russelllinn

They officially were only available on Pimp and Drug Dealer spec cars, although some people unofficially fitted them to back street pub landlord spec cars to try and make the owners look more street.

Look out for Leopard skin print covers on the seats instead of leather or alcantera. It was an optional and very expensive "taste" pack option.

:D very good, that covers it quite nicely!!

Hi everyone it's just a quick question and will probably be answered quickly too. I have seen a number of gold badge Lexus cars around GS LS IS300 and I think even IS200. What are the specs of these cars and what does the gold badged IS200 offer over the sport or SE? Just wondered really.

Thanks in advance guys!

As far as I am aware there are no differences. The LS had them as standard and some people buy them to modify their cars appearance.

Looks real good, so shiny too, grill looks good and the kit really compliments it you must be pleased :)

Yes I use the E shift all the time, great downshift reduces the need for heavy braking ,keeps the car way more balanced because less weight over front axle into bends,eliminates black front alloys and no need to kick down. Use the manual shift, enjoy driving quickly and achieve 380 - 400 miles from each fill up. Superb function !!

I'm the same although use both, if i'm cruising I'll leave it auto but when driving it properly you can't beat e-shift, as above it'll keep the car balanced through bends as you can keep a constant speed without the worry of it changing gear and you can pull out of the apex smoother, then when you wanna go the power is there instantly. Wouldn't have bought it without it :)

Nice one mate, sounds good, what was the damage?

bring back to original topic, colours are on the other thread!!!! grrrr lol

well said dino :)

:shutit: should have zipped it . girlfriend put the rear window down and it aint goin back up . theres power to the switch but bugger all is happennin . mot at 4 ........hopefully she will pass.

how was the MOT? Pics would be good, always nice to see a freshly painted motor!

Well that's decided then it must be Black

im a black man myself

Hi again folks,

Rory, thanks for the "ladies_love_lex" pointer. Many apologies to her for always referring to her as a bloke.

Russelllin, thanks very much for the offer, your a complete gent. However, incredibly tempting as it is, I still can't imagine buying a car that I've not sat in so I won't be putting a bid in on it. I'll be very interested to see what it goes for though. It seems to me that the "buy it now" price may be a little low.

Anyway, thanks again to all who've helped me out and when I do see one that ticks all the boxes I'll be back on here.

Cheers,

Mick.

No worries, happy hunting and hear from you in the future no doubt!

If you really like the one on eBay i live in weston super mare and can give an initial impression of it to look at as it does have the cream interior after all plus if it's a member it's always nice!!

Hi Folks,

First of all, thanks very much to anyone who's contributed to this thread and thanks very much for your advise.

I rang the garage that I've been using for many a long year to get a price for the cam belt etc. job and also to get a price to have the discs and pads done. They're a small-ish independent garage who aren't too cheap or too expensive. They quoted £216.85 to replace the cam belt with assosiated parts and they quoted £327.28 to replace the discs & pads (although the guy did say that the discs may be skimmable if they're not too thin). I don't know if these are Lexus parts or not but I'm guessing that they're not. So, that leaves me with a dilemma, should I plump for this 300 or hang on for one that's had all the work done. Although this car is in good condition and maybe you could say (at a push) it's in very good condition, it's nowhere near a neat as this one that's on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LEXUS-IS300-BLACK-SA...93%3A1|294%3A50 for the same asking price. I can't imagine ever buying a car off Ebay but it does go to show that you can get an awful lot for your money if you're prepared to wait and watch.

Cheers,

Mick.

Cam-belt seems a fair price although the front discs seem excessive, I would expect to pay around £200? It sounds like a good buy overall with the service history, as the one on eBay doesn't say?]

I would say that have a look at another one if you're unsure about whether you're getting one that's in good nick to compare?

I get the feeling you like this one so knock em down on the price and get it, they don't come round too often, you could even do the discs yourself to save some cash getting the ones I showed in the link for £60?

Hi Folks,

Although I've spent many a lunchtime reading through the forum, this is my first post. The thing is that I'm not a Lexus owner (yet) and have been looking for either an IS200 or IS300 for a little while. I've spotted a 51 plate IS300 that's up at £4500. It's got 96K on the clock (which I know is a bit high) and the service history is Lexus stamped for the first seven services and then subsequent services have been carried out by independents. The car seems to be generally in pretty good (but not immaculate) condition. Although the 96K doesn't worry me at all, what does concern me is that it hasn't had a cam belt change. So I reckon that if I did buy the car, I'd drive it straight from the vendor's address to the garage to get the cam belt, pulleys, tensioner's and water pump replaced. Also, on the front discs, there's are rim (for want of a better description) showing about 2mm of wear so I'm guessing that the discs and pads will need replacing soon. Naturally, I don't fancy buying a car and then immediately having to spend money on it so I'll be looking for some king of reduction on the asking price.

So, my question is this. Although the asking price is £4500, bearing in mind the work that I think will need doing, what would be a sensible price to pay. I'm guessing that a cam belt job has got to be around £300 (at an independent) but I have no idea how much to allow for new front discs and pads.

Anyway, if there's any buying advise (either to do with what I've mentioned or anything else) that anyone can offer then I'd be really grateful.

Cheers,

Mick.

It does depend on what model it is i.e. navigator, styling kit but there is only a couple of hundred pounds difference, if you look at parkers guide put in the details it can give you an indication.

Front discs and pads on eBay click £60 inc P&P.

brembo front Discs click me £120 inc P&P

The crux of the matter is that the IS300 is quite rare and so to get hold of one is good going I would suggest taking off the cost of the work to be done and then a bit more and see what they say, I always like to go in a little bit rude with a low price as some people surprise you with what they'll take. I did offering £1000 under the asking price and got £700 off, on a private sale :D

The Lexus straight sixes are pretty bullet proof so having service history is good. I would check the cam-belt hasn't been done as they revised the cam-belt service from 100k it to 60k at some stage not sure when though. I checked mine the other day and it looked pretty new and mine is the same as the one you're looking at including miles, so must have been done.

It is a very good car and the power is not to be sniffed at, IMO it is a very fun and enjoyable car and worth getting your hands on.

Russ

From what I have heard SPCHORSHAM has a kit of upgrade rods, pistons and exhaust manifold for turbo or supercharged applications. Try them if you done it already, but be ready to pay loads of money

As above. SPC Horsham also were saying that ther were going to run a standard 200 with turbo gradulary increasing the boost to see what the block could take. I'd say it's possible on low boost, but I'd get the full run down from them.

Looking good mate, sorts the front end out nicely, nice and shiny too :)

Hi mate, Yeah am planning on making it into a nice car. I am very happy with it. its a rs200 4cyl. I had a vectra sri before this and the rs200 is so much better.

how much did that set you back if you mind me asking, also where did you see it advertised, did he have it just on eBay or was it pistonheads/autotrader etc. welcome to the club mate

paid £1800 for it, It was on pistonheads, i didnt even know it was on eBay till i saw this. anyway, im happy with it and thats what matters.

Nice one bud and welcome, sound buy I'd say :)

Hi to all at the Lexus Owners Club.

Second Lexus....first post. I am interested in putting a front arm rest into my IS200 sport, its a 51 plate. Ive mentioned it to a friend but they seem to think i need to change the centre console too.

Is this true or does it just fit straight in? anyone done this before?

Damo090

You don't need to no, someone on here fitted one recently and posted pics if you search you may find it.

:D knew what you meant though Jomo, cheers Ormi

Just locked my car and whilst walking away noticed one of the rear windows down. Thought came to mind that it would be great if when locking the car, all the windows would go up.

Is there any way of doing this?? My friend used to have a VW Golf and he managed to do it with his using a laptop and some software, is it the same for is200's SE (54)?

Thanks!

It would prob be worth speaking with an installer of alarms to see if the original can be re-programmed. I know some alarms like TOAD and CLIFFORD can do that if you had it installed as an aftermarket and may cost the same?

Is this what I am after for full beam conversion?

click me

Looks nice bud, super shiny :)

honestly mate i wish i'd have done it sooner put it this way i wouldn't like to meet my lights on full beam on a country road.if you think hid dipped lights are bright get yourself the kit for full beam you will be amazed.

Sounds like you'd paralyze any rabbits caught in them then

You've definately persuaded me as I use some country roads to get home, where can the kit be bought from as you got yours from your mate?

eBay mate nice and cheap £60 delivered the boy next door seen mine and ordered two sets for his old manta.you can get them cheaper though but well worth the money!!

Cool cheers bud, I shall put some more coal on the fire and start up the eBay search engine

honestly mate i wish i'd have done it sooner put it this way i wouldn't like to meet my lights on full beam on a country road.if you think hid dipped lights are bright get yourself the kit for full beam you will be amazed.

Sounds like you'd paralyze any rabbits caught in them then

You've definately persuaded me as I use some country roads to get home, where can the kit be bought from as you got yours from your mate?

yeah can do as there is too much 'back pressure' in the sump and then behind the piston.

I have been told before that its worse the having it too low.

Easiest way is to drain a bit from the sump plug.

I tend to agree with the above as I know my sister overfilled her car once and blew the engine as the piston pressure was too high, I think though that it definately depends on how much over it is, I would speak with Lexus and ask their thoughts on the excess you have measured, then if necessary drain some from the sump plug although it will be messy!!

Just noticed the rear badges, strange??

(Rear pic didn't load first time round)

I have the HIDs as standard on dipped, don't know if I do on main beam as they don't seem as good as could be when relative to the dipped, does anyone know? (Got IS300)

No the IS300 doesn't have bi-xenon lights, only dipped.

Cheers for the reply, I shall look into uprating these then me thinks.

I have the HIDs as standard on dipped, don't know if I do on main beam as they don't seem as good as could be when relative to the dipped, does anyone know? (Got IS300)