asharb123

Hi Hoodrich, mirrors look good. Definitely something I would like to get done now I've seen yours. Thanks for the advice on the prings, it might be something that I do. Never been to sure about it due to how it may affect the ride. I'm more into comfort which is why I like the IS. I always thought you would have to change both springs and shocks when lowering a car. If the Eibach springs can be used with the standard shocks that's a bonus. I have KYB shocks on the front of my car, rears are still new from factory. Tints and 18" alloys will set the car off really nicely.

Hoodrich, your car is exceptional and only a blind person would say it doesn't like nice in white. Oh no, I can feel your pain re the scrapes. How does it ride an handle compared to a normal IS. Please post pictures of your mirrors as I would really like to see those. I have to get some body work on my car unfortunately due to the storms which blew part of my loft roof off which landed on the car, scraping the bonnet, denting the driver side front wing and scratching the bumper. Can't claim on insurance as excess is £300 and paint work is £400. Not worth putting my premium up for that. After I've seen your mirrors I may get mine done. Where are you based?

Interesting reading the posts on this. I had a similar issue a few years ago with a different IS I owned which was due its 70k service and needed the timing belt changed. Lexus Woodford and other Lexus dealerships in London quoted me over £750 plus VAT which was the service and timing belt, not even the tensioner which was extra. I did a lot of ringing around and Lexus Manchester quoted £525 inc tensioner and VAT. Which worked out considerably cheaper even taking into consideration fuel to drive to Manchester and back. Its worth ringing around. Toyota Romford quoted the same as Lexus Woodford. On the IS I have now, this was my uncles car from new from Lexus Woodford this is serviced by a Lexus mechanic from Lexus Woodford. I can give you his number if you PM me.

Looks really nice in white which is saying something for me as I'm not a fan of white cars, but yours is special, especially as my favourite colour for the IS is red. Getting your mirrors in piano black will make it look really awesome. Lexus should have done that as standard or as an option. I agree that the 5 spoke OEM wheels are nice when new with the diamond cut finish. For your car if it was me, I would have black alloys with a polished finish like 17" Wolfrace Raptors or in 18" Wolfrace Blitz Black. Which would make it really standout more, than it does now.

Sorry to hear about your accident especially seeing the pictures. Main thing is you are ok. Unfortunately most people seeing the accident would be thinking he must have been going at some speed to have done that, rather than loosing grip. Fingers crossed that the insurance may think differently and repair the car. If not make sure you get a good settlement figure and who knows find another one.

Bullhorn, those figures you quoted is that from the owners book? I'm not getting anywhere near that for town driving. Motorway - I got close to that but I wasn't driving at motorway speed through all of my journey.

Pete, thanks for the tip re Snow mode, I've found that does make a difference when you are doing up to 40mph as the engine is not reving as high in normal mode. Anything over 40 mph the car has gone into the overdrive gear. But as most of my driving is local we are lucky to get over 30 mph. By using Snow mode I've found we are getting an extra 10 -15 miles for the same amount of fuel we were putting in.

They are nice cars and generally well kept due to the type of people that buy them. I always liked the shape when it came out as it was more interesting than a Golf or Focus. If I were to change, funds allowing I would be looking at a Skoda Octavia, I've seen an 05 plate Laurin & Klement spec, that has the same spec as the Lexus (except sunroof) but has a 1.6 engine and 6 speed auto. Later cars have the 1.4 petrol and 7 speed auto. I like the fact that they are well built, feel solid, lots of kit, wide range of engines and have better reviews and more reliable than their parent VW. The ultimate one would be the Superb Elegance as that is fully loaded and available with a 1.8 petrol 7 speed auto.

Hi Rory, I like the look of the hatchback it was very futuristic looking when it was launched, my cousin has one and has no compliants and very reliable. It's abit of change compared to the other cars you were looking at, like the Saab, Audi and Volvo?

Is that right, 2500 rpm and 70mph? My BMW 728i at 2500 rpm is doing approx 88mph, at 70 mph it is doing 200rpm. It is a straight 6 with a 5 speed auto. Interesting.

Kenny, I told you it would be a head or heart decision. As you are doing 25k a year its a no brainer really, it has to be a diesel and the best diesel's are BM's. As for reliability that is down to regular maintenance and a bit of luck. My BMW only started to have a problem at 10 years old. Which to be honest in car terms is really good. These are mechanical objects and therefore and some point will start having problems. Besides nothing today is built to last. If it was, why would we ever change things. You're not a traitor, you still have the IS200 besides we all respect and understand your decision. Lets be honest, nothing handles like a 3 series.

I agree with you Barney. It is just annoying as it spoils the experience. If you come across anything let us all know.

Hi, I have exactly the same problem. Took the car to Lexus who gave me a list of things to do so thought I would get rid of the car. Took to another garage who pointed the obvious things that should be done. Ball joints as these had play, track rod ends as the rubber had split and drop links as the rubber had split on these. From there looking at the forums, had the caliper slide pins and bushes changed and the brake discs and pads refitted. It is alot better than before as I had creaking sound which has gone, just have a slight knocking sound. I've had the car checked again and the outcome was, there is nothing wrong with the car its upto me how much money I want to spend on it. I bought some upper ball joints not expensive just need to get them fitted to see if that fixes the problem. Its just frustrating. Never had this on previous IS that I've owned.

To be honest you are going to get a biased opinion from IS owners. It really comes down to what is important to you fuel economy or owning an IS. I have an IS auto and it is not economical compared to its German rivials (owned BMW 3 series 4 & 6 pot engines and Mercedes 190 & C Class). An Audi A8 and IS are worlds apart. Its like comparing an IS & LS, 2 completely different cars aimed at different type of customer and different focus. I have a BMW 728i as well which is as old as my IS (both cars are 14 years old). You can't compare the 2 cars. My 7 is bigger, is more surefooted as in handles better than the IS which is saying something for such a big car and is a comfortable accomplished motorway crusier. It should be as it cost twice as much new than the IS and is more economical around town. However I love the IS, because of the way it looks, sounds when you put your foot down and the level of comfort and standard equipment. For a second car which is mainly used for school run and local trips and covers no more than 3000 miles a year, why would I want an ecobox which has no soul. Everytime I look at the IS it makes me smile and everytime I see one on the road I know I'm part of that club as I have one. The IS owes me nothing got it cheap, spent a few quid fixing a few common known problems and costs peanuts to insure. OK tax is expensive and I have to go to the pumps more frequently, so what. Its a heart or mind decision, owning an IS or fuel economy you want get both.

I agree with Pete. I'm happy to pay that bit extra for the quality and luxury of the car. There are many cars out there that do not have the same level of comfort or equipment. I'm interested to know more about Snow mode, when do you put it into Snow mode, once the engine has warmed up or straight away from cold? Is the car speed restricted in Snow mode as in it will not go over 30mph?

100KG heavier, Wow, where is all that extra weight? It's a bigger engine, but I wouldn't have thought it would add that much extra weight.

Chris, you got an absolute bargain especially with that stereo. I was looking on Autotrader straight after seeing your car and there aren't many out there with less than 80k miles or around that sort of money. I was told the economy would not be great, but you don't buy a car like that and then start worrying about economy. Compared to the 200 does it get up to temperature quicker, as that is where I am loosing out on economy. We do a lot of short journeys so the car is never really warmed up its always reving high and using a lot of fuel. Didn't have that problem in the 3 series, but that didn't have all the extra's either. Does this have a 5 speed auto? I would have thought that would have helped.

Really nice car Chris, like the stereo system looks awesome, looks like it is OEM and came with the car. Nice low miles and looks in great condition. If you don't mind me asking how much was it, as I would like to upgrade to an IS300 and get an idea how much more it would be. Is the insurance more and how is the economy?

I used Redex on my 7 series and I have to be honest it has made a difference, the car starts a lot better from cold, idles better as the car was pinking. In terms of mpg, I can't comment on that at the moment. I was going to get both cars Terracleaned as I saw this on Wheeler Dealers and it made a difference to the car they were working on. These things can't hurt 13 year old cars.

Ha ha. Busted!!!, there is a classic story about me going to buy milk late at night, only for me to return an hour & half later with stuff we didn't need and no milk. Now the wife gives a list and asks which Tesco I'm going to as she knows if I'm going to the big one not to expect me anytime soon.

Does anyone have spare screw caps that go on the rear lights on an IS200. I have 2 missing from one each side. No idea how as I haven't changed any bulbs in ages. Just really annoying when I open the boot and see the holes. Thanks

Hi, just been reading our thread about insurance and being a young driver. I've been trying to keep our costs down to justify having 2 cars. I can't afford to buy a new car due to other commitments. So I've kept the cars I have and believe that spending money to maintain them is cheaper than buying a new one. I've owned my BMW from when it was 6 months old, and I've had that 13 years. I bought the IS200 from my uncle who owned that from new and its now 13 years old. The insurance for both cars is on a classic policy. I pay £350ish for the BMW and £380 for the IS and each year my policy comes down I never pay more. They do have mileage restrictions of 6,000 miles and 5,000 miles respectively. But its is one way of seeing if your insurance will be cheaper. As in work out realistically how many miles you will do per year. Buy a car that is around 12 years old being an IS you should pick one up at a decent price and have some change do any work like the obvious stuff which this site will tell you to look out for. Insure it on your mothers name and you as a named second driver. I'll be amazed if you do not save any money. PM me and I'll give you the name of the insurance company I use.

I think it might as it will give sellers more of an opportunity to get a better price and may increase demand especially if you're on a budget. It's a good time to be selling after the article.

I saw this article as well, did the same as you Pete but was in Tesco's ha ha. It only said what we IS200 owners already know, what great cars these are. As you said the parts are not that expensive. You can insure the older cars cheaply on a classic policy. I'm sure there are more IS200's on the road than the same age 3 series and Mercedes C Class. The IS I think will become a future classic.

Hi, I apologise inadvance if this is a stupid question, but I have always wondered if the auto box in an IS300 would go into an IS200 auto? The reason I think about this is that the IS300 has a 5 speed auto and the IS200 has a 4 speed. The IS200 if it had that extra gear would be an even better car a more relaxed motorway cruiser if it had the extra gear and more economical. I would be interested to know why this could not be done? I would also like to know how different is the IS300 engine is from the IS200 as I'm thinking of getting an IS300. Thanks