Hello CL members!

I am in the market for a 1st gen IS300 to use as a daily for my lady and me. Before I start my research on this model, what is there that I need to know about this vehicle? What are the common problems? Any special feature? Rare color combination?

There are a few being sold here in SoCal that I would like to look at, but before I go in not knowing anything about the car, I would like to get educated on this particular vehicle. Any information, comments and opinions is GREATLY appreciated!

 

All I can add for what you need to know is how well did the owner(s) take care of their car. Common problem would be negligence and failure to do routine maintenance. We all know these cars/engines can run a long time. Special features would be the sportcross or l-tuned editions and navigation on the center console. White and blue are very nice colors that I rarely see. good luck on your search!

 

Thanks jadu!

I see there is a sport design that was released for this model. How would I be able to tell the difference between the base model and sport design model?

 

Very few differences, and only cosmetic. Basically you can only get the thundercloud metallic color as the sport design, dark chrome tail lights/ headlights/badges, "sport design" floor mats, different wheels, and badges on the fenders. I think that's about it, although I've heard the manual trans cars may have gotten bigger sway bars? not positive though.

 

the exhaust is also different on them. At least tip looks more like the mk4 Supra tip.