Traceur

Hey guys, I'm in the market and I found a 2003 Red Lexus IS300 for sale. It has just over 100k miles on it and has been wrecked and rebuilt.

I have some questions hopefully you can answer.

- How strong are the motors? I have a Honda right now still running strong at 220K, can I expect the same thing?

- The passenger seat belt does work, he said it has something to do with the airbag sensor. Can someone elaborate?

- It has a slight shake when driving, and I mean SLIGHT. I'm thinking this is part of the wreck as it was front end, but he just put new tires on as well.

-How much upkeep do these cars require? Are they really high maintenance? I have owned a Honda civic (low maintenance) and a Porsche (High maintenance) so I'm not worried if it does, just curious.

Stopitnow

First off, to clear any misconceptions, no car is specifically high maintenance car, meaning, if you perform all the routine maintenance, you shouldnt expect anything, seeing as how it was wrecked, pull a carfax to find out if its a salvage or rebuilt title, if that is the case , do not buy it. But, in reference to lexus, no these are not high maintenance cars, the parts are more sophisticated that whats on a lot of hondas, as it it a high end toyota, pretty much meaning 20 bucks for plugs on a Honda, vs 90 for plugs for the lexus, its just the parts interchange is so low because its only a 6 year car, 00 to 05. The best part about these cars IMO is the engine and trans, toyota started building straight 6 engins in 1965( or around that time) beginning with the 2F, looking at the evolution of this is engine u can see its been a hallmark of quality and reliability, now with the 2j in a lexus, DO NOT THINK FOR A MOMENT IT WILL DRIVE LIKE A SUPRA, the version we have is a bit de-tuned and meant for luxury, dont get me wrong , these cars are great, but they are not ( no offense honda owners) hondas, you cant run to toys r us and pick up a turbo for it, sorry to ramble, Im
hate seing people getting ripped off when they buy a rebuilt car, take it to a dealer, have them nit pick at it.
The money you spend doing that will ensure you make the right decision. Basically if the dealer doesnt like it, well ur out the money for the inspection, vs being out the money for the price of the car when it turns out to be a lemon. Next time you are out on the road, and you see an IS , if you get the chance ask to look at it.

so to answer your questions
1. The motor makes in the ballpark of 220hp( at the crank) on the day it was new. It is fairly reliable, but has minor electrical issues such as, the tps, mafs, O2 , are the main sensors that are common malfunctions in any car. and yes with proper care and routine maintenance you can expect 250k, given that you take care of it like it was new.

2.Sounds like it needs an airbag, sometime in accidents the sensors are tripped after the accident, like in the body shop, ( I wouldnt buy the car at this point seeing that 1. It was wrecked. 2. it has a shake.3. airbag issues. all of which tells me the work was done cheaply and is incomplete)

3.Shakes, pretty vague, could be anything from a bent wheel, to control arms, struts, wheel hub assembly, inner and outer tie rods, balljoints, any of the bearings in the driveline... if you cant tell where its coming from, refer to a mechanic who does know( insert part about going to dealer and having that inspection i mentioned),

4. I already rambled about maintenance,pretty much boils down to one thing, money, either you have enough to fix it or you dont, so are you going to drive a broken car and make it worse, or be proactive, and not even know what a problem is.

When i buy used, I always go worst case scenario on the seller and break it down that if somethings not right, then Im going to have to deal with it( assuming i get the car) assume the worst, talk the guy way down, have it inspected by lexus or any outstanding mechanic who likes his job, and walk away if you have to. Any car can be a money pit, just like a woman, only the car wont s@#$ your D@#$ after you pour money into it!!!

Traceur

Thanks for the reply!

It is a rebuilt title, and I plan on taking it to a mechanic when I get the chance (will be out of town for business the next two weeks). That's what he told me but I wasn't sure about the seat belt...seems weird to me. I'm glad to hear about the engines, and I didn't expect a Supra haha, if I wanted that I would buy a Supra. He also has a black 01 IS300, but I'm peeking at this red one because I'm just a sucker for Red haha.

With the shake, I think its a wheel balance thing. When I told him I was coming to test drive it he put a new set of tires on it, but did not get a chance to align or balance them. So hopefully that is it and not a tire rod or anything like that.

Stopitnow

Good to hear, I have a black 01 IS300, with a few things done , nothing major, honestly though, Id walk away if it rebuilt, these are classified as subcompact sedans, due to the dimensions of the rear seats, keeping insurance down, ( your 2 years younger than me, and i pay 112 a month for full coverage, and I have a horrible driving record.
The supra thing, too many idiots hear" it has a 2J " and think its a race car, and treat it as such, resulting in blowing it up, and wrecking it, which is a shame, when you realize these cars are just about as rare as a supra, or soarer, or cressida, or a complete functional AE86( hachi roku), they had a shorter run, and featured a similar drivetrain, albeit it was tuned for comfort, not competition., good luck man, and welcome to the club

Traceur

I hear people say to walk away from rebuilt titles all the time. If it was crashed and re-done(assuming when I get it thoroughly checked and it comes back with a "green light") why does the title really matter? I'm not looking for something to make money off of. I'm the kind of guy who gets a car, and plays with it. When I'm done, I'm not looking for huge profit(if any).

Pardon me if this sounds rude because I don't intend it to be, but why do you guys have a problem with rebuilt titles. I can understand if it was horribly put together, but if it was done up right, why?

Stopitnow

Its just the history, leaving the quality of the repairs to chance, and that at one point, the car was totaled, meaning some serious damage was done. What if the vibration you get is due to the sub-frame being out of spec, making alignments very hard to do, and further, if you do mod it, things might not be exactly right before you even touch it, and from the stand point of having a car to toy with, im on your side, as its a very fun car to drive

Zstuddin

i could be wrong, but i've never seen a rebuilt title car drive the same. i had a rebuilt title 99 tt supra. claimed to have been a minor accident, like they always say... or you get the, "it was stolen and repo'd nothing really happened"... i even had pics of mine and it honestly didn't look to bad? but guess what??? always pulled to the right no matter what and randomly if i hit the brakes to hard the dash would light up like christmas. car shimmered on the interstate pretty goofy too... i don't trust them, never will andi believe a totalled car will never never never drive the same. it's called a totalled car because it was seriously jacked up.

Cartune

iTrader: (3)

someone told me this funny ****. your dating this girl, you know her whole history, who she dated, who she sleeps with, etc2. would you still date her possibly get into relationship. a car history is like that. lol


as long you dont mind the reuilt title. drives good, no work needed, price is good, get it. worst case? sell it . im in simmilar shoes atm. got a lexus already, thinking of selling it, buying a different lexus but history a lil scary. contemplating.

Traceur

Those are some good points to consider, I think I'll check out the black one hes got before jumping to any conclusions.

dsouthmia0

iTrader: (3)

You want to know Y not buy this car with a rebuilt title. One reason is because it is like the supra, and possibly when this car hits the right age the value of it may sky rocket and you will be left behind with that rebuilt title! The value of this car is already on steady increase even with the economy the way it is!

Motors strong, maint is very expensive but not hard to work on yourself at all, parts are expensive and alot of things have to be custom made. Even though its got a lexus symbol on it its still built like a toyota

The passanger airbag not working could mean it was hit on that side, you will need new airbag sensors and most likely airbags which are VERY EXPENSIVE

Last he put new tires on with out a balance??? bull ****, MOUNT AND BALANCE IS FREE!
timing belt and water pump should have been changed already so check
I already wouldnt buy the thing, sounds like he didnt take care of it

Traceur

Some more good point, but let me rephrase, he literally got the tires on maybe a half hour before I got there to check it out, so when I go back it will be balanced. So hopefully that will take care of that problem.

As for the airbags, how expensive are we talking? To get a new one put in?

dsouthmia0

iTrader: (3)

You can get them off ebay and either install them yourself or dealer/shop. They literally just plug in and mount up but you would need a dealer or someone to tell you exactly which ones you need and what sensors.

Traceur

I figured that, but I did not know how labor intensive it would be, I've removed the dash in my previous cars, but one was an 86 porsche and a 93 civic. I'm assuming you would need to take the dash out correct?

dsouthmia0

iTrader: (3)

No I dont think so, I think the dash one may unclip from behind the glove box than come out the top. the others are in the pillars which come out fast. There is another in the passenger seat that clips underneath the seat. They are all pretty easy to swap out, you just need to make sure you unplug the battery before anything

I removed my headliner so while removing the pillars I saw almost all the airbags

Traceur

well i was expecting a whole lot more work than that. After I have the air bags inserted, does the set belt automaticaly syn or whatever? OR what would I do after the airbags and sensors are installed