iane230856

My 300 is pretty much like Chris's except mine is on an 02 plate with 69,000 miles, Black interior and full history, also in stunning condition. Going to be putting this up for sale in Auto Trader and will chance my arm with £2,995 and see what happens.

Ian

I can highly recommend the guy that owns this Garage. His name is Kevin and he has been servicing my 2002 IS300 for the last 5 years. I live in North east London so its quite a journey for me but well worth the extra effort as I trust him completely to do the job he says he is going to do. He also services my wifes MX5 and my sons RX8 but will take on all makes of vehicle. I started to use him based on recomendations from other Lexus Owners Club members. OK, I don't get the tea and coffee that my local main dealer offers but then again i'm not paying their ridiculous prices either....

Hope this helps

Ian

Non gold members are not allowed to sell on the forums.

It's a fantastic looking car Chris, the 300 is destined to become a classic in the not too distant future, the shape and lines are mouth watering. I love the stereo with all those functions and I would be very tempted to put exactly the same bit of kit in my own IS300 but sadly it has to go to make way for my new car which arrives at the end of the month. My wife says she has to go (the car Lexus that is!). As for the economy, I never expected anything out of this world when I purchased it, I just enjoy the extra power that's on tap whenever it is needed, so smooth and quiet. In all the years i have owned it can you believe I have never used the sport mode on the autobox or the manual option with the buttons on the steering wheel, I think they have a technical name for it......

Anyway Chris I hope you get as much enjoyment out of your 300 as I have had

Ian

Ok thanks for the advice, do i need to remove the platic mouldings around the wiper arm spindles and where do I locate the pollen filter?

Also, if I push some thin wire down the sunroof drain holes will I be able to see it come out the other end

Thanks for your help, car is perfect other than this very irritating problem

Ian

Hi Greg, I have similar problem on my IS 300, when it rains water comes down from behind the glovebox. Where do I find the pipe that you are talking about so that I can put some wire down to unblock it?

Thanks

Ian

I will shortly be selling my pride and joy so would appreciate if anyone could give me an idea how much I can expect to get for my IS 300 limited edition. It will be a private sale (not traded in) . It was registered in January 2002 and has covered 55,000 miles and got full service history with major service carried out last November. I would describe it as in original 'MINT' condition.

Have looked on auto trader to get some price comparisons but they all seem to be trade sales which I know will be quite a bit higher than a private sale.

Your help would be appreciated

Thanks

ian

Could not undo the crankshaft pulley bolt?????? Maybe you should try a Lexus Dealer.

So if i swallow my pride and take it to my local £exus Dealer and they break something, will they accept full responsibility and pay the full cost of putting it right or do you think they will ask me to cough up

I would also like to give the thumbs up to ABM as I recently had my IS300 serviced by them. For £430 Kevin carried out a full 60,000 mile service, including spark plugs and auto transmission fluid. I also wanted the cambelt changed (£260) but unfortunatley Kevin could'nt undo the crankshaft pully bolt and didnt want to put to much pressure on it just in case something broke. Not sure what I am going to do now as I really wanted the belt changed....any suggestions would be most welcome.

I am very fussy about who I entrust my pride and joy with and would have no hesitation whatsoever in recomending ABM. The garage is very clean and tidy and Kevin is an extremely nice guy. He kept me fully informed of what needed to be done and the cost.

On the IS200 Lexus recommend changing the timing belt at 60k/6 years (whichever comes first), but I think on the IS300 the recommendation is to change the timing belt at 100k/10 years.

A IS300 owner should be able to confirm this.

Pretty much the same advice that Lexus Southend have given to me, thanks kam05

Just obtained price for major service for my IS300 from £exus Woodford £595 (ouch!) and they also informed me that I need to change the Timing Belt. Apparently its 6 years or 60,000 miles whichever comes first. However, according to Lexus Southend its 10 years or 100,000 for the IS300.

Why are different dealerships giving out conflicting information. I'm now very confused and WARY of main dealers. What do you guys think. I know my car is 7 years old but its only covered 55,000 miles so I'm not sure whether or not to have the belt changed. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

ian

but does it needcumpulsory changing ????

nope it doesnt mate so you can change the belt with out changing the tensioner.........but and heres the but if you replace the belt and two days,a few months,a year down the line the tensioner goes pop, bang goes your belt as the bust tensioner will throw the belt oh and gues what..........that could mean a engine rebuild with 24 new valves and a very empty pocket.

so cheap out if you must but cheaping out may be costly!!!!!

Does the same apply to the IS300, I have heard that the tensioners are stronger on this model. Lexus Woodford are changing my cambelt very soon but have not said anything to me about replacing the tensioner

put it another way

if the cambelt needs changing then so does the tensioner

the belts are very strong and are designed to last up to 100,000 miles as are the tensioners

if for some reason the belt needs replacing then its only correct that the tensioner does to

without a doubt Lexus Woodford will change the tensioner

mine has only done 56,000 so not sure why Lexus Woodford are saying it needs to be replaced?

but does it needcumpulsory changing ????

nope it doesnt mate so you can change the belt with out changing the tensioner.........but and heres the but if you replace the belt and two days,a few months,a year down the line the tensioner goes pop, bang goes your belt as the bust tensioner will throw the belt oh and gues what..........that could mean a engine rebuild with 24 new valves and a very empty pocket.

so cheap out if you must but cheaping out may be costly!!!!!

Does the same apply to the IS300, I have heard that the tensioners are stronger on this model. Lexus Woodford are changing my cambelt very soon but have not said anything to me about replacing the tensioner

Thanks for all the advice and tips. I will try and post some pics when they have been done.

Cheers

ian

I'm having all the alloys on my IS 300 refurbished in a couple of weeks time, taking them to Lepsons in Gillingham as heard lots of good things about them.

Not really sure what finish and colour to go for so would appreciate some of your ideas. The colour of my car is Platinum Ice and the alloys are the 6 spoke 18's

cheers

ian

Thanks guys for all your advice. I think I will give Albin B Motors a try as there name seems to come up on here quite a lot.

Cheers

ian

Is there anyone out there that has used and can recommend a good quality independant garage in or around the London area who I can trust to carry out a full service and cambelt change on my IS 300. Its now over 7 years old and I cannot justify spending the money that a Lexus franchised dealer want to charge me.

Thanks

ian

well it was bound to come, the dreaded 60k/ 6 year service for the IS300. I have been quoted over £800 by LExus in Hatfield. What I wanted to know is: does it need a new timing belt as well?

Im sure the IS200 has a new one on this service but wasnt sure about the 300.

also is it worth continuing to dealer service the IS300? after all its not worth that much any more, ive been told a 2003 IS300 sports kit is only worth 7k odd.

so is it worth spending a small fortune to get the dealer stamp in the service book??

I also have the IS300 which needs the 60k major service> My local Lexus dealer (Woodford) inform me that the timing belt also needs to be changed as the car is now 6 years old. Their quote for Major service, including plugs and timing belt was £650.00 and I get a coutesy car thrown in. I did have to haggle with them to get that price but I think its pretty good considering they are a main dealer plus other members from LOC rate them very highly which is a bit of a comfort factor when you are spending that kind of money.

I also got a quote from Albin B Motors in Croydon for the same work and they came in at £500 but no cortesy car. They are also highly recommended by other LOC members. As you can see there is a big difference in prices quoted but I will probably go for Lexus Woodford as they are local, and I want to maintain the main dealer stamp in my service book.

Hope this helps

I've just had my best quote from direct line of £942 fully comp. What does everyone think? Should I go for this?

Did you give Admiral a try, they normally come up trumps and you can do it all on line without having to phone them up

It seems that everything is stacked against you, Age no NCB, Area. Not sure if you have made any modifications to your car but if you have then this won't help either. I have used Admiral several times so see what they come up with.

ian

put my name down aswell please

I'm very interested so count me in

ian

Yep just checked with the guys at DMC and they will also supply and fit the water pump (plus necessary extras) for £100. So i'm gonna go for it and have the pump, cambelt, tensioners/idler and 70K service done. All that will come to a grand total of £587 not too bad for the lot I'm thinking. I must say sorry to the original poster for kind of taking over this topic but I hope this has given you guys an idea of pricing too.

Thanks guys!

Wow...thats a great price for all that work !

Have you got the garage details, Name, Telephone Number, Address ?

Thanks

I was in my local Lexus dealership (Lexus Woodford) at the weekend making enquiries about a cambelt change and service for my IS 300 which is 6 years old and done 50,000 miles. They told me it was 100,000 miles or 6 years whichever comes first so it seems that different dealerships have different opinions. Anyway, they originally quoted me a price for a major service and cambelt change of £ 995 including the VAT but then went on to tell me that they are running a special deal at the moment (funny that !) and they can do it all in for £695.

Do you guys think this is a good price or would i be better to shop around the different dealerships

Thanks

Ian

I fitted exactly the same trim to my IS 300 - it looked fantastic for about a day then it turned a horrid shade of gold !