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I find it astonishing that someone in sales hasn't taken the time to come back to you - although good LS400s are becoming very rare, they are still out there. The right car will turn up so don't rush into buying just any car

You could well be right there - I was disappointed with the LS430 I went to see as he swore blind to me that it was in mint condition despite having 170k miles on the clock. When I went to see it, the alloys were marked and there were rust marks on the bodywork and the interior looked like it had done some miles. The car drove fine actually but had I known about the cosmetic issues, I would have saved myself a trip

Is the car still being advertised for sale ? If he's sold it, maybe that's why he's not been back in touch

Totally agree with Brian on this - as much as I like Lexus dealers compared to other marques, if I can avoid using them I would as their labour rates and mark-ups on some parts is huge to say the least. As per my previous post, if it was me I wouldn't risk putting in a 2nd hand windscreen and I'd pay for a new unit which is then professionally fitted and ensures that you don't get any water leaks

During the 15 years and 230k miles on my LS400, the alternator never needed replacing - when I sold it last year, the car was on it's 4th battery and apart from 1 battery which had to be changed after 2 and a bit years, I got 4 or 5 years out of each battery My LS430 has a lot more gadgetry which relies on the battery but then again, as long as I use the car on a regular basis I would still expect the battery in this to give me 3 or 4 years at least.

If you are brave enough with car electronics, good luck to you in altering the circuit board in the key Whilst I am always keen to save myself a few quid, I would rather pay a dealer the money and get a proper genuine key that works and is properly coded to the vehicle. I have heard of some drivers of various makes try all sorts of things - I read on an Audi forum how someone decided to try replicating their own keys with some software, a laptop and a blank fob and he ended up having to buy a brand new ECU for his vehicle at around £5k Sometimes it's best to keep things simple but that's my own view Good luck with whatever you decide to do

I can't say I have ever seen an Lexus LS with wider / bigger wheels at the rear compared to the front - comes down to taste and what you like / don't like Personally, I'd stick with wheels / tyres of equal size front and rear

My brother owns an RX400h and he decided to buy a blank off e-bay, get the key cut and then paid for the programming - he said that he did save himself a few quid but it was a lot more hassle than it's worth. Personally, I would go to a dealer and get the genuine article - the last thing you want is to find yourself stuck / stranded with a non-genuine key Like most owners, I am all for saving money and avoiding dealers if I can but then again for some things I would never take the risk

I have used Falkens on my LS400 and LS430 for several years and always found them to be a good balance in terms of ride, comfort, road noise and durability not to mention great value when compared to the big names likes of Bridgestone, Pirelli, Dunlop and Michelin As has been mentioned already, nowadays these cars are being shod with 19" wheels or bigger which will never do the ride any good. One of my chauffeur friends recently 'downgraded' his car from 19" wheels to 17" wheels as he was having to replace tyres much more frequently plus his passengers hated the ride. 17" tyres are far cheaper and more durable in comparison so for him it's a 'win-win' situation

I did purchase a battery from Lexus and after 2 and a bit years, I had some electrical gremlins including a couple of times when I would turn the key in the ignition and it would be completely dead and I'd then try it later and it would start without any problems When the car went in for a service, the dealer told me there was an issue with one of the battery cells and they replaced the battery FREE OF CHARGE - the dealer said they offered a 3 year warranty on batteries. I thought it was only 1 or at best 2 years so good result for me. The battery only cost me £90 which seemed more than reasonable from a Lexus dealer

This all comes down to taste and your ride quality preferences I own an LS430 and previously owned an LS400. I did upgrade my LS400 16" wheels for 18" wheels with no discernible deterioration in ride quality. I have read on this forum of LS460 owners who have got cars riding on 19" wheels who have typically complained of the additional harshness in the ride and additional road noise with the bigger wheels. My LS430 and LS400 didn't have staggered wheels / tyres so I cannot comment on whether your LS460 is fine with this But I would suggest you think about the ride quality and road noise issues. I have even read of some owners reverting back to 18" wheels / tyres after experiencing the larger sized wheels.

Sorry to hear you've had a bit of a rough time with your car especially the vandalism - it infuriates me beyond belief when someone keys body panels like that and / or they cause other damage without having any cares about it I too have suffered at the hands of vandals who think 'rich b*stard' with a flash car so let's key it. Someone slashed 2 of my front tyres on a previous Mercedes I owned. A few years ago, someone reversed out of a parking space and kindly left a dent on the front left corner of my car damaging 3 body panels as a result. And to add further insult, the supermarket's security cameras were not working that day / week ! As for your wobbly front end, it could be a number of things causing this - a good mechanic should be able to confirm if it's suspension arms, ball joints or brake part issues.

Really sorry to be reading about your experience. I owned my LS400 for over 13 years and 225k miles - without question it is still the most reliable I have ever owned. My current LS430 is also a superb car however it has not been entirely fault-free like my previous LS400. I put this down to the additional gadgets and technology but thankfully it's all fine and running wonderfully. I don't know how often you use your vehicle but as Brian has said in his post, these cars can be sensitive to low battery voltages and if your car hasn't been used much this could explain some of your issues. If you have a good local mechanic / auto-electrician, I am sure they would be more than capable of giving the car a good checkover. During my own ownership period, I did leave the car parked up for almost 3 weeks without any use in the middle of a very cold spell. The car did start although the battery sounded like it was struggling to turn the engine over. I initially had a few warning lights come up on the dashboard including the VSC lights amongst others. After a few miles of driving, the car drove fine and I stopped the car and re-started and there were no warning lights. I hope you can / do get your car sorted and back into full working order and that more importantly, your faith is restored

This used to happen on my Mk IV LS400 - it was an intermittent fault as well and typical for me, when both a Lexus dealer and my local garage had a look it was working fine. Thankfully, given how good the rest of the car is it wasn't something that bothered me too much but I was never able to get a diagnosis on why it happened It's not a serious issue but it can be slightly annoying. I'd be more concerned if the fuel gauge needle dropped to the bottom !

I agree with Malcolm about getting some additional quotes - it can't do any harm. I have sourced used parts before for both my previous LS400 (the Mk IV version) and my current LS430 but with certain parts like braking and windscreens, I would always urge on the side of caution and use new parts. I use my local garage to maintain my vehicles as Lexus dealers can be expensive on the labour rates now. Hope you get this sorted out soon enough

To be honest, £375 + VAT for supply and fitting is quite reasonable. The labour alone would easily be £120 / £150 + VAT. You could always try various breakers yards to source a used windscreen but if it was me, I would bite the bullet and get a new screen. The risk with buying a used part is that if the condition isn't perfect you could end up with wind noise while you are driving. You could even end up with water leaking into the vehicle if the screen cannot be properly bonded and re-sealed to the car. You can imagine when it rains what havoc that might cause. Just my opinion though. Good luck with whateever you decide to do

I take it you haven't had any luck getting a replacement one from Autoglass then ? Assuming that you have windscreen / glass cover included in your insurance policy, if I was in your shoes I would go via this route and pay the excess (£50 or £75)

I was getting a slow puncture occuring with 1 of my alloys when I had my LS400 and I decided to refurbish all 4 of the wheels. As well as curing the slow puncture, the refurbishment took years off the car too Well worth the money :-)

That US car has done nearly 900,000 miles - incredible to say the least and looking at the pictures of the car, the owner has clearly lavished a lot of time and money on the car. Whilst I'm sure the car has had some parts replaced and refurbished, it looks like a stunning car given the age and mileage

When I owned my LS400, I didn't find Lexus dealers that expesnive for parts - their labour rates were sky high of course but actually I managed to get them to knock 20% off their rate as my car was over 10 years old (£80 ph instead of £100). I have heard of some owners buying a 2nd car and keeping it as a spares car which might be a bit OTT but it depends on what parts on your car you think need changing. Breakers yards are also a good source of used LS400 parts too if you find Lexus dealer prices too much. I'd try to stick with genuine parts though rather than aftermarket parts generally. As long as the basics of the car are sound, hopefully it won't cost you too much to put the car back into good health

I know this seller as I looked at an LS430 which he was selling a few months ago. Despite what has been said about the seller by other members on here, I found the guy to be OK but then I haven't bought anything off him. He does seem to sell both Lexus LS vehicles and used LS parts too. For £1k if the car stops, starts, goes fine, has sound mechanicals, good bodywork, good reliable electrics where everything works, and the mileage & history all OK then this could be a bargain of a car. The advert says the timing belt has only been changed twice at 60k miles and 120k miles - it will be due another belt change at either 180k miles or 4 years after the 120k change was done. Use your wits and common-sense for sure if you decide to check the car out. Make sure you try everything electrical in the car and that the paperwork all looks good. You can also veriify the mileage & MOT history yourself if you ask the seller to provide you with some information on the car Here's a link with more information https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history-vehicle The most important piece of advice I would give to anyone buying a used LS is to check all of the above things are fine and in order - good LS400s are very rare and hard to come by. I recently bought an LS430 to replace the LS400 which I sold last year after 13 glorious years of ownership. Good luck

Incredible mileage and the condition of the car inside and out looks awesome too Clearly a well loved car :-)

As superb as my LS400 was, I am SO liking my LS430 and without question I am glad I opted to buy one over the LS400 The space, gadgets, driving experience and overall feeling I have driving this vehicle is 2nd to none and thankfully mine is running sweetly without any problems. Here's to more years of painfree and luxury motoring

I ran my LS400 for over 13 years and 200k miles of my own driving and whilst brake disc and pad wear is always going to be subject to the driver and their usage, during my ownership and usage I replaced my front and rear discs 3 times during my ownership at different times - I've never had to change both front and rear discs at the same time though. Front and rear pads were replaced more often and as per Lexus guidelines, when discs were replaced so too were pads. My current LS430 has so far proved to be solid, stable and reassuring on braking and although the car is bigger and slightly more unwieldly compared to my LS400, it still feels very familar in terms of driving.

Sorry to hear about your experience Colin - I had a lucky escape as an LS430 I looked at buying only had 1 key and 2 Lexus dealers quoted me around £200 for an additional key which included the cost of the key and the programming part of it. I'm very disappointed to hear that a large franchise dealer don't always have the right machinery and leads - whilst we all resent being ripped off by these big dealerships, I thought the upside to using them was that they could provide service which other smaller garages cannot provide. So much for my theory. Most important thing is that you are finally sorted out now