What Would You Have Bought Instead Of The Ls400?

[maneesh]

I'm just curious. What were people considering to buy before they actually bought their LS400?

Also, what was your car before you bought the LS400?

I considered a Ford Scorpio 2.9 24v, and was driving a Ford Sierra 1.6L at the time. What a difference an extra 4 cylinders, 2.4 litres, 175hp makes!!

Drove a 2 litre Mondeo hire car recently, and was very good for a Ford, but they've gone quite German with their firm ride. I prefer the pillowlike ride of a Lex!

[flotsam]

Would have loved a Honda NSX. I was also considering a Merc SL or SLK too but glad I didn't as their reliability has fallen to bottom of the league (astounding).

Finally opted for the Lexus because of the super quiet engine and sat nav.

Previous car was a Toyota prior to that A Vauxhall, VW, Vauxhall.

First Vauxhall had a few faults, cylinder head gasket, water pump, blowing fuses, clogged fuel filter and carburettor.

VW Scirocco had slightly fewer failures but was a bad design with the headlights. Squirt but not wipe on them and being such a low car would collect grime on the damp headlights causing gradual loss of light. Once overtook at night doing a lot of mph. Ended up in the bushes on a tight bend without any chevron signs. Boy was I embarassed. Lucky I wasn't killed and no damage to the car. Eventually this fault caused me to have an accident and scrap the car. Kept going in the depths of winter across country though. Clutch cable broke. Alternator was over-engineered and badly designed so that the bracket holding it was too easy to break and difficult to tighten to get rid of the classic squeeling fan belt. Fuel system clogged and I was charged £400 for a clean-out. Seems to be a feature of German cars that they're badly designed but well engineered like the Porsche 911 with the engine sticking out of the back.

Second Vauxhall had problems from day 1 with electrics. Window motors died, circuitry for windows blew twice, cruise control died, rear stop lamps failed three times, fuel pump relay overheated causing stops on motorways while it cooled (I didn't know what the fault was until I went to Vauxhall who told me it was a known fault, so spent several hours on Hard shoulders. Replacement cost a fortune), trim fell off, shocks were too soft, fuel pump hose leaked. Was this thing designed to fail for lucrative servicing and replacements?

Toyota had exhaust heat shield loosen once after it was serviced causing a slight rattle.

Lexus has had no faults so far.

It's true what they say about Japanese cars!

Will never buy anything but Japanese again.

[jamieccfc]

I did consider an is 200 or a gs 300 but it was allways going to be a lexus. previous cars rover 420 turbo diesel missus made me buy it, Bmw 735i very similer to the ls but not quite as good, bmw alpina c12 bi turbo loved that car it was the nicest looking car iv ever had,and a long list of smaller boy racer type cars before that but i'd rather forget about them.

[GrandAlf]

Just got rid of my Ls430 and bought an S Type Jag. Its really quite good, but not a patch on the Lex. Not really suprising given the price difference. Was really sorry to lose the LS, but as current taxation has driven down the price of expensive cars. I recon I was loosing about £1000 a month in depreciation + a heavy tax burden. I suppose finanically I made the right decision, but I do miss it. I suppose at some point, I will be rather rash and buy another, what the hell.

[mark_27_uk]

I have just sold my 1998 Vauxhall Omega CDX 2.5 V6 auto, which I'd had for two years. I was very happy with it and everything worked fine, but I just decided that it wasn't what I wanted anymore. I was considering buying either a Saab 9-3 convertible or an LS400. In the end I decided to go for the convertible. However I finally bought a 1997 BMW 328i auto convertible, not a Saab.

I think I succumbed to peer pressure in buying the Bimmer. People were telling me that there would be plenty of time to drive round in an LS400 when I'm 40 and I should get the BMW convertible while I'm still young. I've had the BMW for just less than two weeks, and I've gone off it already. I knew what I was getting into when I bought it, but I thought I was prepared to sacrifice everything the LS400 is good at just so that I could have a convertible. Now the rattles and squeeks are annoying me. The general noise level is not good, however the engine make a lovely deep noise from the exhaust I must say. It's a real pain trying to get anyone in the back, and there's not much room for them once they manage to climb in.

I don't really like driving the BMW at all. It's a car best appreciated from the outside, whereas the LS is probably best appreciated from the inside (in terms of ride, quietness, smoothness etc.). I really wish I could combine the best of both. I guess I'll really appreciate the BMW in the summer when I can put the top down. I intend to keep the BMW till about August, so that I can get some fun out of it in the summer and then sell it before the summer's completely over. The BMW is probably better-suited to someone who likes to drive enthusiastically, whereas I tend to drive sedately.

I am really looking forward to getting rid of it and buying an LS400 later this year. I wouldn't say I'm sorry I bought it as such, as I always wanted a convertible and so now I've had one. I'll do some posing in the summer and then I'll look forward to getting an LS400.

Mark

[chips229]

ive been running 24v senators for the last nine years,the first one was 5 years old when i bought it and i had very little trouble withit,the second as it turned out was abit of a lemon it was just lucky that i kept the first car,and ended up putting most bits onto the 2nd 24v.the LS400 first caught my eye years ago seeing it on TOPGEAR and them balancing a 50p piece on the engine and also a glass of water to show how smooth it was.i wanted one then but the senator was to me the next best thing that i could afford.so i think i would have kept the old senator if i couldnt have got the LS400.ive always loved and owned big motors,volvos(the 164 3 litres and a 760 turbointercooler),opel senators(3litre E),vauxhall royale 2.8litre(first car i owned after passing me test(on fathers insurance).so i think the LS400 was the next step.