Barry Lavin

Where did you get them in Ireland? Nicnac would probably be interested to know also. Can someone tell me why it is that the petrol version gets nice shiny chrome exhausts while the diesel gets a crappy one that looks like it came off a second hand tractor. Is there a problem with chrome/diesel?

As I previously mentioned I know very little about this new fangled modern communications equipment. Also I am on pre pay which limits the amount of choice I have. So I bought a Sony Erricson Z520 for €160 including €70 calls and it has worked perfectly for me in the car and is almost idiot (me) proof.

Does this mean they fit our dangerous, but technically advanced seatbelts from the IS into the GS :D :D You'll be getting our cast-off out of date sat-nav disks next :D I think I already did! except the other way around.

I have mine (220d with MM ) for the last month and would agree completely with your comments. I am getting around 38/40 mpg around Dublin which is pretty good but I also have stalled mine a few times at low revs. I suppose I will get used to it and have now decided to put the rev counter marker at 3000 revs and will not change gear untill it comes on in the low gears. Hopefully it will loosen out as Jamboo says. Otherwise it is a beautifull car, far superior to the C Class I had before it . In fact one of my mates has ordered one on looking at it. As I mentioned in a previous post the only gripe I have is the age of the software in the sat/nav and the fact that over here we do not have the facility to be diverted away from traffic congestion. The software in the sat/nav is so old that the other day while driving down the M50 (your M25 except ours is a bigger carpark, we've got a toll booth at one end) I looked at my sat/nav and panicked as I realised that I had obviously left the road a la Harry Potter as I was, according to my sat/nav in the middle of a big field. Now this is plain crazy as this road was opened years ago. So I think I will be taking up the matter with my garage. Also, a couple of weeks ago I was going to a meeting and set the sat/nav for the place I was going to which was on the POI . Guess what, the sat/nav took me elsewhere, got me lost and I was dead late for the meeting which I only reached at all by ringing a guy on my wonderfull hands free bluetooth system and was guided in by phone. To really make a laugh of the situation, on my way home, ( about ten miles from the meeting place) the nice lady interupted whatever I was listening to with the remark " you have reached your destination". She was lucky she was not in the car or she would have had a long walk home. So a big thumbs down for the sat/nav.

Go MM -- definitely!!! If anyone in Ireland is making the same choice just remember that we do not have the luxury of ROS/TMC over here which is a shame because Dublin is one big roadworks these days. But I would still go for the MM as the base IS is far better appointed than either the Bmers or the Merc Avantgarde .

The cheapest version of the car in Ireland is the Diesel and diesel is usually cheaper here then petrol at the pump also. A lot of people here are very dissapionted that there is no Auto option for it. Got my new one yesterday ( silver diesel with mm) A breath of fresh air after the merc. I have started reading the manuals and have promised myself that I will work out one new thing every day. However there are so many new things that I can see this running into 2007. I agree with Andyscooke on the couple of gripes he has but I have found an even bigger one. Now I know that I am going to be accused of being sexist etc but that girl on the Sat/Nav is rubbish. I have just worked out how to imput home as a memory point and nothing else, so as soon as I leave the house she tries to get me to go home again. But that is not my gripe. When I do actually get home she tries to tell me that I am not home at all and that I need to turn left 200 metres down the road. I wonder where she actually wants me to go,I might go there one day for the craic but it is not a good beginning to a relationship. Also a small one . I am used to the digital speed indicator in the merc ( dead handy for the cops) but I have to rely on the speedo and as we have a lower speed limit here of 50 kph and there is no 50 on the speedo it is possible that a contrary cop might just catch me out by a couple of kph on a bad day. However all said and done she is nice and as others have said goes like a 100 metre runner once 2000 rpm are reached. Another good thing about the diesel over here is that even though it is cheaper than petrol. If you are vat registered you can also claim the vat back (21%). Why this is I do not know (politicians) but I am not complaining any more. Also I love the manual, no problems with the gearbox. Stuff autos they should only be allowed on bumper cars.

Just a couple of comments on the seat problem gents 1. There is no way the seats cost 5k each as this would mean that the seats alone for the car would cost 20k+ Is this was the case the rest of the car would have to be made of cardboard...... rattles/cardboard ? this needs further investigation. :D 2. I agree with Crispy that the dealer should be allowed to fix the problem but only if he accepts that the final solution is as good as if there was no problem from the beginning ie no squeaks and no colour disparity. Otherwise no deal. 3. There is no way however that I would allow the dealer multiple attempts to fix the problem. Let him take his best shot and if that doesn't work get a new one.

Sorry for being negative but when I read these threads I seriously start to wonder if I have wasted €5400 on the MM package because all you guys seem to know a lot about computers, media systems bit rates etc. Wheras I am doing well to send an email, know sweet F/A about media systems, rewritable CDs etc and I wouldn't have a clue how to go about checking how many kbps a CD I had was written at. This is all gobbledy-gook to me .Is all this stuff explained in the manual ?

But I am a boring old fart who plays a lot of golf! Incidently has anyone tried to get their golf gear into the miniscule boot and how did it go?

I have just returned from a visit to the US forums and there are a good few guys complaining about ticking noises in the engines of the IS 250 AND 350. If this is the case and as one guy said " it sounds like a diesel" you might as well buy a diesel in the first place. Or this may just pertain to Lexus cars made in America.

B)--> QUOTE(Carlos B @ Apr 4 2006, 08:21 PM) ← Same story with me. Standard setup has good sound quality, plenty of low end oommpph to make your rear view mirror vibrate when turned up nice and loud ! Stays distortion free too. I couldn't justify the c£3000 for the upgrade, although rear parking assistance would have been nice. Don't see the point of playing DVD's when stationary...have a TV in the house for that. I ordered the ICE pack which is €4,000 over here because the kids broke my heart for it. However knowing that I am going to spend 90% of the time in the car on my own I waited for an moment when the wifes mind was elsewhere and switched to the MM. However as someone who knows very little about computers and even less about burning, Media players IPODS, Zen's et al I am now terrified that I will find very little in common with this piece of machinery. What's a bluetooth telephone?

I was this close to ordering a manual I'll see what they say......if its true, fantastic! Each to his own but I cannot understand the attraction for automatics. As I have mentioned previously I am currently driving a Merc auto. This is my first auto and definitely my last as the only plus point I see is that I don't have to change gear. The minus points being 1. lower mileage per gal ( except Lexus of course??) 2. The car continually changing gears when you are not expecting it . Especially when just tootling around. 3. Trying for a quick take off so you put down the foot and the auto takes half a second (0.3) to recognise what you have just done and the gap aint there any more. 4. Not being able to gun the engine before taking off quickly. Especially when stopped in traffic. 5 I miss the pure pleasure of DRIVING a car.

I'll second that :D Have fun washing it, they are lovely ( black cars) when clean but :tsktsk: to keep clean.

Thats a strange comment to make!

Well ware Nicnac (in advance)..... the more new ones sold the better, lots more choice of used ones in years to come...... without the high price :) €60,680!!!.... thats a fair mark up, i thought they were supposed to start @ €44,000 over here.... and i thought Mercs were bad for the options... :duh: €54225 for the petrol executive a/t plus € 1050 for about 5L metallic paint unless you want black plus€ 5435 for multimedia system is probably around about the cost for top of range job. "Basic" petrol is € 45850 in one non metallic colour, black. (BIG CHOICE HUH)

If it is this easy, why don't Lexus make the unit so that this is a normal way to use the unit. Does it knock off the sat nav or something. Or is it illegal or something to have a working DVD player on while the car is moving?

I always think front fogs should be saved for FOG. It is most annoying to drive on regular roads when cars coming towards you have dims & front fogs on. Amen to that especially on micras. Then again you have to pity them with their fogs and overloud sterios taking the place of what they wish were large appendages.

Didn't know that JC slated the Lexus but then again he loves Aston Martin and ROVER, in fact anything with a union jack sticking out of it. However , if he hates Lexus so much maybe someone should alert Top Gear to the diesel problem and maybe they can shame Lexus into giving them answers that they wont give us. Or better again , maybe they (Lexus) will give us answers in order to head TG off at the pass.

I wonder if any of our Irish members have discussed the mileage situation with their dealers? I rang mine this morning on the pretext of finding out when my car will be in (end of april/early may- 13 weeks from order). In the course of conversation I asked if he had heard about the problem that diesel owners were having with getting the advertised mileage. He completely poo-poo'd the idea saying that he had heard nothing and that the car will of course take about 5000 miles/kilometers (I forgot to ask which) to loosen up. But that the only experience he had with one in the wild so to speak. Was that a friend of his bought one in January and is getting 500 miles/800 kms per tank. This begs the questions 1. Is this good ? how big is the tank? 2. Is he feeding me a load of horse manure, and if so why. 3. If they have genuinly not had any feedback why have Lexus not been in contact with them 4. If there is not a problem in Lexus IS 220s in Ireland what makes them so different to the ones going to the UK. 5 . Why is thw word G.O.D. deleted when it is posted, it is not a swearword. :)

Well to wear Jamboo, Looking at your colour combo got me to thinking that A. we seem to have different names for the colours over here ,for instance, your colour is on the Lexus.ie website as Morrello Red .Wonder why this is? B. More importantly I have just realised that the sales rep never offered me a choice of interior colours. I'm getting what they are calling over here Hakonen silver (cos my merc is black and I'm browned off washing it) maybe there's only one choice of interior colour with it. It had better be black.

Going back to nicnac's point before we all started fighting amongst ourselves. I think that he is correct and that the problem is lack of any reaction from Lexus UK/IRL to the comments made on this website. They have to be monitoring it or they are complete fools as this is the cheapest and easiest way for them to get a handle on Lexus customers thinking. Lets be fair they are no fools. Therefore they have to realise that their silence condemns them. What are we supposed to think if they don't even acknowledge our concerns. To be fair all a dealer can do is try to put right a problem that arises from someone elses mistake but the manufacturer should be listening. If as someone suggested we are supposed to test drive them as the owners of the first ones are we not entitled to get them cheaper or can we expect a price increase when the niggles are sorted out. On a lighter note I think the discussion,the investigation and the craic with other prospective owners is the best bit about buying a car as in my experience (Fiat 128,Fiat 124sport, Talbot Horizon, Mazda 323,Opel Kadett, Opel Ascona,1.6 and 2.0l, Peupeot 405, Mitsu Lancer GTI, 3 Honda Accords , Merc C Class, all from new except the first) non of them are near as good as we expect them to be. Hopefully the Lexus will prove me wrong. This buying a car always reminds me of when my old dad *** rest him got a new Lada years ago and brought my wife out to see it. He proudly opened the boot and showed her the full set of spanners that came free of charge. "They must be expecting you to need them was her reply" out of the mouths of babes etc

Looking at the amount of rubber and complexity of the seal geometry around the doors and windows I'm surprised I am getting the wind noise. I know the designers have to compromise between the amount of force necessary to close the door and obtaining a seal. So far the Dealership has not suggested or apparently considered adjusting the door lock but I notice after washing the car that water seems to get by the primary seal (the door rubber design looks to have a primary and secondary). The panel lines wouldn't suffer from a small adjustment either, so I don't know why they changed out all the door and window seals as a first option. :o Wow!!! This is all becoming too much. Trying not to be negative but Lets see... Poor return on mileage, Sticky gear shift Weirdly ratio'd gearbox Rattles all over the place Problems avoiding dints and scrapes Daily changing delivery times Poor feedback from dealers. etc,etc,etc Can someone remind me again why I am waiting four months for one of these Maybe thats why they use the slogan THE BEST BUILT CARS IN THE WORLD - TOYOTA (not Lexus )

Thanks for that, you don't happen to have one for the 220d in your other pocket do you? Interesting that he mentions the increased tyre size as a possible cause of twitchiness. I am currently driving a C Class with a sports pack which has 245s on the back and 225s on the front and if I try to take her away quickly after a bend, she tries to put me in the nearest ditch. When I mentioned this problem to non sports pack C Class drivers they said they had not noticed. So it will be interesting to hear from IS Sports drivers to see if they are all getting the same feeling. If this is the cause it will be interesting to see what Lexus do about it because it is disconcerting to put it mildly. Mercedes dealer told me nicely to bog off. :)

That seems quite unacceptable to have taken your p/ex and now not be able to give you the new one till June, I'd kick up a bit of a fuss and they may lend you a car to use in the mean time....... Just got call from dealer today. I'll be getting a brand new GS300 to drive until I get my car whenever that arrives!! Should get the GS 22nd March. Not bad result!!! Only prob now is that after i've driven the GS for few months, prob want that instead of the IS!!! :D Delighted for you about the GS, however, I cannot understand anyone handing over their car on the promise of a car dealer. It is not your fault that it is taking them 3/4 months to get your car to you. I did my deal in January ,I have the price minus the trade in on a receipt and I dont care how long it takes them to get the car for me .They are still only getting the same money for it. In fact I am quite pleased as it will mean that I have more of the balance of the dog I am driving now paid off, and the wife will think I am great when she sees the repayments on the new jalopy being considerably less than the old one.