I Really Want An Ls400 Mark Iv Now!

[steve-bedford]

There's one on Autotrader at just over £4k.

Has anyone been to look at it? It looks so tempting at this money.

Any comments will be gratefully received. Do feel free to PM me if you'd rather not put public comments up about it.

[chips229]

Hi,

The cheapest mk4 i can see on Autotrader is for just over 5k.

Everything listed extras wise apart from how many miles its done.

Its alot of car for the money,but could be alot of trouble for the money.

The bottom line is spend the inspection charge that the AA or RAC do,i think it was around £100.

I know if you dont end up buying the car and have to look at another car £100 a time is not cheap.

But....BIG BUT the parts for these cars are not cheap and if theres things to fix or the car fails a MOT on something you could spend half as much as you paid for the car to get it fixed.

If i was looking for another LS id make sure it has the main dealer FSH,because if you can afford to buy the car in the first place your not going to be worried about the cost of servicing and repairs.

Even though these cars are only selling for a fraction of what they cost new,the main dealers still see them as a 50/60k car and reflect this in the price of parts.

Look at buy a LS as if your buying a House and have it checked over ;)

All the best if you do go on to buy a mk4.

Chips.

[spacenase]

There's one on Autotrader at just over £4k.

Has anyone been to look at it? It looks so tempting at this money.

Any comments will be gratefully received. Do feel free to PM me if you'd rather not put public comments up about it.

I haven't been to see it, but a couple of things would scare me, first the lack of a mileage. In my experience traders leave the mileage off for a reason.

Secondly the price. A trader will know how much a car is worth and will never give a bargain price without a reason.

Thirdly, look at the difference in paint shades on the side view. This has definitely had some respray work which raises the question of why it needed it.

Finally, looking at their stock list, they have a weird pricing policy, as an example they have an "S" reg Punto GT at a higher price than an "X" reg Punto Sporting. Some of their stuff seems scarily cheap, some is sensible and some seems overpriced. Makes me think there's something wrong with the cheap stuff.

The old saying "If something seems too good to be true, it usually is" seems to apply here.

[BarneyTT]

Hi,

The bottom line is spend the inspection charge that the AA or RAC do,i think it was around £100.

I know if you dont end up buying the car and have to look at another car £100 a time is not cheap.

Chips.

I was quoted over £300 by the RAC (and I'm a member!) for an inspection on a V6 Mondeo, so I think the cost of an LS inspection would be higher again.

[GoldfingerLS]

I would agree with Mr Chips 110%. Just to give an example of what he is saying, last month I replaced my starter motor on my Mk4 for £900, that almost a quarter of £4k.

There is no such thing as a ‘cheap’ LS. The real issue is the maintenance and upkeep on these monsters. The LS is generally a bullet proof car and nothing tends to go wrong provided everything has been maintained properly. If something does go wrong which it occasionally can do so, its expensive to put right.

On Mk4s around 100,000+ miles watch out for worn front and rear upper suspension control arms

and worn front lower ball joints as these can lead to MOT failure. Replacement control arms are around £380 per side and you’ve still got labour to pay for labour.

If the car has done 120,000 miles it will need a new cambelt (labour expensive job), new spark plugs (cost around £8 or £10 and there are 8 of them to replace), transmission fluid costs around £9 per litre. If the car is 7 years or older (as most Mk4s are now) with around 120k on the clock it might also be worth getting the water pump replaced along with the timing belt because if this fails later on (which people on here have had so) it will cost a lot of labour

My point being a £4,000 car might end up costing £6,500k, so price the above kind of things in when you are negotiating price. But you can still pick up a bargain out there. If your judgment is telling you its a car worth looking into then you might want to get an AA or RAC check done.

[ManicMark]

Hi Steve,

Might be worth going in to your local Lexus main dealer to look for an early mk IV, too old for them to sell on the front, if they have taken it in part ex, you could get a good deal if your prepared to take it on a trade basis or as spares or repair, worth while leaving your tel number with them,as they also might put a customer on to you who is going for a newer model.

If you want really cheap, one has just come up on eBay with a meer 271000 miles.

As for an AA or RAC inspection someone had one done on a car I sold, I was not impresed (no test drive didn't even put it in gear to test bite on clutch) or if it went into any gear for that matter.

Best of luck and and take your time.

Mark

[steve-bedford]

Great advice Guys - Thanks very much and really appreciated.

Contacting the dealer (thanks Mark) is a great idea that I hadn't thought of.

I'll keep you posted.

Steve

[chris vince]

Great advice Guys - Thanks very much and really appreciated.

Contacting the dealer (thanks Mark) is a great idea that I hadn't thought of.

I'll keep you posted.

Steve

Steve,

If you are still looking for a MK4, very, very reluctantly mine is available.

As most of the members of this site will know I have been a long time contributor to the LOC, indeed I specialise in the repairs to LS climate controls, dash board combination gauges, instrument needles, power steering pumps and alternators, so I know my way around them.

I recently retired from the fire brigade after 30 years (a mechanic before I joined and during), taking medical advice to buy a dog to ensure I regularly exercise an ailing back, I have bought a Nissan Navara (wouldn't put two springer spaniels in a LS).

The car is a 98 in silver (the only colour in my opinion) perfect service history, 102K, original equipment D8Z tyres (for quietness), brand new front discs, brake fluid change and pads all round, tax and mot (long), it even has the latest version sat nav software installed, it has never wanted for anything, or needs anything.

I am asking around £6,750.

Regards,

Chris