'04 IS300 - Project (Not Really) Nice Daily

[WRXtranceformed]

Dude well played! The auto was actually really decent in those...there was always a joke about 3rd gear being the OMMGG PULLIN SO HARDDD gear haha

Does it have the OEM nav screen? Is the original link still up to check out pics? I think you made the right call here, it really is such a great all around car and they still look so good to this day

[JPolen01]

Nice pick up. Looks like it should be a good one for a long time.

[Jake]

Congrats! Sounds like the car is just a really good fit for you, so why not have another? That's how I ended up owning four E36s.

What website is that screenshot from? Not one I recognize but looks vaguely Craigslisty/auctiony.

[Goodspeed]

Thanks dudes, here's the original link (pics are now stamped):

http://autoconnectionseast.com/61195/200...ienna,-VA!

Coming from a Mid-Atlantic Motorwerkes-ish type dealership in the Seattle area

[ScottyB]

you make me so proud.  so proud.

glad your search was a pretty quick ordeal, and i gotta say, this one is way cooler than your last.  love that color combo!

ps, now i'm watching a bunch of Tombstone clips on youtube.  dammit.

[Senor_Taylor]

You madman.

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[WRXtranceformed]

Man that is clean! Awesome find! Still one of the best gauge clusters ever made

[DavidL]

Awesome!! What does the Sport Design Edition get you?

[Goodspeed]

Awesome!! What does the Sport Design Edition get you?

1. Titanium front headlights (compared to chrome headlights)
2. Titanium rear tail lights (compared to chrome taillights)
3. Sport Design emblems on the side of the car
4. Sport Design Logo Carpet (compared to regular "Lexus" logo)
5. Sport Design Tip on the Muffler (compared to non-shiny tip)
6. Black pearl rear emblems (compared to chrome emblems)
7. Black pearl front emblem (compared to chrome emblem)
8. Sport Design wheels (gunmetal or silver depending on paint color)


I believe the interior treatment is also unique to the Sd - "Smoke Gray" leather and accents, uncomfirmed but I've never seen a pic of that interior outside of a black Sportdesign

[Tyler.M]

You lost a manual but you gained a much better color, I say it's a wash. Awesome dude!

[ViPER1313]

Last one was auto too. Goodspeed has given up on the illusion that manuals are fun in stop and go traffic.

[JPolen01]

Last one was auto too. Goodspeed has given up on the illusion that manuals are fun in stop and go traffic.

Goodspeed is correct

[davej]

I remember you mentioning wanting a dark gray (maybe?) sport design a while back and I couldn't find any color for sale within 500 miles at the time, I get why you jumped on the one from the wrong coast. Looks very clean, hopefully it'll be as advertised when it arrives, and provide you years of trouble free motor-ing. Congrats!

[Senor_Taylor]

That was the first part of my innocence lost as soon as I moved up here.

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[Goodspeed]

Last one was auto too. Goodspeed has given up on the illusion that manuals are fun in stop and go traffic.

Goodspeed is correct

I'd rock a Miata for a DD again in a heartbeat, so light and easy to row their gears.  Other than that, it'd have to be a V8 with 400 lb-ft of off-idle torque so I could just lope around in whatever-it-doesn't-matter gear.

I remember you mentioning wanting a dark gray (maybe?) sport design a while back and I couldn't find any color for sale within 500 miles at the time, I get why you jumped on the one from the wrong coast. Looks very clean, hopefully it'll be as advertised when it arrives, and provide you years of trouble free motor-ing. Congrats!

Thanks!  Yes, I had a hankering for a TCM (Thundercloud Metallic) Sportdesign but those are super rare - then again, the black/gray combo may be more rare for all I know - I've kept a regular eye on the market since buying my first in 1/15 and I've only ever seen two others come up for sale.  Production info is hard to come by but the concensus is a few thousand Sportdesigns in total for each of the year's they were available ('03 and '04).

[.RJ]

Last one was auto too. Goodspeed has given up on the illusion that manuals are fun in stop and go traffic.

Goodspeed is correct

[Steve85]

Catching up on this - Sorry about the original IS but it's nice this one came around at the right time! Congrats!

[Goodspeed]

Catching up on this - Sorry about the original IS but it's nice this one came around at the right time! Congrats!

Thanks Steve!

Car landed yesterday, not as filthy as I would've expected from a cross country trip, but still in need of a good wash.  Dirty pics for now, however the car looks nearly mint.  There's some detail/paintwork to do on the front bumper and some chips on the hood but for a 14 year old car you can tell it was loved.  The interior especially is   near-perfect in all the usual wear spots.  Definitely looking forward to getting it all cleaned up.

Coming from the rental Cruze that gets turned in today....my god.  I've only been without my old IS for a few weeks, but getting back behind the wheel was a revelation.  The way the doors open and close, the heft in the steering, the visibility everywhere, down to the weight of the turn signal stalk.  The car is tight and solid feeling in a way the Cruze could only dream of.  Unreal.  Welcome home IS 2.0  <3

[Jake]

Yay! Looks nice even with it being not "Goodspeed levels" of clean. Bringing it to Katie's on Saturday?

[Goodspeed]

Yay! Looks nice even with it being not "Goodspeed levels" of clean. Bringing it to Katie's on Saturday?

I'll be bringing the FD out on Saturday!  I think the plan for the IS is:

- Wash/detail
- Tint & headlight lens polish/seal (40% like my old IS which was perfect, and this time I want to do zero-tint UV film on the windshield to keep heat down)
- Visit body shop for front bumper (likely repaint due to mostly-bottom scrapes, only sore spot) and hood touch up/repaint
- De-pinstripe
- Clear shield (add and/or replace some old stuff that's currently on there)
- Possibly go insane keeping a black car looking sharp but secretly love the challenge