HeWhoDareaRoy

Found a place in Meopham to get the work done - guy was really good. Annoyingly, the air con still had a leak after fitting all the new bits and then when I got the leak fixed, the 'refurbished' compressor started leaking. Still, the car got us over to the Czech Republic and back, so around 2,500 miles without a glitch, including some sustained high speeds on the autobahn. I think we averaged around 30mpg too!

Well, I managed to find a reconditioned A/C compressor, so have bitten the bullet and will chuck load more money at the car. Have it booked for A/C repairs, full service, cam belt and water pump, plus a few other bits.

Thanks Malc, yeah we're stuck over in the corner here in Margate! It's rubbish here for buying cars, too.

Margate!

The coil-overs were something that VOSA pointed out and wasn't divulged to me by the dealer when I bought the car. Not a big deal as they seem OK, though I would have preferred a more compliant ride. Looks like the car was someone's pride and joy once - not sure how it came to be in such a sorry state.

Well it needs a new A/C compressor and condenser, so that was £2k quote to supply and fit. Also has a slow leak to radiator which I guess is £3-400 to supply and fit, then investigate random VSC light, handbrake still not great and it also needs a master key as that wasn't supplied with the car. Car is on 140k miles, so not super-low, even for a Lexus. I'm guessing £3,500 to fix that little lot! Also, time isn't on my side as I'm really busy and we're supposed to be driving over to Europe in a few weeks and my wife isn't keen on taking this car! Do you know of any good Lexus specialists in Kent?

It's DX54 YRL - black with black leather. I still have the car and it's now roadworthy, but there are too many niggly bits for me to get around to fixing, so thought it cheaper/easier to look for a better car.

That does look nice - definitely worth contacting the seller. Thanks.

Hi Malc, I had a thread on it on another site, but the gist of it is that the car had a load of faults (some dangerous) and had to be assessed by VOSA who I think took action against the issuing MOT place, but not the dealer: Advice on used car bought from dealer - Page 1 - Car Buying - PistonHeads UK I actually had the corrosion cut-out and remedied, put new discs and pads all 'round, along with new tyres, hub and a caliper, so I can use the car now, but my wife doesn't trust it and won't really drive it. It still has a few issues like needing an air con compressor, leaking radiator and occasional VCS light.

After a disastrous experience buying an LS430 from a dodgy dealer, I'm looking for a nice LS400 (preferably mk4) or LS430, if anyone's thinking of selling, or knows of a good one for sale. I have a maximum budget of £5k, if that's a realistic figure to get a good one. Thanks