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Typical of a dealer to say that you need to replace the entire mirror unit - I could be sounding paranoid or cynical but I do get impression that Lexus dealers are now trying to get more money out of owners based on a couple of my own recent experiences. Disappointing to say the least. I would try my luck with various online breakers as I've often found that there are plenty of used Lexus LS parts readily available. I have managed to source good used parts for my LS430 but I am sure there are LS400s being broken up with parts such as mirror glass being available. Google will give you plenty of sites like www.247spares.co.uk or www.breakeryard.com amongst the many. Good luck

As per the previous posts, vibrations from the brake could be caused by a number of things. I thought most decent garages ensured that they applied some copper grease to the brake pads when these get changed to ensure there's no kind of squeaking. If you feel a judder through the braking pedal at any speeds, this is usually a sign of warped discs. Pads are comparatively cheaper than discs but hard to say what is the cause in your case. Another thing to keep in mind is that if the discs are warped, make sure that the wheel hub is fine too because if this isn't in good condition, this will also cause issues with braking too

Absolutely agree with Malcolm that any decent garage would never let a car leave their workshop without ensuring the engine has plenty of oil. This is probably a silly question but have you checked to see if there are any oil leaks from the vehicle ? It could well be that the garage did check and top up any fluids but a leak could explain the low level now.

Welcome to the LOC and for becoming the owner of a superb vehicle. I own an LS430 and I had the same issue with Tyre Pressures. My local garage pointed out the reset button underneath the dash and said that you have to push it for a minute or so before it recalibrates itself and the warning disappears. A new set of interior car mats for my car retail for £120 from Lexus (not cheap) but I was glad to put in a genuine set instead of a set of cheaper / aftermarket ones. I still can't mentally justify the cost of a genuine Lexus Bootliner though - over £200 for a bit of plastic is OTT !

My car is a 2003 '53' Facelifted version of the car - will have a look later this week when I return home. Thanks again for the replies

Thanks for your post Mark - I will need to double check the barrel in between the fuel cap and boot release. The fuel filler release does work so I assume the barrel is in the out position. The smart keys both work fine but I thought you had to use the fob to open the boot - I'm not sure which button on the boot you are referring to. A bit more info would be helpful here please. Cheers Nach

I have checked the manual and it does mention a locking / unlocking facility and a inserting a key into a lock which sits in between the fuel filler release and the boot opening but it says this function operates both. The fuel filler release works fine (I am aware of the manual release mechanism which is in the boot, similar to the LS400). It might be that the boot release button or a part of the release mechanism has failed but I have no ideas where / how to go about finding it

I own a 2003 '53' LS430 and the interior switch for opening the boot does not work - I am either having to use the metal key itself to open the boot or switch the car off and use the remote key fob. It's annoying to say the least. The button for opening the fuel filler works fine but the button for opening the boot isn't working. Any ideas on what the issue might be ? Thanks in advance for any help on this one

I did consider the LS460 but opted instead for an LS430 (I had previously owned an LS400 for over 13 years). As a few people have commented, the issue is that with Lexus and indeed the big German makes, the wheel sizes are now 19s, 20s and even 21s and no matter how good the engineering is in the ride & suspension area, it will always be compromised by the profiles of the tyres. I did change my LS400 wheels to some 18" alloys and it did make the ride only slightly worse when compared to the original 16" alloys. LS460s are now becoming keenly priced by the month but unlike the LS600h, the 460s are commanding the £500 per year Road Fund Licence charge - I am glad that my LS430 is capped at £285 per year.

I thought this car looked familiar - if it was in totally immaculate condition, the price would be right but it is slightly tatty to say the least

I'm not impressed with the price of the car given the exterior marks to the vehicle Looking a bit closer, I am not entirely convinced that the alloy wheels are in immaculate condition either. But it is a 2000 model and less than 100k miles so maybe the rarity pushes the price up a bit.

The Mk II LS430 has a reversing camera as standard :-)

I've yet to be convinced that some of these older vehicles with such low mileage will really become collectors cars but then I could be wrong. The main issue with these kinds of cars is that with all the electronic gadgets and other hardware, these cars need to be used and driven otherwise things start seizing up (internals, brakes, etc.). There is still a Toyota Celsior with a cloth interior from the 90s up for sale on Autotrader with an asking price of £7,500 Personally, I think whoever pays this kind of money is nuts !

Prior to making my LS430 purchase, I joined this club to get more information about the LS430 as I had heard a few mixed stories - you definitely shouldn't rush into any purchase. The right cars always turn up given patience and a bit of luck Despite my LS430 issues, the car is now sorted and driving very well and I'm very pleased with my purchase now - I did consider another LS400 actually but the LS430 was a car I had always wanted to own and the car I bought is a 2003 '53' plate car but it had only done 44k miles. Very low for an 11 year old vehicle but good for me. I am planning to put a private number plate on the car, get some privacy glass fitted and add an iPod / iPhone music solution to the car now just to keep it looking and feeling up-to-date. It's got so many gadgets already. In terms of pricing, the Mk IV LS400 seems to be levelling out at around £1500 - £2000 whether you buy privately or from the trade. My car had 230k miles on the clock and I can honestly say it still felt and sounded like it had only done 30k miles. It was and still is silky smooth and refined as it always was. If you see cheaper cars, they are likely to have issues which will cost money to put right so definitely best to try and find a car with no issues. Good luck with your search

I think everyone has made the key point that if you want something pain-free and ultra-reliable with plenty of toys and luxury, the Mk IV LS400 is a good option but good ones are very rare and hard to find given that it was discontinued in 2000. I owned such a car for over 13 years and I can honestly say it was the best car I ever owned and so reliable too - I did once have to replace a water pump at a cost of £90 but this was after 180,000 miles and 10 years. I sold the car last year when it was 15 years old and had reached over 225k miles. The new owner is still very pleased with it and once in a while drops me a line too. I have recently purchased an LS430 (mine is the facelift version on a '53' plate) for not much money and whilst it is a step forward in terms of size, gadgets and luxury over my LS400, it has not been without it's problems but now that these are cured, it's proving to be a great companion Personally, if you do go for an LS430 I would try to get the facelift version as I think it looks slightly better than the Mk I version and in terms of spec, it has the reversing camera, 6 speed automatic gearbox and 18" alloys fitted When you do go to view any of these cars, take your time and make sure everything works - I made the mistake of not checking the electric steering column in my LS430 and it didn't work and I had to replace the entire unit. Fortunately, a used one saved me a lot of money but it's something I really kicked myself about. Good luck with your search and with your choice

On a normal day which is neither cold nor hot, the engine should be warmed up within a few minutes. The temperature gauge on my LS430 registers a temperature within 5 minutes (my car is a 2003 '53' facelift model)

Welcome back to the fold :-) I had the same feeling when I picked up my LS430 - felt strange for me not having a Lexus in my fleet of cars so good to have 1 again Enjoy

That mileage is unreal - less than 2k per year. Wonder if this owner just had it as an ornament ! With these low mileage cars, I do struggle with the values. £4995 still sounds like a lot of money for an LS that is 23 years old

Definitely mixed feelings - I took a bit of a gamble buying this car below retail price and no warranty and it's just unfortunate I have had to spend money putting it right. On the plus side though, I think I have got a car with a great colour combination but best of all the car has only done 44k miles I haven't yet decided how long I will keep this one. I kept my previous LS400 for over 13 years and whilst I was glad to have sold it last year, I really missed having such a great car in my little fleet. I do have a Merc CLS Shooting Brake - its very nice, modern, efficient and plenty of luxury but the Lexus still oozes some real quality for me.

Its ashame that you cannot track actual selling prices for cars in the same way you can for houses - would make it really useful for us car enthusiasts to know what cars actually sell for. I haven't yet decided how long I plan to keep my LS430 (the car is 11 years old now). The car only has 44k miles and I don't expect to be racking up too many miles and low mileage cars seem to be commanding strong money. Keep us all posted on how your sale goes

Good result and I'm really pleased to hear your car will not be written off by an insurance company :-)

Lovely looking car and I'm pleased to see a Lexus dealer still selling an LS400 - I cannot recall the last time I saw an LS400 for sale at a Lexus dealer. I enquired on an LS430 at a Lexus dealer a few months ago but I left it as I felt it was overpriced - the salesman said to me that their prices have to take into account that they are obliged to put a full Lexus warranty on them before they can retail them and that's why they usually only sell much newer cars. Most franchise dealers don't like to sell cars older than 5 years old although saying that, plenty of these dealers still retail other cars that are not their own brand. Good luck with this sale

Also worth checking the door rubbers around the doors (all of them not just passenger) as these will perish over time. I owned my LS400 for 13 years and 230k miles and the only rubber I ever had to replace was for the boot when water started to gather in that. Thankfully caught it early enough to avoid any serious issues. Hopefully nothing too serious for you but best to sort it as weather getting colder now.

My local garage were struggling to get the car to sit level particularly with the front being a lot higher than the rear. Lexus were very helpful and said that the car's suspension would need to be recalibrated all round and I agreed to let Lexus do this. Lexus started this work and said that these sensors would need changing as the voltage running through them wasn't correct and that this was the only way forward. I didn't feel like I had much choice so I agreed to this. Thankfully replacing these sensors has resolved my issue but it has cost me a few hundred pounds to put right

DHP - Dynamic Handling Pack I did fit a set of aftermarket alloys to my LS400 but a lot of them can look very 2nd rate in my opinion. I bought a set of the Lexus 17" DHP alloys but never fitted them onto my car as I sold it last year. I sold the wheels for very good money to a very happy LS400 owner. The clear indicators are a nice aftermarket option and very tasteful I think. My LS400 was the Mk IV version so I didn't need them.