saracen

I do that too and I used to it in the old IS so it is second nature to me. Perhaps we should have a poll!! At least we have the folding function as well as dipping in reverse. The USA spec has the dip but no fold on any model. Is that because US parking spaces are ahem a little wider than the UK to accomdate the larger framed person passing between cars? I can't believe it - we get something that the yanks don't. Now I feel much better about us not having the IS350...

My windscreen cracked and my car was only a few months old. I rang my insurance who put me in touch with Autoglass who said that if I wanted a Lexus screen rather than a generic there would be an excess to pay over and above the standard £50 unless there was no generic available. Luckily there was no generic available (probably because the model had only been out a few months) and I had the SE-L screen with the rain sensor. I took it to be fitted at their centre as I didn't want it done outdoors. They were OK I guess, I watched the guy like a hawk who was doing the work. It took two of them to actually get the screen out. At the end they wanted me to sign that I was happy with the work and I explained I couldn't do that til I had inspected the car. The guy looked a bit put off but who signs for something like that without viewing the work??!! I was thinking that the car was noisier after the screen was put in but having driven other cars I don't think it is. Not had any problems since (touch wood). You can read about it here - the screen was going to take months to come from Japan as there were no spares in the country.

I do that too and I used to it in the old IS so it is second nature to me. Perhaps we should have a poll!!

Forgive my cynicism, but the most obvious reason why commercial organisations want regular contact with their customers, it because of the the opportunity to sell that it affords. My bank manager writes to me regularly and invites me to go and see him so that he can advise me about the way I am using my financial resources. I always respond by pointing out that he is hardly a disinterested party. I am sure that many dealerships try very hard, but you must always remember that their interests are not necessarily congruent with yours. I agree and I always take things that the dealer (or anyone else who is trying to sell you something) says with a pinch of salt and research anything they say to see what the alternatives are

Very true - Why no variable servcing? It can save you hundreds of pounds...and even more Euro's over 2-4 years!! Especially when the car already uses Synthetic oils - another small area where Perfection hasn't been discovered yet... My MM informs me when the car is due for a service - with a message that appears on the screen at start up. Has no one else noticed this. I have had two services on my car and I am sure it appeared both times. At the same time I usually get a call from Lexus Customer Service informing me that they think my car is due for a service and would I like them to book it in - which I think is an excellent touch. I also have heard that Lexus likes to get their customers in at 10K mile intervals to improve the customer experience! Not sure what is meant by that, I suppose they like to see their customers often. And to be honest the whole service experience is very painless with my local dealership. Can't help with cost as I pre-paid for mine when I bought the car. Quite a reasonable cost as it includes wear and tear parts and can be used at any Lexus centre.

I tried following the link and doing a search for IS-F and received no results... Am I doing something wrong?

When you switch off the ignition, the steering wheel automatically moves to fully up and fully in position. The seat does not move. Cool, I think I gotta buy this car for that alone! lol It is one of the reasons I went for the SE-L. The amount of Ooohs I get when starting/stopping the car from passengers - I love it! People think it looks really cool!

For me it was a no brainer - I wanted an automatic so my choice was made up for me. I would have liked the Diesel but they didn't do an auto. As for which to choose, it really is down to what you personally want, if its not that much of an issue write all three down on a piece of paper and stick a pin in it! Seriously which ever you choose I don't think you will be disappointed, they are all great cars.

Carriage

Don't worry I am not laughing at the 6230 - great liitle phone which I have been using for two and a half years and never had a connection problem. Then I bought a Nokia E50 and all my problems started! Had to reset the phone so many times in the end I got rid of it. I don't think there are any Nokia phones that will allow you to transfer the whole phone book. The new Nokia 6300 (great phone by the way) which I have just upgraded to shows battery and signal strength. It also has a feature to allow you to mark all contacts and transfer them by bluetooth. I tried this while waiting in traffic one day but it did not work. Might give it another go when I have actually RTFM!

I have had my SE-L with MM for over 12 months now and still LOVE it, given the alternative: a TomTom or similar stuck in the window. Plus I prefer the idea of an integrated set-up, just makes the whole car look cleaner without any trailing wires or bits stuck on the windscreen. Yes it is pricey and personally I wish Lexus had allowed the package to be split so that you could buy the Sat Nav with out the stereo upgrade as I think more people would have preferred this but in comparison to other manufacturers it still represents VERY good value for money. Compare with BMW and you would pay in excess of £3000 for the same set up. If you can afford it then I can whole heartedly recommend it. If not for the amount of Ooohs you will get when people see the reversing camera in operation :P

Jamboo, Not been on the forums for a while but glad your car is finally sorted! Must say that after my initial purchase from Leicester which was far from smooth they have been spot on in every aspect since. Even replacing my cracked number plate for free during a service!

Just my bad photography :) Scott They are also a different colour in my car - dunno why! :duh:

If you continually hold down (3 seconds) the Rand button on the MM while playing a CD it will randomly play tracks off all CDs in the changer. If you do the same while playing a CD full of MP3s/WMAs then it will randomly play all the tracks on that one disc. The system can play random tracks off all Audio CDs or MP3 discs but not both. Hope this answers your question.

Keane

What a great thread. Just kept grinning all the way through because I agreed with so much! Just to add the MMS is amazing and very good value for money - spent 5+ hours stuck on the M6 a few weeks ago after it was closed after a bad accident. Did I notice, not really just slapped on Minority Report and Gladiator and the time just flew by!

I love these debates about what is and what isn't coming! And while they are interesting and good fun I won't be popping round to my dealers just yet!

Supprisesd you find the new system hard, ive used an old GS430 sat nav and it was great! Then why does it need a 100+ page manual? My Tom Tom 910 manages with 17 pages of only two thirds the size of those in the Lexus manual and using it is so obvious that you hardly need to read them anyway! More importantly, the route calculation software on the 910 leaves the Lexus stuff standing, and it includes a speed camera data-base. I tried to use the Lexus navigator on two obvious routes today. choosing the "quickest" option - on both occasions it ignored the by-pass around our local town and tried to take me through the town centre. Either it's map data-base is ancient or it's algorithms are crap. The manual for the TomTom 910 is 80 pages long while the Lexus is just over 100 and a lot of that is screen shots. With the Lexus the actual "this is how you enter a route" is about 40 pages long, the rest of it is how to personalise the system. At the end of the day I guess it is what you are used to. I picked up my car and set my destination as home without even reading the manual. I've used the Tom Tom and while it is a good piece of kit, for a portable system I personally do not like having these devices on the windscreen. And it seems to take forever to calculate a route.

Fob

Locker

Foot

Vintage

Up

Kennedys

Hmm it's all about personal choice. I must admit I bought a new PC last year and did consider building it myself but chickened out in the end, and just as well as my new PC broke down but an engineer was there the next day to fix it. The one thing going for Apple and Macs is they are way cool in terms of image. And I hear they are very stable and not liable to crash. I suggest a visit to an Apple store and spend some time playing with a Mac, the guys there are normally very friendly, if not a little geeky!