Lexus IS200 - the new chav mobile?

gary the great

I think we can all agree that the Lexus IS200 has it all and is a fantastic car in every department.

But, is this going to be the next chav mobile? There is an increasing amount of chav's and boy racers driving them and Altezzas now. This will probaly make them uninsurable in the near future too.

AM thinking about bringing one in from the UK myself and a mate said he wouldn't as he thinks they are going to become uninsurable/have a scummy image (such as Starbo's etc) pretty soon.

Wouldn't put me off, but what do you's think?

colm_mcm

you may be right, but no worse than the 3 series

Atomic Pineapple

hardly gonna become a glanza type image but yeh there increasingly been driven by "boy racer" types and are way overpriced at the minute too because of the demand.

i was seriously looking to get one of these myself but as they became more and more common on the roads and in the autotrader etc.. i was put off.

Creamy Goodness

it's just boy racers actually wanting a car with proper lexus lights lol.

colm_mcm

so for value for money and exclusivity you're looking for an Integra?

Atomic Pineapple

colm_mcm wrote:

so for value for money and exclusivity you're looking for an Integra?

me?



no

colm_mcm

Yeah, you. suppose the newer model is less common, but the older ones are everywhere lately.

Atomic Pineapple

no, i'm after an accord type r, very rare and inexpensive(ish) to get one in from england

i was after the rarer integra ukdm but yeh the price of them turned out to be a rip off.

bazz26

Seen a 1998 tarted up Alteeza the other week with Lexus IS200 badges. Looked daft since the IS200 was only sold from 1999 onwards here.

My cousin has a 2004 fully loaded IS200 Sport Design and it is a beauty. He bought it up North last year, it is a fairly rare scarlet red colour also.

A 1999 IS200 can be bought for reasonable money in the UK these days.

colm_mcm

Sport-Design is a nice model, particularly the seats.

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote:

Sport-Design is a nice model, particularly the seats.

Indeed, full electric leather with memory settings.

tuxy

So which image is best for the ls200, skanger or this
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Km11Cb5NDp0
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nA3qzPRyY9s
?

Victor Meldrew

colm_mcm wrote:

you may be right, but no worse than the 3 series

Agreed, Always thought the IS200 was a bit ugly, like most lexus cars. On the skank / chav factor, I think it's already happened...

This begs the question, what premium second-hand cars are left? BMW 5's are getting dodgy occasionally, but they are still OK, Mercs are too "auld-lad" / taxi so will survive, Volvos and Saabs seem to just go tatty and dissapear,

Audi were impervious to our track-suited brethern's attention, but I've seen some dodgy A6's of late.

So, you're not a creamer, and don't have 50K to drop on a new motor, what do you pick to be safe in the knowledge that you won't see the same car in ASBO spec ?

furtzy

Victor Meldrew wrote:

Audi were impervious to our track-suited brethern's attention, but I've seen some dodgy A6's of late.

The A4 has become a particular favourite of the country boy racer......lexus lights, 19" alloys and the all important huge TDI (in red of course) window sticker.

Old 5 series are starting to get the treatment as well. Mainly due to the eastern euopean ****e heaps knocking around.

Mercs and Saabs seem to be immune so far

Henry Ford III

GS300 is worse. (Mostly) Skangers with money drive them.

slickmcvic

yeah,their big now with the boy racers at home,its cos their rear wheel drive and they can be diffed around the place,their also quite sporty but i hear their pretty sore on juice,The Audi 02>04 A4 is also becomin popular with em....sayin that though i'd have either of em in a shot!!

unkel

Victor Meldrew wrote:

what do you pick to be safe in the knowledge that you won't see the same car in ASBO spec ?

LOL

bazz26

slickmcvic wrote:

yeah,their big now with the boy racers at home,its cos their rear wheel drive and they can be diffed around the place,their also quite sporty but i hear their pretty sore on juice,The Audi 02>04 A4 is also becomin popular with em....sayin that though i'd have either of em in a shot!!

Indeed, it seems putting a RS4 badge on the boot of an A4 opposite the TDi badge and slapping a set of 19" RS4 replica alloy wheels qualifies it as an ASBO spec TDi RS4.

JHMEG

LOL!

Something I've noticed about the Altezzas is the with them seems to have come a new type of chav. In fact I don't think we had chavs before the Altezzas starting arriving en masse.

Maybe the chavs are being imported too? Or maybe that's what the Glanza chavs look like when they grow up and can start claiming the dole in their own name?

Altho having said that the IS200 doesn't really seem to have the same chav appeal as the Altezza.

MikeHunt

gary the great wrote:

I think we can all agree that the Lexus IS200 has it all and is a fantastic car in every department.

^ Nuff said. Yet you're hung-up on peoples perceptions of you based on the car you drive? There must be some fundamental issues you need to address in the first place! It'll always be an insurable car as long as you're of a reasonable age with a few years NCB.

In my opinion there's a long list of boy-racer style cars that come before the IS200/Altezza.

Also, since when did "chav" become a word in the Irish vocabulary? :rolleyes:

Victor Meldrew

MikeHunt wrote:

^

Also, since when did "chav" become a word in the Irish vocabulary? :rolleyes:

If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and goes quack...etc.

or in the case of chavs, pigeons are more appropriate.

NiSmO

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Gatster

Originally Posted by NiSmO
I'm 17 and looking for an is200 so what your saying is i'm not aloud get one i'm certainly not a chav!

If you are actually 17, and serious, have you enquired as to how much insurance will be?:eek:

NiSmO

NiSmO wrote:

This post has been deleted.

One of my friends has an IS200, He is 24 with a full licence and had to get the car insured in his fathers name with himself as a named driver. At 17 you won't have a hope I'd say.

NiSmO

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unkel

NiSmO wrote:

This post has been deleted.

So how much were you quoted? I presume for a 17 year old with a full license but without a full years NCB / named driver

E92

MikeHunt wrote:

Also, since when did "chav" become a word in the Irish vocabulary? :rolleyes:

It seems we've ''imported'' that word too, and from the 'old enemy' which makes it worse

As for the car, the one good thing about an IS is that it boasts a straight 6, the cars is just a glorified Toyota really(lots of Toyota switchgear to be found in there, admittedly it does have a different chassis, for a start unlike a Toyota its rear wheel drive)
Give me an IS(old type) before an Altezza anyday. Its the Altezza I notice is driven by the boy racer types.(how they find the money to buy and run them is another thing but anyway)

As for the people who re badge, any petrolhead should notice straight away if they are walking in town or have the window down which is which, badged appropriately or not. The engine noise being the giveaway.(an Altezza is a 4 pot, an IS(old model) is a straight 6)

NiSmO

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unkel

skanger is what we call them here, not chav

E92

Actually its knacker down here in Cork

unkel

E92 wrote:

Actually its knacker down here in Cork

Is skanger a Dublin only thing, or are you lot in Cork a year or two behind?

NiSmO

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Fey!

Scobie! Sc-o-bee

Also pronounced Scopie!!! Sc-o-pee

unkel

NiSmO wrote:

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That's interesting, I've never heard of that. Feel free to start a thread about it in the "Learning to Drive" forum. Other people might benefit from that!

So how much was your quote then, or do you prefer not to say?

gary the great

MikeHunt wrote:

^ Nuff said. Yet you're hung-up on peoples perceptions of you based on the car you drive? There must be some fundamental issues you need to address in the first place! It'll always be an insurable car as long as you're of a reasonable age with a few years NCB.

In my opinion there's a long list of boy-racer style cars that come before the IS200/Altezza.

Also, since when did "chav" become a word in the Irish vocabulary? :rolleyes:

I never said "Chav" was a part of the Irish vocabulary, I live in England and therefore its the term i use. And i'm not speaking Irish anyway im speaking English

And tbh i couldnt give a dam about the car having a "skanger" image, i clearly stated I would be buying it anyway, so no I don't have any "fundamental issues I need to address".

Am actually going out to view one tomorrow here in the UK, 87k on the clock, sport model, the blue colour (my favourite), full toyota/lexus service history, 2000 reg for £4.5k which is decent I think.

MikeHunt

I suppose I could have phrased it better... "in the vocabulary of the Irish".

Good luck with the purchase anyway. Are you over there for the foreseeable future or are you planning on bringing the car back to Ireland? The VRT must be high enough on those.

JohnCleary

unkel wrote:

That's interesting, I've never heard of that. Feel free to start a thread about it in the "Learning to Drive" forum. Other people might benefit from that!

So how much was your quote then, or do you prefer not to say?

In fairness, 25 lessons at a (generous) 25euro per less = €625... That's a LOT more than a years NCB will get you as discount...

... Oh, I guess there's the 'Better driver' after 25 lessons though :eek: :rolleyes:

NiSmO

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colm_mcm

Do you really want to pay over €5,000 for insurance? Just because they will quote doesn't mean it's going to be afordable

Biro

The IS200 has the 2 litre 6 cyl, roughly 156bhp and a shocking 28mpg. The Altezza has a Yamaha 2 litre 4cyl engine, mid-30's mpg and has over 200bhp.
I'd much rather an Altezza, and there's no way I'd put the Lexus badge on it.
The IS would have it in engine refinement and low down grunt, but other than that the Altezza is actually a better buy. However, prices reflect this, and popularity of the Altezza is beginning to drive the prices up over that of a similar age IS.
The only way I'd dip into the 20's for mpg's is if I had plenty of HP, which the IS doesn't have.

JHMEG

Biro wrote:

The IS200 has the 2 litre 6 cyl, roughly 156bhp and a shocking 28mpg. The Altezza has a Yamaha 2 litre 4cyl engine, mid-30's mpg and has over 200bhp.
I'd much rather an Altezza, and there's no way I'd put the Lexus badge on it.
The IS would have it in engine refinement and low down grunt, but other than that the Altezza is actually a better buy. However, prices reflect this, and popularity of the Altezza is beginning to drive the prices up over that of a similar age IS.
The only way I'd dip into the 20's for mpg's is if I had plenty of HP, which the IS doesn't have.

A mildly tuned Glanza would do the same power, better mpg, has the same badge and would be cheaper. Would you drive one of them?

bazz26

Actually the Alteeza was sold with the 6 pot unit also in the JDM but the Yamaha beans unit is the most popular due to it's superior performance.

Both the MkI IS200 and Alteeza were built in the same factory in Japan, the Lexus being for the export market only. These days Lexus have their own seperate factories and the brand has only been available in the JDM for about 2 or 3 years now.

tuxy

JHMEG wrote:

A mildly tuned Glanza would do the same power, better mpg, has the same badge and would be cheaper. Would you drive one of them?

A Glanza is front wheel drive and wouldn't be as comfortable or have as many accessories. I seriously doubt it handles as good as an Altezza.
Cars are about a lot more then 0-60 times.

Atomic Pineapple

bazz26 wrote:

Actually the Alteeza was sold with the 6 pot unit also in the JDM but the Yamaha beans unit is the most popular due to it's superior performance.

yeh the altezza as200 is the same as the is200 while the altezza rs200 is the superior yamaha beams tuned engine

gary the great

Went out for a test drive in it today. Was really comfortable, lovely drive and had plenty of power.
The trip was showin an average MPG of about 20mpg though! Dont think i could afford to run it tbh, as well as pay the tax on a 2lire.

Biro

JHMEG wrote:

A mildly tuned Glanza would do the same power, better mpg, has the same badge and would be cheaper. Would you drive one of them?

To be fair, that's a silly statement, more so seeing as you usually know better!
For a start, despite all the mouth from the owners, it takes more than mild tuning to get a glanza to over 200bhp. Secondly, if someone sucessfully had tuned one to over 200bhp, I'd say they will be looking for a sum of money not far below the Altezza price... and thirdly the badge means nothing to me. I don't care if it has a Kia badge stuck on it.
I might as well throw in that a glanza is fairly crap compared to anything newer in the same class as it, let alone 3 classes up and newer!

Caliden

NiSmO wrote:

This post has been deleted.

Well I've been quoted 1 grand, with 1 years NCB and 23 years old.

If you are actually serious about getting a Lexus unlike some of your posts in the past where there are alot of inconsistances in them.

Fair dues if you do get insured but I find it very unlikely that any company will insure a 17 year old with a 2litre car

Gatster

Originally Posted by NiSmO
they couldn't give me a figure till i get my full licence but they "guaranteed" I'd get a quote i'm only going by that.

Then there is tax, maintenance, petrol costs...:eek:

G Luxel

Lots of white altezzas on our streets and there are no altezza gitas (estate).
So while so many people change the badges, they dont remove the Altezza name badge, the grille emblem or the wind deflectors. Im surprised that there hasnt been any of the Alteeza based Progres models sold here. It appears to be styled on a mid 90s C-Class and looks like a baby LS430 on the front.

gary the great

Cos they look ridiculous imo