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John, I'm following this thread with interest. Although I'm not planning to replace my IS yet, I always like to know what - if some disaster befell it - I would go out and buy, down to the a specific sometimes! Sad, but I don't get out much. The GS450h flits between first and third on my list of suspects on Autotrader and I'd seen that one in Plymouth and reckoned it looked exceptional value. I hope it all goes smoothly, looking forward to you next post.

A bit of toothpaste and some elbow grease and your headlights will come-up nice as well!

Happy New Michael, I did the same to a £15 ebay grill for my IS in summer 2014 (except I'd reveal the Lexus 'L' as you have). It's stood up pretty well, I have to say. There's a few small bits of peel here and there (shows you how much crap gets thrown up) and it's a bit more of a dark matt grey now. Once summer comes, I might redo it. Looks smart though when it's new, doesn't it?

That's a great colour combination for body and wheels colour. Hope you enjoy it.

I can vouch that RT's don't protect your rims... My twopenneth worth on noise: The RTs were certainly quieter than the Bridgestones they replaced, but I think the db rating can be a bit misleading (I think it's measured outside the vehicle). For example I've switched from my 17" Dunlops to my 16" Avon Ice Tourings in the last couple of weeks and the difference is notable. Although the Avons are rated to be noisier, actually it sounds quieter to me. Or rather the sound is less intrusive; the Dunlops produce more high frequency - that sort of white noise hiss - while the Avons make a subdued 'brrrrrrrrr' (like you'd expect with chunkier tread I suppose).

Ah, what the hell? It's only money! Your post reads like man wanting to be talked out of it, but at the same time desperately hoping not to be. That's a bloke thing I can relate to when it comes to my car; for everything else I'm as tight as a gnat's chuff. Thee only things I can say about the 'sports' pedals only IS are they do look good but squeak when wet under my DMs. Come on, they'll make you happy...

I've just had my man (thanks Richard) cut out and repair my rotten bits, back for it's respray next week. Which means I guess I'm committed to the old girl for a bit longer, but that's no hardship! Next job will be cambelt and I think auxiliary belts...

A job for the summer on my old girl, this. Oh, hang on; it is summer!

I think it's shown by a suffix on the VIN plate from what I recall. just can't put my hands on the details at the moment though!

Thanks for the welcome, chaps. Looking forward to my time here.

Hello Lexus community; I’ve been a lurker here for too long so thought it was high time I joined. In fact it’s twenty five months since I bought my first Lexus. Until then I’d owned a string of worthy and economical four pots, interrupted only by a turbo-charged five cylinder (an imperfect but extraordinary car, I’m sure you can guess). But when the car that followed that for five years - a faithful old P11-144 - was approaching its second round of big bills, I felt the need for a change and began hammering the Autotrader, Honest John etc. websites in late 2012. I knew I wanted increase my cylinder count again so was looking at Nissan QX, Honda Legends, Toyota Camrys, Kia Magentis, Hyundai Sonata, Jaguar X-Types, Mondeo V6 Titaniums and even Jaguar X300, all cars fitting my preferred “fuel costs high but capital cost low” philosophy. A bit of an outsider at this point was the original IS. I’d always admired the shape, and even after fifteen years I still thought it looked good. When my positive experience with the Primera made me start to priorities the Japanese makes, as I started trekking around the country so the Lexus began relentlessly creeping up the list, the others discounting themselves through scarcity, complexity, maladies and general woefulness; it was soon evident the Lexus was the best of what I was seeing. With the clock ticking to the Nissan’s MoT of doom, I found myself being regularly disappointed (the flaw in my philosophy!) but at least I established I wanted the larger engine and auto box in the IS300. Eventually after a number near-miss let-downs (mostly down to shady histories revealed on HPI checking), I found a tidy red IS300 at a dealer in May 2013; previously owned by Lexus Aberdeen it had found its way south to Lexus Sheffield and it remained with its owner in Chesterfield for eleven years. After a couple of months I put it through a 100,000 mile service at Lexus – ouch – but that sorted out some major bits (front suspension, unsurprisingly) which I knew needed sorting; fortunately I had made an allowance for such an eventuality. Since then I’ve entrusted it to my local mechanic who knows the car now and get him to do the bigger bits, while I handle the simpler stuff. The first MoT was unexpectedly expensive (front suspension again!) but it sailed through the 2015 a month ago. I’m also on my third set of front discs (as I bought it, as I replace once and as I replaced them a second time) which has taught me to buy OEM Lexus discs in future! Next job for my man is to attend to the bubbling on the sills which I want to do this summer. Then probably should think of a second cambelt change. As to the future? I get to drive quite a few for work thanks to hire fleets, but so many of them do my head in. I worry a bit what - currently on the market - in five or six years’ time I will find as a used car that will do anything for me. Anyway, as I feel now I reckon it will be another Lexus next, most likely a late IS250 auto, perhaps in a couple of years’ time. Meantime, I would love to get my old girl up to 200k; I’ve never had a car get within 30k of that previously. Sorry, this introductory post has ended a bit longer than I meant! I was involved quite heavily with a forum and website for previous car, hence my reticence to join and my pent-up drivel! But perhaps, it will help anyone looking to join the brotherhood of Lexus, give them a bit of confidence. Looking forward to joining in with the fun, you seem a decent crowd… :)