Seduced By The Ls400

[eekamaouse]

Hello,

Bad day today as I ran my saab 9-3 into the back of another car - suspicion is that mine will be written off.

However, there may be a silver lining on this cloud!

I have been for the last few months telling friends that my next car is going to be the Lexus LS400, and their reaction has been generally of surprise. But my extensive research has LED all roads towards the Lexus, and comments on this forum and numerous other places suggest this car to be one of the best. And my car crash may have accelerated this decision.

I have a limited budget for the car, but have seen promising ones for under £2000. I know that fuel economy is not that great, but to counter this - I am right in thinking that little goes wrong, and you get all that luxury.

What I want to know is what to look for? My apologies to you if this topic has been done to death, but I would really appreciate your comments.

Thank you for your time.

[steve2006]

Hello and welcome to the LOC.

The lure of a Lexus,it's inside all of us just waiting to emerge!

You've just missed one offered for sale by another LOC member and there is quite a demand for the later models here at the moment.

The usual places to look are Autotrader and eBay so if you see any that appeal to you feel free to post up the links and we will give our opinions both good and bad.

[eekamaouse]

Hello and welcome to the LOC.

The lure of a Lexus,it's inside all of us just waiting to emerge!

You've just missed one offered for sale by another LOC member and there is quite a demand for the later models here at the moment.

The usual places to look are Autotrader and ebay so if you see any that appeal to you feel free to post up the links and we will give our opinions both good and bad.

Steve2006,

Thank you for your reply - there are a couple of links below:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201308188372292/sort/default/usedcars/model/ls/make/lexus/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/postcode/rg45ld/radius/1500/page/2?logcode=p

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201309198869275/sort/default/usedcars/model/ls/make/lexus/onesearchad/used/radius/1500/page/2/postcode/rg45ld?logcode=p

The first link states that the MOT runs out end of this month, but is only 5 miles away from me, and the second one has long MOT (Sept 2014), but is in East London.

Many thanks.

[The-Acre]

Hi Chan, welcome to LOC. You certainly won't regret going from a Saab to an LS400!

As is often said, patience is the key to finding a good one. If you have a budget of £2,000 you shouldn't have much trouble finding one. I certainly wouldn't even consider one with only a months MOT. As for fuel economy, I really don't find mine that bad. One of the ads you've mentioned says they cost £60,000 when new, which is not true, certainly not in 1996, so that suggests they don't know as much as they should.

Good luck with your search, some gems do come along.

Phil

[steve2006]

The 1st one I wouldn't even consider with only one months MOT on it, so you have to ask why the dealer hasn't put it through for a 13 months ticket. Looking at the state of the driver's floor mat ( which is not even fitted properly) it looks like very little effort has been put into preparing the car for sale. OK to traders cars of this age are all bangers but what does it cost to clean the interior and make it look presentable.

Wheels in the condition shown are about average for a Lexus, they are known for paint peeling/corrosion so most need a refurb at some time.

Having said all that if it's local it may be worth taking a look at it in the metal and if the price can be tweaked along with a fresh MOT who knows, a few pounds on cleaning products will probably bring the interior up nicely.

As for the 2nd one again looks quite nice and I would gladly pay the guy the price of an "Oyster card" for the 10 year running costs on the car :)

There's also no such thing as a fully loaded LS400 they are all fully loaded as standard IIRC there were very few optional extras as they already had all the toys, I think floormats may have been one and mudflaps (yuk) another.

The Japanese market models marketed as Toyotas were the only ones with more toys.

As Phil says take your time, look at as many as possible and you should be fine.

[eekamaouse]

Steve/Phil,

Thanks for the advice. Did notice the dirty floor mat in the 1st link - not the care and attention you'd expect. I think you are quite right in taking a bit of time on this. Will keep you posted on my progress.

Chan

[steve2006]

Have you seen this one, no mention of service history but may be worth asking.

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/fabulous-luxury-car/1031775274

[eekamaouse]

Many thanks for your time and will consider the links that you have provided. The more I look at the LS400/430reviews/you-tube videos, the better it gets.

I'll let you know when I purchase one, and will 'crack' a bottle of real ale on the side of the car (not really).

[ManicMark]

One thing you have to seriously consider is, If you buy an LS400 you will de in a dilemma if you ever want to buy another car

Because try as you might you won't find anything that will stack up well against it.

I am on my third. £2000 will get you a really really nice mark 4 be patient. Don't rule out highish miles ones as if they have a good history & been looked after they will still be fine.

[eekamaouse]

ManicMark,

Your mkIV looks great.

I'm just waiting for my insurance company to tell me how they are going give back pending the expected write-off of my Saab (minus the excess, of course). That will then add something to my budget.

I do have another option, and that is to wait until end of July 2014, when I get a good company bonus, and therefore will have a bigger budget. But, I am not usually good at the waiting game.

[eekamaouse]

Ok - the title of this thread I started was "Seduced by the LS400"...but now it's "Fallen in love with my LS430!!"

Got it yesterday, and well, the the drive back from the dealer in Derby - Reading (130 miles) was a joy, and was listening to Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, LED Zepp, Spice Girls (joke) in the Mark Levinson - wow!!

It is very dark green, almost black, and for its age immaculate in and out, plus FLSH, and at 160,000.

The legend is true.....

[ManicMark]

Well done & how much may we ask. Big grin all over face me thinks. So much car & luxury for the money.

[eekamaouse]

ManicMark,

It was £3490, so I increased my budget by a bit. Took it to my local pub in rural Oxfordshire, and my pub mates thought it was amazing - and some of them have high end modern cars.

I just cannot believe there is anything out there which comes remotely close to the car at the cost. So many gadgets - I don't know where to start learning. See my other mini- thread, where I describe my complete ignorance with respect to thinking that there was a serious issue with the breaking system - don't drink a fine wine while reading it - you may choke and waste some!!

The road to being a full member of this club is now open for me.

Many thanks for all your support and will keep posting my admiration.

[Bluesman]

Welcome too the club. I live south of Reading so will keep an eye out for you. Happy Motoring.

[jpjsavage]

Congratulations on your purchase, I remember the feeling well from driving home in my LS400. One year on, the feeling is still there. They are great cars. Enjoy!

[eekamaouse]

Thank you for all your support and feedback.

I went to a family event in Surrey today. And one of the best compliments was from my very bright and streetwise nephew who is usually more enamoured by the modern trends and fashions in life . "This car is amazing - it's got everything...apart from ipod connectivity"!! he exclaimed. Then I put on the Levinson, quite loud - from Stairway to Heaven, Miles Davis, to Paul Weller (my nephew's a cool kid)....he did not want to leave the car.

[eekamaouse]

Ok, here are some photos of my LS430 (finally learnt how to do this!)

[jpjsavage]

My kids love the stereo too. But not my taste in music!

[royoftherovers]

A really nice motor.....congratulations.

I bought my first Lexus a month ago, done 800 miles so far and I`m still smiling (and still reading the Handbook !)

Regards

John

[PEPE]

A really nice motor.....congratulations.

I bought my first Lexus a month ago, done 800 miles so far and I`m still smiling (and still reading the Handbook !)

Regards

John

I know the feeling . . .congratulations indeed.