Is200 advice

[danielgs]

Hi guys, I have a question I'm in a process of buying a house and after all calculations regarding the mortgage I need more money so I have to sell my Lexus is250 which is an absolute pleasure to own but house is much more important obviously. To make the story short I have an option to change it for Lexus is200 auto from 2003 and of course some money in my favor. This is250 is my first Lexus but I don't know how good these older models were especially regarding this auto gearbox I can see it only has 4 gears 🤔, the car has 228000km and it looks really clean and in very good condition and mine has 200000km and it's from 2010

[lexus22]

Is200 SE, Sport, manual, automatic?

[danielgs]

On 7/14/2021 at 11:15 PM, lexus22 said:

Is200 SE, Sport, manual, automatic?

Automatic that's why I'm asking it's a 4 gear gearbox and I don't know how reliable it is

[wblake]

They are far more reliable than the newer models, but depends how it was looked after, and how many miles etc has on it

[danielgs]

4 hours ago, wblake said:

They are far more reliable than the newer models, but depends how it was looked after, and how many miles etc has on it

Ok, is there anything specific on these models that I have to look out for?

[EP80]

My Dad ran an IS200 Sport Manual from around 100k miles to iirc 270k miles. All in all it was pretty reliable, his was driven hard from time to time but mostly just did lots of miles.

The Head Gasket went at around 180k miles so needed replaced. I don't think this is common, its that long ago I don't remember the cause, but it could have been user error or similar.

Differential gave up around 230k miles (I can't remember exact problem) not a huge deal if you don't need the LSD diff as they are cheap.

The main problem with these cars in my opinion is rust. His would still be on the road today were it not for rust, the inner & outer sills and arches rust BADLY, his had bad rust on the leading edge of the bonnet also. So make sure to check the car as well as you can for rust.

Other than that, lacquer peel was pretty much everywhere and corrosion on the 5 spoke wheels.

A bit more subjective: I personally much prefer the driving position/handling of the IS250 vs the IS200, even when it was younger my Dads IS200 always felt like a boat in comparison. Easily fixed with the mountain of parts available but a consideration for a standard car.

 

 

 

[ColinBarber]

On 7/21/2021 at 10:36 PM, danielgs said:

Automatic that's why I'm asking it's a 4 gear gearbox and I don't know how reliable it is

The transmission is reliable, provided the fluid has been changed regularly. Unlike the IS250 the IS200 auto doesn't have lifetime fluid, the pan should be draining/refilled every major service.

Whilst the auto box is reliable, it isn't the smoothest nor is the car that quick compared to the manual - it really could do with a 5 speed.

[ColinBarber]

12 minutes ago, EP80 said:

A bit more subjective: I personally much prefer the driving position/handling of the IS250 vs the IS200, even when it was younger my Dads IS200 always felt like a boat in comparison. Easily fixed with the mountain of parts available but a consideration for a standard car.

Really???? The IS200 chassis and suspension is so much better than IS250 for handling/enjoyment.

[Peacock]

Pretty much not much at all. Lacquer on wheels is a bit of a LEXUS weakness. I've had my IS200 SE automatic for over 10 years now. 1st gear is low and can change up quick. However you can lock down any gear as a sort of semi auto; also has Sport mode and a Snow mode. Don't do much miles due to illness (and 'nothing' during lockdown) but has never let me down although sat on the drive most of the time in those years, starts straight off first time every time. Only things have been a replacement Battery and an air con. regas. At it's MoT's just brake pads and shock absorber. So just normal consumables then.

(Do you want to buy mine, 2002/02 with 66,175 miles, MoT to June 2022, shiny mid blue with biscuit leather and Alcantra seats, so cool in summer with all electric front seats - heated for winter ?)

[Peacock]

18 minutes ago, EP80 said:

My Dad ran an IS200 Sport Manual from around 100k miles to iirc 270k miles. All in all it was pretty reliable, his was driven hard from time to time but mostly just did lots of miles.

The Head Gasket went at around 180k miles so needed replaced. I don't think this is common, its that long ago I don't remember the cause, but it could have been user error or similar.

Differential gave up around 230k miles (I can't remember exact problem) not a huge deal if you don't need the LSD diff as they are cheap.

The main problem with these cars in my opinion is rust. His would still be on the road today were it not for rust, the inner & outer sills and arches rust BADLY, his had bad rust on the leading edge of the bonnet also. So make sure to check the car as well as you can for rust.

Other than that, lacquer peel was pretty much everywhere and corrosion on the 5 spoke wheels.

A bit more subjective: I personally much prefer the driving position/handling of the IS250 vs the IS200, even when it was younger my Dads IS200 always felt like a boat in comparison. Easily fixed with the mountain of parts available but a consideration for a standard car.

 

 

 

What year, how old was it. Sounds like an early high mileage ?

[danielgs]

11 hours ago, Peacock said:

Pretty much not much at all. Lacquer on wheels is a bit of a LEXUS weakness. I've had my IS200 SE automatic for over 10 years now. 1st gear is low and can change up quick. However you can lock down any gear as a sort of semi auto; also has Sport mode and a Snow mode. Don't do much miles due to illness (and 'nothing' during lockdown) but has never let me down although sat on the drive most of the time in those years, starts straight off first time every time. Only things have been a replacement battery and an air con. regas. At it's MoT's just brake pads and shock absorber. So just normal consumables then.

(Do you want to buy mine, 2002/02 with 66,175 miles, MoT to June 2022, shiny mid blue with biscuit leather and Alcantra seats, so cool in summer with all electric front seats - heated for winter ?)

Sorry man, I don't live in the UK, I'm in Spain

[EP80]

21 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

Really???? The IS200 chassis and suspension is so much better than IS250 for handling/enjoyment.

Really.  Both cars were around 90k miles, bone stock, manual and the sport model. I have no idea what the general consensus is on that subject but that was my experience. The diff in the IS200 was lots of fun at relatively low speeds etc but made little difference to the driving experience otherwise.

 

22 hours ago, Peacock said:

What year, how old was it. Sounds like an early high mileage ?

It was a 2000 car, normal mileage to begin with but definitely high mileage once taken off the road, as above.