G'day,

I've decided to finally dig deep into my savings and purchase an is200. There are two which I will be inspecting on Saturday and would love everyone's feedback.

First option is a black 1999 Sports model with 86,000km priced at $15,000. HOWEVER there are no logbooks and after running a revs check (NSW initiative to give an insight into vehicles) I discovered the car is a repaired-write off. When I asked the seller about the write-off he told me that it was due to an insurance job and stolen keys from previous owner. I'm just annoyed at the fact that he did not disclose these facts. On the bright side, he managed to get a road worthy certificate. The link to the car is - http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/priva...id=11E15A334A67

2nd option is a gold 2001 Sports Luxury model with 125,000km at $18,500. No problems what-so-ever except no road worthy certificate. I'm not too fussed about that as I will have a mechanic accompany me to run some tests on both cars. The link for this car - http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/priva...id=11E15A334A67


I am a big fan of the black exterior/beige interior. Also I've considered that I am able to pressure for a lower price as there are no logbooks, it is a previous write-off, in the first photo it looks like there is a massive scratch on the front bumper and it is approaching the major service which I'll need to fork out for. What would be reasonable offers for both cars? Pros/Cons? Any input would be appreciated and thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge =D

Might I also add that I'm not looking to race the car. I just want something comfortable to sit in whilst I sit in bloody traffic going to and from work and uni each day haha
So most I'll be doing is replacing the audio, lowering it and hopefully be riding on some 19"s.

black one FTW

they are sure expensive there eh? makes living here in NZ bearable(just)...got mine altezza 2000 done just over 50,000kms for NZ$15K - mint condition

Don't forget to have a look through here-

http://z4.invisionfree.com/lexusaltezzaclu...hp?showforum=46

and this is Thunderbird's car that has had a Lexus V8 fitted- the best possible combination!

http://z4.invisionfree.com/lexusaltezzaclu...?showtopic=8762

I got your email thanks Wonga, so no V8 while on 'P' plates.. :(

Don't touch the first one. That isn't even it's standard interior, glovebox is the wrong colour to the seats as well as the door trim rubber... Also after market floor mats, man something bodgy is going on. 2nd one looks good "in the pictures", take a panel beater with you, they can usually check if a car has been in an acco.

Yeh its a shame hoons ruin the driving experience for others in NSW.

Thanks for the great insight lexism. I'll be drilling the seller tomorrow with plenty of questions and want to gauge his response to see if he has a honest/reasonable explanation. I'll be going with a mate who is going to perform a compression test and leak down test on the cars. What would you say are reasonable offers for the cars?

Man if you find one thing wrong mechanically/ bodywork, have some self control and hold yourself back even if the price is right or you'll regret it later. I learnt the hard way with my last skyline, it had a few issues but the price was right... and i bloody regret it!!

Tend to aim for an IS owned by an old person ;) and remember nobody likes a low baller, offer according to your budget but not ridiculously low.

Self control is hard when it comes to purchasing the first car! I'm just a massive fan of the black/beige contrast that I pray I won't do anything stupid. And the next is200 with the same style is $25k.
I start to feel guilty myself when I consider lowballing the seller. I should re-word my question - What is the maximum price i should offer to avoid being ripped off, given that both cars are mechanically and cosmetically ok?

It might be just me, but if I hear/read about write-offs or for that matter, even repaired, I will avoid.

Is there a reason why the Gold IS is left without a road worthy certificate?

The Gold one also has the factory sat nav :)

Yeh everyone tells me the same thing about written off cars. However, I would like to investigate further about the 'insurance job' that led to the write off because I'm deeply in love with the style! If the car was stripped, and so explaining the different glove box, then I will definately avoid the seller.

I'm not sure why the gold is200 has no certificate. But that will be a question I will ask tomorrow. Yeh, the sat nav is a bonus but i'm afraid the female seller may overprice her car because of it.

I will also be inspecting another is200 tomorrow - http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/priva...id=11E15A334A67

Not really digging the blue, but seems to be an older reliable seller living in a posh neighbourhood.

Also a common fault is with the factory CD player. Comes up with an ERR 1 or ERR 3 type error on the display. If it does, that's another negotiation point :P

BTW, welcome to the Club!

IMO, I wouldnt buy either as the the 1st one is a combination of cars and the 2nd is to expensive for the kms plus no cert?? Dodgy maybe??? :unsure: I'm sure there are better cars out there so keep looking. Check out the clubs for sale thread, maybe there's a car in there for you.

haha when i went for my is300 i wanted black with beige interior like yourself, but all the ones a saw had trashed interior, beige does not seem to age well with the IS's, black looks alot cleaner imo.

yeh i guess beige anywhere is not resilient to wear and tear. i've called up a few more sellers and it really seems most of the is200's are owned by younger drivers who seem dodgy haha

What about a black Altezza? (Shameless plug) ;)

haha i would definitely look at it if you can point me towards one in sydney by tuesday =D

I own one and am selling it now. I live in Cronulla.

Ahhh yeh saw it on the sale section. Everything has been done in taste and props to all your mods. However, I'm leaning more towards the luxury model and not the engine mods/performance car. Thanks for the offer though.

I've bought a couple of cars in my life by leaving a note under the windscreen of a car I found in a random carpark somewhere, or buy grabbing the rego plate number and paying the couple of bucks to get the name and address of the owner to write to them.

They may not have had it for sale but a little nudge got them thinking.

There's only four IS200s here in Orange, but they're all in mint condition and owned by people over 45.

I'll solve all your problems ,... buy my 2001 sport luxury ;)

lol

serious it is for sale

There was a Black Auto IS200 at the auctions a about a month ago which was water damaged. Watch out for that you dont want to deal with Water damaged Cars.

Also was another one that was stolen recoved and had the interior stripped from it. Ide guess that the keys were missing as well. :)

... why are the seats not electric? is that a is200 thing? also the leather on the seats looks really mankey esp the passenger seat dosnt seam like it fits the seat properly. I would probably run for cover.

If you really keen on it figure out how much the car would be worth to you perfect the - $1000 for your major and $xxx to fix the scratch $xxxx for the dogeyness and see what your left with.

$15000 is cheep but there is reasons.


EDIT:
The nob is some $2 ebay crap as well -$150 to get a new lexus one

EDIT 2:
Also looks like it might be lowered, make sure you check what one (unless its stock and just drooping