Just Bought A Mkiv Unseen....

[Ruud]

You probably know this car - it has been advertised on eBay for the last decade at £1995 ( silver one in Carlisle that said swap, jetski, caravan etc)

Recently the seller took £1000 off the price so I thought that was cheap enough to buy it.

New 12 months MOT

6 months TAX

Delivered to my door (150 miles away)

For £1250

Getting MOT'd in the next 2 days and if all goes well dropped off this Thursday.

Only thing is.....I haven't seen the car so I hope it's half decent :)

[IHgs300]

Hope it works out for you Rudy, I bought my first IS200 the same way....risky ....but if you don't take live dangerously every now and again you don't get the bargains...LOL

[Ruud]

Hope it works out for you Rudy, I bought my first IS200 the same way....risky ....but if you don't take live dangerously every now and again you don't get the bargains...LOL

Very true Ian.

The guy walked round the car while I was on the phone with him, mentioning every blemish etc - We'll see in a few days if he was telling the truth :)

[PEPE]

Hi Rudy

Yours is a very philosophical way of buying a car, risky indeed, but probably you won't regret it. I bought my first LS 400 at my local after driving it less than half a mile and paying £750 for it on the spot. The 222,000 miles on the clock did not deter me. What the hell, I thought . . .and guess what? I fell in love with the car and decided to bring it up to showroom condition. I think the money I've spent on it has been worth every penny. No regrets whatsover. I do hope you have a similar experience and wish you many happy miles in your 'new' LS 400 Mk 4.

Pepe

[Cotswold Pete]

My first LS was sight unseen (a Mk2) photos looked good, car was okay, but I did find out that the knocks from the front were going to end up being expensive.

But just like Pepe, it helped me fall in love with the LS range, enough to see me move over to a MK4.

At the price it sounds like a good deal, best of luck

[Ruud]

It's not my first LS :)

Been looking for ages for a mkIV not too far away. Finding one in Scotland is nearly impossible.

Hopefully this is a good one.

[Mybikes a cx500]

Not your first! The're your hobby! (Ian from Glasgow, new I.D., couldn't get my old one to work)

How did it go with the one with the sticking camshaft timing valve?

[Ruud]

Not your first! The're your hobby! (Ian from Glasgow, new I.D., couldn't get my old one to work)

How did it go with the one with the sticking camshaft timing valve?

Hi Ian :) Long time no see! I hope you are well and are still enjoying your Ls?

I was lucky Maurice had a valve lying around in his shed somewhere - it took a little while for him to find it, but he delivered as always.

Replaced the valve and she ran like new again.

Someone made me an offer on that Ls that I couldn't refuse. It was around the number you paid for your mint Ls. And as mine wasn't near as nice as yours - I figured I'd better accept that offer. :)

My 'new' Ls should arrive Thursday or Friday latest. No LPG this time though....

[fred81]

Hello all! New member and soon to be new owner too :)

I am a little ashamed to admit that I have done the same as the original poster, bought an LS400 unseen via eBay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331052324736?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Managed to get it for £1.2k (price was 1.8k, then 1.5k, my offer of 1.2k was accepted).

Here's hoping I made the right choice!

Just to clarify something I've noticed, do you lovely chaps give mk1, mk2 numbers for each revision? Therefore, am I right in thinking mine is a mk4?

• 1 First generation (XF10)
  • 1.1 1989–1992 (mk1?)
  • 1.2 1992–1994 (mk2?)
• 2 Second generation (XF20)
  • 2.1 1994–1997 (mk3?)
  • 2.2 1997–2000 (mk4?)

Regards,

Fred

[cruisermark]

Hello all! New member and soon to be new owner too :)

I am a little ashamed to admit that I have done the same as the original poster, bought an LS400 unseen via ebay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331052324736?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Managed to get it for £1.2k (price was 1.8k, then 1.5k, my offer of 1.2k was accepted).

Here's hoping I made the right choice!

Just to clarify something I've noticed, do you lovely chaps give mk1, mk2 numbers for each revision? Therefore, am I right in thinking mine is a mk4?

• 1 First generation (XF10)
  • 1.1 1989–1992 (mk1?)
  • 1.2 1992–1994 (mk2?)
• 2 Second generation (XF20)
  • 2.1 1994–1997 (mk3?)
  • 2.2 1997–2000 (mk4?)

Regards,

Fred

welldone fred - that is a bargain - amazing car - well looked after - many years of happy motoring

p.s it is a Mark 4

[Ruud]

Welcome Fred. The car looks great and yes it is a MKIV.

When are you getting yours?

[fred81]

Thanks cruisermark!

Ruud, I'm picking it up on Sunday. There are a few concerns I have with the car, of course the bumper scrape and 50p sized rust bubbles, although I'll get them looked at straight away. My main concern appears to be the missing services from 2010-2013? Maybe an oversight? In all honesty, I hadn't expected the offer to be accepted, therefore I didn't feel too bad entering £1200. Imagine my surprise when I got home from work later that evening and found my offer to have been accepted!

I've just given my friend my 51 plate 1.8 vectra for free, on the premise that he gives me the cash from scrap when it goes. Which probably won't be too long, rotten car!

[Ruud]

Thanks cruisermark!

Ruud, I'm picking it up on Sunday. There are a few concerns I have with the car, of course the bumper scrape and 50p sized rust bubbles, although I'll get them looked at straight away. My main concern appears to be the missing services from 2010-2013? Maybe an oversight? In all honesty, I hadn't expected the offer to be accepted, therefore I didn't feel too bad entering £1200. Imagine my surprise when I got home from work later that evening and found my offer to have been accepted!

I've just given my friend my 51 plate 1.8 vectra for free, on the premise that he gives me the cash from scrap when it goes. Which probably won't be too long, rotten car!

Is this your first Ls400?

[fred81]

It certainly is :)

[Ruud]

Coming from a Vectra you won't know what hit you when you drive the Ls :)

[fred81]

A few months back I did a 180 mile round trip in a friends mk3 LS400, (donor car, engine + box now gone into a hi-lux surf). It was absolutely amazing to drive! After my Vectra starting playing up, I knew what choice I had to make...

Regards

[cruisermark]

i would buy this unseen:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1998-LEXUS-LS400-MK-IV-4-0-V8-92K-WITH-FULL-LEXUS-S-HISTORY-NAV-XENONS-/151154950408?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2331898108

[Ruud]

i would buy this unseen:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1998-LEXUS-LS400-MK-IV-4-0-V8-92K-WITH-FULL-LEXUS-S-HISTORY-NAV-XENONS-/151154950408?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2331898108

As would I :)

[PEPE]

i would buy this unseen:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1998-LEXUS-LS400-MK-IV-4-0-V8-92K-WITH-FULL-LEXUS-S-HISTORY-NAV-XENONS-/151154950408?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2331898108

As would I :)

Add me to the list!

[Ruud]

i would buy this unseen:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1998-LEXUS-LS400-MK-IV-4-0-V8-92K-WITH-FULL-LEXUS-S-HISTORY-NAV-XENONS-/151154950408?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2331898108

As would I :)

Add me to the list!

Although not for that price - I would expect it to have LPG for £2500

[messi]

I don't know if you've noticed, but the prices on these mkIV ls400's have gone up even if the vehicle has not got LPG, and that particular car looks mint and well worth the asking price in my opinion

[PEPE]

I don't know if you've noticed, but the prices on these mkIV ls400's have gone up even if the vehicle has not got LPG, and that particular car looks mint and well worth the asking price in my opinion

I agree.

[fred81]

I've decided against purchasing now, as I've found a previous eBay auction for the same car but via a different seller and location. Something doesn't smell right, so the search continues!

[Ruud]

I've decided against purchasing now, as I've found a previous ebay auction for the same car but via a different seller and location. Something doesn't smell right, so the search continues!

I see what you mean - the previous listing ended on the 16th of October. So this guy only had it for about 2 weeks. Did you confront the seller with this? There might be a logical explanation...

[fred81]

Just had a reply from the seller, and you are right, there is a logical explanation. I didn't fancy driving all that way (It's quite far) to find out something was wrong. I'll have to make my mind up I guess.