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.

Just had two quotes come in for my 40,000 service. Lexus Park Lane (London): £562 (lol) Lexus Twickenham: £480. Or £610 for service package that covers 40,000 and 50,000. Both prices are high, but as I've just bought the car I wanted to get a dealer to check it out then take it to a local garage from then on. The service package does seem reasonable though, works out at about £400 for the full service and £200 for the intermediate at 50,000. Collected and delivered etc. Waiting for a further quote from Lexus edgeware and a local garage using lexus parts. Any thoughts?

2007 Lexus is 220d. 24 years old 5 years protected no claims London postcode (this is the clincher :() Sp50 motorway 3 point conviction 6000 business miles, 2000 social miles Kept in underground parking mostly £1125 fully comp, £250 excess. That's with Sky insurance who i've been with for 3 years with a Honda civic VTI and a BMW 325i. Not particularly happy to be honest, but with my postcode and using it for business I can't get better anywhere, and the excess is quite good for my age. I'm expecting it to go down a tad in november when i'm 25 and have 6 years no claims. Also have a CBR600f that costs me £750 third party! Can't win with my crap postcode. Would be bliss if I was still living in Devon.

I'm researching this at the mo as i'm about to put the car in for the 40k service, and i'm expecting them to say similar (though having a look myself it looks like they might have been replaced already at 20 - 30k, so maybe not!). I'm looking at replacing the disks and pads with EBC bits. Has anyone had any experience as to whether these have a better longevity? I'm looking at either the Ultimax or Turbo grooved discs using either Ultimax OE replacement pads or greenstuff.

Thanks! And no kids to drop chocholate and drool on the cream leather bonus! Thanks for the kind welcome all :)

I'm in the process of getting a quote for some EBC parts, namely: Lexus IS220D 2.2 TD 2005- Ultimax Pads - Front (DP1772) Lexus IS220D 2.2 TD 2005- Ultimax Pads - Rear (DP1586) Lexus IS220D 2.2 TD 2005- EBC Brakes Ultimax slotted rotors Front (USR7223) Lexus IS220D 2.2 TD 2005- EBC Brakes Ultimax slotted rotors Rear (USR7391) But you can get them for your own car. The Ultimax slotted rotors are dark grey / black. http://www.ebcbrakes.com/automotive/sport_slotted_brake_rotors/index.shtml Edit: They do say the coating wears off after use though. Not sure what the point is then!

Nice car mate, You'll be loving the rear wheel drive after moving from a civic ;) I just moved away from a Civic vti so I know how you feel! Not to take away from Honda - some of the best FWD cars around, but they can't touch the ride quality of a lexus!

Thought i'd chip in as I read this post while deciding whether to get one or not (which I now have!). My trip from Cheshire to West London involved about 30 mins of town driving, 20 mins of crawling/stopstart on the M1 and the rest cruising at 80 in 6th on cruise control. My average for the trip was 49.5mpg. Considering 1/4 of the journey wasn't motorway cruising i'm very impressed with it. Also it's due it's 40,000 service in the next 1000 miles. I was expecting far lower numbers having read this, to be honest. Chuffed to bits!

Hey all, As i'm about to reach 25, I've decided to treat myself to a diesel Lexus! This goes completely against all of those 17 year old wet dreams of cars I thought I would have at this age. I guess I found some maturity along the way, as well as a London postcode, lots of traffic and the daily commute. My first car was a lovely 1.8 Toyota Celica - which felt perfect for me at the time. Very well built and super reliable. So when I decided it was time to get a real car after several cheap work horses - a Lexus seemed a logical choice. Felt very lucky today as I drove this one away from a nice fella in Cheshire, and enjoyed all the comforts the car has on the way back to London. Very happy - It's the exact colour & trim I wanted, and at a great price. it's a minter and is everything I will need in a car for quite a few years to come. Hope to learn / share a thing or two with you on these boards :) Jack