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:question: ok then here goes.its been 12 years now since i saw my first lexus Ls400 and have dreamed of owning one ever since,but only now have seriously began looking,why cant a working class man have a little luxury in life !!!!.So if any one out there could oofer me help and advice on the following points i would be eternally grateful,so here goes.1 Ive heard them described as everything from a stately home on wheels to a magic carpet with whisper quiet library silence, so how true is this and any other discriptions would be welcome. 2 Now if i wanted a car what does 50 mpg, i would be looking for a citroen c3[yak] and if i was looking to tear aboput like a boy racer i would be looking for a gti.So having said that what could i expect to achieve around the doors and again on the run. 3 what would i expect to pay for a typical lexus service and a non lexus service. 4 I will have about £4000 to spend ,so what could I buy for this and is there anything specific I should be looking for or wary of.Im off to sunny Spain in 4 days so will be on the lookout in about 3 weeks time, and im expecting to have to travel a bit cos there aint anything on the go up here in the north east.So long and hope to hear from any one soon
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To be honest, if you are concerned about fuel economy, then it sounds like you wouldn't have the cash to keep the car on the road.

Realistically, on the budget you have you will get a mint condition Mark 1, 1990-1992. I have a 1992 model and the engine has always been looked after, I get about 18mpg around town, and the most I have ever got was 32mpg on the motorway with cruise set at 70mph.

Again, the mark 1 versions had service intervals of every 6,000 miles or 12 months, whatever comes first. Services are A, B and C. You'd be a fool to get such an old Lexus serviced at the main dealer, unless you are made of money.

Independent dealers are still a rarity.

In my experience, at Lexus main dealers, A services are 200, B services are 350, and C services are 500. Bear in mind, that the cost of the service excludes things like brake pads, cambelt change. The early cars tended to eat pads. A C service with lots of additional items can soon come up to 1,000 quid if the car needs work.

See my other posting in relation of what to be wary of when looking for these cars. Finally, 90-92 cars in your budget will probably have worn suspensions, so budget for getting bushes etc changed. The engine mounts and transmission mount will probably need replacing too at that age. These rubber mounts are what help to make the cars super smooth.

Have a nice holiday and good luck in your search.

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FSH is a MUST,also buy one with not to many owners then you know they are more likely to have cherished it,like in other posts from everyone with a ls400..

theres two sorts of ls400 being sold...the well maintained and the bad ones..

say no more.

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Oh and about the mpg...

I was thinking that my cars was not doing very good mpg :unsure:

I seemed to be putting alot of feul in lately...done a tank fill up earlier then went for a little run...got back later and topped the car back up in the same garage after driving about 32 miles and i put £5 in :D :D :D

So im well happy with that as the fuel needle is now higher than the first fill up :D :driving:

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Try and find one with service bills. Service history is not much on it's own. Anybody can pay Lexus to change the oil and filters to get a stamp but the extras that need doing from time to time may not have been done (e.g. brake disc and pads, cambelt, shocks, bushes, engine mounts etc.)

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why cant a working class man have a little luxury in life !!!!.

1  Ive heard them described as everything from a stately home on wheels to a magic carpet with whisper quiet library silence?

2 what could i expect to achieve around the doors and again on the run?

3  what would i expect to pay for a typical lexus service?

Why not indeed! You're not a second class citizen and you only live once. Make sure it's got all the accessories such as a complete toolkit.

1. I've been in a few Jags and they're no different from ordinary cars in terms of noise. Tootling around in an LS400: completely silent. On the motorway: you only hear a little wind noise. I've had a test drive of an SC430 and the tyre noise is louder (thinking about it, a change of tyre could have made a difference). Best of all, after a 6 hour journey you get out feeling completely relaxed.

2. Exactly what it says on the tin. Petrol is probably the lowest cost of owning a car depreciation is probably the highest cost so don't worry about it.

3. 'A' service at a Toyota garage: £190.20. 'B' service at a Lexus garage: £418.37. Watch out for the cost of the synthetic oil. I was charged £65.40 +VAT which is apparently about right for 60 litres of Castrol SLX. For such a complicated bit of machinery, I wouldn't take it to a non-Lexus garage (again).

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:hehe: no but seriously ,if your concerned about costs of servicing,buy one with full history and bills etc.and if your handy with the tools like me,do the servicing yourself,and at least you have the piece of mind that its been looked after before you bought it.
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:hehe: 60 litres of oil!!!!!!!!!!!!!really 60 litres,thats 12 times 5 litre cans of oil!!!!!!!!!!!!!really that much

Nope! Must be 6 litres

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I have a '98 MKIV with 115000 miles on the clock. Runs beautifuly and I get 25 to the gallon with normal driving (and I'm not slow!) and nearly 30 on a long run. It is exceptionally comfortable and has a touchscreen that controls most of the functions (Audio, Sat Nav, Climate Control etc.) Who needs i-Drive? The worst that you can say about it is that it has so-so handling (about what you would expect from a luxury car). Very fast (0-60 in just over 6 seconds) and I've had it up to 150 in Germany. The engine is very understressed. At 90 it is doing just 2900 rpm so it should last for ages. I know of other LS400s that have done over 300,000 miles and are still going strong.

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There's a farmer due in the US who has a 1990 model with 555,000 miles. He was featured in the US version of Lexus magazine. Mind you he just drives straight for 90 miles each way to the farm, so that might be why :winky:

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