It Was Never Meant To Be A Long Term Affair...

[dsutton1974]

...but it wasn't supposed to be over this quickly

My wife has persuaded me to part company with my LS400 after just 6 months.

Despite it being so comfortable that she falls asleep in it every time we go somewhere, she doesn't like the (lack of) styling and certainly doesn't appreciate the economy when pootling around town.

Anyway, this morning I had a test drive in a Mercedes E320 Cdi, and I have to say that it was very nice. Similar in some ways, totally different from the LS in others, but it's comfortable and a bit more up-to-date. I pick it up at the end of next week.

So, it was a brief thing, but I must say that I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of life with my LS and I am really looking forwards to when a used LS600h is within reach in a few years.

The previous owner asked me to give him first refusal should I want to sell her, so I've sent him an email with some details of things I've sorted since last October. Should this fall through I will be listing her for sale on here at around £2k.

I gave her a good bath earlier and took some photos whilst the sun was out...

Thanks for looking,

Daniel.

[black400]

The one rule in my house u buy and sell the cars , imput welcome , but only i decide.

[Bluesman]

Oh dear. Still it will make a nice change for you getting to look under the bonnet a lot more than you ever have with the Lexus. Mike

[messi]

I have to agree with Bluesman on this. I have a good friend who services my Lexus for me. He is head tech guy at Mercedes and has worked for them for around 20 odd years. He has always told me and my brother never to buy a Mercedes. He said if you do buy one, make sure you have some savings to spend on repairs because they are rubbish for reliability. The turbos tend to blow, gearbox issues, radiator issues, ecu issues. He also said whoever tells you mercs are reliable, dont believe a word they say.

So good luck.

[The-Acre]

I have to agree with Bluesman on this. I have a good friend who services my Lexus for me. He is head tech guy at Mercedes and has worked for them for around 20 odd years. He has always told me and my brother never to buy a Mercedes. He said if you do buy one, make sure you have some savings to spend on repairs because they are rubbish for reliability. The turbos tend to blow, gearbox issues, radiator issues, ecu issues. He also said whoever tells you mercs are reliable, dont believe a word they say.

So good luck.

Not withstanding the the slightly discouraging remarks above...a good friend of mine has an E320 cdi and he loves it, although he's never had a Lexus to compare it to. Who knows, you may just find the Mercedes better!! Just out of interest, let us know how you get on with it. Phil

[Bluesman]

I have to agree with Bluesman on this. I have a good friend who services my Lexus for me. He is head tech guy at Mercedes and has worked for them for around 20 odd years. He has always told me and my brother never to buy a Mercedes. He said if you do buy one, make sure you have some savings to spend on repairs because they are rubbish for reliability. The turbos tend to blow, gearbox issues, radiator issues, ecu issues. He also said whoever tells you mercs are reliable, dont believe a word they say.

So good luck.

Dont forget Hydrulic suspension Exhaust manifolds cracking Two water pumps in 3 years, suspension leg spring broke, I'm getting depressed just writing about it. Mike

[Bluesbreaker]

You've just put me off ever buying a Merc!

[jpjsavage]

It's your choice (or your wife's choice by the sound of it) and I hope you won't regret it. Good luck with the Merc though. But from what I've heard over the last year or so there is no way I'd even contemplate that exchange. Sorry to see you go.

[black400]

Google most reliable cars over the last decade Lexus ls i think was 10 th merc s , e bmw 7 in last 10 places Jag was the only other lux saloon in the top 20. good luck anyway .

[Bluesman]

You can make those things say anything they want. Everyone of them say a different thing. They never asked me when I owned a troublesome Merc etc.

I think if you were to ask for only Lexus cars over 10 years old they would be at the top. The trouble with alot of cars as well as other retail products is that they have an inbuilt life which runs out just after the warranties have finnished. Early Lexus were built to survive nuclear war which is not true of newer Lexus. Mike

[mr..bean]

I bought a new E320CDi Sport in 2009, had pretty much every single option it could possibly have.

Nice car, no soul. a 1991 LS400 has so much more 'feeling' in it.

Trust me, you will be bored in 6 months, I was and got rid just before the warranty finished last year.

[bigjap]

until recently i used to drive a mercedes e class from poole to airports every day mosts weeks it was doing 1200 miles a week and it was pretty reliable, tho it was a 2010 model, the older ones on fleet had issues with injector seal leaking and fuel pumps injector seem to need seals about 120000 get black gunge everywhere,they not so bad as some had 500000 miles on them.driving that allday when i got back into lexus,which was much older never felt worse ,quieter if anything,the mk4 i got now prob even better. women tend to like cars with badges on that impress thier friends and seem to worry about number plates, mine i think used to moan about me having a k reg. i would'nt swap mine

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

The one rule in my house u buy and sell the cars , imput welcome , but only i decide.

Same here

[noby76]

until recently i used to drive a mercedes e class from poole to airports every day mosts weeks it was doing 1200 miles a week and it was pretty reliable, tho it was a 2010 model, the older ones on fleet had issues with injector seal leaking and fuel pumps injector seem to need seals about 120000 get black gunge everywhere,they not so bad as some had 500000 miles on them.driving that allday when i got back into lexus,which was much older never felt worse ,quieter if anything,the mk4 i got now prob even better. women tend to like cars with badges on that impress thier friends and seem to worry about number plates, mine i think used to moan about me having a k reg. i would'nt swap mine

Yep most women look at badges first before anything! oh its a BMW, Its a Mercedes so it must be good... it looks flashy!!

[Bluesman]

until recently i used to drive a mercedes e class from poole to airports every day mosts weeks it was doing 1200 miles a week and it was pretty reliable, tho it was a 2010 model, the older ones on fleet had issues with injector seal leaking and fuel pumps injector seem to need seals about 120000 get black gunge everywhere,they not so bad as some had 500000 miles on them.driving that allday when i got back into lexus,which was much older never felt worse ,quieter if anything,the mk4 i got now prob even better. women tend to like cars with badges on that impress thier friends and seem to worry about number plates, mine i think used to moan about me having a k reg. i would'nt swap mine

Yep most women look at badges first before anything! oh its a BMW, Its a Mercedes so it must be good... it looks flashy!!

Then its our job to educate them. Mike

[Lexmanic]

My BH knows a good motor when She see's one hence She prefers our 98 LS over our much newer BMW

[jpjsavage]

Still working on my wife. She doesn't appreciate the LS, yet!

[messi]

My wife loves my Lexus. She always said to me she hates Bmw and Mercs. She doesnt mind an Audi as long as its a S4 or an RS4.

[Angel123]

My wife still needs working on to. She loves the comfort and smooth ride, but says its sore on the eye. You can't win!!

[Bluesman]

My wife is not what you would call a Petrol Head, she prefers small cars and as long as it starts 1st time every time shes not bothered. When I got Lexie nearly 3 years ago she did say how quiet it was and that was about it, then came the day she had to use her and low and behold an Epihany she suddenly realised what Lexus was all about and she fell instantly fell in love with her.

Mike

[Cotswold Pete]

Google most reliable cars over the last decade Lexus ls i think was 10 th merc s , e bmw 7 in last 10 places Jag was the only other lux saloon in the top 20. good luck anyway .

That sounds about right.

I have a mate of mine who was a lover of the various Mercs and Beamers he had, though he always moaned about the cost of the repairs to even 3 or 4 year old German motors.

Took him out one day in my MK2 and he fell in love, so he now owns a Mk3, and persuaded another mate to get a LS400 (so one less 7 series driver out there).

But having a chat with my mates the other day, it was not just that LS400 was cheap to buy and run, but that it is such a lovely car to drive compared to the brutal feel you get from the Merc/BMW. Only reason he still has Mercs is because as company director driving a car over 15 years old just does not fit the image.

So he only gets to enjoy real driving at the weekend.

[Bluesman]

Google most reliable cars over the last decade Lexus ls i think was 10 th merc s , e bmw 7 in last 10 places Jag was the only other lux saloon in the top 20. good luck anyway .

That sounds about right.

I have a mate of mine who was a lover of the various Mercs and Beamers he had, though he always moaned about the cost of the repairs to even 3 or 4 year old German motors.

Took him out one day in my MK2 and he fell in love, so he now owns a Mk3, and persuaded another mate to get a LS400 (so one less 7 series driver out there).

But having a chat with my mates the other day, it was not just that LS400 was cheap to buy and run, but that it is such a lovely car to drive compared to the brutal feel you get from the Merc/BMW. Only reason he still has Mercs is because as company director driving a car over 15 years old just does not fit the image.

So he only gets to enjoy real driving at the weekend.

I dont know to me it shows the guy has individuality and is not bothered about keeping up with the Jones's also to the companies he is selling too they dont see their money wasted on new cars.

I have a mate who has a Reliant Robin and swears by them, I admire him, he is a character, he also laughs all the way to the bank as it costs him almost nothing to run it. Mike

[Cotswold Pete]

Google most reliable cars over the last decade Lexus ls i think was 10 th merc s , e bmw 7 in last 10 places Jag was the only other lux saloon in the top 20. good luck anyway .

That sounds about right.

I have a mate of mine who was a lover of the various Mercs and Beamers he had, though he always moaned about the cost of the repairs to even 3 or 4 year old German motors.

Took him out one day in my MK2 and he fell in love, so he now owns a Mk3, and persuaded another mate to get a LS400 (so one less 7 series driver out there).

But having a chat with my mates the other day, it was not just that LS400 was cheap to buy and run, but that it is such a lovely car to drive compared to the brutal feel you get from the Merc/BMW. Only reason he still has Mercs is because as company director driving a car over 15 years old just does not fit the image.

So he only gets to enjoy real driving at the weekend.

I dont know to me it shows the guy has individuality and is not bothered about keeping up with the Jones's also to the companies he is selling too they dont see their money wasted on new cars.

I have a mate who has a Reliant Robin and swears by them, I admire him, he is a character, he also laughs all the way to the bank as it costs him almost nothing to run it. Mike

Strangely enough I saw a Reliant Robin yesterday (or plastic pigs as we used to call them), and it got me thinking. Well for all of about 2 minutes and then I realised that with the state of the roads around here, the darned thing would probably fall over on it's side as you tried the slalom technique to avoid the craters.

So the LS is safe for a while yet.

[Bluesman]

Google most reliable cars over the last decade Lexus ls i think was 10 th merc s , e bmw 7 in last 10 places Jag was the only other lux saloon in the top 20. good luck anyway .

That sounds about right.

I have a mate of mine who was a lover of the various Mercs and Beamers he had, though he always moaned about the cost of the repairs to even 3 or 4 year old German motors.

Took him out one day in my MK2 and he fell in love, so he now owns a Mk3, and persuaded another mate to get a LS400 (so one less 7 series driver out there).

But having a chat with my mates the other day, it was not just that LS400 was cheap to buy and run, but that it is such a lovely car to drive compared to the brutal feel you get from the Merc/BMW. Only reason he still has Mercs is because as company director driving a car over 15 years old just does not fit the image.

So he only gets to enjoy real driving at the weekend.

I dont know to me it shows the guy has individuality and is not bothered about keeping up with the Jones's also to the companies he is selling too they dont see their money wasted on new cars.

I have a mate who has a Reliant Robin and swears by them, I admire him, he is a character, he also laughs all the way to the bank as it costs him almost nothing to run it. Mike

Strangely enough I saw a Reliant Robin yesterday (or plastic pigs as we used to call them), and it got me thinking. Well for all of about 2 minutes and then I realised that with the state of the roads around here, the darned thing would probably fall over on it's side as you tried the slalom technique to avoid the craters.

So the LS is safe for a while yet.

The strange thing is that the romantics amongst us male & female will happily sit in front of a TV and watch programs set in Provence, Brittany and Burgundy where the three wheeled vehicles are plentyful in various shapes and disguises and you can here them sighing and saying isnt that wonderful such a much slower pace of life and all together more enjoyable, but ! why cant they enjoy it here with the same three wheeled vehicles? We now have plenty of pavement Cafes where we can enjoy a bloody awful cup of coffe at enourmous cost and a Gitanes or Gauloise cigarette so why dosent it transfer to here ???

[Cotswold Pete]

Mike,

as the old saying goes 'The grass is always greener...'

As for the Gitanes, I gave them up years ago. Tried to be a trendy student in the last 70's but probably was a plonker spending money on french fags.

Mind you the one thing about France is that the roads (anywhere west of Caen) are just a pleasure to use, I am sure a bath tub with wheels would be just fine on a nice summers day, and a bottle of plonk some grapes and a baguette for lunch.

Blimey - makes me want to go and book a ferry right now!!