Chris CPT

Post removed due to more hassle than wanted or needed. Life's too short for that. Thanks for the support to those that posted. :)

Okay thanks. That's another good bit of info. Cheers, Chris

Thanks for that information. That's very handy. Regarding the starter, I actually noticed on one of the ad's that they'd just had it done @ 7 hours labour! Gulp! Do you know of anywhere on here that notes the differences between the Mk 1 - 4? Thanks, Chris. Sounds great! I'll certainly look out for those points thanks. Cheers, Chris

Hi all. I'm currently selling my car, and am after a big luxo-barge, so naturally the LS400 or 430 comes to mind. I'll have around £2,000 - £2,300. My buying reason is that I'm a motoring journo/web developer and test drive a different cars, so my current 4x4 is parked up for weeks, even up to a couple of months, at a time without being moved, and it's a waste of such a capable beast. So, fuel economy isn't an issue with it being used so little, and it'd be nice to jump into something decent on the odd occasion that I don't have a vehicle on test, or want to go away for a weekend somewhere. Saying that, I also want the car I'm buying to be really reliable and low-maintenance, and fire up first time even after it's been sat on the drive for weeks and weeks! I'm also considering a Mercedes-Benz, something like the W140 S500, or a 5-litre SEC. However, while I truly believe the older Mercs have more personality than an LS, I also know the LS is an amazingly reliable machine, and that's pulling me more towards the Lexus now. I have a friend who purchased an early '90's LS400 around 4 - 5 years ago with 130,000 miles on the clock for a mere £1,300 off a customer of his, and the last time I saw him a few months ago he'd only ever had to replace on of the suspension struts in all the time he's had it (aside from the usual servicing), so it's quite a confidence-giver, and hence why I'm considering buying one. Last time I did a bit of research the LS400 was best in class (compared with the S500, 750i etc) for fuel, acceleration, spec-wise and more, iirc? You probably get this a million times, but what do I have to look out for fault-wise? Finally, is the aforementioned £2,000 - £2,300 enough for a decent 400 or 430? Looking forward to your answers. Thanks in advance, Chris.

Hello all. I joined ages ago but ended up buying a different vehicle due to not being able to run the LS I wanted to buy originally. I'm returning now as I'm selling my current car and can afford to have an LS finally. I'm a motoring journalist/web developer, and test different cars a lot, so the car would be sat on the drive for the majority of time, but it'd be nice to have one to get into one the rare occasions that I don't have a vehicle on test, or for if I want to travel for holidays. Lexus-wise, I've tested and reviewed the IS300h. Good to be here, and I look forward to your advice on buying an LS. I'll post a new thread regarding this. Thanks, Chris.

The most important things to check when buying an LPG car is to make sure they have a proper invoice to cover the installation and make a note of who did the installation and check them out on the INTERNET, find out from your insurance company how old can the certification be and also will they cover you for an LPG car, some wont touch them. Check for any smell of gas at all and if you can smell it walk away. No matter what excuse they come up with keep walking. If you get past that and you get to drive the car check to see that the change over from LPG to gas is seamless and that there is no difference in performance, also keep smelling for gas, if you can smell it stop the car and get out as you are driving a bomb. If the drive goes well check the installation out from the tank to the engine bay and see if you feel comfortable with what you see. I am sorry to be such a doom and gloom merchant but I cant express strongly enough how important all these points are for your enjoyment of luxury motoring at escort MPG and your safety. Mike Hi Mike. Nah, it's not 'doom and gloom' stuff at all. I'm a realist, especially when it comes to buying cars, so this info is simply what is realistic and unless I'm an idiot, I'll heed this advice! ;) Cheers, Chris. B)

Anyone else got any advice on buying LPG-converted LS 400? Cheers, Chris.

Thanks for the info guys. Regarding the LPG - they can't all be bad surely, especially if you buy them with a proper LPG service and fitment record? I just haven't got the money to get LPG fitted, even if I buy a cheap LS. I've read that it should cost at least £1,500+ for multi-point LPG to be fitted, so it's definitely not an option to buy a Lexus and have it fitted later unfortunately. I've looked at getting one without it fitted but I really couldn't afford to run the beast on petrol. :( I guess it'd be best to buy an LS 400 with LPG from a member on here? Cheers, Chris.

Hello Steve. Very informative. Thank you! :) A couple of questions though if that's okay. - What are the differences between the marks? This may be slightly obvious to owners, but I can't really see the physical differences between them, so what years did the different marks start and finish, and what are the benefits or negatives of each one? - Are there certain LPG makes that are good/bad that I should look for when looking at a system already fitted? - Are there things I should look for on the LPG conversion where I can either walk away from the car, or buy it? Thanks again Steve, all this is going to be mega-helpful to me! :) Best, Chris.

Hello guys. I've just joined the forum after finding it through a quick Google search. Been wanting an LS 400 for a long time now, and I think it's the best time to buy one as they are such good value for money. I am after a gas converted one though, as fuel prices will leave me begging for mercy after a month or so otherwise. ;) I'm taking a bit of a gamble in selling my current car (Seat Toledo 1.9TDi), which has amazing fuel economy and is generally a good car all round, and I've only had one problem with it in almost 3 years of driving, which will be sorted soon anyway. I'm a little bored of it now and it seems that a Lexus LS 400 is the answer to my luxury-with-reliability wants and needs. After researching them on various survey sites etc, I am weighing up the negatives and positives of owning an LS 400. + Totally reliable car with virtually no, if any, problems for most owners it seems. - Fuel will be a sting, going from 45 - 55+ mpg currently, to about 25mpg (I do 95% of my driving around town). So, I need some advice. I will have a budget of about £2,000, which is plenty of money for one it seems- and it's got to be gas converted but: - What (if any) problems should I look for on an LS 400? - What should I look at when buying one with an LPG conversion? - What sort of price should I pay for one without paying too little or getting ripped off? All the best and thanks in advance, :) Chris.

Hi. Just joined the forum after finding it through a quick Google search. Been wanting an LS400 for a long time now, and I think it's time to buy one. I am after a gas converted one really, as fuel prices will leave me begging for mercy after a month or so otherwise. ;) I'm taking a bit of a gamble in selling my current car (Seat Toledo 1.9TDi), which has amazing fuel economy and is generally a good car all round, but hey, I'm a little bored of it and it seems that a Lexus LS400 is the answer to my luxury-with-reliability wants and needs. Looking forward to spending some time on the forum. All the best, Chris.

Seached 'Lexus LS400 with LPG For Sale' in Google. I think it was on the first page or so.