PEPE

Thanks for your concern, Lexmanic. I said NO ADVERTISING, for example the name of the dealer that supplied the car. My plates were made by HALFORDS and all that is required by law is printed in small discrete grey letters. Look closely at the lettering below the '4' in my Mk 3's plate. All very elegant, in my view.

Two working days, Mike. Here's what Christian did on my Mk 3: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=267284 Pepe

Hi Shiner Rather than just giving you a name and address I will set out first what I did to my 'new' LS 400 Mk 4 so that you can see where the money went. I bought the car from my Best Man on 24.08.13 for £2,000 with 166,739 miles on the odometer. I bought the car because I knew personally the previous owners and the car had a FSH mostly from Lexus franchised dealers. The car, however, had the usual blemishes, little scratches, mismatched tyres, accumulated dirt . . you get the picture. tyres So here's what I did: 1. Replaced the timing belt, water pump and tensioners. 2. Gave it a major service, this includes changing all the fluids, new spark plugs, filters, etc. 3. Refurbished all 5 alloy wheels. 4. Replaced all 5 tyres with new AVONs. 5. Replaced the damaged rubber spoilers underneath the front bumpers. 6. Removed all stone chips and scratches by selective respraying of all the affected areas. 7. Had the entire car professionally DETAILED. This involved removing all microscopic scratches from the entire paintwork, cleaning the engine bay, treating the leather upholstery, cleaning all the nooks and crannies throughout the entire car, polishing and finally waxing. 8. Changed the gear selector knob. I could not stand the one that came with the car so I imported a new one from Japan. 9. New number plates--simple and elegant--no advertisements. 10. Replaced the cabin filter. Everybody forgets this! 11. Replaced the damaged door rubber seal on the rear O/S door. The bill for the parts that needed replacing, came to a total of £885.97 paid to Lexus Guildford after obtaining a 10% discount because I am an LOC Gold Member. So: 1. Lexus parts £885.97 2. New number plates 39.98 3. Labour--Repairs and respray to bodywork 750.00 4. Refurbishing 5 alloy wheels and fitting 5 new AVON tyres 939.37 5. Labour--Full service including fitting new timing belt, water pump, etc. 350.00 6. Parts: spark plugs, filters, oil, antifreeze and brake fluids 218.51 VAT on items 3 to 6: 451.58 Subtotal: £3,635.41 7. Detailing fee £525.00 TOTAL: £4,160.41 The chap who did items 1 to 6 is John Hill, of Hillson's Limited, Roundstone Lane, Angmering, West Sussex BN16 4AT. Tel: 01903 788 291. I had a word with John today and got clearance from him to give out his coordinates here. John is an excellent mechanic. I got to know him because he maintained my Mk 3 for its previous owner since 2007. He is very precise and businesslike. He gives all quotations in writing and then sticks to them without fail. His garage, a family business, deals in commercial vehicles and John works in Lexuses occasionally, but let me tell you, he knows our cars inside and out. I'm sure he could change a timing belt blindfolded. The detailing work was done by a very nice chap called Christian who trades under the name of INVISIBLE TOUCH DETAILING. He also did a wonderful job on my Mk 3. Here are the results: I hope to have been of some help. Good luck! Pepe

I prefer the mark IV. It is definitely the better car. The power delivery is smoother and the increase in power is noticeable. I find I have to be extremely light on the accelerator pedal when moving from a standstill. The throttle-by-wire setup is extremely sensitive.

The indie who has been servicing my Mk 3 since 2007 now services my Mk 4. The same oil was used. Good question.

Here are the facts: LS Mk4 Current mileage: 167,535 Last oil change: 21 September 2013 at 166,928 miles Elapsed miles: 607 miles LS Mk 3 Current mileage: 229,076 Last oil change: 3 May 2013 at 226400 miles Elapsed miles: 2,676 Now look at the attached photo. The top dipstick is that of my Mk4; the one below that of my Mk3. As you can see the Mk 3 oil is totally CLEAN even after 6 months and 2,676 miles. It is a real pleasure to look at this dipstick. Lovely colour! The oil on the Mk 4 looks very dirty by comparison. If anything it should be the other way round. Should I be worried? Could it be that, in spite of the much higher mileage, the engine of my Mk 3 is in better condition than that of my 'new' Mk 4? Many thanks in advance for comments and insights, Pepe

Hi Heather Do show Ian a piccie of one of the mat plaques I bought from him. This one is in my Mk 3, the other in my Mk 4. I think they look terrific. Finally, I do hope Ian's recovery is going to plan. All good wishes Pepe

Yes, a bargain indeed. Many congratulations and welcome back to the LS 400 fold.

I can recommend Mark Slade very highly. Here's his link: http://www.benchmarkleather.co.uk/text/services.html Mark came to my house and tidied up the two front seats, centre armrest and door trims of my 1996 Mk 3, all for £180. Here are the results: Pepe

Tim is right, the instruments are those of a Mk 4 but the car, from the outside looks like a Mk 3 with Mk 4 wheels. I also notice that the picture of the radio is that of a Mk 3. Something is certainly not right here. Could this be a 'bitsa' LS 400?

My LS 400 Mk 4 was on SORN when I bought it last August. The previous owner always disconnected the battery to conserve the charge whilst the car was off the road. Before taking delivery of the car he told me that when reconnecting the battery I should always make sure it was fully charged, and then, once reconnected, to leave the car alone for AT LEAST ONE HOUR before attempting to re-start it. This advice has worked every time. More recently because of the bad weather I let the battery run down over a three week period. When I attempted to start the car I got the dreaded CHECK VSC OFF message, and got the clicking sound from the starter motor. I therefore attached the charger leads to the battery and left the car charging overnight. The following morning when switching on the ignition I again got the CHECK VSC OFF message, but before I could tear my hair out the message disappeared of its own accord and the car started flawlessly. It is not for the likes of me to probe the reasons for this any further.

I have never driven an LS 430. However, I am in the fortunate position of owning both an LS 400 Mk 3 and a Mk 4 and therefore am able to drive both in rapid succession. The difference between the two cars is immediately noticeable. The Mk 4 is more refined and more powerful and in my opinion, better looking. Definitely the Mk 4 is the better car.

This is very kind and generous of you, Steve. Thank you so much! I've just PMed my address to you. Best wishes, Pepe

I will follow up on this, Brian. Many thanks indeed. Hi Pepe, give this guy a call, he breaks ls400's and is the best ebay seller I've ever dealt with, and a very nice man as well. His name is Kyle 07769355594 Thank you very much, Phil and Colin. This is most helpful. I shall post the outcome here. Pepe

I will follow up on this, Brian. Many thanks indeed.

Yes, you are right. In fact, the second picture is from the inside of my Mk 4 boot. Still, Lexus will not provide the little hatch in isolation. I might have to 'manufacture' my own.

Thanks Rudy, will do.

My Mk 3 is missing the cover to the junction box to the stop light cluster. This is how the missing part looks from the inside of the boot: This is the way it should look: I tried to buy the missing part from Lexus Guildford but I was told I had to buy the entire lining of the boot lid. Price: £240. Could anybody help me with a second-hand part? Many thanks in advance. Pepe

Hi Steve. Thanks for that. Maybe I'm imagining things then. I'm also around 2000 at 60mph. Just under 2000 to be precise. However, when doing a steady 60mph and manually selecting 4th gear, shows no change in revs...... Hi Rudy I took out my LS 400 Mk 4 and these are my findings: 70 mph = 2080 rpm 2,000 rpm = 66 mph I hope this helps Pepe

Welcome to the Club, Finn. It's wonderful to see more and more members interested in the LS 400. Cheers Pepe

Oh dear. It's a minefield out there.

Looks very nice!

I know the feeling . . .congratulations indeed.

I agree entirely. My Mk 3 has done 228,800 and my Mki 4 167,000. Both run beautifully and I haven't got the slightest worry.

Hmmm . . . no doubt the thinking man's luxury car. Philistines stay away! Pepe