mr frosty

I also came from the Alfa camp to Lex. I had nearly 4 years of trouble free motoring from my 156 Selespeed. Sure i had to change the wearing bits, cambelt, breaks, tyres and exhaust etc but nothing major. The secret with Alfa's like most proper sports cars is they need looking after and a bit of tlc, for example regular servicing and oil changes and top-ups - i didn't run the oil in my alfa beyond 5000 miles. Cambelt change every 40,000. The alfa wiped the floor in terms of performance and handling but if i'm really honest i never felt 100% relaxed while driving it. There was always a niggling concern at the back of my mind something would break in the engine, especially after reading the horror stories on the alfa forums. With my Lex, i can sit back, relax and feel the comfort and enjoy the toys, knowing it will get me from A-B and home again. My neigbour actually bought a 156 just b4 me and blew it up on the way home from the showroom! so i guess i got a bit lucky with mine. In my experience you can't really compare the 2 cars as they are totally different. The alfa has performance, handling and style were as the Lex has reliability, luxury and class. Just my thought's

Agree with Hando, the new scooby looks pants. The new Civic looks very cool, quite similar to the Evo VII from the front. Shame it's not available over here..........yet. :winky:

You could always paint your horns red!

Does anyone know what kind of length you'll need to be able to fit over the existing pipe properly and then come out so as to be flush with a TTE rear skirt? 150mm makes it flush with the TTE skirt

These have now been discontinued by Lexus as per Chris S. I have just bought one that fits very nicely onto the SE tail piece, £25 delivered to your door. There are plenty available. PM for details if you're interested. :winky:

Sweet lookin Lex sir, what's your first big mod? S/C or styling kit? :P

K&N drop in filter from Fastfilters.co.uk £31.80 plus delivery - bargain! :D

I have the maxi cosi without the Isofix system, fits perfectly. Best car seat on the market IMO. Dont forget to buy a gripper mat to protect those seats though! Just a few quid from Halfords. :winky:

Had mine done professionally about 5 months ago, well worth every penny. Got 20% on the rears and 35% on the fronts. Borderline legal but looks the dogs danglies.............. No effect on my insurance having declaired. I think it's a deterrent to theives who want to steal belongings but not theives who are looking to steal the Lex. Good for keeping the sun light off my baby son in his car seat in the back too! Just my thoughts........... ;)

To be safe - wash with just water. Even avoid the shampoos. Looks great but, yeah, you really need to drop it now. What % tint did you go for? (oh, and your sig says "LE"? I thought they only came in one colour? Or am I wrong?) I agree it does need to be dropped, 30-40mm i reckon. But my dilema is (as i've mentioned) i don't want to sacrifice the smooth ride the SE has. I have test driven a couple of sport models and compared to the SE they seemed quite stiff and not as refined. I went for 20% on the rear windows and 35% on the front, hopefully wont get too much attention from the feds as i think there a bit borderline legal. :o Not heard that the LE only came in 1 colour, but mine is an late SE with full leather, HID's, spoked alloys and a couple of other subtle changes. So i think it's an LE (but i may be wrong?)

Thanks for the comments.............worth every quid spent. It seems to give the car an agressive look but very subtle - not too 'boy racer' :D Regarding the 6 week wait for paint to cure? What does this relate too? Applying polish/wax? Cheers.

Just got my Lex back from the bodyshop were it's had a full styling kit sprayed and fitted. The kit consisted of - TRD front lip TRD side skirts TTE rear lip TTE lip spoiler Sport grill I'm really chuffed with the way it looks now, so much so i just had to share it with you all. Also what do think of the tints? Didn't want the gangsta look too much....... Now i've got the look i want, next mods are gunna be more performance related - K&N air filter, S/S zorst Also would like to get it lowered but love the soft ride of the SE, so much more refined than the harder sport. Any suggestions? Before....... After......

Just bought the same kit for mine from a Lexus dealer 'up north, great deal @ £460 delivered. Consisted of TRD front lip, TRD side skirts, TTE rear lip and boot lip spoiler. All as per pics except for the spoiler. Just getting it sprayed up now, will post pics when finished.

Hi and welcome............black is best - just a bugger to keep lookin good! ;)

Browsing fleebay and came across this beast from our friends over the pond........ :o Modded IS

Back to topic...................... I've used them too, for tyres. No probs at all, fast delivery and the cheapest for Avon tyres on the net. All in all, well chuffed with the purchase and Camskill :D

I agree with you 100% DeanoC, Zymol products wipe the floor with all other manufacturers of wax and detailing products i've used including Meguiars. I've just ordered a starter kit (smaller than the one in the photo) with the Japon wax from the US. Cost me $100 which is just over £50, less than half price to UK prices. Just needed a mate in the US to send it too me. In the past I've used Ital wax on my previous car (Alfa) with stunning results and durability. If you're prepared to put in some elbow grease and time in preparation it has to be well worth the effort. Your car cleaning collection looks very similar to mine, i have a whole kitchen cupboard dedicated to 'car cleaning' products. Nice looking cars by the way................ :)

Would silver be open to UK residents also? :winky: I have no desire to use the dealer discounts as I prefer to use good independants. However i would probably want to post in 'buy and sell' forum. :)

If you mean the multispoke 2004> alloys they are just as bad. Got mine replaced on warranty after 2 years. All 5 corroded and replaced. Had the new ones on about 4 months with no signs of any corrosion. Not that there should be........

Tony, what is the correct answer to this final question?

Incorrect!!! I have an IS200 Ltd edition with full leather, the ltd edition was manufactured after 2003 i believe.

I have to agree with Moffat, I've just had a quote from Rob at A-Plan after recieving my renewal at a cost of £589. Rob matched the level of cover including legal expenses, protected no claims and courtesy car etc at a very reasonable £318 :D which also included mods I plan to fit in the near future. Top marks to Rob at A-Plan, no other company I have tried where able to come anywhere near this quote. Well worth a try if your renewal is coming up.

I have one of these in quite reasonable condition, PM me if interested........

I spoke to Mark at Lexus Teeside last week, he's selling the full kit - TRD front lip, skirts and TTE rear lip for £450 incl delivery. I was really tempted but thought it was a little pricey. Mark is holiday at the moment for 2 weeks. If Mr Shipley can beat this price, it will be a good deal......... ;)

ello matey, it was very much a saga, but i did get my coin back in the end. After 4 months of threatening emails and a 101 excuses, me and my neighbour where planning a trip to Birmingham to pay him a visit, but the cheque fell through the door a couple of weeks ago. He thought he gave me the slip when he changed ebay id twice but i managed to keep track of him and kept the abuse flying. :tsktsk: Have definately learnt a lesson from this though, don't rely on Paypal to cover you in the event of being ripped off and it's propably best to buy OEM parts from reputable people. Was thinking of giving Lexus Teeside a call, i've heard they have offers on styling kits at the mo...... All the best.......... :D