Mark P

Thanks. Also looked at the links mentioned on car care and in particular black paint with "swirls". Now seriously considering asking the dealer to change the spec of my car to silver, hopefully that won't affect the lead time toooooooooo much, next stumbling block is to get the wife to agree to spend more money

Thanks Are there any Astral Black owners who have managed to keep their car in a scatch free state, or is this something that I should start to get my head around now as being enevitable.

Thanks, I have 8 weeks to go and that really is killing me. I also looked at the 220d, loved the torque and if it came with an auto box there would have been no question that I would have gone for that one. Hope all goes well in 8 days time.

Hi Just ordered my new IS250 SE-L Auto in Astral Black…….yeah However, just saw an 06 plate in a car park today and the paint work was in a dreadful state, lots of small scratches as though someone had been polishing it with a piece of sandpaper . This has now got me worried. Is this what mine will look like in 6 months or is there a way of treating it to help prolong the life. It may sound like a dumb question but I have always had light coloured metallic’s that hid that kind of thing. Does anyone have any tips or tricks on what polish to use, can you use petrol station car washes etc. Thanks in advance

Hi Well I have just ordered my first ever Lexus after a number of years (most recent) with Mercedes (C Class), BMW (3 Series), Alfa Romeo (156) and Mazda (MX5). Hopefully I will be the proud owner of an Astral Black IS 250 SE-L the first week of September :D Like most “newbie’s” I have read all the reports on What Car, Auto Express etc and I’m amazed how they have got it so wrong. I currently own a Mercedes C180 so I know what that is like and have test driven the BMW 320d SE Auto on a number of occasions. The upshot is, the BMW is better on the twisty stuff and the Mercedes (for me) is a known rock solid performer, after nearly 3 years and 60K miles it is still squeak free. But the Lexus IS has just blown me away. It makes the interior of the both the BMW and C Class look very dull and functional, the seats on the Lexus are exceptionally comfy, the car is stylish and sporty, the Auto box really is silky smooth, and the toys………. The only down side is the fuel economy, but I can live with that as the car has so many other things to offer. One comment that I initially thought was correct was the tyre noise on the 250. When test driving it with my wife we were amazed at how silent the car was apart from the noise of the tyres, this had us a tad worried. It was only when we both got back into the Merc that we realised that you could not hear the tyres in the C Class because the engine and gear box were drowning them out. The IS really is quiet compared. The final 3 things that made me definitely go for this car were; 1) I have been up and down the M1 on business during the last 2 weeks and have seen hundreds of BMW’s, Merc’s and Audis but only a handful of IS250’s 2) The after sales reputation that Lexus has, believe me even though I have seen a few bad reports on this site, you want to try Mercedes and BMW, you will then understand poor service 3) Finally this site and the owners club. It really is a great place for help and advice and makes the ownership of a quality car like the IS250 even more special. The enthusiasm of the owners can’t be matched by the competition. Hopefully I have not bored everyone with my first topic but I am, for the first time in years, very excited about getting a new car. Cheers from the new boy on the block.