marshy

All the lovely extra weight to slow the vehicle down.

>I didn't know the windscreen was heated? I'll be looking for that later! The whole screen isn't heated, it's only the bottom two inches where the wipers sit and up the side by the drivers A pillar. I have been told you turn the elements on my turning the air flow director to windscreen and then the temp and fan to max.

I used to use Antifog on the inside however since changing to a car with aircon the dehumidifier works very well and I have not had any problem with moisture/fog inside the vehicle. I leave my aircon on all the time, enjoy the more comfortable environment and don't worry about the 2 or 3 mpg, it's a small price to pay to be comfortable and safe.

>Leaving the air-con permanently would my monthly fuel bills :( You should leave the a/c on all the time, even if not using it to cool the car. You should also turn the system to full cold for ten minutes once a week – even through the winter if you can – in order to circulate refrigerant which contains lubricants for the system and its seals. Then switch to full heat through the same pipes to thoroughly dry them out. This also blows out any moisture in the ventilation passages where mould and bacteria might be accumulating.

Here are all servicing costings for the is200 to 100.000 miles from Oxford. ( menu pricing ) all prices include vat 10,000 mile service - 152.44 20,000 mile service - 258.65 30,000 mile service - 178.10 40,000 mile service - 347.34 50,000 mile service - 152.46 60,000 mile service - 525.63 70,000 mile service - 152.46 80,000 mile service - 296.48 90,000 mile service - 178.08 100,000 mile service - 462.12

Last time I checked this is the price from Oxford. 70,000 mile service - £152.46 At xmas the Milton Keynes branch was at the planning stage.

I called Lexus customer care line yesterday. I was advised to get the dealer to swap out the clutch, flywheel and flywheel cover. When I told them I had all the work done already he went quiet and said there was nothing else I could do! I am going to visit either the Swindon or Reading dealer this coming weekend to see what they say about it. Has anyone had any experience of either of these dealers?

There is a yellow sticker on the drivers B pillar with all the pressures for all the tyre sizes/speed/loading combinations.

Under 100mph with normal load 33psi all round for mine.

I have had a new clutch and flywheel and the judder is still there. I have been told that all IS200's do it and it’s something I will have to live with. The cherry on the pie is the valet that the car received while the clutch was changed. The chamois was laden with gravel. The wing, driver’s door, passenger door boot and roof now look as though a sanding disk has attacked the car. Not happy at all.

Thank you everyone for your replies. The car is with the dealer at the moment and they will be looking at it again this morning. I will ask if the flywheel was changed too. I seem to remember a figure of £600 being mentioned yesterday, would that price include a flywheel?

Hiya, I had a slight clutch judder when pulling away with low RPM in 1st with a cold engine. I mentioned it to my dealer who promptly replaced the clutch. I now have a really bad judder in 1st and reverse. After picking the car up I got half way home and had to return to the dealer as it was actually worse than when I brought it in. With the new clutch if I do a 1st gear pull off with very light throttle (<1000rpm) then as the speed builds the judder gets so bad you actually start rocking in the seat. The dealer is saying that all IS200's have a judder if you labour the engine, is this true? help Marshy. :(

Is supermarket fuel different to Shell, BP, Texaco etc etc?

After my warning light comes on I tend to fill up within the next 20-30 miles. I only ever manage to pump 62 litres which leads me to assume the reserve is 2 gallons. Is this true?

The manual states you should use 95RON as a minimum. Performance gains from using a higher octane fuel are pretty neglible, I gained 2BHP using 97RON in my XR2 over 95RON.

Er no, however I do believe there is treatment available for this though. A visit to Ikea should make your own home as pleasurable to sit in too. ;)

I'm surprised it lasted that long! Why didn't you put the heated rear window on too for good measure? Lead acid batteries don't like going completely flat, you get warping of the plates if you draw too much current too. You might be able to nurse it back to health but it'll never be 100% again.

Milton Keynes is a new dealership, not sure when it will be open though. Hatfield is the next closest I reckon or maybe Cambridge? From a dealer you can expect to pay about £1000 more than buying private. What that extra £1000 gives you I have found to be very worth while. How many private sellers would be interested to hear that the rear light cluster fills with water after you have driven away? My dealer swapped the cluster without any questions. The 12 months warranty is complete peace of mind against any problems. The car is HPI checked and RAC inspected too. If it's within 2000 miles of a service that's done for you. It all depends what you call reasonable mileage. The engines are good for 150000miles+ so don't be put off by high mileage in a young car. As long as the service history is there then you can guarantee the miles will have been done on a warm engine up and down motorways. If you budget around £16000 you'll have lots of choice. If you want deals then go in now, xmas is very quiet for car salesmen. As for finance I was offered 3.5% flat rate (7.8%ish APR) and there was no movement on that. Try Lombard Direct or Tesco, both offering APR's in the 7.x% region at the moment. If you prefer leasing then you'd be jumping into an £18000 car for about £350 a month with about £6000 to pay at the end to keep the car or hand it back and start over.

It's actually two elements which heat where the wipers park. It is not a Quickclear (parent owned by Ford i believe). Hardly worth having if you have to scrape the windscreen of ice anyhow.

Which parts of the body are galvanised as it's obvious the whole car isn't! I believe it's all galv apart from the roof. Not sure if that includes the pillars ... There's certainly grey under my blue A-Pillars which looks like galv. I have rust on the wing just under the indicator and also on the front edge of the rear wing where it meets the rear door so I don't think the whole car is galvanised. I'll ask my dealer on Friday when they sort out a misting rear lens. The grey you see could be primer.

Which parts of the body are galvanised as it's obvious the whole car isn't!

Count me in for a full set.

On the odd mileage (10k, 30k, 50k etc) there is an oil change and lots of inspections, I have been quoted figures around the £150-£200 mark for these. Even ones range from £250 - £550.

Have you got an insurance quote yet? Servicing is every 10000 miles and the 60000 is a biggie. You don't really want to be lumbered with that shortly after buying the vehicle. I have just bought a 2000 (X) IS200 SE with 20000 miles in Astral Black as an Approved Used Lexus from a dealer. I paid £14650. The Sports were quite a bit more expensive with no real gain. It's not faster, insurance is higher and you end up paying for bits of plastic, drilled pedals and smoked rear windows. From the research I have done you need to look mainly for a juddering clutch. If you get to test drive one, try a 1st gear pull off with almost no throttle.

Went for my second viewing today, the bonnet has been resprayed as all the stone chips have gone, bumpers too as the scrapes are gone as well. I did notice the passenger rear light cluster was misted, is this a common problem? (Should I be looking for a crack?) Also there were a few droplets of water at the bottom of the rear doors. I saw a guy round the back jet washing it as I arrived so I am hoping he just blasted water in while he was washing it. Went out for an entended test drive, everything seems ok, ABS working, second gear pull aways are smooth and un-laboured. Gearbox is very sweet. I must learn not to push too hard to the left when selecting 1st, all I can say is thank *** for the reversing bleeper! Anything else I should be looking for when I take it out again? Just waiting for my insurance documents to turn up so I get my 12 months VED and the baby's mine!