matt-c

Or, pay much much less than the £500+ that lot will cost (my Grom was £35) and I have 7993 songs at my finger tips (ok so no video playback, but I don't really want to watch a video on a tiny screen on the lower part of the dash anyway, especially while I'm driving! And it only takes 5 mins (literally) to fit

TTE body kit with TTE 6 spoke 18" alloys; (TTE rear lip seen here - http://i46.tinypic.com/n3n7ut.png) TRD front lip, with "Sports" grille; TRD side skirts and rear lip;

18" alloys and TTE/TRD body kits were options, not restricted to just the Sport. The Sport didn't have a different grille as standard either (same grille as S and SE). TRD kits comprised a front bumper lip, a rear bumper lip, a pair of side skirts, and a higher rear spoiler (all were available separately I believe). TTE kits were a complete front bumper with built in grille, and a rear lip, again available separately. There was also an optional grille, which suited the TRD kit nicely, often called the Sport grille (because it has a small badge with the Sport writing on it. Pretty sure the alloy pedals were standard, but maybe it was a year thing, so earlier cars didn't have them possibly... Some of the Sports didn't have LSD, although it seems there's never been a proven formula for working which does and doesn't (ie, by year or whatever) The biggest difference is the Sport only came with a manual 'box - no auto. Engine wise it was exactly the same. Exterior wise, the only standard difference was the addition of a boot spoiler, and darker rear windows (the rear vents have "Sport" lettering on them). Inside, two tone steering wheel and alloy pedals and sill kick plates, the rest was the same as the SE (same half leather, same heated seats, etc).

Get some pics up of it :) Under £50 for a 7" motorised unit is a fantastic price - mine is the 5" version and wasn't as cheap as that!!! Most are selling on ebay for £150-£200! I was tempted to go the 7" Windows CE GPS route (as already mentioned in this thread) and run TomTom Navigator and a reverse cam on it, but I've decided to sell it instead because I just can't justify the money I'd need to put into it, for something I'll rarely use (ie, the sat nav part). It'd be different if I'd bought the car with the dash unit already in and already had a TomTom XXL or similar - but to fork out at least £200 on building it up just seems not worth it to me, since I don't do enough mileage in the car to warrant it (and as said, I only use the Sat Nav for maybe 2 or 3 journey's a year)

Thought it over a bit more and decided not to do it. It's just work out as a very expensive sat nav that I'd very rarely use, and one that's then IS200/300 specific, so I've listed it on eBay instead!

Thought it over a bit more and decided not to do it. It's just work out as a very expensive sat nav that I'd very rarely use, and one that's then IS200/300 specific, so I've listed it on eBay instead!

Been thinking about the OP's requirements - I think by the time you spend out of motors and sliders and what have you in order to get an automated flip up, you'd have spent more than just buying a motorised sat nav unit off eBay or the forums. If you really wanted to use your flip top storage bin and a Tom Tom, what's I'd do is make a fascia from Perspex that the Tom Tom fits into, and the shape of it fills the open "gap" of the flip lid when it's open. The fix a hinge to the bottom of the fascia, and mount that on the cubby hole base. Then when you open the lid, you can lift up the Tom Tom in its fascia till its vertical (ish) and support it with the flip lid. As for power, I would probably just tap some wires into the existing 12v supply to the existing cigar lighter on the console, then run those to a female 12v socket behind the dash, and plug the standard Tom Tom USB charger into it. The cigar lighter only gets power wih ignition, so there wouldn't be a power drain when the car is turned off. Your only obstacle to overcome is the power button on the Tom Tom itself (although you could simply manually turn it on when you lift the flip lid as the back and top of the Tom Tom would be exposed before you lift it up)

From what I understand, the power button (on the back of the TomTom) needs to be removed, two wires soldered to where it was, and these two wires run to an ignition live source. I don't know exactly where, as when Stav does it, he runs all the wires inside the motorised unit, and the end result is three wires coming out the unit that splice into the stereo unit power cable (Blue/yel stripe - Perm 12v // Grey - switched 12v (acc) // Brown or white/black strip - GND), so that when the engine/ignition is started, the sat nav powers on, and the flip up unit opens, and on ignition off, the sat nav powers off, and the flip up unit closes (in between, the open close button works, but does not power off the sat nav. The tilt button works also) I was wondering whether it would be simpler to tap into the cigar lighter on the lower console, run two cables from that behind the dash to a female cigar lighter socket, and then plug in the sat nav using the stock USB cable, but then realised the power button for the nav is on the back (or top, depending on model), so you wouldn't be able to get to it anyway, and it'd need relocating to the front of the flip up unit fascia - in which case you might as well just do the direct wire in. I agree - I wouldn't pay £175-£200 they seem to sell for. The ones Stav made are worth the money (I think he was sold a couple with a 4.8" Sony nav already fitted and wired in, complete for £200, which when you factor in the costs of the components and his time sorting it, is a good price). I only got mine because it was a bargain because of the faulty screen (seller said it flickered - I traced that back (by eye, not actually testing it) to the ribbon cable which seemed pretty lose)

I've been talking to SparkyStav about it, who seems to be really clued up on it, who said he'd need to mess around with the power switch to get it to turn on and off with an ignition live, which on the Sony's is easier because of how they support on/off with power as standard. I'm sure it's not a big deal, but it's beyond my capabilities, hence needing someone else to do it. I'd be quite happy with WinCE running TomTom navigator and a reverse camera. In fact that'd be superb as I was thinking it'd be one or the other (since I was going to use a stand alone TomTom unit, so that wouldn't support reverse camera. As for everything else (car PC, movies, games, etc) - those might have been something I'd have used back in the day when I did all the car shows and car meets etc. But these days (man I sound like I'm getting old!! I'm only 30!!!!) I just get in and drive, so it's really no use to me. I know where you're coming from, and I'd have loved it if all this stuff had been as accessible, and as cheap as it is now, 10 years ago. And to be fair, even if I put a stand alone TomTom in the unit, I wouldn't be able to update it unless I ran a USB data connection to it and fed it into the glove box, and then did the updates with my laptop in the car, as I'm assuming, possibly wrongly, that after all the power wiring and everything else is done, I won't have anything to plug it into to make it work should I remove it from the car and bring it in the house? Bottom line is, much as I think it's a great idea, would look seriously cool and be a real nice touch, I'm just thinking that, at least to me, it really isn't worth it. As it stands now, I can go outside, get in the car, stick a little TomTom on the screen, program a route and set of. When I get there I take it off the screen and go about doing whatever I went there to do. And none of that has cost me anything (except the fuel of course - wish that was free!). The only difference I can see by fitting a GPS of whatever form into the stock unit is I'd go to the car, and it'd autostart instead of me pressing the on button, and it'd sit on the dash top instead of me sticking it to the screen. Then when I got where I'm going it'd auto close and turn off, instead of me taking it off the screen and pressing a button. And I really don't think, for the amount I use it, those two things are worth best part of £200 (at least to me)

Turbo or supercharger will cost you more than the cars worth or pretty close to it mate. And that wont double the value of your car. I thought about it. £2000 for the supercharger and about £1700 for a turbo. So it's not a cheap mod. Theres no other mods that will give you more power, they are your only 2 options. Changing exhaust, air filter etc will give you no more power...If the power (or lack of it) is a problem for you, sell your 200 and get a 300 :) Affordable mods are getting 18's, pop out sat nav, DVD player. I have a ripspeed pop out touch screen sat nav/DVD player waiting to go in. The thing that stopped me doing it myself is all the horror stories of flat batteries after fitting aftermarket stereos! I will get around to it tho and find a very good auto electrician to do it. Oh yeah, I know that - I've wasted many many thousands on modifying cars in the past, so I know you won't recoup money on them. The topic of 200 vs 300 and more power comes up a lot; I think both cars are underpowered. The 200 needs to have at least the power the 300 has as standard, but a 3litre I6 with 211bhp is underpowered too. That should be at bare minimum 260+, more like 280/290. The turbo conversion is just a little pet dream, as I miss the turbo cars I've owned in the past, and think it'd change the IS200 incredibly to have a bit more power and a bit more torque under the hood; it'd be ideal with about 220hp and 240lb/ft I think. But to do it properly it'd be closer to £4k, not sub £2k... I'm trying to resist doing ANY mods to it - it's a slippery slope I've been down too many times before! :D It'd be nice for sure to whack on a set of TTE bumpers and 18's, but I don't want to get into the suspension and brake upgrades/change-outs, and much as I'd love to give it forced induction, I really don't want to, if you get what I mean! If I'd have been wanting to get an IS200 to modify, I wouldn't have bought the one I did. I'd have bought one for half the price, probably even under a grand - one that would have had higher mileage and been a bit more tired. THEN I'd have rebuilt the engine and whacked a turbo on it, fitted coilovers and all new bushes, bigger brakes and larger callipers, etc etc. Either that, or spent the money it would have cost to do all that (figure, £8-£10k?) on a better, faster, car in the first place ;) I was just illustrating it can be a dangerous road, the one to modifying, and even the smallest "tweaks" can start the ball rolling ;)

I don't want a Sony nav though - I'd want a TomTom nav. The reason most use the Sony nav's is because they support switch on/off with power connection - something the TomTom doesn't. So it would need specific wiring to do so. The rest of the wiring is the same as doing the Sony switch out - just the wiring to make the unit open and close with the buttons and on ignition on and off. However, the fact I need to check a diagram to wire a plug means I do need someone that knows what they are doing when it comes to electronics. Also, I don't want a car PC - I don't want bluetooth, headphones, video, whatever elm 327 is, or 3G, and I certainly don't want to spend £350 to £500. I drive the car two or three times a week, sometimes less - some weeks not at all. And when I do drive it I'm either actually driving it, or driven to somewhere and got out - so I'm not going to sit in it and play with a computer ;) If I did the nag, it'd be to use it as a nag - no need for music (got an iPod and a Grom for that) or movies or games (why would I sit in the car to watch a movie on a 7" screen, or sit on my sofa and watch it on a 50" screen? LOL) I not sure about doing the nav conversion because, as I said above, I really don't think a couple hundred quid and messing about trying to get the config right is worth it for a sat nav I'll use twice a year, three times tops, and I think I'd find a rear view camera a more useful mod. If I can combine the two, using a 7" Windows CE unit to run TomTom as an app and override it with a rear view camera, then that's an option. Plus the Win CE units can be had for under £50 too...

I've just bought a dash unit to do the very same - retro fit a TomTom into it in place of the stock screen. It seems it is doable, but will need custom wiring (to both the tomtom, the nav motorised unit and to the cars loom) along with some fabrication to get the screen mounted. My plan was to strip the casing off the TomTom (I was going to use either a 5" or 6" widescreen model) and make a custom fascia and mount to fix it in place, then have someone do some wiring mods to it all so that it would; - Only power on (and off) with ignition on/off - Would automatically close on ignition off (and auto open with ignition on, if it was previously open) - Open/close and tilt buttons still active In in two minds whether to do it now or not. Mainly because it's an awful lot of cost (easily a couple hundred, if not more - cost of the nav unit, cost of a new large screen tomtom, cos of wiring mods and needing someone to help me as I don't have a CLUE about how to wire it up!) for a sat nav I'm likely to use 2, maybe 3, times a year, and add to that I already have a tomtom I can use (standalone) if I need to (it's a work supplied one so I can't mod it, and also it's not the right type for the build anyway) so I might just sell the motorised nav unit. Not sure yet, as I'm tempted to throw an LCD in it and hook up a reverse camera!

Haha, was the same for me. I nearly bought - or rather tried to but they were sold before I could - a couple of Sports with full TTE kits and 18's, so I went for a completely stock one because it looked like its really been looked after etc etc. But now I can stop thinking "what if I did this" and "Oooh, it'd be nice to do that" - I want to do the auto mirror mod, with reversing dip, and HIDs, and TTE/TRD kits, I just bought a sat nav dash unit for it thinking to retro fit a TomTom in place of the stock screen - the list goes on! I even want to turbo it, since I found out you can run a 282bhp turbo conversion on standard internals!

Reminds me of a Laguna splitter

That's quite a nice looking front end! Not for me though - personally, I feel it looks better on a "modded" car, rather than a stock looking car... I'm still toying between doing a TRD lip + grille combo, or a TTE front bumper...

I guess you could, but you'd need to sort out a nice way of having the transponder activate in the car so the engine will start. One way is to cut it off the remote pad, and glue it behind the cowling of the ignition, near the receiver, so it's permanently activated. However, that is like leaving the key in the ignition, and not something I'd want to do. I guess you could relocate the transponder receiver to somewhere else, such as one of the cubby holes in the centre console, then get in, put your remote fob in the cubby hole, and push the starter. But that sounds like a LOT of work to me Also, remember you'll need to modify/disable the steering lock too, which is normally done by the key. The other option is to not do either of these two things, and just stick your key in the ignition, which will activate the transponder, then turn the key to disable to the steering lock, and then push the starter button - kinda defeats the point though really since you'll need to have a key, put it in the ignition and turn it! Lastly, I still like to have the actual key with a blade - should the worst happen and the battery go flat in the key, or in the car, preventing me from opening the car up, at least I can manually unlock using the key Push button starters are nice, but IMO, it's not really worth all the hassle and agro of retro fitting it if you want it to work OEM style As for cutting - I paid £6.99 to get a replacement key cut. Granted, at first it didn't work (it did the door, boot and glove box, but wouldn't turn in the ignition). Then I spent a few mins with a file on it, smoothing it out and taking down the tip a little, and it works perfectly now. From what I read, on here and other places, the majority of people who get keys cut pay under a tenner for it. One guy recommended a place that charges £15 (I think it's a mobile service) but said it's worth the extra few quid since they do a top notch job everytime

Also, the seller is open to best offers - I just took one of these keys for £7 inc

Just spotted these on eBay - could be perfect for those needing anew key case due to cracking/breaking? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251138117080?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_1378

Stumbled on a bit of a bargain and got hold of the older, smaller (5inch?) Nav dash units. Bargain because the screen flickers - not a problem for me as I was never going to use the stock screen anyway! What I want to do is rip the screen out, get a 5" TomTom (Start 25 or XXL Classic), rip the casing off that, fit it in place of the stock screen, with some custom wiring to do the following; 1) TomTom only powers up, and down, when the unit is opened and closed respectively. 2) Only have a power feed going to it when the ignition is on (so when ignition is turned off, no power goes to the TomTom) 3) Have it set in a way that it doesn't open when the ignition is turned on, but does close when the ignition is turned off. but also so that the open/close button, and tilt button, are fully useable (while ignition is on). Reason being is that the majority of the time I use the car, I just want to jump in and shoot off to the shops/supermarket/pub/mates/etc, and I don't need a sat nav for that. So rather than it constantly opening and turning the TomTom on when I start the car, I'd rather it do nothing, and only turn the TomTom on when I press the open button. Then when I am using it, and have got to where I want to go, and kill the ignition, I can be lazy and not have to press the close button, but rather kill the ignition, and the unit close and the TomTom shut off. But here's the problem - I know NOTHING about electronics! Not a sausage! I wouldn't even know where to begin - no clue about stripping a TomTom down and modifying it's wiring for power on etc, and not even a clue about how to splice in the power feed to operate the Nav motor and buttons either (my car didn't come with Nav, so no sub loom behind the dash to plug into for power, etc) Sooo, I'm looking for help from people MUCH more knowledgeable than me!

Why?

I believe the S came with 6, the SE and Sport came with 8, and the Sportcross came with 9

^ As I understood, and I may be wrong, the LE 200 is all the kit that came on the 300, but in a 200 isn't it? IE, the full leather, armrest, parking sensors, etc, and with option wheels as standard. Does it have the 4 speed or 5 speed auto box?

Ha, I know! The day I got the car I spotted the Sports grille, in my colour, on eBay for £30 and didn't buy it - mistake! Likewise, only a few days after I spotted this; http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item1c29e792f7&item=120962126583&nma=true&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&rt=nc&si=c5iWojM4iHOCySwWXoF0BaQRIEM%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_500wt_1144 Kicking myself for not buying it! Now I can't find one for love nor money!

I'm a windscreen fitter by trade, and have been for 8 years - done quite a few IS200's in my time too ;) Firstly, the chip. Once a chip is repaired, it cannot be repaired again. When a chip is repaired, it's injected with a resin that fills the crater and the cracks, and then cured using a UV light. At the curing point, before the UV is situated over the top, we use a mylar patch with something called "pit fill" on it (it's a gel like liquid; dab a drop of it on the mylar, then lay it over the chip which is full of resin. The reason for this is to keep the resin inside the chip (so it doesn't leak out while still wet; it takes 3 mins to cure under UV), and also, the pit fill creates a "proud" surface over the chip. When the mylar patch is pulled off, the resin inside the chip is cured and hard, and the pit fill has gone hard also, leaving a square of it on the surface of the glass. We then cut this back with a single edge razor blade, and reduce it down to be completely flush with the glass - all the pit fill that's spread out on the surface of the glass is removed, and all that's left is the area of the chips crater (looks like a dry water-spot mark). Now, over time, and sunlight exposure, the pit fill can shrink slightly, and warp, allowing you to feel it on/in the screen. In rare occasions it can fall out - although this is very rare as the two liquids (the resin and the pit fill) bond together, and the resin cannot fall out of the chip (despite what anyone tells you). This isn't a problem, as the resin has done it's job inside the chip. As said, the chip cannot be re-repaired once done, but you can have the area of the chip re-pit filled if it has shrunk and/or warped - new pit fill is applied, cured, then cut back flush. Onto replacement screens; there's no reason any single brand of screen is a "no-no". Pilkington are the leading brand of replacement windscreen, but they do suffer the occasional QC problems, just as any other manufacturer, and dealer part screens suffer from this also. Why? Dealer part screens are made by the same companies as replacement company screens - same factory, same glass liquid, same laminate, same everything. Difference is, dealer designated screens are printed with the dealer logo and not the manufacturer logo, and replacement company designated screens aren't. Some cars have both - most BMW's for example with have the BMW logo on it, and under it a smaller Saint Gobain logo. On the replacement designated screens there is no BMW logo, and the Saint Gobain logo is larger. Also, many screens brands are sub brands - just like there are hundreds of companies that "make" LCD TV's, only Sony and Samsung actually make LCD screens; like wise, there are a load of windscreen brands; Pilkington, Shatterprufe, Safevue, Armourplate, etc, but only three main windscreen manufacturing companies. Onto the act of replacing a screen - it's not as simple as you'd think (nothing ever is!) The general process is the same for nearly all cars, the differences are in how things come apart and go back together, along with a few manufacturer/model specific things you need to look for (things you learn by fitting, as to the best way to do something based on a particular car - for example, the Range Rover (Vogue and Sport) have heated screens, and are prone to leaking from the heater terminals (which are located at two points on each side of the screen), the foil straps of which heat up when in use and can dry the primer used in the bonding process, which can lead to separation of the bond around the heater terminals, causing windnoise or leaking. The cure for this is once the screen is fitted, a thin line of bond is applied directly to the edge of the screen (the screen sits on the glue and has a few mm gap between the glass and the metal aperture - it's this gap, around the heater terminals that is filled) and smoothed in. This encases the heater terminals, stopping any windnoise or leaking due to the heat from the foil straps. Anyway, an IS200 screen is, in comparrison to other screens, a pretty easy job. There should be no reason the heater straps on the IS would cause leaking as they are at the bottom of the screen - and although water does indeed run down the outside of the screen, and under the scuttle panel, it doesn't do a 180, run up the leading edge of the screen, through a gap in the glue, then immediately do another 180 and run down the inside of the bulkhead ;) Leaking is down to poor fitting, bad condition car (such as rust or overly worn parts) and in some cases, poor design of a car (example, Range Rover (Pegasus model) has a design flaw that lets the water collect at the top of the outer A-Post trims, which then runs and sits on the door seal in the top corner, which over time has aged, and lets is leak into the car. Also, Rover 200, old, square shape, have push fit clips under their outer A-post trims, and water collects under the trims, finds the holes the push clips fit into and drips inside the vehicle) You cannot choose which windscreen is supplied - it is what it is, and is whats in stock. Having worked for all the major windscreen replacement companies over the years, we all use the same glass and same suppliers. As said, what brand logo is on the glass really has no bearing on it being a good or bad fit (in the exception of Armorplate door glasses for BMW E36 3 series' - there was a change over from 5mm for 4mm glass, but for some reason the Armorplate stamped glass comes up as 5mm all round, which is too tight in the rubbers on the cars that should have 4mm glass) Any decent windscreen fitter will always put more bond on an area of the screen that needs it - be it a car with heater terminals, such as a focus, mondeo, or Range Rover, RX/IS/etc Lexus, Toyota's, etc etc, because of the heat from the ones that use the foil straps (as opposed to soldered wires, such as early Focus' (mk1) or early (mk1/2) Mondeo's) General practice for replacing an IS screen is to strip off the wipers and scuttle panel (and rubber corner pieces), remove the screen trim (which is what's called a goalpost trim, because it is shaped like a goalpost; same as a Yaris or Avensis for example), then cut the screen out. Cut the glue back (not to bare metal, but leave a very thin, ~1mm, layer of original glue, and clean the aperture. Clean and prime the glass, prime any area of the aperture that may have bare metal or exposed paint, and apply two layers of this primer to any area that has visible rust. allow to dry for 2 mins, while fitting a new trim to the screen (you can sometimes use the original trim, if done on a very hot day when the trim is soft, which allows it to be removed without distorting. Generally a new one is used in most applications, but sometimes if a trim comes out really nicely, I'll reuse it because it can give a better looking fit. The trim isn't a water seal, despite what people say, but is there to hide the edge of the glass and the edge of the car. Look at newer cars - many many have what's called "floating" glass, where they have no trim at all, just a thin gap between the glass and the car metal, giving the effect it's floating. Anyway, then the aperture is glued, the screen lifted in and positioned, taped up (to hold position), the heater terminal connected, and scuttle and wipers refitted. The only problem with an IS, isn't actually a problem, but fitter error; the mirror is a twist on (the new screen comes with the boss preinstalled, and the mirror twisted off it, and onto the new one) - the mirror only twists one way, unlike a BMW for example, which can twist either way. The error is if the fitter doesn't know which way that is. I've been guilty of twisting them the wrong way and damaging the mirror on a few IS' in my time. They aren't done often, and the sheer amount of cars us fitters work on, it's impossible to remember everything! I think, off the top of my head, to remove it, it twists off to the right, and twists to the left to refit, but even I'm not 100% sure on that, as it's been probably getting on for 2 years since I did one. However, it's easy to tell by just looking at the boss on the new screen and looking at the directions of the grooves. So wobbly mirrors are generally fitter errors. THAT BEING SAID, the metal tabs on the mirrors aren't the strongest ever, and can/will deform slightly when removing and refitting; more so if it's been on and off before, so any time a mirror is removed and refitted it's never 100% as tight as it was (same can be said for more modern Audi mirrors that have a rain sensor in the middle of their mounting point) Lastly, main dealer replacements - main dealers do not do bonded glass replacements. Any glass that needs to be bonded is subbed out to replacement companies. Main dealers do not have the equipment for replacing bonded screens, their staff aren't trained to, and also, the replacement companies give warranties to glass they fit, so the dealer is covered if anything goes wrong (such as a leak). Excess is excess, regardless of what company does the work and what glass you have fitted. Your glass excess is £60, so you pay £60 for the small triangle window in the read door, and you pay £60 for the front screen, or rear screen, or sunroof, or door glass. If you have the AA do the work, or Autoglass. Only occasionally do you have to pay more for another company to do the work, and that's down to the insurance companies "approved" list. For example, Direct Line only direct bill with Autoglass, and as a result the excess if £60. If you refuse to have Autoglass do the work, and demand the AA do it, your excess might be £140, because the AA isn't on the direct bill approved list. Likewise, Saga only direct bill with the AA; you can book Autoglass to do the work, but you'd have to pay in full and then reclaim from Saga, but you'll end up paying more than Saga's £75 excess.

Just tell them to send the cheques, and you will contact them after they have cleared. Funnily, they don't reply back after that... Or better still, do as Chris did - delete the mail, don't reply, and ignore them