Rickenbacker

I've had my IS 200 for about 3 weeks and this same thing caught my wife out too. The other interesting rinky-dink is that if you haven't opened the boot for a while, a vacuum is created and although the boot unlocks, it doesn't open. Go figure!!

Nice one! Cheers!

Hello Everybody Peeps! :P I got a quote from Chips Away. £170+VAT. Better than the £601 I was quoted by an accident repair centre next door to where I work! I'll let y'all know how it turns out when we get the readies together... Ciao for now.

Hmm... that's very interesting vn55. Please tell me more...

So much love from the forum!

Thanx Guys! It means a lot... Cool cat photo!! :P

and the missus reverses out of a space and scrapes the paint off the front bumper! She was in tears when she got home and I feel like crying myself. My Platinum Ice beauty. Scratched!! Aaaaaaaarghhh!

Congratulations!!

Hi jxmac. I bought myu IS200 SE last week and my nearest Lexus centre is Bromley too. What are they like to deal with? Reading this forum thoroughly, it appears that they are not highly thought of. The previous owner of my car lived in Woodford and got all his work done by Lexus Woodford who score very highly here...

Day 4 and I can't stop smiling!!

Hi, I joined as a Gold member and posted this in the Gold Forum yesterday. It's a long one! I have just joined following my purchase of an IS200 SE Automatic. 'She who must be obeyed' insisted on an automatic. I have owned a Mercedes 300CE since 2000 and since August last year, I have been obliged to make my daily 28 mile commute in it. Not the wisest choice of vehicle for such a function. It has been costing me approximately £30 a week in petrol, not to mention the insurance cost! Bearing in mind that about 90% of that commute is an 'A' road and against the rush hour flow, I have been hurting in the wallet. So how did I decide on a Lexus? Well I gave in to Lexus' incessant mailings urging me to test drive the new IS220d SEL and three weeks ago I found out what I've been missing. I turned up at Lexus in Bromley with my wife and I was knocked out by the level of spec. I couldn't possibly afford a new one, but I liked the marque and started looking at the IS200 range. Before long, I explained to my wife that I couldn't continue to haemorrhage money commuting in the Benz and that it was time to put this right. My wife had two stipulations: it had to be Platinum Ice and it had to be automatic. So the search began. My rules were that it had to be an SE or SE Navigator. I started with Auto Trader and then paid for a Parker's Guide to the car. Best two quid I've spent in a while and typed 'Lexus Owners Club' into Google. Another stroke of genius! I found a privately owned example in Bromley and went to take a look. I had done my homework and the vendor confessed that I had actually 'educated' him about Lexus!! His car was a 2001 model with 85k on the clock. he had recently had th 80k service. However... both sides of his front bumper were badly scuffed and his alloys were shocking. Pitted and corroded. U-G-L-Y! He wanted approximately £7,200. Hmmm... dunno about that, I thought. The alloys would have cost me upwards of £250 plus to sort out, even without tackling the bumper issue. Anyway, long story short, I did an AA Datacheck on the vehicle and found that the vendor still had finance on it and was insisting that I pay him cash. Suffice to say, any further conversation with him ended there and then. Found another one. 2002 in Barnet. Looked very nice. Being sold by a 'sole' trader. He said 69k on the clock, AA Datacheck said, 'try 103k recorded in 2003'!! Oh look! A 2001 Navigator in North London! Looks nice. Brief 'phone conversation with yet another 'sole' trader. Before wasting a journey, I turned to my friends at the AA. The car had been written off in January 2003. All of this happened last Friday. I had spent £105 and still had no car Then I found... THE ONE! Just off the North Circular; a 1999 model regularly serviced at Lexus Woodford. It was also purchased pre-owned from Lexus Woodford. Full Lexus service history; ownership details; MOTs; bills. I rang the vendor. Met him at 7.30 that evening in the rain and dark. He took me for a drive, we agreed a price and I paid him. In cash. I didn't even bother with an AA Datacheck. As the chap handed me the keys, I swear he was almost in tears. Why was he selling? Two weeks after he bought the car, his missus announced that she was, 'with child'. He held out as long as he could, but eventually, he had to let go. I know how he felt. I had to sell my spotless Triumph Stag when I got married. Observations about the car: My wife and daughters (17 and 13) love it! The spec is spectacular! I love all the gadgets, especially the folding mirrors and the automatic headlights feature that automatically turn the lights on if its dark outside. The stereo (fingers crossed) is blinding. After wallowing in the Benz all this time, it was a nice surprise to not have to use a steering wheel the size of a lorry's and to feel like I am driving on rails. I found the throttle ultra sensitive and found I was throwing everyone back in their seats every time I pulled away I find the IS a little 'gutless' between say 15mph and 30mph, but after that, it kicks *****! To over come the problem I sometimes pull away in 3 and then slide it to D. No problemo. I'm still getting used to the intrusion of the exhaust 'burble', but it's all good So, apologies for the long post, but I was just so excited about my IS, I just had to share. Just gotta find a good home for the Benz now. Btw, I am saving approximately £20 a month on insurance and I am certain I will save a hell of a lot on fuel too. I am not a boy racer Do Gold members get good insurance deals? Thanks for reading. Great website!! Ciao for now. I can't stop opening the curtains and peering at it!!