Rodt

Thanks Steve. One of those garages is close to my home and has an excellent reputation so I'll give them a try come payday.

I paid less than £1k for a 1996 LS400 with full service history - admittedly with the last one being an independent rather than a Lexus dealer - with almost everything working. This was from a dealer with a three month warranty included. "Almost"? Well, the speedometer needle has gone black towards the tip so is a little difficult to see at times. The back-lighting for the heater/aircon controls is very dim at night. The aerial deploys and retracts very slowly indeed and the last 3 or 4 inches does not retract. The drivers' seatbelt is slow to retract and I have to be careful not to trap it in the door. Apart from that I have had a basic service carried out to include rear brake pads and - due to vandalism - 4 new tyres that I had not budgeted for. £1695 for a car with uncertain history and an aircon fault seems a bit pricey in comparison.

I have a 1996 LS400 which has just been serviced by one of the national companies. As usual, they tried to sell me much more than the basic service which I declined but they did mention a couple of steering and suspension areas that I would like to have checked out without damaging my bank balance too severely. I live right on the Herts/Bucks border, halway between Chesham and Hemel Hempstead and would be grateful for details of any Lexus independent garage/mechanic in my area.

My 96 LS400 does not have built-in satnav. My problem is that I cannot fix my mount to the dashboard even with one Garmin sticky pad mounts and although I can use the windscreen mount, that makes the device too far away for my little arms to reach. Any ideas gratefully received.

I am used to brakes being fairly dismal, my other cars being a non-ABS MGF and a Triumph Toledo. So, I instinctively leave more room for braking than most drivers do. Also, as a magistrate, I have to behave myself so I'm not driving at the sort of speeds where brakes are likely to get hot enough to fade. However, there can't be any harm in upgrading brakes, whatever the car. Be interested to find out if your mods make a worthwhile difference.

Interesting. I thought the brakes on my 96 LS400 were fairly dreadful until I had the brake fluid and standard rear pads changed. Now it stops as it should.

Brilliant step by step guide Steve. I will show it to 'my man'. Unfortunately I have developed a serious problem in my right (dominant!) hand due to a badly healed wrist injury from 5 years ago plus diabetic neuropathy. This is one of the reasons I opted for the LS400 in view of the light power steering. 'My man' charges a very reasonable price for his work and was already booked to do a service and check for me on Monday. I have had no problems since the initial drive home but the use since then has only been relatively local at no more than 50mph and over distances of no more than 10 miles at a go. The journey home from purchase was 110 miles including some motorway (or maybe motorway+) speeds. I am convinced that joining the LOC has been a rare sensible decision on my part. Thanks everyone.

Thanks Malc. I'll try that.

Just collected my "new" 1996 LS400 yesterday. It has done 137k with a full dealer service history up to 118k then an independent garage stamp. Everything seemed to work fine except that on two occasions the engine died. On the first occasion I don't know exactly when it stopped as the engine is inaudible at tickover and I had been sitting at traffic lights for a couple of minutes. On the second occasion I was slowing to turn into a motorway services car park and the engine died at just a few mph. On both occasions the engine restarted immediately with no apparent issues. Also on both occasions I had left the cruise control switched on - could this be it? Any suggestions gratefully received. PS: other than that, what an excellent car if somewhat more difficult to park than my MGF or Triumph Toledo.....

Well, I have been and gone and done it. Saw the car advertised on eBay and liked it immediately. So much so that I agreed to drive over 100 miles from home to view it this morning. My MGF - obviously having got word of being imminently laid up for some work during the winter months - refused to come out to play so my 1975 Truiumph Toledo was pressed into service and coped admirably. The LS400 is reg no N151OYO. Anybody know it? It has a full history from a London dealer up until the last service which was carried out by an independent specialist. 137000 miles recorded but drives as though it were fresh out of the showroom. Gold exterior absolutely unmarked as is the full leather interior, although the front seats will benefit from some leather food. New Avon tyres all round and all of the many, many electrical things work. MoT until March 2013 with no advisories. Most telling was that we were sitting in the car chatting and I didn't realise the salesman had started the engine. Oh and the price for all that car? £950. Really looking forward to a bit of luxury motoring.

Well, this one is up for £950 so it's hard to see how I could go wrong. Ok, it's a lairy colour (gold) with impractical (I have a dog) light beige leather seats. I am very encouraged by the responses to my OP so I'm off to see it on Saturday.

I was looking to buy a Mercedes CLK430 for just under £4k. I do actually, for once, have that amount to spare but it has been some years since I paid more than £1000 for a car and I sort of shied away. I am viewing an LS400 on Saturday which has had 2 owners; is MoTd until June 2013; comes with 3 months warranty and dealer service history but has done 130,000 miles. From what little I know of Lexus (I have owned over the years 4 Jaguars of varying types and 2 Nissan Maxima QX 3.0 - the most underrated car of all time but rare as hen's teeth) 130k is well within its' capabilities. My reservation is about running costs but I really only do about 10,000 a year split between an MGF in the summer and a 1975 Triumph Toledo 9 months of the year so realistically I would only expect the Lexus to do say 4k a year. Are there likely to be any serious issues with a 1996 car with that sort of mileage and pedigree? I would be grateful for any advice.