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Hello all,

recently sold my 89 Mercedes E class 300, and would like to buy an LS 400. Planning to spend no more than £6000, which I guess will get me an early version with 100,000 plus miles?

As with Mercs (mine had 240,000 when I sold it) I gather high miles on an LS 400 are not a problem, providing full history is there. What can I expect for that amount, what sort of problems should I look out for, and what kind of miles can I seriously expect to add to the expected 100,000 that my £6k buys me before big things go wrong?

Is it worth spending a bit more from a dealer, or are the cars so good that a good private purchase is worth considering - unlike Mercs, there seem to be as many one or two owner private LS 400s in the sales pages as there are dealer examples.

Any kind of advice will be much appreciated.

Many thanks,

DanMc. B)

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:yahoo: Hi DanMc

I own a 1991 ls400 and bought it private at a steel it had 52000 on the clock full lexus histoy,T&T cambelt and service lots of bits and pieces all for the sum of £4500

The car drives like a dream,mint condition and with a cracking stereo

Nothing majors gone wrong ( touch wood ) had a problem with the front brakes sticking but cured now and the drivers seat seams to collapse but for that price who cares

The only thing i dont like is it had to reverse and see the back of the car so parking sensors have been fitted

And also aftermarket parts are hard to find or its just me not looking hard enough

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Turner - thanks very much for sharing your experience and giving an opinion on the LS400.

Anybody else? Can't believe only one person has responded - maybe you're all on holiday. Don't take this the wrong way, but only one reply (and the other poor chap on this forum who also wanted some advice has got no replies)? C'mon people. I like the LS400 and I want to buy one. I posted here to receive some valued opinions. Please give me some, let me into the club!

Thanks. <_< :D :sleeping:

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Hi Dan

We don't have too many LS owners here at the moment. However, in general terms, Lexus cars are enourmously reliable and pretty much bomb-proof. I have 131,000 miles on my GS300 and it's still perfect. The V8 engine used on the LS400 should last forever.

I've seen a few reports about the instrument illumination failing on older LS400s - have a good look at then when you view.

The only general advice I'd give is try to find one with a full Lexus service history - you really can't go too far wrong.

Good luck - let us know how you get on.

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Thanks Rodders. I got the impression that the V8 was that good. As with Mercs, you tend to see high mileage LS400s advertised with pride!

Anybody with any more advice, please do leave a message.

Thanks, Dan. :)

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danmc,

bought a 91 ls400 about 8 months ago. so far i've needed new rear tyres and some front brake pads. the engines are bomb proof as has been stated but i find mine is starting to drink a bit of oil ( 1 liter top ups every 2 - 4k miles)... that said i do like to give it a bit of right foot and i do some loing mileages. car has 160k miles on it and is going strong... find a good one with flsh and buy with peace of mind... one advantage to the really old ones is that they have a non interference engine. this means you can snap a cam belt and it doesn't lunch the valves / piston, something to bear in mind perhaps?

cheers

julian

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Hi,

Sold my 1993 LS400 for about £5,500 with 120,000 miles on it.

Nothing wrong with it at the time - I just wanted one with Sat Nav, so bought a year 2000 model to replace it with.

The guy who bought my old one has had it about 18 months now and still phones to say how fantastic it is etc.

I would think that as long as you view the service history, and check that cam belt has been changed when it should, then you won't have any engine probs. Thing to remember is these are big and heavy cars and like all luxo automatics they can be a bit heavy on things like suspension, bushes, tyres and brake components. So, don't worry too much about the drivedrain, concentrate on the brakes and suspension as these are just as potentially expensive as parts on engines etc.

However, compared to a similar performance and specification Jag/Merc/BMW, then I think the LS400 of similar age would be in better condition and cost less to run.

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  • 2 months later...

Quentin Wilson drives an LS400. He also did a feature of one which had 100K and according to Wilson had no squeeks etc. and drove like new.

The V8 is silent! Which is why I bought one (mostly curiosity but also satnav).

Mine's only got 20K so can't offer any further advice on probs.

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I'm on my second LS400. The first was a 1990 model which cost me money on brakes and bearings (and tyres :ohmy: ).

Unfortunately after a disagreement with a BT switchbox and a lamp-post, the poor girl was written off. (She was still fully drivable though!)

I then got a 1993 model as a replacement and have done around 25,000 miles in her. To date, the costs have been rear coil springs and brakes.

For both vehicles I've managed to avoid the costly cam belt service so far, but am expecting a "big" bill in around two years time.

The cars are extremely quiet and comfortable, but not such a 'drive' as a our BMW 730.

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  • 3 weeks later...
To date, the costs have been rear coil springs and brakes.

I have just bought a 1993 LS 400, the dealer has put it in for an MOT and the rear springs are going to be changed. How often does this occur, have the springs changed, is it regular and if so how often?

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They changed them for the MOT.

Picked up the Lexus on Thursday 26/06 and on Friday drove up to Peterhead in Scotland, to say it was a pleasure would be an understatement. It is the most comfortable car I have have ever been in let alone drive, talk about quiet. The best car I have owned yet. :D :D :D

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