Hey guys. My girlfriend needs to buy a car ASAP. She cannot spend anymore then $15,000. I've got her really interested in an 03 IS300 with 90,000 miles listed at 11,500. It has the cloth seats with leather sides and is dark gray...all stock.

I know the timing belt should be done around 90xxx miles so I will try and talk them down if it has not already been done. Is there any other serious maintanence that should have been done or is upcoming?

What should I inspect besides the basics like brakes, paint, fluids, wheels, standard driving?

Some other cars she is considering is an 04-06 maxima or the second generation toyota solara sle

 

The IS300 is a very reliable car just make sure the timing belt and maintenance is done. Only problem I have, which is very common , is the darn CD changer, it jams, I am on my second one that has jammed, but this is not a problem if you want a aftermarket system anyway.

 

x2 and if you arent a DIY kind of person get them to change the plugs if it hasnt been done too as they are a pain to get to, i wrote a DIY over on isfanatics if you do wanna try it yourself

another thought...it takes 6 quarts of oil and if they just did a quick oil change on it without knowing they may have only put 5 quarts in it so maybe check the level

 

see if it suffers from the notorious "sticky" dash. if so, its a HUGE pain to deal with.
http://my.is/forums/f90/do-not-follo...sleeps-401905/

 

The water pump is also supposed to be done along with the timing belt. At that price I would make sure they do the service. The plugs are really easy but to each their own.

I would assume this car will be a bit more expensive on insurance than your other options as well. Just a heads up.

 

get a manual

 

^^Agreed. It's gonna have better resale than the auto.

 

GOOD CALL!!

 

while they arent as difficult as the 99 rx 300 they are no where close to the 10 minute job of say a jeep wrangler lol

 

The air-mix servos tend to go bad too. Make sure you get a range of air temps opposed to just max hot and max cold.

 

From what I remember someone came up with a solution for the sticky dash. Mine however got replaced as it was too far gone.

...and there's not much that's a 10 minute operation on the IS. I'm still trying to figure out the right route to get the oil fiter back on with ease. lol

 

The only problem I get from my car is the MAF sensor. Other than that its great!! The cd changer I never had a problem since I changed it to a double din when I first got it

 

Also check the brake wear, another bill coming up else !!!