jackw

I was annoyed that the discs tend to lip early (about 45k on my car). Decided to go with EBC USR discs and red stuff pads all round in the hope they have better longevity (and the fact that in the end they were the same price to get fitted as standard Lexus parts). So far they have been quiet and the braking noticeably stronger over the last few thousand miles. They do look nice peaking through the alloys too. Will just have to see how they fair in another 40k :)

PSN - KlawJack though I'm gaming on the PC more than not these days. I was playing CoD a while ago though on Ps3 :)

Points from me go to the 159 for looks. Lovely front end on those. I just came back from italy using a rented Brera 3.2 V6 and it was beautiful to drive. The only niggle I had with it was the interior build quality felt less refined than my lexus. Everything had play and the plastics felt a bit cheap in comparison. I assume the 159 has similar interior. Still, I would be proud to own one.

I'd agree with the 250 auto. It sounds like some performance is important to you. The MPG is a bit lower but the MPG of the 220d is nothing to shout about anyway, i'm getting 40-45 average 50/50 town and motorway. You could probably get 30-35 out of the 250. I went for the d for resale value in 5 years (with the way things are going) and because I never get to drive spirited on my commute anyway, I have a CBR600 for when I need a buzz. You'd get a nice specced 250 auto with low miles for 10k, they seem better value now as everyone is on the diesel bandwagon. If I lived anywhere but London i'd have gone for it (plus the paddleshift is cool!).

I had a similar choice spread when looking for a ~10k car a month ago. The 320d (imo) is the best choice of all of those cars, and I my many hours of research told me that the general consensus was that it was better than the IS 220d. However, for 10k you would not get one in good nick with good options like leather, and you certainly wouldn't get an M-sport. Realistically you'd have to pay 14-15k. This was the clincher for me, as for a nicely specced black is220d in mint condition with 40k miles cost me 9.5k privately. I also like the fact that they are a little more rare and feel a bit more premium. There are so many 3 series around where I live (London). is220d makes 6th gear more of a usable gear in spirited drive (apparently). as Standard it's something to stick into at 70-80mph with the cruise on - which for me is perfect. A lot of people complain about it being unusable but for my motorway stretches it's perfect. I think you lose some fuel economy with the sport also.

I started looking into this as I fear the same for mine when lexus have it for a service next month. If they do mention replacing discs I was looking to replace with EBC parts all round. I totalled the parts to around £350 in the hope they will last longer than ~40k miles. No physical experience with it yet, though.

Have you tried Sky insurance yet? They are cheaper than most i've tried and the excess is also way lower for me.

That's commitment Nero. Most I paid was 1600 on a 1.8 celica when I was 18, at least yours has some kind of performance :P

Welcome :) I was on the look out for an IS300 before I decided to go for the newer Is. There are some around but low miler minters are very hard to find, even for me in London. I found quite a few in the midlands when I was looking though. Here's the best example I found on my travels. You could always fly to London quite cheaply, I guess there might always be a certain amount of travel involved - I had to get a train to Cheshire to get mine! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200547510873&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_1208wt_1139 Good luck with your hunt.

Not all do and I found it wasn't guaranteed (I registered for gold yesterday). Lexus Twickenham didn't acknowledge despite multiple pestering by me. Lexus Edgeware Road offered 10% so I went with them.

Sorry to shift the topic slightly, but has anyone got a decent solution for mounting an iphone + wiring if you don't have the blue tooth nav system? Looking for a retrofit solution (i.e proclip + cables and tidies). Ideally so that there arn't wires all over the place on the dash and centre column. Thanks :)

Decided to go with Lexus Edgeware road as they offered the 10% discount. £460 for full 40,000 service and courtesy car. Think that's the best i'm going to get around the London area! Fingers crossed I don't need my breaks doing also - If I do though i'll upgrade to EBC and hope for longer living disks.

Good idea about the oil. Might do the same. Update on mine - Even though the gold membership area says Twickenham offer a 10% discount - I've just been on the phone with them and they said that they do not. They only offer discount to those who bought the car from that dealership. Disappointing as I just registered for gold membership. I even mentioned the contact name - perhaps the dealership management has changed around and the reference to it was old. With the discount it would have totalled at £545 for a service pack for 40,000 & 50,000 - which I would have gone for. Sadly I won't be as I feel a bit hard done by, so most likely i'll be taking it to a local garage.