Malc

Looks like it, yes :winky: Malc

Hi, I was at a country show last week and talked with a leathersmith about treating the slight cracks on my seats ............... he re treats leather coats and all sorts of stuff, furniture included and advised me to go for this ( which he of course sells, but for some reason he came over " good " and well informed and no hard sell at all ). £6 for a 8 fl.oz. plastic bottle of Fiebings ... 4 Way Care Leather Conditioner Just pre-soak and squeeze a small sponge then dab a little of the whiteish fluid onto the sponge and wipe the affected areas gently .......... leave for 12 hours, then buff up with a soft cloth. I must have used about 0.5 of a fluid oz. for the whole interior ! Won't affect your clothes and brings back the original colour too .... I guess provided you don't have incredibly soiled or badly damaged seats. Must admit my seats look better and feel better for it AND hopefully will preserve too for a while. Malc

Why just another year ? I'm going to be driving mine forever methinks, 8.5 years now with LS400s ........ why would I change ? Anyway, what other car plays cassettes ! Malc

Have always played cassettes on and off ... my collection is tiny compared to 100 years ago ................. the problem I found with the MK3 that I now have is the inordinate noise I get from storing them in the glove compartment ....... the only real noise in the car, and a bit odd .... the plastic cases juggling together ! So I put tissues between them now. The cassettes play fine, as do the CDs as does the radio too ....... all functioning well I'm pleased to say. Malc

Dave hi, sorry, I wasn't meaning to be obtuse ! Brake pipes are manufactured in original equipment mode, to fail on rust, albeit Lexii don't seem to go so rapidly. The structural underside to Lexii seem to be very robust and made of sterner stuff than most cars. My g/fs Mazda 323f albeit now 17 years old, is failing with rust at the back-end ( brake pipes renewed long ago ) due we think to a previuos owner parking the car rear facing the sea for many years and getting the brunt of salt air, especially when stormy ! Malc

I think the thread started with a worry about structural underside corrosion and not meaning brake pipes and service parts like that. Or am I wrong ( again ! ) Brake pipes have always corroded until replaced ....... but then not for a very long time either compared to most other marques. Malc

But when has an LS400 ever needed underside rust protection ? and what sort of age are we looking to preserve these cars too now? 50 or 60 years maybe ! Malc

So very tempted to buy myself a second one now ! This looks just simply stunning, a credit to everyone who's owned it for the past 20 years but especially to Lexus who built it. Trouble is, I'd be too damned afraid to use it on the roads. Wot a beauty and a car that I for one would love to find a way to own and keep as a classic. Value, well, what's the price of a new LS and then some, but in reality I guess £2500 must be bargain. Malc

Hi, obsolete before it starts then ! Who on earth needs 6.5 feet to parallel park a LS ? Maybe I've been driving far too long BUT I do know that what starts off as a good parking space with plenty of room back and front can soon change with other more canny drivers parking to leave you a lot less space by the time you come to leave ! Malc

On the way to collect my new LS400 from ACLex last Thursday week at Victoria Coach station I saw a lady with a HUGE Lexus emblazoned holdall ! Didn't look the sort of person that would have a Lexus tho ! Malc

Why oh why don't you just tell the Police and the moderator on here ? Malc

Hi, my thoughts are that the longevity and legendary reliability of the LS400 must revolve around using the correct maintenance products ............... simple really. Maybe a reason why the waterpumps seem to last for ever. Malc

Disposable motoring eh ! Wow, would never have thought that a coscientious owner of a LS400 would EVER want to dispose of their's. Guess this might be the one car in all the history of existing cars where environmental goodness exudes owing to never knowingly and willingly getting the NEED to dispose of one. Petrol costs pale into ( almost ) insignificance compared to the capital and maintenance cost savings achieved when owning a secondhand and good LS400. Malc ...................... am I drooling over mine and the experience of some 8.5 years of magic carpet driving in LS400s

Hi Malc you can wash the gloss paint off with cellilous thinners, my first car when i arived back in the country was a daihatsu charade write off due to being tottally covered in gloss white paint ( and I mean tottaly windows & all) 5 litres of thinners & 2 days cleaning sorted it. you wont get it off the rubber bits mind spent the next 2 years picking bits of paint off them. Hope this helps Mark ps try it on a small patch first I assume the early Ls was acrilic paint Thanks for this ................ already now gone to that home for dead Lexiii up there somewhere !!! Malc

Morning guys .......... never seen a specific comment on here to follow through on regarding the EGR pipe....... so here goes ! Just reading through my Lexus service history on my " new " 1995 MK3 LS400 ( just bought from ACLex, what a fabulous car ) and I see that the EGR pipe was giving grief at 96,500 miles and 10 years of age ........... but a 6hr job to sort. So maybe this is something to watch out for if you're lucky enough to find a good vintage one with less than 100k on the clock ! Malc

V8will ............. excellent news then, well done, your new baby will be your pride and joy for many years to come ............. Not sure how I would cope without my LS400 ! Malc

I'll post one soon ! Malc

Hey guys, you missed the very best MK3 at the weekend. I bought ACLex's ........ just simply a dream machine :winky: My amazing 40k miles MK2 having been written-off by some low life with gloss paint and tyre stabbing. Malc

I would simply get the owner to put a fresh MOT on the car. Look at any Advisories and then decide what to do. If there are no Advisories then you won't be looking at much to significantly cause you grief financially over the coming months, just cosmetic stuff. Then as you say, what can u get for £900 that cost £55k new only 16 years ago ( then the price of a small house ). But of course, there are stacks of LS400s for sale right now;and a HUGE choice; might be something to do with petrol costs of course ! Best of luck with it all. Malc

By the way, how much extra would the fully comprehensive insurance have been ? Mine was changed recently at Autoglass with a £50 excess. Thanks. Malc

Hi, good to know they really do last forever ( nearly ) then ! My now written-off MK11 was an 1st. August 94 on an M plate. Thought the Mk3 came in during later '94 ? Is the exhaust leak really NOT JUST the flanges I wonder. One never hears of anything else with the exhausts you know Malc

Good luck for today then ! Probably the third cambelt change now and replacing the original waterpump. The year of your LS400 is ? You've got to keep it now for at least another 60,000 miles. ;) Malc

Hi, interested to know what mileage you're changing the cambelt and waterpump at please. Is this the first change ? Thanks. Malc

Steve, this one has it's pictures taken January 2008 tho' !!!!! Malc

Sorry to hijack this for a moment guys but: ACLex can u contact me please about your LS400 .. left a message on your profile page, don't know how to contact you otherwise. Malc