Lexus IS300...good buy?
 

So, we are looking for a 3rd car for our family, and since I wont be able to get/afford a supra, I was thinking of getting an IS300. Its 2001 auburn sky pearl is300, has around 105k miles and costs around 7k (i can get this used cuz its a dealer car so i can set up a payment plan, my budget is actually like 4-5k); As far as i know it is stock. So i was wondering if its worth the buy, if anyone has an experience owning an is300 or has any input it would be greatly appreciated also wondering if that is a good price for the one i asked about.

or maybe someone could suggest me a fun/fast for around 4-5k

Recently, I, myself was looking into this car too. lol My friend's brother use to own IS300. Pure stock and he said it's good fun car, just for engine they have put, he wished for more power. iirc he bought IS250 & was extremely disappointed, so change it to IS F.

As for the price, it's good I think. Around my area IS300 is selling for $9k~$15k so for $7k, that's good.

I would take a look at the 97-01 Lexus SC300.

My buddy has a gun metal greay IS300 and it's a fun little car. I say if everything checks out, go for it.

One of my friends also has a pearl white '08 IS250 and she loves it. I drove one time and it felt very underpowered. Nice car but the powerplant wasn't too impressive.

you can find a turbo mr2 in that price range. decently fast and fun as hell to drive. but then again its a 15+ year old car.

That's a decent price for a dealer. Just make sure it's mechanically sound first. Also, if you're concerned about acceleration, I've heard that the auto version of the IS300 is quite a bit slower. If it's a 5 speed though, I'd go for it.

As far as other cars ~$5k, you may be able to find an 00-01 6 speed Celica GT-S in that price range, although you may have to do a bit of searching. If you can put up with FWD and little available power below 6.2k RPMs, it's actually a little bit faster than a manual IS300 (although the difference is negligible). Also, the 2500lb curb weight is a nice bonus.

hmm yea, right now im leaning towards buying it since we do need a 3rd car and the ft-86 isnt coming out for like 2+ years haha...either way i still have to wait till the parents come back from overseas to get it, so hopfully it will still b up for sale =/

...
celica?
:sigh:

He said he wanted something fun for 4-5k and I made a suggestion. :iono:

Celica can be fun car... if you spent another $2k~3$k for after market parts.

haha my dad loves the newest gen celica, but it reminds me of a girl car for some reason (no offense to any guys that own one). I plan on checking out the IS300 next week sometime once my dad gets back

Fun cars= E30 or miata
Fast Cars=300z, FC RX-7, or SC300

Just my opinion.

update:
haha well unfortunately the IS300 i was looking at got sold before my dad comes home, so i have been looking at other cars in my price range and stumbled upon an 02 rsx 5spd with 127k miles gonna go look at that in a few days after i carfax/autocheck the VIN cuz the dealer doesnt have a free one up

Get ready to pay through the roof in insurance for an RSX.

Honda! gasp... nice cars. extra high insurance



EDIT-JK on the honda joke. lets not start that again thank you

127k on 02? wow that's a lot of miles.

My friend own RSX & she like it, but she wish she had type-s.

You mean a 300zx?
(I'm not a nissan guy, so if there was a 300z, I don't know about it. Honest question.)

Yes, but most ppl know Z31 & Z32 series by 300Z. Just like older series (S30), most ppl don't even know 260z or 280zx existed. If they saw older Z, they think 240z or 280z.

Zs have been around for quite a while. I think of 280z, but like I said, I'm not really into datsun/nissan.
:iono:

Yeah, 240Z was the first, 1970 iirc (US ver).

Same here, I don't know much bout Datsun/Nissan.Just my old roommate was freak of Datsun, so he gave me lecture for an hr and hr bout how great Fairlady is.

Yeah...sorry I meant the 300ZX.

I'm thinking of buying one for my sister in law's first car

I use to own a SC300. It was a great car.

Lexus IS300 Second Car - Thoughts?
 

I bought my BRZ six months ago and I LOVE it - very happy with the purchase. That being said, I'm a bit protective of it - don't like leaving it parked outside over night, prefer to not run errands around town with it, and am not a fan of sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic in it burning out my clutch... So I'm in the market for a second car as a "knock-around" car.

I'm looking for an auto, something that can ideally sit four people, and that is reliable. I'd primarily use this as an around-town car and for camping/fishing. I've narrowed down the search to a 2001 - 2002 Lexus IS300, as I like the styling, it's reliable, RWD, and I could add some modifications (new wheels/cold air intake/etc).

Before I go out and drop $5500 on a used car, I wanted to get input from the forum- anyone out there own one? Any general consensus on the reliability of the car? Should I be looking at anything else?

Thanks!

On the old IS300, so long as you're happy with its size(its about the size of a Corolla back then, today's is bigger) they're a very solid and very reliable car. The only problems have heard was the CD player is apparently bad in that it eats CDs. The only other issue I can think of is...old age. In stock form, they don't seem to suffer any common issues. Due note though that even though the 2JZ-GE is a very durable motor, its also a pretty thirsty one too(90s 6-cylinder tech after all) making the BRZ seem like a Prius on that metric.

I was intending to buy one but I couldn't find a manual one...

I'd get one of these instead.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...via_SC_AWD.jpg


Mid engine
Supercharged
AWD
Plenty of room for shopping, errands, etc.
Toyota reliability

Honestly it's just a Lotus with a lot of room....

I had a 2002 is300 and plan on getting another in the future. Theyre damn reliable, smooth, quiet, luxurious and look awesome. Like mentioned, cd player isnt greatest. I replaced it with indash nav/dvd.

Would you say it's more equivalent to an Elise or Exige?

Thanks for all the tips guys, sounds like the IS300 is the way to go. I'll post pictures once I buy it!

Hey man, i researched this car a lot when i was going to buy it. So close so close.

Anyway, its reliable and around for 5k~7k for a good one. Make sure the timing belt and water pump has been changed esp around 80k+ miles

Handling is good as well but this car is not so good on mileage in comparison to the twins.

More akin to the Evora.

Is300s are awesome cars! They are super comfortable for the size, the ride quality is great, fuel economy isn't too bad for a 2jz with vvti. The only problem I can see you having with it is leaving it stock!

I know you are probably joking...

But the supercharger that is on the van, can go on a 4AGZE engine and it works pretty well.

I strongly considered going that route on my NA AW-11 because I had a ton of parts to S/C.

Reason: I had a S/C AW-11 that I loved...and I hoarded anything AW-11 because I was running into replacement parts issues (hard to find...so when I found...I bought lol)

IS300s are nice but if you want a car for winter then go for the IS250 or 250 AWD. I am also in your position to get another car because I am protective with the FRS and I was looking into the ISs. They are very reliable as well.

Would simply get Acura TL with 1st gen SH-AWD.

I drove one with a CAI - the sound was something that the FA20 can never aspire to...
Honestly, if you can find one with M/T, that manual is very easy to drive, even for a novice driver.

As pointed out though, gas mileage is horrendous for the power you're getting.

I came from an IS300. Loved that car. Performance is good, plenty of potential. Good looks. Reliable. I had a 2001 and it never rattled unlike my 2013 FR-S. The back seats still have limited space, but great if you slide seats slightly forward. The trunk is big enough for things, but rear seats don't fold so I could still fit longer boxes into the FR-S. But I've gone camping with it and fit all the gear. My CD player did eat my CDs and break down but I just hooked up my phone via FM player. Not sure if the later year models came with a auxiliary Jack.

I'd get a corolla.. Honestly yes not as fun but you'll have fun saving $ in gas that you can put into the 86

Hey guys- apologies for the radio silence. After careful thought and consideration, I ended up skipping the IS300 in favour of this:

http://matt5lot10.com/images/photos/Legacy/legacy1.jpg

http://matt5lot10.com/images/photos/Legacy/legacy2.jpg

2002 Subaru Legacy GT Wagon

Figured the wagon was more functional (the IS300 rear seats don't fold down), it's better on fuel, and it's a Subaru boxer engine (hell yeah!). Not to mention it was $1500 less than any IS I could find.

Here's a few "mods" done (extra horse powers):

http://matt5lot10.com/images/photos/...plastidip1.jpg

http://matt5lot10.com/images/photos/...plastidip2.jpg

- PlatiDipped interior paneling (I hate that fake plastic wood shit)
- JVC Bluetooth head unit