Steviewevie

Welcome aboard. I haven't had my IS200 for long, but already I've learned tons here, so I'm sure you will too :)

Got any pics of them on your Lex ?

Update regarding my attendance. I'm going to come down on Saturday, and stay for the day. Can't wait ! :D

Yep, those are exactly the ones that I meant, thanks ! My thoughts exactly. The anthracite ones look nice, but I think they'd look odd on a Platinum Ice car.

Has anyone got pics of the 11-spoke Lexus 17" alloys on a Platinum Ice IS200 ? I've had a look through the gallery but can't see any there (but might have missed them). Thanks :)

I think it comes already mixed, no dilution necessary ?

Sorry to see that some moron has done this to your car Dan, but what a great response from fellow LOC members here offering to help you out ! :D

On my IS200, I found that whether you get judder or not is simply a matter of getting the revs right. There seem to be a couple of points on mine where you get a smooth take-off, either very little revs, or about 1500 or so. In between these or with too much revs then you get judder. Don't know if this is the same problem you're seeing.

Don't worry, my car will almost certainly have a worst paint condition ! I've got some clay and am fulling intending to give my car some proper treatment, but not sure I'll get it done in time for JAE.

Just had a close look and it looks like my assumption was wrong, what I thought was a scratch through film was in fact a white mark, doh ! So I think the windows are indeed tinted glass.

I found some older IS200s on the Auto Trader website recently, in fact I bought one ! :D So don't give up, keep looking. I guess nothing is definite as far as the tax hike goes, it's planned, but it's possible there could be a change of government and/or change of mind. By the way, the IS200's tax is planned to go up to £400 (!) from 2010 for the newer models. I wasn't suggesting necessarily avoiding newer models, just bear it in mind - e.g. use it as a bargaining tool (sorry to anyone here trying to sell a newer model ! ) I found a very wide range of prices out there when I was looking.

Hmm, I take my earlier posting back. From the manual it looks like the sensors were only added to the interior light fitting from 2001, so your car might be an earlier model ? In the manual, you go into the Repair section, then Body Electrical, then Theft Deterrent System.

Have you tried the online workshop manual ? At the minimum I expect it shows where the sensors are in the light thingy, don't know if there's anything else helpful on the alarm. You can access it here.

Yep, I was just going to post the same thing. The IS200's handling will be greatly improved via a proper geometry setup, i.e. taking it to WIM.

Well, that's a good question. I thought it was film tinted because it looks like one of mine has a scratch through the film on it, and I wouldn't have thought that would be possible if it was a proper tint.

Here's a pic of my tool tray (1999 model, don't know if they changed at all) :

You should be able to get a decent older IS200 for that sort of budget. Shop around, bear in mind that it's a buyer's market (so some might be asking unreasonable prices), and also bear in mind the stupid tax increase for cars registered from March 2001 onwards. You might find some cars for sale on here too.

I understand that it's important to use the right coolant to protect the engine from corrosion, so I'd play on the safe side and get the proper Toyota stuff.

What do you guys use to clean the inside of film-tinted windows, like the insides of the rear windows and screen on an IS200 Sport ? I see that on the back of the bottle of Autoglym Car Glass Polish it says not to use it for this purpose, but to use Fast Glass instead. Also, is it safe to put stickers on the inside ? e.g. if you remove the sticker it won't damage the tinting ?

I will bring two folding chairs for the duration of my visit.

Quote from Churchill Policy Book "Changes made to your vehicle which improve its value,performance,handling or attractiveness to thieves." That sounds sensible to me (although different insurers may have different definitions, as Dave1 has illustrated). In Tango's example, I would have thought that installing a non-OEM exhaust rear box which is just a bog-standard one from Kwik-fit or similar would be no issue. But installing an HKS back box probably would be an issue, since it could be argued that it improved performance (albeit just slightly) and also the car's appearance. Similarly LED/HID lights should be declared, I would think. Installing a different make of tyre wouldn't really seem to be an issue to me unless it was a particularly expensive/exotic tyre, but installing bigger alloys than the OEM ones would be a modification. I would say, if in doubt - declare it !

Surely if you've carried out mods and not told the insurance company, then you *don't* have a valid insurance policy ?

Welcome :)

Welcome aboard :)

Got the CD this morning, as per my post above. It is indeed exactly the same as the online manual. Yes, I know the online version is free, but it's great to have my own local copy for only £2.90.