New Member - Lexus Is200 Fibreglass Kit

[H17RRY]

Hi guys,

Firstly, thank you for letting me become a member of such a prestigious owners club! Now, allow me to introduce myself, I'm a 22 year old student from the UK and I bought a 2003 '03' plate Lexus IS200 SE (full service history, serviced by Lexus in Oxford - one very careful lady owner from new) in Kensington Green last year. The car was absolutely standard and in immaculate condition, apart from the odd scratch on the alloys. The first order of business was to have those dealt with. I found a workshop which sanded them down and then painted them for £25 per wheel and I am impressed with the final outcome. Secondly, I decided to buy a spoiler but sadly, I couldn't find the sport spoiler so instead, I opted for the bootlip one; this was painted and fitted at the same workshop who worked on the alloys. Next, I wanted to make the car stand out a little, so I opted to have all the windows tinted (illegal I know but very highly desirable!!) After the tints were dealt with, I decided to replace with standard CD player with a double-din headunit which pretty much does everything - Bluetooth connectivity, Sat Nav, Radio, DVD/MP3/VCD, iPod/USB connectivity, TV and Rear View Camera (if fitted of course.) Once the headunit was replaced, I had a 10 inch sub fitted along with a JBL 1100 watt amp - I shall continue to upgrade the sound system over the course of the summer holidays. I shall also be painting the brake calipers and enlivening them with the 'Lexus' stickers, also, I will be replacing the current alloys with the Aero ones.

Now, that's the introduction over with, I require your trusted and valued help. I have tried to source a TRD/TTE kit for my car but to no avail, so I have decided to take a bit of a gamble by opting for a fibreglass replica instead. There is a guy in Barsnley (he is on eBay) and he has quoted me a price of £250 for the front bumper, side skirts and the rear under valance. He would charge another £400 for painting and fitting. My question is - are fibreglass kits a good substitute? I know they're not the real deal but they do look good in the display pictures that he has up on the items. He has even suggested that I view the items prior to purchasing them. So the big question - should I take the plunge or should I bide my time and wait for a genuine kit to crop up?

I've had the car for just over a year now and I think it's about time that I changed it a little bit. I am keen on the fibreglass kit but it costs a reasonable amount of money and it's just a matter of some trusted opinions which can guide me in the right direction.

Thanks guys!

[DaveEdin]

I would prefer to have genuine parts rather than FG personally. With eBay, I ended up paying £110 for my TTE bumper, £80 for my side skirts, and £130 for my rear lip (but I bought that straight from Toyota), so total cost about £70 more than your FG guy is quoting, but I know the parts are genuine. I've heard that FG kits are easier chipped and the like. I'd advise you to hold out and keep an eye on eBay, especially on breaking cars ads as they sometimes have the kits on them and you can pick the bits up for a good price (like I did with the skirts).

I had the bits I have painted by a local guy, total paint cost about £280, and fitting cost me a few beers, since Ormi is a fantastic bloke and lives just up the road from me

[bezza]

hello, the only promblems i found out over the years is that although FG kist maybe cheaper and more avaliable to purchase, the fitting of the kit can be a bit of hassel if you decide to do it yourself? due to them being copies/replicas they are not the genuine part so bit of modification may be required.

[Parthiban]

Personally I wouldn't buy fibreglass, plus at the price you've been quoted I'm pretty sure you could get the TRD kit for about the same money - speak to your Lexus dealer or PM ACLex on here.