It's about freaking time.

Jan/2009

Well...I found one.

More like, it found me.

But here's the really crazy thing. In September 2007 I stumbled across a red IS300 in a parking lot near my mom's house. I stopped to grab a few pictures with my hatchback, as I'd never seen a red IS300 before. Up until this point, I had never imagined getting a newer car in red, let alone an IS300.  But after taking the pictures and seeing the cars together...I knew that's what I HAD to have.

I spoke with the owner, an older lady that was just coming out of the mall, and told her that I'd love to buy the car when she was ready to sell. She said she loved it and didn't plan on selling any time soon. Hardly discouraged, I gave her my card, asked her again to call me when she was ready to sell, and went on my way.

I bumped into her two times over the next year driving in my end of the city in that beautiful red car, while I was driving by in mine. Both times she just laughed and waved.

Well guess what...I ended up buying THAT car, and by total coincidence, a year and a half later after first seeing it. I had wondered, but I couldn't even prove it was the same car until I closely examined these old pictures I dug up about a month after buying it in Jan. 2009...

The car was sold to a friend. The very same friend whom I have sold three cars to in the past (including my very first AE86), and whom I went to Automotive school with in Ontario. He didn't seek the car, the car came to him. He bought it when the older lady was about to trade it in on a new Lexus, and he bought it with the intention of giving it someone else. Well that someone else didn't need the car, so after a couple months of sitting undriven, he put it up for sale, and he posted it on only a few online forums. Dorikaze was one of those forums, and I just happened to have a look on that forum on Christmas day...perhaps the single most inactive day of any online forum. Less than two weeks later, I was behind the wheel. To say I was meant to have this car would be an understatement.

So...This is my Absolutely Red 2002 Lexus IS300.

I've wanted one of these cars since they first hit the showroom floor. I picked it up with 80,000km indirectly from the original owner. It has just about every option available, including HID headlights, leather interior, rear fog lamps and you guessed it...sweet sweet LSD. There's also NO stability control!

And of course it's a 5-speed. Why would you even ask?

Stay tuned for more. This car is going to be fun.
 

-Migs

 

Dreams of Drifting Copyright © 01/2000 Chris Migs

all rights reserved