true blue

Hi I think you can get a space saver which will fit in the recess in the boot floor ,I briefly looked at it when I bought my car but I think it lifts the boot floor cover and it seemed a lot of work to re-hash the area to look tidy .I carry the Lexus compressor and a tin of holts seal (I have modified the Lexus compressor by removing their out of date goo) I also carry an emergency plug kit ,the plugs have a mushroom head and are inserted with a special tool and then cut flush used these on motorcycles for years O K for a hole up to 4 m/m but no use for splits .Before Covid We used to do a lot of continental touring so as a belt and braces and there are only ever the 2 of us in the car ,I bought a full size wheel put it in a nylon cover and have it in the back of the car between the seats ,chose this as it does not inconvenience us and the French do not approve the use of space savers on the motorway toll roads Dave

Hi Linas 40 profile ,when I took the car in for tyres I also had 1 spare 18 in Lexus wheel which I take with me on continental holidays fitted with 40 profile the fitter tried it on 1 front while the car was in the air and decided it was too close for safety so 225 40 18 fitted Dave

Hi thanks for that it says Lexus under the CD slot so it is not the Mark Levinson system ,I only thought it was because the salesman said it was in the advert ( ther's a surprise ) and M L is not mentioned in the instruction manual .Its still a good system much better than the Bose in my Mazda . Dave

Hi FA I am confused by your statement that the MM system was dropped for the 2011 model year facelift ,I have a 2011 model year and I thought the system in mine was top spec I can't see any better option Was the MM system available as an extra in 2011 ? Dave

Hi when I purchased my is250c just over 3 years old and 1 owner it had been fitted with 225 x 18 GS wheels all round ,noted on the Lexus service record but I don't know why.These wheels have been on ever since and I am now on my 3rd set of tyres. The set up when new was staggered and I have had no problems on wear, alignment or handling .I did look at 235 but the fronts rubbed on full lock Dave

Thanks for that anecdote Mincey in view of my recent ramblings on seagull poo in this vicinity I will heed your advice Dave

Hi I find all this very confusing as my 250 SEL convertible was registered mid 2011 has all the upgrades and full nav system HDD for music and video bluetooth and Dab radio .I have the original sales brochure booklet for that year which lists all option for all models so I can refer to that ( if I can find it as I put it in a safe place 😃 ) Dave

Hi Len thanks for the advice I will look into the coatings ;feeding gulls ? this is a sea side resort and they thrive on a diet of fish and chips and other holiday take away food that this generation discard all over the place .What they can't scavenge they steal even when your eating it .To add to my polishing duties I also run a Mazda MX5 and needless to say I don't leave this outside with the hood down either !!! .The Mazda paint is a very soft paint and you have to be careful when removing deposits Cheers. Dave

Hi Len I have considered using a coating of some sort to combat the Gulls here in Morecambe ,but I am concerned about the preparation work becoming contaminated in the time before I could seal the coat as my garage is not big enough to work inside .I presently use Farcla wax and carry a detailer round with me for instant removal Thanks Dave

Hi as I understand the system it is not possible to upgrade the older system ,the newer unit is based around a hard disc system and the sat nav upgrades etc are dealer only via a laptop download .I think you will benefit from the later models upgrades , I am very pleased with my 2011 SEL system although some people do not rate the sat nav set up .I find it OK as it has a full post code function and we have done many continental tours with no problems. Just keep searching there is a car out there for you but you may have to travel ;I live in Morecambe and purchased mine in Cambridge ( although a convertible was more difficult to find ) good luck. Dave

Hi good to see the effort made to polish up your IS 250 ;I recently purchased a D A polisher for the first time ,I was very apprehensive so practiced on some old panels first got good results but used masking tape on some corner areas to try and avoid the problem you have had .You can purchase a smaller back plate and pads for ' tight ' areas With regard to the roof ,I think you are right with the bird poo ,we have a problem here with gulls which can really make a mess of paint , the roof is aluminium as you know ,and you will need to be sure whoever repaints it knows the procedure as aluminium needs a different primer to steel and an etch prime has to be mixed and promptly applied so the acid can key into the metal to ensure a proper bond or the job will not turn out at all good Let us know how you get on Dave

Hi I also have just decided to purchase a polisher after many years of hand detailing ;I chose the draper storm force 150 m/m D A polisher mainly on value for money and having used other Draper kit over the years .I have a couple of old panels so went to u tube for help ,the more I read the more confused I become regarding pads . Can one of you good people give me advice on pads/compound you have practical experience on using ,the car is in good general shape having always been washed by hand by me.I am looking towards Autofinesse one step for starters. Dave

Hi and welcome to this great forum ,you won't be disappointed with your choice ,the 250C is a great car and we should now be entering " top down" motoring season I have run mine now for almost 6 years and I think it is the best car I have owned ,the space in the rear seats is a bit cramped but we only have the grandchildren in there ! I am afraid I can't be any help as I always do all my own servicing and apart from the airbag recall I have never been in a Lexus dealership in the 13 years I have owned this and my previous Sportcross .As quoted there is now a reduced rate for our older cars but they are very simple to service and any good local garage should be able to cope easily .Enjoy your new car and if you need any help just ask ,this is a great forum Dave

Hi I think you are right Herbie I recently needed a replacement screen for my IS250c ; Auto windscreens tried to find a non Lexus replacement but gave up so I ended up with a genuine replacement and all genuine trims in Lexus boxes ,well pleased Dave

Hi good read on keeping cars no problem if they are looked after ;another vote here for MX5 for fun open top motoring ,I have been a member of the MX5 owners club for over 18 years and driven all over Europe in them .£3000 is the lower end of the Mk 3 NC model ,2 litre ford engine and very reliable which I think would fit the bill .The only problem is rust ensure your have it up in the air and check .I bought one of the first in Dec2005 a friend of mine still runs it and it has never given any problem ,my current one is 10 years old powered hardtop and runs like a Swiss watch ;sailed through the MOT never even had an advisory on any MOT .Just hope now some normality may return so we can use our cars again Dave

Hi Paul the callipers can be a weak point without routine maintenance but replacement is a straight forward job. I am not the best person to advise on garage rates as I have done all my own maintenance on all my cars and only use a garage for MOT test .I do not advise servicing brakes unless you are confident you know what you are doing ,but if you are on a budget I'm sure you can find a reliable independent garage who will charge a reasonable labour rate.Parts -go online to a specialist I have used Brakes International Rochdale over the years, their site shows front calliper 2 x £67 rear calliper 2 x £93 front fitting kit £12 front pads £35 rear pads £30 shop around other sites ,but this gives a total of £410 + some sundry charge for pins .Your estimate of £300 per corner is £1200 ,gives a lot of change to sort a garage ,and a job done with good quality reconditioned guaranteed parts ,that's the route I would take and then you do not need to worry about seized callipers with regular checks .Let us know how you get on Dave

Hi today I got the 250 convertible M O T ,d no problems at all again ,nearly 10 years old and never even had an advisory.I am fussy and look after it myself and I don't have Technician on my overalls .Due to the current fiasco only done 2000 miles this time. I am not going to get involved with Brexit arguments but I won't say no to some nice cheap lamb for a change, if the French don't want it I certainly do .My good news is I am a real old timer and I have just received the call for my covid jab on the 30th Dec . May I wish everyone on the forum a happy Christmas and a much better 2021. Stay safe Dave

Ah John nostalgia its not what it used to be!! I also look back on the old days money wise ,the bad news is from January the !st class stamp will set you back 85p ( 17 shillings ) how much longer will we be posting letters? Dave

Hi I have it in my 2011 SEL. not really impressed very patchy in places ,in my opinion your not missing much Dave

Hi I have also unsuccessfully been down this route but I made it a deal breaker before signing to buy .My IS 250 was bought from a Merc main dealer who thought he could get it done ,with all his contacts he still had to go to Lexus .A plus point is Lexus wipe off all previous key settings and re programme the 2 keys only to your car so maintaining the security Dave

Hi yes I have seen this on many different cars ,I think it arises from using 2nd rate car cleaning companies who buy the cheapest products to boost profits .Some of the detergents used are really aggressive and the alkaline nature really attacks aluminium alloys, some of the wheel cleaners are basically concrete cleaning products which attack the cast iron discs and brake callipers .If the residue of these solutions is left under bonnets ,boots etc they will corrode .I always wash my own car ,use good quality products rinse throughly and open and dry off bonnet and boot surrounds and door shuts ,If you think I am being a bit sceptical put your aluminium saucepans and cheap Chinese stainless knives in the dish washer for a few cycles and see the results .Another vote for A C F-50 from me Dave

Hi as quoted you need the Toyota coolant ,as your car is over 10 years old the coolant should have been changed ,you will need to check the % strength for protection .You can purchase a gauge cheaply ( £11 E bay ) either refractometer type or hydrometer type and you will get a reading straight away telling you the temp the coolant strength will protect to ,top up if necessary .The anti corrosion properties de-grade with age so if you have no record of a change it would be wise to change the fluid to prevent damage .If there is a record and the fluid is quoted ,use this to top up ,I think you are safe to assume if the change was carried out by Lexus then Toyota fluid would be required Dave

Hi I'm afraid I have to agree with Mike ;I am fortunate that as an old school engineer I have been servicing my own and family members cars for longer than I care to remember ,but ,if you are not in this position my advice would be to take a 2014 car to an independent garage where the owner is supervising ,you will get paperwork you can produce when you sell the vehicle and my small experience with main dealer fitters with Technician on their overalls is not good .Case in point ,the first Lexus I bought years ago was an 1 owner 200 Sportcross 7 years old 35000 miles full Lexus service every year. It was not immaculate ,bit tatty round the edges but a good buy passed on to a local garage by the main dealer as he did not put it in his stock ,so for a good deal less than main dealer stock I bought this car all the preparation that was done was it had a bucket of water thrown over it prior to sale . It ran a bit roughly on the 200+ mile journey home but no worries .When I serviced it became obvious services had not been carried out to my satisfaction ,the main problem was I believe the air cleaner had never been touched I filled an Asda plastic bag with debris and junk from the filter and trunking ,the pollen filter wasn't much better.I contacted the Lexus dealer to check the book with stamps was genuine and matched their records I was told it was and had it pointed out to me I did not know what I was doing -if I did I would know the service interval to change the filter is 40000 miles all this in a car which takes 35 seconds to remove and check the air filter Forgive the long post Stay safe Dave

I think you have covered most things ,the servicing is straight forward ;the only special tool you need is the one to remove the oil filter housing as it is not a cartridge filter ,it is a replaceable paper type element ,this is well covered on the forum Dave

Hi looks O K as you say , I would check - service history no mention in advert especially as it has passed 60,000 miles which is a `big` Lexus number for service as it includes plugs .check all electrics work properly ,check airbag recall has been carried out and ideally 2 keys as replacements are very expensive . Has a new MOT so in theory no problems there good luck the test drive will reveal any further problems Dave