Spottedlaurel

Great price, I'd be excited about that first journey home too!

Another local one, at last a Mk4 in something other than green: 1998 Lexus LS400 Mk4 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Had a chat with the owner, it's his second and replaced a Mk3 earlier this year (I believe N990DVV pictured above). Bought it from a trader in Birmingham, with the Mk3 going in part-ex (which is now showing as untaxed, so doesn't seem to have found a new owner).

Good on a main dealer for putting it up for sale themselves. Will it sell at that price though?

Sorry to see that, but at least you're OK. I had a similar thing happen to my Camry estate last winter when it got hit up the back by another driver, market value in the hundreds and a repair bill in the thousands, but car still perfactly driveable. I made sure I kept it on my driveway, I knew that if it went off to a yard or repairer elsewhere I'd probably never see it again. In little more than a week the other party's insurers had made me an offer, from which they then deducted their £60 salvage value as I stated I wanted to keep the car. At present it still sits unrepaired on my driveway but I have all the parts I need to sort it out, after which I'll have to get a VIC done on it before it can see the road again. Such an approach is only going to work financially if you're going to use secondhand parts, and you'll have to accept that the car may have some sort of 'repaired write-off' tag against it. I imagine you'd need to let your insurance company know this at each renewal time, and it may affect any future value if you wish to sell it on, but if it's a car for keeps then this won't be an issue. I would get a polite-but-firm letter into the other party's insurers stating that you wish to keep the car and market value is not an entirely fair appraisal of its value to you. Gives you a bit of ammo if it comes to an argument over any figure they offer. Save any ad's you see for others that you think are comparable.

Thanks all. It's the greyest shade of green I've ever seen, but the original service book and DVLA both agree with Lexus and call it green so who am I to argue.... It successfully brought me into work today, the only issue being a brief period of time when the temperature would adjust up but not down (soon resolved itself) and the instrument display brightness fluctuating slightly until I turned it up to fully bright. I think a detailed mechanical inspection would reveal all sorts of problems, but for now I'm going to enjoy the fact I can buy something so accomplished for so little money. One important bit of work done was to remove those graphics on the front and rear screens - my children happily got stuck in on that job. It's interesting to compare its size with my 2010 Avensis. I haven't parked them side-by-side yet so can't say on length, but the Lexus appears to be no wider across the mirrors (we have a tight entrance into the office car park so I'm conscious of this) and offers very little increase in legroom over the Avensis, yet it still looks much more imposing. Surpised to find the rear seats don't fold down (was used to that on my Camry saloons, quite a handy feature). Not as much headroom as I'd imagine, I like to sit quite high in a car but am finding the sunroof limits things a bit. I suspect I'll be finding toys for some time. I couldn't fathom out how to raise the seatbelt mount on the pillar until my daughter pointed out the switch on the door. The electric window switches are rather familiar however, just the same as in my Camrys and I was surpised to see it only has one-shot operation on the driver's side down movement. Even my 1980 Datsun has one-shot up and down. I'm finding that judging the position of the back end when reversing is not easy, the body tapers in and there's nothing much visible in the mirrors. Happily so far I've over-estimated and had a few feet spare. I think I've got too used to the camera on my Avensis... Edit: Why do some Mk3's have clear front indicators and some orange? I wonder if mine were originally the latter but have been changed as a modification/result of accident damage. I noticed the screw was orange. This unit seems to be in two parts, is the rearmost bit a marker light in some countries?

So, my collection of N750FWC went well and it now sits on my driveway :-) A couple of better shots from just before I brought it home: 1996 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1996 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Haven't had time for any sort of inspection of it but no nasty surprises yet, just pleasant ones like how smooth and quiet these are to drive! Even with the 18" alloys it's very good, though I suspect they are noisier and give a firmer ride than the 16's would do. My children were both disturbed by the hush inside the cabin when on the move, and the heated rear seats are popular with them... The only thing I've found so far to be any sort of problem is the LH door mirror, which is stuck on 'dark' with elements showing through and the adjustment that side doesn't work. The chap I bought it from probably has a spare on one of his bangers (he was building a Mk1 when I visited earlier in the week). As conditions haven't allowed and/or I've had the children with me I have only been driving it very gently so far, but I can see the V8 will provide it with some amusing briskness (the Nissans 300Cs I used to drive 10-15yrs ago and Camry V6 more recently were similar in that regard). In an odd twist of fate, it looks like I will be ending up with the original 16" alloys off the green Mk3 which started this thread going. A friend of mine knows the previous owner and apparently GLTease didn't want them when he bought it so for the price they're being offered to me I can't say no. Described as having legal tyres but in need of refurbishment, got to be worth £25?! Ride and noise aside, the 18's aren't ideal with all the potholes on the roads (I bent a 17" on my Camry Sport several years ago). Now just got to find some excuses to drive it....

Sounds like you did OK then, I should have got there quicker :-) Actually found a photo of it on the gallery here: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/gallery/image/7809-img-1560/ I'm going for the local N-reg car, just got to sort the paperwork and work out when I can collect it. What could possibly go wrong with an LS400 for £500?... (Probably best not anwered, I just hope I don't find out for myself too much.)

So, I went and saw this one yesterday: 1996 Lexus LS400 - next purchase? by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1996 Lexus LS400 - next purchase? by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Took me a moment or two to place the wheels, they're 18's off a GS300 Sport I think. I'd prefer to get some standard 16's back on it, are these Sport wheels worth anything? Were it not cheap I wouldn't be considering it - very little history after the last stamp in the book in 2004 at 50k, probably gone through a handful of owners recently, evidence of paintwork repairs on quite a few panels etc. MoT advisories on front lower ball joints and - rather oddly - plastic trays and fittings obscuring views of the engine bay. Surely the case with all modern cars?! It now shows 70k but I'm not sure how accurate that is.... But, it starts, runs, drives and stops, all with no undue noises or drama. It has a current MoT and is cheap enough that if something went wrong before the next one or it was not worth the expense of putting through another one I could sell it back for not too much loss to the banger racer. He also has a stock of others which might be useful for spares. Everything I tried inside seemed to work, heater blew nice and hot, temp gauge steady. Interior tidy enough for an old barge that's probably gone through a few hands. 1996 Lexus LS400 - interior by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Let's see how discussions with him next week work out. If I buy this it puts me in a better position to perhaps rescue others he has (saw far too many getting raced at a big banger championship last weekend!). He did have a decent-looking H-reg Mk1 in his yard...

Thanks Ganesh! I saw that someone else on here had a Laurel, good to see it. An L24E would be an interesting upgrade to mine, but to be honest it runs well enough on the carb-fed L24S currently in it. When I had a 240K GT (C210) with the L24E I don't remember it being significantly more powerful. Keeping this on topic, I'm going to see an LS400 tomorrow afternoon :-) As an added bonus, the white Mk1 pictured in my first post is definitely still around, I saw it tucked away in the chap's garage the other day.

Someone must have found the green one to be suitably priced, or the seller accepted a cheeky offer, as it's now been sold. So I won't be going for that one. Still got the possibility of another cheapie though... At this time of year I find myself using this less and less: 1980 Datsun Laurel 2.4 (C230) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr And I need something else as an occasional alternative to the sensible diesel Avensis!

Hi Steve, I'm down near Diss. And you? Unless I've missed it, it would seem the RAF Marham trackdays have fizzled out - I guess they're busy on site doing other things. Bit of a shame, I really enjoyed throwing unsuitable cars around the track there.

So, I rarely travel anywhere without a camera and I've taken thousands of photos of older/classic cars over the years. I keep a particular eye out for anything Japanese, here are the LS400s I've seen and maybe you know of? 1990 Lexus LS400 (2011) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Shame, this was back in 2011. 1992 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr One of my favourite views of the LS400. 1992 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Nice colour, interesting use of Supra wheels. 1992 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Is this a Mk1 or 2? 1993 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1995 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1996 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr There's something about the headlights on the Mk3 that I don't like as much as the earlier models. 1997 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1998 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 1998 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 2000 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr 2000 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Seems like I only see green Mk4s! The last one was particularly interesting, it did a few laps at a trackday I was on in my Camry, with a custom exhaust it sounded lovely.

Some interesting comments and ideas there, thanks everyone. If I got a Mk1 it would be to treat as a classic, like my old Datsun. I wouldn't be doing trackdays in it like I did with my Camry V6... I do usually prefer that my older cars have come from long-term owners. I don't necessarily need to meet them though, it could be something that's come in as a part-ex and I have a good relationship with my local Toyota/Lexus dealer so I should get them to have a look-out for me. It may be a struggle to get a Mk4 onto my classic insurance policy for the moment, even a '96/97 model adds a little bit to my usual premium with RH. Rather than leap in and spend £2k, it could well be that the first one I buy will be at a price that I'm prepared to sacrifice should something go terribly wrong. I could always keep it for spares for a better, subsequent model (which is how I once had five Camrys). Ultimately I have my Avensis for sensible daily transport and the Laurel for shows etc, the Lexus would be something to have a bit of fun with in-between the two of them.

Thanks for your reply. Hmmm, it's entirely possible it is the same one. It's down at Felixstowe but the owner says he's only had it for three months or so (not always a good sign itself, of course). Tallies with the date you say. How much was it up for then, do you recall? Could well be that this isn't the one to go for, but would be good to have a look at one or two before I take the plunge.

Hi all. Hope it's OK for my first post to be in this section. Quick intro, I'm a serial Japanese car buyer and have had numerous Datsuns/Nissans, Toyotas and others over the years. I currently have a 1980 Datsun Laurel, 2010 Avensis Tourer, my wife's 2002 Accord and three 1991-93 Camrys. It's through the latter that I've come to appreciate 1990s Toyota engineering, so a Lexus is the next logical thing to own! I've just taken an aging Camry V6 off the road and sold its engine to an MR2 convertor, so have a little bit of cash and a 'spare' classic insurance policy to use for something else. A local banger racing acquaintance has what is believed to be an N-reg LS400 which is apparently still MoTed and I may have a look at that, but in the meantime I'm going to look at P568UFC on Saturday (assuming it hasn't already sold, and given that the ad is no longer on AutoTrader that seems unlikely). Is this a known car to anybody? It's in Suffolk and is dark green over silver/gold on what look to be aftermarket wheels. Done something like 127k and is up for £800. Has a full year's MoT and apparently didn't need much doing or get any advisories. Seems to have stamps in the SH book up to a few years ago, don't yet know what paperwork there is beyond that. Best to assume nothing?! I've read through some very useful threads on here so have an idea of what to look for, which I shall probably disregard entirely and let my heart rule over my head... I suspect it needs a timing belt change, and I'd rather get a set of the original wheels fitted (I suspect the various local racers would be a source for these, who may also be able to help with other parts). On that basis, does £800 seem reasonable? I will obviously try for less. I thought a cheap Mk3 model would be a good place to start, but my ultimate aim is to own a 1989-92 model (Mk1?), as I think they look better. The owner of this local one has my number, though I haven't seen it about for a while: 1992 Lexus LS400 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr Thanks in anticipation, hope to be discussing things soon as an owner....