Stew-R

Hi guys. Wondering if any of us UK guys have fitted the F Sport anti roll bars to the GS450h? If so, how are they and are they worth the money? Did you order part numbers PTR02-30101? Considering a set for my 2010 GS450h. Many Thanks Stew

Very true! Never knew there were that many F-sport extras!

Very nice! Lovely example you picked up there. All you need now is the F-Sport intake. I had to import one from USA. Had that same intake / exhaust setup when I had an IS250. Sounded great.

Hi all, I don't suppose anyone has a late model working lower Mark Levinson head unit they are happy to part with? Mine has started spitting out CD's and turning itself on and off, so would like to buy a working one. The navigation screen / upper unit is not required. Many Thanks Stew

Hi all. I noticed recently the chrome strip on one of my 2010 wheels had disappeared and took outer fixing section with it, leaving just a stub. Anyone know of a decent wheel specialist in the south London / Surrey area who has dealt with these? I assume the chrome strip will have to be ordered from Lexus directly? many thanks stew

Well, I thought I should post and inform you guys, after much searching for just the right car, family circumstances (not mine, but my cousin) changed, and I've ended up with a GS450h UK car. Got to say, it's extremely impressive! Thanks everyone who contributed to this thread! Will get pics etc up on the forum soon once I've got my plate on it and got it nicely cleaned up!

Me too! Spoke to the dealer again last night actually, and he's now said it's going to be 15th January before it hits the UK so a fair wait yet. Might end up getting one myself from my agent by then. Yes it's flat rate for imports. Below 1549cc its £160 and anything above its £265 (per year).

Hi guys, To answer a couple of questions in one post... I've bid on a few but not managed to successfully get one yet. Either the dealer wanted more than my bid (even though I was the highest bid on multiple occasions ) or I got outbid. Shame really, I thought he may come down a bit and meet me in the middle, but obviously not. I have seen the white one on eBay, and spoken to the dealer selling it. It's up near York. It's due to arrive in the country soon, so I intend to go and have a look at it. It's meant to be auction grade 4B, but doesn't quite look it to me in the photos. A visit to see it face to face will determine that. If it's as described I may well have a go at it. But considering the mileage (87k miles, not KM), it is quite high priced. I'll still go and see it regardless, as having one that is here and drivable and viewable before handing over the cash is preferable. I'll keep this post up to date as and when I do find something. I did buy some F-Sport wheels and F-Sport intake recently ( Put them on my IS250 at the moment, but will get transferred once a 350 is purchased! ). Hope you're all doing well and safe.

Thanks for the idea..... but not really no. I've heard too many stories of them not ageing well, certainly in comparison to a Lexus. It may not be the generic rule, but what I have been told. Besides - I've already got the agent searching for an IS350, wouldn't want him wasting his time 😄 Also, I genuinely love my IS250, and it's safely the best all rounder I've ever owned, and the only thing I wish it had was more power.

I can only agree with you there. Obviously, they wanted to push the F sales so didn't bother with 350 models. I do have the same thought process in terms of running costs with the ISF, hence importing the 350. I had an E55 AMG, and that was stupidly expensive to run. I know I can't compare a Lexus to a Merc in terms of reliability, but the same parts such as tyres, brakes etc are going to be a similar cost - and on cars like that, they tend to need replacing pretty often! It is a shame we didn't get the 350 models, as I'm sure they'd have sold pretty well. But, who are we to complain 😄

Just goes to show how good those old V6 lumps are! But yes, I'm definitely surprised that the 200T lump doesn't outperform it in terms of MPG. I once did a crazy economy run from J8 M25 to Folkestone. I'd have to dig out the photos I took but I think I was up round your best figure! This post suggests it happens in the 3UZ also - thought it may have turned out to be something different - I never read to the end lol! I must admit, I've often wondered about their claim (they told me this too) but then they released the ISF here. If there was no market for the 350 here, then there'd be no market for the ISF either. They do have some odd marketing Lexus - take for example the fact they've dropped the IS, GS and I think RC over here as of next year. Guess we'll all have to import our own cars in future!

Yes, it does - but I intend to get a JDM Version L, which is the same as UK SE-L spec, so shouldn't miss out on too much there. Yeah definitely right there on residual values, can't argue that. I wish ISFs were still going for the 10k GBP - I'd have already bought one! The ATF issue does affect many of the saloons. People have reported it on here in LS430's also - so presumably it can also affect GS430, GS460, LS460 etc And I'm pretty certain the chap on here who had it happen to his ISF wasn't on a track, but just driving down the road (although I could be wrong there). Yes the ISF gearbox is definitely a better box! However, I can't really complain with the box in my 250. It does not manually shift anywhere near as quick as an ISF, but since my driving is either very local or long cross continent journeys, that's not really a major issue, and I don't use the manual mode all that often except for overtaking or the odd blast on a country road. Wow really!!? I thought the 200T was meant to be more fuel efficient than the 250! I'm really surprised! I've regularly seen 40MPG on my cross continent journeys in my 250! On a recent trip to Oxford from London I was seeing 42MPG tank average on the M40 (granted, this off the computer and not calculated properly!). I do often see 20MPG tank average on local driving only. But I'm really surprised that the 200T isn't doing more than 28MPG. No I know you're not. I too would have bought one earlier had they been available in the UK. After doing my research on cost to purchase, insurance, parts, servicing etc I came to the conclusion that the 350 would be the best overall option for me.

You are correct that the IS-F may seem the logical choice.... however dig into a bit further - They have a known fault with the ATF cooler that has been known to take out the gearbox when it fails, which it seems to do without warning - someone on the F owners group had it happen recently. Also, running costs of the ISF are considerably higher than a 350. Tyres, brakes etc are considerably more expensive. MPG is also another factor. Given that there is an approximate 300 GBP difference in insurance for annual cover (my personal quotes), that wouldn't even cover the difference in brakes cost (Euro car parts ISF replacement discs and pads £862 vs 350 replacement discs and pads£512)! And what does the ISF come with that the 350 doesn't, besides the 5.0 engine, 19" wheels and quad exhausts? Given that you can get a 2008 ISF with 100k+ miles for ~15k GBP or a similar aged IS350 with ~50k miles for ~10k GBP with similar on road daily driver performance (obviously out on a track or empty road the F would walk away, but probably not *massively* in day to day usage ) then I'm not sure how the ISF seems better value for money either?? I do whole heartedly agree that Lexus should have brought the 350 models into the UK - IS, GS and RC models.

I assume that was JapAutoAgent. That's who I'm using to get mine for me. They do reset the KMH clock to read in MPH, which is fine if you only ever drive in the UK, but I travel a lot in Europe, and also the sat nav buttons and as you mention display between the clocks reads in Japanese - hence wanting the UK style instrument clocks and navigation

No need to defend it - as I said - it's a great engine. Had it in my old mk2 GS430 sport. But, in terms of overall ownership, the 2GR is more modern, efficient, powerful and cheaper to maintain. I love the 3UZ, hence looking at one in the first place. But for long term ownership, I'll go with the 2GR.

Well, I was thinking of finding someone to do a 3UZ swap to my 250, but they're getting on a bit now - don't get me wrong I think they're great engines - but less power and not as reliable as the 3.5, plus I'd need suspension, brakes and probably ARB upgrading to cope with the extra power, as I believe the 350 uses the GS300/450h brakes/suspension. I know it will be a bit of a mission, but I'll have my 250 Nav to use for a bit of wiring fact finding - can't be THAT much different since the units do pretty much the same thing - just getting the data from a different source. Plus the UK DVD based units are all integrated, so *theoretically* shouldn't be that big of an install. I've seen it done in NZ with a JDM IS350. As for the speedo conversion, I'm really not sure how easy that will be. Again, I'll probably use my 250 clocks as a test and see what happens. At that point, I'll speak to a specialist to see what they can do for me. Got to find the right 350 first 🙂

Hi All. Been a lexus owner for a long time. I've had my IS250 SE-I for 5 years now and covered 60k flawless miles in it (total mileage now 110k). I have an agent searching for a 2009+ IS350 from Japan. They will adjust the Odometer and instrument to display in MPH instead of KPH. Once it arrives, will it be possible to change the instrument clocks for a UK item and have it electronically matched? Also, I plan on removing the whole DVD based navigation / radio / display from my IS250 and replacing the HDD one from the IS350 so it should work in the UK properly. Has anyone had experience of doing this? TIA Stew

250k kms = 155k miles. Nothing to a looked after 1G-FE engine. Read some of the threads on here, people are still running 300k miles (482k km) IS200's with no major issues. Yours is still young yet :) But I'm afraid I can't help with the turbo option in AUS.

Well I definitely decided to stay Lexus instead of a Celica T Sport. I owned a 2001 IS200 Sport a few years ago, and changed it for a 2001 GS430 sport. The GS was lovely, but just too wallowy and spongy (no offence to anyone who has one!) on tighter roads. Superb cruiser though, but I wanted something more sporty, so bought an E55 AMG Kompressor. Fantastically quick car, but God it was unreliable. So I sold that and bought another IS200 :) So now I just weigh up and Turbo kit from Squint or source a used (hmmm) TTE Supercharger. How's yours running Andy? Still going strong? Is it recommended to upgrade the brakes and suspension? I only ask as Lexus did offer the TTE Charger as an option at one time, so presumably the chassis, brakes and suspension can already handle that sort of power?? Thanks Stew

Hi Andy, Thanks for the response, and very detailed. Really appreciate that. I'm glad you've managed it without stupid dials all over the place ( apologies to those that do like that ) as I personally think it detracts from what the IS200 is supposed to be. I'm toying with the idea of this upgrade, or getting a celica T Sport, as I've owned a stock VVT-I previously and that drove very similar to the IS200. I'm just worried that I'll miss RWD and the comfort on longer journeys, and the smooth inline 6! Thanks again Stew

Hi mate, How have you found the flywheel? I was looking at the same as you have had done - stage 1, lightened flywheel and new clutch (as the basics). Is the Lex still running good so far? Do you have boost gauges all over the A pillar? Going to give the guys over there a call to have a chat - just really interested to hear more from someone who's had it fitted. Thanks Stew

I too need some genuine beige mats. If someone still has a brand new set, I'm happy to take them off their hands. Especially if they are new. Money Awaiting for someone here hopefully.

Hi all, Does anyone have a set of genuine black floor mats knocking around that they would sell? Many thanks Stew

Hi guys. So today, after a year or so of Mercedes-Benz madness, I have returned to the Lexus family. I used to own an Aztec Fire red IS200 sport, but then my other half decided to write it off. So I then purchased a GS430 Sport, which I traded for an E55 AMG Kompressor. Today I bought a 2004 black IS200 Sport with full black leather. I must say I'm loving it. I'll get pics up over the next day or so. Cheers Stew

No, always been the same. I probably didn't post all that much. I used to post a lot on the calibra forum when I owned one as it was permanently going wrong. The IS200 never had a fault!