Northern Boys Luv Gravy

The new £300 (and later £400) car tax only affects the IS250 manual, not the auto as this is in the lower tax band (£210). I get an average of 29-30 mpg, making full use of the 204bhp and consider this a big improvement on the old 150bhp IS200, plus the 0-60 is very good too. As for price, well it is expensive but then again compared to taking off the Toyota badges and sticking Lexus ones on and adding £5k to the price which was the case of the old IS it's not so bad.

After driving a new A4 2.0TDi S-Line for the last week I think I may have been a bit harsh on the IS220Ds that I have tried in the past. The engine is positively agricultural and you can feel/hear the noise/vibration at all speeds - along with the excessive wind noise. Also, the ride is very jiggly, maybe it's the Audi's shorter wheelbase or the S-Line suspension but the difference between it and the Lexus is quite pronounced. On top of all that the fuel economy is averaging at 34mpg. The only part I felt the Audi was superior was in quality of gearchange.

Don't forget the auto IS250 uses less fuel and emits less Co2 so is in Band F for VED @ £195 per year. The manual is in Band G at £215 per year. Band G is the so called "gas guzzler" band and is apparently about to be clobbered in the Budget. :(

Yeah they will - just run it in to your local dealer and get them to look at them. They will order up brand new alloys. :) I'd be curous to know how Mr.Mole squares Lexus' "Passionate Pursuit of Perfection" with continually using crap alloys from an obviously underperforming supplier.

I had a front alloy replaced due to corrosion 4 months after picking up my IS. The car is now 15 months old and I've just had all 4 alloys replaced, again due to corrosion - and while I was in there was another IS getting 4 new ones as well. The problem lies with poor laquering that leads to corrosion bubbling around the inside edge of the spokes. The car is washed weekly with nothing more than a sponge and warm water. Basically the alloys are of poor quality. Nevermind, the car looks great with spanking new alloys and the paintwork still looks glossy and smooth.

I tried it out on an Audi Q7 that I had for a couple of days and it was superb - completely changed my view of cruise control. I turned onto a busy dual carriageway in the rush hour, set the cruise control for 70mph and I didn't have to touch any pedals for over 25 miles. The car braked and sped up, always maintaining a fixed distance from the car in front. It wasn't confused by cars cutting in the gap or by bends. At the end of the road was a roundabout and it safely braked down to 20 mph whereupon I took my feet off the dash, folded up my newspaper, stubbed out my pipe and took over.

You can get GAP insurance from reputable insurers for less than £300 if you have a look on the net. The dealership wanted a ridiculous amount so in the end I never bothered and spent the money on beer tokens instead.

That one is actually a base model IS250 so it would have probably cost between £22k and £23k new, so you would only be saving around £4k on that one. Go with the IS250 SE Auto, you won't regret it. Mine's just turned over 26K miles and it still makes me smile every time I get in it. We took our 2.0T A4 over to The Lakes at the weekend and whilst it is a lovely car I'd still take the Lexus over it every time. I haven't got the MM option as I was up to my limit on the SE and they wouldn't take a kidney px to make up the difference. It just seems a bit too expensive for what it is - maybe if it was under £2k I would have gone for it. I suppose you could look at it from the point of view that the discount you can get off the new price would pay for the MM, so in effect you'd get it for free. Oh and by the way, even the base and SE models have a 13 speaker audio set up and in my opinion it is very good, the Mark Levinson must be really superb to top it.

I still think it's quite cheap - a good bodyshop will charge around £60-£80 an hour.

Yeah but to be fair if the boot was on the other foot wouldn't we all want our car repaired at a garage of our choice? If I was the innocent party in an accident like this I would not be happy if the at fault party was trying to dictate where I got my car fixed. £430 sounds about right (my missus works for a body shop).

B)--> QUOTE(Andy B @ Feb 13 2007, 01:38 AM) ← Hi all, My first post so please be gentle!! :) I am considering buying an IS250 and am not sure about whether to go for the SE version or the SE-L (both with automatic transmission). A friend of mine has a 2006 SE-L which I like a lot however I was wondering what the difference in specification is between the SE and the SE-L (without the MultiMedia package). For example, are the following 'goodies' part of the standard spec on an SE:- Auto-lights Electrically folding wing mirrors On-board computer (MPG; average speed indication, etc) Audio controls on the steering wheel Electric seat adjustment 17" wheels Keyless entry and start If the majority of these are indeed standard on an SE then I think I'll choose this over an SE-L and save a bit of money. Would appreciate anyone's help on this. Thanks very much. Andy All those things are indeed standard on the SE, as is full leather interior with heated/cooled seats. Drive the SE-L and benefit from a few other nice toys like memory function for the seats, auto wipers, HID lights, auto dimming mirrors, parking sensors, illuminated scuff plates, wood trim, power rear sunshade and a lighter wallet.

You can get paranoid about these rattles. I had one from the centre of the dash that Lexus Newcastle fixed no problem and it has never returned. Then I noticed a one coming from the passenger side vent area. I fixed this myself by taking a small rectangle of foam and tucking it down between the A pillar and dash, tucking it out of sight with the corner of a credit card. Job done. I'm just congratulating myself when I hear an unmistakable rattle from behind me. I pretty p**sed off now and stop the car to discover it's the zip on my laptop bag that is making the noise. Perhaps these cars are too quiet inside!

Union

The ticking is the high pressure direct injection system - similar technology to that used on common rail diesel engines.

Baby

You know I can imagine you saying that in a very Terry Thomas type voice.

My missus used to work on Service Reception for an Alfa dealership. She said she would have seen less tears and distress working in a funeral home. She still loves Alfas though.

If you take your mum shopping you can park in the "Parent and Child" places in the supermarket without guilt.

To be fair there are a number of young ladies who advertise themselves in phone boxes who charge far more. But with them you really do feel scr*wed!

It is expensive - when I queried the labour rate I was told it was on a par with Porsche and Mercedes' rates. I suppose it is also similar to Audi and BMW. I don't have a problem with the 10k miles service intervals as I was never really happy with the Audi Longlife Service intervals at 20k and was thinking of switching back to 10k intervals there. What I have a slight problem with is Lexus saying that the car is designed for lower cost maintenance and uses normal mineral oil - and then charges you £50 for it! I think more reasonable costs would be £150 for a 10k service and £250 for a 20k. To put it in perspective, my Lexus has now done the same miles as my Audi when I sold it. My total Audi servicing costs were £180. My Lexus costs (ex. pads) are £610. Makes you think I guess. To be fair I can't fault the dealer on their work and they have agreed in future to let me have loan cars without the £10 charge! Oh and the £160 for pads was for the front only. I asked for the ones to taken off to be put in my boot for inspection later and then felt like a right moaning barsteward afterwards. They probably call me the Geordie Victor Meldrew. I will say Lexus dealers are the nicest people to be emptying your wallet, I almost feel guilty querying the bill!

My first "check" service at 10k miles cost me over £190. Northern Boy, we probably use the same dealer as you, did you get a breakdown of costs. I remember being charged an astomnomical amount for washer fluid on an IS200 service 2 yaers ago. I was only putting in water!. Lexus must be pouring in Evian. Well as it happens I have my first 2 service invoices here: 10k mile service (1 hour labour @ £90/hr + VAT) Consumables inc. Helix plus oil (£48.62) and new wiper blades, screenwash, fuel treatment and engine flush, £10 loan car insurance etc comes to a grand total of £230.16 inc VAT 20k mile service Approx. 2 hours labour - consumables as above plus diff oil and a new battery for the remote comes to a grand total of £380.00 inc VAT. I also had to have new front pads which was another £160 or so.

My first "check" service at 10k miles cost me over £190.

Probably less boring than the Lexus boys discussing whose got the loudest rattle :D Sorry, can't hear you - I think I have a rattle somewhere..

I say split - let the Toyota boys discuss whose got the loudest exhaust in private! :)

It's an easy fix - nothing to worry about.