Linas.P

under the bonnet :D There are 2 fuse boxes on the left (right hand side while looking from front of the car). One box is just net to battery, and another one is behind the cover in front of the first one.

That won't be too embarrassing I guess.. I somehow need to commit myself to sell IS250 and add the sum towards IS-F... Getting increasing jealous.

I went for a second option - got used part from low mileage car, got it refurbished and all in all costed me £310. Must admit took me 2 weeks and a bit of trouble, but I guess it was worth savings. I guess if my car would have been like 60k mileage, I would have gone the same way, but with 150k + I didn't found it reasonable to put new compressor which would probably outlast the car. In another hand was your compressor actually faulty or it was just a clutch pulley ?

I do a lot of short journeys and even longer ones ~15 miles to work and back are usually poisoned with heavy traffic, but my average as well improved from 26.4 to 27.7 now... Last 3 tanks were ~29.5 and would say I am averaging at ~28. Furthermore, it is not unusually for me to see orange tacho light.. little bit rarer red.. A/C is as well always on... The main trick employ weight of the car (IS250 is heavy) and try to never ever use brake pedal. In the high speed it is usually economical to drive up to ~80 after that mpg starts to drop. I can imagine IS250c is joy to drive in country side (jealous).

Camera uses so little battery, that it would takes weeks to run down you car battery. If you that worried I would suggest to get battery pack ... like 20000mah ~£18 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/20000mAh-Portable-External-Charging-Technology/dp/B0183K0GZC/ref=sr_1_25?srs=2323115031&ie=UTF8&qid=1465547984&sr=8-25). Such battery would last for a month for dashcam and if you use car regularly - forever. Additionally, if place and wired well you will get bonus on quick charge for phones,GPS etc..

I have seen quite a few cars actually looking cool with rim protectors e.g. white MB C63 AMG with white or red protection. Usually if protectors matches car or rims colour they don't look very stupid. But if you put red or yellow ones on otherwise stock black IS250... it without doubt will look silly.

My recall is due 20th of June so I don't know. They said they will need my car for 1,5h to do inspection and to replace sensor and gasket. Because it is on Monday I have agreed to leave car in the morning and pick it up in the evening and they will provide courtesy car for the day. The story with aircon compressor happened last month when I was doing annual service, at the time I was doing service they noted recall is coming up, but they don't have parts and cannot do it yet. I got assumption they didn't have sensors, because assistant mentioned - "this time different parts will be changed, compared with previous recalls and not only gasket as before" .

Don't want to scare you, but Lexus Woodford marked my aircon "green" and it failed 3,5 miles from the dealer on my way home - compressor completely stuck and cut ignition from engine while driving. Compressor needed replacement. I would take their reports carefully... it means at the moment it works... but as soon as you drive off it might fail. In other hand I am not sure what is better - to pick up the parts which are fine and try to cash on every occasion (like John reported with calipers), or miss nearly failing parts... like your pump or my compressor.

There are protective rings, which takes damage instead of rim - but they look bit childish for me (like additional wheels on bicycle :D). Tires with rim protection are little help. My tires has it, but it is more protection from potholes rather than kerb. To be honest I haven't kerbed my wheels on the actual kerbs when parking for a while, but I have few ridiculous 6"6' (2.01m) narrow gates on my way, and sometimes when people park car nearby the gate it becomes very challenging task... Narrow gates must be banned as unsafe in my opinion - they add little value as traffic calming feature, just damages the cars and local councils seems to use them as solution for everything, regardless it makes sense or not..

I wouldn't be able to manage that.... refusing IS-F is not an easy task...

They did... maybe not one from GS 450h, but there are certainly RC 350 over the pond. Sadly it will never make to this side (same as IS350 or AWD).

Yes. I am sure they will be fine - as you say you can return them anytime. As well if you read description - it says: "packing might be damaged, minor scratches" ... definitely, doesn't sound like "used". You got bargain here. As for impressions, I would set the expectations quite low - the best you can expect less dust and maybe better wear/longevity. I doubt of any increase in stopping power. ... and good luck in Le Mans!

Used means - customer returns... e.g. somebody ordered wrong disks, unpacked and now you can grab them for £9.. I would buy them straight away, but I have upgraded all my rotors just over one month ago.. 11 are non-vented, 10 are vented. Check you car - my one uses non-vented disks in rear. They are as well not interchangeable, because vented ones are much wider, so I guess different caliper design.

It is not that difficult to find Brembo Rotors, here few links: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brembo-09-A717-11-Front-Brake-Disc/dp/B00L7TP1MU/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1465299907&vehicle=842-813-5465-19066-1-0&sr=1-1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brembo-08-A635-11-Rear-Coated-Brake/dp/B00LEIMIPM/ref=sr_1_27?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1465300007&vehicle=842-813-5465-19066-1-0&sr=1-27 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brembo-P83073-Rear-Disc-Brake/dp/B00AJU1ZP0/ref=sr_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1465300108&vehicle=842-813-5465-19066-1-0&sr=1-3 Somehow don't see fronts (probably bought last one). Ferodo : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferodo-DDF1814-Brake-Disc-set/dp/B00CUEL9J0/ref=sr_1_29?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1465300024&vehicle=842-813-5465-19066-1-0&sr=1-29 I am sure they are available for better price elsewhere, just saying it is not that hard to source them.

I thing big brake kit for non-performance car like IS250 is overkill, but IS350 brakes are what it should come from factory. Current set-up is simply not well designed..

I don't think anyone makes fun of the purpose or charity, so no need to be offended. If the person is selling this car for charitable purpose and money will be donated in the end - it is more than fine. I think it is funny because of the actual description e.g. "hesitating to sell"... and in other hand lets be fair - car exterior is destroyed (I agree for good purpose).

31k on 2013... seems like the right price... sure it was gone before lunch time same day.. but not 2012, for 39k...

Sorry, my bad - opinions :) I am have mintex low dust pads on the back.. simply because they were cheapest. Same on front - low dust brembo, because were cheapest again (mintex more expensive than brembo?!). The rotors on mine are drilled MTech with golden protective coating... but this is just visual upgrade. I would just say the same thing again, with standard rotors size there are nothing you can do - they are simply too small for relatively heavy and powerful car. Standard Lexus pads are already aggressive... you have options if you want lower dust, but nothing to really improve performance. Simple physics - surface of the rotor is too small to give you more braking power.

I would say shape is actually 11 years old, obviously IS-F option was not available until 2008, but because of discreet styling.... shape differences are minimal between 2005 IS (especially Sport/SR options) and IS-F.

There are no upgrades for standard IS250 brakes. Many options?! - not sure what you are talking about.. there are many OE equivalent parts... which are to various degree same or worst than OE. There are not really any performance options for IS250.. except of maybe EBC pads as you mentioned... but the problem is not the pads but the actual rotors. You can get slotted, drilled, dimpled rotors - but that is only visual upgrade, does not change performance at all. Lexus standard brake pads are quite aggressive already, so not much upgrade available. The reason for all that - IS250 brakes are undersized and under powered... there are no way around it. For this reason Lexus chosen very aggressive pads which chews front rotors very quickly. Some have reported replacing front rotors after 20k miles, sometimes pads actually outlasts rotors (which is unheard on any other make). If you want to look for any weak points on IS250 is one - brakes! Not in the way they brake, which I consider comfortable and consistent, but especially in the way they wear excessively. Now another thing - try emergency braking.. It is very hard to make ABS to kick in, especially if you have good tires with sticky thread... Simply there are not enough power in the brakes to actually lock the wheels. Now your only real option is to upgrade for IS350 brakes (I believe GS300 fits as well). These have bigger rotors, calipers .. and that pretty much solves the whole issue. Bear in mind - while IS350 upgrade is probably most sensible after F-Sport sway bars - this can be considered performance upgrade and it would void your warranty and you as well need to report it to insurance. There are plenty information about this upgrade both in UK and US forums... other thing you might need to do is to upgrade to 18 inch rims to accommodate bigger calipers and rotors (OEM are fine, as they were shared between IS250 and IS350). Good luck with your new purchase!

Yes as previously mentioned by someone - the do add petrol which is quite nice. Last time they did wash and watch I couldn't tell the difference... It is strange they didn't replace sensor, because it actually states on my letter that sensors is one of replacement parts?!

I guess closer... but still hard sell. I am pretty sure Lexus would add service plan, warranty etc. for £44k RC-F making it pretty much same value. Maybe same applies for this IS-F ... so real price you pay maybe is like ~£35K and rest covered by extra services... If not that We might see it there for several years :D

I am sure there are many places which can make aftermarket exhaust end-to-end ~£1000. Lexus OE exhaust is no brainier for £3k+ and it is as well worse quality... I mean in terms of material stainless steel on good quality aftermarket exhaust will outlast "treated" steel on OEM. I have said if I need to replace mine... I will get one made end-to-end from titanium from eastern EU ~£700.

I thought that auto wipers were standard on 2nd gen. IS.. but in car handbook there is option for manual ones... so I guess it was possible to have a car without them (maybe on special order :D)

I must admit I have not driven 200t, but it is about same thing can be said about IS300h. I really like styling of these cars and looking forward to get one maybe in a years time ~ something ~2 years (used approved from Lexus). But the engine is real dilemma for me.. as I have previously stated there is big gap in Lexus line... There are 2 - kind of eco friendly over sensible options and the straight bonkers RC-F. I really believe RC350 is perfect option in between, but it will never make to UK... RC 300h is rated better almost by everyone, it is more refined and not much slower than 200t... while as well benefits from hybrid technology aka "green car"... Though I have not tried RC, IS was super comfortable to drive and I guess perfect car for my daily commute. But really missing something to stand for the styling... Not sure it this is right comparison, but I had Passat CC with 2.0t and it was crap. Simply the engine from Golf GTI is not fit for large and heavy car... it seemed like engine power was always at wrong time and overall under powered. Maybe that is not good comparison for RC .. but this is something what I am expecting from RC 200t... under powered under all condition and when pushed to the limits feels like engine will die any moment. RC really is shouting for 3-3.5l V6 or V8... maybe not as mad as 5.0 RC-F... but not current options either.