New Camry Vs. used IS300?

4642 Views 16 Replies 13 Participants Last post by jhbhatia, Sep 15, 2004

haa21

Discussion Starter · Sep 8, 2004 (Edited)

New Camry Vs. used IS 300?

I'm the current owner of a Gen 4.5 Camry w/v6. I really enjoy the car. It has been very reliable, too. I recently decided that its time to purchase a new Camry (for a change of scenery and because I'm out of my warranty). Then, I saw some ads for Certified Pre-Owned IS 300's. It seems I can get a 2002 with about 25000 miles on it for roughly the same price as a new Camry with a V6. As a Camry owner I'm familiar with the cars qualities, but I don't know too much about the IS 300. Can any IS 300 owners shed some light on their ownership experience? I'm interested in hearing about any compliants or problems you have with the car. Also, if anyone from the snowbelt can share their experience of driving the IS 300 in snow. I expect I would need snow tires. Thanks.

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Snow White IS

· #2 · Sep 8, 2004

I bought my 2001 IS used... about 1.5 years ago... still loving it... actually loving it too much cuz I just surpassed 100k km this weekend...
No major problems with it...
Snow tires is a must in the winter.... RWD ain't fun if you're not used to it... it takes a little to get the hang of it to not fishtail.

At the darknights competitition some girl was saying to her bf that the IS is her dream car... the bf had this to say "pfft... the IS is just a RWD Camry". You can take whatever you want from that... personally, I don't think they compare... but there are a lot of loyal camry peeps on here....

After driving the IS for over a year... I find it underpowered and sluggish. You might wanna wait for the newer model to come out to be truly competitive with the rest of the market.

Attention wise... I get a lot of it... and I'm sure I wouldn't if I were driving a Camry... Then again, the camry is too big for me anyway... So that's another thing... you'll lose a lot of room with the IS that you're used to.

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Piddy

· #3 · Sep 9, 2004

Personally.... I wouldn't buy a Camry over an IS300 based just on the fact that its FWD vs RWD. Some people like FWD though.... kinda a personal choice. Lexus will obviously be a lot more classy and stylish if you will... but you are getting a used car vs. a new car. So... you kinda just have to decide what matters more to you.

IS300GGP

· #4 · Sep 9, 2004

assuming both vehicles are bone stock...kinda comparing apples to oranges here... hard to say....there are just too many differences between the two cars to make a reasonable comparison.. it really boils down to what YOU need from a car.

if you plan on ever having adults sit in the back.. go with the camry.
the IS will turn more heads.

the RWD setup in the IS is great for summer driving... but for some reason its totally fucked in the winter.. even with snow tires, you really gotta know what you're doing... if you do pick up an IS... make sure it has LSD...along with decent snow tires, works wonders in the snow.

I considered a camry sport before i picked up the IS. Its a totally different game. But one thing is for sure... both cars are dead solid reliable. No problems so far with my car.

and as MQ said... maybe hold out for the next gen IS... who knows what it will bring.

camry vs accord is a more fitting comparison
IS vs. 3-series vs. A4 or even vs. TSX

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Neon

· #5 · Sep 9, 2004

i too would want the IS300 because of the RWD and the 2jz-ge

lots of potential there

but i'd wait for a while until Lexus comes out with the new gen IS300, is been a while that first gen came out =) looking foward to that

Razo-E

· #6 · Sep 9, 2004

Take the IS...

or, if you still want the Camry familiarity, in a non-camry body...

get an ES300..

CamNub

· #7 · Sep 10, 2004

Maybe make it IS vs solara?
Its either this.
You want space, family car look, close to luxery ride.

Or do you want
Lexus, head turner, sporty looking and i bet handles pretty well, but i agree w/ SWIS. I thought they looked pretty cool and i wanted one. But after looking at the stats....:thumbdown

superlexusgs300

· #8 · Sep 10, 2004

Right at the moment I am in maryland and I rented a 2004 toyota solara. This is the toyota coupe to the 4 door Camry. The V6 eng is puting out 250 hp and just as much torque. Trd will definitly make upgrades for this car supercharger, lower springs and a but load of other mods. Which in fact you be able to order the Camry or Solara with the TRD package which look just as sharpe as lexus IS300 or ES300.

And to all you lexus fans, the jdm version of the lexus is toyota. I own a gs300 and I like toyota Aristo a lot better than Lexus gs300. Just because when you say toyota aristo to any toyota head it mean 2jz power right off the muscle:lol: :thumbup: :thumbup:

CamNub

· #9 · Sep 12, 2004

^They also have an option at the dealer for a TRD kit.

VVT-i Owns

· #10 · Sep 13, 2004

Snow White IS said:
After driving the IS for over a year... I find it underpowered and sluggish. You might wanna wait for the newer model to come out to be truly competitive with the rest of the market.

Really? That Sounds like a 3 Series BMW. I really don't see the IS being underpowered compared to the competition on the market. These are not the fastest you can buy for the price but they're fun to drive.

For family needs I would choose a Camry or IS anyday. It's just more room. Who needs all the luxury for a family grocery getter anyways?

:

TheRupp

· #11 · Sep 13, 2004

What you should be comparing here is an ES330... that's more of a Camry than an IS300.

I ended up buying an ES300 instead of an IS300 because of gas mileage (somehow the IS gets worse gas mileage than the GS400?) and the fact that RWD sucks in Chicago winters. You're in Michigan, so RWD won't be any bit of fun for you in every day driving unless you find an open parking lot to play around in.

Snow White IS

· #12 · Sep 14, 2004

VVT-i Owns said:
Really? That Sounds like a 3 Series BMW. I really don't see the IS being underpowered compared to the competition on the market. These are not the fastest you can buy for the price but they're fun to drive.

For family needs I would choose a Camry or IS anyday. It's just more room. Who needs all the luxury for a family grocery getter anyways? :

Yep it's definitely fun to drive... can't argue that... when I first got it, I couldn't wipe my kool-aid grin off my face!

I get groceries at least once a week and I always end up filling up the back seat! But I still think I could manage with it being a family car... just wish the seats folded down.

jhbhatia

· #13 · Sep 14, 2004

honestly, both will be fun vehicles to drive. But the question is how long do you plan to hold on to a car..and how many miles would you typically add?

Your reasoning to sell teh gen 4.5 is cus the factory warranty has ran out. Using that argument, the used IS300 will have limited time/miles before its warranty runs out as well. Comparing that with a new camry..camry comes out on top. But then again.....if you hardly add miles on a car (like my wifee, close to 3K miles per year, then it doesn't really matter what your choices are).

TheRupp

· #14 · Sep 14, 2004

jhbhatia said:
Your reasoning to sell teh gen 4.5 is cus the factory warranty has ran out. Using that argument, the used IS300 will have limited time/miles before its warranty runs out as well.

I bought my ES Certified. 3yr/100k mile warranty, or for a little bit extra you can upgrade it to 6yrs.

Peter

· #15 · Sep 15, 2004

i would of got the is......

BamBamT

· #16 · Sep 15, 2004

I own a Solara (aka Camry with 2 doors) and am also looking at the IS300. The Solara is not a sport luxury car, but rather a luxury car. Boring to drive. Front heavy (not balanced). etc...

As long as you don't need the space that the Camry offers, and you are a "driver" (ie. you enjoy driving for the sake of driving) then you cannot even compare the IS300 to the Camry.

Take the IS300 and enjoy your drive to work everyday.

As for rear wheel drive, if you don't have any experience with it, take the car to parking lot and play around with until you understand the mechanics of it. Snow tires and trac control are plenty enough for the winter.

Personally for myself, it is a toss up between IS300 vs 3 series vs G35.

All rear wheel drive cause anything less is not true drivers car.

my .02 cents.

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jhbhatia

· #17 · Sep 15, 2004

TheRupp said:
I bought my ES Certified. 3yr/100k mile warranty, or for a little bit extra you can upgrade it to 6yrs.

I know about extended warranties....I have them on all 3 of my cars...the thread starter needs to decide if he/she wants to buy extended warranty on a new car (and have more coverage) or buy a use IS....but then again based on his reasoning, he's better off in a new car IMO.

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