J Henderson

Could it be some of the pores in the seats have become clogged-up over time with accumulated dirt, cleaning product residue etc?

Squid

In terms of equipment, a 2010 car is the one to go for and this applies to both F-Sport and SE-L. The whole IS range received (another) small facelift for MY2011, which removed some features and equipment which had otherwise been standard. Main difference between SE-L and F-Sport is the interior. SE-L is more luxurious with full leather, wood trim on console and door cards, plus the seats are heated and cooled. F-Sport interior has heated-only seats, plus they are a different design with more pronounced bolstering. They are also only half-leather as the central panels are covered in Alcantara. The rest of the interior also has a more typical sporty feel - dark colour, including the headlining, whereas a large proportion of SE-Ls have light coloured seats etc. Both models of this vintage ride on 18" wheels, so the only real mechanical difference is the suspension. An F-Sport has different springs and dampers with a 10mm lower ride height. As for buying a newer example, there are some benefits. Main one is the looks, especially for the F-Sport. The 2011 version is more modern-looking with it's more angular bumper/spoiler and darkened headlights with signature DRLs. Also I'm not sure exactly what mechanical changes were made (if any) for MY2011, but I do note that its filled with thinner oil from new (0w20 vs 5w30). Anyway, whatever the reason, a 2011 car has slightly lower emissions and fuel consumption, and as a result, falls into a lower VED category and costs £25 less to tax.

Momentum 99 now up to £1.51.9 at my local Tesco.

Prometheus

The Bilt Hamber foam is quite runny by nature and not as thick as others I have tried. It's cleaning power is unrivaled though so it's my preference. That said, it should still cling/dwell to the paint for about 5-10mins before becoming ineffective. I've always applied it with the foam lance at max strength by having the adjustment knob turned fully in the + direction.

No need to remove the bumper to change headlight bulbs, but you do need to unbolt and/or remove the air filter housing, plus the filler neck of the windscreen washer bottle to have sufficient access. I swapped mine for Osram Cool Blue Intense 3.5 years ago, which improved light output. Supposedly, they have a shorter lifespan than normal bulbs, but still going strong.

Vampire

Came across these that look quite similar to the popular VLand tail lights, but these ones are "dynamic" with flashy start-up animation and sequential indicators. aTkhThFsfnmK6dRWFXE_332380869503_mp4_264_hd.mp4 Does anyone have them? I think the smoked version looks great on the black car. https://a.aliexpress.com/_mtD7PSa

Godfather

Had the same problem last year and just bit the bullet and replaced both sides with new calipers for £200. eBay

Definitely seems that way. According to Auto trader valuation, my car is still worth over 80% of what I paid for it more than 5 years ago, despite me doubling the mileage on it. 🤔

I swapped to my winter set last week. Normally I would wait until at least November, when single-digit temperatures are more commonplace, but I noticed one of my rear tyres was getting close to the wear indicator and I didn't want to be flagged for an advisory about it during my MOT. Even though the weather is still relatively mild, I can feel the benefits in terms of a more compliant ride and quieter tyre noise.

"LOVELEXUS" gets you free shipping on a £100+ spend.

Just paid £1.47.9 a few hours ago. Up 4p since last Friday.

2010 F-Sport is pretty much SE-L spec, minus the full leather, cooled seats and rear blind. Everything else an SE-L has is included. Mark Levinson (if nav is equipped), memory seats, retractable steering wheel etc. Newer models with DRL-equipped headlights (MY2011) lose all these features. In terms or ride quality, I have no frame of reference as both IS250s I've owned have both been an F-Sport, but for me the ride quality is excellent. It's not exactly a lightweight package so it soaks up bumps really well, despite sports suspension and 18" wheels. The alcantara-clad sports seats are also very comfortable. I could drive mine all day, no problem. Definitely try and get a test drive of one.

I used mine a couple of weeks ago for the first time in absolutely ages. Car had just been serviced and felt quite lively, so I gave it some welly on the way home. Otherwise, I very rarely use them.

Sounds like the car in question, could be an early facelift as I don't think the earliest examples had the USB port. Anyway, for me, USB playback is inferior to streaming via Bluetooth. With USB, you do have the advantage of being able to access tracks and folders on the touchscreen, but I find the pauses between each track annoying. It's especially jarring when listening to something where the tracks are supposed to flow into each other, such as a DJ set, concert or whatever. If you store the same album on your phone and stream it over Bluetooth, there are no pauses.

I have a few brochures that came with my car that list equipment, prices, options etc. They're specific to MY2011 and suggest that at that point in time, only the IS-F or IS250C SE-L Premier could have Multimedia (Mark Levinson). All other grades, "Full Map Navigation" was the only option - including SE-L saloon.

Branch

DAB was an optional extra, regardless of trim level, and seems to have been rarely-ticked by buyers when these cars were new. I believe the DAB tuner can be retrofitted though if you can stomach the cost (£400+). Facelift cars with a USB port can indeed play music from a connected storage device. Also, Mark Levinson-equipped cars with a HDD-based navigation system allow CDs to be ripped on to it. From memory, the allocation is around 10GB. Regarding the ML system itself. For me, it's not a must-have on the 2nd-gen IS since the "normal" 13-speaker setup is so good. My previous car had ML, and current one doesn't. There really isn't that much of a drop-off so don't let that put you off picking a car that doesn't have it.

You'll have to pry open the blank cover first to reveal the alarm motion sensor, as there's a couple of screws that need to be removed. Once those are removed, you can pry the entire unit away from the roof lining. Only work from the top end and sides though, as there are a couple of hooks on the bottom edge that will probably break.

Never had an issue getting fuel either. Some forecourts have been imposing limits (£35), but the only refinery in Scotland is literally 5mins away, so I'm yet to see a completely dry filling station. Just the odd pump nozzle covered up here and there.

It's the whole range, country-wide. I had already stopped taking my car to the dealership since 2019, but would've considered using them again for my most recent service had the Essential program still been in operation, since it was only a minor one and would been a reasonable price. Not now though since it'll be £300 minimum.

Correct. The vented calipers are different and have 18 stamped on them, so you would need to upgrade the calipers too. As for your issue with the steering pulling. That could be down to the tyres, not the brakes. My own car tramlined quite badly when I had 19" wheels on it.