Lexus Nerd

So I have two quotes so far - one from Exclusive Body Werks and one from Currans. I plan to visit two on the north shore tomorrow. For the benefit of others looking for repairers of minor bingles, I'll let you know of my experience with each repairer once I get all four quotes. Thanks for all your responses so far.

Great thinking, I never thought of that! Sadly, that car park doesn't have cameras. I know of a student at UNSW who installed a camera in his carm specfically for tracking down these kinds of culprits. That could be a great kit to sell to Lexus owners ... Ashpoint? If I made an insurance claim, and I stuck with the same insurer next year, I'd pay $180 more for one year. So excess + $180 is my point for deciding an insurance versus private repair. The gentleman at Currans said something similar to North Shore Classic: No matter what make of car you have, the paint finish on plastic parts will look different to that on metal panels. It doesn't matter if a resprayed bumper looks ever so slightly different to the rest of your paintwork, as it looked that way when it came out of the factory. (I can just see all our Club members checking out their cars now to see if it's true.) On the other hand, a proper repair on a metal panel will likely mean a new paint job on other metal panels too, because that's the only way you'll get an identical finish on adjoining metal panels. Ouch - $8k!!

Well, living in Eastwood, it had to happen. Some *$#&$%! backed into my car when it was parked at the local shopping centre. Did you think he/she left his/her contact details on my window? No, I wouldn't have expected it either. I plan to have it look at by an authorised Lexus smash repairer on Monday, so they will ascertain whether there's more damage than what's obvious with the front bumper. As can be seen in the photo, it's a little too big for using touch-up paint, but probably too minor to consider replacing the bumper ... ... Although I was wondering if anyone could answer these questions: 1. It looks like some members are recommending Curran's at Auburn, particularly after a recent IS F bumper fix. I might go see Curran's too; but does anyone recommend either of the two authorised repairers in Artarmon, Northshore Classic Auto Body or Stow? 2. Approximate cost of respraying something like this (assuming it's only the bumper that's damaged)? ISF_Starlight_Black was offered $440, although his scrape was on the underside of the bumper. Any reason why this should cost any more? 3. A respray job at a repairer just isn't as good as the original paintwork: in my experience, the paint oxidises faster and one is frequently polishing the paintwork to make it match that of the original panels left on the car. So how much would a new bumper be? 4. What's my chances of picking up a pearl white MY09-MY10 bumper second-hand? And for how much?

Yeah, Atlantis, where are the pics? :P There's currently a white IS F for sale with a matte black roof. And, earlier this week, I saw a black IS in North Sydney with matte black badges, bonnet, roof and bootlid - original gloss black sides. Not sure that I like that one, but to each their own.

Hi Zed_IS250, and welcome to the Club! On these forums, you'll find heaps of posts about replacement wheels. Have a look around - perhaps checking out "Post Your Latest Mods!" first, or searching for either of the words, "wheels" and "rims", in the IS250 Club forum. After checking out some of our members' experiences and photos, perhaps let us know: Are there any particular styles of rims you like? (Understated/aggressive/black/coloured/shiny chrome etc.) Do you prefer OEM, "Lexus-like" or aftermarket wheels? Which one is more important to you - style or comfort? What's your budget? Do you mind buying used wheels? Many of us will recommend different wheels, because we all have different answers to the above questions.

I thought you were pretty handy with it ... Your IS looked pretty darn good slammed ...

Sorry guys - next time, I should pay more attention to the question you're asking, rather than give you a lecture on pinned topics. Unfortunately, my search on these forums doesn't reveal an answer to disabling the open door chime. At least two other people have asked, without a response. :( Given the wording of the Owners Manual, and given that a programmable solution hasn't been published on the Net, I suspect it isn't a customisable feature, nor can it be disabled through some hidden menu. That would leave the option of modification through DIY wiring changes. I am trying to locate an electrical schematic; however, I suspect that there is only one pair of wires to the door switch (permanantly open/close the, and your interior lights and/or alarm won't work properly), and one pair of wires to the buzzer (cut it, and you'll lose many of your warning sounds). I suspect the logic is integrated into a chip: if in ACCESSORY mode or ON mode, and driver's door switch is open, then sound the chime ...

coolmeow seems to have done a lot of research on quiet exhausts, and chose the Fujitsubo Legalis R: http://au.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10452

Hi bonesi250, "Sticky" or "pinned" topics appear at the top of each topic list in every forum. In this case: 1. Click on "Lexus IS250 / Lexus IS250C / Lexus IS350 / Lexus IS350C Club / Lexus IS-F" to go to the topic list for this forum. 2. At the top of the topic list, note the topics with a green "PINNED" symbol next to them. Click on the topic named "Diy 'how To' Topics". 3. Read the first post. You will find the hyperlink for disabling the seatbelt warning chime. Cheers!

Yes but, you gotta admit, a worthy thread revival ... Using suction cups might well be the easiest way yet to remove the front panel ... and may become "best practice" if anyone else can concur with sbowden1951's finding!

Hmm ... "random meet" "in two weeks" ... pseudo-random, perhaps? I think Harry's is a great idea. Haven't been to the Liverpool one; the one in Wooloomooloo is a great spot to hang out (may need to BYO mosquito repellent), but has anyone been there lately? How easy is it to get a park? It wasn't all that easy when I've gone there, but perhaps weeknights are better than Fri/Sat nights.

Test only

The purists will say that there is a difference between "HID" and "xenon" headlamps (one does not always imply the other). But, in the Lexus world, they are one and the same. You are right: in all Australian IS 250 models, except the Prestige, xenon/HID headlamps are used. The Sewell "loaded kit" contains the xenon bulbs and ballast required to replace the halogen lamps in the Prestige with HID's. AFS refers to the technology where the bulbs move so that you can "see around corners" (as they once said on the first IS 250 commercials, and now on Hyundai ads). AFS isn't found on any of the headlamps used on "2010 facelift" (MY11) models - it has been suggested that the introduction of the daytime running lights caused a space problem which precluded the use of AFS. That's one "issue with the AFS" - it's not available on new IS models anymore. The other "issue" is that it is practically impossible to fit AFS onto Prestige models, as it requires upgraded electronics, not just upgraded headlamps and wiring harnesses. Upgrading to HID's with DRL's - with no AFS present - is more likely to work (subject to the complexities I previously described).

As imoo1670 found out, the choice of routes (particularly the "Quick" option) and expected travel times are based on how the maps have classified each road as one of three road types, and the average travel speed for each road type. The average travel speed is configured through the satnav's Setup menu. In your home town, this arguably makes it smarter than the average satnav system - less intuitive to use, but more useful once you know how it works. The typical satnav will calculate travel times based on the posted speed limits for each road - possibly allowing a variance (e.g. assuming average of 100 km/h for Sydney-Melbourne instead of something closer to 110 km/h), or considering the number of traffic lights along the journey, but the posted speed limit is still a major factor. Not surprisingly, highways will normally be chosen ahead of back roads. On the other hand, you can configure the Lexus satnav to adjust the average travel speed of each road type, based on your actual experience; in so doing, you may find that back streets are preferred to major suburban roads or highways. I now have my travel speeds calibrated so that, if I travel across Sydney, I usually arrive at my destination within a few minutes of the satnav's original estimate. Outside your home town, however, you may wish to change the speed options in the Setup menu, so that major roads and freeways are preferred. Agreed, that's rather fiddly; but at least, when I'm in Sydney, I don't have to convince my satnav that traffic on Victoria Road really doesn't travel at 60 km/h ...

I've also looked at the same kit for sale at Sewell, and have considered buying it for some time. There are some challenges, but also some conclusions: 1. Sewell aren't cheap, especially if you don't have your own freight forwarder - they'll charge you over US$600 for delivery. 2. But they are the only ones who sell the right parts in a "kit" form. They won't state the part numbers that form the kit, so you can't source the parts elsewhere for cheaper - you're stuck with Sewell unless you know a Lexus mechanic in Australia who's actually tried this conversion. 3. You have to trust that the kit will fit your IS. With Village Lexus Parts now offline, Sewell are the only Website with assembly diagrams to match part lists. But, unlike Village in the past, they don't have part numbers that state what years they will fit (not what vehicle years they were fitted in but, more importantly, the model years with which they are backwardly compatible). In fact, I think Sewell's Website is rather useless. 4. The kit wasn't advertised on the Sewell Website for a short while during the past year. Was it because the kit isn't quite right? 5. The LHD cut-off lines as manny pointed out. I understand, however, that they are adjustable. This makes sense - it's easy to find separate part numbers for Korea-spec IS headlamps and, if that's easy to find, why should the part numbers for RHD headlamps be hard to find? That's because, IMO, the part numbers for LHD and RHD headlamps, outside of Korea, are identical. 6. If the required part numbers are the same in both the US and Australia, then it can be concluded that, if the kit doesn't work in Australia on pre-MY11 models, then it won't work on US pre-MY11 models either. Sewell would be left with quite a number of disgruntled local customers. On balance, I think the Sewell kit will fit your older, Australian-market IS, but you can see it's based on conjecture and I understand it's a lot of money to fork out and a lot of hassle if it doesn't quite work out.

Well done gsouth! Postscript: article referring to RX with 0% finance http://www.carpoint.com.au/news/2009/medium-4x4/lexus/rx/rx-to-turn-sales-tide-13418

Looks like dis-lex-sic's beat me to it, but allow me to use an illustration to back up his point. While Mazda is currently offering big upfront discounts on the purchase price, Toyota isn't advertising discounts on the usual sale price of many of its models. Instead, they are offering discount finance. Having the same parent company, discount finance terms through Toyota Financial Services is another way of Toyota Australia offering a discount to its customers. So, how much is the Toyota finance deal worth, when equating it to a discount off the sale price? Well, on a Kluger worth, say, $55800, with 100% finance over 48 months and no balloon payment, a discount interest rate from 9% down to 3.9% would result in a reduction of repayments of $131 a month. If you are the kind of person who would put that $131 into your home loan instead at 7.5%, this would be an equivalent of $5400 off the sale price of your Kluger. Okay, so should Lexus Australia match this deal? Well, last month, they almost did, with $5000 off the price of an IS250 - this would have been $5250 when considering the propotional reduction off your stamp duty. This month, Lexus are offering free on-roads; on an IS250 Prestige worth $55800, the on-road costs are about $3000, depending on your home state and CTP risk. So pressing for another two and a half grand off the purchase price of a Lexus - to claim a total discount of $5400 - doesn't sound unreasonable (on top of any non-advertised discount a Kluger buyer might have got out of his/her dealer). Given what someone recently paid for their IS250 X (quite a bit off the advertised price), what I'd say is this: When you equate finance discounts to an upfront discount off the sale price, the deals you are likely to get from Lexus today can be comparable to what Toyota is currently offering for Toyota vehicles. Don't feel cheated if your interest rate on your Lexus is north of 3.9%.

It's known as a Highlander overseas. The first generation had a lot in common with the Camry and the Lexus RX, although it's difficult to tell how similar they are nowadays - especially the wiring harnesses. Thanks!

Hi Michael, I see the kits are available for Camrys now as well as the IS. What about new Klugers? Thanks!

I've previously obtained a commercial hire purchase through Toyota Financial Services at about 2.3% cheaper than banks. You could see whether Lexus offers something similar. The only real difference in terms is that you waive your consumer right to a cooling-off period.

At 10.29% over a year ago, they were about 0.2% cheaper than the big banks at that time.

Even the air filter every 2 years, as per the book? Or would you customise your yearly services according to what things you feel are important to service/replace?