marshy

How many services in that time?

They apply to all vehicles registered from 1st March 2001.

2009-10 £185 2010-11 £200

If you have an IS200 registered after 1st March 2001 then from 2009-10 VED will be £415 and 2010-11 VED will be £430. The figures for IS300 will be £440 and £455 respectively. Data from http://www.smmtco2.co.uk/co2search2.asp and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/629/629/7293011.stm and http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/2/5/bud08_chaptera.pdf

Here are some general tips for storing any car from a motoring journalist. Have the oil and filter changed. Make sure the coolant corrosion inhibitors have not degraded (they usually have after 3 - 4 years, so have the coolant changed). If the car has ABS, make sure the brake fluid has been changed within the past two years or the ABS pump could suffer internal corrosion from moisture absorbed by the fluid. Clean and polish the car. Take it for a reasonable length dry run to thorougly heat through all systems and evaporate off any condensation. Overpressure the tyres to 40+psi help prevent them flatspotting, then put it in the garage still hot from the run. Connect up to a trickle charger which monitors the battery and keeps it to a constant 13.5 volts without damaging the electronics. Leave one window open a crack to keep the interior ventilated, but not open enough to allow mice to get in. Cover with a cotton sheet. Trickle chargers from www.international-tool.co.uk; www.hamiltonclassic.co.uk; www.ctek.com www.toolconnection.co.uk; www.airflow-uk.com, www.carparts-direct.co.uk Car storage specialists www.carbank.co.uk; www.classicarstorage.co.uk; www.classic-reserve.co.uk; www.northerncarstorage.co.uk; www.premiervehiclestorage.co.uk

It is true. Small price to pay in the grand scheme of things really. I just taxed, insured, MOTed and serviced mi IS300 and didn't get much change from £1200. I certainly didn't purchase a Lexus thinking it would be cheap to run!

Both my IS suffered with this. Both times the dealer replaced the unit without any hassle.

(269) 31 - 35mm Bright Xenon White Dome Festoon Superior Version is what I use. There is a picture in my garage.

Instructions are in the owners manual so Lexus don't have an issue with owners performing that level of maintenance. I always ask for the batteries to be changed on all of my keys each year when I get the vehicle serviced. About £5 for 3 batteries and no labour, much less hassle.

What is the eBay number?

SE are just plain old black all over.

Does your Sport have a two tone black/silver steering wheel?

You need at least one set of keys to be able to program up spares.

Hiya. I used to get between 28-35 for my IS200SE. That was a mixture of town and motorway driving. I always ran the A/C too. When I was looking for my first Lexus I too was undecided about whether to get a Sport or SE. I didn't feel the extra insurance premium was worth it for shiney pedals, a two tone streering wheel and rear tints. ;)

You can drive more ecomonically manually rather than using cruise. ← Doesn't that mean that you become one of those annoying road users who cannot keep to a constant speed and end up slowing to 40mph at the slightest gradient? :winky:

I run my IS300 on Optimax and Ive never managed to get more than 350 miles out of a tankful..... ← I use the cruise control a lot!

The IS300 is certainly a more refined car. The gear ratio provides much lower rpm when cruising, 80mph is below 3000rpm. The trouble I found with the IS200 is that below 4500rpm you might as well be driving a 1.6l. You really have to rev that 2l engine to make it perform. Yes I know it's a precision Japanese unit and red lining in every gear is not going to cause harm, but it's the scream that I just couldn't get used to. The poor thing always sounded as if I was whipping it to within an inch of it's life. The IS300 is definitely quicker but in a much more subtle way. Maybe it's the reduced noise but I have glanced at the speedo and been truly shocked sometimes as the attained velocity. It's not just down to the engine it’s the complete package. The full leather seats, the dimming rear mirror, the HID headlamps, stainless trim on exhaust, centre arm rest, rear tints etc etc. All items I didn’t have on my IS200SE but just make the driving experience more pleasurable. The IS300 is also rarer. Have a shufty for an IS300 in Autotrader. I checked yesterday and every single one is from a dealership. I just checked on lexus.co.uk and they only have 7 IS300 with satnav compared to 71 IS200s.

I don't like letting the fuel tank get below about 1/8 so to brim it costs me around £50. (78.9p for 95 RON).

Is it the same 70l tank?

I thought I'd share my experience of two weeks behind the wheel of an IS300 after two years of driving an IS200SE. The autobox is very smooth, the 5 speed unit and 3 litre engine is a really nice combination. Is the autobox a Lexus/Toyota part or is it bought in? The manual override is also great for getting the car in the right gear before overtaking, I find the kick down a little slow sometimes especially when it jumps two gears in quick succession. I really miss the wide-angle rear-view mirror. There was virtually no blind spots on the IS200. I suppose the auto dimming rear mirror on the IS300 goes some way to make up for it. It does work very well and night driving is much easier on the eyes. If I am not mistaken the wing mirrors dim too, very nice, absolutely great when you get someone with badly adjusted lights behind you. The fuel consumption is terrible around town. It really is much more thirsty than the IS200. As soon as you get above 50mph and turn cruise on there is very little difference. I am getting about 420 miles per tank where as I used to get 450. It feels much more stable on the road too, does that extra 1 litre make much of a difference to the weight of the vehicle? Is the IS300 suspension the same as an IS200? I suppose the tyres might make a difference, I am on Dunlops currently and my IS200 was on Yokos. The HIDs are very bright and give a lovely white light. On full beam it really does look like daylight outside, night time driving is a joy again. The full leather seats are a little colder on the botty than the half leather ones of the IS200 but I can live with that... That’s about it so far. I am very impressed and glad I made the change, I would recommend the IS300 to anyone else who thinks the stock IS200 is underpowered. :)

It is the Rain-X. I have just lived with the smears although they tend to vanish after the screen had warmed up a bit.

She is fast enough for me for the time being. I am shocked the times I peer down at the speedo and discover my speed is in three digits.