tyrrp

Well it's time for me to move on. Sold my IS yesterday. Unfortunatly my current work position makes it financially better for me to get myself a commercial vehicle. Thinking about one of the Crewcab pickups or one of the larger commercial SUV's. I'm not in a rush to buy just yet as I have a car I can drive for 4 or 5 weeks. Anyway when it comes time for me to return to a car again I think the IS 250 will be at the top of my list so I will return. Bye for now.

I bet it's a long time since anyone here has seen an Automatic €5000 cheaper then a manual.

It is really the vibration they are refering to here not the engine sound. You can dampen sound easier then vibration.

Carrol Kinsella in Blackrock in Dublin have one in as well. Hoping to get over to see it soon. I know the sales manager so if I am very very lucky he might let me start the engine.

I was invited to a launch of the LS 600h The Lexus GB Sales director said there was no plan for IS Hybrid for that very reason "Its The Reps Car" But Lexus have commited to having a Hybrid version off all their models (I think by 2010). It is true that the current Hybrid system will not go into the existing IS. It's just to small. That would explain a new car coming in 2010 though.

Because of the high Irish price and the exchange rate at the moment it actually works out a bit cheaper to get one from the UK and import it. Especially if you do it before the July changes to VRT and road tax.

Have a look at this thread. What you are looking for

have you tried a Toyota garage. They will have the right kit.

Am I not right in saying that they are IS300 lights which won't just fit straight in to the IS200. Thought there was a slight difference in the shape of the wings or the brackets at least.

A link for those confused Super Saloons stupid me, how could i forget to post the link Just finished watching it. Pointless review to be honest. Just talked about each car. Mentioned the torque of each compaired to the others but that's it really. Said nothing bad about any of them and didn't even pick his favourite at the end. Why bother reviewing them together if your not going to compair.

A link for those confused Super Saloons

Right. I am in a good position to comment here. We actually have one of each. I drive a 2001 IS 200 Automatic and my wife drives a 2001 BMW 318 Automatic. They have similar spec other then my IS has half leather and the BMW has all cloth. They also have almost the same size engine other then the IS being 6 cylinder and the BM being a 4 pot. Firstly on power. The IS has it much quicker off the line but the BM delivers it more evenly all the way up. My wife has nearly put mine into a couple of walls by not expecting the early power compaired to the BM. Ride. The BM feels smother alright but I actually feel it's to soft much prefere the feel of the IS. Grip. Yea, it's the BM but not by much. Practicality. Again the BM is bigger inside and in the boot. We always use hers when you are going anywhere at the weekends that we might end up buying something bigish. Finish. Again, I have to say that the hard plastic of the IS lets it down here. It has a nicer overall look and the fit is better but the soft touch plastic in the BMW makes it feel a bit more expensive. Running costs. Well we all know about the bad mpg of the IS. The BM is better but not by a whole lot. However for day to day problems of 7 year old cars the BM is much more troublesome and thus more expensive. All in all I still think the IS is a better car. If I didn't then her indoors would be driving it and I would be in the BMW. We have thought about changing one of the cars a couple of times and we only ever mention the BM as the one to go no matter which one of us gets the replacement. One really bad thing I find in teh BMW is with the cruise control. On the IS when you push the SET button you can take your foot off the pedal straight away and the cars sits at the speed you are at. With the BM however if you take your foot off the pedal it slows down a bit and you have to go slightly over the speed you want it to actually set at.

5th Gear review on YouTube.

No we are right hand drive. We have a system called VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax). Currently this is based on engine size and then a percentage charge of the "Open Market Selling Price" (Changing in June to be emmissions based percentage charge on the OMSP). The percentage on an IS-F would be 30% of OMSP. If the car sells here for 109,500 then the VRT would be €32,850. Then if you buy the car for $60,000 (€40,000) you then have to pay 21% VAT on the cost of the car including shipping. Lets say you are lucky and get the shipping for €1,000 that's €8,610 VAT. Next you pay Import Duty of 7% on the total including VAT. Another €3,472.70 Total €85,000 So it might actually be worth while but you would end up with a left hand drive car. Any word on the price in Japan yet? Try it through the UK. Same VRT. Start price £51,000 less 17.5% VAT £43,404 (€57,300) add 21% VAT (€12,033). No Import Duty from UK. Total €102,183 So if you had the money it might just be worth while. The difference might cover your first years insurance.

Well the arrival of the IS-F in Ireland is set at some time in April. All they have said about the price so far is that it will be less then €110,000 which usually means it will be about €109,500. For those of you across the water that equates to £83,000 or for those of you acroos the bigger water $165,000. That's €42,000 more then it will be in the UK and €69,000 more then in the States. Why oh why are we punished so. You could actually buy 2 in the States and have change to buy a couple of IS350's for popping down to the shops.