It needs a braver person than me

[genius149]

I'm sure I'm not the first person to have spotted this LS430 on ebay but today I took the train to Brum to have a look, armed with a checklist that someone had written on here in another thread and here are my thoughts.

The car has a Stag LPG system (One of the best from what I can gather from reviews) with the fill nozzle built into the petrol tank flap bit. It ran very sweetly and quietly but I couldn't drive it myself to test it properly - the chain-smoking salesman took me round the local industrial estate and used all the horses he could. Fast, smooth and quiet but I'd have liked a good 5 mile drive to get it warmed up properly and to test the cruise control.

Now for the bits that put me off...

The electric windows worked, but were very slow. Probably just needed greasing up but as with all electrical things, you never know.

The mirrors folded in as they should but the auto-dip when you select reverse didn't and neither did either of the motors to adjust the mirrors.

The steering column adjusted for reach but not tilt.

I couldn't get the boot to open using the key (that could just be me though). The bonnet struts needed replacing and should there have been something to pull in the boot so that you can open the petrol flap if there's an electrical failure? It wasn't there if there is supposed to be one.

Not only was the rear bumper damaged, the parking sensors didn't work, the front passenger door seemed to not fit right at the bottom and the headlights could've done with a polish.

There was no history with it and when I checked the gear oil, it was the colour of the Submit Topic button just below where I'm typing, well a bit darker to be honest but you get the idea.

It's probably worth £1300 (that was his offer price) to somebody as a runaround or for spares but a bit too much for me.  He also said he got it straight from the Lexus dealer on the estate...there was a definite whiff of Arthur Daley but more cheap woodbines than cigar smoke.

That said, it was good to have a good look around it and to learn what to look for.

[Chasdad]

Sounds like its a breaker. Probably hiding more problems too

[lex - eleven]

£1300?
My 2000 ls430 has a couple of faults. The radio/cd/cassette player doesn't work which means it wafts along in total silence and the rake on the steering doesn't work but the reach does but I manually set the rake for my needs. Admittedly the headlights need a polish which I have done myself in the past so no biggy. It has a mark on the rear bumper and the nearside front. It has done 140,000 miles (so it's run in now), cambelt done, never failed an m.o.t, comprehensive service history, and a detachable tow bar. The m.o.t ran out last year as I now am using another car more suited to towing my caravan and my wife finds it easier to get in and out of the jeep as she's disabled, in five and a half years of ownership I have replaced a couple of tyres, a Battery and an offside front wheel bearing. I turn the key every month or so and it fires up first time.
What pi55es me off is I put it on eBay a couple of times ages ago and was made an offer of £500! I'd rather keep it on my drive and get the pleasure of seeing it every day even if I'm not using it. The jeep is ok and I quite like it but it's like comparing a limousine to a tractor.

Sent from my EML-L29 using Tapatalk

[Newbie1]

It's a breaker. If the body was mint it might be worth fixing it up but with obvious panel damage, no. Probably rough underneath, too.

[genius149]

The underneath wasn't too bad, but it didn't look great either.  It also had four different types of rubber on each corner.

41 minutes ago, lex - eleven said:

£1300?
My 2000 ls430 has a couple of faults. The radio/cd/cassette player doesn't work which means it wafts along in total silence and the rake on the steering doesn't work but the reach does but I manually set the rake for my needs. Admittedly the headlights need a polish which I have done myself in the past so no biggy. It has a mark on the rear bumper and the nearside front. It has done 140,000 miles (so it's run in now), cambelt done, never failed an m.o.t, comprehensive service history, and a detachable tow bar. The m.o.t ran out last year as I now am using another car more suited to towing my caravan and my wife finds it easier to get in and out of the jeep as she's disabled, in five and a half years of ownership I have replaced a couple of tyres, a battery and an offside front wheel bearing. I turn the key every month or so and it fires up first time.
What pi55es me off is I put it on eBay a couple of times ages ago and was made an offer of £500! I'd rather keep it on my drive and get the pleasure of seeing it every day even if I'm not using it. The jeep is ok and I quite like it but it's like comparing a limousine to a tractor.

Sent from my EML-L29 using Tapatalk
 

Depending on what you want for it Mark, I could be tempted. I'd prefer a facelift but if a pre-facelift comes along at the right price then I'm sorely tempted. I've got to factor in another £1700 give or take on an LPG conversion as well hence why I'm after a bargain.  PM me with a price if you're interested.

Ooh, I think I've gone a bit Mike Brewer!

[Abid221]

Most of what you've listed are minor :

 

The side morrors not tilting on reverse is common and is an easy peasy fix. 15 minute job. 

 

Struts are ~ £20 from eBay or AliExpress. 

 

Stag LPG system would probably need a service at around £30. 

 

You couldn't get the boot to open because it might have been locked. You can insert your key to unlock it. 

Parking sensors not working are common. Easy fix on Club lexus USA or get some sensors at ~£5 per sensor. 

Bumper respray at around £100 each bumper. 

Leather probably need cleaning so a good cleaner is Autoglym from amazon. Works fantastic. £20 including micro fibre cloth. 

You'd probably want to service it for peace of mind. So oil, filters, cabin filter etc all in around £100. It's £50 for labour here in Birmingham. 

Its an LPG so you'd want to change the spark plugs. For quality iridium sparks around £60 for 8. I paid £40 to get them changed. 

Offer him £1000. 

Edited June 9, 2019 by Abid221

[genius149]

38 minutes ago, Abid221 said:

Most of what you've listed are minor :

 

It's the bits that weren't minor that worried me.  The state of the gear oil was shocking and the rest of the fluids didn't look great either.  So yeah, I could do all you suggest as well as changing the gear oil, a matching set of tyres etc. but the fact that the car just didn't look straight and it was very neglected. It needed rear discs and pads too. I just haven't got the time. Bit gutted as the Stag is a nice LPG system, although when you're spending 60p a litre it doesn't matter too much what system is in it.

[PJD]

On 6/9/2019 at 11:29 AM, Abid221 said:

Most of what you've listed are minor :

 

The side morrors not tilting on reverse is common and is an easy peasy fix. 15 minute job. 

 

 

Would you be able to elaborate or link to the fix for this please?

[Abid221]

8 hours ago, PJD said:

 

Would you be able to elaborate or link to the fix for this please?

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-3rd-gen-2001-2006/451425-mirrors-no-longer-adjust.html

 

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-3rd-gen-2001-2006/522148-mirror-adjustment-switch.html

 

You simply have clean the connectors with wd40 contact cleaner. 

[RgrWynne]

I have also found that it depends where the slider,  that you change which mirror moves,  is positioned. Mine on occasions has not worked and I moved the slider and hey presto all working. It is working perfectly at present. 

[royoftherovers]

12 hours ago, RgrWynne said:

I have also found that it depends where the slider,  that you change which mirror moves,  is positioned. Mine on occasions has not worked and I moved the slider and hey presto all working. It is working perfectly at present. 

Exactly the same on mine Roger. Lexus Chester told me about it in March this year.