kam05

IS200- very nice car. Mine is 10 years old with 143k on the clock and its been faultless- only running costs you'll have on one of these are the consumables- brakes, tyres, servicing etc. Sadly my IS200 ownership comes to an end on Saturday, as I've gone and bought a Mercedes C220cdi Sport auto- I need something that has better mpg- if you are doing big miles, then an IS200 will be costly to run.

Yeah, as you say, log onto an Audi forum and get the pros and cons of the A5. I'm also looking into chopping in my 10 year old IS200 now. I'm considering going for either a BMW 530d/535d M sport or the 330d/335d M sport (saloon). Have you consider either of these? As a single bloke with no wife or kids, I perfer the look of a saloon to a coupe.

Rip off! OEM oil filter + draining nut washer= £10 Decent 5w/30 spec oil= £30-40 (depending on what brand you buy) Do the work yourself and save a few pennines...

Get KYB shocks from www.buypartsby.co.uk. The KYB are the same ones that Lexus fit- just find a local garage to fit the shocks you supply. I paid £120 for a pair of front shocks for my IS200 last year and fitting cost me £60.

I'd go for the mk3 GS300, perferably in SE-L spec(if funds allow)- it uses a v6 engine, not a straight 6 engine.

Check with your local Lexus/Toyota dealer first, as I found that they could supply me with a battery cheaper than Halfords!

Has the windscreen been replaced? Could be water in the fusebox if a new screen hasn't been sealed properly?

Get KYB shocks from www.buypartsby.co.uk

I did read something along this lines of this on Pistonheads...whether its true or not I don't know? Ormi, what's the deal with aftermarket HID's from next year?

...and a Lexus isn't a souped-up Toyota- just saying mate, not arguing with you... and no I'm not a fan of Alfa's.

I got some OEM LS430 repeaters- they fit the IS200 wing without any probs. Got mine from ebay a few years ago, don't know how much Lexus/Toyota sell them for.

What's the quality like, mate? Some of the guys that have bought these reckon that the case is made cheap/flimsy plastic?

The standard/UK width of a number plate is 4 or 4.5 inches (can't remember exactly now). If you want a plate that fills up the whole area on the bootlid you need to order a 6 inch width plate- this is what I have on the rear of my IS200.

Looking good Rory- needs a different grille IMHO, either Sport grille or LE grille.

IS200 radiator Loads available on ebay...

Get a set of 16 inch IS200 alloys and shed them in winter tyres- that should work. As you found out, summer tyres are useless in the snow. A bit of weight over the rear will also help too.

Out of those you listed, I'd go for either the Falken FK452's or the Toyo T1R's.

Had mine MOT'd 3 weeks ago...sailed through without any advisories. Not bad for a 10 year old car that's done 140k...these IS200's are built to last.

TBH- if you want a full leather interior (inc. doorcards) out of a later IS200, then expect to pay £400-£500- they aren't easy to come by and they are rare. The older (leather/altantra) interiors are cheaper.

Can't see a Lexus dealer willing to fit items that they are not supplying, especially 2nd hand items off ebay...I could be wrong...

Had my IS200 mot'd 3 weeks ago with 6k HID's fitted- pasted without any problems. You should be ok mate.

Welcome mate, Hope your IS200 gives you many miles of happy service- I'm running an 10 year old IS200 with 140k on the clock (100k done under my ownership) without any problems. 1. OEM mats are no longer avaliable from the dealers, pretty certain you can't get a OEM bootliner from the dealers either now, but I'd check...you never know...there might these items lying around in some dealers stock room? 2. Tyres- Most people for go for Falken FK452's as the Lexus specific Dunlop SP9000's are no longer available. Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrics are also a good tyre (expensive though), I had a set of these, very good tyres. I'm currently using Yokohama C drive's atm, they are also wearing well.

Go for the 6k bulbs mate, they look good and they won't get you into trouble come MOT time and with the rozzers. Plenty of HID kits on ebay, try and find a kit with the slim ballasts- these will be easier to fit. There's a seller on ebay (can't remember his name) that sells a decent HID kit for the IS200 for £56 inc delivery- I got one of his kits last year- they are of a good quality.

I'm with Tigerfish on this one...the mk1 IS and mk1 & 2 GS range looked good (they still do IMHO). Out of the current range I think the mk3 GS looks good as well as the ISF.

This is exactly why I bought a 3 year old IS200 back in 2003. Still have the IS200, can't part with it- it's the best car I've ever had!