Friday 12th August 2016

Shed of the Week: Lexus IS200

The Olympics come around every four years and so do IS200 Sheds - could this one be a winner?

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Ignoring all Alan Partridge references, what's good about a first-gen Lexus IS200?

Let us count the ways. Like the BMW 3 Series against which it was bravely pitched back in 1998, its engine was an inline six driving the rear wheels. It handled well, steered pretty sharply and had a very good driving position as long as you weren't that far over six feet tall. It looked smart and boasted a state of the art dash that took its lead from Swiss watch design. It was also one of the most reliable cars you could get in the first few years of this century.

Here you get Lexus lights as standard!

What wasn't so good? Well, you had to work the 24-valve 2.0-litre six quite hard to get anywhere, and the automatic only made things worse. 30mpg would be deemed a result.

Now we get to this particular IS. It's a Sport. This is where things start to get interesting. IS Sports came with a sweet, well-ratioed six-speed manual gearbox and a limited-slip diff. So that's a compact, free-revving, 155hp six driving the rear wheels through a slick manual box and an LSD.

Let's now look for the black lining in our silver cloud. As Darth Vader said when Darth Sidious was trying to fit him up with a dodgy secondhand Death Star, the MOT is short on this one. Why might that be? What might be a-lurking beneath those smooth Partridge-approved panels?

From the MOT history, it seems the car had some fairly significant de-rusting work carried out on both sides of the car to get it through last year's test. That MOT trace is interesting. Last autumn it passed its MOT twice in the space of a month. The first time it had advisories of non-critical windscreen damage and light oil misting of the nearside front damper, both of which had been on the advisory list since 2014. In the 1,800 miles between those two 2015 MOTs it lost those advisories but acquired a couple of new ones, namely slightly worn front brake discs and thin rear brake pads. It's done another 10,000 miles since then. The ad phrase "good service history" doesn't really tell us if that braking work was ever carried out.

Wheels might need a refurb. Or replacement

Thing is, the IS is a lot of car at this money and that goes all the more in this comparatively rare Sport version. Having said that, the IS does have generic issues, and braking is one of them. Seizing front brake calipers, warping front discs and 'whistling wheels' will all be familiar to IS owners. What sounds for all the world like a failing wheel bearing often turns out to be disc corrosion.

The other IS biggie is front end knock. That's usually traceable back to either the brake pads slipping in the calipers or (more likely) failing suspension lower arms. Front ball joints go too. These suspension problems can all contribute to excessive inner wear on the front tyres.

The downside of the nice manual 'box is that the clutch has a tendency to judder. Power steering and water pumps conk out, and a sunroof drain hole in the inner left boot well can get blocked, wetting the boot.

Embrace the chrono style!

More leakage issues can come about if your IS has had a replacement windscreen. The ones manufactured by Pilkington are known for leaking onto the main relay/control board. Signs of water under the corner of the dash on the driver's side are a dead giveaway, as are central locking/alarm malfunctions and front lights being unwilling to turn off.

This Shed's alloys have seen better days. The flaking you see here is very common, especially in our wet and frosty land. It's rumoured that 90 per cent of alloy warranty claims came from the UK, and that at one point Lexus dealers were doing a wink-wink alloy swap service at £50 a pop. More importantly you'll want to ensure that the alloys' locknuts haven't been mangled by neanderthal air-gun operators and that the security key is present.

All IS nuts and bolts look rusty, but that's normal. The CD player often doesn't play but you can easily chuck an iPod cable or whatever in the back of the unit.

Drift car potential?

Having said all that, a well-tended IS will shrug off big mileages just as easily as its bigger brothers. Even the belts can last for ever, though the idler roller did get itself a reputation for causing premature wear by pushing the belt onto the cover. It's best to stick to the schedule as cambelt failure will be catastrophic. Lexus began by quoting six years/100,000 miles but later eased that back to 60,000 miles.

If you're a dealer-only sort of owner, you might want to think carefully about buying an IS as Lexus repairs are not going to be cheap. If you're not that bothered about keeping the service history pukka, and why should you be, then there are plenty of non-OEM parts around at reasonable prices, for example Brembo brake discs.

The dealer's comment in his ad that "you can drive it on the road to get it home" is slightly unnerving, suggesting an imminent meltdown of some sort that only he knows about. But surely it's worth a gamble? After all, this is the car that gave the world the wonder of blingy chromed-up tail lights.

Here's the ad.

Adjustable Steering Column/Wheel - Reach,Air Bag Driver,Air Bag Passenger,Air Bag Side - Driver/Passenger,Air-Conditioning ,Alarm - Remote Control,Alloy Wheels - 17in,Anti-Lock Brakes,Armrest - Rear,Body Coloured Bumpers,Central Door Locking - Remote,Centre Rear Seat Belt,Climate Control,Deadlocks,Electric Windows - Front/Rear,Front Fog Lights,Head Restraints - Front/Rear,Heated Front Screen,Immobiliser,In Car Entertainment - Radio/Cassette/CD,Mirrors External - Electric/Heated,Power-Assisted Steering,Seat Height Adjustment - Electric Driver,Seating Capacity - Five Seats,Seats Electric - Driver/Passenger,Seats Heated - Driver/Passenger,Side Protection Mouldings,Spare Wheel - Full Size Alloy,Speakers - Eight,Sunroof Electric - Glass Tilt/Slide,Traction Control System,Upholstery Cloth/Leather. SILVER METALLIC PAINTWORK, 17 INCH 5 SPOKE ALLOY WHEELS, REAR PRIVACY GLASS, FRONT FOG LAMPS, LEATHER/ALCANTARA INTERIOR WITH HEATED FRONT SPORTS SEATS, 6 SPEED MANUAL GEARBOX, AIR CONDITIONING, AUTO LIGHTS, SUNROOF, RADIO/CD PLAYER WITH 6 DISC CHANGER, POWERFOLDING ELECTRIC DOOR MIRRORS, TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM (TCS) WITH SNOW MODE, REAR PASSENGER ARMREST. WOULD MAKE AN IDEAL DRIFT/TRACK PROJECT CAR, 6 SPEED MANUAL GEARBOX, LIMITED SLIP DIFF, STRIP THE WEIGHT OUT OF IT AND YOU'RE GOOD TO GO. GOOD SERVICE HISTORY AND MOT UNTIL OCTOBER SO YOU CAN DRIVE IN ON THE ROAD TO GET IT HOME. PART EXCHANGE TO CLEAR, NO WARRANTY IS OFFERED OR IMPLIED - BUYER TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE PRIOR TO PURCHASE. CALL TODAY FOR A FREE TEST DRIVE, ALL OUR VEHICLES COME WITH HPI CERTIFICATE AND VOSA HISTORY REPORT, GIVING YOU PEACE OF MIND AND CONFIDENCE IN BUYING FROM OURSELF, LATE NIGHT VIEWING NOT A PROBLEM, CONTACT TO ARRANGE A VIEWING.

[X5TUU]

Always loved the looks but around here these are the car of choice of the mid-20s chavved up boy racers who need more than 2 doors to accommodate getting there 4+scruffy bairns into the space where 3 car seats should be for such little travellers ... Def an image problem imho

[Scottie - NW]

Slightly worrying when a seller has to spell out you can drive it home.....

[Toyoda]

I like the IS, but that example is a dog.

And any dealer who posts 'NO WARRANTY IS OFFERED OR IMPLIED' should be given the widest possible berth.

[cargit786]

A well written piece and small Lexi are probably are as reliable as Toyota Corollas but they are just as lacking in charm, its probably the styling and the kind of people who buy them when they are newer (too much hair gel and aftershave). . I know its more sensible than the old Jag a couple of weeks ago but earns less shed points in my view. Others will disagree I am sure.

[YellowCar]

When shedding, it's sometimes what's not in the ad that matters most. This one does ring alarm bells - the suggestion of drift/track project, and mentioning that you could drive it home...

Otherwise quite like these as a more original alternative to the obvious 3 series.

[NickGibbs]

Love this bit in the ad: "Late night viewing not a problem"
In fact we welcome it. The darker the better.

[leon9191]

I hate dealer adverts that literally tell you everything with regarding spec but actually nothing at all about the car.

Who gives a sh!t if its got a "snow mode" on the traction control, its a £1000 shed, has it got 4 good tyres and what are the general issue would be an honest and infinitely more useful advert than 100 words describing the elements that make up a generic car!

Also this is crap, keep it.

[PHMatt]

As a premium German car fan - the reason these didn't trouble the 3 series was the lack of choice.
a 3 came with more engines than I can recall. This, in UK trim, was a 2.0 6 pot petrol take it or leave it.

I'd get an imported one with the 200bhp Toyota 2.0 4 pot if I wanted an IS personally.

[Limpet]

With a long MOT it would be worth the money, but the only reason a trader would sell this with such a short ticket is because they know it's going to cost more than the car is worth to get it through another.

I've driven a couple of these and they are a bit "meh" in my opinion. Silky smooth engine aside, the most noteworthy part is the chronograph style instruments.

Ah'm oot this week.

[Itsallicanafford]

cargit786 said:

and the kind of people who buy them when they are newer (too much hair gel and aftershave). .

Hey! I drive a 2014 IS! (goes off to check his hair, re-apply aftershave)

[KTF]

There is a shed then there is st. This is st.

[anonymous-user]

Might impress the younger scrotes on the estate as you cruise by pretending you're a gangster but to anyone with a sense of taste this is crap.

An image that is well and truly stuck in the 90s and come October and MOT fail, I expect it to be well and truly stuck in the crusher.

[J4CKO]

Loads of cheap ones of these about, drive it, make sure most stuff works, offer £700

[IanCress]

Part exchange to clear, would make ideal track/drift car, you can drive it on the road to get it home.

It's knackered.

[parabolica]

Noticed a pristine IS300 (saloon, not sportcross) up for £1100 a few weeks ago - would much rather have that over a doggy 200 that the dealer couldn't even be bothered to clean before putting up.

[muppet42]

Wonder how a 3-litre manual compares?

I've just heard these are underpowered, too heavy and not interesting enough to warrant getting it over an equivalent BM or Merc. But then, I don't think they're as common as those so you could take advantage of that 'different option' approach. Plus, given it's Japanese you'll have a massive range of potential modifications you could look at (if that's your thing).

This one though as previous posts have mentioned would be a non-starter for me. I never break the less-than-6-months-MOT rule since being bitten by a previous purchase and the ad tells you nothing about the car specifically though could imply a lot of things as mentioned.

[AH33]

Cook Pass Babtridge

[IanCress]

muppet42 said:

Wonder how a 3-litre manual compares?

Does such a thing exist? I thought all the 3 litre cars were auto.

[muppet42]

IanCress said:

Does such a thing exist? I thought all the 3 litre cars were auto.

I'm sure I've seen one during my Gumtree search, was a Sportcross if memory serves though I stand to be corrected

[Toyoda]

Pretty sure there was never an IS300 manual in the UK.