smw

It's interesting how the brain 'deals' with things isn't it. Ask someone to tell you how much is half of 99. Most people will say 45 or 47. Just in case . . . It's 49.5 !

Really appreciate that wildrnes. It's a 380 mile round trip for me. Thanks M8. Look forward to hearing what you think.

Well spoken with the dealer today. He won't take a penny off the screen price. Very reluctant to chuck anything in as well - just mats, tank of fuel, 6 months tax. Wouldn't even agree to a set of mud flaps. Bit silly. I want the car but I also want a 'deal'. Have noticed a 2000 car (but still X plate) at another dealer (Tonbridge Wells). Also black SE manual. It's almost excatly the same price as the Hatfield one but has done 11 000 less miles. Perhaps even more interesting at Lexus Stockport a black SE manual on 2000 W plate, 2 000 less miles than the Hatfield car but screen price is £1 000 less at £13 995 (without any negotiating). Right . . .looks like I'm off to Cheshire !

The badges are stuck to the underneath of skateboards. Each kid chooses a 'brand' i.e. Lex and then covers the underneath of his board with the badges. It's for decoration but also when they do tricks that involve scraping the board along walls, railings etc. the metal badges can cause sparks. For this reason you are probably right about them abandoning the nick when they discovered it's plastic. What really winds me up about this is that they (the kids) are probably thinking 'well if he can afford a car like that he can just go buy some new badges'. :tsktsk:

Right worked out that this car should be around £14 400 allowing for mileage etc. Guess I'll aim under that and see where I get - I'll go for a few extras as well - thanks for the pointers. If anyone wants a look it's the 4th car down the list from this link: http://www.lexus.co.uk/hatfield/approved.p...&area1=approved

Congratulations on the very expensive new arrival. Oh yeah and the car

Well will he give me nice coffee and call me sir ? Want dealer peace of mind really. His front alloys are dirty aren't they ? Couldn't even be bothered to give it a clean for the photo. Bargain though.

Well I'm 35 and look it (at least !). Reminds me of a quote from David in 'The Office' “How old would you say I was, if you didn’t know me?” “Forty?” “No. How old do you think I look?” “er, thirty-nine?” “Most people think I look about thirty.” “Definitely not.” “Oh, are you calling them liars? What do you think?” “erm, between thirty and forty?” “Yes. . . . More honest.”

Thanks for the stuff so far. Just to respond to the points so far . . . pee.j - tempting but I really don't want a sport, I also like the idea of a dealer warranty, hope you do find a buyer soon though. On price of the car I've seen - I agree it's a bit steep so I'll certainly be looking to cut a deal on the screen price. warranty - can you get a 2 or 3 year warranty on a used car ? - I thought 1 year was all that was available no matter how hard you try. Also thought I'd mention the dealer (don't think I've said anything untrue / unfair) so they are - Lexus Hatfield - anyone dealt with them - how did it go ? Keep it coming . . . much appreciated

Think I may have (finally) found the IS I have been searching for. I've been having problems as I am being quite fussy - the car must be a Lex used approved in black with exmoor and be a manual SE - also I can only afford around £15K. My local dealer has just got one in to my specification - it is a 2001/X with 40 000 miles and they are asking £14 950. Full history including the 40k service just done by selling dealer (which I am given to understand is quite expensive). Obviously I can haggle this but the dealer has already given me a sob story about how little he is making on the car - I'm a bit unfortuntate here because he knows how much I want this particular spec. I'm also aware that his asking price is very close to my 'budget' i.e. has he priced it purely with me in mind knowing it's exactly what I want (?) Anyway he has already agreed that he will give it 6 months tax, tank of fuel and new flaps. I'll work on the price with him if I definatley go for it - what is realistic ? BUT - my main reason for posting is: When the selling dealer carried out the 40k service they also changed the brake pads, fitted 4 new alloys and 4 new Bridgestone Tyres. Whilst this may all seem like 'plus' points I have found out that the previous owner was a leasing company. Is it highly likley that the previous owner (who obviously leased the car) wouldn't have cared for it much and hence bashed the wheels and was heavy on tyres / brakes ? The selling dealer said that the wheels were replaced because they were 'slightly marked and detracted from the otherwise excellent condition of the car' and the tyres were replaced because 'although they were perfectly legal they were not of a brand which Lexus would sell on an approved car'. So . . . good buy / bad buy - what to pay and how does this dealers comments sound ? Avoid an ex lease car or buy safe in the knowledge that the history is up to date, the mileage is likely to be mostly motorway and the Lex can take it anyway ? Look forward to some wise words !

You remember the bit when they did 'fastest disabled driver' - afterwards they started telling us that one of the drivers had been let off speeding when the police pulled him over and then noticed his wheelchair in the back of the car - anyway the car he drives was described as 'very, very fast' but did you catch what it was . . . Toyota Supra Twin Turbo :D Nice one. Not sure where he puts the chair though !

This took some practice . . . http://www.astercity.net/~tobik/pingpong.html

Vaguely rings a bell - set in the future - cops see crimes before they happen and arrest the criminal before there is a victim / Tom Cruise stars (?) Don't remember the car though !

Whats this all about then ?

Like that look with the dark L. How easy to remove the 'sport' badge ?

They can be ordered through any UK Lexus dealer. They feature in the 'accessories' brochure which they can also supply or you can request from the Lexus site on line. The brochure was printed April 2003 - code GBNGC-043LE-AC. Any problems - the last page has a help line number - 0845 278 8888 - don't know if this is accessory specific or just a general help line.

Yeah sorry I meant do the plates run from the car battery or an internal battery. So thats answered. Do they look good ? Grille - well the car is Black to answer the previous post. I have seen the grille in the brouchure and all I can make out is that the mesh appears to be a different style but I guess there is more to it. If there is an obvious picture in the gallery that illustrates the difference can someone point me to it - thanks.

Mrs SMW wants a family outing this summer to Woburn Safari Park. It's just dawned on me that I will have the new IS by then. Am I right in thinking that this is the place where you drive your car through and all the animals come up to your car and Monkeys climb all over it etc. Might hire a car for the day . . .

Has anyone got the following IS200 dealer supplied accesories and can answer the queries: Sport grille - how is it different to the standard one ? Illuminated scuff plates - does the word 'Lexus' light up or the whole plate ? Are they battery powered (hope not) or do they wire to the door loom. How much are these accesories ?

This makes sense. Obviously the biggest chunk of depreciation on a car is going to be almost immediate i.e as soon as the vehicle is no longer 'new' , has a registered owner and starts getting miles on the clock. That said the dealer is in a funny position really with your car - I'm currently looking for an IS and I have been able to get a dealer down to £19 400 on a brand new 200 SE (manual with paint). So say you wanted 18 from the dealer for yours - he's got to then valet it / advertise / check it over / tie up his cash flow and make a profit. You can see that even if he covers his costs and strives to make £400 profit your car would have to retail on used at about the 19 mark -which as I've said is almost the same as he can put a new SE out at. I know yours is an auto so it would be worth more - but you see the point I'm making. However you also have to take into account the profit he is making on the new RX he is selling you - although as has already been made quite clear - they don't seem in a rush to do it. Lets face it these cars pretty much sell themselves - it's a desirable product and demand and supply are well matched. Do you think a Ford dealer would be keen top cut a 38 K deal with you - he'd probably camp outside your house all night until you signed the contract !

You don't have much luck do you ! I never would have believed how hard it is to spend 38 grand !

I'll be interested to hear how it goes with the broker. Quite a few people on TOC have used it and had no problems - haven't actually used myself though. Hope it works out.

You might want to have a look at this broker - he simply puts you in touch with a Lex dealer who will sell at the prices he quotes. http://www.broker4cars.co.uk/lexusprices.htm PS X5 - bit of an image problem (IMHO).

Why not write to the dealer and say you will pay them £25 000 for the car and then in small print at the bottom put 'actual offer is £10 000'

Peterb Yaris is a great choice for a second car or moderate use - I wouldn't want to be doing 500 + miles a week in it but for general run around, shopping, school runs etc. I think it's unbeatable. You have done the right thing going for the 1.3 - worth the additional premuim plus you get a few more toys. Should return about 42 MPG. Plus - despite being about 5 years old now - people who have never seen the 'digi dash' will still be impressed by it ! That said I think the Spirit has got regular dials. The Yaris has a good driving position and space inside will probably surprise you. The rear seats slide back and forth to increase load space or come out all together. The interior is a bit cheap and plasticy but - hey - the whole car costs about half an IS ! Servicing is well cheap (especially if you have been used to running Lex) the Yaris needs a full service every 2 years and it's about £90. 'course the 1.3 is only £100 a year road tax as well. Yaris has best retained value of any Toyota although this may be affected now that there is a new model (you don't say if you are getting new or used). The only negatives I've heard on the Yaris from TOC is: 1. 2nd Gear hard to select / crunching 2. Tyre valves difficult to access on wheel trim models 3. Wind noise Have to say though I haven't noticed any of these things on mine. Of course you've bought the best one - the T Spirit. If you haven't been over to TOC yet you may wish to - the T Spirit is much admired there and there will be no shortage of people wanting to chat about it and offer advice.