MartinH

I agree with Linas's diagnosis, but not his prognosis. It's so much easier to use Gmaps on your phone than to replace the built-in system unit with a modern aftermarket one — which will run Gmaps

It's easier and (for the most part) more reliable to use mapping on your phone. I have a Quadlock magnetic cradle on the lower right of the windscreen and it works well.

This led me inexorably here

Yes, my misgivings were based on a close reading of your experience, Linus. Probably better to keep on looking for a 300h... esp one that qualifies for the £10 road tax!

Beauty in the eye of the beholder &c ! To my eye the IS3 styling, with its corporate stylebook detailing, dilutes the originality of IS2.

An 8-speed box should work nicely — I once rented a BMW with the 'legendary' ZF box and found it very persuasive — but several here, and most scribblers, have said the unit fitted to the 200T falls short. And that would be a disappointment after the supreme ease of use of the IS250's V6+6-speed autobox.

I've been looking for a Premier of the right spec, and found one. But it is a 200T, not a 300h. I'm aware that many members of this forum are lukewarm at best about this motor, some indeed very critical, mentioning slow power delivery and indecisive changing from the 8-speed gearbox. I would welcome hearing their impressions from drivers who have driven, or still drive, this car!

Tell us more, please?

ML sounds? It's a nice car indeed, and you're not so far from me

That's a lovely car. Sorry to hear of your situation!

Snows Toyota in Honiton were helpful when I needed the rear disc pads replaced on my IS250. But that is not a specialist job of course.

I found this the other day, but have no other info: https://lexusbreakers.co.uk/lexus-used-parts-search/

Sound, thanks Linus

No surprise, the carpark owner has urged me to use a bodywork contractor of his nomination whose quote comes in a whole lot lower, utilizing second-hand parts. I don't mind using clean second-hand parts from a car that's been parted out (hence my enquiry here). What is worrying, though, is that their quote assumes that the bonnet can be repaired. As has been pointed out, it's alloy which is hard or impossible to manipulate. It must be possible to source one from a breaker? And indeed Linus has one, though he says that cost of carriage makes that a non-starter. It's all such a hassle. Why oh why did I not use the official airport carpark?

I do agree with Linus that the official cost to repair is excessive. If I were to submit that claim to my own insurer, they would surely write the car off (and in my verbal report to them, they already hinted as much). And this is one reason I drive in a minimum-risk fashion these days (also because, as a bike-rider, keen attention to risk is a survival habit). All I want is the car put back the way it was, and if that can be achieved at half the Lexus dealer's estimate, I'm happy with that. My understanding is that a primary principle of insurance is maximum good faith; it is easy to lose sight of this. But it is beyond annoying to be asked to do the legwork to mitigate the final cost when one is the injured party. And I don't have any experience of, or appetite for haggling with the motor trade.