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Urgent Help Needed! :-/


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Hi guys and girls, i'm desperate for help tonight!!!

I'm due to go and look at / buy a 2002 IS200 Sport tomorrow from "David Stockton Specialist Cars" in the north west... I've been assured it's a beautiful car as it looks in the pics... Problem is it's got 92K or 94K on the clock and the cambelt doesn't seem to have been done in the service history (which has 8 stamps in it)... The car is reserved for me with a refundable deposit at an asking price of £2250 i've seen cars with lower milage but this is the only one in the colour and spec and close enough to where i live!

How much is (including parts and labour on average):

The cambelt/pulley going to cost?

Timing belt change and cost?

Full service (last done at 84K April 2011)...

I really really like the car, it's brilliant apart from these expensive issues.

Any help vastly appreciated! Thanks very much in advance....

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Hi mate how u doing? Iv just got my full service and cam/timing belt and tensioners done on my is300 for £500! Which is a very good price but that was mates rate. Hope this helps

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Hi mate how u doing? Iv just got my full service and cam/timing belt and tensioners done on my is300 for £500! Which is a very good price but that was mates rate. Hope this helps

Cheers for that Luki! I'm guessing mine is going to be another couple of hundred at least then as all my mates are tight fisted :-/

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had mine done in January on IS300 with Lex Milton Keynes and was charged £488 all in. this was for cambelt, drive belt, idler,, tensioner and drain and refill of engine coolant. so might be a bit cheaper on the IS200. decided to go with Lex as I felt they will know what they doing when it comes to cambelt changes and will also have 12months parts gurantee if it snaps. i know other reputable garages can do this aswell but just went with Lex for peace of mind. So if unsure the belt has been done i will get it done ASAP get quotes off Lexus round your area first and compare with other garages if the price difference is not that great go with Lex but its all up to you.

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Thanks Noby, i'll have a word with my nearest dealership (Wolverhampton) on monday, i'll drive over and see them, it's easier that way and i get it from the horses mouth...

No prob mate i actually picked mine up in Bham which is not far from wlverhamton so try Lex bham aswell or even Leicester or Coventry just give them a quick call and compare quotes between them. I'v also noticed Lex dealerships are good with doing deals so dont really go with the first quote you get try and knock the price down by say £50 and chances are they will do it for that price but if they don't, hey at least you gave it a shot...
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Thanks Noby, i'll have a word with my nearest dealership (Wolverhampton) on monday, i'll drive over and see them, it's easier that way and i get it from the horses mouth...

No prob mate i actually picked mine up in Bham which is not far from wlverhamton so try Lex bham aswell or even Leicester or Coventry just give them a quick call and compare quotes between them. I'v also noticed Lex dealerships are good with doing deals so dont really go with the first quote you get try and knock the price down by say £50 and chances are they will do it for that price but if they don't, hey at least you gave it a shot...

Yeah, i'll ring around a few... The thing is, from where i live, Wolves is about 40 mile away at least and the further i go, the less relevent the quote becomes because i'll be forking out in fuel.... I really do feel ready to cry for being so bl**dy stupid. I'm 6ft 5", heavily tattooed and been through a lot in my life, and this is getting to me to the point that my head is going purple and i dare not check my blood pressure. Also, i'm absolutely skint now, so this is going to be fun, finding money for all of the belts, tensioners, pulley's and full service etc... I don't live near any high buildings to jump off either if everything goes t*ts up.... :megaangry:

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oh also dont forget to ask if the quote will include idler and tensioner aswell as its best to have those done aswell when changing the belts and why not have the drive belts done as well whilts they are there! I think the water pump on IS200's are driven by the cam belt aswell most people tend to change this as part of the cambelt change but can be inspected if its in good condition you can leave it !!

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Thanks for all the advice Noby! I'll jot everything down anyway and see if they'll give it 10 mins on the ramp for free, just to have a look and put my mind at rest for a few miles or tell me what a fool i've been and bend me over as payment...

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Thanks Noby, i'll have a word with my nearest dealership (Wolverhampton) on monday, i'll drive over and see them, it's easier that way and i get it from the horses mouth...

No prob mate i actually picked mine up in Bham which is not far from wlverhamton so try Lex bham aswell or even Leicester or Coventry just give them a quick call and compare quotes between them. I'v also noticed Lex dealerships are good with doing deals so dont really go with the first quote you get try and knock the price down by say £50 and chances are they will do it for that price but if they don't, hey at least you gave it a shot...

Yeah, i'll ring around a few... The thing is, from where i live, Wolves is about 40 mile away at least and the further i go, the less relevent the quote becomes because i'll be forking out in fuel.... I really do feel ready to cry for being so bl**dy stupid. I'm 6ft 5", heavily tattooed and been through a lot in my life, and this is getting to me to the point that my head is going purple and i dare not check my blood pressure. Also, i'm absolutely skint now, so this is going to be fun, finding money for all of the belts, tensioners, pulley's and full service etc... I don't live near any high buildings to jump off either if everything goes t*ts up.... :megaangry:

well you dont have to get a service done just the belt changes will do. and work out how much it will cost to drive 40miles each way if say Leiceter quotes cheaper and add the fuel expese to thier quote and if it still works out about £50 cheaper to that of say Wolverhampton then its a no brainer... and when it comes to service just get an oil change by buying the oil and filter from places like eurocar parts go to a local garage with your parts and they will drain and refill for you for about £30 labour. 5W-30 oils are best. then untill you get some cash you can splash out on a full service. :hocus-pokus:
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Yeah, good call there! I'll get it sorted somehow anyway! Where there's a will, there's a way! Thanks again for all the help anyway and i really do love the car, just not the money! I very much look forward to being a part of this community and possibly going to some meets if you have them! :driving:

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yeh they nice cars and hardly go faulty but if they do then its big ££$$, but if you can keep ontop of things like belts and fluids i.e having belts replced, changing oil every 10,000miles changing coolant i think every 5 years, brake fuild every 20,000miles they can run for a long time. pads, discs and tires will always depend on how the car is driven by the owner..

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Yep, agreed! I'm not usually this "poor"... I've just come back after having 2 and a half years off work with major surgery on both legs and i've had to lend the money to buy this car off family and there is no way they can fork out any more... I've owned MR2's, 200sx's, R33 Skyline's etc... It's just not a good time for me at the moment plus i'm still yet to find decent full time employment to fund this and pay back the money now owed... I'm confident i can get a job fairly soon, i'm just worried about this creeping up and becoming more expensive than i'll be able to deal with anytime soon and then i'll be left out of pocket and without a car...

On the plus side... No, actually, i'll await the outcome before i decide if there is a plus side.

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dont worry mate these things are built like tanks so chances of engine dropping is one in a trillion! most things to concentrate on is engine clutch and gearbox the rest are just cosmetics. so long as there are no leaks coming from under the car al fluids levels are on full (oil, coolant,brake fluid) starts ok, does not over heat, fan kicks in to cool it down when warm, shifts from 1st all the way to 6th and no lengine ights are coming on when driving that shows the most vital things to move a car from A to B are all in place...

so for now i will concetrate on two vital things cam/drive belts change as thats what drives the cams of an engine and fresh oil change as thats the blood line of any engine. everything other issue is cosmetic can be put right later.

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dont worry mate these things are built like tanks so chances of engine dropping is one in a trillion! most things to concentrate on is engine clutch and gearbox the rest are just cosmetics. so long as there are no leaks coming from under the car al fluids levels are on full (oil, coolant,brake fluid) starts ok, does not over heat, fan kicks in to cool it down when warm, shifts from 1st all the way to 6th and no lengine ights are coming on when driving that shows the most vital things to move a car from A to B are all in place...

so for now i will concetrate on two vital things cam/drive belts change as thats what drives the cams of an engine and fresh oil change as thats the blood line of any engine. everything other issue is cosmetic can be put right later.

Noted! Taa :) I'll get a few quotes from various places, i've got to go up to blackpool and back tomorrow so that'll be it's first big test.... My local garage is a big, bosch test centre with all the diagnostics and some pretty handy spanner guys who i've known for years (although they still have bills to pay so i get nothing much for free). So, i'll get them to have a look over it too and give me their verdict, then i'll take it over to Lexus and ask them very nicely if they'll give it the once over for me...

Then i'll figure out where my next tank of fuel is coming from haha!

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Ok, i've given up... I've told him he can give me a refund, i'm by no means impressed with him, his service to the customer or his honesty or vehicular knowledge for that matter, considering he's supposed to be a "specialist car sales" place.... Righto, about as special as green flies backside!!! Just need to wait for the refund to be processed now... I'm not sure whether to go for another IS200 now either... I just don't know, my heads all over the place.... Tax is bl**dy astronomical too!!! Sod the greedy government!!! :arrrggg-matey:

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If you want an IS200 buy a cheap one of eBay and then fix her up... normally it is small things and if you aren't that handy the timing belt will be an issue as this is quite pricey.

but if the car has been treated to only 1/3rd of the services it should have no real engine issues.

things will be tires/ alloys /wipers /brakepads and disks/ spark plugs/ oil filter/ oil/ timingbelt kit/ auxiliary belts.

the car will cost around 600 to 1000 and the parts will cost you about 1000(and the only thing that will cost you more if you aren't that handy is having the timingbelt done) the rest isn't that difficult to do yourself.

So do not worry to much about buying one that is in A1 condition... buying cheap and then getting it to A1 condition is fun to do and makes the car more yours.

just make sure you check the advise for buying an IS200 first and then when checking a cheap one check the costs...

you maybe surprised by the gems that are out there that just need a little bit of TLC but are up for grabs ;)

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Hey there

There is an excellent guide on here on how to change your timing/cam belt. the parts are available on eBay for around £100 I bought genuine parts from Lexus Birmingham on eBay @ 150 and had them fitted by my very trusty local mechanic for only £40. He was happy to work on an engine that is so easy worked with:)

Now that we have such a full insight into your life, I would advise you to look through here on guide an do the work yourself as you said you have lots of free time without a "proper job". Its an easy engine to work with as there is plenty of room to work at stuff and nothing ever goes wrong with them.

have a look at the timing belt, a 10mm spanner will loosen the bolts on the cover and just lift it back a touch and see.

also not that this will only give a small indication such as the known issues with the belt thinning and possibly fraying as most of the damage to the belt would be on the toothed underside

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