New to be LS400 owner

[maxwellwd]

Thanks :-) I really like the added chrome window trim you have, where did you source that from?

[SHELLDRAKE]

I bought them from the U.S.A.

[cornershop]

Max that is a lovely car, just like mine

Looks great, is that Mica Green?

[SHELLDRAKE]

Quote

No it is known as British Green

I bought them from the U.S.A.

[dendonc]

I would recommend an LPG conversion >but only< by proffess of S Wales, many on here have used them and they are excellent, it makes no difference to the running, West London shell LPG cost 61p litre about 5 days ago, run it for a month or so first just make sure there are no existing issues.

http://www.professautogas.co.uk

[maxwellwd]

Just an update, collected the car last week and have to say. Very impressed overall for the price.

Engine is silent at all speeds, gearbox is good.

A couple of points as got checked over by my local mechanic who I trust. He was amazed at thr amount of car for the money but he said that needs a new auxiliary drive belt, the radiator has seen better days, tyres are near legal limit but other than that all good. Said a bit of surface rust on rear sub frame which I knew about.

The thing is I'm one im one of those people people that likes to bring their pride and joy back to its former glory, but is it worth it for a £1400 car?

For instance the leather interior could use a re-dye and the front armrest needs a retrim. Decent branded tryes for the DHP wheels are £175 a corner, parking sensors, aux input fitted, new rear chrome badges rather than gold. The list is beginning to build up

My question is, would you do the same on a 20 year old car? Ive been here before with an Audi TT which was a money pit, but also my mileage is minimal. 4-5k per year at most

Sent from The Isle Of Sheppey

[Az1]

Hi Maxwellwd 

I would say yes, go for it as I'm going through the same process although a bit slower than you, I bought mine just over 3 years ago and the first thing I did was have the timing belt and water pump done with all the other extra bits that needed doing, plus all fluids etc changed as the car was stood in a garage for 3 years prior to my ownership. Having gone through the I need a new car over the last 12 months I can't find any car that I would rather have, so have decided to splash the cash on my current one. I'm getting the alloys refurbed probably all 5, 5 new tyres, rear bumper needs a respray as I think it's been reversed into something by its previous owner, cracked paint and lacquer, new number plates as mine are beginning to delaminate, new boot seal, find a fix for the heated seats, (I'm adamant I will find one), new stereo or some hack to get an iPod connection. This will probably set me back well over £1000, plus I believe a few bushes need replacing as they were mentioned as advisories on the mot, will get them done too, this all because I know for the money I spend I will probably get a decent return in that it only cost me £1250 3 years ago and if I now spend another 1200 to 1500 I am sure I will get another 3 years, probably even more, and for a that money will can't find any other car I would rather have. 

[cornershop]

I'm in a similar boat with mine and have already done a full cambelt job, new tyres on newly sourced dhp wheels. Mine also needs an aux belt and potentially the tensioner too due to an occasional  whine from that area.  

New tyres were £95 each, I went with Dunlop 235/55/17, a bit more palatable than the correct 245/50!

Close to 2 grand spent on a 1 grand car :)

 

[Chasdad]

I on the other hand would say no. Use it while save for another if you like it. And maybe pay a bit more next time and get a really good one

[sorcerer]

On 01/02/2017 at 9:05 AM, dendonc said:

I would recommend an LPG conversion >but only< by proffess of S Wales, many on here have used them and they are excellent, it makes no difference to the running, West London shell LPG cost 61p litre about 5 days ago, run it for a month or so first just make sure there are no existing issues.

http://www.professautogas.co.uk

 

[goldtop]

2 hours ago, maxwellwd said:

The thing is I'm one im one of those people people that likes to bring their pride and joy back to its former glory, but is it worth it for a £1400 car?

Spend a bit of time enjoying it as-is. Then decide.

FWIW, I refuse to think of it in those terms - wasting money is what you do buying a £15000 car that will be worth £11000 next year, and £8000 the year after that.

But don't listen to me, I'm genuinely considering putting a manual gearbox in one of mine... :-/

[Spacewagon52]

6 minutes ago, goldtop said:

 

FWIW, I refuse to think of it in those terms - wasting money is what you do buying a £15000 car that will be worth £11000 next year, and £8000 the year after that.

 

I could not agree more. Depreciation on newer cars makes repairs pale into insignificance.

[dendonc]

so have decided to splash the cash on my current one.

Wise decision IMO, by the way did you notice there is an LS 400 on pentonville prison staff driveway on that photo you posted?

 

[maxwellwd]

Do those tyres fit all okay then rather than the correct ones for the DHP? That is a lot more palatable, how is the ride?

[maxwellwd]

Agreed, lets face it it wont depreciate any further now and am looking to keep for the longer term

[maxwellwd]

The thing is I would say this is a good one, and there are not many about these days that come up. In terms of the bodywork it is mint - only the odd blemish, no rust and not a single ding anywhere. Prices for good ones range from all over the place from what I have seen

[maxwellwd]

Good points you raise and certainly ones I have thought of myself, I was originally going to go for a three year old IS300h, but as my mileage is so low I would just end up with a nice car on the drive depreciating and having to pay out £14-15k. 

[maxwellwd]

This is what I did with my Audi, nearly sold it as got itchy feet but wouldn't have been able to replace it with something comparable. Out of interest in the three years you have had your LS400, what mileage have you put on it in that time?

[Az1]

Maxwellwd

i only use mine for the run to work and back, which is around a 14 mile round trip so tops I do in a year is about 4K, in that time I've had no issues apart from no backlight on the radio. Which I have decided needs fixing now. 

 

Ive seen a few mentions of lpg and I personally don't see the need if you are only doing 4 to 5k per year as the payback would take way too long on the Ltd mileage you do, I've thought about it a few times and don't see the need.

 

with regards to chasdads thought on not bothering spending the money and just replacing when need be, I don't agree with that, as there are very few good ones coming up for sale at a reasonable price, and even when a good one comes up it will inevitably need money spent on it, I've been looking on and off for the last 12 months and not one has caught my eye that I could justify buying. I recently saw one pop up on eBay, for 3600 navy blue, low mileage apparently stored for 10 years of its life, unfortunately it had the ugliest after market alloys, no service history past 2001, an aftermarket exhaust that sounded like it came from a Ferrari, and no record of a timing belt. To get that back to standard and fully serviced etc it would have cost me 5k all in, granted it only had low mileage (37k) but I couldn't justify the extra costs. 

Anyway my point was, if you know your car and it's in good condition and just needs some moneybspending to make it perfect I would rather do that than hope another one comes up in the future. 

[lockeyboy]

4 minutes ago, Az1 said:

Maxwellwd

i only use mine for the run to work and back, which is around a 14 mile round trip so tops I do in a year is about 4K, in that time I've had no issues apart from no backlight on the radio. Which I have decided needs fixing now. 

 

Ive seen a few mentions of lpg and I personally don't see the need if you are only doing 4 to 5k per year as the payback would take way too long on the Ltd mileage you do, I've thought about it a few times and don't see the need.

 

with regards to chasdads thought on not bothering spending the money and just replacing when need be, I don't agree with that, as there are very few good ones coming up for sale at a reasonable price, and even when a good one comes up it will inevitably need money spent on it, I've been looking on and off for the last 12 months and not one has caught my eye that I could justify buying. I recently saw one pop up on eBay, for 3600 navy blue, low mileage apparently stored for 10 years of its life, unfortunately it had the ugliest after market alloys, no service history past 2001, an aftermarket exhaust that sounded like it came from a Ferrari, and no record of a timing belt. To get that back to standard and fully serviced etc it would have cost me 5k all in, granted it only had low mileage (37k) but I couldn't justify the extra costs. 

Anyway my point was, if you know your car and it's in good condition and just needs some moneybspending to make it perfect I would rather do that than hope another one comes up in the future. 

Azeem have you tried gently pushing the radio into the dashboard? Works on mine (I'm assuming something isn't quite fitting into place behind it

dont press on the screen, just the black plastic area around it

[Chasdad]

Dont listen to me though.  I dont keep a car for more than 6 months. 

Simon the lpg man goes on the elgrand oc a lot.  

I wouldn't bother with the mileage you do.  I had loads of grief finding places to fill up 

[Az1]

14 minutes ago, lockeyboy said:

Azeem have you tried gently pushing the radio into the dashboard? Works on mine (I'm assuming something isn't quite fitting into place behind it

dont press on the screen, just the black plastic area around it

I've tried that, but after some reading and a post on the forum about the radio having a dry solder on one of the capacitors I think, I just need to get the radio out and looked at by an electrician (father in law) who understands that kind of stuff.  Although I'm hoping I can fit something after market, as I need a range of music in my life and I've got rid of almost all my cds and haven't had a cassette in over 10 years. 

[cornershop]

56 minutes ago, maxwellwd said:

Do those tyres fit all okay then rather than the correct ones for the DHP? That is a lot more palatable, how is the ride?

Yes, they fit perfectly - they add a bit more side profile than the 245/50 DHP tyres, so more compliant over bumps and ridges; they also make the speedo more accurate, and now they're only +1 or 2 mph over compared to standard 16" wheels

See attached - DHP on the left, 235/55 on the right

 

[Chris Skelton]

As a hoarder....still got 3 boxes of cassettes; plus sit next to circa 700 CDs.......look on them as 'hard copy'!

(Use HDD/itunes at home-folk here know I'm rather into hi-fi. spent more on set-up than any car!)

 

As to spending money. Worth it every time, as long as you don't get itchy for that 'something new'. Depends on the heart really?

It's so hard when we're bombarded with 'get this new ***** wonderthing' all the time. But the pleasure of being in something comfortable, smooth, special. Plus VERY well made, with no sign of all those 'aids' that can go wrong.

e.g. why would you 'need' tyre valves that tell you the pressure? You've got eyes, hands and a gauge!

Simple is best-and easier to maintain.

A good (ideally Ser 4?) LS should motor on for ages.

The only thing 'wrong' is the conservative shape-which is why I drive an XM Citroen-but then, I had Citroens for 35 years before Lexus, so was innoculated/indocdrinated?

Bought the only one I could find that was half decent. Not a patch on Lex build quality though, but smooth and quick enough.

[maxwellwd]

Agreed that dont think worth it to convert to LPG.

Sent from The Isle Of Sheppey