gonna go test drive is 300...what to look out for?
05-26-09, 09:56 AM
#1
Moderator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: West Virginia soon to be Virginia
Posts: 819
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
gonna go test drive is 300...what to look out for?
Hey guys, im crossing over from the rx300 forum, anyway im going to go do some test driving this weekend on some 2002's and 2003's. What should I look out for with the IS 300? Thanks in advance guys!
05-26-09, 10:47 AM
#3
Moderator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: West Virginia soon to be Virginia
Posts: 819
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
so just like general stuff, whats the lifetime of the timing belt with the IS 300? I know for my rx its supposed to be 90k but you can generally go 100-110k on it, i also know the tranny on my rx was kinda crappy but i doubt the IS 300 has the same issues.
05-26-09, 11:02 AM
#5
Moderator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: West Virginia soon to be Virginia
Posts: 819
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
yea i know that smell all too well! i dropped the tranny pan in my rx last summer and replaced the filter plus i cleaned the magnets and all that jazz plus i do a drain and fill every other oil change, yea.....i know that smell lol, i guessing it uses the same cherry red ATF?
Trending Topics
05-26-09, 03:13 PM
#9
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: philly
Posts: 1,925
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Timing belt is supposed to be every 70K but I know you can go longer. Plus engines for our cars can be found for very cheap so finding parts or whole replacement motors isn't too bad.
*** MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE TOYOTA STICKER ON TIMING BELT COVER *** Should tell you the Date and Mileage of the last timing belt change... It's about $1500 to replace the timing belt/water pump with labor included. If the car has only about 70k miles you should automatically deduct $1500 from the asking price unless they are going to have it done before sale.
Check for mantenance records when last time o2 sensors was changed. The one on the exhaust side last for about 30k miles (at least this is what I have read). o2 sensors are about $175 each (4) and it's a nice chunk of change to pay if you are not expecting it....
Car dealers are having a hard time moving cars these days....
IT'S A BUYERS MARKET RIGHT NOW SO DON'T GET ROBBED
*** MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE TOYOTA STICKER ON TIMING BELT COVER *** Should tell you the Date and Mileage of the last timing belt change... It's about $1500 to replace the timing belt/water pump with labor included. If the car has only about 70k miles you should automatically deduct $1500 from the asking price unless they are going to have it done before sale.
Check for mantenance records when last time o2 sensors was changed. The one on the exhaust side last for about 30k miles (at least this is what I have read). o2 sensors are about $175 each (4) and it's a nice chunk of change to pay if you are not expecting it....
Car dealers are having a hard time moving cars these days....
IT'S A BUYERS MARKET RIGHT NOW SO DON'T GET ROBBED
05-26-09, 03:19 PM
#10
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: philly
Posts: 1,925
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh yeah, I might be selling my IS soon..
I just found a nice street legal Skyline GT R33 and might be looking for a quick sale if I can acquire the additional funds....
I just found a nice street legal Skyline GT R33 and might be looking for a quick sale if I can acquire the additional funds....
05-27-09, 04:54 PM
#13
Moderator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: West Virginia soon to be Virginia
Posts: 819
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Timing belt is supposed to be every 70K but I know you can go longer. Plus engines for our cars can be found for very cheap so finding parts or whole replacement motors isn't too bad.
*** MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE TOYOTA STICKER ON TIMING BELT COVER *** Should tell you the Date and Mileage of the last timing belt change... It's about $1500 to replace the timing belt/water pump with labor included. If the car has only about 70k miles you should automatically deduct $1500 from the asking price unless they are going to have it done before sale.
Check for mantenance records when last time o2 sensors was changed. The one on the exhaust side last for about 30k miles (at least this is what I have read). o2 sensors are about $175 each (4) and it's a nice chunk of change to pay if you are not expecting it....
Car dealers are having a hard time moving cars these days....
IT'S A BUYERS MARKET RIGHT NOW SO DON'T GET ROBBED
*** MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE TOYOTA STICKER ON TIMING BELT COVER *** Should tell you the Date and Mileage of the last timing belt change... It's about $1500 to replace the timing belt/water pump with labor included. If the car has only about 70k miles you should automatically deduct $1500 from the asking price unless they are going to have it done before sale.
Check for mantenance records when last time o2 sensors was changed. The one on the exhaust side last for about 30k miles (at least this is what I have read). o2 sensors are about $175 each (4) and it's a nice chunk of change to pay if you are not expecting it....
Car dealers are having a hard time moving cars these days....
IT'S A BUYERS MARKET RIGHT NOW SO DON'T GET ROBBED
05-28-09, 08:40 AM
#15
Timing belt is suggested at 90k in the owners manual.
Spark plugs depends if they're iridium or not. Changing them requires you unbolt the throttle body from the intake manifold so if the car is at or around 90k make sure those things are already addressed or they adjust the price accordingly. Water pump/timing belt is expensive if you do it yourself, double that if you have someone else do it. I just changed mine at 115k and it still looked fine but ymmv.
Dash melting is from heat + chemicals from cleaners/dressings. My 2002 is having those issues now even though I've never used Armorall. Also check the dash sides as removal of radio or center console easily causes scratches and gouges in the soft plastic/rubber coating.
The climate control panel has a known issue with delamination where you'll see white lines near the clock, this was something dealers changed under warranty, I had mine replaced under warranty and it's doing it again.
Stock radio has a design flaw, CDs get jammed and you get ERROR3 or sometimes ERROR1 messages. Same thing, replaced under warranty and now I'm having the same issue.
Nav, if you are looking at cars with this, make sure it works, the computer is known for going out and giving you "disc read" type errors which means the lazer is going or gone and that could cost you $150-$500 to have repaired ( I was quoted $400-$500 to have the laser replaced, $900 to have it replaced with a new part) or have to drop thousands for a new one from the dealer. Also make sure the joystick button is still there, they tend to get eaten by vacuums.
End links, Ball Joints, tie rods, any shimmy while driving or braking, uneven tire wear...
steering pump and rack... check those. They don't recomment changing the fluid often enough (or at all iirc) and that will gunk up and possibly damage the pump and/or rack.
ATF is the toyota tiv red stuff.
o2 sensors, if they are sneaky they can reset the ecu to clear the codes but they will come back soon enough if these are bad... 70-100 to diy replace, there are 4 (2 precat 2 postcat) 3 are on the exhaust manifold and 1 is under the car on the y-pipe.
headlights; check that the bulbs have the same color output, if not one may have been changed so that is something to be mindful of. If on is out or not working right it could be a bulb or ballast problem, also make sure someone didn't hack up the wiring to replaced the HIDs with halogens to save money (it's been seen before)
check the radiator for cracks, some people report a crack on the top of the radiator on the driver side.
If LSD is something you want, learn to look for it and hope that nobody did a switcharoo on the car.
plus the stuff mentioned earlier in this thread and of course the rest of the stuff you look for when buying preowned, making sure everything electrical and mechanical work as they should, checking for previous body work, fluids, brake and tire life, etc...
Also make sure you get all the keys. 2 master, 1 valet and 1 credit card key.
as well as the wheel lock keys if applicable.
Spark plugs depends if they're iridium or not. Changing them requires you unbolt the throttle body from the intake manifold so if the car is at or around 90k make sure those things are already addressed or they adjust the price accordingly. Water pump/timing belt is expensive if you do it yourself, double that if you have someone else do it. I just changed mine at 115k and it still looked fine but ymmv.
Dash melting is from heat + chemicals from cleaners/dressings. My 2002 is having those issues now even though I've never used Armorall. Also check the dash sides as removal of radio or center console easily causes scratches and gouges in the soft plastic/rubber coating.
The climate control panel has a known issue with delamination where you'll see white lines near the clock, this was something dealers changed under warranty, I had mine replaced under warranty and it's doing it again.
Stock radio has a design flaw, CDs get jammed and you get ERROR3 or sometimes ERROR1 messages. Same thing, replaced under warranty and now I'm having the same issue.
Nav, if you are looking at cars with this, make sure it works, the computer is known for going out and giving you "disc read" type errors which means the lazer is going or gone and that could cost you $150-$500 to have repaired ( I was quoted $400-$500 to have the laser replaced, $900 to have it replaced with a new part) or have to drop thousands for a new one from the dealer. Also make sure the joystick button is still there, they tend to get eaten by vacuums.
End links, Ball Joints, tie rods, any shimmy while driving or braking, uneven tire wear...
steering pump and rack... check those. They don't recomment changing the fluid often enough (or at all iirc) and that will gunk up and possibly damage the pump and/or rack.
ATF is the toyota tiv red stuff.
o2 sensors, if they are sneaky they can reset the ecu to clear the codes but they will come back soon enough if these are bad... 70-100 to diy replace, there are 4 (2 precat 2 postcat) 3 are on the exhaust manifold and 1 is under the car on the y-pipe.
headlights; check that the bulbs have the same color output, if not one may have been changed so that is something to be mindful of. If on is out or not working right it could be a bulb or ballast problem, also make sure someone didn't hack up the wiring to replaced the HIDs with halogens to save money (it's been seen before)
check the radiator for cracks, some people report a crack on the top of the radiator on the driver side.
If LSD is something you want, learn to look for it and hope that nobody did a switcharoo on the car.
plus the stuff mentioned earlier in this thread and of course the rest of the stuff you look for when buying preowned, making sure everything electrical and mechanical work as they should, checking for previous body work, fluids, brake and tire life, etc...
Also make sure you get all the keys. 2 master, 1 valet and 1 credit card key.
as well as the wheel lock keys if applicable.
Last edited by DonCorleone; 05-29-09 at 09:13 AM. Reason: clarification