Hi! I'm Harry, I'm 25 and I live in France.
I'm disgusted by the lack of quality and longevity (without huge bills) of modern cars (Alloy engine blocks with GDi turbo(s) and 4 or 3 banger, too many computers and sensors).
Then, I remembered a car that always intrigued me : the Lexus IS (2nd generation). However, the only model I'm interested in, is the 2nd gen. Lexus IS350 RWD facelift (blue or red or any colour except white, black, silver and grey).
How well made (reliability, quality of the materials, self-maintenance difficulty, parts availability) are they ? What's the price for a great one (less than 100000miles, 1-2 owners, carefully maintained) ? The biggest issue, is that the IS350 was never officially imported in France (but the IS250 was). A handful of people in my country imported them and seemed very pleased with the car and everything linked to Lexus. Am I mad to want one ?
Thank you.
I live in London, UK and have an old 2003 1st generation IS200 but coincidentally have a holiday home in in France (Dompierre Les Eglises, Haute Vienne).
It seems used cars are much more expensive in France than UK. If you do not mind right-hand drive you may find a car cheaper in the UK.
For example, some neighbours in our village in France bought a used Peugeot convertible from the UK last year and it was thousands of pounds (or Euros €) cheaper to buy one here and drive it home to France.
The only concern from next year is Brexit, as it may have implications of import tax and undoubtedly beauracracy 😟
Very reliable solid cars. Make sure all the electronics works on the car you plan on buying.
Thank you to both of you. 😀 I'll check all the electronic functions. Is there any known issues on these IS350 ?
Hi ! After looking for it, it seems that it will cost me 25000 to 30000€ to have a clean one and that's a huge amount of money ! Plus, I can't find parts in the country =, I'll have to make them come from the U.S and Japan. Financially for me, it's not possible.
I must admit that I underestimated the awful french taxation system. I have to go to European domestic markets cars (so mostly turbocharged).
For the europeans members, on the more affordable side (and parts are available everywhere), there is the Seat Leon Cupra 290 (5F1, pre-Facelift). But, there were some problems on some turbos, waterpumps and Dynamic Chassis Control (electronically operated dapers, DCC). But since 2016, problems are rarer.
Any thougts ?
30,000 euros? WHAT! Here in US they are literally $5000, cars in France are way overpriced.