Paradroid

Some makes of tyre can wear in a strange way, so that instead of staying round the tread ends up stepped, which can cause funny noises. Try running your hands both ways round the wheels and check if they're smooth, not stepped.

I've seen this model on Wikipedia. On that Lexus page it might look ok with heavily stylised publicity pictures, but look at it in the cold light of day: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_ES One ugly car - especially the 4th generation! In fact the styling of the later models is much worse than the earlier ones IMO. I don't think a Lexus should be FWD either, especially not with a 3.5 litre engine in it.

Have a look here for a few ideas: http://www.thewheelspecialist.co.uk/File/wheel-finishes.php Personally I don't think black or white would look right on a silver car. I like the black chrome finish, makes the wheels look a bit like normal silver but meaner :)

A recomendation I picked up off here is the Sonus products. You can get a pack with a bottle of cleaner, bottle of conditioner and a special two sided sponge for applying it. I was really pleased with the outcome because it took the shine off the seats and restored the matt finish that good leather is supposed to have in a classy car like the Lexus :)

I've been wanting some of these, now I want them even more after reading your post :)

I know what you mean. The steering is a little bit over-assisted. I'd also prefer it to be geared a bit higher too so I don't have to turn as much for conners. Since getting the IS200 I've found myself feeding the wheel through my hands a lot, whereas in most cars I just keep my hands fixed in the same place for most corners. I don't think there's much you can do about it. One thing I've found about front wheel drive cars is that the steering can feel weighty because the suspension is set up to try and stop torque steer - which is a bit of a cheat. That's not a problem on the IS200!

That's funny I was talking about this the other day, I remember it well!

I see thanks :)

Aw I really want one of these for mine! Where did you get it from Lillis? Was it expensive?

Well prices are rock bottom at the moment because of the credit crunch and high fuel and road tax. It might have been handed back on a credit agreement, the age seems about right. I'd check it over carefully though, and I wouldn't buy without going to see it. At that price you can't risk it :)

That is a good point actually, the old tyres seemed to be holding pressure fine. Wonder what the tyre place did wrong then! I will go somewhere else to get my tyres changed over to - my new alloys that arrived yesterday!!!

I always liked the Puma, when it was released I thought it was amazing, but was kind-of glad I didn't get one as it quickly became more of a girls car :)

I've recently had four new tyres fitted to my car (Vredestein Ultrac), but I've noticed each tyre is losing about 2psi a week in pressure. I'm thinking it's either the alloys that are porous or the the valves. My mate with a different make of car has had the same tyres fitted at the same place, so I will check with him to see whether he's having the same thing. What I wanted to ask is - can Lexus alloys go porous? The car is 4 yrs old but the alloys seem in good nick overall.

I noticed this too on my car, it was old wax. I used the Step 1 Paint Cleaner bottle from the 3-stage Meguiars treatment, and that did the trick

If your clutch judder is slight it might just be normal, I wouldn't have thought you'd need to replace your clutch? You will need a cambelt on the 60k/6yr service but I've heard of Lexus dealers doing it as cheap as £180. The new IS250 is nice, I think the road tax is in fact cheaper than the IS200 because the emissions are below 225g/km, putting it into the lower tax band. But I don't know if I'd buy a new one in the current climate, could lose a lot of money. Personally, I'd keep what you've got until things settle down a bit.

That is a good post!!! Shame those offers are not at dealers anywhere near me, but it's good ammo if I do decide to get my car serviced at a Lexus dealer when the time comes :)

My IS200 has a few marks on the door cars inside. They're not bad but I'm fussy and am wondering if I can get a better set. What would I expect to pay? Also wondering the same about the handbrake and gearshift boots. I bought replacements off eBay but the leather is really cheap quality and I'm not happy with them. I checked these at the Lexus dealers but they wanted £180 for new originals :o

Right so he paid £4800 plus an old Saab for an 05 IS200 with 95k on the clock. Still a good deal though I'd say :)

Makes sense. Even in this s****y market I don't think a 54/05 IS200 SE or Sport can be had for much less than 8k

On Autotrader? I can't find anything like that. When I bought my 54 Sport in July it was the cheapest on there at £7995. But I agree it's very hard to sell large engined cars at the moment so prices are dropping low. Thing is though - how much will they recover if the Govt do back down on this retrospective tax nonsense, or they get booted out of office at the next election. I can't see car prices going back up that much!

It is worse when cold as Mat says When I leave the house in the morning it's a pain to get second gear the first time. After that it improves, and when the car is fully warmed up getting second is mostly ok. I almost always get a clonk though going into second even when it goes in gear smoothly. Seems like the clonk noise travels down the propshaft as it sounds towards the back of the car. I read years ago that a lot of six speed boxes have problems like this because things are packed closer together and the oil can't get round as well. I had a Hyundai Coupe a few years ago with a six speed box and that didn't like going into second when it was cold.

Excellent thanks to you both :) Will report back what it was when I get round to it!

What kind of coke :o I will let you know what they find. Hopefully it's just the pads and I can get on with getting the geometry done

Has no-one removed the plastic around the steering column before then? Just wondering if I have to watch out for anything, like security or the airbag?

Thanks - I've got an MoT on Saturday so I'll ask them to check both the pads and the ball joints but it is sounding like the pads