Buying An Ls400

[Mark H.]

Hi there everyone.

Hopefully once i have sold my Astra i would like to get a Lexus LS400.

I have a few questions about this.

I think an early MK3 model would be best as i can't really afford a MK4 at the moment, so i was wondering what the well known problems are to look out for, i know the mk1 and 2 have problems with the lcd's for air con iirc, is it a frequent problem on the mk3 as well?

Also are there any parts that will often need replacing when the milage gets higher eg the wishbones? with the bushes in.

Am i correct that the service interval for the mk3 is 9,000, is it that or 1 year whichever is sooner?

Also, when the car is purchased originally, how many sets of keys does it come with and were they different colors ie a master key and valet key etc?

I'll probably have loads more questions but these should keep me going, thanks for any advice you can give.

Mark.

[adz]

Hi Mark

Welcome to the LOC if this is your first post :D

I've got aMK2 and apart from normal wear and tear and LCD displays I don't think there's any major things to lookout for, mainly little niggles.

Sometimes the low pad warning light comes up on the dash and won't go away even when you replace the pads but this is usually just a snapped wire around one of the calipers. Make sure you check all the gadgets and Aircon. Don't believe anyone who says the A/C just needs charging up. These cars can cost a fortune to fix in the unlikely event that they go wrong so I would take a friend who knows their way around cars if you're not sure what to look for. Failing that get a Professional inspection. Check the Service History and if possible find out what's been done/ due, don't take people's word for it.

As for things wearing out the normal stuff applies as these are big, powerful heavy cars. I don't think these cars are particularly heavy on particular items but I have read tales of people needing replacement wishbones or having broken suspension springs.

I'm not sure about the service intervals for your model. I get mine done every 10K.

The MK3 keys maybe different to the MK2 but I have 2 keys with the built in remote and 1 without, the valet key I presume. All 3 keys are the same colour.

Good luck with your purchase and sorry I couldn't answer all your questions specifically. :)

Adz

[chips229]

Hi,

Like adz says best get someone who knows abit about the cars to check it out.

The prices of the parts are out of this world :yack: soooooo over priced.

They are a well built motor,just be very careful of what your buying.

If they have been kept up together then theres not much to wrong..

The early cars,if you get a good one,are at bargin prices.

Dont be to worried about the miles as the engine will go on for ever,just make sure you have service history.

Its a buyers market out there,not many people want 4 litres worth of engine!!!

Ive been trying to sale my mk1 for 2 months!!!

hopefully the guy who looked at my car tonight will buy it ..

what ever model you look at,make them a offer,you will be surprized how hard they are to sale.

Good luck.

Cheers chips.

[Mark H.]

Thanks for your replys. It seems that perhaps 3 keys in total although i would be quite happy to get 2, slightly worrying when you think what happened to the other keys, someone could just come along and steal your car .

As far as looking over the car goes i think i will try and drive a few to get an idea of what they are like, and then when i find one that i like/good value/well looked after (i saw one on eBay with 150,000 miles and 22 service stamps :duh:) then i will try and drive them and if they seem nice, smooth quiet etc and i really am interested then i think i will probably look for a pro to look at it, AA / RAC etc.

Someone i used to work with said they would look over a car for me but it seems a bit awkward asking after 3 years. There skill/knowledge would of been ideal however working for now i think its called the VOSA, nevermind hey.

As you say about the prices, hopefully a reasonable price can be found with them being kind of the opposite of what the government is pushing people towards, ie big car big engine vs small car small engine.

I drove my dads vauxhall omega for a few weeks and its ride was nice, rear wheel drive is nice for when setting off, as some junctions / round abouts near me have gravel, loose debris etc on then and front wheels spin easily where rear grips with ease as it gets near a car length before it gets to the gravel. Although 260bhp is a bit more than 175 bhp from the 2.5 V6.

Out of interest what sort of milage do you lot get from the LS400 around town and on longer runs?

My main concerns about buying the car are cost of repairs if anything breaks/ needs replacing, and if the fuel consumption is really bad on the wallet. Mainly if anything breaks as i dont have thousands in reserve to spend on it.

Thanks for your advice so far guys this is my first time venturing onto the 2nd hand market .

[Mark H.]

Man i write (well type) some long replys, sorry people .

[LEXTORIA]

If you are worried about fuel consumption then give it a miss-they aint cheap to run!

If you add what you get from the ride though, the cost is worth every penny...

Buy Buy Buy!!!

[adz]

In response to your MPG enquiry Mark I get between 24 and 28.

24 on shorter runs and 28 on longer runs, cruising at 80ish.I have had up to 30MPG once or twice on long runs with Cruise Control switched off.

I put my foot down when necessary but you find you don't have to boot it much as there's so much power/torque. Out of interest a lot of the guys on this site don't get any more than that in their 2 litre IS's ( mind you they have to carry round 8 subwoofers and them neon kits are pretty heavy,only joking guys ).As far as big cars goes they're very good, My Jag had less power and used to give me between 15 and 20MPG. My Dad gets less than me in his diesel 4x4 Merc.

[Mark H.]

If you are worried about fuel consumption then give it a miss-they aint cheap to run!

If you add what you get from the ride though, the cost is worth every penny...

Buy Buy Buy!!!

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Well the fuel economy seems good for a car of its size as Adz said after your post and i remember hearing of 32 mpg on long runs occasionally.

Adz will love it as i did used to have some uprated stereo, although i only had one small subwoofer, its all about the quality, the added weight of extra think mdf though(i went abit overkill as i wanted to make sure it wouldn't bend with things placed on top so 18mm and 22mm in the boot i think the bottom is the thinner stuff) anyway point being that i worked my car out as doing 33ish mpg on the motorway on a long run and i think it was 23ish round town, the mpg is up quite abit now the false floor is out of the boot.

Hopefully the Ls400 will do only a bit less than my astra did, however 20mpg on a long run would be too few from the lexus, but i take it the engine would be a bit stuffed for it to be that low.

Thanks for the replys and keep them coming, all useful.

[davepruce]

My '93 mk2 gives me 20-21 around town and 28 on a motorway run, its done 150k and 'just' gets normal servicing by me. No I havent got FLSH but there again it has cost me nowt except for 2 sets of brake pads and 1 set of tyres (obviously plus oil and filters etc) in 4 years/60k. Its now worth around 2.5k I suppose (oops forgot - cost me for the standard a/c and clock display problem)

It goes (very well) it stops (very well). Its the most comfortable car I've ever owned and as my 2 sons say - Its just the nuts

[Mark H.]

When we got my Dads omega about 2 years ago i was also looking at a LS400 in autotrader, but my dad liked the omega so bought it as he thought the lexus would cost abit 2 much. 1 cambelt change and major service with a few bits and another couple of smallish things and one year later its about £2000 just to keep it going, doh!

That why given the good reputation for reliability if they are looked after i fancy the lexus.

20 and 28 mpg isnt too bad really, the general motorway runs i do regulary will perhaps requre an extra gallon or 2 per way so not a huge amount more, especially if you consider the difference in physical size and the fact the engine is over twice as big in the lexus .

4 years/60k with just 2 sets of pads and one of tyres would be very nice with services/oil changes as required of course.

Thanks for the details Dave, do the mk4's generally do less mpg with the extra gears and the extra grunt, 6.9 to 60 vs 8.5 to 60 for the mk3 officially iirc?

Thanks everyone, think i may be off to look at a car this afternoon to have a bit of a look round it etc get an idea of what its like although i cant buy one till my car is sold.

Does anyone have a LS400 in the leeds area i could have a ride in as a passenger so i could get a reference of what it should be like to drive in for when i am looking round, that would be excellent.

[chris vince]

My '93 mk2 gives me 20-21 around town and 28 on a motorway run, its done 150k and 'just' gets normal servicing by me. No I havent got FLSH but there again it has cost me nowt except for 2 sets of brake pads and 1 set of tyres (obviously plus oil and filters etc) in 4 years/60k. Its now worth around 2.5k I suppose (oops forgot - cost me for the standard a/c and clock display problem)

It goes (very well) it stops (very well). Its the most comfortable car I've ever owned and as my 2 sons say - Its just the nuts

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Mark,

I have just replaced my Oxford Blue 93 MK2 LS400 that I have owned for the last 4 years with a MK4 model, my old car which is in near perfect condition is now for sale, everything works the climate control display is brand new (I replace the LCD's for other owners see recent postings), it has been the best car I have ever owned including Carrera's and Rolls Royces thoroughly recomend them.

Chris Vince

[chips229]

The Omegas can be alot of trouble and the V6 costly to put right.

As to the LS400.....my mk1 one does 18 to 20mpg around town and low 30s on a run...

Like you say for a V8 4litre its good on fuel for the size of the engine,in the winter you will find you will be using more fuel as its a big old engine to warm up from cold,so if its short trips your doing around town it will be down to 15mpg.

If i was looking to buy another LS 400 i wouldnt buy any older than the mk4 as theres alot more performance for your money.Ive found my car to be very reliable never let me down..

Cheers chips.

[Mark H.]

Does anyone know the differences between a mk2 and mk3, i recall reading about there being quite a few differences although i cant really remember what they were, although is there a bit of extra length giving more leg room in the mk3 :duh:.

I would quite like a mk4, as most (all?) seem to have satnav but i thought that they were worse on petrol then the mk3, as well as that i'd like to spend around £4,000 really so i have a little incase something needs replacing and i need to cover the extra on my insurance which could be £500+ as i'm only 24.

So i cant really afford a mk4, although there is one nearby for £5999 but i cant afford it :(. Hopefully looking at a car tomorrow, a mk3 and a couple of mk4's there to so i can get an idea of what they are like as i didn't have time today, although my Sony PSP arrived today .

Thanks to everyone whos contributed, feel free to continue.

[chips229]

Ive had to reinstall my computer,and not being a computer expect ive lost all me favorites

There is a webpage listing all the differences in models,someone else might be able to help you out with that one.

As to advice id say keep some money back when buying a car,as you never know what might go wrong out of the blue with it.

[Mark H.]

Ive had to reinstall my computer,and not being a computer expect ive lost all me favorites

As to advice id say keep some money back when buying a car,as you never know what might go wrong out of the blue with it.

Doh!, i dont like windows much, i use a mac instead when i can.

I will hopefully have around £1,000 after purchase incase anything needs fixing, although that might go down a bit if i have an aa inspection done first.

[chips229]

I will hopefully have around £1,000 after purchase incase anything needs fixing, although that might go down a bit if i have an aa inspection done first.

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Thats wise,the other thing to think about is how long your thinking of keeping the car and weather to have it serviced by Lexus (£100 an hour labour) and keep the history Lexus stamped or have it serviced by a good independent garage if your going to hang on to the car for a long time.

[chrisfs]

That website you were trying to remember is the Lexus website!

Here's the link, has the full spec of all four Marks:

http://www.lexus.co.uk/approved.php?area=ls_archive

[Mark H.]

Thats wise,the other thing to think about is how long your thinking of keeping the car and weather to have it serviced by Lexus (£100 an hour labour) and keep the history Lexus stamped or have it serviced by a good independent garage if your going to hang on to the car for a long time.

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If the car proves reliable then i would like to keep it for quite a while to minimise the depreciation if it is a nice car in good condition. Then if i have the money after a few years perhaps upgrade to a mk4, but unless i have to or i have to do alot of miles and the cost is too high then providing it stays reliable i would like to keep it for a good few years.

One of the main problems is its size, where i live we share a drive with the next door neighbour, and the gap isnt the widest so i hope the car will fit up the drive and its much to big to fit in the garage :o.

The people who look after my uncles rover :yack: apparently did a bit of work on an LS400 pretty cheap so i may take it there depending on the cost at my local lexus dealer as my uncle seems happy with the work.

[Mark H.]

That website you were trying to remember is the Lexus website!

Here's the link, has the full spec of all four Marks:

http://www.lexus.co.uk/approved.php?area=ls_archive

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I'll have a look through there, thanks.

[Mark H.]

I saw an M reg one today, it looked like it had quite alot of room inside for front and rear passengers.

It also had the front bumper taped all round with vertical pieces of masking tape i think, and the 2 front windows were open and looked like they had been for a while as there were bits of blossom or the like that my dad noticed inside which was on the bodywork of quite a few cars there, it was also behind / surrounded by a number of cars that looked like they hadn't been on the road recently, ie flat tyres and a look of standing fir ages together with a few having year old + tax disks in the window.

They had a mk4 too, but it too had a few paint blemish's and was way out of the price range.

So not been able to get inside a car yet .

[chips229]

They are a wide car,be careful if you use a carwash as the car only just fits in the guide rails and its easy to damage the alloys

On the plus side i dont notice the speed bumps in me area as the wheel base is wider than the bumps :D .

[Mark H.]

On the plus side i dont notice the speed bumps in me area as the wheel base is wider than the bumps :D .

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That should be a nice benefit round here, should be quite a big difference as my astra has quite stiff suspension as standard as well so you have to go sloooooooow over speed bumps, having to slow down to 5 mph back up to 30, back down to 5, back up to 30, etc can't be good for the car , the cars mpg and thus the environment, yet buses seem to fly over them with out slowing down one bit, and motorbikes can just go round them.

Anyone want to buy my astra so i can buy a lexus, its done well, i have had it for about 3 and a half years now though and fancy a change to something a bit more comfortable after driving the omega .

[eXOBeX]

The specification sheets on the Lexus website have moved, and can now be found at www.lexus.co.uk/approved_preowned/specification_index.asp

[Chris Skelton]

I saw an M reg one today, it looked like it had quite alot of room inside for front and rear passengers.

It also had the front bumper taped all round with vertical pieces of masking tape i think, and the 2 front windows were open and looked like they had been for a while as there were bits of blossom or the like that my dad noticed inside which was on the bodywork of quite a few cars there, it was also behind / surrounded by a number of cars that looked like they hadn't been on the road recently, ie flat tyres and a look of standing fir ages together with a few having year old + tax disks in the window.

They had a mk4 too, but it too had a few paint blemish's and was way out of the price range.

So not been able to get inside a car yet .

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Run away!! There are plenty of good ones about. But, for your sub £5000 budget? Over 100K mile ones I'd guess. But prices ARE falling.

In response to your 'what's the differences?' question. In general terms, the cars get gradually improved; the ser 3 had more power but better economy, was longer inside and wider.....the ser 4 was tweaked again, plus the VVTi added to the engine and bit more BHP. ALL ser 4 have Sat nav. MY Sat Nav sits besides me and is FAR more cosy at night!

LSs don't have 'extras'; you just get it ALL! (Later -Ser 4s? had a 'handling pack)

Low mileage ones like mine (Ser 3, 65K miles) are getting rarer, but I want About £7K for mine! Just spent £2K on it!

Good luck. Just be careful and patient! :mat:

[maneesh]

I would quite like a mk4, as most (all?) seem to have satnav but i thought that they were worse on petrol then the mk3, as well as that i'd like to spend around £4,000 really so i have a little incase something needs replacing and i need to cover the extra on my insurance which could be £500+ as i'm only 24.

Thanks to everyone whos contributed, feel free to continue.

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No offence, but you are much more likely to find a dog of a LS400 for the money you are spending, unless you become realistic. If you want a well maintained, mk4 that still has some life in it, and won't need repairs costing an arm and a leg, you are looking at a minimum of 8k-10k.

For your budget, you'd be better off with a low mileage, looked after Series 2 model, or early Series 3 model if you get lucky.

Have you considered a GS? Sounds more affordable on all counts considering your budget.