The Transporter

Has the system been pressure tested? Unless the condenser has an extremely large leak, then the ac would run for a little while.. At least long enough for you to see that there is not an issue elsewhere.. Dealer price for the part is around £238

Or the simple way is to just go off the engine size

The best things in life are free But you can give them to the birds and bees I want money (That's what I want) That's what I want (That's what I want) That's what I want (That's what I want) That's what I want (That's what I want) You love gives me such a thrill But your love won't pay my bills I want money (That's what I want) That's what I want (That's what I want) That's what I want (That's what I want) That's what I want (That's what I want) Money don't get everything it's true But what it don't get I can't use I want money (That's what I want) That's what I want (That's what I want) That's what I want (That's what I want) That's what I want (That's what I want) I want money I want lots of money In fact I want so much money Give me your money Just give me money Music by the Flying Lizards... Lyrics by Gordon Brown

The fat **** can do whatever he likes.. After all no one elected him... Hmmm didn't our army go somewhere to remove an unelected dictator recently?....Hmmm I aint seen him on telly recently, Oh yes I remember, that guy was hanged until he be dead..... NOW THAT gives me an idea

The CO2 issue is indeed a red herring... But it is a very lucrative one for those on the global climate change gravy train. And well worth the effort to perpetuate.. Lots of people are getting very rich from these lies.. and at the same time the likes of you and I are being kept in our places.. When life is so expensive most working families are too busy working to pay the mortgage and credit card bills to start demonstrating... Even students have become too focused on getting a foot on the ladder and getting a good credit rating to protest... Now then do as they tell you and cough up......

The problem is the British haven't got the spine to stand up for themselves.. They really are a bunch of sheep.. They do as they are told, stand in line and grumble about the weather but when it comes to standing up for themselves collectively then they really are a joke. Even when they do demonstrate, the government divide them and conquer by giving a few concessions to some, they then feel that they have a victory and go home leaving others out in the cold. The British point and laugh and jeer at the French but the French know how to get what they want. The average Brit is only interested in what he can get for himself and runs away from the problem rather that standing up for for his countrymen against the problem. I agree with Wozza but nothing will be done and all folk will do is grumble

Stick with the GB plate, no surround... The George cross idea does puzzle me, showing English pride on a Japanese car, I just don't get it.. Had a fella round here who decorated his Mercedes with a George cross and three lions for the World cup.. Clearly I missed something

The interior of the IS is a bit like Marmite.. You either love it or loathe it.. Personally I love it.. The Skoda is a cracking car but plenty of niggles with all VAG cars.. I never got why soft touch materials were perceived as quality... No squeeks or rattles on my IS B)

I would never let a chain get their hands on either my car or my van, both go to a good independent garage that I know will do a good job and be honest in their appraisal of any work that needs doing... A small garage relies on its reputation.. A chain gets what it can and then changes name... If price is your only concern then go for the chain but the question should be do you trust them to do the job as well as your independent. You can have a good job or a cheap job but never a good cheap job.

Hmmmm... A few years ago a lot of hauliers registered their trucks in other countries, I wonder if the car could be permanently exported, foreign plates, foreign insurance....NO tax Alternatively swipe the plates off a Polish car.....

There are times when it is beneficial for the TC NOT to cut the engine power when your wheels spin... Such as when you are trying to slither off wet grass... Your wheels spin but you still have some forward motion

Ha!!! MY Lexus can be just as unreliable as ANY Alfa.... I clearly remember the horror of discovering a spot of corrosion on one of the wheels and the dealer made me drive round in an IS250 whilst they changed the wheels...Oh the shame!

Crumbs, the Mercedes interior looks really poor, not a cabin I'd like to be in for long. Folk seem to think that the IS is dull but I can think of nothing more boring than sitting in a garage waiting room, drinking Nescafe from plastic cups

I think that it is the two litre V6 that makes it rare.. Anyone else got one?

Having read many of the posts on the Alfa site, I thought that with a few exceptions, their view was quite balanced they know the nice bits and nasty bits on their Alfas just as we know the nice and nasty bits of our IS's, but everyone buys the car that suits their needs. I think that their main problem is the issue of "Brand".. To me a car is just a machine be it a Kia Piccanto or a Bugatti Veyron.. You simply buy the car that you like and can afford... 'Fraid I just don't get all this Premium Brand BS.... IT'S A CAR FFS I guess that I'm a marketing mans worst nightmare

In my younger days I used to drive a car transporter, I always hated having to Portbury docks for a load of Alfas because I knew that a fair proportion of them wouldn't start when it came to dropping them off at the dealer, you could see the salesmen dash to hide as I pulled up.. Most Alfas are very pretty cars but just not practical.. I buy my cars to get me from A to B with the minimum of fuss.. On a trip to Bavaria a few years ago I managed to allow the Lex to run flat out for a good 15 mins in between speed restrictions and was interested to note that the max speed equates to the start of the red line.. My only two comments are that the wipers struggle to work evenly at these speeds and boy does she drink :winky:

I felt exactly the same when I had a 250 when my IS200 was in for it's first service.. The 250 is undeniably superior, quieter, more powerful and technically more advanced.. but a little too grown up and corporate for me and it just didn't say "Get in and lets go" to me.. My 200 has lots of flaws.. the gearbox whine, the funky dash that only I like, the pointless cup holders and the ability to make me feel good no matter how lousy I feel... The 200 is a Jap car with both soul and reliability. Yeah The 250 is a little high in the side for me too, makes me feel a little hemmed in

I was delighted to get 400 miles from a tank before I thought it prudent to refill this was based on a trip from Crewe to Southampton and back, all good clear fast road and giving it more right foot than I should. So 450 should be easily done with a little restraint... Town driving seems to be the killer for the IS

Being VAT registered does not guarantee anything but it does suggest that the garage is a business and not just Bill with a bag of spanners from down the road.. Bill would have to be barking mad to reg for VAT if it was just for one or two jobs

LOL It was always company policy to never pull over onto the verges if you needed to stop for a pee.. I don't know what was the bigger hazard, anti tank mines or Croatian drivers :D There was one field where the remains of a Russian built Tank lay but I was never brave enough to go and hunt for a memento.. especially since there were piles of rocks near by denoting a mine field. The trip through Germany, Austria and Slovenia was always something that I looked forward to though..And the Croatian coast road was stunning.. Sadly I only ever did that trip in a Volvo F16, I'd love to do it again in the Lex, furthest I ever got in the Lex was Munich on family business...It was kind of a novelty to be the only one not to be driving a BMW

Hmmm I wonder just how we all managed to drive about when the only front wheel drive cars were made by the British Motor Corporation. Apply your school boy physics and you'll be fine. Far too few drivers bother to defrost their cars and then fail to take the road conditions in to account.. I regularly used to drive down to the Balkans in the Winter... Just such a nice journey though sometimes I used to nip across Swiss when going to Italy.. The Gothart tunnel is so impressive

24K miles on an 05 plate and nothing to report other than new wheels due to corrosion...

Hmm some useful stuff there, but also a lot of BS. The idea of air and water passing from the atmosphere in to a pressurised system is an old wives tale. Similarly if your aircon is on then there is no need to turn the temp to full cold as the refrigerant is circulating anyway. I've never seen a modern ac system rot out from the inside out, always from the outside in, normally from the manufacturer using steel in close proximity to alloy

The aircon system on the IS200 is pretty much out of the steam age using a fixed displacement cyling clutch compressor (Runs at either 0% or 100%) and I love it for that ...Good old solid meat pie air conditioning design. Not so efficient in our temperatures but unbeatable when it is really hot and far simpler to repair. More modern designs us what is called a variable displacement compressor which adjusts itself to the amount of cooling that it needs to do..Great in theory and they can work well in Europe but the compressors are more prone to failure..Ask anyone who has ever owned a VW Sharan. The latest "Clutchless" compressors run at 3% of their total output..Even when switched off but give very accurate temperature control and dehumidification and are efficient at lower outputs but fall down badly when it is really hot. Because the IS is a pretty thirsty car the chances are that very little will be noticed in fuel consumption..so run it and enjoy. The little 1.3 Toyota Tercell that I ran in Dubai some years ago would lose 5kph off its top speed due to the aircon.. but I was nice and cool and that is what mattered to me.

Anything that adds a load to the engine WILL affect the amount of fuel consumed to meet that load..You don't get 'owt for nowt. As has already correctly been stated, leaving electrically powered systems on will make the alternator need to supply more power and since this is driven by the engine has an effect on the amount of fuel that the engine must burn to supply what is required. The Air con compressor compresses refrigerant to high pressures and to do this requires the engine to work just that little bit harder and use more fuel... The warmer the ambient temperature the longer the compressor runs for. The general rule of thumb suggests that an open window uses less fuel than an aircon at speeds up to 40mph, after that the drag of the open window causes the aircon to have the advantage..This is however dependant on many factors and is just a rough guide and quite frankly if I was concerned over a small percentage then I would not be driving an IS200 which is not exactly the most frugal vehicle in the 2000cc bracket. I'll keep my windows shut thanks