Mouser

It will depend on what you're looking for in a car, but my answer will always favour the 250. The petrol option is better sounding, more powerful, more reliable and almost as fuel efficient. It's a bit more expensive to run when you consider tax and insurance, but the worries about head gaskets and DPF regeneration put me off diesels in general, not just the IS.

I've been using Meguiars mirror glaze, which has done very well for me. In terms of deep glossy shine, that's much more to do with the cleaning and polishing steps beforehand than the final wax layer. If you've done a thorough clay / buff and don't have a need for paint correction, then you could look into some of the Gtecniq products such as c1 / c2. You're also going to struggle to get it looking its best when the weather's like this. Grey and overcast tends to make cars look dull.

As well as sound insulation, it's also thermal insulation. If you go out shopping it keeps the engine and oil warm for longer, so when you come to drive home the engine isn't cold.

Post up a photo. It is possible to repair, so long as there hasn't been enough force to cause cracking (common when car doors are slammed open into yours). If you were local I'd offer to help you out fixing it, but Hampshire to Sussex is quite a drive.

It looks like it's been run in recirculation mode and parked. Run it with fresh air intake in the minutes prior to parking it and this problem will disappear, it's fairly normal with recirculated air, since warm air can carry so much moisture.

Any tips about this (disconnect battery?). What tools are required? Do you use any threadlock when reassembling?

Inspection/replacement of the air filter is a two minute job and requires no tools. Pop the bonnet and undo the four clips around the filter housing. Lift the top of the housing away and inspect the filter for dirt / damage, replace if necessary. Align the top of the housing and pop the four clips back in place. The cabin air filter similarly quick, but requires setting the air conditioning to recirculate and using more force than you'd expect. You can find DIY guides with lots of photos with a quick search.

I had mine done a few months back - 1 litre to be sure it's fully flushed and filled. If you suspect there's a problem, an extra 0.5 litres of flushing won't cost much more. It's obvious when the new fluid makes it to the bleed valve though.

With a car that's out of warranty it's a mistake to take it to a main dealer. Main dealers for any brand usually replace parts rather than, in the case of the calipers, remove, scour corrosion, grease, replace. It's a common tasks on many cars, and any independent will be able to do it for you cheaply. Replacing the calipers because they need lubricating is like changing the car every time it needs an oil change. DPF - again there are a lot of diesel specialists out there who can do this for you very quickly and for little cost. They'll also be happy to give you tips on how to avoid it becoming an issue again. If you're unsure of something, want opinions on how best to deal with an issue, or simply want to learn more about your car and things to keep an eye on then you're in the right place. Unlike a main dealer we're not trying to get into your wallet!

10000K - what is claimed by the seller on Ebay. Reality is going to be something completely different with an artificial tint, poor performance and made of the finest Chinesium. 'blue' light isn't that useful for night driving anyway, and is appalingly bad for the other drivers who are near you on the road since it's great at ruining dark adaptation. If you want something brighter then look for that, but don't just chav it up.

If you want proper advice on this, you'll need to post pictures. The answer depends heavily on the severity, but you can always work your way up. 0 - wash the car and clay the affected area 1 - finishing pad and polish 2 - cutting pad to work through the worst of it, then finishing pad to put the shine back 3 - work the area with 3000 grit W&D sandpaper, then cutting pad, then polishing pad 4 - respray the affected area, or if on a budget then touch up paint to protect against rusting then step 3 With any approach finish the area with a sealant and/or wax. If doing this professionally, advise client to wash the car asap in future, and leave them with a spray bottle of bird poo remover, which will neutralise and help remove the muck when you get chance to wash it off.

With the radiator grille protector (rubber strip) removed it should come away as far as I can see from the documentation. If there is anything that's still attaching it, then it'll be halfway up the sides and accessible from the inside, but I can't find any bolt that goes there in the images.

Gliptone's what I used most recently on mine (clean + condition), although I'm not a fan of the final smell, and used a balm to give it the best bottom feel, scent and lack of noise. The company I linked to have a very wide range of professional kit, although they do cater to the hobbyist and end user as well. Their youtube channel is very interesting if you've got any damage to the finish, staining or scuffing.

What's your aim with slotted discs? Unless you're trying to dissipate gassing on track days, you'll enjoy more braking power from solid discs in normal use. The default fronts are 296 mm in size (piddling given the car's weight), in ideal conditions I can't get ABS to kick in as the tyres I run are grippy enough to overpower them - although I did enjoy the flash of the engine oil low warning! :) . If you're running 18s or are happy with the caliper being scarily close to the rim, then the brakes from the IS350 / GS300? will fit. These are considerably larger and have a great deal more stopping power. Above that you have various big brake kits which will give you enough power and heat dissipation to always be sure you can stop quickly, even on a track day - which brings me back to my original question.

Nice to see another car that's clean this time of year. I presume you've got a layer of wax on to hold some of the winter wear at bay? Make sure you get a good leather cleaning/protection kit for the pale leather seats, something like this would last the distance and keep everything feeling nice and looking tip-top.

I'm going to suggest you have a read over on the GTR Register as it's very common there: http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/165487-wrap-prices.html http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/166428-ameens-gtr-re-wrap.html It's worth travelling the distance to one of the best to get this done such as pwpro, not just the local vinyl on a van company, but someone who uses top quality wrap that'll last and doesn't cut on your car and leave gouges in the paint (see second link above :iraqi-info-minister: ).

It's very distance dependent in my experience, but for normal driving I'd expect the IS250 to return roughly: 1-3 miles ~25 mpg < 10 miles ~ 30 mpg < 20 miles ~ 35 mpg < 40 miles ~ 40 mpg long & slow ~ 45 mpg

Set this off today by accident while I was working with one door panel off (and window down obviously). It was rather unnerving, good to know it's a feature.

Wow, those look really nice... good prices too... hyper silver would be my choice, but mine is slate grey metallic not black. LFA style wheels were high on my list as well, although they're not particularly light. I'd still suggest upgrading the brakes - the stock ones don't inspire me with confidence compared to the ones one some of the nicer Audis I often drive.

It's fairly common to see that, change your oil and filter and it'll be fixed. 10W30 fully synthetic. Changing the cam... they're having a giraffe, slap that man with a fish.

19" alloys aren't going to change your ride into being rock hard, far from it. As far as weight, the stock ones aren't exactly svelte, so it's possible to reduce the weight. I'd honestly be surprised if you noticed an MPG difference in the real world. Road noise you might see a couple of db difference, but your concern there shuold be the more limited selection of tyres. If you're planning on keeping the 17s for winter time then you'll not be able to go much larger with brakes. Insurance wise I was quoted an extra £25/year or so if I fitted ISF alloys, but some insurers are much more awkward. Phone yours and check.

The wheels have a black layer, then a very thin silver overcoat, then a clear coat layer. The final colour depends on the thickness of the silver, and this is very easy to mess up. That's what I was told by thewheelspecialist in East Grinstead. It's the same issue for quite a lot of BMW wheels. As far as the mis-selling, that's a very clear cut case, so keep records of any contact made to pass it on. The cost to the dealer of simply dealing with the investigation would be more than a complete set of brand new wheels, and if they find in your favour there would be a lot of refunds and a fine, so probably more than the cost of your car.

1. Ideally yes, as the standard ones aren't great IMO and look small behind larger wheels. If you're keeping the standard wheels for winter then you'll be limited size wise. 2. No, so long as you choose the right tyres 3. Some yes, but not massively, especially if you choose lighter ones. Choose heavy chrome junk and that answer changes. Lighter is better - we're talking unsprung rotating mass here. I assume you don't kerb your current wheels, you'll have less margin for error with narrower tyres. You're also more vulnerable to damage from big hits from potholes at speed. It does look better lowered a bit, but if you live somewhere like me then that's not practical. As far as handling, spend your money on tyres first.

Stuck slide pins are an easy enough job to DIY in your garage. You'll need an axle stand & chocks, hammer, penetrating oil and brake cleaner, wire brush and fine (2000+) wet & dry paper, along with the usual ratchet / socket for the nuts and some brake specific grease such as the lithium soap based glycol grease or Ceratec. It's good to have a small circular file as well if it's been seized a while. If you've none of the above, that'll run about £30 and you can expect it to take an afternoon (most of which is waiting for the penetrating oil to work). Chock the wheels at the other end, crack the nuts on the wheels, jack the car up and shove the axle stand underneath the axle. You really should not ignore the chucks here as you'll be bashing quite hard. Remove the wheel to get at the brake itself. It's usually one slide pin causing the problem, so undo the other and spray lots of brake cleaner under the boot to clean out the old corrosion filled gunk, then after that's sat for a few minutes spray a load of penetrating oil beneath the rubber (you want to get one with the long tube nozzle). Give it ten minutes and, assuming that it's still not coming apart happily, start whacking the caliper to rotate/move it side to side - the aim is to get some minor motion to break the hold of the corrosion. As soon as you start to get some movement successfully, spray a load more penetrating oil in there and let it sit for a while. Repeat a couple of times and you should be able to release the pin (again using the hammer). Take care with the rubber boot unless it's already split (i.e. that was the cause). Stop for a moment and marvel at the ridiculous amount of corrosion present - wonder about the material choice. Consider that this affects multiple models for over a decade and facepalm. Remove the corrosion with a wire brush / dremel and finish the surface with the wet & dry sandpaper so that it's smooth and corrosion free, taking care not to dig into the metal where the rubber seals sit. If the inside of the hold where the slide pin sits is full of corrosion and brake cleaner / penetrating oil / dirty rag doesn't remove it then use a circular file to remove it. Use the rag to clean out any resulting debris. If the slide pin itself is very badly corroded then order a new one as they're quite cheap, and a loose one with lots of material removed won't work as well & will likely corrode more quickly. Apply some cheap 'whatever' grease to the slide pin and move it in and out a few times then wipe it off - this helps to remove the last of the gunk. Apply the new grease liberally, to the seats for the rubber, pin and everything else. My experience suggests that more is better as once it's reassembled excess should be wiped off at full compression (i.e. push the slider pin all the way in and wipe everything clean). Double check that all of your bolts are tightened up and go for a slow test drive once the wheel is back on. Resolve to check your slider pins every month or two - easy to do on the front if you turn the wheels when parked, and on the back if you jack the rear of the car up. If you catch this early you'll never need a hammer to remove it again. It's also important to disassemble and lubricate the pins at every service / 10,000 miles / 12 months as the corrosion is present long before it's enough to stop movement. That's not a complete DIY, find a how to change your brake pads and add this in. That job doesn't really require the chucks. Watch this video to learn what a slider pin is, how it should move and how to lubricate it. Note that some videos on youtube use a torch, which is quicker, but the tool itself is quite a bit of money and you stand more chance of causing damage The slide pin arrangement we have is different from this video and easier to un-seize.

Since it's outside of warranty, there's no point in going to a main dealer - you'll just pay a lot more. The workshop I use is www.motorlineuk.co.uk/ (S.E. England) who advertise as dealing with classics and cherished. They're a little more expensive than some of the back street garages, but employ good mechanics and deal with quite a lot of high end (TVR/AMG/BMW M) cars from 2000+, so try searching for something similar to that locally.