Newbie - Looking For Ls400 For £2-£3k

[Dracoro]

Hi

I'm looking for a LS400 in the £2-£3k range. What can I get for my money? What should I look out for etc.?

Also, anyone know any for sale in the London/Kent/Surrey/Sussex areas?

Many thanks.

[MrADeveci]

Where have you looked ?

eBay, autotrader, loot etc ?

In the Buy and Sell section on here ?

[Dracoro]

Have looked at those places. Not much around though at the moment.

Am also considering 740 bmw so whichever 'right' car presents itself 1st will get my business :) Both have their +'s and -'s against each other but I'd be happy with either.

[MrADeveci]

Am also considering 740 bmw

You can't come on a Lexus Forum ... and talk about 740 !! lol ......................

I'm sure there will be a few LS400 owners on shortly ... and tell you why they bought the LS over ... any other car ! :winky:

[chips229]

Hi

I'm looking for a LS400 in the £2-£3k range. What can I get for my money? What should I look out for etc.?

Also, anyone know any for sale in the London/Kent/Surrey/Sussex areas?

Many thanks.

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Have a look through the LS400/LS430 section of this site loads of info on there ;)

[ColinBarber]

You need to be very careful, you could end up spending that amount of money again just fixing problems - pay close attention to suspension components.

[Dracoro]

Cheers chaps. Regarding suspension, what should I check? Can do the usual shock absorber check etc. Anything in particular to look out for? I guess the air suspension option is a no-no?

How common is the display problem? Is there a way to check if it's 'on it's way out' etc.?

[reincheque]

You need to be very careful, you could end up spending that amount of money again just fixing problems - pay close attention to suspension components.

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Agreed! I spent the thick end of €2000 on two separate elements when my (! LS failed our NCT... :tsktsk:

djp

[chips229]

Cheers chaps. Regarding suspension, what should I check? Can do the usual shock absorber check etc. Anything in particular to look out for? I guess the air suspension option is a no-no?

How common is the display problem? Is there a way to check if it's 'on it's way out' etc.?

←

You will be lucky to find a early car with the clock/temp display working,that will be the least of your worries,like Colin said be more worried that the cars been kept up together suspension/running gear wise .I know spending a £100+ on a RAC/AA report sounds alot when your only paying afew grand for the car,but theres not many LS400s in the scrap yards,and what ones there are have normally been robbed of the best bits.As to new parts from Lexus,they can get you all the bits you need at a skyhigh cost .My advice is to get a AA/RAC test report on the car ;) before you buy.

Its still a buyers market when buying a LS400....they are a hard car to sale on,what with the rising cost of fuel and running costs.

Hope thats of help.

Good Luck.

Cheers chips.

[Dracoro]

May have found one. 95 model, 140k miles, £3k, service history (lexus) up to 25k miles ago (last owner did himself privately), excellent condition inside & out (I'll see whether this is true tonight!), everything works apart from remote central locking (using key works ok). 1 year warranty, cambelt being done if I buy it etc. looking at it tonight, printed out the 'laymans checklist' so gonna go through that when I check the car out. I think (hope) I'm mechanically minded enough to check things out well enough (I tinker enough with my Westfield! :D) I hope.

anyone any thoughts on the remote locking issue? dealer said he'd get an auto electrician to have a quick look at it

[reincheque]

May have found one. 95 model, 140k miles, £3k, service history (lexus) up to 25k miles ago (last owner did himself privately), excellent condition inside & out (I'll see whether this is true tonight!), everything works apart from remote central locking (using key works ok). 1 year warranty, cambelt being done if I buy it etc. looking at it tonight, printed out the 'laymans checklist' so gonna go through that when I check the car out. I think (hope) I'm mechanically minded enough to check things out well enough (I tinker enough with my Westfield! :D) I hope.

anyone any thoughts on the remote locking issue? dealer said he'd get an auto electrician to have a quick look at it

←

the 1 year warranty sounds interesting...

djp

[Dracoro]

Only a 'limited warranty'. As many claims as you want, 1st £1000 paid. Obviously not total cost etc. but these only really apply to new cars.

dealer is not lexus btw.

[chris vince]

May have found one. 95 model, 140k miles, £3k, service history (lexus) up to 25k miles ago (last owner did himself privately), excellent condition inside & out (I'll see whether this is true tonight!), everything works apart from remote central locking (using key works ok). 1 year warranty, cambelt being done if I buy it etc. looking at it tonight, printed out the 'laymans checklist' so gonna go through that when I check the car out. I think (hope) I'm mechanically minded enough to check things out well enough (I tinker enough with my Westfield! :D) I hope.

anyone any thoughts on the remote locking issue? dealer said he'd get an auto electrician to have a quick look at it

←

Make sure its not switched off.

Look at the switch just to the left of the steering wheel and on the knee roll, I knew a bloke once was going to shell out £140 for a new key convinced his independant garage had broken it fitting a new Battery, until I told him similar advice, when he thought back he had left his grandaughter in the drivers seat and she had switched it off.

I hope its this, a nice easy fix, don't point this out to the seller though, negoitiate a discount!!

Regarding your previous questions.

Defective dashboards and displays I wouldn't worry too much about them, these are well known faults and there are plenty of specialist about who can repair these defects, usually using better than original componants for a fraction of the Lexus spare prices, if it has a defective clock/climate LCD I can help you there (80% less than Lexus) look around this site for similar electronic repairs if needed.

Good hunting,

Chris Vince

[chips229]

anyone any thoughts on the remote locking issue? dealer said he'd get an auto electrician to have a quick look at it

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Dont worry to much about the remote locking,the range ive heard is short and your looking at £200 to £250 to get it fixed.Your better off putting the money toward having a alarm fitted which will lock/unlock the doors and have a insurance discount from having the alarm fitted.

[Nitmoi]

Just a couple of little things.

The AA do not do direct evaluations any more but go through a 3rd party.

RAC are very keen but will not do a basic check on a vehicle over 6 years old. They will do a £308.00 all in.

Less credit/hp check and inc. RAC member discount comes in at £246.00 (not exact - prices from memory)

RE. Range of remote locking. If you hold the transmitter against your head, there is an amplification effect which increases the range.

I am not joking. We tried it with a Cavalier in the car park, added about a third more to the range.

Try it!

[Mr Morse]

RE. Range of remote locking. If you hold the transmitter against your head, there is an amplification effect which increases the range.

I am not joking. We tried it with a Cavalier in the car park, added about a third more to the range.

Try it!

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So, not does Lexus only lead the way in hybrid technology but they are also World leaders in telekeneisis

[Nitmoi]

:D

[chips229]

Just a couple of little things.

The AA do not do direct evaluations any more but go through a 3rd party.

RAC are very keen but will not do a basic check on a vehicle over 6 years old. They will do a £308.00 all in.

Less credit/hp check and inc. RAC member discount comes in at £246.00  (not exact - prices from memory)

RE. Range of remote locking. If you hold the transmitter against your head, there is an amplification effect which increases the range.

I am not joking. We tried it with a Cavalier in the car park, added about a third more to the range.

Try it!

←

Saw the remote trick on TV with clarkson doing it :D

£246 sounds alot for a check over on the car but believe me it could save you thousands in the long run.

[reincheque]

£246 sounds alot for a check over on the car but believe me it could save you thousands in the long run.

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I spent €400 on an AA test that stopped me from a buying an LS that was a total heap of junk. The AA valued it at half the value that the Lexus dealer had put on it.

Unfortunately, I should've got a second AA test that might have stopped me from buying the LS I eventually did buy. I ended up having to spend about €5k on it over 2 years on essential mechanical stuff.

Of course, there's a limit to the amount of money you can spend on tests if you don't actually end up buying a car...

djp

[yashwin]

Hi

I'm looking for a LS400 in the £2-£3k range. What can I get for my money? What should I look out for etc.?

Also, anyone know any for sale in the London/Kent/Surrey/Sussex areas?

Many thanks.

←

[yashwin]

Hi

I'm looking for a LS400 in the £2-£3k range. What can I get for my money? What should I look out for etc.?

Also, anyone know any for sale in the London/Kent/Surrey/Sussex areas?

Many thanks.

←

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Hi, I am looking to sell my LS400 for stlg3200, it is a 1996N with 110,000 with a full lexus service history, I am the second owner and have had the car since 2001, it is good condition for its age, let me know if you're interested and I'll give you the full details

[robert_ashfield]

Don't know if you are still looking, but I was browsing eBay and saw this car on there:

eBay Car

Can't vouch for it as I just stumbled upon it, but if as described it sounds like a good car.

Good luck!