cheeky

Good man - I'd also choose the SE over the Sport for those reasons. The sport has a harsher ride and I'm afraid those window tints on the rear windows look a little too 'bling' even for me!!

Welcome. The engine loosens up considerably after the first 1000 miles or so. After that and towards 10,000 the improvement in performance is even greater. Alhough most criticise the IS200 for it's slow feel, it's actually fine. Gearing etc. can take some getting used to... Enjoy :)

Guys, Have a question - may be in for a nasty surprise so here goes. (Going to have to ring dealership tomorrow anyway.) I purchased a brand new IS200 SE in March on the Lexus 3 year personal plan - the one with a guaranteed future value and the option to trade in, give back or buy outright at the end of the agreement. My problem is this: I was going to leave the UK (as in emmigrate on work grounds)in a year or so. I will then have had the Lex for about 15 months total. There is a clause in the termination section which states that should I end the deal early, the car needs to go back (fine...) AND the finance company are still entitled to all the 36 month repayments. That would see me give back a year old lexus still worth quite a bit, and cough up an extra £7000 which leaves me a little confused. I was rather hoping I'd be able to ring Lexus Finance up in a year or so and just ask them for a settlement figure, whilst selling the car back to the dealership for example. Sorry this is complicated, but anyone in the know feel free to post! I just hope it's not bad news. Thanks.

The kind of people who do this sort of hit and run activity really need their ****s kicking very hard. I was in York the other day, some bloke reversing bashed right into a parked car, broke the rear clusters and scraped the bumper of some guy's car and just drove away. I got his number and took the liberty of putting the details on the damaged car's windscreen so the owner could follow up. Hit and runners, jealous car vandals etc. really make me seethe with fury. AND it is people like this who make our own insurance premiums rocket. The Don, you have my sympathy. If you ever find the prat responsible, give him a good belting from me also. Rant over... :yack:

As if tempting fate, dealership rang today and paint's in. They are also fitting the rear mudflaps I am too chicken to drill into place. If they do this for free, I'll be grinning this big :D Offers and advice much appreciated as always. Thanks. ;)

Dupe post

Anyone got a redundant touch up paint pen - Astral Black (code 202) - wanting a good home? If so, please PM me. My dealership either can't or won't supply any - been waiting 3 weeks now... Loving the Lex, a bit disappointed that 3 large stone chips (2 bonnet and one driver's door) have appeared in 4 weeks. Being black, they show up very badly also. Duplicate post in Buy/Sell section, but not sure how many of us ever look there! Cheers

If you're buying from a garage, it should still come with a 3 month basic warranty which is better than nothing. If it looks that good and the price is right (see if you can get them down another few hundred £) I'd go for it. They are well engineered and if it's been looked after should be good fore many more miles yet. If it's been a motorway cruiser, it's probably got less wear on it than an equivalent 45 000 mile town runabout. Choice is yours now matey. Good luck ;)

After 3 weeks of bliss, my first rattle! :o It's at head level sounding as though it is coming from the top of the driver's door/window. At first, I thought it was the top of the seatbelt mounting, but I don't think so now. The only clue I have is that if you drop the window a cm or two, all cured, so only happens with the window fully closed. The seals look good, no obvious obstruction and it does not sound low enough to be coming from the door panels etc. which house the locks and electric window motor. The window is not loose either. Any thoughts/hints gratefully received before I get the dealer in on it... Cheers ;)

Just give it time to bed in. Had my IS manual 2 weeks. 'Box was very grumpy about changing from 5th-6th. Now, some 500miles later, it's smoothed out through the range with no hint of a clunk between 1st & 2nd. Engine still very 'tight' however, though beginning to rev a little more freely.

Is there any drilling required to fit the rear set? I'm hoping not as I'll probably ruin the bumper!

From what I know (not much...) there are 3 outside light settings for this function, so that the auto headlights come on earlier or later depending on how set. Any main dealer should know this. Like Maz, I don't like this function, so never use it.

Really enjoying my new IS, especially the look of the oakham interior. However, it's a real pain to keep the mats clean - even clean looking shoes leave some sort of deposit... :o So, is there any form of cover or protection for these mats, ideally clear plastic that can go on for the remainder of the winter months? Thanks in advance guys. :D

Will try and get some piccys up soon - delighted so far with the car and the 40 miles I've covered. Sat Nav looks brilliant, and really glad I chose the Black exterior/oakham cream interior combination. Cheers!!

After admiring and occasionally contributing from a distance on this first class site I am picking up my '04 IS 200 SE Navigator tomorrow. Needless to say I can't wait, since I ordered it at the end of December. Big grins all round I hope. :D Part ex-ing my trusty and still quite flash Audi A6 - just that she's quite expensive to service now and a bit long in the tooth :winky:

That's not a long wait - think of me guys, I signed on the dotted line at the end of December! Picking up on Saturday lunchtime - can't wait, it's been an eternity!!

Hope the 'new' model IS is not out too soon, seeing as I've got an order in on a current generation IS. According to the dealership, there will be a new model out in the near future, but no fixed date is set. Probably 2005+ I would guess..

Just out of interest... If you fit an aftermarket armrest on a manual with Sat-Nav, does it obstruct the Sat Nav controls? (Getting very excited now - only just over a week to go and my new IS200 will be here - been waiting since late December!!) Cheers :D

My DIY paint jobs crap also. I've had superb results with spot area paint specialists such as Chips Away and those that use SMART paint technology. On my last car (Audi) they sorted peeling lacquer, scuffed back bumper, scuffed front bumper and a trolley ding for about £300. Would have been more like £600 + from a dealer or paint shop If I remember correctly, the bumper job alone was around £70 mark so hopefully shouldn't break the bank. All best with the repairs...

Problem is the part actually has to fail completely in order to justify a successful warranty pay out. A worn out or wearing part will not qualify. They were good for me - got repairs to the driver display comuter and new water pump fitted (with cambelt change) to my previous Audi.

Just out of interest, are the jets heated??

That's brilliant - nice one.

Just checked with my dealer and I qualify - even though I ordered on 29th December. Am collecting early March though. Ring Lexus again...

This happened to me also some years back. Not in a Lexus at that time, but still scared the living hell out of me. At the time I think I realised what happened and was actually able to free the pedal without resorting to emergency tactics. Very frightening though....

Looks good to me - thanks for the excellent pic.