Rear Seats On The Mk Iv Ls400........

[DrYazz]

Fellow admirers and devotees of the LS400 form,

will be in the very near future, purchasing my first Lexus, a Mk IV LS400.

Quick question - is one able to fold back the rear seats, to enlarge the load area?

[Rodney]

That was a much used feature of my old Scorpio and sadly missed.

But hey ho! I guess it would destroy the limo image of the Lexus if we could do this B) B)

Rod

[jamesholden]

Fellow admirers and devotees of the LS400 form,

will be in the very near future, purchasing my first Lexus, a Mk IV LS400.

Quick question - is one able to fold back the rear seats, to enlarge the load area?

Probably the nearest thing in terms of size, comfort and quietness to an LS400 your going to get with rear folding seats is a V6 Camry, which already has a boot twice the size of the LS400. The Honda Legend might as well as old ones were FWD.

[DrYazz]

Thanking you for responses.

[steve-bedford]

The boot of the LS400 is shockingly small for the size of the car so do check that it's going to be big enough for what you need.

When we went on holiday (two of us + a two year old) I even had stuff on my lap! It was quite bizarre travelling in a car which was built with luxury and comfort at the top of the agenda and we were so cramped we couldn't wait to get out of the thing!!

Not knocking the product as such, it was never built as a family vehicle and as much as I like it, it's just not working for us. I'm just in the process of deciding whether to take up the scrapage scheme...........It just seems very wrong to do that when it's just had a service and the cambelt done!

[SteveLS400]

The boot of the LS400 is shockingly small for the size of the car so do check that it's going to be big enough for what you need.

When we went on holiday (two of us + a two year old) I even had stuff on my lap! It was quite bizarre travelling in a car which was built with luxury and comfort at the top of the agenda and we were so cramped we couldn't wait to get out of the thing!!

Not knocking the product as such, it was never built as a family vehicle and as much as I like it, it's just not working for us. I'm just in the process of deciding whether to take up the scrapage scheme...........It just seems very wrong to do that when it's just had a service and the cambelt done!

Blimey. I know its a while since my kids were small but.... We have had 5 adults in for a week in France and the only "stuff" in the car was bags of sweets and a book.

Steve

[steve-bedford]

It's the bulky stuff that takes up the room..........Travel cot, Portable High Chair, Trike, Puschair Wheels, Seat, Stand etc. etc. etc.

I am sure I have some pictures I took before we set off. It was quite a comical sight with the rear suspension on the bump stops.

[plastic orange]

I know what you mean about the boot space as my first trip back from the airport had us carrying bags inside. My wife wasn't impressed as the Saab 9000 we had previously had a huge boot. However, as the car was built for the US market, their cars aren't exactly great on boot space, so no surprise there.

I did think about cashing in my Saab on the scrappage scheme, but decided on the Lexus instead. Time will tell if I've done the right thing.

Pete

[jamesholden]

The only reason for it having a small boot is because it's RWD and the only place left for the petrol tank was behind the rear seats. It's quite a common arrangement but because the LS has such a long bonnet as well the boot can't really be made much bigger without the whole car being made longer, which at over 16.5ft already is pretty long.

[steve2006]

The boot of the LS400 is shockingly small for the size of the car so do check that it's going to be big enough for what you need.

When we went on holiday (two of us + a two year old) I even had stuff on my lap! It was quite bizarre travelling in a car which was built with luxury and comfort at the top of the agenda and we were so cramped we couldn't wait to get out of the thing!!

Not knocking the product as such, it was never built as a family vehicle and as much as I like it, it's just not working for us. I'm just in the process of deciding whether to take up the scrapage scheme...........It just seems very wrong to do that when it's just had a service and the cambelt done!

Blimey if your putting in a 1999 LS400 for scrapage I would seriously consider giving you £2000 for it!

[John Lawley]

Not knocking the product as such, it was never built as a family vehicle and as much as I like it, it's just not working for us. I'm just in the process of deciding whether to take up the scrapage scheme...........It just seems very wrong to do that when it's just had a service and the cambelt done!

If it's a mk4 i'm sure you can get a much better deal then the scrappage allownece, i'd buy it like a shot for one

[steveskeggy]

The 430 has a horizontal tank.

But you still cant fold the seats down because of the rear air con and the fridge.

[cleverdick]

I'm just in the process of deciding whether to take up the scrapage scheme...........It just seems very wrong to do that when it's just had a service and the cambelt done!

Sorry, but I can’t let this one go without saying my piece. I am totally aghast that anyone would even consider sacrificing a 1999 LS400 to the “scrappage scam”.

Allow me to put forward the following points:

1. The “scrappage scam” is exactly that. Its purpose is not to save the planet, but rather to shore up an ailing motor industry that produces disposable vehicles; in turn perpetuating a sham economy. This current economic model, based on interest (a.k.a usury) can only survive through consumption. Fashion, gimmicks, peer pressure, propaganda and scrappage scams are merely catalysts of the process. Too bad that many people don’t see the full picture.

2. Car manufacturing (obviously) consumes vast quantities of energy, causes pollution and depletes the earth’s resources – far more per vehicle than that vehicle will itself do in its entire life. Premature end-of-life disposal can only compound the problem. Therefore, overproduction of cars (or any consumable item for that matter) is diametrically opposed to any concern for the environment – despite what the “energy rating” may say.

3. LS400s can, with proper maintenance (and often do) reach mileages in excess of 500,000. That’s 50 years on average – a lifetime’s motoring in first-class accommodation. Not such a bad investment! I can therefore think of no worse a candidate for unnecessary disposal – indeed, to do so would be (to me) a wasteful, criminal act of vandalism.

4. The £2000 ‘saving’ would be short lived on any lesser make of vehicle. Consider depreciation, diminished reliability, more frequent replacement of parts and ultimately a much shorter life. Add to this the fact that many people buy such vehicles on finance, at great cost, and they’re still in debt when their once trendy new car is now worth nothing, causing trouble and they can’t get spares for it!

My LS400 is now 20 years old and is still as smooth as silk. I can still get most service items as genuine parts (with due credit to Toyota) and it has never – repeat – never broken down in all of the five years I’ve owned it. Despite the fact that its book value might only be a few hundred quid, it’s worth far more to me than £2k off a cheap lump of plastic that I’ll hate driving and will bankrupt me in the long term (whether I keep it or not).

Anyhow, I shall now step down from my soapbox and brace myself for the onslaught!

[ManicMark]

Here Here,

the list price on new cars has also gone up since the scrappage scam was introduced, by around £2000 on a lot of models ( I wonder why).

If you really want to change, sell your ls private buy a few month old tin box & save some real money.

Or wait till the scheme ends & get a bigger discount off a new car.

My penneths worth

[kenmac]

Totally agree with cleverdick, but don't forget if your buying a new car you have to figure in the servicing costs and make as some manufacturers will only validate the warranty if you have it serviced at their own stealerships plus I still think if you go in without a scrappage car you would get more than £2000 off at the moment just so they make a sale, if room is that tight spend a couple of hundred of quid and buy a set of roof rails and a top box not the best look but would sort out the problem and as cleverdick said it wrong to scrap cars like this.

[jamesholden]

some manufacturers will only validate the warranty if you have it serviced at their own stealerships

Their not allowed to do that anymore, it was made illegal a few years ago. You can have your car serviced by anyone technically able to do so provided genuine parts are used and original schedules are followed. The manufacturer then has to honour the warranty.

[steve-bedford]

Too late Guys - Sorry!

LS400 RIP

The old LS is the silver one - Third up in the middle. If you look carefully, you can just see the edge of a DHP alloy.

Look like you will be eating your baked beans out of it next week! Now.........must get on, I have a Hyundai i10 to go and enjoy!

[Parthiban]

Seems a waste to scrap it if people would have happily paid you £2k for it and kept it going........although have you seriously scrapped an LS400 to buy a hyundai i10? :shutit:

[kam05]

So this LS400 that's been scrapped, was it on its last legs (knackered engine, bodywork etc) or was it a working car?

Sorry, as echoed by others what's the point of scrapping a working car? Anyway, hope you enjoy your i10.

[M.IQBAL]

he hasnt scrapped it - hes joking

[cleverdick]

he hasnt scrapped it - hes joking

Luckily I can confirm this is a joke - if you google 'carcubes' you'll find the same pic.

Had us all worried though!

[steve-bedford]

The i10 is actually better than you think guys.......the 1.0 is particularly economical and has just £35 road tax. Ok, it's a bit boomy as you approach the 7500 rpm limit and I'm not sure it's quite as poised as the old LS once you get above 140 mph but it's not half bad.

I think my cover is blown isn't it?!!

Sorry chaps - I just couldn't resist it

I'm off to stand on the naughty step..................

[Parthiban]

Lol, had me going!

Should've known that was too far fetched to be real........