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If the Allard treatment had actually enhanced the LS400 styling, then perhaps. But that's uglier-looking than those JDM R32/R33/R34 Skyline saloons that occasionally appear.

Aha. If you bought the DHP wheels as part of a new Mk4 LS400 purchase, then I suppose you also got the DHP suspension. That has a harder suspension, in addition to the extra inch of wheel size. I've had one of each: 2000 Mk4 with DHP and a 1997 Mk4 with standard. The former was definitely firmer, although it still rode a lot more better than any other car that I've had.

I think the main problem with aftermarket wheels for the LS400 is that it looks like the owner is "trying too hard". The rest of the car's design is so understated that look-at-me-wheels always seem a bit ... vulgar! 🙂 YMMV, of course!

The first photo shows the DHP (dynamic handling pack) wheels. One inch bigger than the standard, it was only an option on the Mk4 (I thought)? The other photos are a Mk3 with standard wheels, I think. (But a different car? Can't be a 1999 model.) Nicer looking wheels, IMHO.

I had the same thought. They are a little like the Sportline alloy that was sold on the 190E (possibly others, too), but with slightly 'squarer' holes. I quite like them.

This one? Hmmm, if money was really no object I'd have this pair (seen at the Toyota factory in Nagoya):

Buy a cardboard box and put some "WARNING: BIOHAZARD" packing tape to seal it. Maybe make the corners of the box look like it's been leaking some sort of goo. Then leave it on the driver's seat. Of course, this does rely on the scrote being able to read...

Excellent - thanks. So, your friend's car's code is "ANTIQUE BRONZE MICA, 4P1" and mine is "CASHMERE BEIGE METALLIC, 4M9".

Man, that's a bummer. 😞 Hope your insurance claim goes smoothly and you're in another one sometime soon. (says the worried guy soon about to get his first keyless car...)

Drizzly wet today - I will get out there and check the codes ASAP. Edited to add: Service booklet just says "Cashmere" for Colour Code and "Suffolk" for Trim Code.

I thought the Yuasa was more expensive than the Lexus battery, bought direct (£86)?

Aha - thanks muchly. It is clearly the same colour inside as mine. The lighter colour must have been a reflection. The purist in me says to keep to the original colour, but this is an excellent alternative, if/when I get that far. 👍

It was fortunate. 🙂 He was a very atypical LS owner, too. I was expecting to meet someone in the same ... er ... 'demographic' 😉 as most of us here, but he was really young. He seemed to know the LS400 innards very well, but I don't think he was a member here. Yes, I SORNed S325APK and let the last MOT lapse when the whole CV19 thing happened. To the OP, and back to the cambelt cost: it's always tricky with a car this old, but I always try to think of a spendy outlay like this as a cost to split across the number of years you expect to own the car. So £1000 is expensive as a lump sum so soon after purchase, but if you expect to keep the car for 5 years, then it's only £100/pa more than my (very lucky and long-gone) deal at Lexus. And with that done and such low mileage, it'll be more attractive to the next owner.

See - that really looks the business. 🙂 Does he happen to have any interior photos? Looks like it might be the same cream leather, but interestingly (to a nerd like me), the dashtop plastic looks lighter than mine, which is the grey/brown shown above.

Also, on colour, this bronze looks far better than the gold, I think. Never seen one like that in the flesh, though.

Yes, MOT first - I'm just looking at the trickiest issue first. 🙂 It's been very well looked after. Full Lexus SH until the previous owner, an aircraft engineer at Heathrow who did the cambelt and pump in 2017, also fitted a stainless Y-pipe in the exhaust, etc. Brakes will almost certainly need attention after the SORNing. Will get the suspension checked over, too.

Bonnet has clear fading (i.e. a little darker at the edges compared to the near-horizontal areas), and it's in locations like that it's clearest. A photo from 10 feet away hardly shows anything, or perhaps it's better to say that our eyes are used to seeing different shades due to natural lighting, so the fading doesn't stand out. Not sure if the bonnet+roof lack the clearcoat. I can't see how that would have happened at the factory? Colour-wise, I think this photo is the closest to what should be standard for this 'cashmere': From this page: https://www.clublexus.com/how-tos/slideshows/lexus-ls400-with-34k-miles-sets-the-gold-standard-603533#lifetime-reputation After a bit of research, it seems a respray would cost far more than the value of the car. So that's out of the question. A wrap would be more viable, especially for a colour change.

Just to share the details of mine, both of which I renewed this week: 2006 RX400h with 11 year's NCB, business use, Cambridge postcode: £237 with AXA. 1997 LS400 with no NCB, limited miles, SDP, Cambridge postcode: £160 with Performance Direct. (Both with old fart driver with clean history and boring job.) I also saw that 'First Central' outfit for the first time this renewal - they occupied the top 4 or 5 spots in the comparative websites for the RX. But a little digging into their rep showed a very patchy reputation. Trying to buy market share? 🤔

^ That might be useful for me. I'm waiting on a new battery to get my '97 Mk4 back on the road. Haven't a clue if the car will have forgotten its key.

Mercedes' Smoke Silver - one of the 4 colours available for the old 190E 2.3-16V, if I remember right. A possibility. I'll try to take better photos next week, because seeing those three photos together, they all have a different colour cast and that doesn't help explain the issue! 🧐 Of course, there's the small matter of an MOT to pass before I should be worrying about paintwork...

My LS400 (SORNed but about to be recommissioned) has some very faded paintwork. It was originally gold over darker bronzish, but the roof and bonnet (but not bootlid) have both faded to almost silver. I'm weighing up the cost and sense of getting it resprayed. Just wondering if other gold LS owners could add photos or links that best represent the colour of their cars? I know that colours on computer screens all vary, plus there's the colour of the light/sun, but if you see a photo that looks closest to your own car, it would be useful for me to see to come to a decision. I'm still undecided on the gold, and if I'm going to respray, I could go for a colour change...? A complication is that the interior is cream+brown, and that might not work with my preferred colour of solid black! Bet it would work well with something like Mercedes' 'Nutria'. But who wants a brown car...? Not sure. Seems a lot of £££s for vanity. But I've got to do something! 🙂

In the not-so-long ago, Lexus had a special discounted price (£375, from memory) that was actively promoted on the main UK website. But IIRC, I had to point the dealership to the page on the main UK site, before they would honour it. Eventually, I got mine done there including water pump and aux belt for £501. That was on my previous LS400. My current LS400's cambelt and pump were done by the owner (an aircraft engineer) a year before I bought it. 64,000m - great find. 🙂 Get it done for peace of mind and ease of selling later. Mine's the long-lost twin. Or rather it would be if the paint hadn't faded unevenly:

Hi Lloyd. I was in the same position as you about two years ago, when I bought mine (a 2006). I did pay a bit more to get a car with an unblemished record (e.g. recent cambelt change and the hybrid check) as well as the low miles (56,000). It was actually from a forum member here. Two years of trouble-free motoring, including a totally stress-free road trip around Europe. I'd done one of those before in my previous LS400, and the RX400 is just as relaxing. That said, I think all of the larger Lexusus (Lexii?) take the miles well, so I would not now be put off by a 100,000+ mile RX400 as long as the owner had properly looked after it - i.e. not treated it as a banger. (My RX400h, now at about 68,000m will be for sale, but only available in a few weeks when my EV arrives. If you are still looking then, check the ad section here.)

That's true, but... there can still be a laziness and/or inability of the service personnel at main dealers to do a methodical job. I had a Nissan Maxima that ran well until it developed a near-stall fault when hot. Despite me giving them a printed copy of the full service manual, the Nissan dealership would not follow the very clear step-by-step fault-finding flow diagram in the manual. That was super detailed and thorough, but required time and effort - as well as the equipment - to do. They just stuck the diagnostic reader on it and said 'no fault'. Don't have any comparable experience of Lexus (yet!) and can only say that the £501 for a cambelt and water pump change on the LS400 seemed a bargain.

Yup - hadn't logged in here for ages, and haven't the foggiest what my username/password/etc were. (age, brainfade, etc) Your RX has been totally flawless (just a low 12V battery during lockdown). It's taken us all over Europe, too, although we've done fewer miles this last year, obviously. Valeted yesterday and still great for 16 years of age. Just getting a quote now for getting those key-scratches done. (Alas in order to sell it - it's time to change to an all-EV for commuting and daily duties.) Good to see you got into an LS, too. 🙂 What do you reckon to the LS vs the RX? I'll be recommissioning my '97 Mk4 LS for long-range and weekend runs.