New Ls400 Owner In Bath

Foeux · July 26, 2015

My name is Fred, I am 26, I live in Bath.

The other day I bought an M-reg Lexus LS400 on a whim for
£500 from a guy who needed it gone very fast.

It has partial service history with essentials like cambelt
being recorded. It has done 151k.

I drive a chipped V70 TDI usually but have always liked the
sound of the 1UZ and have vague aspirations of popping the lump into a Volvo
940.

I consider myself a car-guy and as such, feel like being a
car guy involves meeting likeminded people, having as many different car-experiences
as possible and being happy to sink a little money into the ‘hobby’.

What I have found so far with the LS has been largely good.
I, nor any of my pals can understand how so much car comes so cheaply. I like
that everything just works and I find the level of 90’s opulence hilarious. My
girlfriend also loves the car as it reminds her of Alan Partridge.

I love the sound the car makes as it has had one resonator
cut from the exhaust, it burbles and sounds very purposeful when pushed.
Whatever the speed, the thing is very comfortable and the stereo is “bangin’”.

Things I dislike and wish to address are:

The wheels and tyres – The wheels are only 16” and as a
result look a little small on such a big car. Furthermore the lacquer is peeling
and they look very ratty. The tyres are also dangerous Chinese-ditchfinders
that make wet driving skiddy and fun but also slow and dangerous. Any advice on
what alloys to look out for?

The bodywork is ok but a bit ratty in places; I will weigh
up paint repairs, a full respray, a roller job and a vinyl wrap.

I wish to at least try straight piping it as the engine, for
me, is the heart and centrepiece of this car. I will keep the ordinary system
for MOT day.

I want to service the car and replace all fluids so that the
car has the best chance of making the fabled mega-mileage numbers it is so
often claimed to achieve. The pollen filter was a horror to behold and may well
be 151k old.

Other than that I just want to drive it as it grabs
attention and people love it. I also need to learn to park the bloody thing. It
is a lot harder than a V70 to park well.

I hope this community is one I can take a lot from and
contribute a little to.

Thanks,

F.

PS been chatting to Matt Farah on Twitter about my new purchase,too!

PPS I like rugby, cycling, singing, tin whistle, swimming outdoors, comedy, words, scrabble, moths, cooking, dogs and my pals.