1993 LS400 opportunity

[ambermarine]

Denis

No one who knows anything about cars in general is in any doubt as to the implications of buying an example cited in this topic,The point is that there are LS owners who are in a position to benefit from the purchase of this vehicle and they will be well aware of the pitfalls  or can find them in this forums archives as there are plenty of references to virtually everything that as ever gone wrong .

The experiences you have suffered in the London area are typical of the BIG CITY but not everyone lives in the big city and some of us have drives and garages.

When I stripped the Mark 1 the panels, door cards went in the loft with the ecu's also the seats were swapped over and the rest was dumped the shell was taken by the engine buyer so the whole operation took less than a week.

Transportation is a factor that should be taken as an expense relevant in any delivery of parts,its just that you get all the parts delivered in one package.

If you have one of these Icons the  opportunity to get good replacement parts are getting scarce which is why I brought up the subject.

[Malc]

so who is going to buy it from here ?  it would be such a shame to see it scrapped 

Steve 2006  are you sure you can't find a home for this project  ?

Malc

[dendonc]

24 minutes ago, ambermarine said:

The experiences you have suffered in the London area are typical of the BIG CITY but not everyone lives in the big city and some of us have drives and garages.

I dont suffer experiences in London, I buy a roadworth MOT fit car, thats not suffering, your right not everyone lives in the big city, but if you check out the population of your own and three other neighbouring counties you will find that the combined counties are probably less than greater Londons 8.5 million population.

[runsgrateasanut]

57 minutes ago, Malc said:

so who is going to buy it from here ?  it would be such a shame to see it scrapped 

Steve 2006  are you sure you can't find a home for this project  ?

Malc

where's Rupert?

[The-Acre]

4 hours ago, Tinonline said:

Fair point.

I remember my TR6 on ramps in the street as I changed the clutch in Fulham. Harder to do nowadays...

A parking space with some ability to move around is all you need.

As for skills I'm self taught as are many.

That takes me back, living just 3 miles from Fulham and having my various cars on ramps, taking gearboxes out etc, always plenty of room.  Now our old road is permits only and the house we lived in selling for 1.5 million. How times change.

[steve2006]

7 hours ago, Malc said:

so who is going to buy it from here ?  it would be such a shame to see it scrapped 

Steve 2006  are you sure you can't find a home for this project  ?

Malc

Sorry Malcolm, to quote Dragons' Den.....I'm out!

[Gorodish]

Just my tuppenworth - my recent LS400 purchase was a gamble with a similar background - 4 years storage, low miles.

It had clearly been looked after prior to going into storage - but that wasn't a reassurance against the risk of unforeseen issues - many mentioned on here.

For me, the risk paid off.  There was no issue with brakes, engine, electrics or any of the things you might expect to deteriorate.  It was like the VW Beetle in Woody Allen's Sleeper - turn of the key, like new.  Ok, it needed an alternator and tyres but I could see that and factor them into the price.

I've just done 2500 miles in the past 2 months with no problems - potentially a small coolant leak but nothing to worry about. 

If there are ever cars to take a risk on with storage and lack of use, these are.

 

 

[Malc]

just seen it on eeeeeeebay at £250 so far !

Malc

[lockeyboy]

2 hours ago, Malc said:

just seen it on eeeeeeebay at £250 so far !

Malc

£420 now

[Peter_L]

2 hours ago, lockeyboy said:

£420 now

And rising....

Trouble is I may have to keep it myself now, just so I have somewhere to put my Lexus Owners Club stickers that arrived in the post today

[lockeyboy]

15 minutes ago, Peter_L said:

And rising....

Trouble is I may have to keep it myself now, just so I have somewhere to put my Lexus Owners Club stickers that arrived in the post today

I honestly don't think you'd regret it either

theres some work to get done but once complete the ride is exceptional. Most of the work would need to be done on any car anyway, and as malc has pointed out you'll never suffer from depreciation

 

 

[Peter_L]

2 minutes ago, lockeyboy said:

I honestly don't think you'd regret it either

theres some work to get done but once complete the ride is exceptional. Most of the work would need to be done on any car anyway, and as malc has pointed out you'll never suffer from depreciation

 

 

Maybe if I knew anything about cars, which I don't....

[lockeyboy]

22 minutes ago, Peter_L said:

Maybe if I knew anything about cars, which I don't....

You just need to find someone who does and who you can trust. Plus you have the depth of knowledge of the users here to offset any "dodgy diagnoses"

I'm also a mechanical novice, but I bloody love driving mine!

and down south I'm sure there are several well experience lexus independents 

[Peter_L]

8 minutes ago, lockeyboy said:

You just need to find someone who does and who you can trust. Plus you have the depth of knowledge of the users here to offset any "dodgy diagnoses"

I'm also a mechanical novice, but I bloody love driving mine!

and down south I'm sure there are several well experience lexus independents 

Oh, I admit that, having never driven (or even sat in) a  Lexus, I'd like to see what all the fuss is all about. But I guess I'll have to be content with my 13 year old Merc - that's luxury enough for me.

[dendonc]

17 minutes ago, Peter_L said:

Oh, I admit that, having never driven (or even sat in) a  Lexus, I'd like to see what all the fuss is all about. But I guess I'll have to be content with my 13 year old Merc - that's luxury enough for me.

Sorry, I missed the humor which I assume was supposed to come across, I'd love to be enlightened on that specific element?

[Malc]

what Merc are you comparing it with ?

Malc

[Tinonline]

1 hour ago, Malc said:

what Merc are you comparing it with ?

Malc

Malc, I sense you are pulling out the red rag...yet alas the Merc, any Merc is a bit of a cow to the Lexus bull.

No animals were hurt in this metaphor and any reference to male/female gender is coincidental in the context of the metaphor.

[Malc]

red rags and bulls, well, I don't know ...........  as if 

However, it would be nice to know as I remember driving a couple of truly magnificent Mercs, but a long while back, 5 or 600 s with a rare level of sophistication and comfort.

Malc

[Peter_L]

11 hours ago, Malc said:

what Merc are you comparing it with ?

Malc

It's an old E220. Not as impressive as a Lexus, I'm sure, but it's a lovely ride. Drove down to Italy in it last year and was sorry when the journey ended.

[Malc]

enjoying the drive is most important and if your Merc does that for you then it's brilliant !

Malc

[runsgrateasanut]

Confirmed - its worth more than £100.

It been tinkered with at some stage as those clear indicators are not original to 1993.

ps an E220 is not a V8 !! you are missing a treat.

[runsgrateasanut]

I'm losing the plot - thinking the side lights are the indicators - must have had a flashback to my S class and the fact that I replaced side indicators which looked like the side lights.  Doh! bit worrying!  and I don't joke about dementia! 

up to £810 now, so some interest.

[Peter_L]

33 minutes ago, runsgrateasanut said:

I'm losing the plot - thinking the side lights are the indicators - must have had a flashback to my S class and the fact that I replaced side indicators which looked like the side lights.  Doh! bit worrying!  and I don't joke about dementia! 

up to £810 now, so some interest.

Yes, £810. But it was at over £1,000 earlier - until the bidder cancelled his bid! And it has 85 'watchers' so it could be interesting tomorrow evening.

[dendonc]

Its up to £906.99 now, 7:50am, the last rush offers on eBay are usually within the last minit

[Peter_L]

10 minutes ago, dendonc said:

Its up to £906.99 now, 7:50am, the last rush offers on ebay are usually within the last minit

Yes, you're right. I'm surprised to see so many bids (19) on this so early on. I've put over 30 items on eBay in the past couple of weeks and generally 90% o the bidding is in the last minute or so. The Lexus has attracted far more attention than anything else.