Sam the Newbie with a LS460 SE-L

[S1MNN]

Hi Guys,

I wanted to introduce myself, I am Sam from Coventry and an owner of a recently acquired dark blue 2007 LS460 SE-L with an alabaster leather interior. I first spotted the car advertised a lot cheaper than others which of course, piqued my interest! advertised at somewhat of a bargain price and definately sold as seen I knew this could be a potential dog. I had a look at the MOT history which seemed quite good with no major faults or failures and then decided to look into the Lexus dealer service history. The car had been serviced regularly with Lexus until the end of 2016 however had since really piled on the miles without any available history to date and a current mileage of 124K miles. Despite this grey recent history I thought I would take a punt! So, the car body work was good with all panel gaps even and everything lined up. I could see that the passenger side front wing was dull with a lot of fine scratches looking as though it may have seen some paint in the recent past but everything lined up well and evenley. The alloy wheels were heavily corroded (common on Lexus I am told?) but the tyres were recent and of a good brand. Next the interior which was in good shape all apart from the driver's seat but still acceptable condition. Everything inside the car was in working order with the only item needing replacement being a scratched Sat Nav DVD. Next was the drive and the car did not miss a beat. Smooth and quick without any harshness/knocks with suspension or with the drive. The audible wind noise I believe is from the trim located just ahead of the wing mirrors which I will be removing and attempting to fix. The other thing I noticed was a clicking noise when feathering the brake pedal and a scoring noise at low speed when the windows were down. I realised worst case scenario it would be the brake actuator on the way out and had to have a think. The condition, drive and cost of the car meant for an acceptable risk to take - I hope that will be true further down the line! So, I became the proud new owner of a LS, a car I had coveted for so many years. The first things I have done (and currently being done) is a full 60K service (Spark plug service Inc) and waterpump with Lincoln based firm Toyotek. They have been changing the Diff, gearbox and brake fluids too as well as pollen filter and A/C gas for me too. They have come across one bodge job issue which was a pipe going to the radiator had been glued in place?! They have decided that a new radiator (£318+VAT) and pipe are needed and I have agreed as that is not something I would want to take any risks on blowing! They also advised that the brake disc have a slight lip and the brake pads are in good order. So, for the moment (he says,lol) things aren't too bad..

I have owned Bmws and Mercedes previously and wish I could say the same about them! Thanks for taking the time to read my introduction and I will keep you updated with any highs and lows of being a LS owner!

 

Sam

[Malc]

1 hour ago, S1MNN said:

bodge job issue which was a pipe going to the radiator

Welcome to the Club, a good steed for sure

you might well have caught in time the need for the new radiator to avoid the gearbox failing with oil/water mix and destroying the gearbox

I take it the gears run smoothly and the gearbox oil is like new too ?

Malc

[graham8370]

Welcome Sumeet, a lovely car. I had one for 4 years, one of the best cars I have owned, enjoy.

[Cotswold Pete]

An LS is a car that once owned, hard to let go of.

I keep meaning to try a 460, just to see if it can persuade me out of my 400, but at 202,000 miles the 400 is going strong.

The only thing that bothers me is the LS range is so quite that any rattles seem to be prominent, but most 20 year old motors will have more rattles than your average materinty unit.

Some twerp in a hot hatch Renault something or another was bothering me on way to work (sat in my boot they were), so a quite blip and the tank was up to 90.  Nice to know it can still do it.

[S1MNN]

31 minutes ago, Malc said:

Welcome to the Club, a good steed for sure

you might well have caught in time the need for the new radiator to avoid the gearbox failing with oil/water mix and destroying the gearbox

I take it the gears run smoothly and the gearbox oil is like new too ?

Malc

Hi Malc,

Thanks for the kind welcome. The oil & water mixing would be a disaster! The gearbox has run very smoothly since getting the car but I wanted to change the gearbox oil and other fluids as I didn't have any evidence of this being done previously. Hopefully, I have caught this car before serious neglect begins to take its toll on her.

Sam

[S1MNN]

10 minutes ago, Cotswold Pete said:

An LS is a car that once owned, hard to let go of.

I keep meaning to try a 460, just to see if it can persuade me out of my 400, but at 202,000 miles the 400 is going strong.

The only thing that bothers me is the LS range is so quite that any rattles seem to be prominent, but most 20 year old motors will have more rattles than your average materinty unit.

Some twerp in a hot hatch Renault something or another was bothering me on way to work (sat in my boot they were), so a quite blip and the tank was up to 90.  Nice to know it can still do it.

I agree  with you Pete, these cars are rapid when they need to be but always smooth and comfortable. I always liked the LS 400s, I heard they are more well rounded compared to the later models. Either way, nothing feels so special on the road as these cars.

[messi]

To me it looks like he's bought the ls460 from that dodgy dealer in Dudley 

[S1MNN]

42 minutes ago, messi said:

To me it looks like he's bought the ls460 from that dodgy dealer in Dudley 

Hmmm

 

[S1MNN]

23 minutes ago, S1MNN said:

Hi Malc,

Thanks for the kind welcome. The oil & water mixing would be a disaster! The gearbox has run very smoothly since getting the car but I wanted to change the gearbox oil and other fluids as I didn't have any evidence of this being done previously. Hopefully, I have caught this car before serious neglect begins to take its toll on her.

Sam

 

[S1MNN]

So after the scorching Bank Holiday weekend I was able to head back up to Lincoln In Toyotek's Toyota Yaris with my wife and kids to collect the Lexus. They kindly allowed me to collect in the evening and by the time we arrived it was just after 6 PM. It almost felt like I had never owned the car as it had spent more time in Lincoln than it did with me in Coventry! I was, of course excited and relieved to have her back. I had a great chat with the guys about the car and discussed their thoughts on the condition of the car. They were pleased with the car and did not see any issues with it. My initial worry about the brakes / possible ABS Actuator problem quickly dissipated as they were all in great order. Driving home I could feel the difference the new brake fluid had made. It was much nicer. Their Full+60 service for the LS includes things like the Spark plugs and the Brake fluid so given the car's recent grey background it was one to go for. The cost for the service is £705 inc VAT and they use a Lexus Service Kit with OEM parts. The other work done included a new Water Pump, Auto Gearbox oil change,Diff oil change, Air con service and recharge, Pollen filter, Windscreen wipers and replace the damaged Radiator with a new Lexus Rad. So all in all a good outcome considering the Radiator issue and with a final invoice for £1670.80 inc VAT. The team are all very kind with Lexus/Toyota backgrounds and are enthusiastic when they discuss the cars. One owns a GS450h (and he spoke about it being disposed of by the dealer as they could not solve an issue with it) which he repaired using £20 of parts. So all in all a great first experience with Toyotek. Although after hours they did not rush me and my family, spent time discussing every point and detail and made sure we left with ice cold water bottles for our journey back to the West Midlands. Needless to say I look forward to my next trip up to Lincoln next year!

[Malc]

Brilliant, well done

many years of happy happy trouble free motoring for sure

Malc

[BigBoomer]

Welcome to LS ownership Sumeet. 
Hopefully that work will be all it will need for the foreseeable future.

These cars do seem to have a few niggling problems, but nothing like the 7Series/A8 and nowhere near the S-Class or the Phaeton.
I'm 25k miles and 19 months into my LS430 ownership, and now that my niggles are mostly resolved (need to fit a front parking sensor and replace the rear passenger door lock) I am loving the reliability, smoothness and power.

[S1MNN]

1 hour ago, BigBoomer said:

Welcome to LS ownership Sumeet. 
Hopefully that work will be all it will need for the foreseeable future.

These cars do seem to have a few niggling problems, but nothing like the 7Series/A8 and nowhere near the S-Class or the Phaeton.
I'm 25k miles and 19 months into my LS430 ownership, and now that my niggles are mostly resolved (need to fit a front parking sensor and replace the rear passenger door lock) I am loving the reliability, smoothness and power.

Thanks, George for the warm welcome and yes I agree with the cars' issues being tiny in comparison to the Germans. I've owned a 7 and CL as well as smaller Germans in the past and each of them as lovely as they were had their perennial faults. Now, I am ready to grow up and join the world of Lexus reliable motoring lol.