Originally Posted by GiantsFan

I'm sure mmarshal will chime in with his thoughts (or you can PM him) - he does car reviews.

Originally Posted by KillaIS250

Well just a little advice: Don't max out your budget on a car. ever. There will always be things that can go wrong or need repairing. It's always better to spend under your budget and save the rest for "a rainy day" Be sure to consider insurance too (full coverage required if you finance). Seems like your still pretty young so consider the whole picture before making a move!

If your moving from one "old" car to another, there's always a risk your taking. You could be spending more money on your newer (But still old) car and on top of that have to pay for repairs. If your budget is tight, stick with your Legend for a while or get a car that's priced on the same level, so that worst case scenario is that your back to square 1 with the same kinda car that isn't reliable.

IMO, Lexus IS300 doesn't seem like the "perfect" fit for you. Seems like you need something a little cheaper on servicing/repairs and a car that doesn't burn through thru tires.

DEFINITELY not trying to say you are poor or anything BTW...i was in your same situation exactly 3 years ago. My budget was limited and I paid all my expenses and was on my own for 90% of things. I wanted to get a new car at the time too, cuz my 98 prelude was becoming a money pit (transmission died twice ) but i stuck with the car, and towards the end it had no problems cept for burning a quart of oil between oil changes (Classic issue with the H22 motor) Glad i did cuz when i graduated i got a good paying job, traded in the Prelude and had enough saved from NOT buying a new car to put a good amount down on my IS250 and have low payments on it

If you ask me, gotta suffer a bit now to enjoy the luxuries of life later on

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Yes...in addition to that, I owned an IS300 for almost 5 years. Very well-built car....one of the best I've owned (and, IMO, better-built than the 2Gen models that replaced it). Had some quirks, though.....the climate-control system, with the 3 round dash-*****, tended to keep kicking-in the cabin-recirc air.......you often had to re-set it manually for outside air. The all-metal metal chrome-ball transmission-shifter was a classic (but don't let it heat up in the sun), and had a delightful, high-quality snap-snap motion, but there were limitations in what the engineers allowed it to do. You couldn't shift it manually down into first with the lever, and there were also limitations in the lever's 5-4 downshift----you sometimes had to use the steering-wheel shift-buttons instead. 2001 and 2002 models had some ECU TSBs to address transsmision shift-and rolling-start quirks, and were not totally successful. And the in-line-6, though butter-smooth and tough as nails, drank premium gas at V8 rates. But, except for those quirks, an excellent car, and very well-built.

I noticed some comments about the IS300's harsh ride. Look for one with the factory 16", 55-series all-season tire option (as mine was) and that won't be a problem.

Originally Posted by COOLIS

Can you find a decent IS300 at a dealer for $8,000-$10,000? You might have trouble financing one as well. For that price I would guess its going to have more than 100,000 miles which is a risk in itself. Banks usually won't finance a car with over 100,000 miles or if its older than 9 years. If you do find someone willing to finance the interest will be sky high. It won't be worth paying more interest than principal. Consider this when your looking for one.