sparkzilla

Hi I'm coming to my 80,000 service and still have not had the timing belt changed. i will make sure i get the following changed TIMING BELT TIMING BELT TENSIONER TIMING BELT IDLER but reading through posts here, people have other belts changed as well, such as air-con belt, power-steering belt and i think i read water pump. Will i be OK just to get the timing belt, tensioner and idler changed, or do i need to be looking at changing all the other belts too and which ones? I have been converted to LPG, will this effect the changing of belts? Other than Lexus dealerships (£££) are their any suggestions where i can get the work done around Preston area (don't mind traveling a bit) Thanks Mark

I have my IS200 LPG'd and I'm so happy, especially at 48.5p per litre in Preston. I paid £2000 for mine. Got many different quotes and several cheaper ones but i decided on a chap in Blackpool because he is LPGA approved and he put me in touch with another IS200 owner he recently converted. For me, speaking to one of his previous customers gave me the confidence and i suggest you try and find a company that has done work on an is300 or even a 200.

I have the Viewty too, nice phone. If you want to do a bit of hacking and change themes / modify firmware then take a look here: KU990

Have a look around before you buy (however Bazza's car seems very good value) I got a mint metallic grey, 03 reg Sport with 24000 on the clock for £9,500 and this was 15 months ago. I actually found it on ebay, went to look at the car and then placed a bid. There can be some real bargains to be found there. PS if you buy from ebay use quidco.co.uk to make some cash back on the purchase. I would choose the sport, and try to get the styling kit as well. This adds some nice but subtle body skirts and larger alloy wheels. Sets the car off nicely (at least in my opinion) as the differences are not massively noticeable but still adds that slightly beefier look to the car. Mark

LPG, i think its about 110 RON

Ive used both topcashback and quidco. i get a few hundred pounds a year as cashback, so i thought id share an easy way to make a couple of hundred. 1) renew your car insurance via the site: £60 2) every year sign up to Sky as a new customer or apply in partners name: £120 3) Any ebay purchases you get 35% of ebays profits back 4) sign upto blockbuster and Lovefilm trails: £22.50 5) House insurance: £35 6) get health insurance and cheaper gym membership: £85 So you can easily make 300-400 a year for doing nothing. Sign up, you cant loose.

Fill up at 46.5p, but i am LPG. Ive got the city shell card too so even more savings.

Use aircon. Conditioned air has most of the moisture removed so it will quickly demist the windows. You can have the temperature set to hot or cold, but aircon is the trick.

I write, develop and deliver training material for sales companies.

Well i had to pay out for 60k service, tax, tyres and geometry this month so i had a good look for a tyre that wouldn't cost me the earth. I bought 4 Falken FK452 tyres for £240 and they are amazing. They stick even when frosty in the morning or in the wet. I have noticed a very slight increase in noise when on the motorway, but only slightly. For a decent tyre that wont cost the earth, id recommend the FK452, i will be buying again. As for getting the geometry done, there are a few places in the north that do it, best bet is to search this site. I live in Manchester but decided i was going to drive down to WIM. The doctor has so many recommendations and satisfied customers. You cant buy piece of mind, you can only drive to it!

I had the exact same problem and was going through three full sets of tyres a year. In fact i didn't even realise they sere scrubbing on the inside until one tyre blew out whilst driving. Paid a visit to the doc at WIM last week and fingers crossed, everything looks OK. He showed me how bad the camber is on the front wheels and explained all about the changes he made. Just got to pop back after 2,000 miles but it looks good so far. Oh and i traveled from Manchester for this service on the back of recommendations on this site. cost £100 for the service and will save me a fortune in tyres. :D

On rare occasions i have used the car washes, and i haven't noticed any marks (although i have only used them about six times last year and my car is metalic grey). However my girlfriends previous car, a black Civic Type-R, was full of those circular scratches and she used the car wash every week. If you have to use them for an emergency ie an important meeting or event, then you should be OK, but i think they do scratch the car. I tend to use the jet spray at Tesco. The brush is very soft and you can even take your own sponge to clean the car. However the jet spray is crap at removing brake dust from wheels, so you will need to give these a once over when you've finished with the jet wash. Advice: stay away from car washes with bristles. That also goes for ARC car washes. I used to take my car for a valet there, but they run it through the car wash!

For the lexus stamp, Lexus Hanley seems to be the best price out there. For an independent you really should go to Steve @ Charlesworth motors neat Glossip. He works on and knows a lot about is200 and i have been there a couple of times for service and MOT.

One thing i noticed yesterday is fill your car at Tesco and as soon as you have filled your tank press the red cancel button. The screen then displays 'fueling canceled your card has not been charged'. Then put the pump back. Surly this cant be free fuel! I will check my credit card statement when it comes :D This worked at the Tesco in Leyland!

I have spent the last week or so having a look into the LPG issue and am now confident i should be able to run the IS200 on LPG. However i believe the following is a must: 1) latest 4th gen multi-point fully sequential system 2) Flash-lube kit installed. I have also found a company in Bury that converts for a reasonable price, but i would like to know if anyone has had experience with them? (not an advert) http://www.totalautogas.co.uk/ Also, does anyone know if the ALDESA systems they use are any good? I think 2 years warranty comes as standard with nearly all installers, and I've even heard someone on here getting life long warranty! As for the price increasing, i believe the duty isn't expected to rise as high as petrol until 2009, and even then it might still stay at a lower level. This will give me ample time to make back the installation costs and evaluate LPG for my next car. I will keep you informed and let you know how it goes when i have it installed (i'm 98% sure i will do B) ) Mark

I am looking at converting my IS200 sport onto LPG to try and cut my fuel bills. I understand a couple of people on the LOC have had the conversion so id like your opinion on LPG. Also id also like to know where they put your fuel refill cap. I have spoke to a garage and they say a second cap has to be installed on the rear wing . I really don't want to spoil the look of my car so is there an alternative place to put it? Thanks for help Mark

Can anyone help or have an idea? Will this problem be covered by warranty as my car is an 2003 model? cheers

Yea, the good doctor is looking at the geo this Thursday,

lonely

hankering

compulsion

tendency

Hey Guys I found a good credit card last week that give up to 3% cash back on fuel purchases (6% for two months) along with discounts at RAC etc. http://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/cards/d...&offer=A154 Also this gives 2% on fuel and food purchases. http://www.barclaycard.co.uk/products/apply/platinum293.html Get something back from the robbing %@£$ B)

They are not the best on fuel no matter if you drive slow or fast. To be honest it doesn't matter if i drive sensibly or rather fast, the car seems to drink the same amount of fuel. I drive a lot of miles all over the country and although it is a bit too thirsty, you cant put a price on comfort, looks and all round fun. Id go for the is200 mate, you wont be sorry :D

Id get down to a local car parts dealer and buy a set of HID effect sidelights. I don't think they cost more than a few quid (although never bought any for a Lexus). I always thought my girlfriends blue sidelights looked stupid, but there was no telling her that ;)