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GarethW

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  • Lexus Model
    IS200 SE

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  1. Well, the key fob arrived about a week after I ordered it... no problems there. Finally found time today to take it to a local keysmiths to get it cut... and the muppets messed it right up. I'm not sure if it was a work experience kid doing the work or if he is partially blind, but it looks nothing like the original.I should've gone to Lexus to get it cut all along... anyone near Swindon that has to get their blade cut should steer clear of Timpsons.
  2. I need to do this as the casing for one of my Master keys has snapped. The blade and the internal part seem OK, it's just that the plastic just in between the lock button and the blade has snapped, so I'm hoping that just replacing the casing will be sufficient. I still have the other Master and one of the non-Master keys, so I'm not panicking just yet. I looked on ebay but they all seem to be going for about £15 which I thought was a bit steep and I was sure I could get it cheaper. After a few minutes I found this American site which has them for $3.44 or £2.25 including free shipping, so I figured it's worth a punt... http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16361 I hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting this site - please remove the URL if I am. Just thought it might be useful to someone, seeing as how it seems a fairly common problem with the Lexus keys. I'll update this post if it actually arrives and works OK :)
  3. Very interesting - thanks for the links. I knew they'd got great reviews in the past on reliability and build quality. It makes pleasant reading that there's nothing been built since that can top it. :) Just a shame the running costs are so dismal really, with only the RX8, Imprezza and Saab 9-5 coming in for a worse deal than we do. At least those cars have solid performance that can explain the high running costs, which can't really be said about the IS200. It's a good job the car is pretty much perfect (apart from maybe the boot size) in all other aspects to make up for these shortcomings. And despite it all, I still absolutely love driving my IS200.
  4. Looks very good, mate - lovely scenery too.
  5. Let me know if you get stuck and would like me to scan the relevant pages from my manual and upload them somewhere for you.
  6. Heh, nope that's not my garage... those were from the Auto Trader advert. My wife is in Tokyo at the moment, and she has our camera, so I'm afraid the photos of the interior will have to wait until she gets back at the end of next week. @ norlec, yeah, I probably could have got something extra if I'd haggled more. I think the problem is that I've had my heart set on a Lexus for ages, and I needed to get shot of the Xsara pretty quickly because of some issues it had developed which I didn't want to spend money on getting fixed (the central locking was playing up and my normal garage had a quick look for me and said it was gonna be expensive to repair). I had been to see several other cars near-by over the past few months, and each time I ended up missing out on getting them because someone would come along and offer the full asking price without any bargaining or haggling. I missed out on a real beauty at the Jag garage here in Swindon cause I stuck to my guns and thought they'd budge on what they were asking for. From conversations I've had with various different people it seems that although the economy is completely fubar'ed at the moment, it has impacted the new car market moreso than the 2nd hand market, and that some dealers (including the guy I got the IS200 from) are struggling to find enough stock. One of the dealers (although not a Lexus dealer) I spoke to said that they've even started going to auctions... but as buyers not sellers, that's how high the demand for good 2nd hand cars is, whereas the new cars are gathering dust in the showrooms. I think this was playing on my mind when I bought the car. I did do some haggling, and the guy increased what he'd offer me for my old car instead of decreasing the screen price of the Lexus. Not sure if that's to keep his balance sheets in good shape, or just some creative accounting thing going on... it still meant I had less to hand over, so I was happy. But, yeah, I think that deep down you're right and I could've been more aggressive. As it is, I let my heart rule instead of my head ;) @ LOcKY, I've pretty much forgotten about the Xsara already. I did feel a bit emotional when I handed over the keys, but because I was getting what really is the car of my dreams (does that sound really sad?) I was happy and it made saying goodbye to the Citroën that bit easier. I think if I had been trading the Xsara in for a dull car like a Ford Mondeo then I'd have felt completely different. Not because the Xsara was any good - it was a basic car really, nothing special at all - but because I had got emotionally attached to it. As it is, I'm just as emotionally attached to the IS200 already, even though I've only owned it for a week, primarily because I've been dreaming about owning one for ages and have had my heart set on it for so long. Does that make any sense?
  7. Welcome to the club.... car looks v nice indeed.
  8. Don't mind at all, mate. Got her for just shy of £8k, but I part-exed a '01 Citroën Xsara and got a little bit more than I was hoping for :)
  9. Just realised that I've been terribly rude and not posted any pics of my baby that I picked up last weekend. Apologies for that. So here, without further ado, I give you my luvvly IS200 SE. These photos were taken by the garage I got the car from... not had a chance to take any photos of the car myself yet. As you can see, it's a '05 SE - with a sport grille, which confused me initially. It's done just under 40k, with all the paperwork from those friendly people at Lexus in Bristol to confirm this. Need to think about getting it in for a full service, as the last service was done at 30k... hope it ain't gonna cost me too much. Inside it's in a luvvly condition... absolutely spotless. The guy who was lucky enough to own it before me clearly didn't have kids :P Apart from that, it's not been modded in any way and is pretty much just like it was the day it was born. I'm not sure whether to leave it as-is or to make any changes myself. I see people mentioning HIDs, so maybe I should consider doing that... dunno. Anyway, just wanted to share the love. I can't think of a single thing I've purchased that has made me smile as much as my ickle Lexus does (except maybe my house but that doesn't count as the bank still owns that really).
  10. Will the one on an IS200 SE be OK? If so, I can take some pics tomorrow, as it's a bit dark now and the wifey has taken our decent camera to Tokyo, so I'm left with an old 3MP camera which struggles in low light.
  11. Glad you said that... mine is a real mare to get into reverse - wasn't sure if it was just that it's different to my old car and I'm not used to it yet, as I've only just bought my IS200.When I picked it up, I had to fill the tank as the warning light was on (would've been nice of the garage to fill it up before handing over the keys.... ho hum) and I drove up to the wrong side of the pump, as my old Citroën had the tank on t'other side. Realising my mistake I nudged the car forward and at an angle, so that I could reverse up to the pump on the other side... except I couldn't get into reverse! Was sat there trying for a good 2 minutes - everyone else on the forecourt thought I was a complete mentaller!
  12. 39k on a 05 IS200 SE manual, that I just bought today :)
  13. Hi all, As of a couple of hours ago, I am now the owner of an '05 IS200 SE :) I've upgraded from a Citroën Xsara..... what a difference! I'm bound to be asking you guys lots of questions over the next few months, but for now I'm just smitten with my new car. Cheers, Gareth
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