7 Best Lexus Bargains
by Brett Foote

 

I remember when the '01 IS300 was first introduced. I went with my dad to take his '99 LS in for service and his (older) salesman complained about how Lexus was cheapening their lineup by including something like this that appealed to younger people. I'm sure he hated having to sell something at that price point. I know he has long since retired, but look at what EVERY carmaker has done since that time to introduce younger, less affluent clients to their brand. Mercedes CLA, BMW 1 Series, Audi A3, Lexus CT. And look at what the IS has become for Lexus. A bread-and-butter car. Not to mention that the original IS was a sporty-looking, fun car.

 

Hmmm...........I bought a brand new IS300, bright yellow, when I was in my late 40s (no, it wasn't mid-life crisis LOL). And I owed a big, so-called Grandpa Buick, and loved it, when I was in college, 19 years old.

Beware of stereotypes.

 

Late 40s WAS younger for Lexus back in 2001... much younger.

 

Not for what that car (the 1Gen IS300) was aimed at. It was aimed at those in their 20s and 30s....the same Yuppie crowd that was driving the BMW 3-series.

 

Yes, I know. I was living in South Florida at the time and there did seem to be a lot of 20- and 30-somethings driving these cars. I think it introduced Lexus to a new market. It was a great first step. The chronometer (?) watch-type guages were really unique.

 

That was one of the things that attracted me to the car at the time...and I also liked the real metal chrome-ball shifter. The shift-pattern and shift-lever motion itself, though, was a mess. In fact, for many reasons (I could name the better part of a dozen of them), the automatic transmission, its programming, gear-restrictions, and the shift lever action turned out to be that car's biggest weak point. Other than the transmission's idiosyncrasies, though, and a glitch in the way the air-recirculating system worked in the climate-control, it was a superbly-built car....one of the best that Lexus has ever done in terms of build quality.

 

Since when is the GX a crossover? That's a TRUCK, son.

 

Most of the 7 cars in that article really identify with the Apex of Lexus' build quality. The IS was the first one that really caught my eye.

 

The chrome ball shifter is stock? I've always assumed it was aftermarket! 😂

 

Yes, it was stock....at least on the 1Gen IS300, as on the Toyota Altezza.

 

That's what drew me to the car. Like others have said - the shifter and the instrument cluster

 

^ I'd like to know since when is the IS300 affordable??? Ones in good condition that haven't been beat to death by some punk kid still command a lot of $$$$$(like 7-12k) for a car that is now at least 12 years old. Just browsing my local craigslist, they were all 4-5k, over 200,000 miles and looked pretty used up, some had salvage titles. There was a salvage title wagon one for $5300 with 89k miles that looked pretty decent though. Finding a good one is pretty damn hard due to the ricers that abuse them and wreck them. Much easier to find a nice ES, LS, or GS of similar vintage.

Maybe I shouldn't say they aren't affordable, I just don't think they're a good value used unless you get lucky and get a real nice deal on one that isn't trashed.

 

considering the history of the Curated Content Editor, i'm surprised the picture was even a GX at all

 

yea seriously, ESPECIALLY if you're looking for a 6-speed manual IS which are even more difficult to come across