Lexus IS200 - the new chav mobile?

gary the great

I think we can all agree that the Lexus IS200 has it all and is a fantastic car in every department.

But, is this going to be the next chav mobile? There is an increasing amount of chav's and boy racers driving them and Altezzas now. This will probaly make them uninsurable in the near future too.

AM thinking about bringing one in from the UK myself and a mate said he wouldn't as he thinks they are going to become uninsurable/have a scummy image (such as Starbo's etc) pretty soon.

Wouldn't put me off, but what do you's think?

colm_mcm

you may be right, but no worse than the 3 series

Atomic Pineapple

hardly gonna become a glanza type image but yeh there increasingly been driven by "boy racer" types and are way overpriced at the minute too because of the demand.

i was seriously looking to get one of these myself but as they became more and more common on the roads and in the autotrader etc.. i was put off.

Creamy Goodness

it's just boy racers actually wanting a car with proper lexus lights lol.

colm_mcm

so for value for money and exclusivity you're looking for an Integra?

Atomic Pineapple

colm_mcm wrote:

so for value for money and exclusivity you're looking for an Integra?

me?



no

colm_mcm

Yeah, you. suppose the newer model is less common, but the older ones are everywhere lately.

Atomic Pineapple

no, i'm after an accord type r, very rare and inexpensive(ish) to get one in from england

i was after the rarer integra ukdm but yeh the price of them turned out to be a rip off.

bazz26

Seen a 1998 tarted up Alteeza the other week with Lexus IS200 badges. Looked daft since the IS200 was only sold from 1999 onwards here.

My cousin has a 2004 fully loaded IS200 Sport Design and it is a beauty. He bought it up North last year, it is a fairly rare scarlet red colour also.

A 1999 IS200 can be bought for reasonable money in the UK these days.

colm_mcm

Sport-Design is a nice model, particularly the seats.

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote:

Sport-Design is a nice model, particularly the seats.

Indeed, full electric leather with memory settings.

tuxy

So which image is best for the ls200, skanger or this
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Km11Cb5NDp0
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nA3qzPRyY9s
?

Victor Meldrew

colm_mcm wrote:

you may be right, but no worse than the 3 series

Agreed, Always thought the IS200 was a bit ugly, like most lexus cars. On the skank / chav factor, I think it's already happened...

This begs the question, what premium second-hand cars are left? BMW 5's are getting dodgy occasionally, but they are still OK, Mercs are too "auld-lad" / taxi so will survive, Volvos and Saabs seem to just go tatty and dissapear,

Audi were impervious to our track-suited brethern's attention, but I've seen some dodgy A6's of late.

So, you're not a creamer, and don't have 50K to drop on a new motor, what do you pick to be safe in the knowledge that you won't see the same car in ASBO spec ?

furtzy

Victor Meldrew wrote:

Audi were impervious to our track-suited brethern's attention, but I've seen some dodgy A6's of late.

The A4 has become a particular favourite of the country boy racer......lexus lights, 19" alloys and the all important huge TDI (in red of course) window sticker.

Old 5 series are starting to get the treatment as well. Mainly due to the eastern euopean ****e heaps knocking around.

Mercs and Saabs seem to be immune so far

Henry Ford III

GS300 is worse. (Mostly) Skangers with money drive them.

slickmcvic

yeah,their big now with the boy racers at home,its cos their rear wheel drive and they can be diffed around the place,their also quite sporty but i hear their pretty sore on juice,The Audi 02>04 A4 is also becomin popular with em....sayin that though i'd have either of em in a shot!!

unkel

Victor Meldrew wrote:

what do you pick to be safe in the knowledge that you won't see the same car in ASBO spec ?

LOL

bazz26

slickmcvic wrote:

yeah,their big now with the boy racers at home,its cos their rear wheel drive and they can be diffed around the place,their also quite sporty but i hear their pretty sore on juice,The Audi 02>04 A4 is also becomin popular with em....sayin that though i'd have either of em in a shot!!

Indeed, it seems putting a RS4 badge on the boot of an A4 opposite the TDi badge and slapping a set of 19" RS4 replica alloy wheels qualifies it as an ASBO spec TDi RS4.

JHMEG

LOL!

Something I've noticed about the Altezzas is the with them seems to have come a new type of chav. In fact I don't think we had chavs before the Altezzas starting arriving en masse.

Maybe the chavs are being imported too? Or maybe that's what the Glanza chavs look like when they grow up and can start claiming the dole in their own name?

Altho having said that the IS200 doesn't really seem to have the same chav appeal as the Altezza.

MikeHunt

gary the great wrote:

I think we can all agree that the Lexus IS200 has it all and is a fantastic car in every department.

^ Nuff said. Yet you're hung-up on peoples perceptions of you based on the car you drive? There must be some fundamental issues you need to address in the first place! It'll always be an insurable car as long as you're of a reasonable age with a few years NCB.

In my opinion there's a long list of boy-racer style cars that come before the IS200/Altezza.

Also, since when did "chav" become a word in the Irish vocabulary? :rolleyes:

Victor Meldrew

MikeHunt wrote:

^

Also, since when did "chav" become a word in the Irish vocabulary? :rolleyes:

If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and goes quack...etc.

or in the case of chavs, pigeons are more appropriate.

NiSmO

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Gatster

Originally Posted by NiSmO
I'm 17 and looking for an is200 so what your saying is i'm not aloud get one i'm certainly not a chav!

If you are actually 17, and serious, have you enquired as to how much insurance will be?:eek:

NiSmO

NiSmO wrote:

This post has been deleted.

One of my friends has an IS200, He is 24 with a full licence and had to get the car insured in his fathers name with himself as a named driver. At 17 you won't have a hope I'd say.

NiSmO

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unkel

NiSmO wrote:

This post has been deleted.

So how much were you quoted? I presume for a 17 year old with a full license but without a full years NCB / named driver

E92

MikeHunt wrote:

Also, since when did "chav" become a word in the Irish vocabulary? :rolleyes:

It seems we've ''imported'' that word too, and from the 'old enemy' which makes it worse

As for the car, the one good thing about an IS is that it boasts a straight 6, the cars is just a glorified Toyota really(lots of Toyota switchgear to be found in there, admittedly it does have a different chassis, for a start unlike a Toyota its rear wheel drive)
Give me an IS(old type) before an Altezza anyday. Its the Altezza I notice is driven by the boy racer types.(how they find the money to buy and run them is another thing but anyway)

As for the people who re badge, any petrolhead should notice straight away if they are walking in town or have the window down which is which, badged appropriately or not. The engine noise being the giveaway.(an Altezza is a 4 pot, an IS(old model) is a straight 6)

NiSmO

This post has been deleted.

unkel

skanger is what we call them here, not chav

E92

Actually its knacker down here in Cork

unkel

E92 wrote:

Actually its knacker down here in Cork

Is skanger a Dublin only thing, or are you lot in Cork a year or two behind?