Trade Descriptions Of Cars

[whysub]

I have just sold my 1994 Jaguar Soverieign (and glad to be shot of it to be honest, despite the fact it has a lovely ride quality). My VW T4 van is my main four wheeler, as well as my motorbikes, but there are times when I need to take four passengers, and as i don't do too many miles each year, fuel costs are not too much of a worry, whereas comfort is (Escort diesel-no thanks). I was trolling around for a later Jaguar or maybe a Mercedes for a week or so, but calling in to a mate's paintshop to see if he knew of anything up for sale in the trade, he showed me LS430 he had in for repair, and was telling me what great cars they were, and that 400's were very cheap (and well within my budget). Then I found this site and have been reading up on the 400's, and it seems that there is not a bad word said about them.

So I've had a look at a few from both from private and trade sellers and thought the standard and drive of the car very good. i resisted the urge to buy the firt one I saw, but with hindsight it was an excellent example that maybe I should have bought on the spot. However, i kept looking and found a 1991 model advertised on a well known car website. I rang the seller who assurred me the car was like new, with one owner and service history.

So i made a 300 mile round trip, money in my hand. What a bare faced liar the trader was, and the car was nothing like the desription. Checking round it the radio not working, nor the aircon, the car was filthy inside, the gear lever leather half eaten away, the drivers seat bolster had a big hole in it, the cloc=k and climarte control panels were black (but this I can accept). The exterior was no better, with all 4 wheels having either big lumps out of them or kerbed to near destruction, and one rear tyre was a completely different size from the other. It had paint blistering on one rear wheel arch, and the nearside front wing, the bonnet struts were weak and wouldn't hold the bonnet up, the boot could not be opened at all, and laquer was peeling in several places. There was only the current MOT (no earlier ones) and about six tatty invoices for oil changes, but nothing else. He seemed to know nothing about the carThen the test drive. The dash would not light up ("they were working this morning"), and I was surprised at how much engine noise I could hear when running, alhough it seemed to drive well. i never drove it, but the seller did, and he wasn't much of a driver, as at the end of the drive he whacked the wall with it, putting a great big scrape down the offside drivers and passenger door. Serves him right for wasting my time.

Compare this to the 1995 i have bought. The description wasn't much, but as it was not far away it was worth a look as the price was good. The car has definately been under described (been advertised for two weeks and I was the first viewer) and so I snapped it up. It looks and drives beautifully and I cannot wait to pick it up. Photos will be posted when i get her.......

[jsj24uk]

Glad you got what you wanted in the end and looking forward to seeing the pics.

I had similar problems looking for an LS430 at main dealers. You wouldn't believe what some people are capable of doing to the inside of a £60,000 luxury car. I had to go to the ends of the earth to find one where the previous owner didn't have a 60 a day habbit.

[steveskeggy]

I once went to a dealer to look at a Volvo 240 estate that he promised was in excellent condition.

When I got there it was a two tone colour.

Brown and Rust.

[JellyBean]

Five years ago, my old Golf GTi was pretty well worn out and I decided I wanted a VR6 Golf with auto.

Quite rare, but scanning Autotrader one evening I spotted one at a garage a mere seven miles from home. Off I went with my wife. As we turned into the forecourt, she said "What colour do you want it to be?". - "Don't mind at all as long as it's not whiiiiiii." It was white and had a tow-bar. Goodbye.

Next, I spotted one in Southend (I live in North Norfolk, so a fair journey). Off with the Mrs, in her car. VR6 was in a showroom and had polished to within an inch of its life, including the seats by the smell of them. Mileometer read 69,000. There was an oil leak at rear of engine. The handbook in the glovebox looked as if every mechanic in England had thumbed through it. Twice. The brake pedal rubber was worn through. Best of all, there was a deep gouge right across both doors on one side. Owner of showroom was chatting to a punter and I noticed he said "To be honest with you" at the beginning of every sentence. When he came over, I pointed out the gouge. "To be honest with you, I had never noticed it" said Dimmo, adding "It's only just come in and we haven't even valeted it yet." Goodbye.

A week later, I spotted one in Leicester. Bloke on phone assured me it was immaculate and that all paperwork was in order. Got tolerant wife out of bed at 6:00am and we drove in her car to Leicester, arriving as geezer was unlocking. Car was tired, and had a 'We like surfing' sticker still on the back window. Not confidence-inspiring, as regards previous owner perhaps. "May I look at the paperwork?" sez I. - "Oh, we had a break in and it's all been stolen." WOT, SINCE I RANG LAST NIGHT??? I was so angry at this point I considered punching him (absurd, as the last person I punched was my older brother, about 45 years ago). I decide to ask for a road test, just to inconvenience him. Blimey, you had to haul on the steering wheel to stop the car turning left. And going around a roundabout was really an effort, to stop the thing darting off to the side. Goodbye.

Now here comes the punchline (for those of you who are still reading)...

Slap bang next door to this crook's car-lot was Lexus Leicester and as it was raining, I said "Let's go in and we might get a cup of coffee". We did and I bought the LS I have now. Ha-ha.

[runbly]

Slap bang next door to this crook's car-lot was Lexus Leicester and as it was raining, I said "Let's go in and we might get a cup of coffee". We did and I bought the LS I have now. Ha-ha.

Strange - same place where I got my curent (and first) LS430 from a couple of months ago. What is it about Norfolk people going over to Lexus Leicester?

[ManicMark]

Slap bang next door to this crook's car-lot was Lexus Leicester and as it was raining, I said "Let's go in and we might get a cup of coffee". We did and I bought the LS I have now. Ha-ha.

Strange - same place where I got my curent (and first) LS430 from a couple of months ago. What is it about Norfolk people going over to Lexus Leicester?

Its because you dont trust us down in London, cant say I blame you , the amount of so called mint motors I looked at down here, the only thing minty about them were the holes. bought mine in Liverpool in the end.

[Manc]

Its because you dont trust us down in London, cant say I blame you , the amount of so called mint motors I looked at down here, the only thing minty about them were the holes.

bought mine in Liverpool in the end.

I'm surprised it wasnt on bricks when you got to Liverpool :winky:

and lol at the mint thing

[Manc]

Hello whysub,

Welcome. Great cars arent they? i've got a 93 Kplate LS400, 206,000 on the clock although its more like 230k as i drove it with that blinky dash problem for nearly 2 yrs (hardly drove at night so i could still see the needles!!).

I've had the car 5 years now and overall its cost less than most of my previous buckets of rust (on a yearly basis) , its never broke down (touch wood!). Its the only car i've wanted to keep.

There are some issues with common faults, unsure about your model's faults tho', and being a 95 im sure yours will need the upper control arms doing soon which can be expensive.

Apart from most of the common faults with mine, i dont think its had other problems until this years m.o.t when it failed on the arms, emissions and tyres. That garage thought i was gonna pay nearly 1500 for new cats, suspension arms, tyres and a handbrake service, oh and errr plus labour - yeah right. So I found another place that said i dont need the cats, and I am doing some work myself (see lexls.com for LS maintenance, (photo step by step instructions to save a few quid). Brought the bill down to less than £500

Your model should be similar in many ways to the mk2 he describes in lexls.com.

There is also a page on here to help with any diagnostic codes that your dash warns you about - this saves a £100 bill, and you have knowledge of the fault so the unsuspecting mechanic cant throw a big job in there!

One Lexus dealer told me my gearbox was the culprit when i asked him to find a power steering leak. I had to fill my p/s reservoir up once a week so i knew what it was. I fixed the problem in the end with a £1.50 jubilee clip. And no, it wasnt the gearbox...........no more leaks anywhere.....leave you to decide that one, if i was a solicitor, i'd look into it as obtaining money by deception or something similar.

If you dont want to do it yourself, then expect the service bills to be a few hundred pounds dearer than most cars, eg upper control arms on a fiesta are £40, LS arms are £450 each - plus labour.

But after owning a Jag, im sure you're aware of the increased cost of parts, labour hours & fuel.

But parts do last mate - my control arms have lasted 16 years, which isnt bad and i believe its still the original exhaust with a few new gaskets, but saying that, if i accepted the latest m.o.t., then the car could be a write off as its prob worth £1000 tops with the recent work done to it, and the bill was estimated 1500 for parts, with a m.o.t. warning for rear control arms at another £400 fitted later this year. So it can be a bit depressing when things go wrong, but i managed to dwindle the bill down by taking it elswhere and doing some work myself.

But 'to be honest' :winky: , saying all that, it is this minute sat on axle stands as i cant get a damn nut off the torque plate to do the brake caliper overhaul. Started it on my drive with the comforting knowledge that a local hire co. has the tools i need if i got stuck - well, i nipped in this morning and was told they have discontinued that line of tools...........

How typical is that?

Sods law at his finest - (im gonna get that sod if i end up in heaven, he has a regular laugh at me :tsktsk: )

I could go on all day, but basically the cars are sound, and most issues can be investigated or fixed thro' this site.

You were so right not to get a Merc, my old man has the W reg flagship model - S600 V12.

Believe me, it is a beast and full of luxuries, (300 fuses in the thing)!!

Its got all the normal extras plus funky doors & boot that close themselves, lit doorwells that look posh etc, but looking past all the cosmetics, the cheap plastic inside easily breaks, those little flippy storage compartments have all gone funny, satnav is crap, leaks oil & fluids every now & then, constant engine misfires every 4 months or so, all the arches rusted (its kept indoors for 5 years and is only 8 years old).

Sounds a shocker i know, but Merc did respray the car out of sheer embarrassment after my old man complained after the 4th bill for the same engine fault. These were no ordinary bills, as they were between 2.3 and 6k every time. They had head office come to look and they didnt know what to say. I just saw the receipt of 14k repairs & respray paid for by Merc.

Its a v12 so even the simplest of jobs is usually buried somewhere in the massive engine & usually involves minimum of stripping half the engine to get to it. It was once in the garage for 3 weeks b'cos the computer just said no and they had to phone a proper mechanic to come up from london to have a look ( just imagine his expenses too!)

You made the right choice fella

Let us all know how you get on

[JellyBean]

One Lexus dealer told me my gearbox was the culprit when i asked him to find a power steering leak. I had to fill my p/s reservoir up once a week so i knew what it was. I fixed the problem in the end with a £1.50 jubilee clip. And no, it wasnt the gearbox...........no more leaks anywhere.....leave you to decide that one, if i was a solicitor, i'd look into it as obtaining money by deception or something similar.

Interesting post.

Another Lexus Main Dealer told me I needed £910-worth of work on my suspension. It has passed three MOTs since then, with no suspension work of any kind.

- Horse traders ?

I had a strong and rather irresponsible desire for the original S600 2-door. Even obtained various brochures on eBay, I was so smitten. But the prices hadn't dropped enough at the time when my Golf Git was too knackered for another MOT. Glad I didn't get this big Merc, then, after reading your entry. Oh yes, and fuel aside, my LS is proving cheaper to run than the Golf !

Haven't driven my Cream on Wheels since last Friday and I am having slight withdrawal symptoms...

[whysub]

Picking it up tomorrow-can't believe I am so excited about picking up a car, let alone one that is costing under a grand. Even stranger when you consider that when I was a rep I was given a brand new car every 6 to 9 months, and i had Saabs, BMW's, and Audi's.

I had a Merc 190E I bought purely to get me home from Birmingham (I detest trains)-it was a fantastic buy. Bought for £300 via an ad in a local paper. What the ad didn't say was ity had full factory fitted AMG bodykit and wheels, leather and aircon. It felt like it was hewn from granite, but slow as ****. However, trolling about at 80 mph was fine. Have use of a E320at work-horrible car, dash sems to have been made from recycled plastic coffee cups by the feel of it. 4 years old and looks 14.

I thought I researched Jags fully before buying mine, but obviously not enough! It drove really nicely, once, but only the once. Problem after niggle after problem after niggle finished it for me. I like the look of the Jag, and as i said, the ride was superb.

I have always wanted a V8, and that was the only reason that the LS came into consideration-even though I was not drawn in by it's lookswhen i looked here and on clublexus.com I found so many owners who have nothing but praise for their cars. I've read all the sites mentioned and had noted down all the common faults (none of which seem to be too bad-well, not when compared to the Jag). I looked and looked at loads of ads, asked loads of questions and seen a number of them. My one has full (Lexus) history, cam belt and water pump only just done, upper control arms 10,000 miles ago. It's done 220,000 miles but doesn't feel or look like it. Interior has some wear, but has been well looked after with leather feed. Aircon regassed this year and so on. I am hoping that i won't have to spend any money on it for a while (apart from different wheels, maybe upgrade the stereo and ........no, no, i must resist). Some of the modded one's look fantastic, but never noticed one in the UK-perhaps I'll "see" LS's now!

I'll post some photos at the weekend, once I have it cleaned and polished it to my satisfaction.

Thanks for the info given in this thread, and i have had many happy hours reading through this site.

[ManicMark]

Picking it up tomorrow-can't believe I am so excited about picking up a car, let alone one that is costing under a grand. Even stranger when you consider that when I was a rep I was given a brand new car every 6 to 9 months, and i had Saabs, BMW's, and Audi's.

I had a Merc 190E I bought purely to get me home from Birmingham (I detest trains)-it was fantastic, Bought for £300 via an ad in a local paper. What the ad didn't say was ity had full factory fitted AMG bodykit and wheels, leather and aircon. It felt like it was hewn from granite, but slow as ****. However, trolling about at 80 mph was fine. Have use of a E320at work-horrible car, dash sems to have been made from recycled plastic coffee cups by the feel of it. 4 years old and looks 14.

I thought i researched Jags before buying mine, but obviously not enough! It drove really nicvely,once, but only the once. Problem after niggle after niggle finished it for me.

I wanted a V8, and that was the only reason that the LS came into consideration-when i looked here and on clublexus.com I found so many owners who have nothing biut praise for their cars. I've read and read all i canoted down all the common faults (none of which seem to be too bad-well, not when compared to the Jag). I looked and looked at loads of ads, asked loads of questions and seen a number of them. My one has full (Lexus) history, cam belt and water pump only just done, upper control arms 10,000 miles ago. Interior has some wear, but has been well looked after with leather feed. Aircon regassed this year and so on. I am hoping that i won't have to spend any money on it for a while (apart from different wheels, maybe upgrade the stereo and ........no, no, i must resist).

I'll post some photos at the weekend, once I have it cleaned and waxed to my satisfaction.

Thanks for the info given in this thread, and i have had many happy hours reading through this site.

Hi you shouldn't need to upgrade the stereo they are superb in ls400s

[whysub]

Hi you shouldn't need to upgrade the stereo they are superb in ls400s

Granted, the standard system sounds fantastic compared to many standard car set ups-maybe it's because the car is so quiet when it is running The trouble is that in my VW van I have an in-dash DVD/CD/MP3/WMA player which is brilliant and it has an MP3 socket on the front for my iPOd and a socket for the playstation. I'll live with it for a while and see how it plays out (excuse the pun).

[ManicMark]

Its because you dont trust us down in London, cant say I blame you , the amount of so called mint motors I looked at down here, the only thing minty about them were the holes.

bought mine in Liverpool in the end.

I'm surprised it wasnt on bricks when you got to Liverpool :winky:

and lol at the mint thing

All 4 wheels were clamped with a rot weiler on a chain on each padlock.( a catergry Bootle alarm system)

[Anuj]

Oh Dear, Liverpool Jokes again. ahaha. we were searching on the trader for a gs300 old style to replace a rover 75, seen a facelift 430 sitting in liverpool, went down next day and bought it, never looked back

[Manc]

Sorry Anuj, its nothing personal, i'm from m/cr so was talking from expereince anyway!! I'm sure you lot call us just as much :winky: Have you seen the pic of the plane on jacks at l'pool airport? hehehe

and no, im not a red, but then again, i suppose you might not like us blues as much as you used to after this season either........

Whysub - leave the stereo in and use a tape adapter for the MP3 players. I-pod connections are crap anyway as you can only use them on random. A line-out or headphone connection allows you to choose what you are listening to!

The cassette adapter plugs into the headphone socket of your player and is just a case of trying a few types as some are much louder than others. At a fiver each its no problems

The nearest one to radio volume is a good one. Some you have to turn up to 3/4 full so when you press radio or cd the level is very loud and either makes you jump or can damage the excellent speakers.

Just use the playstation at home.......??? and get the kids a psp or something.

There is known problems with illumination when changing stereos, and issues with Bluetooth phones too - just get a 2nd line from your contract to enable the built in brick and you can still use hands free, + 3 direct dials from the steering wheel so you never have to open the center console and be embarrassed when your mates have a giggle at the old cellnet thing in there.

Good luck

[whysub]

I collected the car last night and driving it exceeded my expectations-it is simply superb.

[soundchaser100]

I collected the car last night and driving it exceeded my expectations-it is simply superb.

Took mine to Lexus Chester for its MOT. It passed without any fuss. I haven't had the bonnet up for 12 months or done anything except put petrol in it. How many makes of car can you do that with? Paul