to sulk" sort of person. :whistling I'm still finding it hard to believe that a car which on paper seems to be better built (With more "Optional extras" thrown in as standard than the others in it's class) can still be so much cheaper to buy than it's competitors offerings of the same vintage........ There MUST be something I'm still missing here ?!?!
So come on everybody. Let me in on the secret. What's the real big problem with owning an IS200?
I'm assuming that as they seem to go on forever, Second hand parts are hard to find? Is there anything that's hard to get second hand, Likely to need replacing at some point and really expensive from Lexus?
What about non Lexus parts? In the MX5 world we have 3 or 4 company's that specialise in supplying every part you might ever need (New or used). Is there any one out there doing similar for the '200?
If they really are as good as everyone says, Then by the beginning of sumer next year I reckon I'll be saying goodbye to my MX5 (Worth more when it's sunny) and looking for a decent '00 to '02 sport (In black, Silver or green I think).
Scotty B.
I am relatively new to the IS scene, my neighbour is a lexus technician and after lots of research and chatting to him they really are as bullet proof as they seem, if serviced regularly they will go will past 200,000 miles and will not give you any grief.
I bought a cat D car and fixed it which saved me a huge chunk of cash and u wouldnt be able to tell and with a full lexus history i know its a sound car.
I think the main bit for most people is over here the lexus brand is not as well known or respected unlike in other countries, this means they dont hold their value as well as other brands do, personally i have never cared what badge is on it, its how sturdy it is underneath :-)
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
my personal feelings (and ive worked a lot on my lexus)
as long as the cambelts changed 60k ish then they are fine.
the reason their cheap, less popular (people follow the crowd and get a 3 series) and theyre slow compared to a 2ltr bmw but still quick enough and yes they come with all the toys it was the engine that let them down with tis economy and speed thats all.
Easily solved by buying the Altezza RS200.
2tongues Easily solved by buying the Altezza RS200.
2tongues Easily solved by buying the Altezza RS200.
True.
let me introduce the is300 lol :p