Nick W858

I agree Scott - I would want to keep it maintained with Lexus, it’s a pretty rare car with lots of complexity. I’m not ready to dig deep as you suggest, in fact I did look at the 430s on AT but to be honest I didn’t see one that I would be prepared to upgrade to from my £50 LS400! I might feel differently on the 1st November when I MOT the old girl but if she can get through that without having to spend an arm and a leg then I shall be saving some more pennies until I absolutely need to replace her. Of course if the vendor of the 600 comes back in the meantime with a sensible revised price I may well be interested!

Totally agree lots of luck involved and timing as well - my 400 over 16 years of my ownership has had some expensive years and some very cheap years and when you have owned your vehicle for a long time you feel more confident in it. You can easily buy a second hand car particularly a prestige one and be unlucky enough to take a few big hits in quick succession. Whilst those bills on the 600 I was looking at are big, it could well be that you could take that hit and have very little else over the next 10 years so it works out at not so much, equally it could go the other way but you do have some reassurance that as a Lexus it’s less likely to happen than in other prestigious motors.

Don’t disagree Scott but the equivalent dealer car would cost several thousands more and other than the warranty I’m not sure it would be any better than this 600 which has FLSH, new tyres, full MOT and has just been serviced ? And yes a 430 would be cheaper but equally could also be a money pit and a 430 is a great car but it ain’t no 600.

Well the prospective purchase of the 600 is on ice, just had the 110k service, advised new front discs and pads but Lexus dealers always seem to recommend that and I had a good long chat with the servicing dealer today (no GDPR issues interestingly) and there is still another 10k or so in the brakes. More concerning is the caliper piston seals that are split and retaining springs broken £669 and then the big one is the upper arms/lower arms splitting at bush - again not now but within 10k miles - £3094. Seller is not willing to budge on price! Also the hybrid health check could not be completed due to error codes but dealer assures me that it is to do with recent lack of use/flat battery and if there was a genuine hybrid issue it would show in lots of other things. I am going to sit on the my LS until MOT which is 1/11 - will be interesting to see if seller still has the 600 and is more willing to negotiate. I am tempted by the WBAC offer for my LS which was the grand sum of £50!!

Welcome Barry. - great car, we bought a 2011 one in 2014 with 72k on the clock, now got 122k and still drives like new and we have had no issues at all - one of the great all round, do it all cars - enjoy.

460/600 - let's be honest both great cars. I tested a 460 but it left me a little underwhelmed compared to the 400 but that was a few years back and my LS is a bit baggier now so would probably be a different story now. I went into the 600 test drive quite open minded, I don't need to change the 400 and financially it's cheaper to stick with it and after 16 years I know it so well and I was quite prepared to do nothing unless the 600 felt really really special.......but it did and therefore it was an easy decision. That said if I was swapping from a 460 to 600 then I suspect the difference would be less marginal than from a 21 year old 400. As Jonathan said though there is something special about the hybrid, the 4x4 element really appeals as well - I know I cold get that in. RX450 but my wife has one of those and it is superb and ultimately probably a better car for me to buy but the chance to get something different and to buy what was the ultimate Lexus and one of the most expensive luxury cars of its day also appeals - I have also tested the S500 and 350 CDI and again great cars but I prefer the whole package that Lexus gives and the confidence I have in being able to run the 600 like I have my with my 400 into its twentieth plus year. That said, your post did make me look at Autotrader this morning at some 460s!

Thanks will do - mine will be doing c20k per year so hopefully it will deal with it as well as my LS400 has done, it was reading one of your previous posts about the switch from LS400 that motivated me to go for the 600 - having owned the LS400 for 16 years it will be with mixed feelings when I make the swap but I’m pretty sure the refinements of the big hybrid will help me get over the 400 - the 600 obviously was a lot more modern than the 400 but in many way it did not feel that dissimilar and it still had a bit of an old school feel to it that I really liked. The current owner had today confirmed that the 110k service is booked in for next Wednesday so not long now and hopefully it will get a clean bill of health.

Timely update JP - I had a wonderful drive last night in a 600h - private sale with 109k on the clock 09 plate - just passed its MOT this week and a full Lexus service history. The only sticking point is the 110k service is due - it had the big 100k one last year so the owner is booking it in for the intermediary one and assuming it's given a clean bill of health I should be closing the deal very shortly for a very reasonable price and I'm hoping it will serve me as well and as long as my 1998 LS400 which means I will be looking to keep it for c10 years. It's the first 600h I have ever driven and it was utterly sublime.

It’s a Lexus- of course it will.

Well done - I'm hoping I get a similar result next time around. - will be circa 280k mileage at that point so will have everything crossed.

Thanks Paul - yes both my two went around the 13-15k price - one had over 120k on the click and the other 95k so quite a difference to the 08 plate at 18350 - agree re the FLSH as they age, obviously when buying a car you don't know, it's still nice to have that reassurance.

Thanks Christian - if there's some discount on the list price plus a three year warranty then the 11 plate one becomes quite attractive.

Thanks Colin - sound advice.

Thanks Colin - yes didn’t establish what the dealer gave for it in the part exchange but I guess I could- not that it will make a great deal of difference as no doubt it will depend on the deal they did in the exchange with the 450.

Good afternoon all - am making enquiries about some ISFs as I'm waiting on a job outcome decision at work on the 1st May and if I secure a position I will be looking to change my car, this could be my third ISF and I was definitely lucky with the first two so hoping the third time will prove the same. Both are on AT, I have spoken/emailed with both owners, the 11 plate was up as private sale for around 22500, now just under £25k with Lexus Guilford, the other still private but up for £18350, it has pretty low mileage for an 08 plate (53k)and the owner seems a nice chap. It is not under a Lexus warranty as stated in the advert and has only a partial LSH but the last three have been done by Lexus, the car has a stainless steel exhaust, just had new front discs/pads fitted and is undergoing alloy wheel refurb as we speak, tyres are very new too, the waterpump has been changed and the big 60k service with spark plugs etc has been done. Other than myself it sounds like he has had no serious enquiries in or around the last six weeks. Re the one at Lexus, it has FLSH, reasonably low mileage albeit not compared to the 08 plate in terms of miles per year and the owner spoke well of it (as you would expect) prior to his part ex against a RX450h, I don't know how willing to negotiate the dealer would be on price (there would be no part exchange) and I am wondering if they will also agree to extend the warranty period as part of the deal? The price points are interesting, particularly on the 08 car, I bought and sold my 09 and 08 models for quite a bit less than the £18350 that the 08 one is up for, admittedly they had higher mileages but both had FLSH and the 09 one was still under warranty when I sold it. £18350 for a 08 private sale sounds about 10% over the top to me Big Rat - not sure if you have these in your database - both silver, one is on EN08 FKU and the other is WP11 BPO. As I said, I'm waiting on a job outcome decision at work on the 1st May before I can make any further decisions so am just planning my possible moves. Am interested in any views on both cars generally in terms of their price and suitability for purchase, as I said, if I do go ahead, this will be my third ISF and hopefully I will not the same mistake in letting the third one go! Thanks in advance, with kind regards. Nick

Thanks John - good tip, I have not booked the car in yet, typical as we approach a heatwave! I have looked on rock auto and the prices of the condenser look good, if I can get a good independent to sort it at a reasonable cost then definitely worth fixing. I am thinking of treating myself to a new car if I manage to get a job when my company makes its announcements on the 1st May, or if I don't get a job will be keeping the LS or getting something like a Yaris hybrid for the school run!

That looks beautiful

Yes I have never switched mine off. However I have not been running it on max hot and max cold once a week which is what some are saying I should be doing.

Thanks, yes I paid £8k for her around 16 years ago so even considering she’s worth next to nothing now it still works out at only a tenner per week in depreciation!

Thanks Malc - it has been done three times while I have owned the car - it's every 63k miles on my model and last time it had done about 254k so I'm around 16k miles overdue

Thanks Malc - am inclined to agree, there were a few advisories but nothing too drastic, must admit my cam belt is overdue but not sure I think changing it will be worth the expense.

Thanks Messi - that sounds more appealing- it can still blow quite cool but it has not been exactly tropical recently so not sure how effective it would be on a hot summers day so I do need to replace it - think I need to approach a local air conditioning specialist rather than rely on the main dealer.

Well the dealer has given the car a thorough inspection and to be fair they did not charge me a penny and gave it a lovely valet.The bad news was that the air con is the condenser which is basically corroded away and very costly to replace and I was told there is a serious risk that if trying to replace it that all kinds of other issues could arise because of all the various bits and pieces around it that are rusted/locked solid. I was also shown all kinds of photographs from under the car again pointing out corrosion and potential suspension issues. Basically the message was along the lines of don't bother to spend any money on the car and be prepared to buy another car and/or just see how long you can run it for without spending money and just wait until there is a terminal failure. I was told it might be worth a mechanically minded individual doing their own restoration but that is definitely not something I could do. Will see how my job situation pans out but am tempted just to run it until it dies, next MOT not until Nov so that could be a pivotal point. Car is coming up 21 and has almost 300k on the clock and has served me brilliantly for past 16 years and I guess nothing lasts forever.

Thanks Jim - it definitely won’t be me loosening anything, hopefully the professionals will know the potential pitfalls you mention.

Thanks Messi - hope that’s it