noby76

what i was comparing based on your decison was luxury and drive and not year of registration. I was under the impression you really wanted an 09 plate Audi hence i was comparing one against an equivalent and when i say equivalent i mean the Luxury and drive of a 5 year older Lexus as Luxury and drive was your priority but if year of registration is a priotiry aswell then yes you are right an 09 LS will set you back £29,995 on initial vehicle cost. given the option of an 04' LS for £4000 against an 09 LS for £30,000 I know where my money will go. dont get me wrong and I am not in any way trying to get you to change your mind as its your money. Audi's are great cars and well built than BMW in my opinion aswell but thought there might be some money to be saved if one goes for a 5 year older LS430 over an 09 Audi A8. but if date of registration, HD screen and 4 wheel drive is a priority then would make sense to go for the Audi by all means. :)

Hi Sterling, no car is perfect not even Lexus and depending on what one puts as a priority when looking for a car, there will always be shortcomings regardless of what car one drives e.g one car might return good mpg but wont be as reliable where as another might be reliable but wont return good mpg etc.. I would have loved if my IS300 handled as good on the limit in twisty driving as its equivalent 330i BMW but since reliability was top on my list when it comes to looking at cars BMW/Audi had no chance in my books. Good cars in other aspects though. Even though my 10yr old IS300 does not rattle or squeak when driving, I personally can live with the occasional few squeaks and rattles in an exchange for mechanical and electrical reliability any day of the week. Since you are getting an A8 Audi, have you considered the LS430? Based on your decision, I decided to play around with some figures comparing the running cost of a diesel Audi A8 against the petrol LS430 over a 5yr period and these were my findings . 59’ AUDI A8 3.0TDI: Based on 25000 miles a year, and an official combined mpg of 33mpg, the Audi would use 757.5 gallons of diesel a year (25,000 / 33). Average price of diesel sold where I live is 136.9p per litre. 4.54 litres makes 1 gallon so a gallon of diesel will be 136.9 * 4.54 = £6.21. So over a year the A8 would cost 757.5 gallons * £6.21 = £4,704 in diesel cost over 25,000 miles. 1 year = £4,704 5 year = £23,520 This is the cheapest 59 plate A8 I could find on autotrader with less than 100,000 miles on the clock. http://www.autotrade...u63hp?logcode=p cost of vehicle + 5 year cost of diesel =(£16,990 + £23,520) = £40,510 Note: this figure is not including vehicle servicing cost and unscheduled repairs like injector/Turbo problems which VAG diesels are known to suffer at a cost of £2.5k in extreme cases. 04’ LEXUS LS430 Based on 25,000 miles a year, and an official mpg of 24.8mpg, the Lexus would use 1008 gallons of petrol a year (25,000 / 24.8 ). Average price of petrol sold where I live is 129.9p per litre. 4.54 litre makes 1 gallon so a gallon of petrol will be 129.9 * 4.54 = £5.89. So over a year the LS430 would cost 1008 gallons * £5.89 = £5937 in petrol cost over 25,000 miles 1 year = £5937 5 year = £29,685 This is a reasonable LS430 with less than 100,000 miles on the clock but we all know mileage is nothing on these cars if they are serviced by the book. http://www.autotrade...s/200?logcode=p cost of vehicle + 5 year cost of petrol = (£3995 + £29, 685) = £33,680 Note: this figure is not including vehicle servicing cost and unscheduled repairs like…well I cant think of any mechanical and electrical issues but I have read a few air suspension issues but still rates better on the reliability index website against the Audi A8. Yes the LS430 has 5 years over the A8 based on their registration dates but will work out £6830 cheaper than the diesel Audi A8 over a 5 year running cost plus initial cost of vehicle. road tax is the same for both vehicles as well and I can bet my money the LS430 will give you all the silence and pampering you would ever need during your daily commute to work and dare I say will drive and sound better than the Diesel Audi A8 even though its 5 years older. Decision is yours to make as its your money at the end of the day. Good luck

Haha i agree was surprised how much stuff it swallowed each trip when i was helping my mate move. he had a 42" plasma and it slid into the back seat will less hassle double checked all my leather seats after the move trip was done and was all intact with no cuts anywhere..not sure why Lexus did not bother with a Sportcross version of the newer IS250/220d and the GS300/GS430 versions. Yes estates dont sell well in US and other parts of the world but they could have taken a few sales from BM. Merc and Audi in Europe if they had those aswell i recon.

Ok so after 12 months and roughly 11,000 miles of owning my IS I thought I would write a little review. Cost: For what these cars go for these days I say you get a lot of car for your money and I mean a lot. Would you be surprised if I told you the only specs missing in my 10 year old car compared to a 2012-13 showroom car is built in Satnav (ok this was an option which mine didn’t have), reverse camera , push start button and USB/aux connector. Someone help me out here if I missed anything… shows if you still drive a 10 year old Lexus you are not missing a lot from a 2012-13 showroom car. Running Cost: Besides usual service maintenance which every car goes through at some point, i.e. changing spark plugs, engine oil, oil filter, diff, gearbox oil, pollen, wipers, pads/discs and battery.. I have only had to change drivers side lamp bulb which cost about £5 from halfords that’s the only non maintenance part which has broken on the IS after 11,000 miles. Goes to show how well mechanical parts and electricals have been engineered on these cars. Most IS owners say its not the best on fuel but come on guys you know it wasn’t designed to return 70mpg before you got it? If I get anymore than 18mpg in town am happy if I get anymore than 26mpg on a combined motorway/town driving am happy because it’s returning more than the officially stated book figures which it does. For best economy always use the best fuel you can afford mainly top tier fuels like Shell, BP, Esso, Total. Yes they all come from the same refinery but difference lies in their friction reducing/modifying additives. Use fully synthetic 5w-30 engine oils which will further reduce friction, heat and better internal cooling during driving. Every little helps to squeeze every drop of mpg from a gallon of fuel, in fact I get 22mpg in town and 31mpg combined so not bad for a 3litre auto. Practicality: Its not the most spacious saloon mainly at the back and boot due to being a Sporty sedan but I have managed to move a mates complete apartments Items including tv kitchen items and clothes with exception of washing machine and fridge in the IS. I did 3 trips but was still possible in the IS. Boot and back seat swallows all my monthly food shopping so its more than enough. Handling: For a first attempt I think Lexus nailed it with the handling. Will be honest this car does not handle as good as an E46 330i coupe on the limit because I saw the handling of that car in tight corners for my self and could not keep up with it on the straights the IS300 does have the upper hand for some reason but it tends to oversteer(backend kicks out) a lot when pushed to the limit in very tight bends I have had it WIM’d but no joy so might be my car that’s not well balanced for some reason might be the Pirelli’s am currently running might change to Bridgestone Potenzas and see if it gains more rear grip but its no biggy because how often does one drive on the limit round corners anyway? Will give the BMW the on limit handling for sure. Performance: Now a 0-60 time of 8.2secs and top speed of 143mph for the IS300 does not sound exciting on paper due to the fact most Turbohot hatches can hit that in 6 or 6.5 secs and clock 150mph but the real world performance of this car tells a different story. As a close comparison, my previous car was a 2.5 V6 ford cougar with the same 0-60 and top speed figure as the IS300 but the IS300 is quicker, sharper and more responsive than the V6 Coupe even tho the IS has two more doors. Not sure if it’s the VVT-I which makes all this happen or the Shell V power I run it on. Haven’t really done a lot of 0-60 shootout at the traffic lights but have done more rolling quick sprints either overtaking , joining the mway, or pulling away from an annoying tail gaiters and has been quick. Every now and again I get the other man who wants a challenge and I have taking on a few from Turbo hot hatches GTI, sciroccos, Civic Type R’s, A4 turbos to 3.0 Audi diesels 320 mercs and BMW’s and they all gave thumbs up or had to do a double take on my rear badge afterwards. They couldn’t believe their eyes.. The performance is not in the league of IS-F, M3,M5, RS4’s , AMG’s, STI’s or EVO’s but its enough to get one into trouble and out of trouble. The brakes are good and bite well when braking in emergency. Recommendation: 1(low) – 10(High) On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give the IS300 a low 1. Why?? Because I don’t want others knowing how good a car it is in all aspects and I would hate to see Lexus’s flooded on UK roads like the obvious 3 brands. Well we all know those brands dont we :D .. How long have you owned your Lexus? Feel free to share your Lexus ownership reviews

if you have home break down service start by using them first for diagnosis they are not always the best in diagnosing car problems but will help to give you a clue. alternativly have it towed to a reputatble garage who can read Lexus ECU codes most do these days and take things from there. silly question but did you jump start the car in the right way? if cars are not jump started the right way can fry up some fuses and even the whole ECU in worst cases.

same as lexus mate i fitted mine couple of months ago. turn the switch button to the 'OFF' option Pull the plactic casing out with a thin flat screw driver carefully as seen in the vid gently pull the old bulb out by moving/pressing the metalic looking lever or clip to release the bulb. fit the new bulb by pressing the clip/lever whilst inserting the bulb and test by turning the switch to 'ON' if it does not light up remove the bulb and rotate it 180 degress and try again as most do not have the positive or negative labelled on either side so worth trying either sides until it lights up. refit your plastic casing by feeding the outer pointing edges on the plasctic case into the holes of the main light housing. you now have LED's :) Trust me its not complicated.

dont worry be careful and you wont break anything. only takes 5 mins... ok actually its 1 minute 39 seconds. oh and depending on the LED bulb you have if you insert it and it does not light up flick it the other way round and try again.

way I see it is, if its not an Audi or if its not already fitted into the headlight housing like the newer IS/GS/LS's dont do it. just fit HID's or fit HID projector lights and they will look the part. even tho I'm not a fun of the BMW style Angel eye lights on other cars I recon the Angel eye lights suits the IS better than aftermarket led eyebrows. but hey if you like it, no need to get someone elses approval just leave it on and be happy. :) my 2 cents.

another underated sport coupe those Celicas mainly the VVTL-i 190 get one of those for the misses and i bet you would enjoy driving that more than the IS200 those are little screamer engines with enough acceleration to give most V8's a run for thier money from 0 all the way to 140mph :winky: but i suppose you wont be driving it that way..

Lexus over engineeres thier cars and regardless of thier age they give the notion, they should be worth more than they are now due to thier build quality but like all cars, Lexus do depreciate with age aswell hence the ford KA prices they fetch today and as Andy said they are best kept secrets. I mean how many cars have been engineered to last a minimum of 20 years including paint work before they start rattling and squeaking?? my IS300 is 10 years old and I am still waiting to hear a rattle and squeak when driving and i recon i can get another 10 years trouble free miles if its maintained as Lexus intended and valeted often to keep paint job in good condition. Like they say, always finance a premium German car and always buy a premium Japanese car second hand because the German car will cost an arm and leg to maintain after your warranty runs out and wont be fun to own anymore whereas the second hand premium Japanese wont drive any different at 100K miles compared to when new and will still keep going if one keeps these three things changed regularly oil coolant spark plugs thats it.

Think I will stick with my IS300 one of the best cars I've owned :) . will be a year this month since owning it and after 10,000 miles of driving I havent spent anything on repairs besides all fluid changes including gearbox oil, cambelt change, spark plugs and brakes..ok i replaced batteries, wipers and lamp bulb but these gets replaced on any other car on the road at some point so wont be classified as repairs. Tyres will be next after a couple of 1000 miles...fuel consumption is not bad for a 3litre auto depends on how its driven really!! and for a 10year old car with over 100K on the clock, there are not a lot of cars on UK roads as powerful and fast as this car with the exception of high powered V8's like your ISF's , M3's, AMG's, RS6's and high powered Turbos like GTR's, STI's and Evo's there are not a lot of cars as powerful as the IS300 and i have taken on a few be it diesel or petrol cars with similar or slighlty more power than it and this included turbo hot hatches. So i cant think of anyother car which can match it for the spec, reliability and performance for the money. A MK3 GS430 is always in the books for its toys, space and performace but i keep asking my self do i really need one?? because the IS300 is not far off it performance wise in real world due to power-to-weight ratio. or maybe a Mazda MPS if i want to go AWD Turbo manual ;)

Happy New year...best engine oil to use is a 'clean engine oil' so long as it meets API SJ or API SL it should be fine so 10W-40 or 5W-30 should be ok as the Lexus engine can handle both grades but try and stick to 5W-30 fully synthetic oils for best cold start up, performance and economy and change at every 10K for VVT-i mechanism to function at its optimum as VVT-i unit does not like dirty thick oil. some oils in the market have extra additives for more engine protection less cam wear and better flow and cooling in high temp or during performance driving. Castrol Magnatec 5W-30 Fuchs Titan 5W-30 Motul Econergy 5W-30 Mobil 1 ESP formula 5W-30 Shell Helix AG 5W-30 are all high performance engine oils so will boil down to your budget really!

Like you said iridiums last minimum 80-90,000 before needing replacement and for an extra £20 its worth going for originals than the brisk spark plugs. lets be honest the brisk plugs wont unleash e.g. another 10bhp to the IS200's 155bhp . The OE Denso iridiums can handle Turbo power so they are dishcharging enough spark and energy to handle 155 horse power. in other words you are getting more than enough bang(explosion) with Denso iridiums than you would need. so stick to Denso or NGK and you wont have cylinder misfire issues. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Lexus-Spark-Plugs-SK20R11-Iridium-/170900441496?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item27ca75c998

merry Christmas Mike.. enjoy your LS :hohoho: this vid is for CT200H but the principles of operating are the same on all Lexus vehicles.

You mean like this :hohoho: I quite fancy one my self they have that Exec look...

Hey Raymond am liking your new signature no wonder IS owners complain about lack of power... just by looking, the car sits like its pushing 250 horse power minimum under the hood :) ho ho ho

All this doesnt answer the ops question. if he drops his cars height 30-40mm will it rub on 18" wheels was the question?? we all know IS's can handle 17 and 18" wheels but will they hold when the cars height has been lowered? Merry Christmas and hope we can win the lottery in 2013 for an LFA and GTR order :hocus-pokus:

havent droped mine but i do get some rubbing when i do full lock steering to the right when reversing and this is on standard suspension and 18" Aero's so am not sure how the rubbing could be avoided when you drop it down 30 -40mm on 18's. maybe you might have to change to 17's which will give you more arch room for dropping!!

nice!! used to mod my cars in the past but i tend to leave them factory standard these days!! if you would do modding best to start with performance grippy tires, disca pads and performance springs like Eibach, Bilstein and the likes... as confirmed by a Honda Integra Cheif engineer 200 bhp is enough power in a sport coupe/compact car if one invests in getting thier suspension/handling and braking right.. So i would do suspension and brakes first and see if you are satisfied with the performance before thinking of engine and exhaust tuning.. you would be surprised what good tyres,suspension and brakes can do to a car without even touching the engine and exhaust...

might aswell update your signature and any modding plans in the pipe line or will you be leaving it as standard like mine?

you stole that car for sure Lex-Scott

47K on an 03 plate?...man that 2JZ engine is barely broken in!!and for 3K thats not a bad price actually...reset ECU for gearbox to adapt to your driving style, feed it with good engine oil and fuel and normall driving wont be any different to the 200 untill you open all cylinders up but cus it goes better than the 200 you wouldnt even care :) . as time goes on you would know how to drive it for economy and when to let it loose every now and again. Enjoy

before i got my 300 i compared insurance quotes between the 200 and 300 and was about £100 difference for the year. road tax is the same expect 18mpg if you drive 90% in town any more will be a bonus 31mpg can be achieved on combined if you do mostly motorway driving but 26mpg is the official figure so if you budget your fuel cost on this figure any more mpg gained will be a bonus...most town driving for me is 20mpg which is a bonus on 18mpg and 80% motorway journeys i get 31mpg with cruise control which is also a bonus on 26mpg.. best thing is take a couple IS300's for a test drive and if you can, best to put maybe a £10ners worth of fuel so you can spend time with the car rather than a quick 5min test drive..try and get on an open road to test the performance and if the seller is not under watchful eye stick it in M mode select 2nd or 3rd, ECT PWR mode on and just floor it. :D its no ISF, M3 or RS6 but its enjoyable to drive

I'm all for second hand parts Noby but when it comes to brakes I'm not! I have to have brand new ones, it's just the way I am and nothing will ever change that lol. I had a horrific crash in 1999 in Dartford tunnel where the brakes went on me at 80 mph and I lost control and hit the wall hard! I woke up in hospital 3 days later! I'm overely paranoid with brakes since! Thanks for the offer but I've already ordered a new calliper from Lexus (£200) Ouch! It'll be here by Friday and my mate is gonna help me fit it so no car over Christmas. No worries mate. ...when it comes to things like brakes i dont take chances either hence i had all my discs and pads replaced recently even though the mechanic said the rear discs where in good condition but they looked rusted on the outer rim edges and dont know how long it has been on the car before i bought it so replaced all for peace of mind..hopefully will get sorted out