Turbocharged Altezza

Originally, I planned to buy a Subaru Impreza WRX STI when I manage to sell my Nissan Fairlady Z. The WRX STI has always been known for its flagship color, the World Rally Blue, its turbo boxer engine and AWD system. The second Toyota Altezza that I was going to view had me really excited. From the moment I saw from the photos, I knew this is the Altezza that I want to swap with. The reason is how similar this unit is to the WRX STI. It has the same color (maybe not the same shade) and a big turbo in the engine bay. The only thing missing part being the AWD system. Initially, if I swap for an Altezza, it was to be put on sale the moment I get it and it would be my temporary ride. However, if I could get my hands on this unit, I might change my mind and keep it instead. Then, without further delay, I quickly made an appointment to view this beast. There was one small issue though. He lives in another state and we had to meet in the middle between our respective states. In the end, we decided to meet at a Tesco parking lot, in the state between our states. Luckily, it was only a 45 minutes drive away from my house.

When I arrived, I looked at the exterior and I was already grinning. The paint was immaculate and it was the right shade of blue for me. It really looks well taken care of but something was amiss. I did not like the Vertex body kit it had, the lack of a spoiler at the back and the rims were only acceptable to me. Then, he started the engine and open the bonnet and I like what I saw. It had the original 3S-GE engine but along with a few shiny parts. It had aluminum piping, aluminum radiator and of course, the main star, the huge turbo. The thought of me owning a turbo performance car like this Altezza already set me on cloud nine. I was ready to swap even without a test drive. However, I had my worries because modified engines, especially turbocharging often have a lot of issues such as reliability, overheating and leakage. The owner was a friendly and knowledgeable guy and he explained how he modded his car. The engine makes around 300 hp on wheels but that there is no reason to worry. He even looked at my 350Z and told me he realized it had a leak with one of the exhaust manifolds and the fuel mapping is on the rich side.

  

After looking at both cars, the owner asked me to test his Altezza. The interior was very clean and stock except for the aftermarket boost meter and boost controller. The front seats have been replaced with locally made, SSCUS semi bucket seats. A great addition to a super-fast car but I prefer Recaro I drove around Tesco because I only wanted to test the clutch. The clutch was Ogura's Super Single and it was hard for me. I was told that this is the softest clutch he could use that would not slip with the power his Altezza is producing. When I park the car, he told me that I did not feel the power of the turbo by driving around Tesco. So he asked me to sit in the passenger seat and he drove around showing me the power. It was the first time in many years, have I felt such power and excitement where every time he accelerated, my body would get pushed by the G force and stuck to the sport seats. I found myself smiling at the torque this beast is producing. Next, he tested my 350Z with me in the passenger seat. He quickly noticed and mentioned the weakness of the 350Z which I agree to all. When it was all done, we talked about details and I left feeling happy that I will be getting this beast. However, when I contacted the owner the next day, he was not keen on the swap and the deal was off. It looks like I have to keep finding then. What a shame.

New Idea

There was an ad in the Nissan Fairlady Z Facebook page, posted by a guy who owns a Toyota Altezza. In this ad, he said he was interested to swap his Altezza with a 350Z. When I saw the ad, it gave me an idea and I started considering his ad. In the end, I did not pursue it as I was more keen on selling my 350Z. For those unfamiliar with the Altezza, it is a 4 door sedan made by Toyota from the year 1999. It was powered by Toyota's 3S-GE engine, a 2 liter, 4 cylinder with 210 hp and 216 Nm of torque. The Altezza was also sold as the IS200 under its luxury brand, Lexus. The IS200 had the 1G-FE engine which was a 2 liter, inline 6 cylinder with only 150 hp and 195 Nm of torque. Many were baffled by the specs of the IS200 because it has more cylinders but less power than the Altezza. That is also why the Altezza was more sought after by enthusiasts in the markets where both models were offered.

1999 Lexus IS200

I was getting anxious about selling my 350Z because I have waited a long time but still I have not sold it. So, I was looking for a quicker way out by swapping for an Altezza. The Altezza fits my requirement because it has 4 doors, a decent boot, manual transmission and the power produced is fun enough. The Altezza is also an easier car to sell compared to my 350Z, with prices being quite similar, here in Malaysia. That was my deciding factor and I decided to move along with this idea. I found one guy online where he was looking for a swap and I contacted him. In the ad, his Altezza looks to be in great shape. After that, I also posted on the Altezza Facebook page to ask if anyone was interested. I had 3 interested parties by the end of the week. I met with the first owner on the same day I contacted him and he seems really eager to meet. The first owner was a student from China who has 2 friends that own 350Z. We decided to meet at a petrol station and he came with one of the 350Z friends. I was working on that day and I drove my Mazda 6 instead of my 350Z.

When he arrived, I was mesmerized by the condition of the paint. His Altezza has shiny red paint with Advan SA3R rims, which was nothing like my 350Z and its old, fading color. All the doors and boot are working and the engine bay looks clean. However, the rims were double, a three-spoke design that I dislike. The owner told me that it is not an Altezza but a Lexus IS200 with the 3S-GE engine transplant from Altezza. Being an IS200, it had beige interior with electronic, leather seats instead of the black interior with cloth seats in an Altezza. I definitely prefer the black interior as it looks sportier and easy to maintain, compared with beige. It also does not burn my butt like how leather seats would when I park under the sun. The driver seat was changed to a Recaro, full bucket seat and usually, sports seats are a plus point for me but the full bucket is hard to access and is very uncomfortable. There was also a large cut on the passenger seat. I started the engine and it starts well with no weird sounds. After a bit of rev to test the exhaust, I talked to him but I was not really interested in this unit. I did not even take photos of his car and left. This is a video that he sent to me before our meeting.

Reselling

The drama with the buyer of my Nissan Fairlady Z continues. It has been 3 months since the last payment from the buyer and one month after the buyer's friend agreed to settle the payment but did not. I prepared a document that indicates that I did not ask for payments but the buyer willingly transferred money to me. She would not sign the document and instead has since ghosted me and disappeared. My WhatsApp messages were not read and I could not call the buyer. It seems like my number was blocked by her. It is strange since the usual case is where the buyer paid but the seller ran away with the money. I had no choice but to resell my 350Z but before that, I need to protect myself. Upon my friends' advises, I made a police report to tell my side of the story and protect my interest. After that, I re-post my ad online but at a lower price. This time I widen my post range and posted in a few car groups on Facebook.

Repost

I had mix feelings when facing this situation. On one hand, I am glad that I could finally move on with the sales of my 350Z. It was a gruesome 4 months to wait and wonder every day when I will receive my payment. There is also the opportunity cost of buying my next target car. Whenever there is a nice unit for sale within my budget, I could not proceed because I do not have the money as my 350Z has not been sold. It was not great for me because I just wish I had the money. On the other hand, I have to go through the whole selling process again. There is a sudden surge of 350Z selling on Facebook and most of them are letting go at dirt prices. It is as if they are all desperate and this makes me unable to sell anywhere near the previous price sold. I had a potential buyer that viewed the car and he likes it but it was too expensive for him. The next week, he got himself a cheaper unit.

It was also disappointing for me when I had to wait a long time before someone comes to view my 350Z and only to tell me it is too expensive. Most of the 350Z that I have seen for sale in the market are stock units. Of course, the automatic variants are cheaper but there are many manual models that are cheaper than me. Those units seem attractive because of new paint and a great body kit but there is no performance part. My 350Z seems dull in comparison due to its fading paint and common looks but my selling point is that I had spent a large sum to make it drives perfectly and also the rare performance parts inside. If someone were to test my 350Z, it would become obvious that it drives perfectly. I hope I could sell it soon and proceed with the next stage in my driving life.