As part of our celebrations surrounding the 25th anniversary of Lexus in the UK, we are initiating a countrywide hunt for the oldest UK-specification Lexus IS 200. And we would like to enlist your help!
The right car at the right time
Such was the draw of a new small Lexus that over 1,100 orders were taken for the forthcoming IS 200 model before it even launched in the UK. This meant that potential customers hoping to buy a new IS 200 on the car’s official on-sale date of 20th May 1999 were forced to add their names to a rapidly growing waiting list.
Fortunately, all orders were fulfilled quickly and the IS 200 immediately became the best-selling Lexus within the range, constituting a phenomenal 82 per cent of all customer sales within the first three months. By the end of 1999 almost 5,000 examples had been sold and the upward trajectory showed no signs of slowing.
How many Lexus IS 200s are on the road?
Thanks to the manufacturer’s obsessive commitment to quality, durability and reliability, a significant proportion of these early Lexus IS 200s are still on the road providing faithful – and enjoyable – service to their owners. It is not possible to gauge how many of the earliest cars are still in regular use but DVLA records show that over 23,000 examples from the car’s six-year production run are still licensed for the road.
How can I tell if my IS 200 is a potential candidate for the UK’s oldest?
The easiest way to immediately gauge the age of your car is by its number plate. In this instance, it would need to wear a T-plate registration (not applicable with private number plates). We are also looking for a car with a first registration date as close to the 20th May 1999 as possible – this information can be found on the log book. And if you were one of those 1,100 customers that placed an early order for a car that you still own, then we definitely want to hear from you!
How can I get in touch with Lexus about this search for the oldest IS 200?
If you own or know of a 1999 Lexus IS 200 with a T-plate registration, please contact us via this blog (use the comment box below) or our Facebook page.
Love my lexus is200 soo much so im getting the is220 next year..
Had the is200 4 years now & never missed a beat..
I have a nice 2000 Lexus is 200se in Blue I have been driving it 10 years now and will be for many more years to come. True Lexus fan.
I’ve got a se model on a t-plate
I have spent £49 on used Lexus in the past 2 years. One of our cars was a CTH, bought at Lexus, Ellesemere Port. It was 18 months old and we bought all the cr*p you fed us about how much support we would receive buying a used Lexus. Less than 18 months on [cars is less than 3 years old] the car has started to rust on the door and now the dealer is washing his hands – disgraceful and outrageous behaviour. We have had to haunt them to get an answer out of them for nearly two months. Yet if I was buying another car they would be all over me like a 17 year old boy would be with his first girlfriend!!
The repair cost is a mere £200, which I am now having done privately – certainly won’t be using Lexus dealers but what about all the verbiage your spout and sell to us about support etc etc when you buy a used Lexus. And really this is not about the £200 but more about you honouring your word and keeping to what you say in your advertisements and what your sales people say, which is in my opinion, utter rubbish.
Buying quality….? I certainly didn’t. Your dealer has sold me a car that may have had repair work carried out prior to my purchasing and I wasn’t made aware of it at the time of purchase!
No better than the back-entry dealers, other than your front shop is dressed in a more grandiloquent manner.
Disgruntled purchaser of my 4 Lexus cars and will never buy another one ever again.
Hi Joe, thank you for taking the time to contact us. We’re sorry to hear you’re experiencing problems with your Lexus CT. We recommend contacting our customer relations department via this link: https://mag.lexus.co.uk/contact-us/. They’ll be able to investigate this further for you, do let us know how you get on.
They don’t care about you are a user – it’s ball about them as a company, once they have had your money they show no interest in helping you where their products have clearly failed.
I had a silver `W` plate IS200 and loved it to bits, sold it for a 320d BMW but soon went back to Lexus. I now own a IS250 SE-I which is sublime to drive, and would never go away from Lexus again. My next purchase will be a IS300h…hopefully sometime in the very near future.
Hello Mark
Thanks for your post.
Be great to see a pic of your car on our Lexus UK Facebook page.
I own a 1999 V plate IS200 sport, it’s the best car I’ve ever owned and i’ve had it since 2008.
Hi David
Thanks for your post.
Great to hear about your car. Feel free to post pics on our Lexus UK Facebook page.
Can I play? I’ve got a post production Yellow Rose!? Not the first IS200 but defo the 1st of its range
Course you can Dave.
A post production Yellow Rose sounds interesting. We have seen the pic you have posted on our Lexus UK Facebook page. We will need to keep you posted so do stay tuned for the latest news.
I own a T plate is200 sport bought it as a run about and it’s the oldest but best car I’ve ever had I had a astra vxr nurburgring that an uninsured driver hit before and decided to just get cheaper cars so bought the lexus so nice to drive. I don’t have Facebook to put a pic on but mine was registered in June 1999
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your reply and for updating us. Great to hear about your ownership experience with your IS 200.
my is200 se was first registered on 20/05/99
Hi Jason
Thanks for your post. That is an early one! We are looking at these at the moment so thanks for making us aware.
according to a reg check… it was registered in swindon
I own a 25th may 99 t reg is 200se with genuine 60k miles. Think i hit the jackpot. Has never missed a beat
Hello Manpreet
Thanks for your post and great to hear about your Lexus IS 200.
We would love to see this car. Have you posted any images on our Lexus UK Facebook page?