Need some advice, help, and opinions on this is300.
#1
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Need some advice, help, and opinions on this is300.
Ok so ill make this story quick. searching through some private ads online i find this 2002 red is300 for sale no real details on the car except that it was bought at an auction and is a salvage title.
So today i finally see the car in person and its a mess. the entire body has a zig zag pattern all over the car(rims and all) from where some one threw paint thinner all over the car. the paint thats not damaged looks great not fading or anything a sexy cherry red my favorite on these cars. it has a full body kit 18" Enkie's and a ViS CF Hood also damaged from paint thinner.
the inside is dirty but no real damaged except for the radio "missing" and the speakers to. but no tears or serious damage. its an auto with padel shifters on steering wheel. Sunroof and other nice features.
the Engine, and this is where things get interesting. It has a twin cam supra motor in it ( a 2JZ-GE i believe)and you can clearly see it has an injen clod air intake and a few other mods. so the car says 132K miles on it but im sure the engine has much less then that. Along with that you can tell its been lowered (tien stickers all over the car add to this theory) and it has a full set of drilled rotors.
all in all it looks beautiful and after maybe a grand in work it'll be perfect.
The asking price is 5,800$
However!!!!!! i haven't seen the car run dew to a burnt out ignitor. i knew its this cuz it was taken to a lexus dealership and has an invoice clearly saying this. so i personally ordered the part from autozone( 300$) (900$ at dealership) and it will be here buy tuesday. if the car runs smooth and no real problems stand out then its a go. But, if not then im out 300$.
My question is/are
Is this even a good deal? considering the damage and engine?
How reliable are these motors? and is there any way of checking the mileage on the engine itself?
Ill try and post some pics later but let me know what you think.
So today i finally see the car in person and its a mess. the entire body has a zig zag pattern all over the car(rims and all) from where some one threw paint thinner all over the car. the paint thats not damaged looks great not fading or anything a sexy cherry red my favorite on these cars. it has a full body kit 18" Enkie's and a ViS CF Hood also damaged from paint thinner.
the inside is dirty but no real damaged except for the radio "missing" and the speakers to. but no tears or serious damage. its an auto with padel shifters on steering wheel. Sunroof and other nice features.
the Engine, and this is where things get interesting. It has a twin cam supra motor in it ( a 2JZ-GE i believe)and you can clearly see it has an injen clod air intake and a few other mods. so the car says 132K miles on it but im sure the engine has much less then that. Along with that you can tell its been lowered (tien stickers all over the car add to this theory) and it has a full set of drilled rotors.
all in all it looks beautiful and after maybe a grand in work it'll be perfect.
The asking price is 5,800$
However!!!!!! i haven't seen the car run dew to a burnt out ignitor. i knew its this cuz it was taken to a lexus dealership and has an invoice clearly saying this. so i personally ordered the part from autozone( 300$) (900$ at dealership) and it will be here buy tuesday. if the car runs smooth and no real problems stand out then its a go. But, if not then im out 300$.
My question is/are
Is this even a good deal? considering the damage and engine?
How reliable are these motors? and is there any way of checking the mileage on the engine itself?
Ill try and post some pics later but let me know what you think.
Last edited by MFDJ; 08-14-09 at 06:20 PM.
#2
Lexus Test Driver
Unless the reason you are getting the car to be a fun car to drive on the race track, I would stay away from this car. All IS300's have the NA 2JZGE, similar to the engine as the Toyota Supra turbo, but without the turbo and a few minor diffrences. The engine is a great engine and has proved to be reliable. my concern is the body, it is salvage already, has some bad paint areas, I wonder about the damage you can't see. The price is also high, you can find 2001 and some 2002 IS300's with similar mileage for $8000. So I would pass on this car, you will find better ones out there.
#4
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2jzGE is our stock motor. And you cannot find out the mileage of the motor. But I doubt the motor has been swapped. If the intake and manifold go over the motor to the passenger side, your on a stock motor.
Its not about the car, its about the condition for the price. $5k for a totalled title, is not worth it. Look on myIS for cars F.S. You will find one that you could be happy with and know that someone took care of it. And know the history of it as well.
This car sounds like a Doom's Day car. But for track or a beater, see if you can get the price lower. Like $2k
Its not about the car, its about the condition for the price. $5k for a totalled title, is not worth it. Look on myIS for cars F.S. You will find one that you could be happy with and know that someone took care of it. And know the history of it as well.
This car sounds like a Doom's Day car. But for track or a beater, see if you can get the price lower. Like $2k
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#8
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like everyone said
RUN AWAY
for a salvage title and the current condition its very high
and like 2002GGPIS3
unless this will be full on project track car, don't get it, and if it was find a better deal cuz there some out there....do more researching and looking around
My.is and CL are a good place to start and from ppl who take kare of their ride
RUN AWAY
for a salvage title and the current condition its very high
and like 2002GGPIS3
unless this will be full on project track car, don't get it, and if it was find a better deal cuz there some out there....do more researching and looking around
My.is and CL are a good place to start and from ppl who take kare of their ride
#9
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I checked my is and CL is where i found this one. The next cheapest is300 i can find here in New Mexico is 9,600 for a 200k blue one one not much better. as of right now i still have to see if the car runs and if it does then another exactly 997.21$ later this car will be cherry. see all the exterior damage is paint and to strip and paint would only set me back 668.43$ after tax.(yes i actually did some math) for a quality paint job. the rest would go to an alarm, tune up, and stereo with some walmart speakers. and that all optional i dont NEED a stereo right now or even paint im actually excited to fix this car up and restore it.
after 3 months i plan to get it repainted the same shade of red , powder coat the rims silver( there black now) and then little things here and there. (stereo, head/tail lights and maybe throw some altezza badges on there etc..)
so look at it this way, im paying altogether im paying 6797.21$ (car,paint,stereo,alarm) for a 02 is300 with 132K miles on it. that already has a full body kit, rims,breaks,suspension, all things i would eventually get myself.
idk im just getting a gut feeling that this is would be a cool project car and ya might take time but will eventually turn out to be a nice ride. and besides if all else fells i got a whole year to return it. i might be stuck driving my dads old car again. but thats not a bad thing considering its an 87 grand national
Heres some pics of the car tho i forgot to take a pic of the engine and front end like a dumbass but this might give you a good idea of what im dealing with. keep in mid the interior is much much cleaner now. damn near perfect.
after 3 months i plan to get it repainted the same shade of red , powder coat the rims silver( there black now) and then little things here and there. (stereo, head/tail lights and maybe throw some altezza badges on there etc..)
so look at it this way, im paying altogether im paying 6797.21$ (car,paint,stereo,alarm) for a 02 is300 with 132K miles on it. that already has a full body kit, rims,breaks,suspension, all things i would eventually get myself.
idk im just getting a gut feeling that this is would be a cool project car and ya might take time but will eventually turn out to be a nice ride. and besides if all else fells i got a whole year to return it. i might be stuck driving my dads old car again. but thats not a bad thing considering its an 87 grand national
Heres some pics of the car tho i forgot to take a pic of the engine and front end like a dumbass but this might give you a good idea of what im dealing with. keep in mid the interior is much much cleaner now. damn near perfect.
Last edited by MFDJ; 08-15-09 at 05:25 PM.
#11
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ya the reason its so cheap is cuz i know the guy and ima strip it down myself which will be easy since all i really have to take off are the lights bumbers and spoiler im not worried but striping the whole car because its already red. and im going to just paint over the CF hood.