Ls400 Should I Buy One?

[Malc]

Cheers

But what about this lol:

Quote: Jefflex:

'No. Don't buy one. Stay wel away. They are terrible in the wet. Stay away at least from the 400's !'

8 years of driving an LS400 .............. never had a worry about driving in the wet.

Drove very, very carefully in the snow this winter too ..... didn't like it much but I got home safely when all around me was mayhem on the M2.

People driving like utter looooonies and their cars all over the place and STUCK and DAMAGED.

If you're lucky ..... and you drive carefully and sensibly, then you just might avoid the avoidable wet and snow problems.

Maybe age and experience is a factor in all of this ..... I have been driving for nigh on 100 years ( I jest, but it has been a while ! ).

Malc

[zaria123]

Just thought it was a bit of a bizarre post, but I appreciate everyones opinion :)

BTW....Its actually only 7 days to go! :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

[Manc]

... the car is 2.5 tons ...

Steady now: more like 1.8 tonnes.

Its what the plate says in the engine bay.... gross weight 2.3..... looking at it i didnt think it was the load bearing weight as it didnt show front & rear capacities..... so 2.3 ton was the only description of any weight...but i will check it again...

[Manc]

Cheers

But what about this lol:

Quote: Jefflex:

'No. Don't buy one. Stay wel away. They are terrible in the wet. Stay away at least from the 400's !'

Yes, they are bad in the wet if:-

- you have a really heavy foot

- you have poor or bald tyres

- you didnt see the mud or grease on the wet roads

- you never really learnt to drive... (sorry its not personal, i have just seen some shocking driving the past few months and its making me wonder about this country's standards!)

[Manc]

Am I missing something?

Yes, your LS400 for the next 10 days

Manc, I took your comments on board. I have a '98 MKIV with 213k on the clock and it drives like a car with 20k on the clock. It's due for an MOT on Monday and I'm thinking, even if it fails on £600 worth of work, where can I get a car that drives like this, with a years MOT for £600?

Thanks

and good luck Alan, the 10 days will fly by, hopefully

Desicions, desicions..... but instinct tells me to keep it even if it costs £1000 +... i even need things like new heat sheilds etc... some cost over £200... i've got to confirm these parts 1st but i've got some thinking to do for sure

if not, i'll prob get another Lexus anyway..

[zaria123]

Yes, they are bad in the wet if:-

- you have a really heavy foot

- you have poor or bald tyres

- you didnt see the mud or grease on the wet roads

- you never really learnt to drive... (sorry its not personal, i have just seen some shocking driving the past few months and its making me wonder about this country's standards!)

I Like your comments....LOL.....I think I'll se safe enough hopefully then....

- I don't have a heavy right foot

- I might be mad generally....but I wont be driving on dodgy tyres

- If I don't see mud or grease on the roads I should really be getting glasses (or give up driving) I know everyone can get caught out now and again, but

- I agree....some people have no idea some days I wish I didn;t have to come in to the city to work! Some folk don't seem to realise that they paint white lane lines on the road, and around roundabouts for a reason!

Oh and an example.....A month ago a woman in a Fiat Punto drove straight in to the back of my friends newly restored Bond Bug, embarassingly saying 'Sorry I didnt see you at all'.......Hmmmm......The car is Bright Tangerine Orange.....would there have been any hope of her seeing anything on the road?

LOL

5 Days to go!

[AdeV]

5 Days to go!

You're going to love it... I bought a '94 car with 135k miles on it, easily the best car I've ever driven. I had a 2000 Jag S-type (the 3.0 version) a few years back, it was a total disaster, cost me north of £7k in depreciation, and the better part of £4k in parts to keep it running, including a £1k gearbox rebuild, all on a 4-5 year old car. Really poor IMHO.

The Lexus, on the other hand, despite being older has done another 65k miles, and has only needed some bulbs, a rear spring, and regular transfusions of PAS fluid.

The only problem is, I have a heavy right foot & don't seem to get terribly good mileage...

[Malc]

5 Days to go!

You're going to love it... I bought a '94 car with 135k miles on it, easily the best car I've ever driven. I had a 2000 Jag S-type (the 3.0 version) a few years back, it was a total disaster, cost me north of £7k in depreciation, and the better part of £4k in parts to keep it running, including a £1k gearbox rebuild, all on a 4-5 year old car. Really poor IMHO.

The Lexus, on the other hand, despite being older has done another 65k miles, and has only needed some bulbs, a rear spring, and regular transfusions of PAS fluid.

The only problem is, I have a heavy right foot & don't seem to get terribly good mileage...

Hey, take care with the PAS fluid levels ......... it's dripping on to the alternator !

And will knock it out at some time . Best to get the PAS reservoir gaskets sorted asap; alternators aren't cheap but will otherwise last a very, very long time !

Malc

[AdeV]

Hey, take care with the PAS fluid levels ......... it's dripping on to the alternator !

And will knock it out at some time . Best to get the PAS reservoir gaskets sorted asap; alternators aren't cheap but will otherwise last a very, very long time !

I'm pretty sure it's missing the alternator - I must have got through 6-7 ltrs of fluid (maybe more) since owning the car, and the alternator's never missed a beat. I have a spare one sitting ready just in case, however!

[ManicMark]

Cheers

But what about this lol:

Quote: Jefflex:

'No. Don't buy one. Stay wel away. They are terrible in the wet. Stay away at least from the 400's !'

Dont worry you are buying a mark 4 it has traction control & snow mode, I went for the mark4 because of this as I drive in Germany in the deepest winter It pulls up a sheet ice slope to my inlaws house from as near a standstill with no problems at all even with summer tyres. Now steering is a different ball game ( but thats the same for any heavy car)

[GEN]

Cheers

But what about this lol:

Quote: Jefflex:

'No. Don't buy one. Stay wel away. They are terrible in the wet. Stay away at least from the 400's !'

Dont worry you are buying a mark 4 it has traction control & snow mode, I went for the mark4 because of this as I drive in Germany in the deepest winter It pulls up a sheet ice slope to my inlaws house from as near a standstill with no problems at all even with summer tyres. Now steering is a different ball game ( but thats the same for any heavy car)

Love to know more about your experience in the snow - last year, here in England (South) with not much snow my 98 Mk IV, with the VCS & in snow mode was useless on the flat. Last year had the standard Pirellis and I have now changed to the "snow&mud" Vredsteins.

[zaria123]

I'll wait and see I have a Landrover for the snow anyways...lol......off to the airport to collect it today :winky:

[mike213735]

I'll wait and see I have a Landrover for the snow anyways...lol......off to the airport to collect it today :winky:

Have a good trip mate.....enjoy it!!!

[zaria123]

New toy collected.....now on the boat, beautiful car, really please. Love the drive, and after the drive to the boat computer is telling me we've averaged 29.8mpg so very impressed with that. Due to dock at 00.45 and home to East Coast of N.I. By 03.45. Photos to follow....oh and a guy followed me in Wakefield town centre wanting to buy it lol!

[zaria123]

New toy collected.....now on the boat, beautiful car, really please. Love the drive, and after the drive to the boat computer is telling me we've averaged 29.8mpg so very impressed with that. Due to dock at 00.45 and home to East Coast of N.I. By 03.45. Photos to follow....oh and a guy followed me in Wakefield town centre wanting to buy it lol!

[Scribe]

Hope you had a good trip home and are still loving the car!

[zaria123]

Here it is now home. Really delighted, the car really is a credit to its previous owner, and a very light 50,000 miles!

[Scribe]

It looks fabulous - my favourite colour combo, too. Congratulations on your new acquisition.

[autobahn]

Wow! That look in really good nick. Congratulations!

[floggit]

Hi, really clean Lexus, I'd be happy if my next lex was in that condition.

Enjoy you're new ride.

Steve.

[mike213735]

Yep,

Credit to you mate, that really is a clean example!

Mike

[Scribe]

Really pleased for you. What's sad for me is that by the time I can afford to replace mine, there won't be any left in the condition that yours is in! Seems like you got one of the best available - it looks almost new.

[LS400XVA]

Hi Folks

Thanks for the replies.....you are very enthusiastic about your LS400's! Which is great.

I started out looking at a selection of cars, but kept coming back to Lexus.

Jaguar S-Type

Jaguar XJ

Vovlo S80

Mercedes S320

Hyundai XG30

I basically asked on their owners forums, and the cars are either troublesome (big style in the case if Volvo), or ultra complicated like the Merc. The Hyundai only sold 175 cars in the UK, so getting anyone who knows anything about them or even parts could be dodgy. And the Jag.....well I'm only 40 lol.

This car appears superb, the cream interior is like a 3 year old car, and outside I can't even find a scratch (and it's not been painted). Full Lexus history is there, just need to check if the timing belts been done, and every gadget appears to be working.

The guy selling it is away on holiday so havevto wait until next weekend :-(

Good things come to those who wait!

Cheers

Alan

Alan, I have driven many Luxury cars over the years mainly American but I must say none compare to my 97 LS400 that I have had for only a few months, I do not know why they depreciate as they do as I can not find any bad feedback on them. Just a shame about Cam belt changes, this I must get done as I have no info with car to show change it has now done 89000 drives like nothing else, economical for a V8, Only Lexus for me now on.

[ACTIVEARMOUR]

I agree with jellybean. I recently bought my first LS400 and can't imagine what I could replace it with apart from another one. It's an amazing car, and so relaxing to drive that after 3-4 hours on the road I don't feel tired.

One of the problems when buying one is that cars over 10 years old don't have a fixed market value as such, like 2-3 year old ones do, so to some extent an LS400 is only worth what someone will pay for it. Having said that, the one you're interested in sounds like the best you're likely to find - it's from the last year of manufacture and has a very low mileage. On that basis, and assuming that you're prepared to maintain it properly, you should be able to run it for 10 years. It probably cost around £50,000 new, so you'd be getting a lot of car that someone else has lost most of the value of, and over the next few years you won't lose much more in depreciation. When you take that into account, it shouldn't cost much to run - that's what I'm hoping about mine, anyway. I only use it for long journeys (I have a smart car for running around town), when I just set the cruise control to 70 mph and get around 30 mpg.

With the advice of other members on here, I drew up a checklist of things to look for when I was Lexus hunting, and I'm happy to send this to you if it's of use. Good luck with your search.

[ACTIVEARMOUR]

Hi

My names Mark Stewart from Belfast, could you please send me your checklist, it would be agreat help for me, as im on the hunt for a LS400.

Cheers