vk2003

Problem is my car is dead on the drive as it hasn’t been used for a couple of weeks; the cold seems to have done for it. I have to use it this evening so need to get it up and running today. I appreciate that there are better batteries, but I just can’t afford the extra sovereigns atm 😞 I can get to eurocarparts by bus, hence my enquiry about their listed products.

I need to replace the battery in my 206 IS250. Being skint, I'm keen to spend as little as possible! A quick look on eurocarparts suggests a couple of options: The lion 030 battery (https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/lion-030-car-battery-3-year-guarantee-444770301) or The lion 031 battery (https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/lion-031-car-battery-3-year-guarantee-444770311) I think I need the first one, and I'd be very grateful if anyone could just confirm for me please?

So with the weather guessers suggesting impending snow, my question to the forum is Socks or Chains? Autosocks seem to have a good rep from people who bought them, but fail rapidly if driven on tarmac. As they suggest both sets of wheels for a rear wheel drive car, that is £130 which could get damaged very quickly, unless one is in and out of the car repeatedly on a journey. Alternatively, what about chains? At least you can drive on tarmac, and they are more of a fag to put on but hopefully would last better. and do you need them on both sets of wheels too? Any experienced folks out there care to comment? I'm asking because my IS250 was crud during the last snowfall! Cheers

Steve What do you want for your lexus? (PM me if you prefer) Cheers Vishal...

And is it any good? Does it by an chance get rid of the slight delay that exists on the throttle? This is my only bugbear with my IS250 auto!

Yes this is true, as connecting my iphone 3g to the hands free in my BMW automatically brings up all the contacts in the phone on the car screen. Most annoying that a combination of lack of implementation on both Apple and Lexus's parts have left us high and dry. However, some owners of earlier (pre 2006) IS250s may have joy with a program I came across called Prius Phonebook which works with an Intel Macbook and any bluetooth phone that is linked to the car (including the iphone) Whilst it did not work for me some users report success. I emailed the developer, and I think my car has a more recent phonebook system, in which it has been secured to prevent non headset devices connecting (or so he thinks) If you get it to work for you, then do post up here. Vish

I specified that I would take it for a test drive before agreeing. just need to find a bumpy road near me to check for rattles...

Well I have paid a small deposit over the phone, and they are bringing the car to me. They have agreed that if I approve the car on arrival, then I hand over the bankers draft; if for any reason I am unhappy, they take it away, and refund the deposit. So lets see what happens! Thanks for the advice everyone. I have been told the same consistent story by about 6 dealerships now, that the new car market has died a death, and used cars are selling very quickly - they all seem to have particularily limited stocks of IS250s, such that prices on these have actually started to increase. As I have been looking for a little while, this price increase does seem to be true over the last few weeks (but not months...cars are still cheaper now than they were last quarter 2008)

Good point. Problem is, I am in Surrey and they are in Teeside. I did a trip to Lincoln yesterday to view a car there which proved to be a waste of time but I have been assured this car is perfect and am paying the right kind of money so am hopeful. I will check the car and takeit for a drive when it arrives, before handing over money

I have come across an SE/MM for sale, but it is a long way away from me. The salesman has assured me it is in good condition; there front alloys need refurbing as there are a couple of gouges, and a couple of minor stone chips. They have yet to do a detailed insepction but all of these issues will be resolved before despatching the car to me. Have any of you experience of buying over the phone? They have assured me that if the car arrives and I am not happy, they will refund all and take it back. Comments? Thanks

No it was not a lex dealership - it was at hills motors in skelmsdale (sp?) - west of manchester Have since found out the car was a 'category x' - apparently stolen and recovered after the insurance had paid out. But also !apparently no damage. Anyways... all history now - going to see a car at Lexus Lincoln tomorrow.

They have said they will reduce the price, but not sure how far. As it is, I have walked away. The hunt continues!

Thanks chaps. I took the pictures into my local dealership today. They also put the reg into their database, and confirmed the car is an SE, but also saw from the pictures that it has fabric seats, and also 16" alloys. so something is rather strange here. I contacted the dealership selling it, and they were surprised at the revelation, but have agreed to reduce the price. However, I do want the leather seats, and would forgo the MM/sat nav over these! If it seems too good to be true, it probably is! The old adage still holds true :-( <insert expletive here>

Cool. Fingers crossed it is an SE-L, but I am sure a car dealer won't have messed up that much. Thanks very much!

That's quite a good price if it has MM as well, is it manual or auto? I'd be really impressed if it's an SE-L auto............SE-L has front and rear parking sensors, xenon headlamps, rear sunblind, illuminated sill plates, memory seats and probably a few other little bits on top :) It is auto. Having read your post, I suspect it is simply an SE (boo!) as I have a picture looking in through the passenger door, and I can see manual seat controls on the passenger seat. Unless of course the electric seats apply only to the drivers side? Also need to find out whether the trim is broken in the passenger footwell as it looks as though something is coming away...

Cheers! Me too! It is an 08 plate 250SE with <6000K on the clock. It could be an SE-L but I don't know as I have yet to see it though (how would I tell that anyway?) Price: £14500 Really hoping this is the car as I have been looking for 3-4 months. :)

Hi Thanks very much. Feeling a bit daft now!

This may sound like a silly question but as I have never driven an IS250 with MM and ML sound system, I need to know! I am going to view an 08 plate IS250 in a few days at a non Lexus dealer. It has a screen in the dash. I spoke to my lexus dealership who said that if it has a screen, then it automatically means it has MM and SatNav. Is this right? Also, is there any way of telling whether it has the ML sound system too? Screenshot of car's console attached. Can anyone advise me what to check for please? TA!

Surely the insurance company will have a breakdown of the repairs done to the car, and thus be able to provide evidence that the front of the car was also repaired. At the very least there will be statements made at the time describing the accident, upon which basis for "blame" would have been made, and these would also carry validity? Good luck getting it sorted though

Yeah I had noticed the threads pertaining to that issue. So the list of potential problems reads (at the moment): 1) Battery flattens after being left for 8-10 days, meaning you need a jump start 2) Corrosion on alloy wheels and roof bars 3) ... Anyone suggest any other additions to the list? Vishal...

I went to test drive a 400h at my local dealership yesterday. He mentioned the prius yet, and said that the tech has being going for 10 years without probs. He also said the life cycle of the batteries was predicted to be 12 years. Mind you he also said he regularly got 41mpg from a 400h!

I am looking to buy a 400h second hand, but I was wondering whether there are any article listing common problems/issues and things to look for when buying second hand Also, can anyone tell me what he servicing costs are like, and how long the batteries for the electric motor tend to last (age or mileage) before they need replacing. I did look in the knowledgebase, but didn't find answers to the above! Thanks in advance vk