n4chv

I have no plans to ever sell my mk4. I'm beginning to appreciate it more, the longer I own it . I know it's 'only a car', but owning it has proven to be the best driving experience I've ever had in over 40 years on the road. Been in Mercs, Beemers, Cadillacs etc, nothing compares, in my view.

I sold my LS400 last year and whilst it was the right decision for me at the time, I really missed owning such a car and as superb as my Audi A8 was, as a total ownership and satisfaction proposition it just didn't compare to the Lexus

My recent LS430 purchase is filling the void very nicely now and although I did have some air suspension issues with this car, I am now really starting to enjoy the whole ownership experience again #satisfiedlsowner

Yes they match the front end, but the back end is very expensive to update ah well.

I have seen aftermarket rear lights for the LS400s but thought they don't look nice at all

When I had my LS400, I was keeping an eye out for an LED rear light upgrade but in the end I kept my car completely original

I didn't change my side indicators actually but it's a nice subtle upgrade for sure

I can only speak of my own experience with my LS400 but I only ever used genuine parts from Lexus as I wanted to keep my car as original as possible

As a bonus, I actually found that Lexus dealer prices were competitive with other alternative parts too (my Lexus dealer used to give some good financial incentives including 20% off their labour rates and at least 15% off parts prices as a way to encourage me to keep using them to service my car)

Nice car but the asking price is a bit OTT in my opinion

I wouldn't want to be paying over £3k if it was me

In the last few months, there have been a number of LS400s come up for sale with low mileages and ones in mint condition with some cheeky asking prices but then fans of these cars can / will pay over the odds for mint cars

I met this guy a few months ago when he had an LS430 for sale which he described as being in immaculate condition. The car was a 2004 '04' in Silver with Black Leather and 170k miles and he had the car up for just over £3k.

He gave me what I assumed was his home address in Dudley where the car was parked up. At the time, he also had a 2001 LS430 on his driveway which was his daily car at the time.

The Silver LS430 which I came to see wasn't in the best of condition with a lot of wear & tear inside on the leather and there were some rust spots on the car including the middle of the front passenger door.

Whilst it was a wasted trip for me, I found him to be a pleasant enough chap and he seems to also sell used Lexus parts on eBay as well as older vehicles

Like any seller, if you do look to buy a car from him just do what you would anyway and do the data checks before parting with any money

Jonathan - you are SO right about the quality of these LS400s.

Apart from 1 or 2 minor marks on my leather seats, when I got my car valeted last year you would not have guessed the car had covered over 230k miles

Even after 15 years, the wood trim was still shiny, the plastics still look as good as new and there were no rattles or creaks of any kind from inside.

Mechanically, my car was always well sorted and I have had plenty of garages react with disbelief at the age and mileage of these cars even when compared to the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

My LS430 is providing me with a similar sense of occasion too - probably another reason why I was so keen to get back into the fold

Like you, I have seen a number of various low mileage LS400s and LS430s for sale at some dealers asking some 'interesting' prices.

My biggest concern with cars like this having done low miles is that with all the various gadgets, technology and general hardware, age will not do them many favours

In my own opinion, I think that a car which has been used regularly should mean that the Battery gets a decent charge and that the various engine components get a bit of use meaning things shouldn't cease up.

December and January are traditionally good months for buyers as dealers are always keen to be shifting 'old' stock in readyness for the new registrations

There's no question that good LS400s are now very sought after by drivers who know how great these cars are.

You can buy a clear indicator kit which is a straight bolt off / bolt on job for the orange lenses on this version too which lifts the front a bit

Merry Xmas to you and your family Jonathan

Really pleased for you that your car is in good order now

Sounds like you also have a great mechanic too :-)

Just a thought .............. the low mileage doesn't ring true with the amount of work done to repair.

I would check each of the MOTs mileages as a starter ............... also query the gearbox issues that might have arisen from the rad needing to be replaced together with the waterpump.

101k miles with all this work done ....... summat ain't quite right methinks.

Malc

My LS430 was a 1 owner car, almost 11 years old with only 42k miles on the clock which sounded very bizarre given that these sorts of cars are typically used by drivers for higher annual mileages but the MOTs and the mileage checks were all fine.

What did disappoint me though was the items which I needed to get fixed including the front and rear suspension and the electric steering column adjustment.

Having said that, the car is now fine and driving just like I would expect it to.

My previous LS400 still rates as the best ever car I have owned but in time I hope I will be feeling the same about my LS430

I had to get the reservoir pump motor for the screen replaced on my Mk IV LS400 after 12 years and 180,000 miles. New part was £75 from Lexus and it was an hour's labour by my local garage. Not quite as cheap as Brian's £7 DIY job but in the scheme of things, not a huge expense

Good cars are always worth waiting for and with the LS, I am sure that it is only a matter of time before a good one turns up

There are some rough examples out there but they would cost a lot of time / money to put totally right although having said that I didn't spare any expense on my previous LS400

Good luck with the search :-)

I have test driven some GS vehicles including the GS300, GS430 and the newer GS450h

They are all lovely cars to drive but having driven the LS400 and LS430, the GS felt like a step down in many ways.

The GS is a beautifully built car and being a bit more compact, it does drive slightly better but if you are after the best luxury drive it has to be an LS all day long in opinion

I've had my LS430 for a few months now and despite the low mileage at the time (only 44k miles), I ended up having to spend around £1500 putting the air suspension right (1 rear suspension bracket and both front suspension sensors).

LS430s are certainly a big step forward over the LS400 in terms of comfort, refinement and gadgets but they do seem a bit more fragile.

Thankfully, mine is driving beautifully and I am now a very happy owner :-)

Mine's up in the air at the moment waiting for a rear suspension sensor which has virtually seized. Over £300 for the part but the work is easy. The old one was off in just a few minutes. They took them both off just to check the movement, they also took them both apart which was also easy. Which makes me wonder, why can't they just be removed, cleaned and freed up and put back together sealing the joints? After all, it seems that just water ingress is the main issue.

I had the same isue with 1 side on the rear where the rear suspension was seized. Part was expensive but labour straight forward enough.

I have read on this forum and other forums that this is a common problem on the LS430 with Air Suspension. Water gets into these units and they seize / stop working. Again, I have read that these parts are not easily serviceable or fixable and best practice is to replace them with new reliable units.

Poor design of the part from the sounds of it (very un-Lexus like). But most cars with Air Suspension tend to be fragile for various reasons. Clearly, Lexus haven't yet got on top of the reliability here.

I've had my LS430 for a few months now and despite the low mileage at the time (only 44k miles), I ended up having to spend around £1500 putting the air suspension right (1 rear suspension bracket and both front suspension sensors).

LS430s are certainly a big step forward over the LS400 in terms of comfort, refinement and gadgets but they do seem a bit more fragile.

Thankfully, mine is driving beautifully and I am now a very happy owner :-)

Hope you manage to successfully source a good used LS400 - they are awesome cars and as much as I love my LS430, my LS400 was without question the best car I had ever owned.

I'm hoping over time, I will feel the same way about my LS430 too

John, I've got a set of Mk.4 wheels (the originals from my car) doing nothing and starting to go rusty. If they fit your car you're welcome to them, in case you want to refurb all your wheels at the same time.

Hi. Do you still have these wheels ? One of my friends who owns an LS400 is looking for a replacement set of alloys has he has now damaged 2 of his 5 wheels (his spare wheel had a crack in it when he bought it).

Now it wasn't me who worked this out, but. Taking into account current US fuel prices, this car would have munched its way through £80,000 worth of fuel. In the good old UK £195,000..... apparently!

That's a scary amount of money to be spending on fuel - but worth it in a car like this :-)

Sorry to hear of your news William - sounds like quite a collection of cars

I did borrow a VW Phaeton (3.0 litre petrol version) for a week from a dealer a few years back and whilst I found the overall build quality superb, I found the car to be very heavy and thirsty. I struggled to get more than 18 mpg and that was without putting my foot down.

In my opinion, it really lacked class but saying that, they offer superb value for money on the used market

Still nothing in this sector will top my LS430 though

Earlier ones were front wheel drive 3.2 petrol as against the all wheel drive modern car which is a different car altogether, I think if you got a chance to drive a newer one you would be surprised. bilmac

I do think these VW Phaetons offer an awful lot of car for the money on the used market - I'm sticking with my LS430 though. To me, nothing in this class of cars can touch it for reliability and quality.

When this happened on my Mk IV LS400, it was an intermittent issue - sometimes annoying, but it didn't affect the way the car drove.

Invariably, when it did happen and I stopped the car and turned the engine off the problem would fix itself most times when I restarted it

Nice to see some people really have tasteful looking cars - NOT !

Don't Porsche paint their alloys orange for their trackday cars ?

Whoever buys this clearly is a major attention seeker or they are devoid of size in some body areas. And I'll say no more :-)

Afraid I cannot comment on this particular kit

I did get a Parrot Handsfree kit fitted into my previous 1998 'R' Lexus LS400.

It took me a couple of years to find the right audio specialist who could both supply and fit the kit for me and cost around £150 and it connected via the car's existing speakers too (some cheaper kits require their own separate speaker).

There are newer Parrot kits which will not only give you the Bluetooth and hands-free phone facility but the newer kits will also let you play music via MP3 / iPod / Iphone as well.

I own a Porsche 911 and a few years ago, Porsche doubled the cost of their very comprehensive warranties from £900 to £1800 - I read on some 911 forums about owners having to make claims for expensive jobs and Porsche UK clearly didn't want to pick up the cost.

Seems as cars get more technology and gadgets, they are becoming a much more risky ownership proposition.

I am now enjoying my LS430 now that it's rid of some previous issues relating to the steering and suspension. They have cost a lot of time and money to put right but it's been worth it.

It's also nice to be getting compliments from other drivers who know their cars and know how awesome these cars are - this is what owning a Lexus LS is all about in my opinion :-)

Sorry to hear of your news William - sounds like quite a collection of cars

I did borrow a VW Phaeton (3.0 litre petrol version) for a week from a dealer a few years back and whilst I found the overall build quality superb, I found the car to be very heavy and thirsty. I struggled to get more than 18 mpg and that was without putting my foot down.

In my opinion, it really lacked class but saying that, they offer superb value for money on the used market

Still nothing in this sector will top my LS430 though

I paid a similar price for my LS430 which had only 42k miles on the clock - as desirable as good used LS400s are, I think this price is completely OTT but then all it takes it 1 person to prove me wrong and pay the asking price

Been out again for a 15 mile run, and it's running like a Swiss watch. I'm starting to regain confidence and belief that it really is just very sensitive to voltage drops. I have had the battery tested at an accessory shop = simple voltage check, but I intend to take it to a auto electrical shop for a proper check. I appreciate ll the feedback guys, I get very low when my car doesn't work properly. Still crossing fingers and everything else that the starter is fine.

I'm really pleased to hear that your faith is gradually getting restored. The problem with these types of cars nowadays is that with all the electronics, the cars need to be used regularly and for longer journeys so that the Battery and all the systems get a decent dose of power so to speak.

A couple of dealers have suggested I invest in a trickle charger to help maintain the levels on the Battery but ultimately these cars just need to be used.

I own 3 cars and I do make sure that they all get used as it's a bit of a waste letting them sit on the drive doing nothing

Hopefully your auto-electrician will give the car a clean bill of health.

My LS430 has caused me a few headaches but thankfully it's all working fine and my faith and confidence is back