Parrot of Doom

Don't worry I'm not offended, I'm a forum regular in many places and have a pretty thick skin. Steve has a point. I'm just trying not to flood the board with new topics, the car has a few things wrong and I'd like to sort them all out. For instance, I have the occasional rough idle in P or N. I'm presuming the throttle body might need cleaning (new plugs only a few months ago) as the engine sings when being driven, so where's that hiding? lol.

I'm just a little bit concerned that they might be cheap Chinese jobs. The Chinese make some excellent stuff but I believe their quality control leaves a lot to be desired. For now, especially as they're safety-critical items, I think I'll buy from ECP, but please do let us know how they fare.

Thanks for the reply. Those balljoints are a quarter the price of the same parts on ECP's website. Are you sure they're of good quality?

I just collected my first LS this weekend, a 98 Mk4. The car drives beautifully, it tracks straight and true at any speed and is fantastic. However. First problem, the front nearside wheel tends to "clout" over potholes rather than "thump" over them. There's a bit of movement in the top wishbone balljoint so I'm presuming that's on it's way out? Second problem, when braking at speed on the motorway, as I hold the pedal down to slow, after a few seconds the steering wheel is vibrating a fair bit. I'd presumed it was a disc but as the wobble gets worse the front offside starts knocking. Jacking the car up today I noticed that the bottom balljoint (there's a big nut underneath it) is moving when the tyre is moved from side to side. Are these regular failures, and what sort of cost am I looking at for new parts?

Ok thanks for the tip. Next question is LPG, I'm getting it converted asap. Any recommendations as to which system to use?

I always keep spare oil in any car I drive. The way I see it, I keep a spare wheel (and I've had about one puncture in ten years), so why not a bottle of oil? You never know when you might need it.

I used Mobil 1 0W-40 on my E300TD (I get it cheap from Costco). As a result I have about 4 litres left, about £20's worth (nearly £40 in the shops). Does this oil meet the specs required for the Lexus engine? Also, where do you guys stash your oily stuff in the boot? There doesn't seem to be a pocket I can chuck stuff into.

Yes that's the one, I drove it home today and got an indicated 30mpg which isn't bad, of course the true test will be brim-brim. I'll run the car for a month or so and if everything is ok it'll be converted to LPG. I'd be daft not to, the conversion would pay itself back in less than two years. A couple of minor things I've spotted is that the bonnet corner nearest the driver (just under the windscreen) doesn't quite line up with the wing, it's about half an inch high. Is there an adjustment for that? The second thing is that the engine seems as though its hunting/stumbling ever so slightly at idle, when driving its perfect. Is there an idle control valve or similar to clean, throttle bodies, etc? The steering wheel wobbles slightly at about 70mph but it needs new tyres anyway so I'll leave that for now. The above minor things aside, it is an extremely impressive car and I'm very happy with it. Here's a picture of it outside my house, I'll do some proper ones in a bit. The bonnet is ajar because I've got the battery on charge - they had the boot open for a few days as it was wet, so the battery was pretty low.

What's the best option for new bonnet struts?

Thanks, that's what I'm consoling myself with. I have to remember that in 2004 I paid about 18 grand for an Audi TT, so I really shouldn't complain about paying 2 grand (when I put new tyres on) for a Lexus. My mate bought a car-derived-van for work and he's paying more in depreciation than I am in insurance, so I really shouldn't worry. I'm just looking forward to nice, quiet, effortless motoring. Not that the Mercedes didn't provide that, but this is a step above.

It has a stamped history up to 100,000 and then local garages after that. There's a bunch of invoices and receipts for various bits, like a new centre exhaust, aircon recharge etc. One of the invoices showed a "belt kit" for £100-ish and installation at about £500 total, that was at 110,000 a couple of years back. I'm presuming that was the cambelt change.

When I got the Merc in 2005 my insurance was about £550. Despite being IAM-qualified, doing only 15,000 a year max, no claims, no accidents, this year it went to £850. The annoying thing is that I've only just renewed and so its more expensive. Really annoying, especially as I know its mainly those twerps who claim for whiplash that are responsible.

Sod it, I bought it. Pictures to follow when I collect it on Sunday. They took my old Merc so in essence I got it for £1600. It'll need three new tyres in a few months. The paintwork is generally pretty good, a few stonechips but they've all been painted with a brush. There's a minor dent on the nearside front wheelarch. The fanbelt is slipping slightly, but the engine is smooth and quiet. Everything works inside, I tested the lot and its all fine. Obviously didn't drive it long enough to see if the dash bulbs fail. I think the only thing it doesn't have is the folding mirrors. Insurance company are raping me though, especially as I only renewed a month back. Still, you only live once, and I'd rather drive this and be raped for insurance than buy a new Citroen Picasso as my neighbours do.

This one looks quite nice: http://www.burnagemotors.co.uk/used-cars/lexus-ls-4-0-v8-4dr-auto-stockport-201110381889722 Although for the price they either haven't been able to shift it, or it's a bit tatty. I might pop by for a look tomorrow. I quite like the colour as well.

The pale green one? Yeah I'd seen that but the advert doesn't do it any favours... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1996-LEXUS-LS400-GREY-AUTO-V8-4DR-FULLY-LOADED-/320665762205?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item4aa92b399d#ht_19447wt_905 This one looks nice too. I've only been paying attention to them for a fortnight or so and I've seen half a dozen nice looking models, so I guess there are plenty to choose from.

Not particularly, what I want, in rough order, is: 1) Looked after, mechanically sound and bodywork in decent order, can do 100mph with no wobbles etc 2) Quiet (no squeaks or rattles inside) 3) Toys in working order 4) Reasonable mileage, if it's a keeper I may convert it to LPG The colour isn't really a big deal, although I really like the colour combo on this: http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201108380480142?logcode=face

I went and had a quick look at this today: http://users.autoexposure.co.uk/vehicle.cfm?Account=AETA37006&Style=4&Id=AETV26259185&Make=LEXUS&Model=LS&City=Warrington It hadn't been polished up (incoming part-ex). It looked pretty nice all over, a scuff on the nearside front wing leading edge and the chrome strip bent. The rear tyres were some cheapo brand, and only had a few thousand miles or so left. Something about it didn't quite gel, £3500 seemed too high, so I walked. Really I'm after a private sale, something that's been fairly-well looked after, a good colour with cream interior would suit me. I'm in no rush.

Well I won't miss the rust ;) The LS I saw today was nice, but not for me. Mechanically sound but it had aftermarket alloys and a few minor scratches, some tears on the leather and generally a little bit tatty. It also had ditchfinder tyres on, which I'd have to replace. I'm going to keep looking. I was impressed by the engine though, even though its one of the earlier LS engines it pulls well beyond 30.

Hello there. I've had my W210 Mercedes for about 5 years now and am bored with it. It's just turned over 250,000 miles and is getting a bit tired, it'll probably find its way to shed heaven in a few years, so I might as well get shut before I have to replace tyres, etc. So I fancy wafting around in an LS400. I've looked at a few online and they all look lovely. I'm going to see a mate tomorrow who has a mate who works in a garage (still with me?), and he fancies selling his own LS. Apparently it's a 1992, about 80,000 miles. No more information than that other than all the important stuff has been done, cambelt, shocks, etc. As for price, well that hasn't been mentioned but I'm fairly sure he wants me to make him an offer. So, anything to look out for? I'll be checking all the electrics, but is there anything lurking on a 1992 LS400 that I need to know about? Also, what are the ballpark figures for a below-average-mileage LS of that age, good/fair/poor condition?