smooth1

But on this point I disagree with you. I see 2005 IS 300 selling used for 29,000.00 all the time. I also see 2003's selling for low 20's alot also. This car has held it's value incredibly well. Go to Auto Trader and look for yourself. I just sold my 2003 for 22 k. And they were happy for it.

Hey Bartkat, I know you know what your talking about, so I went back and double checked. And yes, you are correct. If you "special" ordered" it as an option, then you could get the heated seat option, but as a " package" they did not offer one without the other. So I digress and apologize for being errant. :P Also, in checking, I did not know that fabric door panels were in fact the standard issue, and the Escaine Leatherette was an option also. Iv'e never seen an IS 300 with fabric before. I know that they had some funky option arrangements for the power / manual seats, but I think I would like someone to show me a pic of the fabric interior of an IS 300.

edge

They also offer a ceramic paint kit for brake calipers that cost about 20 bucks and you don't have to take the calipers apart or even off the car. Works great.

I went in for my 15 mile service an dhte service guy said the same thing. I had them changed anyways and the new pads are so much better. The new pads stop jsut as good, and there is a lot less brake dust on the rims. I would have them changed. 15 mile service? Man I'll bet that get's expensive.....I heard the 50 mile service is a doosey...LOL!

out the door? that's a little different. Warrentee is about 500 bucks, tax is about 1400, so your really paying close to 20 grand for the car? And you said they will fix the abs issue? I guess that's an ok deal. I myself am just hung up on the tears in the seat and the scratches. But if you can live with that then go for it. I think I would call the Lexus dealership you think you would like to take the car to for regular services and ask them about an extended warrentee and what they recomend. that way you don't have any "approval" issues and coverage problems as they work with their warrentee companies on a regular basis. Let me give you an example of how some of these "extended warrentees" can screw you. Let's say you take the car in and they "hear" a problem in the motor. First, the warrentee may not cover "exploratory" diagnostics. So you will have to pay out of pocket to find out what the problem is. Then let's say that they find the problem and it is a covered part, like a flywheel. Well, Lexus may charge 1800 bucks for the flywheel, but the warrentee payout for that part might be only 1200. So, you'll have to pay the difference. Also, most policies only cover up to about 60 bucks an hour for labor. Lexus charges considerably more than that. Again, you'll have to pay the difference. Call Lexus and ask to speak with a service tech and I'm sure they will tell you about some horror stories in using the wrong extended warrentee company. Also while your there, give them the vin nimber of the car and they can pull up all the service records for that car also. That would be very telling. Do you have the cqr fax report? If your really going to buy a car soon, get the unlimited carfaxes for 30 days for 30 bucks. It's so worth it. and then pull your own report. Compare that to what the dealer tells you and then you will have an accurate history for that car. To be very honest with you, the 2003 model years are coming out of warrentee. So alot of dealerships used the IS and the ES and RX's as complimentary cars and long term demos. While the mileage is very low on these cars, they can be some very hard miles and these cars get abused often. If after you pull the carfax and see the title wasn't issued until way after the production date and dealer arrival, I would just walk away from the car.

See, and you thought I didn't notice... :P

Fun????? That might come later, right now it's frustration and torcher. It seems like every step of the way is uphill. I have spent hours on the phone with several supercharger manufacturers trying to get spec info and the correct application assembly for my car. It seems that very few people have decided to use a supercharger for this car, If I went with a turbo, then suddenly there is 20 turbo kits to choose from and everything is at my fingertips. But noooooooooooooooooooooo, I gotta choose supercharger. So it's strap on the boots and trudge up this hill to make it happen. Oh, but I will supercharge my IS 300. and it will be fast. I have my reasons for picking supercharger. So in the end, it will all be worth it. But for now.....

model

The "upgraded" interior features leather seats and leather trim. The "standard" interior has a "suede" material on the door trims, and on the center cushions of all the seats in the front and back. That "suede" material is not leather. It's called Lycra. It feels like leather suede, but it's actually a man made material. Not that this is a bad thing, but I have seen other people advertise their car with this material as "leather" interior, when in fact it really isn't. Another easy tell is if the car has heated seats. THe upgraded leather comes with the heated seat option, whereas the standard seats don't have that option. The switches for the heated seats are on the center console below the stereo, and just above the cigerrette lighter and ashtray. If there is only the trac off button, and 2 fobs, then it's not leather, or the leather seats where not installed at the factory. The GS is nice. It's much bigger though. Again, all in personal prefrences. But I have come to beleive so long as it's Lexus, it's nice. I think the IS has a much more "sportier" look not just on the exterior, but the interior. And yes, the GS costs more also.

Sometimes I think I might be dominating the 01-05 IS 300 Forum. So I have been trying to sit back and let others give their input, but then nobody has anything to really say other than a few like Bartkat, dcfish and maybe a a small handful of others. So heres my input anyway. I would look at doing appearance mods first that also work on performance. That way you get sort of a double wammie for the same money right off the bat. Like Bartkat mentioned, lowering it an inch. That will help your handling and make the stance right, which looks sooooo good. Then of course you won't be able to help yourself and get nice rims. You don't really have to go to 18's, you could stick with 17's and save the money you would have to spend on new rubber for something else. Then you could ice the car. During all this time you can research the power mods and determine if you really want to or not. ( I have to tell you that there really isn't alot of hp out there to get with exhaust, intake and retune.) Although if you take your ecu out and send it to Jet, when you get it back there is about 25 hp there. Other than that you will probably come to the conclusion of turbo? or supercharger? That's where all the hp is. A turbo kit running about 10 psi will get you atleast 100 hp easy. Now that's boost! Of course your talking about 4-6 grand to do it. But,,,,,like you said, if you want it,, you can save up for it. I just decided to go with a supercharger. ( I have to put my own kit together though, so I have to make sure all the components will work together smoothly first and look at each peice and try to determine what is the best. Decisions decisions............ B)

Peanut Butter

yeah, well, you know, the 97 and 98 look so much alike, sometimes I get them confused with the 64 Woody and the 72 AMC Hornet. LOL!!! And besides, I guess I couldn't get passed the 800 lbs. dude wearing the B-cup bikini top.

Maybe the BOC?

Oreo

BTW, those aren't leather seats then. They are Lycra polyvinyl seats. Leather was a $1,200.00 up charge.

Go to auto trader.com and look up 2003 IS 300 any price and any distance. There are more than several in there with 30,000 miles on them and are selling for $20,000.00 and there abouts. Maybe show him these ads and see what he says.

well, your description of the car and the ad for the car don't seem to match very well. That's my first observation. Next, I just sold my 2003 IS 300 with 30,250 miles on it, and it was show room inside and out for 22,000.00. The reason the IS 300 prices are all over the place is now that the new body style is out, people are snatching up the IS 300's and they are getting harder to find. I would keep looking. The 3 year warrentee is no big deal, you can get that anywhere. I have bought many used cars, and the biggest factor I use is the person I'm buying the car from. In the ad it says "recently serviced" but you said there is a noise from the brake, and the ABS sensor is bad. ( Usually a sign that there was an air bubble problem in the brake line.) So did the service just skip these problems? They didn't have them diagnosed? and fixed? Is it the "suede" leather seats or perforated leather seats? $22,000.00 isn't a bad price for an IS 300, but I think you can find one in much better shape for the same price and maybe from someone who just seems more honest about their car.

Okay, the research is over. I have the info I need. I have decided that I am going with a centrifugal supercharger with about 10 psi. I'll be ordering it next week, and then of course I have to get the fuel rails, fuel pump, intercooler, maybe larger injectors, heat shield, and also I'm going to get an exhaust system to go with this. I already have a guy to do the dyno tuning when I get to that point. I'm hoping to get to around 400-450 hp. ( we'll see. I think that might be a bit lofty of a goal, but even if I get somewhere just under 400 hp I will be very happy.) So, phase 2 of the Dream Ride will start now. As the parts come in and I start doing the install I will post pics along the way and info. If anyone has ideas and advice it would be nice to hear it. thanks to every one who I have met along the way.

meraviglioso "wonderful" ------> eccellente

That's wrong. Petition signed

squisito!!!

Actually, I think they do sell just the gatlin housing and bulbs, or you can send them your headlights and they will convert it for you, or you can buy a set already converted. I have to warn you though, I have had friends that have not had good "experiences" with AAC.

YUMMY!!!!

notice where the liscence plate is???? Did you look at the photo's you uploaded? They are almost solid black with two tail lights and a lit licsence plate....