redfox

Have had Pirellis on my LS400 which seem good for grip in the dry, not so good in the wet. You can look up tyres, together with German Authority Tyre Tests at: http://www.mytyres.net Might also save you some money compared to the dealer price.

On my standard wheel size LS400 (Mk 4), I've had the standard fit Dunlops - which I find very slippy, and currently have Pirelli P6000's. Not that bothered about tyre life, more interested in outright grip as tend to drive quite fast when commuting to and from work down local country roads (yes, some LS400 owners do drive quick!). Any suggestions anyone? Thanks

The S-class will probably hold it's value better, even if it isn't as toy loaded as the LS430. (However, Merc will be more likely to have things go wrong with it than the LS, based on my LS versus my friends S-class.) Have you thought about the new Jaguar - all the magazines reviews rate it very highly and compare it with the S-Class, and my experience of Jaguar dealers is that they are universally brilliant. Best regards Red PS. Lexus at Hatfield (HR Owen) are my dealer and I've always had excellent service from them - they even drop the loan car off at my house when collecting mine etc. I live about 20 miles away, so it's not exactly convenient for them, and they always dropo off/pick up at 7.30am, so I'm not late getting into work in the loan car - not too bad I reckon!

Hi, Sold my 1993 LS400 for about £5,500 with 120,000 miles on it. Nothing wrong with it at the time - I just wanted one with Sat Nav, so bought a year 2000 model to replace it with. The guy who bought my old one has had it about 18 months now and still phones to say how fantastic it is etc. I would think that as long as you view the service history, and check that cam belt has been changed when it should, then you won't have any engine probs. Thing to remember is these are big and heavy cars and like all luxo automatics they can be a bit heavy on things like suspension, bushes, tyres and brake components. So, don't worry too much about the drivedrain, concentrate on the brakes and suspension as these are just as potentially expensive as parts on engines etc. However, compared to a similar performance and specification Jag/Merc/BMW, then I think the LS400 of similar age would be in better condition and cost less to run.

David, I've had big Volvos, 3 Jaguars and 2 LS400's. In answer to some of your questions:- The LS400 trip computer is built into the main sat/nav touch sensitive screen computer - very detailed analysis of mpg etc. If I do a long Mway journey I get about 27mpg. Short stop/start journeys about 21mpg. Intermediate oil changes - I don't bother. Traction Control button on my car is to the left of the headlight wash button, but to be honest, if you switch the TC off, then you'll simply burn rubber every time you pull away - there is a lot of power coming out of that engine! First LS400 I did 120,000 miles in 3 years and nothing (except one lightbulb, which blew) ever went wrong. Current LS400 I've got 46,000 miles on so far and once again, nothing wrong to report. Jaguars needed a lot of preventive maintenance at the garage, Volvo was similar to Lexus ownership experience except the LS400 as one hell of an engine and can be made to really fly when you want to.