New Pics Of My Is200

asharb123 · March 17, 2014

No worries. It will be worth the wait when you get those 18's. What grill do you have on your car as you've shown side pic's not the front?

petayV8 · March 17, 2014

Car is looking pretty much perfect! I went for a SE hoping for a better ride but still find it a bit stiff for my liking, but like you said not unbearable, i thinking its a nice balance for this type of car and much better balance than say a 3 series.

My mirrors and pillars are already shiny black but i have noticed some IS's this isnt the case or it has worn off, was that with yours then? I love shining up mine, i find SRP polish does a good job actually and covers up swirl scratches you see in direct sunlight.

Exhaust looks so much better agreed. I love my OEM chrome tip and always polish it with brasso, also cleaned up the back box and its all nice as shiny for who evers behind me lol

If your interested take a look at some pics i put up of mine recently. we just started to get some decent weather here so gave it a good going over
http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/88029-finally-got-chance-to-polish-her-pics-is200/

HoodRich · March 17, 2014

asharb - yes, I'm sure it will be worth the wait........Now if only the Minister of Finance (The Wife) will understand the 'need' for these alloys :-) Regarding the grille, I have the standard grille. While I dont mind the standard grille, I dont quite like the "silverish/greyish" look it is and am considering plasti-dipping it in matte black - just to see how it looks (the plasti-dip should be easily removable). BTW : Have you managed to do the body-work repairs on your car yet???

Pete - Thanks for the compliment man. Means a lot to me coming from you who drives such a mint IS! Good job you did in your detailing thread. It looks really great, man!

My pillars, like yours were already a shiny, glossy black. Unfortunately, I got the car with those wind deflectors, which while they are practical, didnt look good to me. When they were removed, I had to respray the pillars. My mirrors, on the other hand did not have the same shiny black finish. There were not exactly a matte finish, but not exactly a "piano black" finish either. Got the body shop to just respray the mirrors while they were busy with the pillars.

Its unbelievable how pristine your car is......keep up the good work....... :-)

asharb123 · March 17, 2014

HoodRich, have you thought about the sports grill? I think that would look really cool on your car, especially in your colour.

I knew what you mean about the Minister of Finance, I have one of those as well ha ha. She who must be obeyed....... Cars and women are alike when they are going well they're great, but when they play up its a nightmare. Only difference is the car doesn't answer back lol.

petayV8 · March 17, 2014

Thanks for YOUR kind words :D I wouldnt call it pristine! there are a few defects the camera doesnt pick up but overall for its year its better than average. Couple of minor things that i havent got round to sorting though

HoodRich · March 17, 2014

Ashar - yup, I wouldn't mind getting a sports grille. Problem is the IS200/300 was not popular at all in SA. Its quite a rare thing to see them rolling around. As a result of which, spares and accessories are not readily available. I would have to import the grille via eBay and shipping and handling costs a packet (often more than the item itself). That aside, I have spent quite a bit on the car in the past month, so I need to slow down to avoid being kicked out the house. I just did the tints, and have a boot spoiler and radio trim-plate on order from eBay, a window rubber on order from Lexus, and am fitting a new touch-screen headunit next weekend. That aside, I need to book it in to Lexus for a minor service next month. The grille (or anything else) is going to have to wait a while. :-(

Pete - you drive a 14 year old car. One or two "imperfections" are expected. Still, it looks a minter in the pics and its great to see that you work so hard to keep it looking good!

asharb123 · March 17, 2014

J - You've done an amazing job on your car and watching your journey is a pleasure from a fellow IS owner. Everything in its own time. You know what needs to be done and the costs involved especially when you have additional shipping costs to take into consideration. I'm in the same position. I have clonking sound from the front suspension and need will change the upper ball joints to see if that cures the problem. Mine also needs a minor service. Then I'll sort out the dent. Keep the pic's coming as we all enjoy what you are doing.

Pete your car is in great shape looks superb. Like you say as the owner we know what little imperfections there are and notice them more. It looks great and you take the time to go that extra mile. I can't believe you cleaned the back box and your engine bay looks like you could eat dinner off it.

HoodRich · March 18, 2014

Hey Ashar - thanks man - appreciate the compliments. Likewise, please keep us posted on your progress in getting your car sorted out.

I unfortunately discovered that the guys who tinted my windows on Saturday broke one of the clips on my high level brake light :-( The main clip which holds the two parts together is broken, so the two pieces do not sit flush together - allowing the "yellow" light of the globe to bleed through :-( I am so annoyed about the whole thing as I know Lexus will charge an arm and a leg for the part (if they can even get it!)

I have emailed the owner of the shop which did the tints and asked him how is he going to resolve this. I'm not confident he will sort it out, but watch this space .

Some pics of the broken part.

asharb123 · March 18, 2014

Hi J, sorry to hear about the clip. There is nothing more annoying when something like that happens. I had a similar problem with a previous IS I had tinted. The side panel on the rear pillar, was not fitted properly as the window tint guys had lost some of the clips. Lexus were really good they refitted the panel with new clips for free . Best of luck.

HoodRich · March 18, 2014

Thanks man. The owner of the tinting shop returned my email. He asked me to get a quote from Lexus for a replacement part. It costs R1294 (+- 85 Pounds) and needs to be ordered from Japan. I dont think he is going to be too eager to pay that kind of money for a replacement part to be honest. I guess I should just go ahead and try to glue it together myself.

The good news is, Lexus tells me that my left-front window rubber has arrived from Japan. Quite happy about that.

petayV8 · March 18, 2014

Totally understandable about slowly spending money on her! i try not to spend more than a hundred a month lol of course mechanical side of things is always a priority and when stuff needs getting done it just gets done, the only thing ive waited on is WIM because ive got terrible uneven tyre wear on the front but thought i might as well get my moneys worth out of the nearly new tyres.

Other things that need sorting are a couple of dings, driver side A pillar is marked so needs replacing, could do with some new door handles as the paint is worn, front bumper needs a resprays as its got 14 years of stone chips and there was a shoddy touch up made to the rear bumper when i bought it thats need doing properly. side skirts are bubbling, common issue on these. prob about £400 or £500 worth of work to get her perfect which isnt bad to be fair.

Sorry to hear about the tint shop doing that! i swore when i read it but wont type what i said lol

HoodRich · March 18, 2014

" driver side A pillar is marked so needs replacing" - are you talking about felt cover on the inside of the A-pillar? If so, then mine needs replacing too! The previous owner appaears to have smoked in the car and burned that cover at at least 10 times! Its not high priority on my list, but something I would like to replace.

Why dont you just respray your door handles as opposed to buying new ones?

What do you mean "side-skirts" are bubbling? Rust issues?

petayV8 · March 18, 2014

" driver side A pillar is marked so needs replacing" - are you talking about felt cover on the inside of the A-pillar? If so, then mine needs replacing too! The previous owner appaears to have smoked in the car and burned that cover at at least 10 times! Its not high priority on my list, but something I would like to replace.

Why dont you just respray your door handles as opposed to buying new ones?

What do you mean "side-skirts" are bubbling? Rust issues?

yeah the drivers side A pillar cover. exactly the same on mine, must be about 10 black burn marks! i actually only noticed about a year after owning the car and was like how did that get there! lol they pop up on eBay quite a bit for £20ish

Yeah respraying is a option, but i dont trust myself not to mess it up! i didnt mind doing that kinda trial and error stuff on my last cars but im too scared on the lex lol or i could even get some chrome covers but not sure how good that would look?

The paint on the skirts is bubbling all the way along, bumpy to touch. no rust. Its almost as if the paint is not as good down there because the paint is perfect everywhere else

petayV8 · March 18, 2014

petayV8 · March 18, 2014

Also a new door handle can be picked up for a tenner (£10) so not sure its worth the hassle of spraying

HoodRich · March 18, 2014

You guys in the UK are really fortunate that you can just pick up a door handle for "a tenner" :-) Here, looking for spares for a Gen1 IS is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Alternatively, one can buy spares from the dealer and pay the price. It would work out cheaper here to just get the handles resprayed. Hope you find your handle soon. Your A-pillar cover looks a hundred times better than mine! Mine was burned with a cigarette repeatedly - I suspect the previous owner drank a lot.....hehe. Anyway, she's in my care now, so those abusive days are over. If ever you replace your A-Pillar cover and want to dispose of it, ship it off to me ;-)

About the bubbling on your side skirts, be careful that there is no rust under the paint which could spread. I cant think of any other reason for paint to bubble that way.

On a different note, my window run channel arrived at Lexus today from Japan. What a mission to install it. At one time, I felt like giving up. I ended up taking off the door-card, but that was a waste of my time. Thank goodness I didnt break any clips in the process. New rubber is properly in place and I took it for a spirited drive on the highway this evening. No more wind noise! :-)

The old rubber was in really bad shape......it was actually split in two at one point. Thank goodness its been binned now!

petayV8 · March 18, 2014

yeah the skirts are something ive been putting off tbh but will need sorting at some point as the car ages.

hmm so thats my cure for wind noise! lol i posted about that a while ago

petayV8 · March 18, 2014

btw hoodrich i think ive already offered to source parts for you from the UK and have them shipped if your ever in need via royal mail

HoodRich · March 18, 2014

Pete - yes, I recall someone offered to ship me parts, but I didnt realise it was you. Thanks a mil man - I appreciate the offer. Mighty kind of you.

I am currently giving eBay a shot - never ordered from eBay before. Ordered a boot lip spoiler - expected date 8 April. If that gets here in one piece (or gets here at all), then I will have a bit more confidence to place subsequent orders.

I noticed though that several sellers do not ship to SA. :(

If I really need something and cannot find it locally, I'll be sure to be in touch with you. Thanks a mil for the offer. Appreciate it.

HoodRich · March 30, 2014

So, my trim plate and harness arrived from the UK on Friday. Did the head unit replacement yesterday. Unfortunately, the finish of the trim plate is not what I would wanted....but it's not as bad as the flash on the phone makes it look in the photo below. Need to still further tweak the display to match my interior.

The new head unit sounds absolutely awesome and the Bluetooth calling and streaming function works a treat!

HoodRich · March 30, 2014

Some day time pics of the head unit.......and the 6X9's in the stock location

Lance · March 30, 2014

Sorry to jump in on this thread but I just seen this photo.

Petay: That bubble is caused by water under the paint. The water is under the paint in that area as the sill has rotted from the inside out and there is a pinhole rust hole letting the water through. Sorry to be the giver of bad news but if you are looking to keep the car then this needs to be a high priority. What you need is the sill area cut out and replaced. Most likely the inner wings are rotted on the inside too. I know this because mine is exactly the same.

DazR · April 3, 2014

Had the same problem on mine, was ground out and replaced with a fibreglass mix then re sprayed.

Looked brilliant when it was finished but I was shocked at the amount of rust behind it, the bubble was the size of a penny

when they ground it out it was about the size of fist.

petayV8 · April 3, 2014

Yeah thanks foe this input. I had no idea the severity of it! All i knew it was a common defect on models made up to 2001. I will certainly keep it in mind

HoodRich · April 12, 2014

My boot spoiler ordered from eBay arrived this morning..... :-)

Just emailed the spray painter for a quote to colour code it.

Question : the spoiler seems like one needs to bend it to a bit follow the contour of the edge of the boot. Will this cause the paint on the spoiler to crack once its painted? (the spoiler is made of rubber which can be easily bent)

Attached are pics of the spoiler in question