Bluey

Don't forget, although you can always add bits to a lower spec car to get want YOU want, it may not be what the next person, or trade in, wants. As such you may well reduce the value of the car when it comes to upgrading. If you get the car that has the genuine OEM at delivery bits you want to start with then it will be much easier to onsell at a realisitic price.

Meguiars!! Thanks. Do you use the Meguiar pads on it as well? Yes. Thats what I used for the paint correction in the pictures in this thread.

Yep, a must do step. And it only takes about 20 minutes to do the whole car. Frequency will depend on the environment the car tends be left in. For mine which is garaged every night but out in the open during the day I clay it about 3-4 times per year.

Meguiars!!

Fantastic finish. Black looks amazing when cleaned properly. I bet your glad you spent the money for a quality job. I recently had a drivers door paint chip "corrected" by a chip repair mob. All looked OK initially, until I got some sun shining off the repair area in the late afternoon. All I could then see were a mass of swirls across the entire drivers door and half the rear door, where he had to blend the paint and clear coat. I decided to try correcting it myself with a random orbit polisher, some compounds and some elbow grease. Here are some photos to show the initial damage and the final result. I was so happy with the doors I ran over the whole car and removed almost all swirl marks. Baby shines again, especially after the wax was applied :P Before After swirl removal, no wax

Sounds like it's OK if it still drives well. He may like to let the service staff know so they can check it and let him know if any damage done. I doubt there is if it was only done at very low speed. Still, best not to do it again.

Get the car clayed and waxed as soon as it's convenient. You only need to wait a month or so if the paint is fresh. ie back from the crash repairer. Don't forget the claying step if you want to get all contaminants off the paint surface for that ulta smooth to touch finish.

I don't think any gearbox would enjoy being chucked into drive whilst still going backwards. I certainly would not do it.

Forget it. If you care for your car at all with regular washing inside and out, then the you will see long term benefits. If you expect this stuff(which I've never heard of either) to look after your car then you will be disappointed. None of these products last much longer than a good wax, and they don't look anywhere as good either, especially on black. Black takes a lot of TLC to keep looking good, but looks spectacular when cleaned, polished and waxed. Even if you pay someone else to give your car a full external detail every year you'll get a lot of years protection for the $2000 Congrats on the purchase. I decided to get black on black, and couldn't be happier. :P

At least it looked good on the truck Good luck with the fix, and do keep us in the loop.

The tread design has a lot to do with noise also. Apparently the directional tyres will always be noisier than the more generic passenger tyre, and it's always the more sports/aesthetic minded that want these tyres. As mentioned already, some sports tyres will be quieter than others. I've heard the newer Toyo sports tyres are very good, can't remember the model though.

The IS wil have wider tyres than the camry, hence more noise. Also lower profile tyre, again more noise. And the suspension in the IS will be firmer for a better performance ride, again noisier. The camry is a people mover, a good one, but still thats what it is.

My previous car had a twin turbo performance engine and the dealer said it could be safely run on normal ULP, for no more than 2 tanks, in a pinch. The engine management system will detect any pinging from the poorer fuel and adjust itself accordingly, once the better fuel gets back in, the system wil continue to monitor and adjust accordingly. Therefore normal ULP will not be a problem for a tank, just put in the minimum needed to get to the next major town so the tank is near empty again, otherwise if it's still half full and you add PULP then you will end up with a mix somewhere in between. Also, the car will run beyond zero on the range to empty, it seems to be about the same as the low level warning light on other cars. There seemed to be about 6-7 litres of fuel still in the tank when I filled up and had gone about 15km past the zero reading. So seems you could get another 80-100km on the highway, if you want to try for us....

Absolutely, I agree. Bring on the 350 in the IS, bugger the rest. The IS is the best looking car in the Lexus range. May not suit everyone, but definately the best looking, IMO.

ilv, take it easy man. I'm sure Lexus have a better handle on their target market than we the mere owners. I too would love the 350, but I also love my IS250 Sports Lux for all it offers, others prefer the prestige, and we now have the choice of ISF. If the IS wasn't a popular model they wouldn't bother with all the new variants, let alone doing a facelift. Just enjoy what your driving 'cause you love it, then worry about what you'll drive next when the time comes. MMmmmm..... IS350 :P

Yeah, I had a couple go missing. Since then I now screw them on tighter with a spanner. Haven't lost one in over 6 months.

Thanks FrankyX Please do keep us posted. You say you get peeved cleaning your 5 spokers, you can see why I hate it on my 10 spokers. Massive pain in the butt

WooHoo, we now have 2 from SA :P

Lexus Congrats on the purchase, and a damn fine choice. As you'll notice as you read this post, I prefer the Meguiars range of gear. Not exclusively, but almost. They have a brilliant forum that will give you more info than you can poke a stick at. Whether it's about a simple wash or getting into some major paint correction techniques. Here's a few links to the forum that will get you started on understanding what washing, waxing, polishing, maintaining, claying etc are, and how they help. Washing Techniques, make sure you click the link for the washing video. :P http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthrea...shing+technique Meguiars 5 step paint care cycle. ;) http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2409 And if that doesn't whet your appetite. http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26009 I get most of my gear from Supercheap or similar auto stores, if they don't have what I need I go online.

Certainly looks promising. Well worth investigating.

Nope. Tried that. It makes it a little easier to remove but certainly did not stop it collecting on the wheels. Maybe it's just me, but I see lots of people driving their new BMW, Merc, alfa, Audi etc with black front wheels, obviously never washed, and appearing to be happy to do so, I just don't get it.

It's all Meguiars NXT tech wash, Megs clay kit, NXT tech wax and colorX or Mirror Glaze 80 when polishing needed. Just got some dodo juice clay to replace the megs stuff I'm running out of. Only because it comes in a larger bar. :P

ldc You will definately get better results with a quality known brand product, that usually costs a little more, than with the everyday consumer stuff. Even if you're not passionate about the process and keeping the car at it's best, it will make the process a little eaasier and provide better long term protection for your ride. If you can also spend a little extra time with things like claying, polishing and waxing, even once a year, it makes the process of cleaning easier, as Jomster has already said. I'm also a megs lover, but know there are plenty of other quality products out there, I've just had no reason to change. :P

As with most things, what you see as spotless is someone else's grubby and in need of a clean. I love doing it myself, and enjoy the end result. Not for everyone though.

Depends what you are trying to do, but a good start with Meguiars products, after washing and claying of course, is colorX followed with NXT tech wax. This will eliminate small swirl marks and reduce larger ones, then the wax will give the depth of colour that makes a car look great.