goldtop

I bet that if you put that Celsior next to 99 percent of UK LS400s, these doubts would disappear. The interior and underside of that will be immaculate, and it's Condition 5 (unlike British auctions, Japanese auction ratings mean something). It's not for me, alas (JDM white is a real turn-off, and if I wanted to buy a 'garage queen', it'd be something different to an LS400).

Just an update to say that WiM did the alignment. It's a far better car to drive now, a sort of wiggle/shimmy that happened over certain sorts of dips is completely gone. As the first place I went to (the car accident repair place) had the clever Hunter gear and did a poor job, I'd definitely agree with those who say it's the quality of the mechanic and not the equipment that matters.

I'd expect that adding a water pump change would add some extra labour - hoses off/on and draining/refilling coolant at least, no?

I was going to mention brake clearance, too, but if you're going up to 19in wheels, I suppose that is unlikely to be a problem?

Sorry to hear about the CTR, but welcome from another Honda fan. :) If you decide you like the IS but miss the peaky delivery of VTEC, it might be worth hunting out an Altezza JDM import with the BEAMS engine (4-pot high-revving Yamaha engine). I'm sure some forumites must have them.

I agree with your logic, but the place I went to was a crash repair place with Hunter equipment. Scary result (see above) and I won't be going back. So I guess they vary. I've now made an appointment at WiM for next week. Fingers crossed.

Thanks chaps. I'm thinking I might book it into Wheels in Motion (the guys who addressed the IS200 geometry issue). Hope you're sorted soon, Mike (human and car geometry!)

Mike - how far did you get on this? I took my car to a local Hunter-equipped place, mainly because there's inner shoulder wear on the fronts, and a little pulling to the left and a slight tug of the wheel when coming to a stop (not severe - just a slight pull). I got the first set of measurements, lots of red boxes. Front: Camber L -0*10' ___ R 0*21' Caster L 6*32' ___ R 6*21' Toe L -0*08' ___ R 0*16' Total toe 0*09' Steer ahead -0*12 Rear: Camber L -1*05' ___ R -0*45' Toe L 0*21' ___ R -0.01' Total toe 0*20' Thrust angle 0*11' But they were unable to set the rear geometry due to seized nuts/bolts. So they adjusted the front alone, and we talked about a return booking to finish the job (when they could have more time to get any replacement parts that might be needed). OK I thought. (I didn't get a new print out as the settings were't all done.) But... as I drove away from the place there was a HUGE and very scarey pull to the left. Straight back, very unhappy and they undid the damage. Now I'm a bit wary. The more I look at geometry stories online, the more horror stories I see.

If you've still got your old 16inch wheels, I'll buy them!

Good to hear your story. And I agree. :) I've also put quite a bit of money into my just-bought 14-yr-old Mk4 LS400, and it's definitely worth it. I did not buy this as a 'shed' to run into the ground and then throw away. I'm even thinking of getting a PDR guy to sort out the few little dings it's picked up.

"CJC" is it! :) Also today, I spotted that the DHP alloys are NOT supplied as 2-left and 2-right, despite being an asymetrical design. Deducted one point, Mr Lexus. And there's something curious about the door mirrors that I haven't quite fathomed yet. They sometimes get themselves in a position which isn't fully aligned with the small shaped fairing at the door mounting. And it seems a bit odd to force them. I'm not sure how this happens, and if it's partly down to using or not using the folding action. To be investigated further...

Welcome from another newbie (also recently installed in a Mk4). Yes, 30mpg on a typical longish run seems to be standard. Even better is you set cruise to about 60mph. What are the extra widgets by the gear selector and handbrake release: Bluetooth/LPG? Seem to be some common niggles, but mostly minor: bonnet struts you've already covered, washer fluid level light permanently on (easy fix), boot seals letting in water (same), tilt/telescopic steering wheel adjustment can stop working (a bit expensive), bad capacitors in ECU causing odd running problems (hassle but cheap to fix), and probably a few more that I've not seen mentioned yet.

Malc, if you can provide links/sources, I'd be interested. Infrasound is real, and may be related to ill health. Alas, the activists seize on bad science too readily and that undermines credibility. But I repeat, "carcinogenic thermals" is a dubious phenomenon at best. Perhaps you've misremembered it, because there are no hits at all for it on any Web search.

There may be links between some types of electromagnetic field and cancer. But I want to know about carcinogenic thermals from the blades' movement at 1-3 miles. I've got an open mind, but my spidey senses are telling me this one's BS.

"Carcinogenic thermals"? (insert pic of Roger Moore with one raised eyebrow here)

You long-time owners know the LS is full of nice touches and attention to detail. But forgive this newbie for raving about something so trivial and so ... er ... 'intimately' useful! I discovered today that in among all the ventilation outlets on the Mk4, there's one dedicated to keeping one's "family jewels" fresh - just under the steering wheel. :D It's very effective, without quite being as high-tech as the LS430's ventilated seats.If the previous owner hadn't left the vent open, I'd have never known it was there. Might be a bit too cold with shorts on... The other pleasant surprise was 38mpg at about 50mph on cruise control (although I live in the flatlands of East Anglia, so it's as easy a ride as the engine would ever get). I should get 400 miles out of this first tankful; 310m so far with 1/4 left on the petrol gauge. One minor niggle discovered: a sniff of wind noise from about 50mph. I think it's from the top centre of the windscreen and I wonder if it's a less-than-perfect fit after a windscreen replacement?

Out of interest, what's the standard size for the LS430? I'm umming and arring about the whole wheels/tyres choice at the moment (Mk4 LS400).

Welcome from another old bloke on his first LS400. :) Seems like we're treading similar paths with the niggles. I've got the inevitable bonnet struts and washer bottle warning sensor next on the to-do list.

Can't be bothered to pick 5. ;) Britain McLaren F1 LCC Rocket Jaguar XJ5.3C RR Camargue France Citroen Traction Avant Citroen SM Citroen GT Concept (cheating!) Peugeot 406 coupe Italy Lamborghini Countach Ferrari 328GTB spider Lancia Strato's Lancia Gamma Coupe Germany BMW M1 Mercedes W124 Hammer (coupe, please) Mercedes 190E 3.4 AMG Mercedes 560SEC widebody Japan Honda S800 (or the new S660) Honda NSX Lexus LS400 Mk4 Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32) Rest of World Volvo P1800 Saab 99 Turbo America DeTomaso Pantera

I wanted a Mk3/4 400 or an early 430. The many upgrades definitely made the 430 a nicer place to be. But the number of gadgets that didn't work properly or at all on the LS430s I saw was surprising. A sign of neglect I suppose. So I quickly switched focus to the Mk4 LS400.

I think main dealers do these for 295 on older cars Cambridge Lexus quoted me just over - about £329 or so - but I never got a straight answer as to what the combined cost of water pump and cambelt would be.

That won't be true of a car with this sort of value! A scrape along a door panel and rear wing will certainly write all of these cars off. Including the LS430. The law says that you have a duty to mitigate your expenses, so you'll get book value (and only after you haggle from the outrageous offer they start with). there will be no £4000 job at Lexus for it. These are old cars, and small damage is nothing to be worried about except for difficulty when selling. I've bought a repaired Cat D car before where the only damage was to two doors - the owner took the settlement, kept the car and sourced used doors for £50 each. So it's not necessarily the end of the world for the car. But a front/rear impact may be another matter - so many things to source and replace.

Hi Norman, there were a couple of posters here saying about the LPG/Lexus thing. And a forumite who was offered me his LPGed car confirmed that. Seems it's not universal, then.

Thanks Brian - very useful to know. I've got most of the Euro stuff covered (including hi-viz jackets/etc for the France bits). I avoided LPG cars as we're using the tunnel (and upon learning here that Lexus won't work on LPGed cars!), so that's one less complication. Can't wait. I'm even looking forward to 7 hours of driving the LS. :)

That's very reassuring to hear. I'm about to do about 3000m in my just-bought Mk4 (to Slovenia, Croatia, Istria, Italian lakes, Switzerland and Austria). My Other Half is a bit sceptical that a £1600 car can do it. :-o For info, and compared to driving in the UK, did you find that the temp gauge went much (if any) higher when you were working it hard (mountain roads +AC, etc)? Oh, and is it as impossible to park in Italy as I fear it might be? ;)