Sanman

I got a letter about this recall from Lexus Birmingham during April this year (when I still had my IS). They changed the whole set of mats, which were identical to the old ones, but the only thing that was different was the retaining clip.

That chromed Audi A8 does look great - I saw it in the flesh parked outside the Jumeriah Beach Hotel when i was in Dubai last year. Niraj, your photoshop effort looks great! Sandeep

Morning all.... My 1999 GS300 sat nav screen has gone haywire! It's lost the touch screen function and keeps on changing the language by itself. In addition, the buttons down the side (audio/menu/climate) only work intermittently. Radio/CD/Tape is all working fine in terms of producing sound. I called Lexus this morning who suggested i book it for a diagnosis, and also informed me that a reconditioned exchange unit is £1700 plus vat. They are not sure if they can offer Gold discount on exchange units. Does anybody have any suggestions about where i might be able to source a replacement unit?

Cheers for all your input guys. The guy i know at the bodyshop said he would fit it for no extra charge so i'll let him do it :D. Dropped the car off this morning to have the front bumper sprayed and fitted, bonnet resprayed (chips), N/S wing resprayed (poor smart repair done by last owner) and rear bumper resprayed (scuffs). All this is costing £320 which i think is a great price and the standard of work is excellent.

Yep, the price included filling/repairing scuff. Plenty of good bodyshops around Birmingham work on about £100 per panel if your paying cash. That was 18 months ago. I'm paying the same body shop £120 for respraying the front bumper on my GS because of stone chips - been booked in for Monday. Just check the finish where it blends into the existing paint as this is where some smart repairs go wrong. Hope it all goes well and your rear bumper is back it's original condition.

As Mr Morse says beware - smart repairs will fade over time, in most cases in a matter of months which may well mean a more expensive bodyshop repair in the future. I had someone scuff my front bumper when i had my IS - a smart repair was costing about £60 and an insurance approved bodyshop quoted me £100 to spray the whole bumper. I just had the whole bumper done for the sake of a more permanent repair, a better finish and perfect colour match.

A pleasure - glad i could be of assistance to you. Cheers, Sandeep

Congratulations to you both. Wishing you all the best for the future. Sandeep

I got some alloys for the wifes VW Polo of ebay and they cost me about £9.00 each through Royal Mail. I would have thought abot £12 for a 17" lexus alloy.

The front bumper on my GS is damaged on the O/S where it meets the wing. I took it to a bodyshop who told me that the bracket has snapped off and would need a new bumper cover which is approx £450. I have managed to source a used, but undamaged bumper cover off good old ebay for £15 and will get it painted in Astral Black. Is this something that is quite easy to fit or am i best leaving it to a bodyshop to do? Cheers, Sandeep

Congrats on the new car. The IS is a great car and there is the odd occasion when i really do miss mine! Cheers, Sandeep

Congrats on the new purchase - I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. I don't know too much about the phone kit, but i'm sure that the Sat Nav screen can't be used as a TV without some modifications. The dealer in Coventry is part of the Listers Group - i usually use their other dealership in Worcester and service is generally good.

Where abouts in the Midlands are you? I'm from the Birmingham and i recently had a set of 4 Pirelli P Zero Rosso's for my GS300 (235/45 ZR17) for £90 each from a place called Avenue tyres in south Birmingham. They can usually get any size you need within a day and are very competitive. Cheers, Sandeep

This might help: CAT ‘A’ A written-off vehicle that must be totally destroyed, including all of its parts. CAT ‘B’ A written-off vehicle from which the spare parts may be re-sold, but from which the body-shell should be destroyed so that the vehicle cannot be returned to the road. CAT ‘C’ A vehicle that is written-off by the insurers because the repair costs are greater than the value of the vehicle itself, but which can nonetheless still be potentially repaired to a roadworthy condition. CAT ‘D’ A vehicle that has been written-off by the insurers, for various possible reasons, even though its physical repair costs are less than the vehicle’s actual value. CAT ‘X’ A vehicle that is “not recorded” as being damaged on the HPI register, or which has very minimal damage only. Generally speaking, these vehicles are “stolen-recovered” cases. Cheers, Sandeep

Sorry to hear about the job. I agree with Ravstar about the last line of your post though.

I'm no expert on this, however here's my starter for 10.... I thought the IS used sytems from 2 manufacturers Fujitsu and Nakamichi. The ones in the earlier models 99-01 used the Fujitsu (CD slot at the bottom) and the newer ones used the Nakamichi (CD slot at the top). I'm not sure about the speakers though.... I was told that the GS series uses Pioneer components for the audio system. I'm sure someone will be along soon to correct me if i'm wrong. Cheers, Sandeep

I had this on my old IS. I dealer who fixed it said it was the carpet (or possibly plastic trim) under the dash area that was catching on the pedal. Whatever they did, they fixed it.

I'm not sure that they are that easy to kerb, after all they don't stick out that far especially if you have the OEM Bridgestone or Dunlop tyres with rim protectors. The IS alloys have a diamond cut finish on the edge of the rim and on the spokes so will lose that if you decide to spray them. I recall someone mentioning genuine Lexus IS refurb wheels (with diamond cut, but a layer of laquer to protect against corrosion) from Lexus dealers at about £70 a piece.

I've got the Lexus one (kept on renewing it after the original one expired), which technically means it's the RAC. Had no cause to use it though over the last 3 years.

The place that Mr Morse suggested (Lap-Tab) is a company that i've used in the past (Mercedes alloys) and again recently for refurbishing the alloys on my GS. They've done a great job and they offer a range of finishes. They sometimes have a 20% discount voucher in the Midlands Autotrader. Cheers, Sandeep

I think 60k service is quite a big one (spark plugs changed etc) so it may be pricey so it does pay to shop around at different dealers. Also sign up for Gold membership and you'll be able to save between 10% and 15% on the service cost. When i purchased my IS, it had 67k on the clock and the Lexus dealer did the 70k service before i picked it up. If you are looking to buy a car with 58k on the clock and it's from a Lexus dealer they usually service it before delivery. If you are buying from a non-Lexus garage you could always use the impending service cost as a bargaining tool. Cheers, Sandeep

I think most of the doubts you have are unfounded. I owned a 1999 IS200 SE for just over two years (now a proud owner of a GS300 SE) and never experienced any problems with it at all. The only costs were routine servicing and these were generally cheaper than my previous VW Passat service bills. Make sure you take your time to find a good example with full history, there are plenty around and buying from a Lexus dealer gives you the added benefit of a 1 year warranty, guaranteed history etc. Cheers, Sandeep

As far as i'm aware the IS has stick on badges so you can debadge without leaving any holes in the bodywork. The funny thing is that my IS used to be parked in the same place over the last 2 years and no one ever tried stealing the badge off that. Cheers, Sandeep

Some prat tried to nick the Lexus emblem on teh back of my car over the weekend. Ended up scratching and slightly denting the paintwork and breaking the badge as it wouldn't come off Most of scratch polished out but i will need to get a new badge. Looks like the rear badge on the Mk2 GS is only stick on with no pins/prongs that go into the body work. Cheers, Sandeep

I recently traded my IS200 SE for GS300 SE with Sat Nav (black with black leather) . In terms of driving, it's quite different as my IS was a manual, but it is very quiet and comfortable and with plenty of power under your right foot when you need it. I really upgraded because I needed more room (second child on it's way) and wanted to stick to Lexus brand. I wonder if that agument will hold water when child number 3 is on its way and an LS430 is called for! Cheers Sandeep