jonthetourist

Wow! Just Wow! Can you tell I drove my first LS430 today? 100,000 miles on the clock and it looked brand new. And I fit ! :hocus-pokus: Happy Days !!

If William's car is still on the market I am keen - waiting to hear back from him.

That's a helpful post. Did the design weakness of cooling the transmission fluid with the rad get changed with the 2004 update to the LS430? If so, that's very interesting to know. Jon

I am sorry I can't answer the question, but I would like to know which garage in Warwicks has an owner with an LS430 with LPG You probably know that you can't take LPG through the tunnel.

I looked into it recently with the help of William (LOC member) who lives in Eire and its just a paper excersise I didnt go ahead because William kindly went and saw the car and it was a case of "all that glitters" Mike Interesting. Is that BilMac, who has a very nice 430? And is the car he looked at for you still on offer? Presumably this big tax is hitting 400s too. I am only looking at the 430 as my research suggests it has the best headroom. Jon

When he declined my suggestion that I send a mobile mechanic round at my expense I came to the same conclusion. Could be wrong. I am currently thinking Ireland offers the best value, as 1800 euro a year for tax is a killer for older vehicles. but john isnt it false economy becuase you have to pay import duty tax vat ec? No. I have spoken to the DVLA and as it's EU there is no problem. Plus a lot of the Eire cars were originally bought in UK, and she told me you just get your original reg. back when you register it. There seem to be almost as many LS430s for sale in Ireland as there are in the UK at present. However if anyone on the forum has ever imported a car from Ireland I would be delighted to hear from them.Nothing beats personal experience.

When he declined my suggestion that I send a mobile mechanic round at my expense I came to the same conclusion. Could be wrong. I am currently thinking Ireland offers the best value, as 1800 euro a year for tax is a killer for older vehicles.

The vendor came back and said he is not prepared to drive it so I think I will be leaving it. All part of the learning curve. The joy of being a buyer of a second car is there is no rush so I can wit for the right one. Thanks for all the inputs today - much appreciated. Jon

Thanks for all the feedback folks. I am not very technical, and have no experience of Lexus, but I am learning there is a known phenomenon whereby the trans fluid is ducted through the radiator for cooling, which gives scope for cross-contamination. MB have a similar thing with some of their models that I am familiar with (crap design btw) But, the symptom of a puddle of pink fluid under the car should not necessarily be related to this problem. It could be, but it could equally well be the failure of a hose or a seal, which is relatively simple to fix, and should not have long-term consequences. Am I right in thinking that to get any further with a diagnosis would involve removing the undertray? I am thinking I could invest in sending a mobile mechanic round to the vendor to do that and report back. More thoughts invited :) Thanks again Jon

Yes, that thought had also encouraged me. But it's such a long way to go to look, that's why I suggested getting an opinion locally.Might power steering fluid also be pink?

That is the nagging thought. I have just suggested to the seller he get a local transmission shop to have a look and offer an opinion.

There's another one on offer with oil mixing with water but I felt that would be anything but a simple fix. I will see if I can find it. This is the one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-Lexus-LS-430-4-3-V8-4dr-Auto-SATNAV-DVD-SCREEN-LEATHER-/141574515881?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20f67faca9

There's another one on offer with oil mixing with water but I felt that would be anything but a simple fix. I will see if I can find it.

Yes, I know where you are coming from. Rebuild is not an option, but a replacement from a breaker might be. Say ball-park £1k to buy and fit?? And the optimistic part of my nature says what if it is just a gasket?. Shame he is 350 miles away.

Nice looking 430 for sale with a leak - any opinions either way? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/V8-CYO-LEXUS-LS430-PREMIUM-PACK-DARK-GREEN-GEARBOX-LEAK-/281597241635?

Hi HiHiHi (!?) In my world, I don't see an LS430 for months, so the asking for a sit-in strategy won't work too well, sadly. I live in a village of 500 folks, and potter about to play tennis and golf from time to time. When I work, I take people on rail holidays, so not much chance of car-sitting then either. But I appreciate the thought. If it's right it will all come together, and if not it wasn't right. My Mercedes SL is pretty much sorted after 4 years in my possession, so I am ready for a new project. Not sure I will be able to sell the MB mind . . . Thanks Jon

Jon, In my experience a sunroof will; *lower the amount of internal headroon, and *go wrong. Air conditioning is superior and does not allow your head or skin to be burnt. As for not wanting to travel a distance to view the car you might want...........................................................................................you should be prepared to go to the ends of the earth !! Regards John Thanks, Melchester Man! I would happily travel to Dublin for Bilmac's car and was ready to give up a few hours to get 30 seconds in an LS430's drivers seat first just to make sure I am not wasting anyone's time. The nearest one I can find is Lichfield, and it's by appointment, not a showroom. I don't want to mess someone about feigning interest in their car if I am not going to buy it. And while I agree and could happily live without a sunroof, that doesn't really seem like an option when you shop for an LS430 :( C'mon LS430 owners in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Monmouthshire, Bristol, Newport etc. - let's have a car on the market!

Today I tried to advance my plan to buy an LS430 by going to the local Lexus dealer. I knew they didn't have an LS430, but I thought I would sit in their one LS460. Good news - plenty of headroom for my large frame (6' 5", long in the body). Bad news - it didn't have a sunroof, so I still don't know if a car like Bilmac's sparkler will fit me. The nearest LS430 I can find for sale is 70 miles away. Grrr! Back to the drawing board.

Hi Bill I have sent you a private message. Hope all is well with you. Jon

That one looks to be the age / condition / price formula I am looking for, although I prefer the colour scheme of the Glasgow car. My next step is to take a test drive of an LS430. Desk research suggests it is the roomiest LS, but I still have to test my long back against the headroom. So I need to find one not a million miles from Gloucester / Cheltenham. Thanks again for all assistance. Jon

This one, I think http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/57-LEXUS-LS-460-SE-L-A-/121562879280?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c4db65530

Well I see this is a very helpful forum I have just joined :) 300k is a but much for me as I will be paying others to do my maintenance, but thanks for finding the vehicle for me. I like the colour scheme, mileage and service history of the Glasgow car but it is a very long way from me . . . I did find some positive feedback on the dealer outside of Ebay, which wa encouraging. Thank you for re-visiting your opinion in some depth, much appreciated, and indeed for bringing it to the forum in the first place. I have been reading some recent threads and am intrigued by the fact that an LS costs 1800 euro a year to tax in Ireland. Which surely must push their value over a cliff when they reach the age I am looking at. For reference, I currently have a 1991 Mercedes 300SL which I plan to keep, and am looking for a Lexus to join it as a long-term project too. No rush, got to be a good one. Thanks folks Jon

Hook 295k £1100 ??? Any more info? Google is not helping me . . . In an ideal world it would be a 2005 ish LS430 with no more than two owners and a full history.

Can I check the specifics of your reservations? I have just started researching the market and liked this, though I thought the pricing looked ambitious. Jon