LexIS200Sport

15 minutes ago, rich1068 said:

Sorry off-topic but that is mint! 😍😍

Is that a recent photo? Finding a 1st gen IS in that condition (especially with the headlamp lens so clear) is incredibly rare.

10 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

Poor old Nissan, I guess that's what happens when you team up with a French manufacturer.

True that. I believe all diesel Nissans use Renault engines?

As a perpetual Nissan fan it's just sad seeing what has become of the company and where it's headed. 

30mpg was my magic figure for my commute.  As mentioned above, keeping it up to 70mph on the motorway gave decent consumption; any quicker and consumption increased quite drastically.

From memory, the engine sat at almost 3000rpm at 70mph on 6th gear, which certainly did not help with the economy. I remember driving it at Vmax on the Autobahn and was achieving <10mpg lol. 

5 hours ago, JT88 said:

I bought the IS250 as I found one that was in such a good condition! 

Congratulations! 

Wow snowing already! 

Hope you've got winter tyres on!

34 minutes ago, JT88 said:

What would you say you experienced in terms of performance between the two. I do know the GS is far superior in regards to pick up with its 3.5 litre V6 - but is the IS250 sluggish or fast enough for it to be a little fun too?

The GS450h has superior straight-line acceleration compared to the IS250, but I found the IS250 to be more engaging to drive. In fact, the IS250 was plenty fun to drive (especially in 3IS form), and having a "normal" automatic transmission also added to the aural thrills  🙂

34 minutes ago, JT88 said:

Finally 2/3 IS250 I have found are SE-I whereas the 2007 model I have found is SE-L. I found a forum post and seems to be not much of a difference between the two. As a Lexus owner - are you familiar with the difference between the two?

Sorry, not too familiar with the difference between the two. Hopefully someone can chime in on this.

34 minutes ago, JT88 said:

Hopefully I'll be a legit member with an IS250 or GS 450 in the next few days!

Good luck with your search!

I'll chime in my thoughts and experience. First off, welcome to the club  🙂

Driving around London, my GS450h managed around 25mpg in summer. I suspect the IS250 is in that vicinity too so it would be a tie there. And since you're after the SE-L trim of the IS250, I don't think you'll be left wanting for anything additional that the 3GS could offer, so another tie there.

Ride and comfort - I feel this is very subjective, and best if you test drive the cars and decide. I find that my GS450h is a little too stiff. It works on the roads around me and my commute, but left me wanting for a smoother ride in London. For the times that I've had the IS250 as courtesy cars, the ride felt more compliant than the GS, but I've not driven it in London.

Reliability - there had been some big-bill items on my GS but none of it was related to the hybrid system. You may have read that Lexus does offer a warranty for the hybrid Battery too, up to 15 years. The IS250 does have a regular powertrain so in theory less things to go wrong.

Fair enough, glad that its all sorted now  🙂

So next up is replacement dampers? When my rear shock failed, it did indeed have a knocking noise to it.

Well done!

How hard was it to disassemble + reassemble the dash? Any chance you took step-by-step photos that could be shared?  🙂

6 hours ago, Lexusls400 =) said:

Do you know if it also came with the ventilated seats and 'premium' leather that SE-L supposedly has?

You may find the answers in the thread below:

1 hour ago, zoricib said:

Would a suspension issue cause the pull? 

Potentially, if something is bent beyond tolerance. 

Another cause is sticking brake calipers. The car will pull towards the side of the binding brake caliper. Happened on my IS200.

7 hours ago, scott-o said:

Didn't realise you could use the cruise like a traditional cruise control rather than adaptive either!

Yeah, simply push the cruise control stalk forward (away from you) toggle from adaptive cruise to normal cruise. It's in the owners manual 😛

Just to be clear, is it just the distance control that you have issues changing? The adaptive cruise works okay otherwise with the default distance setting?

If yes, maybe the distance control switch on the steering is faulty. The car is ever so ready to throw a fault if the radar unit has gone wonky, which I'm guessing isn't the case?

Noticed that you are in West Midlands. Would highly recommend these chaps for wheel alignment. They look after my GS and Leaf. 

https://www.alineyourcar.co.uk/

This post may be helpful regarding the different trim levels for the GS450h: 

The GS450h Sport models were equipped with APSSS and factory bodykit, but lacked sunroof and radar cruise control. May have come standard with rear privacy glass as all the ones I've seen seem to have been tinted, but other may confirm this.

Rare trim level within the already sparse GS450h.

5 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

My rationale for posting was I imagined the owner of a Lexus SC430 or ISC would probably have said..."rattle.....what rattle ?"

Not sure about the SC or the IS-C, but for many a 3GS owner, creaks and rattles are a way of life 😉

Google Lens of that phone cradle seems to link it to the connector on this phone. It's a Nokia 6680 but I think many more Nokia phones came with this connector. 

Lovely car and lovely color. Congratulations! 

How does the drive compare to your former IS?

Oh my words! What gives?

By the way, now that you have everything out of the way, I'd strongly encourage that you remove or cut a large hole in this rubber grommet circled in red:

On that grommet, there is essentially a slit that lets the aircon condensate water to flow out of the car. Over time, this can seal up and the water then gets redirected to your carpets.

More info here and here.

Glad to hear it's all sorted!   🙂
LPD is normally my first point of call for parts.

Sounds like your car is in for potentially a dashboard-out job?

Is that the stock ride height?

Edit: sorry just read the BC coilovers, please ignore

Maybe your front left brake caliper is sticking slightly.

16 hours ago, alexdodd said:

When looking at used examples, high mileage heroes and 10+ year old versions, what are the stand out things I really need to pay attention to, or tests I should be doing on a drive i'll wish I did later?

Creaks and rattles - more so on pre-facelift cars. Have a drive over some not-so-perfect roads if you can. Will also give you a chance to assess the 3GS's ride, which some find a bit too firm for their liking (I grew to accept it, but my wife still dislikes it). New shocks have made some improvements. 

Also for earlier cars - the aircon condensate outlet can get clogged and cause the water to drain into the passenger side carpets instead. By the time you feel the damp in the carpet, the insulation underneath is well and truly soaked. Easy to remedy in the GS300, a PITA in the GS450h. 

Make sure that the car has had all recalls done by Lexus. From memory, there were 2 recalls for my car - one of them being the engine valve spring recall. 

Check that there is no oil leak from the timing chain cover. Doesn't seem to have much coverage on here but appears to be an issue with the 2GR-FSE engine as seen in US sites. Was fixed under warranty in my car but was told by the dealer that it would have been very costly otherwise. The VVT-i cam gear was replaced at the same time too. Wasn't an issue with my car (yet) but is known to wear out and cause damage to the engine if it fails (Toyota TSB-0094-09 has more info on this)

Just sharing my experience with my car  🙂

Good luck with the search!

Happy days!

Thanks for sharing! Looks like 3GS 450h brakes are on sale too, just when I needed them 😎