Hi there,
I introduced myself on the 'Newbie' section yesterday so I thought I'd pop into this bit, do the same and ask a few questions. :-)
My name's Rob and I live in a lovely little 'suburb townlet' called East Molesey in Surrey.
I've owned many lovely cars over the years, mostly large and executive saloons but unbelievably I have never owned a Japanese car, despite them being known for outstanding reliability and build quality - something I really like.
In the past the likes of an Audi 200 turbo, a Saab 9000 CSE, a Saab 9000 CDE and a BMW 740i have graced my driveway. The BMW was the most unfortunately tragic of the larger cars as it used to be in the garage about every three weeks having yet another thing repaired.
It's something I'm keen to avoid in the future, so I started doing some research on exec saloons and the LS400 seems to come out top, especially on the consumer review sites.
So, I've read through the posts on here and from what I can gather, the main problem seems to be display pixelation on the dash.
Frankly that doesn't worry me even slightly.
So;
Glancing on autotrader, the LS400's seem to have higher mileage than most equivalently aged cars, however I read on Toyota's site that the cars are good for 500,000 miles if serviced correctly - all sounds good to me. So my questions are (if you're still reading!):
I'm looking for around a 1998-1999 MkIV
1. What is the cambelt change interval?
2. Would I be better off getting a low mileage MkIII rather than a higher mileage MkIV (I do about 7k per year)?
3. What parts can I expect to change at what mileage (assuming a full Lexus history, without which I wouldn't buy)?
4. Does anyone know of any horror stories relating to a design flaw?
5. What should I look for / listen for mechanically when I am test driving?
Sorry to be such a newbie :duh: and ask dull questions, but the BMW really stung me (and I mean REALLY stung me) so I don't want the same thing to happen again!
All info and links gratefully received!
Regards, Rob.