Northern Boys Luv Gravy

This is such a sad event and a very difficult to advise on.

I take it they never attempted to take the Lexus(?), therefore the key being stolen is defo a House insurance claim, I would say!! But ultimately you need to speak to your car insurance guys too.

These guys were keen to get that Land Cruiser, and taking the keys like that means they are prepared to go to some length to take a car. A Lexus with the keys would really hold kudos, so you need to be careful as they will know exactly what they have.

In the meantime, 3 things:

1) Tell your car insurance company and ask them if it's covered bearing in mind the key has gone. There could be no point in sitting there waiting for something to happen and worrying yourself silly...when it's actually still covered. Remember - they haven't actually attempted to take the car yet, so you could (small chance) still be covered fully...wasn't clear from your note if you had mentioned this to them

2) If you're not covered, ask them to consider this :- Just get a spare key and get a Tracker installed. Remember - these guys may now want the Lex at any cost - so changing locks could mean that they'll knock your door down and demand the keys...they may have an interested 3rd party now, who knows. If the car has a tracker, the insurance may still cover you. Some companies offer discounts if you have a Tracker...

3) Get yourself a steering lock - which if anything will make it less attractive to take off the drive. They may come with a Wagon and take the car on it's back once they've got inside it. A steering wheel lock like applied with the full lock on will make it difficult to "carry away". But then bear 2) above in mind...

PS - make sure you have a Crime number from the police for this.

Better than that - park the mother-in-law inside.

£370 was what I paid for a standard 20K service at a Lexus dealer. :(

The old and new Merc C class are miles apart - the new one is excellent and more importantly an auto diesel which is bigger!!

if expensive...but I can live without so many of the Lex niceties -

Keyless

Ventilated leather

etc

My neighbour has the new C220D Sport and to be honest it's a curious mix of styling - I prefer the one I've got right now.

Funnily enough, for the last 2 weeks I have been driving round in - a Mercedes C-class 220D Auto Elegance! My 07 plate, 700 mile IS250 SE Auto is the bodyshop having its back end pulled out after a coming together with a Transit on the outside lane of the motorway (*sob*).

OK the Mercedes is a an old model 56 Reg and a very nice car but it doesn't appeal to me the same way as the Lexus. First impressions are it's well put together, although the cloth seats feel a bit cheap - deffo needs leather - and the engine growls a bit round town making it seem like a taxi, but I haven't got any real complaints. A couple of minor ones - the fuel consumption isn't great - I can't get over 38mpg no matter how I drive it and most of my run to work is on dual carriageway. The stereo is only ok and the steering is a bit heavy. Other than that a nice motor - even if you do feel a bit of an old man driving it. If Lexus did an auto diesel IS I would take it over the Merc anytime though.

Any dealer can match Drive the Deal but see what they offer you for your trade in. It's not the headline price that's important but the cost to change. A dealer selling at the Drive the Deal price will give you bottom dollar for your trade in.

The engine seems to pull a little cleaner than mine, less Flat spotty, but the ride is quieter - no doubt. Even my kids commented on that - when we got out of the car we noticed that the car is shod with Dunlop Sport max's - defo a quieter ride compare to the Potenza's by some degree!! I checked the tyre pressures out ofinterest, ad it is 41 at the back and 36 at the front, same as I have mine!!

LOL - I swapped my Dunlop Sport Max for Bridgestone Potenzas and was convinced the Bridgestone's were quieter!

The US cars notify you of when a service is due. I have no idea why ours don't.

How well do they hold their value?

Pretty good - I was offered £20,500 for my Dec 55 IS250SE Auto with 33k miles on it against a new 07 of the same model.

Unfortunately, thanks to a transit van running into the back of me on the A19 tonight, my 3 week old car is a bit shorter than the one it replaced. On the other hand it seemed to stand up well in the collision. :(

I think its because of the euro 5

I's always because of the Euro. Can't we stick with the £?

[A, I suspect you will get a handful of sales (despite it sounding a fantastic car).

As it says in the article, they have sold out their year's allocation.

NBLG - is your 130PDi a Multi/T? My 5 speed manual managed 52-55mpg (manually calculated) on a steady long run. I once got 810 miles out of 70 litres, and at an average speed of 67mpg...and at the pumps I managed to get 66litres in, so the car still had another 40odd miles to run (Trip said zero and it kept "pinging" me).

So even though I could drive the Audi relatively quickly and economically, I struggle with the Lexus - but like I said above - I now keep the Histogram (Current MPG) readout on all of the time in the Lex, and even in town I can hit 35-38mpg. On a run I can get closer to 50mpg.

Yes it's a 130TDi 5 speed - and it really does need a 6th gear, without that I can't see it getting much more than 50mpg. Then again it's only done 2k miles.

I drove an Audi A4 diesel multitronic once and found it positively dangerous. Trying to nip out at junctions and roundabouts means pressing the accelerator to the floor and waiting...and waiting...and then panicking when the car pauses while the gap you were trying to get into gets smaller and smaller. Eventually it goes but at the cost of a few more grey hairs. I experienced the same with an A6 2.7TDI multitronic too. I came back from London in our A4 130bhpTDi yesterday and I managed to get an average of 50mpg with the cruise set at 80mph - but that's the best I've got - normally it sticks around 43mpg.

And it still sounds like a tractor. Give me an IS250 auto anyday.

Mirroe sure vibrates a lot with the stereo on high - but i can also report ( as a rare "moonroof" owner ) - why not sunroof like everyone else ? - that the vibration is also bad when driving with the roof open, at almost any speed.

With the music up high it isn't the mirror vibrating but the rear window - caused by the sub in the rear parcelshelf.

glug...glug....bubble....help....glug.....mine!

Only joking....hope they get full value from the insurance.

You can't blame Audi because of a spelling mistake on a map supplied by a third party. All maps have errors on them and they are corrected and updated in future editions, but they won't just knock out a new one for you personally or even bring revision date forward (unless of course it was something serious like directing people the wrong way up a motorway etc.).

My first IS developed the noise when the dials spin round on start up. I took it to the dealer and they said it was normal and "they all do that", leaving my doubting myself as to never having heard it before. Needless to say my new IS doesn't make the noise and is silent on start up. Incidentally, when my first IS went back it had done 33k miles and still felt tight and new, the odd rattle (apart from start up) having been successfully sorted by the dealer. I pass it on the forecourt now, up for sale, with tinges of regret.

Anyway - 2 hors to go and I pick up my new one - can't wait.

I hope everyone realised that was a typo - I'm a happily married man. :)

There was a time when Mercedes didn't have to advertise the C-class..

[.and it doesn't have a BMW badge on it :shutit:

A positive thing to a certain extent.

I looked at the D3 now and I was really tempted, but I'm a die hard Lexus auto fan now - the smooothness (thought it deserved the extra "o") and driveability of the 250 Auto is just so addictive.

Why is it that the best diesels don't come in an auto...? I think that If there was D3 switchtronic I would have PEx'd in March... and if there was a IS220d Auto I wouldn't be looking at the D3 Auto....

The IS220d is better overall in manual form than a manual D3. One thing is for sure, there were no rattles, creaks, from the D3, and no vibrating mirrors...but no kit either. It all looked good and drove well, but it was tarted up 320d Si underneath...

I never got as far as driving the D3 - if Lexus did a 220D auto I would be very tempted but from what I understand Lexus really never wanted to do a diesel and are pinning their hopes on hybrid technology making it redundant. Anyway - 2 hors to go and I pick up my new one - can't wait.

[.and it doesn't have a BMW badge on it :shutit:

A positive thing to a certain extent.

I looked at the D3 now and I was really tempted, but I'm a die hard Lexus auto fan now - the smooothness (thought it deserved the extra "o") and driveability of the 250 Auto is just so addictive.

What on earth is a fuel saver?

http://www.fuelsaver.co.uk/howitworks.html

Basically the idea is that by passing fuel through a magnetic field it combusts better. Unfortunately once it leaves the fuel saver it loses any magnetic field its picked up. Like I said, why would companies like Toyota spend tens of millions of R&D budget developing things like direct injection for engines which give about a 10% fuel economy improvement if all they had to do was incorporate magnets in the fuel lines. I think there is a degree of placebo effect with these things (which have been around since the fuel crisis of the early 70s) since blind testing suggests no difference in mpg whatsoever.

I wouldn't bother - if those things worked every car produced would have them installed as standard.

Right, my order is finally in after many sleepness nights deciding on colour and driving my fleet manager mad keep changing my mind.......

Going for IS220D SE Mesa Red, Black Leather, order is placed so no changing my mind now, bad thing is 4 month delivery time and knowing my luck the damn thing will fall off the ship on its way across........

Didn't go for the MM option as it would have meant making personal contributions (tight sod I know) and wifey wasn't impressed with the idea..........

Anyway, onto the real reason for my post........

I've read lots in the forum about problems with the 220D, 5th injector, remaps etc - question is, will these be resolved in my new model does anyone know?

Must admit, the 220D I test drove for a few days was superb to say the least, could find no faults at all, thought the whole car was 100% right, even the gearing and boy, does it shift!

Also, anything in particular I should look out for on delivery to indicate known faults that have not been rectified in the model I receive?

And finally, anyone know how to wind the clock forward quickly 4 months???????!!!!

4 months? I feel for you. I placed my order for a Cadaxton Slate with silver leather (no MM) last Thursday, it came into Portbury Docks (your neck of the woods I believe) yesterday and I'm getting it Thursday - 7 days from order to delivery. I find it hard to believe they don't have a red 220d knocking about.

From the moment I tried the 250 Auto I was hooked - I really don't think there is a petrol auto in this price bracket to touch it. I got the Argento Ice with black leather interior and it always looks clean with only the wheels showing up the brake dust to let it down. I've enjoyed the lat 33k miles so much I've ordered another - identical but with the Cadaxton slate and silver leather. I still think the silver looks the best but I couldn't order the same colour twice. Lexus are doing a push on petrol IS at the moment so you should get a good deal.

It's intended to get more money out of you - it's bloomin' expensive! In this day and age 10,000 mile intervals are laughable...!

These cars were supposed to be cheaper to service as they use mineral oil - yeah....right...dealers only recommend Fully Synth...!!The car wash clubs, I thought, were the mechanism for getting you in regularly...

I'm not sure 10k is laughable (intervals are every 5k in the US). Even Audi are looking to return to 10k intervals as the Longlife service plans are giving them and customers so much grief. I think one of the reasons Lexus can go to high mileages trouble free is because they have usually had unstressed I/V6 or V8 (diesels excepted) engines serviced every 10k miles.

My 10k service was £230, including wipers, engine flush and 5 mins of flirtation from the girl on the service desk. Now just passed the 30k mark and they've offered me a good trade in so I think I'll have another 250 Auto. Dunno what colour though - edging towards Cadaxton Slate with the grey leather interior.