My Is200 - Respray Done!

[HoodRich]

Thanks Baz -

@ Ganesh - Really? I didnt realise a 2-car garage would be considered a luxury in England. I guess it is a must here in SA, we often have hail-storms during the summer months, and thieves doing "shopping" all-year-round! Thanks for the compliments on my house though - I appreciate it. We live in a complex, but at least the houses in our complex are unique - you get to design your own place as opposed to living in the same place as your neighbours (which is the case with most complexes) This type of dwelling could be considered "modest" as a family home.....I guess. (Modest could be a relative term if you think about it)

[petayV8]

Yes your country looks very nice. Love the wide open feel i get from the pictures. everythings too cramped and compact in England grrrr!

Great work on the car. My engine bay WAS as clean as that but it needs topping up! Ill be giving mine a good going over soon, i will share some pics too :)

[HoodRich]

Thanks Pete! Its actually ironic that you say that. I live in what we call a "secure complex" - gated entrance and walled off. People who live in "real houses" often criticize complex dwellers as living too close to each other. Probably the reason it seems "open and spacious" is because we still have vacant land in our complex - people are yet to build here. I grew up in a "real house" so complex-living is not something I'm entirely used to. Getting used to it as the years go by though ;-)

[LexIS200Sport]

Another nice touch you could add to your car is the sports grille. I personally think they make such a difference to the front end :zee:

Here's one to give you some inspiration, taken from another site :P

[petayV8]

haha count yourself lucky. You should see my neighborhood. the road for the hundreds of houses only has room for one car to drive with cars parked along. The residential car parks cant even fit the amount of cars written in the plans without them been jammed against each other. I live in a cheaper area of town but most neighborhoods arent much better. Most ppl prob dont care, but after travelling to many different countrys i see these flaws

Im looking at complexes like yours when i emigrate to California. Seem very convenient, safe and cheaper than anything else ive looked at

[petayV8]

Another nice touch you could add to your car is the sports grille. I personally think they make such a difference to the front end :zee:

Here's one to give you some inspiration, taken from another site :P

I agree. And maybe lip spoiler? We can help source him parts :D

[HoodRich]

:-) Thanks guys. Yes, I'd love to get a new grille as a starting point, but, getting after-market parts for these cars in SA is a huge problem. They're quite rare cars here (even when they were new), so not much accessories available. Original parts cost an arm and a leg from the dealers. It could end up being a costly affair to own an old IS200 here :-(

I was considering plastidip'ing the grille and badgets black, as well as the rear badges. Also plan on using lightly smoked Lamin-X on the tail-lights , side indicators and headlights. Will only do that after I apply 35% tint to the windows though. Plastidip'ing the grille is really a compromise because its close to impossible to find aftermarket grilles here :-( It should look good blacked out once lightly smoked Lamin-X is applied to the headlights though.

As for a front lip, I might be able to source something locally - still looking

[LexIS200Sport]

Just out of curiosity, what are the popular make of cars in SA? German, Japanese, Korean, American, etc?

And what sort of cars... big saloons, small hatchbacks, etc? Mostly petrol/diesel?

Sorry for all the questions, just intrigued really :P

SA is next in my "to-visit" list. Will most likely be visiting this time next year if all goes to plan :zee:

Got a couple of awesome friends here too who were originally from around Cape Town and Durban :)

[HoodRich]

I would say the most popular cars here are small petrol hatchbacks....mostly because of fuel costs. Fuel is really expensive here (I guess it's that way all over the world!) I would say the most the most popular hatchbacks are VW Polos, followed by the little Toyotas. Korean cars did not sell well here until roughly two or three years ago, when Hyuandai and Kia started offering free extended service plans and really brought out some attractive cars. Even a die hard Toyota fan like myself bought a Kia Cerato in 2011. (Awesome car by the way!) For those with a bit more cash, BMW's are VERY popular, followed by Audi and Merc. Lexus is not a popular brand at all, though the second generation IS sold a lot better than the first Generation. Lets see how things go with the newly launched IS350. Lots of people admire the lexus offerings, but few actually go out and buy them!

Traditionally, diesel vehicles were mostly limited to big vans (or bakkies as well call them). This however has changed in the past 5-10 years with more and more people buying little diesel hatchbacks, sedans and saloons in the diesel variant. This is mostly attributed to the fact that one can drive further on a tank of diesel as opposed to a tank of petrol. That being said, diesel cars cost more.

You should make SA a destination of yours one day. It's a really beautiful country (Cape Town specifically!) which is constantly undergoing (positive) change. Durban is also beautiful (and my home town). I however reside in Johannesburg - purely for work reasons.

[gstarr60]

LOVE THE PICS!! what country's this?

[HoodRich]

Thanks Gee! :-)

I live in South Africa......

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

You could get a sport grill from Lexus Birmingham UK eBay shop. They'll ship it to SA for not a lot more money :)

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Oh and it's only £60/ R900 :)

[petayV8]

Outside USA and Asia countries seems the UK is only other place Lexus really sold a halfdecent amount of their cars

[HoodRich]

Hey Chris - thanks for the headsup. Will have a lookie :-)

[HoodRich]

Gave my car a quick wash after work today - the paint was looking good in the afternoon sun. Thought I would snap and share some quick pics....... Its almost 3 months since the respray, so in week or two , I'll be able to give her a full detail (the spray painter advise that I let the paint "breathe" for 3 months before detailing it)

[Noreen is200]

Ahhh still looking great!! :D

[HoodRich]

Ahhh still looking great!! :D

Thanks Noreen :-)

[gstarr60]

Lovely !!

[HoodRich]

Thanks Gee

Planning on getting my headlights restored to their former glory and my windows tinted at the end of this month ..... can't wait.

[gstarr60]

Same here i'm changing my tints to a smoked grey mirror tint, and getting my headlights restored too lol

[HoodRich]

Heheheh. Coincidence :-)