Well after three years of living in Dubai, and four years overseas, I'm finally moving back to New York! Unfortunately, I had to sell my IS. It was very sad to see her go, but I am looking forward to coming back to the states and taking the cover off my 99 TL! Weird how I'm going from a 2008 to a 1999 and still looking forward to it .

Below are some pics of the "old" and "new" car. I can't wait to get back to my TL. Engine mounts and timing belt are the first on my list of maintenance items. The car has 95k miles on it (3k miles over the last four years from when I came back for vacation). It's never been to an automated car wash in over 11 years!

 

wow that 99 is in pristine condition.... looks good..

 

funny! going back to a old car, but still excited!
The TL does look mighty clean....I plan to keep mine for 10+ years and hope it stays as beautiful as yours.

 

weird, i was bout to start a thread soon cause i wanna get rid of my TL and into a first gen IS hahah

 

Your IS looked great - that F-Sport package is nice! Didn't know that there were IS300s overseas. All I ever see are IS350s and IS250s.

Your 2G TL is gorgeous and well-preserved. How do the two cars compare in power?

 

Nice looking IS

 

I could not have said it any better. The Type S wheels really set it off.

 

Nice Lexus! Welcome back stateside.

If I may ask, how was the life in general and cost of living in UAE?

 

What were you doing that you were overseas?

 

Nice cars but why are u looking forward to driving an older car?

 

both are great looking vehicles.

 

Whoa... The IS300 lives in other countries? That is an IS250 in the states. The car, I think that's soft... No offense to any IS250 owners; its just I think its soft. Lol.

 

Nice looking car.

 

I thought everyone in Dubai drove expensive exotics, apparently not.

 

Thank you, Sir. I take great pride in keeping it clean.

 

Yup - the 3 liter engine is specific to the Middle East. It has 228 horsepower and gave me 28-30 mpg here which is decent, but when petrol costs about $1.8 a gallon (raised from $1.5 when i first got here), it doesnt really matter.

In terms of power, the IS is quicker in stop and go traffic, but the TL really pulls at high speeds compared to the IS. The transmission is most likely the reason.

I was trading interest rate options specifically focused on AED and SAR, with a little bit of USD trading. I'm going to move back to the US and focus mainly on USD now.

Housing was expensive here. The first two years I was here, I was paying USD 3k for a 1 br 800 sq ft apt. Although it's quite nice, I could have an apt in Manhattan for that much which has much more to offer (bars, transit, etc.). Prices have come down now. It's like 2k for a 1br. Grocery is expensive here. It cost me 20 bucks to buy tortillas, lettuce, one tomato, one can of beens and a 2.25 ltr of diet coke at my local grocery store. Other than that, the rest is pretty much the same.

Thanks man. I wanted to keep a relative OEM look, hence the Type S wheels. Happy with them for the moment. My next car is likely going to be an M3. This is probably going to be next year after I drive my TL around for a while, or when the tranny goes


It was my first car and my pride and joy. I took really good car of it and it somehow became a big hobby of mine. I can't wait to drive it again.

Haha. I didn't know how long I was going to be here so didnt want to go all out on a car like most people do. My colleague drives a F430 and the other a 911 turbo. I got made fun of for driving the IS which was their version of a civic, but hey, I loved it!

 

Yup - the 3 liter engine is specific to the Middle East. It has 228 horsepower and gave me 28-30 mpg here which is decent, but when petrol costs about $1.8 a gallon (raised from $1.5 when i first got here), it doesnt really matter.

In terms of power, the IS is quicker in stop and go traffic, but the TL really pulls at high speeds compared to the IS. The transmission is most likely the reason.

I was trading interest rate options specifically focused on AED and SAR, with a little bit of USD trading. I'm going to move back to the US and focus mainly on USD now.

Housing was expensive here. The first two years I was here, I was paying USD 3k for a 1 br 800 sq ft apt. Although it's quite nice, I could have an apt in Manhattan for that much which has much more to offer (bars, transit, etc.). Prices have come down now. It's like 2k for a 1br. Grocery is expensive here. It cost me 20 bucks to buy tortillas, lettuce, one tomato, one can of beens and a 2.25 ltr of diet coke at my local grocery store. Other than that, the rest is pretty much the same.

Thanks man. I wanted to keep a relative OEM look, hence the Type S wheels. Happy with them for the moment. My next car is likely going to be an M3. This is probably going to be next year after I drive my TL around for a while, or when the tranny goes


It was my first car and my pride and joy. I took really good car of it and it somehow became a big hobby of mine. I can't wait to drive it again.

Haha. I didn't know how long I was going to be here so didnt want to go all out on a car like most people do. My colleague drives a F430 and the other a 911 turbo. I got made fun of for driving the IS which was their version of a civic, but hey, I loved it!

 

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