NetOne

Any Lexus designed before 2000 are not resistance to road side stones, you will get chip easily or even water drop size of paint that comes off the body. Most IS owner would see the stone chip on their car after cruising through the country road on high speed. This is inevitable.

Manual ===== It's more fun to drive with manual but how long does that feeling last before you get tired ? 18" wheel definitely looks great but the ride is not that comfortable and the cost of tyre replacement and frequency is much higher due to bigger and larger surface area which get hot & wears easier. 16 or 17" is the right size in terms of cost & tyre wear. The only good thing is that the transmission which last a lot longer if you know how to use it properly. Auto === Save all the hassle and enjoy the ride comfortably in all traffics condition. Save a bit of petrol in auto for today technology. You can always turn the Cruise Control on for long distance and relax without having the leg & bottom to suffer. More buyers and sale a lot quicker when it comes to resale your vehicle. The only down side is that extra cost of the Auto that you have to pay when buying the car.

Totally agree with TonyDownunder about the wheel. If you opt for the look then will have to spend more money in the future and also sacrifice the comfort of the ride. There are hundred of tricks when it comes to negotiation, and as I've said that also depends on luck, the mood, the salesperson and the time etc. If a dealer cannot do further cash discounts and you think that's reasonable then try to throw in something that are not absurd, ie cost few hundreds not thousands. At least it's most likely that you can get those things for half the price such as window tinting etc. Good luck

Car broker never get you the best deal nor average deal. But they will save you all the hassle in buying the car. They will deliver the car to your door without having you stepping out of your house. Getting the best deal always depends on your dealing skill, luck and the best salesperson/manager (these people can decide on price) of the dealer you're going to. Never deal with new salesperson or anyone works there less than ONE year, sorry for the new salesperon. Just haggle it hard and show them the money, you might need to go there more than once to win the deal. I heard the best Lexus salesperson in Australia is in Lexus of Sutherland, I can find out the person's name if you need to know.

It might sounds silly but it did happen to me last year when I changed the tyres. Two screws from the front were losing and stuff up the diff after 3 days of driving. The steering wheel vibrate/rock when driving above 40mph or braking hard above 40mph. At first I thought it was new tyres as I was told that it might rock a bit until the tyres wear in.

Can't you just strip it off a bit to make it fit ?

It sounds like a wheel alignment is required :D

I used Turtle Wax about 10 years ago. I bought it because of the TV commercail that shows how briliant it is. But I did not find it as good as it was shown on the TV, it was pretty general Though ;)

Is the IS250 really that bad in power comparing to the Accord Euro of 140kw ? Have you got the POWER button on when testing it ? The Sport model comes with either Manual or Auto with the price difference of A$2600. You can view it HERE yourself.

Is it better to drive with Traction Control ON or OFF in the snow icy road ?

@Drummerboy, are you saying that I only need to buy the 9005 bulb and modify the DIP BEAM socket only in order to improve the headlight of IS200 ? Thanks

Sorry to ask couple questions. Is the socket of IS200 a 9005 or 9006 ? Can the 9005 light bulb be fit in without modification ? Since 9005 bulb is 1700 lumens and 9006 1000 lumens, will the use of 9005 bulb on 9006 socket cause the associated part to melt or deteriorate due to the extreme heat ?

Japanese is very smart in doing business especially with pricing. If they sale the new IS250 the same price as the IS200 at the time of going out, how much do you think the old IS200 now worth ? Probably drop by half. In order to maintain their brand and the class of luxury, they have to justify the value by lifting the price of the new model and at the same time it has to be better value than the german rivals. By doing that they throw in a lot more new or better items/features. Yes, it sounds a lot more dearer. But if you look at the extra items/features such as : Much powerful engine and better fuel economy, bigger space & longer base, parking sonars, Vehicle Stability/Swerve Control, noise filter, advanced 13 speaker stereo system with mp3, Smart Entry / Push Button Start, Audio Controls on Steering Wheel, Climate Controlled Front Seats, dual zone AC, lighting inside outside, Optitron / Multi Information Display, Trip computer, Telescopic/reach adjust steering wheel, Adaptive Front-lighting System, front knee airbag (how much do you think a leg might cost), stronger body & paint and etc. How much do you think each individual item cost ? If you compare these extra/better/advanced items/features with the old IS200 you will find that the new IS250 is of better value indeed :D

The post above are about 3 years ago, so what about the technology today ? Which brand of the polish/wax is best for our IS200, Meguires, Mothers, Autoglym etc ? Can the experts here continue their advise for the technology today ? Anyway, what's Autoglym, haven't heard of it before.

@muradx, sounds like you have got a dodgy key or the car being stolen from some vallet driver, have you thoroughly verify that :D I dare to say you're the only one with just only one key, the vallet key in this forum. Since the vallet key does not open every everything you have the right to pursue it from the person you've got it from, unless you've agreed to accept the deal for a major discount at the time of purchase. To answer your question, it's unlikely that you can use the used to cut again since some required bits might be missing after recut. Sure the Locksmith can cut it if you supply them the lock from the boot/storage.

Could not help it cause there was no suitable petrol station around but I was sure there was more than half litre of petrol in the tank. I believe that the tank capacity is more than 70 litres (probably 71 or 72) even though Lexus quotes it as 70 litres (They usually quote it a bit less). Also I always fill the tank up to top, ie. keep pumping bit by bit after it clicks until you see the petrol floating. That's approx 500 - 700ml more. Whenever the empty indicator comes on you know for sure there is approx 10 litres left and you can start to calculate from there how many more miles/kilometers you can go. For my IS200 it takes 7.8 - 8.3 litres for speed 90 - 130km/h on motorway and 10.5 - 11.8 litres on city roads or with frequent stops. I found that the best fuel consumption for this IS200 is to cruise between 80 - 90km/h on the motorway. So if you can sacrifice the speed on motorway for a long distance trip you will save some dollars in the pocket.

This depends on the condition of the valves itself. Of-course it's wise to change it if it's rusted or wearing. Most valves last more than five years

My IS200 Sport is an Automatic not manual transmission

It would be hard to convince him for one if he really concerns about the fuel consumption of the IS200. I have to admit that the fuel consumption of IS200 is not that good comparing to many other luxury cars especially when driving around city roads. Even my old SAAB 9000 achieved a lot more miles for the same amount of petrol :)

@Steve, just realize that you're driving a GS300 Sport, what make you so interest in the fuel consumption of IS200 :D

Prolong hitting the front end bumper will harm the car due to shocking. If you're willing to spend couple hundred of dollars that would solve the problem. Just put two piece of metal over the curves. Call Oxycut on 9757 3833 for a custom make. A thickness of 8 - 12mm would be fine.

I've got 575 miles on motorway for 69.5 litres used. Cruise Control is used where ever possible and approx 70% of the time with AirCon turned on.

Is Lexus IS250 really that bad comparing to BMW325 ? Since I have not driven these two cars don't know much about it.

yup i have... and i'm going to raise a topic on the "how to" of fitting parking sensors very soon :) for those who have seen my fitment, you will see how neat and tidy the entire solution is :) Have you got the topic for fitting parking sensors yet ? Thanks

Great to know about these thing from experienced IS200 owers as I'm hoping to keep mines for several years too :D