Lexus IS200

colm_mcm

It's just silly people that make them break, pressing the "Load" button and waiting for a green light isn't rocket science, neither is only loading one disc at a time!

Tipsy Mac

HashSlinging wrote:

is200 drivers a the biggest bunch of tossers ! I was sitting at the lights beside one and the guy rolls down his window and shouts Wan*ker at me and then sped off! by the time i got to a rounaboud he was 30 yards behind me and was going mental I nearly crashed into the roundabout with the look on his face:mad: . Do not buy.

Yes the car turns a perfectly sound driver into a tool, they have special powers

elexes

i didnt see your post before this . i was driving a focus 1.4 lx

bedrock1001

colm_mcm wrote:

It's just silly people that make them break, pressing the "Load" button and waiting for a green light isn't rocket science, neither is only loading one disc at a time!

colm_mcm whats the audio like from it? - i haven't had a chance to listen to one

colm_mcm

It's pretty good, the Sport has a premium sound system, but the standard one is pretty kickin too!

bedrock1001

Well I finally got the funds organised and I am now the proud owner of a 99 IS200.

even though its 7 years old it still seems to get a few looks driving around town:D

TempestSabre

HashSlinging wrote:

is200 drivers a the biggest bunch of tossers ! I was sitting at the lights beside one and the guy rolls down his window and shouts Wan*ker at me and then sped off! by the time i got to a rounaboud he was 30 yards behind me and was going mental I nearly crashed into the roundabout with the look on his face:mad: . Do not buy.

LOL. Dunno which one is worse.

unkel

bedrock1001 wrote:

Well I finally got the funds organised and I am now the proud owner of a 99 IS200

Best of luck with your new car

How much did you pay for it?

bspoke

So what because 'boy racers' have some money they are not allowed buy nice cars. God forbid they shoul dbuy a car usually associated with wannabe middle class.

The Altezza costs more than the equivilant Nissan Skyline so to say they buy them just to rag the hell out of them is ridiculos. Even if it was FWD im still sure it would be popular due to the styling, powerful engine and Toyota reliability.

Not buying something just cause it seems popular with 'boy racers' is ridiculos. Sure the Mk1 golf gti is the original hot hatch and will always be associated with boy racers of the early eighties yet a lot of people now adays would give their left nut to have one. The same thing with the Mk2 Escort.

Kimbot

bspoke wrote:

So what because 'boy racers' have some money they are not allowed buy nice cars. God forbid they shoul dbuy a car usually associated with wannabe middle class.

The Altezza costs more than the equivilant Nissan Skyline so to say they buy them just to rag the hell out of them is ridiculos. Even if it was FWD im still sure it would be popular due to the styling, powerful engine and Toyota reliability.

Not buying something just cause it seems popular with 'boy racers' is ridiculos. Sure the Mk1 golf gti is the original hot hatch and will always be associated with boy racers of the early eighties yet a lot of people now adays would give their left nut to have one. The same thing with the Mk2 Escort.

Agreed, cars a personal opinion and even if a "Boy Racer" buys the car I want to get it ain't going to change my mind!! THe IS200 is a beaut of a car but apparently the steering is crap compared to a Corolla's!!

bspoke

You cant compare an IS and a corrolla RWD vs FWD

Kimbot

bspoke wrote:

You cant compare an IS and a corrolla RWD vs FWD

Dude, I'm just telling you what I was told by an IS200 owner!!!

elexes

when i diecided to go for a altezza i was actually looking at evo's

i was well impressed with the altezza as i hadnt heard of it till i was in the garage so went home and looked it up on some sites . i saw it in between a is200 and the evo i came to look at but after test driving the altezza i knew i wouldnt end up buying the evo

considering the type of car it is and the nice 210 bhp ( guessing it would be about 190 on irish fule ) i think i got good value for money

i wouldnt consider it a skanger car by any means

good luck with ur is200

bedrock1001

steering is a bit off i must say - its an issue with the standard factory tracking i am told

bedrock1001

unkel wrote:

Best of luck with your new car

How much did you pay for it?

sorry unkel didn't spot your question
paid 13,900 for a 99 Sport with 1 years warranty
sounds good?!?

TempestSabre

bedrock1001 wrote:

steering is a bit off i must say - its an issue with the standard factory tracking i am told

What do you mean? Its either right ot it isn't.

bedrock1001

TempestSabre wrote:

What do you mean? Its either right ot it isn't.

the steering seems to drift a bit over time - as in you steer straight and pulls to the right or left. apparently its to do with the way the factory set the tracking.... it loosens up after time

my steering is off at the mo. had the garage fix it. now it pulls in the opposite direction. its going back to the garage...again

TempestSabre

When its setup properly and theres no camber on the road it shouldn't drift. If its drifting you must have hit a ramp or pothole to knock it out.

bedrock1001

TempestSabre wrote:

When its setup properly and theres no camber on the road it shouldn't drift. If its drifting you must have hit a ramp or pothole to knock it out.

i bought it 2nd hand from a dealer. steering was like that when i got it. previous driver may have hit something....

my main concern is that even when they had a look at it and tried to fix it its still off - now the other direction - guess its not setup properly

also it drifts on every road i drive so i gues camber is not an issue here - i hope

TempestSabre

Lots of places, even with fancy equipment seem to be unable to set a car up properly. Not entirely sure why that is. In many cases you'd do a better job yourself.

bedrock1001

TempestSabre wrote:

Lots of places, even with fancy equipment seem to be unable to set a car up properly. Not entirely sure why that is. In many cases you'd do a better job yourself.

funny you should say that - the garage in question is a lexus dealership which annoys me even more

gary the great

Old thread i know, but didnt want to start a new one.
Im moving to england soon and am goin o buy one of these i think, there a lovely car. A 02 sport IS200 is about £7.5k, whcih is reasonable enough.Some comments on here suggest they are expensive to run? Is there a diesal? Petrol is dam expensive in the UK and don't want to spend a fortune running it, what mpg should i expect?

Im only going to be over there a year so im gonna buy it and then bring it home and register it as an irish car, should earn me a few quid!

Its either this or a 3 series, or maybe even a 1.6 vtec civic sport if i can't afford the lexus.

unkel

gary the great wrote:

Is there a diesal?

There is a diesel, but it's only been around for a bit more than a year, so it is way outside of your budget. For a diesel within your budget, you could do far worse than a BMW 320d. Cheap as chips over in the UK, so excellent value for money

Be prepared to fight off all the other buyers from Ireland that want to bring one home for importation

NiSmO

This post has been deleted.

Biro

gary the great wrote:

Old thread i know, but didnt want to start a new one.
Im moving to england soon and am goin o buy one of these i think, there a lovely car. A 02 sport IS200 is about £7.5k, whcih is reasonable enough.Some comments on here suggest they are expensive to run? Is there a diesal? Petrol is dam expensive in the UK and don't want to spend a fortune running it, what mpg should i expect?

Im only going to be over there a year so im gonna buy it and then bring it home and register it as an irish car, should earn me a few quid!

Its either this or a 3 series, or maybe even a 1.6 vtec civic sport if i can't afford the lexus.

After 18 months of ownership (6 over there and 12 here minimum to avoid paying VRT), you'll have depleated any cost advantage due to depreciation.
Only diesel is the 2.2 in the new model.

gary the great

Biro wrote:

After 18 months of ownership (6 over there and 12 here minimum to avoid paying VRT), you'll have depleated any cost advantage due to depreciation.
Only diesel is the 2.2 in the new model.

Yep but after 18months i'll still get back what i paid for it, which is grand by me!

I've had a look and it seems the 320D is out of my price range.
Is there any other car that aremuch more expensive over there that would save me a few quid by buying?

Lamps

The IS200 is a lovely car, dunno what the mpg is though.

Have a read of this before you buy:
http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/knowledge/index.php?page=index_v2&id=41&c=5

bazz26

My cousin has a 2004 IS200 Sport, he bought it up North, car has everything including leather electric seats, xenon lights and dvd sat nav, he loves it and his previous car was an E46 320Ci.

The IS200 has a 2.0 litre VVTi straight six cylinder engine with 153bhp compared to the Jap import Toyota Altezza's 2.0 litre 4 cylinder 210/220bhp Yamaha Beams engine.

The IS200 is not the fastest car in it's class but no snail either. Avoid the auto version as it is slower again and thirstier. If buying one in the UK check the alloy wheels as the salty roads have been known to cause premature peeling of the alloy paint, most would have been replaced under warranty.

unkel

bazz26 wrote:

The IS200 has a 2.0 litre VVTi straight six cylinder engine with 153bhp compared to the Jap import Toyota Altezza's 2.0 litre 4 cylinder 210/220bhp Yamaha Beams engine

It's never been hard to understand why an IS200 is RWD and has a straight six engine

I never knew though that the same car with the Toyota badge is a 4-pot!

bazz26

unkel wrote:

I never knew though that the same car with the Toyota badge is a 4-pot!

Yeah, same Beams engine found in the old model Celica afaik.