asharb123

What made you decide to change it if it is in pristine condition? I would not be able to do what you have done with your wheels. Is there anything else you are going to do with your car?

Hi Darren, I'm very envious of the work you've done one your car. It looks great. I've been meaning to get a newer interior for my car but never find the time or a decent interior. Wheels look good, I like what you've done to them and go great with the car. I wish I had the time and resources to get may car looking as good as yours. Keep up the good work.

Hi, I currently own an IS200 Auto and keep thinking of getting an IS250 every time I see one. I love the look of this car and to me it is better looking than anything else that came out at that time. I was fortunate to have a fully loaded one as a courtesy car when my IS200 went in for a service. I was very tempted not to come back. The only downside for me was fuel consumption and I was comparing this to my BMW 728i, which is very economical on long runs and to be honest more economical than my IS200 round town. In a nutshell is the economy better than an IS200? I know we do not buy these cars on fuel consumption alone. But to convince the boss (wife) I need to justify my purchase. If buying one, what should I look out for and what spec should I go for? I won't be going for the diesel or a manual it has to be a petrol and an auto. Thanks

Hi, sorry to hear about and see the damage to your car. It is really frustrating how some people have no respect for other peoples property, the things they have worked hard for. I always park my car away from everyone else and sometimes the furthest spot from where I need to go and then find someone has parked next to me and even then they have not kept a reasonable space and parked close to my car. Its like there is a whole car park and the only place you could find was next to me. Were you feeling lonely??? Your car is a lovely colour, our first IS200 was that colour and my wife still says her favourite IS. Have you thought about buying an older IS? Or keeping this and just getting a runabout for your wife as she is learning? When you own a car like this it is hard to find something else that compares to it interms of quality and refinement let alone the extra's that are standard. I've thought about changing cars but cannot find a comparable with all the extra's. The only car that comes close is the Skoda Octavia in Laurin & Kelment spec, but they are mainly diesels. No one wants to buy a car with a big engine it is not unique to Lexus. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

Ian, Lol. The kids won't mind eating soup, but I can't stand the stuff. I wish I could change my tyres on a every 2 month basis, but they are all bad and the MOT is due in October and there is no way they will pass. I will visit a few tyre centres and see what advice they give. I may even contact WIM for some advice. I was just hoping that there may have been some tyres specialists on the forums who could give some advice. But I get the general impression its a personal thing what rubber your car wears. I would like to know who decides the labelling for a tyre is it the manufacturer or is it independently verified?

Scudney, I appreciate your feedback, but the whole purpose of the topic was to get some advice and recommendations. I have read reviews on Auto Grip tyres and like a lot of budget tyres the general consensus is that they are not good in the wet. However there must be some that a better than others. Also it must be better to buy new than part worn? As mentioned above I'm on a limited budget and my tyres all need replacing which I need to get done before the MOT. The only way I can differentiate between tyres is by looking at the labelling. This must be a new tyre by Auto Grip as it has better fuel efficiency, wet grip and noise rating than more expensive tyres, unless they are not telling the truth. What tyre would you recommend and should I consider part worn?

Hi, I need to change the tyres on my IS as they have come to the end of their useful life. Unfortunately financies are tight. Can anyone recommended a decent budget tyre that would not break the bank? There are so many brands out there I have no clue what to look for other than the ratings on the tyre as in fuel efficiency, noise and wet grip. The tyre I really like the look of is the Hankook Ventus Prime 2 which has the following rating fuel efficiency B, wet grip B, noise class 2 and noise 71db and the cheapest I've seen these are £67, which I cannot afford. Interms of Budget Auto Grip P308 which have the following fuel efficiency C, wet grip C, noise class 2 and noise 71db and are only £37.80. Which is better than the a lot of the big brand tyres. Thanks

I agree with Tony. A used car is only as good as the person who owned it before you, regardless of who they are. For example I bought my IS from my uncle who bought the car new. In my opinion the car had the best car in its first 5 years as it was serviced by Lexus annually regardless of mileage. After this it was in my uncles opinion serviced every year by the garage that did the MOT at the same time. When I bought the car from him, his sons had been driving it for 2-3 years. When I started to look into the service history by contacting the garages, I found the car had not been serviced for at least 3 years. Even though I bought the car cheap, the bills started to add up. I had a full service done. Changed everything including the belts. Then had to do lower ball joints as these had play, track rod ends as the rubber bushes had split and same with the drop links. Touch wood so far so good. The only issue I have is some clonking noise from the suspension but that's a common problem. I'm sorry to hear the position you are in as I've been there. Have you thought about breaking the car? I thought about it to see if its practical and what you could make on the parts?

I did just over 500 miles in mine over the bank holiday and I cannot think of a reason why I would change it. Quiet except when I put my foot down (love the roar of the engine), comfortable and believe it or not economical. I was shocked that I only used half a tank of petrol and covered 210 miles and I wasn't going slowly. Ganesh is right hold on to our MK1 IS's. Lol

Lol, perfectly said.

Andy, living in London there are advantages to having an automatic as you spend of lot of your time going somewhere very slowly. However, I do know what you mean. Pete, my only issue with the MII IS was economy. I had one as a courtesy car and was surprised that is was less economical than my BMW 728i. My BMW when it is on the motorway and cruising at a steady speed is economical. It tells you the range as in how many miles you can do with the amount of fuel you have. I drove the MII IS over the same distance at the same speed and the range was decreasing, whereas in my BMW the range increases. Which is surprising as the IS is newer and has the 6 speed auto.

Tony and Andy you've hit the nail on the head. Lexus are seen as an old mans car as Clarkson doesn't drive one and they will out last anything European. However, Lexus to me are not the same company they were when they first came on the market. The first LS made the European brands sit up and take notice about quality, luxury and refinement. I now feel that Lexus has lost that bit of magic they had. The new C class is what the first gen IS was when it arrived. I am tempted to look at the 2nd gen IS as to me it is a stunning looking car and beautiful built. But do I want a 2.5 litre engine? I drove the new IS and hated the gearbox. Love the look of the car but there are some silly gimmicks in the car like the heating controls and why isn't there a 2 litre petrol? When I have some spare cash I might get an IS300 Sportcross, but don't tell the wife....ha ha.

Mercedes around that time were shocking as in they went through some cost saving and did use cheap materials. My uncle had a S500 on a X plate and you would could see some cheap plastics on that. Only BMW and Audi upped their game interms of materials fit and finish. However the new C Class is a game changer, beautifully built and quality materials. To me I love Lexus but I think they've taken their eye off the ball.

I agree with you Andy. BMW's, Audi's, Merc's all the European cars of that age are far and few on the roads, whereas the IS has lasted better and has huge following. As you rightly say also has every sensible option you could need that some modern cars still have as extra's. Love the look of your car, I have a big soft spot for red IS, used to have one like yours, but the better half didn't.

I agree that the quality of the IS can not be disputed. My point was to do with what are you comparing between cars. For example the quality of the materials in my 7 is of a much higher standard than the IS, the 7 is quieter, a more refined long distance cruiser and I hate to say this more economical than the IS. But I love the IS. The IS250 which came after the IS200 interms of quality is a step up from the IS200. I love the look of this car and the interior quality fit and finish is exceptional just a shame it isn't more economical and Lexus didn't make a 2 litre petrol.

Hi, Can anyone recommend a good body shop in East London or Essex as I have a dent in the front wing and scratch on the bonnet and bumper I would like to get repaired. I've been stung in the past and would be open to recommendations for places that members have used. Thanks

When I didn't have an IS, I kept looking at them and saying to myself why did I sell mine. I have one now and really can't think of a reason why I would sell it. When the IS was launched Lexus made it to compete with the 3 series but that would have been the E36 and BMW launched the E46 which does have superior interior quality plastics and the fit and finish is excellent (owned 3 of these). But the IS beats them hands down on the kit count. Comfort means more to me and the IS is a quality product. I like my toys and the IS has plenty more importantly they are reliable. I also have an E38 7 series and you cannot compare the 2 cars in the same way you couldn't compare the XJR and the IS. The starting point is different. For example the 7 series cost double the price of the IS when new and they are not competing in the same market which is still the case when second hand except the BMW and Jaguar become better value for money as the depreciation is worse for these cars even more so as the cars get older. Its just a shame that Lexus did not do the IS250 with a proper gearbox instead of the CVT nonsense. Apologies to the IS250 owners.

Hi Woody, Are they on the way to Ilford as in going from Goodmayes to Seven Kings or going from Ilford to Seven Kings. Thanks Ash

Hi, do you have any pictures? I'm not too far from Cambridge. But I do have full set of alloys but I do have the usually problem that one of my wheels is no holding pressure.

Darren, lovely looking car, very nice example. You were are really fortunate to get such a clean one especially the interior as you have IS300 steering wheel, pedals and door sills. I have a 201 X reg with only 75k, but it is no where near as clean as yours. Mine suffered some damage during the storms but I have never had the spare cash or opportunity to get it repaired and to make matters worse the better half reversed into a lamp post which has cracked the paint on the bumper. One day I will get it all fixed. How did you do your calipers as that is something I would like to do. Is it easy? What do I need to do if I wanted to have a go?

Hi do you have a picture and some more information like size etc? Thanks

Still looks a stunner from that angle. What wheels have you got on the car? Have you lowered it as well? Your headlights look darker than normal as well.

wineGums - yours looks really nice as well from the picture.

I think it is a combination of things and narrowing down the options is what we are trying to do as we are all having the same issue. As mentioned earlier I've had my car up on a ramp shaken around to see if we can replicate the noise and nothing. I've had my mechanic who is a Lexus Master Technican tell me there is nothing mechanically wrong with my car and upto me on how much I wanted to spend on it. The shock absorbers, lower ball joints, track rod ends,anti roll bar drop links and caliper slide pins have all been replaced on my car and it still makes the noise. Cheap tyres I think do not help. However It maybe a different solution for all of us.

Anthony - I wish I'd thought of that sooner. Unfortunately my friend does not live locally, we catch up whenever his passing by or in the area. But I will do this next time he is around. I think I remember reading on here that the IS when new had Dunlop SP Sport 9000 tyres which if you were replacing them you had to check that they were made in Japan as that suited the car. I've been looking around on ebay to see if I can find any decent Dunlop 9000 part worn tyres but there aren't any.