Scarlet Pimpernell

They will probably push you down the PCP route when they call back - which will no doubt work out quite expensive in the long run. Good luck... Other options to get a better deal Wait until last week of October or mid november...the chances are that the very same car will still be there, you will have paid an extra £1k off your current car and get a bettr deal as they will have failed every target Stick your car up for sale in Autotrader or other local rag for £7500 or so and see what happens Try other dealers The Credit crunch breakfast cereal is in full swing and I think there will be more buyers for older ones in Autotrader than newer ones from dealers - hold out for a while longer unless you have impending costs on the IS200...

The only Japanese cars that are leaps in front is the IS (G2), new Honda Accord and the new Mazda 6 (though it looks a bit too sculpted from some angles). They look very smart... The other Lexus's all look a bit dated and uninspiring now (even the new LS looks a bit too square for me), the Scooby looks like something from Korea...they're not at all good IMHO....and Subaru have totally lost the plot! Nissans are well wierd - and the new Toyota's look strange - especially the new Avensis...which looks very square in the pictures...with headights almost going back to the A posts... Mind you, I drive one of the ugliest cars on the road...though the body kit and wheel helps to soften the blow a bit... The Audi A6 is a bit hit and miss...from some angles they look OK, direct head on it looks as if it will gobble you up.... Nope - the IS is still the best looking car...

It's not just the market affecting used prices of an IS200 - it's also the emissions and economy...it don't compare that well...especially now that the Tax man is getting his claws out again

Northampton (Wollaston) is excellent. members of my wider family swear by them....and that is where we would have bought from had it not been for my mate who worked hard to get us a car we wanted, decent PEX price and with a cracking finance deal... Seriously - drop me a PM if you want his details - go talk to them - you've nothing to lose!

Now that is a good question: The day we went to Sytner Leic was the day they were moving buildings - to their old site, but brand spanker of a building - and very impressive too! We saw a lovely 530i SE, with Comfort Ventilated seats, Individual Audio (£1500 option), wood - in fact it almost matched a GS 300SEL in terms of kit, but it was a2007/07 with 27k on the clock. At £26850 it seemed like a good deal (would have been £51k OTR new - due to the mount of options - it was an LCI launch car). Can you believe they wouldn't take me on a drive? They were too busy moving and couldn't get the key; the salesman was "distracted" and wanted me to buy the car there and then or walk...we said yes subject to a test drive - he goes to see a manager, comes back and says the car is sold.... :tsktsk: So we walked...only to go outside and see an old friend of mine who was now working there as the General Business Manager!! So we got another appointmnt and did a deal on a different car another day... Everything fom there onwards seemed absolutely perfect - totally immaculate! We collected the car, got the cherish transfer done... Now the fun bit starts: They claimed they gave me the tax disc to claim back off the old car when we collected the new one....eeerrr. Nope - they lost it! They also lost the Lexus's log book...and tried to make out I had lost it - until I proved to them via the DVLA that they had signed the yellow slip which I had posted back - so it was with them. Eventually they admitted a new Admin person lost it... It has taken me 6 weeks to get my owed RFL back - only £80, but half a dozen calls, and the usual arrogant dealership experience which I hate. This actually harked back to when the Lexus dealrship lost my £6900 cheque when I bought the Lexus! I bet the DP still hasn't forgotten it! I should mention here that both dealerships are owned by Penske/Sytner! Neither dealership really ever even apologised.... So to answer your question, the BMW dealership experience so far is exactly the same as the Lexus one! And all BMW dealerships other than Peterborough and Derby are Sytner, so I'm sort of stuck. BTW - they own the Audi ones too.... But now lets get to reality...with German cars I expect shoddy dealership experiences - don't we all!? o they have met my expectation (though for a while I was agasped at how much better things were).... It's a comedy of errors when I buy a car - any car! Having said that - the car absolutely makes up for it... PS - NBLG - for days I sat here reading the forum, thinking "do I, don't I", "do I don't I...."then I thort stuffit, I do!!!!!

Spoken like a true scot :winky: an very true too

I would say that you should go drive one...the 520d compares well with an ISD from a straight line performance perspective, is better at the pumps, bigger, much quieter inside (road noise) etc and rides better overall...you WILL get 50mpg in that at the pumps if you drive it moderately and on a run where you don't exceed the speed limits too much! The Lexus is better looking, has more toys, more exclusive etc - the 250 Auto makes so much more sense over the ISD that most ISD drivers get defensive when you mention it :shutit: The only warning I would give is NOT to buy a manual 5 series (or ideally any Beemer for that matter)...they don't sell well. You need an Auto as you've stated figures for above - it's only 149 g/km Co2... My 3.0l Auto is 172... 7 week Update for those interested: 1) I can't stay away from this forum despite promising... it's so much better than the Beemer ones 2) 5 series MPG update - consistently 29.2 in town, between 46-49 on a motorway run :winky: and when driven hard with a 50/50 Motorway/town, it drops to 40mpg overall...I CAN LIVE WITH THAT! 3) The Autobox is very very good, but not quite as silky as the IS250 Auto and you can feel gearchanges at times 4) I don't miss any of the toys the Lex had still except the reversing camera - even the lack of a premium sound system - my ears have finally tuned themselves to just 6 speakers and NO s/woofer... and it's actually good enough. The six speakers are positioned very well and of reasonable quality. It's just that with the MLS, you get a tad spoiled... 5) It's a big, wide car compared to the IS or any small exec... 6) The iDrive is good after some practice, but the new 3 series takes it further - it now has quick access buttons and a 8GB HDD, better Hi res Screen etc - almost Audi MMI standard... 7) Finally - the performance - the 525d has a slight lag, caused by the Auto 'box. It's the only thing that you need to get used to - but it's not as dangerous as the Lexus one where at times you feel you'll be T Boned at rundabouts...other than that it's crushingly quick! If yu use the S/Tronic (manual shifts) there IS NO LAG...Superb performance and the diesel 6 sounds lovely in kick down mode - almost US Muscle car standard and less "growly" than the 535d... I know the Facelift IS is around the corner, but the competition has also moved ahead...Finally Philthy - go drive the new A6 - the facelifted one is exceptional. I drove one yesterday (Company hire car) and couldn't believe how good the outgoing model feels...it makes so much more sense than the new A4 which is not as good as the A6 IMHO. Even the new A6 can now be spec'd with an HDD/Navigation system etc etc...that's what Lexus needs...everyone else has it now!

Glad to see you're happy mate...congrats! The 17 miles on the Odo is interesting. I seem to recall a thread 2.5 years ago where my IS was compared to others newly delivered and mine was by far the highest mileage...it had 15.4 on it when collected...so you've beaten my record it probably is made up of a visit to a Tinter!! Seriously - apparently anything below 30 miles is considered Delivery miles, so go enjoy! You do realise that we need pictures!!!!

It is a design problem caused by the "want" for very tight shut lines...Mine had this problem too. They adjusted the boot so that it looked like was not shut totally, to see if that cured it, only then would they respray it. I asked if that was the official fix, and they said yes...I put some masking tape o the bits that were "hitting"...and guess what? It still was! I was dead worried about the boot become a pond... So at that point (and I'm talking about early July 2008) there was no pukka fix as far as my dealership knew it, but there were loads of cars with the problem...no wonder they are allowing a 5 year promise on it!

I have an HP Pavillion and did the same last year. It had 2x512's. I bought a new 1 gb chip (1024) and just shoved into one of the spare slots. Low and behold I now have 2048 of RAM. Simple pimple really. It'll be cheaper to buy one 1024 than to buy 2x512's.

Cheers them BMW forums are so boring There is still a lot of interesting banter on here...

I wouldn't bother - the alloy is bound to start bubbling and corroding sometime soon and Lexus will replace it for free IF under warranty still... Have a good look at it - any DIY damage will be ignord and a new one ordered if you have any "veins" or bubble appearing in the lacquer on the spokes ;)

The same stealers are selling on www.drivethedeal.co.uk at £3500 odd off...try it - 250 SE Auto with MM...

Did you get offered 4.2% now when you just switched cars? If so, that's incredible, shows how much they're struggling to sell............... Yup... on HP only Lexus offered 5%, before I even haggled about it! BMW have their own finance house (yeah, right) I was told, so could give any rate they wanted...they had been doing 3.99% on new and Ex Demo's until start of july! I reckon some dealerships intend to make money from finance so give you a higher rate...they must have an incentive, I'm sure. If you can afford to, now is an excellent time to buy expensive things - cars, houses, Rolex's etc!

Parthiban - spot on - you can still get good interest rates - I got 4.2% flat fom BMW Financial Services...on a the lowest figure they loan - £8k. For BMW Select they wanted 9.9%, where I pay only £5k deposit and finance the rest on a PCP! They were taking the Pies!

This is one of the problems with PCP's and why I have always avoided them. These things ultimately are in THEIR favour only Example with realistic figures: They say: pay a small deposit (on a £30k car thats £5k - if you PEX a car for say £15k, you get a cheque back for £10k, and think it's great!) pay monthly for 4 years - say £450 p/m as an example (it'll normally be +- £25 a month on that sort of purchase price/deposit) Pay a balloon of £12k or more in some cases - if you can agree it hand the car back/minimum value Ooh - don't do more than 10,000 miles a year So over 48 months, you've paid : £5000 dep, + £21600 payments, and you still owe them £12000. If you haven't spent the £10k you got back originally and earned some interest on it then it might help....but the car would have cost you almost £39k. If you have a deal where you hand it back, they have effectively taken it for £3k, though you have to add some interest to that figure. That's what Lexus, Audi and BMW offered me (fugures were very close to my example for all 3). I told them where to stick it...their interest rates are totally uncompetitive for these types of deals...and only benefit business users where they can get up to 40% tax relief on what is effectively a lease. The other thing to note is that you seldom get a discount on the purchase price when you negotiate a PCP too, or a smaller one. That should be factored in too. My advice would be stick it out if you can. You're gonna have to pay it no matter what. The longer you keep the Lexus now, the less it will depreciate relatively speaking over the next 2-4 years. As dazed says, if you buy another new car, you start all over again - and that's what they want and you don't want!! If you have to change it, don't get another new one...go for an ex-demo/management car...shop around - even on the web....and haggle hard. They want your business - just look at what happened to Lheman Bro's...not many pople will buy a new car, so they will b hauling back production and trying to get to a stage where they build factory orders only. This means they have to sell any car in a pound or on a boat and currently available!!

That's wicked You'll hate this one: "Volvo's - made by Intelligent people, driven by dummies" (obviously going back to the days when Volvo had those crash dummies/SIP commercials) Seriously though - they are excellent cars. Someone I know lived off High mileage ex company Volvo's for years. One was ex police 850 T5 with 240,000 on the clock....superbly well made!

That my driving style has more in common with an undertaker than a normal person lol!!! NIce one buddy - never driven a S80, but the S60 is a very underrated car - superbly made and those seats areincredible. Still the most comfortable cars ever!! Bloomin' arm chairs!! And at that price it's positively a bargain - well done!! Go enjoy (and don't forget how economical it will be - if it's the D5 you'll be shocked!)

Parthiban, I think you've hit the nail on the head...they wanted to change the outcome of the race so penalised Lewis...ad also I think teh rules only state that you havge to let the person pass you. I don't think there is anything in the rules about then taking them at the next corner. By virtue of the fact that Lewis lifted, meant that he didn't have the momentum or any advantage. He simply outbreaked Kimi into the next corner... They want this championship to go down to the wire, and don't care about McLaren at all. They are more interested in Ferrari and the maffia or whoever else runs procedings nowadays! It's a big stitch up to be frank...and if this carries on people will just stop watching it again... I'm not a huge Lewis fan TBH, but he has made such a difference to F1. the way he drove yesterday for me was ubelievable - the way he can just force the car in front of ANYONE on the track - Alonso was left reeling as he was passed, as was Kimi....and so on.... I would have loved to see him race Schuey in the WET! It would have been awesome. He is a racing driver and that is that, and the sport is the richer as a result. And what about Vettel? He did the "Minows" proud and deserved everything that will come his way now... If Lewis had gotten Inters on at his pit stop he would have been pushing Vettel, and that would really have been sad. As it happened, all happened well...and it was for me the race of the season so far... If I recall, a man at Ferrari was also to blame for the leak last year, but they didn't get anywhere nearly a severe punishment as McLaren...I do think it's fixed!

Nice one - but I'm for DIY if you have the time...for a car that is caked all over with flies and cr4p just get a claybar kit and possibly a polisher (even a cheapo Halfords one will do). Get some decent polish and wax and it'll come out as good as any detailer can do....trust me! You'll be amazed at what you can do with a little effort... I was a complete novice at detailing and left it to the specialists - until I joined this forum, now all my friends and relatives are stacking their cars up every weekend... Just check out Autopia and the "How To" section. It tells you everything you will ever need to know...

If you have 2 or more cars at the address (not owned by you personally) you can get a huge wad off at AQdmiral with their Multi Car policy. We saved £260 last year on both cars, and the IS was costing £330 for the year, including business use and 12000 p/year (garaged, full NCB). The Beemer is £396 fo the year, and it's a group 17!

It reminds me of the Tango advert some fat guy could come running out of the drivers side at the lights and rabbit slaps you on the chops Nice looking specimen

Cheers - It's an 2007 LCI E60 (latest model with Angel Eyes and wings front and rear), M Sport... The £43k for a 320d - question is why would anyone spec up a 3 series to that level? Most of the extras on the SEL are useable, but some are just decorative...you take the extra's because they come with the car... You would only ever pay for options you want...and I have to say this - you pay for a scintilating drive and solid engineering in a Beemer (I know some of you will larf). With a Lexus you pay for Luxury and toys...Lexus is an American Market aimed Marque...so it comes fully loaded as that is what sells cars in the states... Horses for courses and all that...

Thanks Parthiban - am waiting till December for the Convertible, then I will strike. A pre 2001 Merc SL is on the cards. It'll depreciate less and I won't have to pay £400 p/year just in tax...but then the wife wants a new house with prices falling... Thanks for the Media stuff - I'll take a look. I've seen Xenon kits for £89.99, and are totally plug and play on BMW's. However, the LCI model apparently has a change to the CANBUS which means you have to go to the dealer to get some code entered (at a price) otherwise it keeps erroring and the lights flicker. I'll need to look into this. And yes - I won't be a stranger. I'll probably keep coming onto the Lounge forum...

Well a month on and...it's time to go from this forum and make new friends at the e60 forum. I thought I'd end by giving you a quick summary of how the last month has gone (for those interested). New car is everything I expected, and so are the dealers. The sales bit went quite well, in fact excellent, but they owe me £80 for my old cars road tax. They can't find the tax disc in spit of the agreement when the sale was done...and in spite of the sales manager agreeing to giving me a cheque 2 weeks ago, I still have nothing. Oh boy - they have failed in their "due care and attention" post sales. So things can only get better bad luck follows me verywhere I go. In my past life I must have broken a shed load of mirrors...may be a shed a load of mirrors off the back of a truck... :shutit: What about the new car The Bad points are: Lack of toys. Even with Leather and Media pack, it needs a few things such as Heated seats, USB, folding mirrors and Visibility Pack. The standard lights are not as good as the IS's standards were. In fact they are as feable as the Audi's were. I'm looking into getting the new Phillips H7+80's, may be even a HID/Xenon upgrade. iDrive - try to use it without Voice Commands for the first few weeks and it is distracting and frustrating...but ou do get used to it The CD changer will not play MP3's. This is a royal pain, but the CD slot in the head unit does. So you need to specify the USB port...The standard sound system is merely adequate, and it needs the HiFi speaker system as a minimum standard. The Individal Audio in a BMW is actually superb, and bassier than the MLS. But not good enough to justify an extra £1500 though! The Satnav - the BMWConnectedDrive, OnLine and TMC are excellent, but trying to get it to take logical physical route to a destination is mind boggling. It can't seem to differentiate between A, B or Country dirt tracks...so programming "Fast Route" can take you through a field one minute, and onto a Motorway the next...whereas the Lexus one NEVER took me down the dirt track on my regular commutes...The resolution of the 8.8" screen is a bit poor too, but adequate. Good points are: Fuel Consumption. Anyone with an IS getting low to mid 40's and happy, look away right now. The BMW averaged 49.84MPG on a run at the pumps this week - driven exactly as I would have in the Lexus - 230 miles yadaa yadaa. Unbelievable, but it gets close enough to the official 53.8. It just goes to prove that it was nothing to do with me or my driving when the Lexus was averaging 37! I have a gentle driving style and can always get the best out of any car, which is why I have always been able to close in on or exceed even the government figures for most cars. I don't drive slowly either - just sensibly. Almost always at the speed limits....just as I did in the Lexus. I feel totally vindicated by this and shows that something was fundamentally wrong! Road Noise and comfort - both excellent in the BMW. At times it is earyily quiet, and the engine sounds more V8 than S6 Oiler when pushed. Again excellent. Very very little wind noise too...concrete sections of a motorway, or the ruff stuff on the M1 btween J16-J19 is very subdued... Handling - amazing for a big car. Ride is quite hard, but not choppy or bouncy, and at speed it glides. The steering is just awesome - it positively sings to you and you can thread the car into every corner like threading a needle. For a big car it is just amazing. Not a single rattle or squeak yet Seats - the sports seats are exceptionally good for supporting your buttom and back, and you don't sink in. Autobox is so useable, and very SMG like (though not as quick) as it now a toggle lever in STronic mode. I have found that in STronic mode it will take 6th at 50mph/1100RPM, without any thrumming or vibration and maintain the speed with CC. Acceleration is glacial, but drop it into 5th and it flies... BMWConnectedDrive - or the ability to programme destinations via Google Maps or BMW's website. The car has (i've been told) a 3g SIM card in it, and you can up load local information whilst on the move, or from the internet prior to leaving. It is just incredible and Lexus should take note of the BMWConnectedDrive systm. It is fantastic if you use it properly. It also has BMWAssist - and SOS facility incase you break down, need a hotel (they can zap it to the satnav), and auto SOS call (with your GPS coordinates) if you have a car crash where the air bags deploy. Great stuff! Satnav - the TMC is much better than the Lexus one. The Dynamic guidance works exceptionally well, and is very reliable. When it says that there is ahold up, there always is (I confirmed with a call into AA Road watch 5 times)...and the screen shows black arrows indicating the severity... Bluetooth - you can call up the phonebook from the phone via Bluetooth, so you don't need speed dials. You can use the scroll steering buttons/idrive to find a contact and dial. Masses of space. Visibility is good, and the A post is further from your head!! Water doesn't seem to fall onto the seats either when you open a door. The iDrive, if combined with Voice Commands and soft programmable buttons is excellent, otherwise you get lost inthe system to start with! It does allow you to programme Day Running Lights, Auto Locking, how the indicators flash etc yourself. No dealer only Programming needed. Auxiliary ventilation. You can actually ventilate the car by setting a timer (i.e. for before you get in). Very handy in Hot weather (when we get some) and it really works... Things I miss from the Lexus: The forum's - none are as good as this Exclusivity Sound System (MLS) The Satnav routing as mentioned above - it is illogical in the roads it can take you down... MP3's in the DVD Changer Smart Access - keyless is definitely the way to go I still think that Lexus IS i the best looking exec out there - wins hands down! It's gorgeous! The BIGGY - the Rear Camera. It is wonderful and hats off to Lexus for making it available. I really do miss that one. The BMW PDC (front and rear) is visible and audible, and better than the Lexus non camera one (i.e the one from the SEL/Sports). Things not needed or missed yet: Seat ventilation (yet) Touch Screen Full Elec seating (BMW has partial (Backrest, height). Not needed the Lumbar Adjustment either (seat seems fine for me) DVD Player So...it's the final post and the long good bye comes to an end. A long time coming dgman might say, and may be some others, but everything that needs to be known is. Just keep it real and take care guys....might pop in to view now and again...and remember - there really is no Compact Exec that is as good VFM as the lexus IS. Good luck and best wishes!