kam05

The early (99/00) IS200's originally came with Dunlop SP9000's, I think the later cars were fitted with Bridgestones?

There is no 'shelf life' on coil packs. I ran a IS200 (up until 12 months ago) to 145k and it still had the original coil packs.

Guess yours is a early IS200? The earlier ones used to have Toyota etched onto the glass- you have original glass on your car. Look at the rear lights, they'll also have Toyota stamped on them. :)

Have you had a look at the BMW or Merc diesels? That's where my money would be going. I considered a IS220d- having test drove one (and reading the reviews on here), I decided it wasn't for me and replaced my 10 year old IS200 with a Mercedes C220CDI Sport auto (I wanted a auto and diesel). In summary the IS250 is a good motor, but the IS220d is a bit of a dog. If your heart is really set on a diesel, then look at the offerings from BMW, Mercedes etc. Edit: Just re-read your post- Out of the cars you have listed, the diesel Accord is a good motor, my brother has a 04 Accord 2.2CDTI for ab

Have you tried out all the price comparision sites (confused.com) etc?

Agree- go for an IS250. If your heart is set on a diesel, then look at the offerings from BMW, Mercedes or Audi.

That kinda depends on how desparate you are to have a armrest?

Best to use Denso or NGK irdium spark plugs- these suit Toyota/Lexus engines. I believe that the Bosch plugs are not irdium plugs, they are platium plugs?

I ran a K&N panel filter when I had my IS200 without any problems.

Try Japarts or Lexus Birmingham's Ebay shop for genuine parts.

IS200= 153bhp IS300= 211bhp

Change the water pump as well whilst the timing belt is off now- easier (cheaper?) to do now rather than later because if the water pump fails later on its a timing belt off job.

Yep- SportX bumper is slightly different to the saloon IS200 version one. That saying, you can fit a saloon bumper onto a SportX. Try Dewsbury Auto Salvage for a SportX bumper.

My dad buys them- as you say, you don't earn any interest on premium bonds. My dad sometimes gets £50-£100 on his premium bonds. Dad has about £10k in premium bonds.

Keep it in 'D' - Will not cause any problems whatsoever. Thanks- just as I thought.