Lexus LS400: silly idea?

[Cavcraft]

Might have the chance of a LS400 Lexus. Done a few miles (208,000 I think) but supposedly drives well and looks the part etc.Quick internet search found some common issues such as power steering problems but apparantly no grief with this one.It does have the 'dashboard flicker' syndrome and it seems that's a lcoks out job, replace some sort of relay or something, then wait for it to do it again!Anything else I should look out for and is it worth about £1200 with that sort of miles assuming in good nick?Thankingyou muchly.

[Rocket88]

Would have to be mint, with long T@T to fetch that. With that mileage, and with a couple of problems, £650 tops, parts are a sodding fotune, although not much seems to go wrong. Fuel consumption is heroically dismal

[trigger]

I had the chance of driving one years ago and it was very nice, very smooth and quick but also very Japanesse which isn't a bad thing.That said yours does sound over priced, there was one on R-R a while back that was a fraction of that so you would have drive a hard deal to get the price lower imho.

[Cavcraft]

Thanks gents.Remember that one on R-R now you mention it, think he took about £650 for it in the end.

[Rod/b]

I was offered one with half that mileage for 500 quid the other day. I can check if it's still available if you like? He wasn't exactly trying to sell it that hard so it's probably still around.

[trigger]

Have you thought about the Honda Legend? I driven a few of them in the past and have always liked them, i've never driven the later 3.5 models but they are one classy looking car, not sure what they sell for now though.You use to be able to get the earlier 3.2 models for peanuts, would quite fancy a coupe version.

[ashmicro]

what year is it Cav?

[Ratdat]

My old man has a Celsior (import LS400) which he''s had for quite a few years and it's given hime very little bother. It's done lots of miles too.

[wuvvum]

I paid 400 for my Celsior. Had a lot less than 208K on the clock, and the only problem with the dash was that one of the LEDs that lit up the rev counter needle had gone so only half the needle lit up. Nice car, better on petrol than the Cadillac which replaced it.If you fancy something a bit different, by the way, my Cadillac is back up for sale again - I saw it on Gumtree a couple of weeks ago for 795. Not sold yet (drove past the chap's house on Sunday and it's still in his driveway) so he'd probably take an offer.

[Cavcraft]

what year is it Cav?

'93 I think. He offered me a deal on my daily, or rather I approached him about a deal, but based on the above I srsly doubt it's worth going for.I just fancy something a bit swish like and a Lexus sounded ideal.Cheers once again all.

[UglyAmerican]

I'm not an expert on UK pricing but 1200 quid seems high for 208,000 miles especially if you have to tangle with the electrics. The real issue is that there should be a good supply of garage-kept LS400s out there with half that mileage, as this is a classic OAP car.LS400 is a seriously well-made car. With proper maint they should have no problem running to 300,000 miles. The 32v V8 is bullet proof, and the transmission is very sturdy. Also as this car was Lexus's debut and aimed at the W124 Merc, most mechanical components (down to even the door hinges) were intentionally overengineered.

[TheScrapman]

... as this car was Lexus's debut and aimed at the W124 Merc...

w126 Merc, surely?

[trigger]

It's worth a look on autotrader, there's quite a few on there for under £1000, for £1250ono you can get a 1996 model with only 115k on there.

[Pete-M]

I'm not a fan of the LS400 at all, although it is in my mind perfect Autoshite.£1200 is £6-800 over the odds, and about £1500 more than I'd ever pay for one.Personally, I can't abide the things, they're pretty much a perfect example of why I don't care for Jap cars. Great engine, smooth, quiet, comfy, but utterly devoid of any charm whatsoever. White goods.I don't know if they all have air suspension, but if it does RUN AWAY.

[UglyAmerican]

... as this car was Lexus's debut and aimed at the W124 Merc...

w126 Merc, surely?

Sorta, but not really. Lexus launched the LS in 1989. Merc W126 platform was already a decade old by that point, and was set to be replaced in 1991/1992.The LS400 was a V8 only, so in that sense it was competition for a short wheelbase W126 like the 420SE, but if you look at the pricing and size of the LS, it was primarily pitched to be stealing 400E and 300E sales. When the Lexus LS400 hit the US market, it cost $35,000. The Merc 420SEL (that's the W126 S-Class) was going for $63,000!Damn Germans. Always raising prices and invading other countries.

[shite_meister]

Ahhh man I'd bloody love an old LS400, yeah there is something dull about them but realistically how many Jap cars from the late eighties/early nineties weren't? I think they're bloody great myself.I used to own an early nineties Honda Legend 3.2 Coupe, these were totally different to the previous 2.7 Legend that shared many componants with the Rover 800s. My Legend was awesome and a great alternative to an LS400 albeit FWD however they are not quite as good as the LS400 in my opinion but I did find that mine was quite economical.I have no doubt that the big V8 could take that sort of mileage in its stride but it'd have to be dirt cheap like Col says, also alot of these have been abused buy the 'Ah its a Lexus so its well made so I never have to service it' brigade.As someone who used to work for Lexus in the parts side of things they were always very reliable, in fact when I worked for them Lexus UK never sold a gearbox for one of these-whether thats down to cost I'm unsure but I'd like to think it was their superb quality. The only real weak points are brakes which aren't that expensive from Lexus and front upper and lower wishbones (which are about £300 each from Lexus but cheaper ones are available) and general bushes because they're a big heavy car.I'm still looking for one to be honest and I'm constantly on the lookout for one, I missed out on one last year because the seller was a cock but even that was £900 with 80k on the clock.

[Rod/b]

The only real weak points are brakes which aren't that expensive from Lexus and front upper and lower wishbones (which are about £300 each from Lexuscheaper ones are available) and general bushes because they're a big heavy car.

 

Really?? The one I was offered had a replacement pair, brand new Lexus items, in the boot which were to be thrown in.

[shite_meister]

The only real weak points are brakes which aren't that expensive from Lexus and front upper and lower wishbones (which are about £300 each from Lexuscheaper ones are available) and general bushes because they're a big heavy car.

 

Really?? The one I was offered had a replacement pair, brand new Lexus items, in the boot which were to be thrown in.

Yep, in fact a quick internet search shows someone on the Lexarse owners forum was quoted £350 for each upper arm and £200 for each lower arm recently so you're looking at £1100 for a pair of genuine upper and lower arms considering they're bits of metal in with a balljoint I think someone is rather taking the piss but like I said, you can buy aftermarket ones but they're still pricey.

[Station]

 

[Pete-M]

^^ Ooooh, pearly white OAP spec.. ^^^Always thought these should have a crack right across the windscreen to give 'em that 'bi-focal' look. Maybe plumbing for colostomy bags.Basically, if they're white'n'pearly they're likely to smell of wee.

[shite_meister]

^^ Ooooh, pearly white OAP spec.. ^^^Always thought these should have a crack right across the windscreen to give 'em that 'bi-focal' look. Maybe plumbing for colostomy bags.Basically, if they're white'n'pearly they're likely to smell of wee.

Alright Colc?

[Rocket88]

The only real weak points are brakes which aren't that expensive from Lexus and front upper and lower wishbones (which are about £300 each from Lexuscheaper ones are available) and general bushes because they're a big heavy car.

 

Really?? The one I was offered had a replacement pair, brand new Lexus items, in the boot which were to be thrown in.

Ther are a couple of Lexus specialists [one based in the US] but even from them bits ain't cheap. If there's a clonk from the front end, it will not be cheap whatever it is. Brake bits are not too bad, but the one I had also had alarm/immobilser issues, which could be truly terrifying to sort out. Electrical problems will be the death of most of lovely old barges like this, although I did find that there was absolutley no driver involvement whatsoever when wafting about in mine. Another good reason not to get one is the "Mike Brewer factor", as he ponced one up on Wheeler Dealers.

[Cavcraft]

Hmm, Legend did someone say? Found one locally, 3.5 V6(?), 170,000 miles £1500 at a dealers.Might go and have a shufty later or tomorrow.

[Negative Creep]

There is a lowered and alloy'ed up one around here that I must say looks rather smart

[Pillock]

I looked at one half-seriously a couple of years ago - cheap as the proverbial chips to buy but are pretty much destined for the scrapyard if anything more serious than an indicator stalk breaks. Parts and running costs are both cripplingly expensive.... however they look fugging cool.

 

Of course if it all goes badly wrong, you can pretend you're in Street Fighter circa 1993 and smash it up

 

[shite_meister]

Hmm, Legend did someone say? Found one locally, 3.5 V6(?), 170,000 miles £1500 at a dealers.Might go and have a shufty later or tomorrow.

Ah that'd be the later Legend, very much like the LS400 in looks, a fine choice in motor vehicle but maybe not quite as good as an LS400 still.Bit too pricey still methinks for that mileage, what you need to consider is that if you need to sell it on you'll get balls-all for it with near 200k on it.

[Pete-M]

Hmm, Legend did someone say? Found one locally, 3.5 V6(?), 170,000 miles £1500 at a dealers.Might go and have a shufty later or tomorrow.

Ah that'd be the later Legend, very much like the LS400 in looks, a fine choice in motor vehicle but maybe not quite as good as an LS400 still.Bit too pricey still methinks for that mileage, what you need to consider is that if you need to sell it on you'll get balls-all for it with near 200k on it.

The 3.5 Legends go ok and I think they're better looking than the LS, but they're still Jap blandmobiles with bloody expensive parts.As for mileage being an issue, I disagree. My A6 is on 188k and I doubt that I'd have any trouble getting £2k for it. Modern stuff can do lots of miles without any real issues, lots of business people can rack up 50k in a year so 200k in four years isn't that unusual for a luxobarge, my brother tends to run his stuff up to 150k in under three years and other than the BMWs he had he's never had any real issues. Most of his cars feel better once they've done 120kish than they did when new. If my Audi displayed 88k instead of 188k I doubt many in here would know by looking at or driving it.It's all to do with how they've been treated, something with 230k on the clock and FSH can often be one hell of a lot better than a matching one owner car with 70k and sketchy history, especially when you're dealing with huge barges that need lots of expensive bits. I'm much happier driving something that's had all the little jobs done 30k miles ago than something that needs them replacing in 5k.Personally, I avoid low mileage stuff.

[shite_meister]

Hmm, Legend did someone say? Found one locally, 3.5 V6(?), 170,000 miles £1500 at a dealers.Might go and have a shufty later or tomorrow.

Ah that'd be the later Legend, very much like the LS400 in looks, a fine choice in motor vehicle but maybe not quite as good as an LS400 still.Bit too pricey still methinks for that mileage, what you need to consider is that if you need to sell it on you'll get balls-all for it with near 200k on it.

The 3.5 Legends go ok and I think they're better looking than the LS, but they're still Jap blandmobiles with bloody expensive parts.As for mileage being an issue, I disagree. My A6 is on 188k and I doubt that I'd have any trouble getting £2k for it. Modern stuff can do lots of miles without any real issues, lots of business people can rack up 50k in a year so 200k in four years isn't that unusual for a luxobarge, my brother tends to run his stuff up to 150k in under three years and other than the BMWs he had he's never had any real issues. Most of his cars feel better once they've done 120kish than they did when new. If my Audi displayed 88k instead of 188k I doubt many in here would know by looking at or driving it.It's all to do with how they've been treated, something with 230k on the clock and FSH can often be one hell of a lot better than a matching one owner car with 70k and sketchy history, especially when you're dealing with huge barges that need lots of expensive bits. I'm much happier driving something that's had all the little jobs done 30k miles ago than something that needs them replacing in 5k.Personally, I avoid low mileage stuff.

Not everyone feels the same way though, like I said earlier-I doubt something like that would have any probs covering a massive mileage, for some its the idea that a fairly unusual car like a Legend would be a potential liability at that sort of mileage despite the fact that such a car could take it in its stride. Its horses for courses really, all I was pointing out was the fact that it wouldn't be an easy car to move on-I think a high mileage A6 is a different proposition to some people than a Legend.You are quite right to say that low mileages aren't the be-all and end-all, I've had my share of low-mileage shitters and in my experience a car is only as good as its been looked after generally but again its about what a potential purchaser might think when its time to punt it on, I think at £1500 and knowing how bored I get with cars quickly I might consider how easy a car is to sell on afterwards at that price level.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The LS400 is a car that needs to be bought for throw away money (£500) so you have an escape plan. If the autobox shits itself, the car is scrap.However........Someone I used to know bought an import model (G plate) at Auction for £350 with a broken rear screen - on these the rear screen is laminated and this one had a big hole and had been taped over.Aftedr trying to get another screen he gave up and put a breaking advert on Ebay.£1400 later he said he would 'definitely buy another'. He sold every nut and bolt from it.They are a bit bland, but what a superbly comfy and effortless way to get about. I love 'em.