You need to shop for longer than one day. You can get a manual 330i in decent shape for under $5k. A perfect condition loaded ZHP compared to an is300 is apples to oranges. Then again I see auto is300s in Columbus for under $5k as well, but I wouldn't consider an auto car for a track toy.
If you're seriously considering a BMW you could shop the 323i and 325i. The 323i compares in speed to an is300, the 325i is faster. I don't know anything beyond that. A 330i is really a big step up in power over the is300.
In reply to dculberson:
True, that was an unfair comparison. The point I was trying to get across was just that $12k for a salvage title IS300 is not really a fair representation of the market.
I didn't realize how fast 330i's are! 0-60 in 5.5 seconds? Wow, I'm impressed, but that's probably more power than I want or need. I swear they don't look THAT fast autocrossing, I guess that's just my own biases coming out.
Anyway, I'm really not considering an E46, like I said, if I decide to make a slight gamble on a less-than bulletproof car then I'm going to go looking for an RX-8.
front suspension on an IS300 can be a bit of PITA... locating arm(track rod) comes from the back side and bends easily... resulting in poor alignment.
CD player has(had) a recall on it... tends to consume CDs.
The car is VERY heavy... in Japan the Altezza is more than 400#s lighter.
Another issue I've seen is stripped manifolds where the O2 sensor goes... require purchase of manifold and sensor.
When we owned ours there was no aftermarket air filter (engine air) Lexus filter was required.
As mentioned... traction control can only be disabled by pulling fuses (our exp in auto equipped)
Overall... our ownership of the IS300 was uninspired, and somewhat of a disappointment
