"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
09/17/2015 at 10:59 • Filed to: None
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"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
09/17/2015 at 10:59 • Filed to: None | 1
| 16 |
I’m looking for a solid, accident free, relatively unmolested, one owner 2004-2005 IS300, preferably SportCross, with fewer than 100k miles. I’d say 90% of the ones on Autotrader are at used car lots, which if I’m honest gives me the heebie jeebies. I realize not all used car lots are owned by ripoff artists, but generally... I’m skeptical. Yelp and Google reviews generally support my bias.
However the majority of private sale IS300’s tend to have 22” rimz, chipz, and those turbos that install at the muffler. Or they have 200k+ miles. Again, skeptical.
Craigslist... even worse.
So how do you guys locate quality used cars? I also do not care to buy anything sight unseen, particularly a car, so anything further than 300 miles form Austin, TX is probably not realistic. Probably.
Also, any major issues with the IS you guys are aware of? I’ve been shopping for either a 3rd gen Acura TL or an IS300, but have really been turned off by the Acura after talking to a number of mechanics about their 5-speed transmissions. Even in the ‘07-’08 model years, by which the tranny problems had still been resolved, they tend to see an abnormal number of Hondas with grenaded boxes. My usual mechanic, who works for one of the more reputable independent shops here in Austin, said he’s never once worked on an IS300, which he estimates is a good thing.
Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole
> Chairman Kaga
09/17/2015 at 11:41 |
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I actually just bought an IS300 on Tuesday.
About the mileage, you’re looking at 10+ year old cars with 2JzGE’s in them. If you find one with a bunch of maintenance history with it, great! If not, RockAuto sells a timing belt/waterpump kit for about $125 (I just bought one and it will depend on shipping for your price). Small change for a DIY piece of mind.
Everything I found in my research points to the IS being pretty soild. After I bought mine, a co-worker told me his daughter bought one years ago, and the only major maintenance he’s done to it, is the timing belt/associated parts when needed (roughly every 80K is the suggestion).
So far, I love my IS.
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Chairman Kaga
> Dukie - Jalopnik Emergency Management Asshole
09/17/2015 at 11:49 |
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That’s precisely why I’m looking at the IS. I can sell my loathsome CRV for $13k, buy an IS for $9k-ish, and bank the difference until I’m ready and able to buy a new-new car in 4 or 5 years, or have a decent pool of cash for maintenance and repairs.
WiscoProud
> Chairman Kaga
09/17/2015 at 12:20 |
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You’re looking at all the places one would use to find a decent car. I’ve had good experiences buying used cars from new car dealers. You probably won’t get the best price however. When the dealers have to answer to a maker, they seem to be slightly more scrupulous than the used car only lots. I will say there are obviously exceptions to this.
Basically when you look for a used car, especially one 10+ years old, patience is the name of the game.
As for dealer reviews online, take them with a grain of salt. Many people bitch because they didn’t get the trade-in they wanted. Read the reviews and look for patterns and actual issues. Many reviews are just people venting.
Tapas
> Chairman Kaga
09/17/2015 at 12:42 |
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I actually want to sell my 2003 IS300 (sedan). I live in Houston.
Its got 172k miles and a lot of things replaced on it. I’m selling it because I have to move out of the country.
Leave me your email address if you are interested and I’ll send you all the details and pics.
Coincidentally, I was looking for TLs and IS300s too, when I wanted to buy a car lol I couldn’t find a reasonably priced TL that didnt have a history of problems or a cracked dashboard.
Bytemite
> Chairman Kaga
09/17/2015 at 12:53 |
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Glad you decided to go with the IS300. When I saw you posting that you wanted the Accord with the beak instead, I was like okay whatever, if that’s your idea of a fun car.
I would keep checking craigslist honestly. I haven’t had a problem with sellers on there and I bought cars much lower in price. At your 7-9k price range, the sellers aren’t as...weird.
Good rule of thumb is if they are covering up their license plate, don’t even bother checking out that listing. The seller likely has no idea why he is doing that and this reflects how he goes about doing other things in life like vehicle maintenance. Or even worse, the seller is hiding something.
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Chairman Kaga
> Tapas
09/17/2015 at 13:10 |
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it’s mike.mckinnon at gmail
Thanks! Might be a bit high mileage for what I need, but then again, it’s a Toyota. Interested to hear about it. Pics if you have em!
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Tapas
> Chairman Kaga
09/17/2015 at 13:35 |
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Cool! I’ll send you an email today evening once I get off work and I’ll attach pics too :)
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Chairman Kaga
> Bytemite
09/17/2015 at 15:56 |
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I just checked out an ‘04 with 95k miles that’s at a local used lot. They want $9,450 cash.
http://www.usedcarsaustin.com/vehicle/used-2…
It has a sizeable ding in the hood, all four wheels have curb rash, which is really common in this town because we only have street parking, a scuff on the rear bumper and the exhaust is mildly dented (looked like the exhaust and bumper went together) but is otherwise shiny and clean. The dash is of course rather crappy, but I think that goes for every single IS300 I’ve ever seen. Leather is good. Carpet is good. It doesn’t smell. The AC works beautifully. Stereo, cruise control, windows, sunroof, all functional. It has the nav system but the screen is glazed with Armor All and had such a glare I couldn’t see it. The little rubber nubbin button to control it was missing (the actual switch beneath was present and worked though) but I imagine that’s a pretty easy to replace wear-and-tear kind of part. I don’t think the seat heaters or memory function worked, but those issues could be related and relatively simple, like a fuse or faulty connector.
Recent timing belt and water pump. Engine bay was spotless.
Looked like EBC brake pads.
Tires were Bridgestone and pretty new.
I’m going to check out a couple others in the area, but I might take this one out for an extended check with my mechanic. If he likes it, offer $9,000 as is, have a body guy pop the dent, maybe repaint the dash (although I recently did my Alfa’s with a few SEM rattle cans and it looks great, so maybe something I could manage), pick up some aftermarket wheels, dink around with the minor electrical issues, call it a day.
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Chairman Kaga
> Bytemite
09/17/2015 at 16:10 |
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I don’t know why these photos are upside down. I even PhotoShopped em. Whatever.
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Bytemite
> Chairman Kaga
09/17/2015 at 16:48 |
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Well it sounds like you got it all planned out to put it back into good, working order. I would not pay $9,000 for that though. It isn’t a rare edition/trim or a manual transmission. Very common color, common trim. And $9,000 would be above book value. Maybe $8,000.
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Chairman Kaga
> Bytemite
09/17/2015 at 17:03 |
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Yeah, Edmunds is actually saying $7800 dealer retail! Although I’ve yet to see one for that little that wasn’t a salvage title. At least around my neck of the woods.
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Chairman Kaga
> Bytemite
09/17/2015 at 17:26 |
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What are the rare colors, by the way? I see very few red and blue ones. Mostly silver, black, and white.
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Bytemite
> Chairman Kaga
09/17/2015 at 17:31 |
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The blue on the IS300 is very good looking and rare. It’s a metallic paint like the grey car you’re looking at.
Dealers always advertise around $2,000 above book value...IS300 are not $10,000 cars. If you can haggle down $2,500 below their advertised price, then buy it. They likely got it at an auction for around $3-4 grand anyway. And looking at the dash and electrical issues with the seat, they didn’t even bother doing any repairs.
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Chairman Kaga
> Bytemite
09/17/2015 at 17:45 |
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Cool. I found an 04 in Mississippi in blue for $12k. It only has about 65k miles though. Might offer $10k, then hire Auto PI to check it out. Still looks like it has melty dash, though...
http://astroford.com/Gulfport-Bilox…
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Bytemite
> Chairman Kaga
09/17/2015 at 18:51 |
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Looks much better than the grey one though. Not just color, but the condition of the car too. Was the timing belt and water pump already replaced? At 65k miles, that Lexus has barely been broken in. I’d say take it for 10k if the above has been replaced, but if it hasn’t you might have room to haggle to 9k if you have to do it in the next 35k miles.
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Tapas
> Chairman Kaga
09/17/2015 at 21:11 |
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Just sent you that email :)