Buying An Rs200

[Tezzy]

Hi lads i'm new to the site not an owner yet but possibly by the weekend if i like what i see...

The one i'm going to look at is a late 1998 RS200 Z Edition,

Chipped supposedly to 225bhp in Japan

Manual gearbox

TRD Xenon lights

TRD front bumper

19" wheels

75k miles

imported in 2003 to UK as grade 5

Standard ICE with band expander

Navy blue

He's looking for £5,800 sterling does this seem a bit cheap?

What should i be looking out for apart from the usual mechanical stuff lads?

Cheers

[Noel]

Welcome to LOC.... :)

I'd be more interested on it's life since it arrived in the UK, regularly serviced? receipts?

Standard RS200 manual has 210 BHP when run on premium ( 100ron in Japan).... so if it was "chipped" then it has a piggy back controller that was probably also set for premium......

Band expander ain't great.....

Otherwise they are a great car and loads and loads of fun...

also worth waiting for a good one ... ie not thrashed as most are driven hard...

[Tezzy]

Welcome to LOC.... :)

I'd be more interested on it's life since it arrived in the UK, regularly serviced? receipts?

Standard RS200 manual has 210 BHP when run on premium ( 100ron in Japan).... so if it was "chipped" then it has a piggy back controller that was probably also set for premium......

Band expander ain't great.....

Otherwise they are a great car and loads and loads of fun...

also worth waiting for a good one ... ie not thrashed as most are driven hard...

Its got a full Japanese and UK Service history which is rare i'd imagine?

A lexus dealer in the UK brought it in with 35000 miles and there was 1 previous owner to this guy since, whom he gave me a contact address from the V5.

Bodywork and interior appear very clean and he assures me it was never crashed.

Oh and £600 green stuff discs and pads went all round last month

Would 19" wheels adversely affect the ride? They are multispoke chrome jobs which to me seem a bit expensive and hard to mind for someone hacking a car around.

Would 95 octane adversely affect the engine then bearing in mind its been chipped? How do the standard rs200s behave on 95 fuel?

[Robin H]

well if it's been serviced regularly then it shouldn't have any prob fingers crossed

is the car a private or trade sale

power wise the only way you can really tell is to get it on a dyno or see if the owners got a dyno readout

1 thing, I maybe wrong is that I thought that you could only get the standard cars trough the SVA test, so the hole ecu thing could be a bit of a fib (wait to see what the other members say) but sure you have to be running the standard ecu

as for 19" rims the ride could be a bit hard as these will have a lower profile tyre on them so can effect the ride comfort a bit

as for 95ron the car will be ok, alot of the Irish Boys only run on 95 cos thats all they can get

I run mine on 97ron and 99 when I can get it, but this is cos my car has been mapped to run on it so I get the best out of the mods if done

hope thats of some help

[Noel]

It runs ok on 95ron but never seems to be 100% happy ticking over, don't know if that's a symptom or not.... like Robin said 95 is all we get over here so thankfully it seems to be ok so far...

19" will shake your teeth out unless you are surrounded with perfect roads ... probably looks great though

get some pics up :)

[Tezzy]

[

Wuhoo I got that RS200 after anyway, picked it up at the weekend in the UK. I can see what the fuss is about they're a cracking car.

It turned out better than described, perfect mechanically, surprisingly comfortable and quiet with the 19s and elastic band tyres, immaculate inside...

Got a few hundred quids woth of bits and pieces as well thrown in: fascia adaptor for the radio, adaptor leads for the amp, Lexus Sport Grill, front and rear strut braces, caliper paint kit, altezza badges, English manual, bundle of receipts....

What ye reckon folks?

:) :D

[Gord]

Looks very nice mate :D

[fatpieman69]

looks great and sounds like you got a bargain. happy motoring,

ps nice colour :winky:

craig

[Noel]

Very nice... :D

Be sure to feed it premium.... ;)

[Tezzy]

Very nice... :D

Be sure to feed it premium.... ;)

Where can i get it?!

I'm in waterford.

She's been poached out of England heh heh... :P :shutit:

[IRLRs200]

Very nice... :D

Be sure to feed it premium.... ;)

Where can i get it?!

I'm in waterford.

She's been poached out of England heh heh... :P :shutit:

Lovely jubly. I love that bumper i want it so badly. Cant find one anywhere. I'll swap ya for a standard Lexus one eh?

I use Shell V Power, probably the best available over here

[Tezzy]

Very nice... :D

Be sure to feed it premium.... ;)

Where can i get it?!

I'm in waterford.

She's been poached out of England heh heh... :P :shutit:

Lovely jubly. I love that bumper i want it so badly. Cant find one anywhere. I'll swap ya for a standard Lexus one eh?

I use Shell V Power, probably the best available over here

Does the V Power make much difference? Are any of the octane boosters worthwhile?

I'll hold onto the bumper thanks! :winky:

[mus26c]

Congrats Tezzy, great car, you got a bargain there with all the extras you can't get better deal than this, Happy motoring :D

[IRLRs200]

Does the V Power make much difference? Are any of the octane boosters worthwhile?

I'll hold onto the bumper thanks! :winky:

Ye a bit, Better for the engine and a full tank lasts longer in my opinion. Tried a few different octane boosters. none really worth the money unless you buy it in bulk outside Ireland!