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Wow, thanks for all the replies/details! Am following this up. :) :) :)

I quite like the look of the 6-spoke 18" alloys that you see on cars with the "Styling Kit" fitted. Now, In the last Lexus Accessories Price List (2002) the listing shows

Styling Kit

Styling Kit, comprising Front Bumper, Rear Skirt and Rear Spoiler - £650

Styling Kit Alloy Wheels and Tyres (18") set 5 - £1875

This suggests to me that the wheels are available separately from the body kit, however, my dealer is saying that the wheels can only be ordered at the same time as the rest of the Styling Kit.

So anyone know if the "Styling Kit" alloys are available separately?

Just in case anyone's feeling wealthy, Lexus told me that the latest disk for the more recent DVD-based navigation system in the IS200/300, is dated September 2002.

Available from your local Lexus dealer.... at around £400 so I'm told

You won't have to wait long for your welcome pack - joined two days ago and it arrived in the post this morning! Yay! :D

I have a same thing happen on my IS200SE Auto. It only (always) happens when I pull away the first time after starting the car, and as you say it's a buzzing/scraping sort of sound from the front somewhere. It only lasts a second or so, but if I have the drivers window open, it is quite loud. After it's done it, it doesn't happen again until I switch the car off, then switch it back on and pull away - i.e. it doesn't do it every time I pull away during a journey.

The noise is almost as if something on the car is 'priming' itself.... but what it is?????

In fact, on the new one I've just ordered - I'm tempted to spec the 18" alloys. Aside from the fact that they look great, I'll bet they don't rot nearly as fast as the standard 17" ones!?  Hmmm... think I've seen someone on here advertising a set  :)

Don't be so sure, talk to Andy Hart he had his 18's replaced after about 8 months I think

Youch! Thought the 18" wheels were going to be my way of escaping from the troubles that plague the standard 17" ones.... :( Good job I mentioned it, was going to the dealer tomorrow to ask him to add them to the order!! I see Lexus now offer three types of 18" alloy - wonder if they all suffer the same problem?

In fact, on the new one I've just ordered - I'm tempted to spec the 18" alloys. Aside from the fact that they look great, I'll bet they don't rot nearly as fast as the standard 17" ones!? Hmmm... think I've seen someone on here advertising a set :)

Hey... "Great minds" and all that! I've just put in an order for a silver '300, black interior, satnav, parking sensors, etc.... Dealer reckons 2-3 weeks. ...and with Gold LOC membership on the way, I shall be one happy person!

Incidentally - I've yet to find the true 0-60 time for this car. All the blurb over here says 8.2sec, but many reviews of the same car in the US (i.e. E-Shift & same bhp) quote it as 7.1sec ???

And believe me I've been known to go out in the evening with a bucket and sponge and just wash off the brake dust !

Rgds steve

PS please tell me I'm not the only one who's done this ?????

You're not alone.... I've done this too!

PS - Same problem. Car was new in Jan 2002, but wheels are corroding badly now. Have never used abrasives or solvents to clean them, just soap & water. Virtually every other manufacturer can fit decent alloys, so why not Lexus??

I have the same dilema regarding colour. I have a silver (Platinum Ice) IS200 at the moment and felt that I needed to change colour for the new car just so it felt 'different'. I was going to go for a Granite Sky one, have it de-badged with just the "L" logo back & front, and getting them done in gold....

However, I have figured that while the darker colours like Granite Sky, Strathcaron Blue and Black look pretty cool, they will be much harder to keep looking nice, plus they are going to show every mark because of the Lexus "thin paint" problem. So.... I'm sticking with silver as the easiest colour to keep looking good! B)

PS - Think Sport has limited slip-diff, whereas SE doesn't, so it's not all cosmetic ;)

Ok, the finish is good - got the car from new and there were no signs of it being a poor paint job. Durability, well that's not so good. The paint appears to be very thin, and in a couple of places where I've acquired a light scratch over the last year, there's a white undercoat(?) showing thru.

As far as anti-chip goes, I seem to be ok - there's barely a mark on it at the front. Whether this is down to Lexus Anti-Chip paint or just luck, who knows.

Compared to my last car, a red '97 Nissan 200SX which I owned from new for four years, the paint on the Nissan seemed much 'thicker' and more durable.

So all in all I agree with big' ... for an expensive car, the paint job could be better.

Have you tried re-locking it with the key, then using the key button to un-lock it?

A year ago I bought a new Plantinum Ice IS200. It has been brilliant, and a year on, the car still looks the poodles plums! Now I'm figuring that because it's silver it doesn't show the dirt nearly as much as the darker colours, and I don't seem to have suffered any stone chipping or other signs of the "thin paint" syndrome other owners have reported.

Now my dilema.... I'm about to order an IS300 (saloon). I've seen the Granite Sky and was thinking of going for that, plus having the car de-badged and leaving just the "L" logo back & front, and maybe even having them in gold. My worry is that the darker colour will show every mark, and that the "thin paint" will get me! Then again, if I stick with silver, it won't feel very different. Decisions... decisions... Any 'granite' owners out there who wish they'd gone for silver, or vice versa??

I usually get around 360 miles to a tankful, but the warning light is on by then!

Once got over 1,000 miles.... oops, forgot to reset the trip'

I got a new IS 200SE Auto a year ago, having driven both. It all depends on what you want - the 0-60 dash in either version of the IS200 is sluggish by most standards, and the auto more so than the manual. (The book figures are 11.2s for 0-60 in the auto, although realistically it's a tad quicker). Having said that, I wanted ease of driving and refinement, and that's what you get. Ok, so it's only a 4-speed auto, but the box is every bit as smooth as what you'd find in an equivalent BM' or Merc, and it puts many other auto cars (like Vauxhall) to shame.

95+ % of the time I just leave it in "D" and let it get on with it , only very occassionally do you really need to push it, and which point - just like the manual - the engine does get a bit harsh & unsophisticated.

When I took my IS200 in recently, they gave me a new GS300 for the day. Today I have an IS300 SportCross for a test drive as I'm thinking of trading up to one. The IS feels marginally quicker, but I'd guess this is as most people say, down to it being a slightly smaller/lighter car. In the final reckoning I reckon it'd be no more than 0.2s or so difference in the 0-60 dash.

The IS is a sweet car on the outside, but I have to say, the interior of the GS300 they lent me was waaaaaaaayyy better than the IS interior. I loved the neat unobtrusive switches, and the intergrated touch-screen sat nav. Did make the IS setup look 'fussy'. ;)

I have the Lexus OEM sensors, which were fitted by the dealer on delivery. They were black, but I asked for them to be colour coded (as the car is a Platinum Ice IS200), which the dealer kindly did free of charge.

Initially they blended in really well, however, after 10 months the paint has started to flake away from the flexible rubber part of the sensor face, leaving me with sensors that are silver in the middle, surrounded by a patchy black/silver ring outside that, and finally silver on the outer bezel. I can't say I'm surprised as it's very difficult to paint something flexible like rubber.

In addition to that, the sensors have begun playing up recently. After inspecting the system and being unable to find any obvious fault, the dealer suggested that painting them might have caused the problem. They'd be happy to replace them free of charge (for plain black ones), but as I'm changing the car, I'm not that bothered. (Incidentally, they have said that they have stopped offering to colour-code the sensors because of this potential problem).

It is a shame that they don't seem to be able to supply pre-colour coded OEM items, the likes of which you see on many other cars. The black ones, on a silver car look rather naff. :(

Yup, saw a couple of other pics of it - gorgeously understated, and a good way to keep them S3 children quiet! :P The real shame is that Lexus can't sell me one (....oh, and that I probably couldn't afford it even if they could!) :(

As I've found, all the Partridge jokes to be superficial. Guys pick up on it, because it's fun to tease and when you've got an icon like Alan Partridge (albeit a negative icon perhaps) it's an easy way to crack a joke.

Those same people all admit that despite the Partridge thing, they still see it as a quality car with an image of class, luxury and refinement (not to mention loads of extras)! Most people tell me "I'd love one" or "I'd buy it 'cos it's NOT a BMW". One point a couple of people have picked up on is that the IS is a car you buy with your head, not your heart? B)

Mine too - p48 of the manual says

Some models:

The windshield wiper deicers are optionally equipped to deice the windshield wiper blades by operating simultaneously with de-fogger.

You can see the elements at the bottom of the windscreen.

...and if we wanted to cruise in style just that little bit faster, well there's always....

Hmmm.... my quest for more power is costing me the price of a new IS300...! ;) Sadly my dealer says the IS430 is still just a concept, otherwise I'd sell the house and buy one! :duh:

Yup - I couldn't resist it... posted a reply to them :P Funny, they refer to Lexus as luxury Toyota's. What Car refers to the A3 as an expensive Golf! And their recommended "Best Buy" A3/S3? Why the A3 1.6 5dr of course! LOL...

The guys at work already refer to my IS200SE as the "pipe & slippers" car, and an Alan Partridge "aahaaaaaa" is never far away in any discussion about it.

Having said that, they do actually admit that the jokes are superficial and that it's a damned fine car. Good looks, good value, great image & presence, gob-smacking sat nav, and all without the aid of the BMW propeller!