MK1/MK2 LS400 price??

[mrdoofa]

Hello, my nephew has the V8 itch and has pondered the possibility of an early LS400. He rather likes the boxy looks of the early cars, and certainly likes the reliability. He does have quite a tight budget as he is a student, and he was wondering if it’s even possible for him to afford one. Could anyone help us out by telling us what we could expect to pay for a decent older LS400. He’s not concerned about it being concourse, just presentable. He’s definitely not bothered about mileage either, he knows these old barges can take withstand a bit of use. If anyone can help us, it would be very greatly appreciated or if you can suggest alternative vehicles for him if an early LS400 is too expensive. He’s thought about a Jaguar XJ8, but is concerned about reliability. Any help would be appreciated.

[Malc]

back in September 22nd i mentioned on here a G plate December 1990 Mk1 for sale on eBay

I think it was @£400 with an MOT

that would have suited him no doubt

Malc

 

[royoftherovers]

Up to £3k for the LS.

Do not overlook the Toyota Camry.

[ambermarine]

Reffering to the Lexus LS400 as an old Barge is sure to make you lots of friends on this forum think carefully what you write.

[runsgrateasanut]

My wife said why don't I buy a nice Jaguar like this one (very nice interior) but then I showed her the MOT record for the Car - Shock Horror ! 

Sounds like your Nephew can't afford a Lexus LS as parts are going to be too expensive and they are at an age when most things need replacing /servicing./  Lovely Car but then I can splash out on parts - which I certainly have had to, since ownership. 

Think I'd avoid Jags also.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-03-JAGUAR-X-TYPE-2-5-SE-AWD-AUTO-LONG-MOT-FULL-LTHR-NICE-SPEC/153705499457?hash=item23c98fcb41:g:QG8AAOSwZf5duvMY

[Howplum]

There's always a few V8s in the BMW range:

E34 5 Series 530/535/540

E39 5 Series 535/540

E38 7 Series 730/735/740

Excellent parts support from the manufacturer and elsewhere, together with umpteen forums etc. on the internet.

Mercedes-Benz also do a few V8s, such as S500, E500, CL500, S430, E430 etc.

Hopefully your nephew has investigated insurance costs before getting too excited.

[mrdoofa]

18 hours ago, Malc said:

back in September 22nd i mentioned on here a G plate December 1990 Mk1 for sale on ebay

I think it was @£400 with an MOT

that would have suited him no doubt

Malc

 

Shame that isn’t for sale now, that sounds pretty much perfect 😕 He would have had quite a bit of change from his budget too, at that price. That’s significantly cheaper than he expected them to be. If his last car would have been sold by then (which it is now), he would have had that LS.

[mrdoofa]

18 hours ago, Malc said:

back in September 22nd i mentioned on here a G plate December 1990 Mk1 for sale on ebay

I think it was @£400 with an MOT

that would have suited him no doubt

Malc

 

Thanks for your advice & searching for us though 🙂.

[mrdoofa]

12 minutes ago, Howplum said:

There's always a few V8s in the BMW range:

E34 5 Series 530/535/540

E39 5 Series 535/540

E38 7 Series 730/735/740

Excellent parts support from the manufacturer and elsewhere, together with umpteen forums etc. on the internet.

Mercedes-Benz also do a few V8s, such as S500, E500, CL500, S430, E430 etc.

Hopefully your nephew has investigated insurance costs before getting too excited.

I’ll point him in the direction of those cars, and hopefully this will broaden his horizon and help him find something that he wants. I doubt he’d say no to any of them! Insurance should hopefully not be concern (but with the whims and fancies of the insurance providers one can never be sure). I should clarify that although I said he’s a university student, he’s a mature student and he is currently 23 years old so it’s not like he’s a teenager trying to insure some preposterous prospect of a car. Although having said that, he did own a 4.6 V8 Cadillac STS at 19 haha 😄. He also doesn’t mind ploughing lots of money into a car, they really are his thing.

I Really appreciate the input and contributions, and for taking the time to write to us 🙂.

[mrdoofa]

13 hours ago, runsgrateasanut said:

My wife said why don't I buy a nice Jaguar like this one (very nice interior) but then I showed her the MOT record for the Car - Shock Horror ! 

Sounds like your Nephew can't afford a Lexus LS as parts are going to be too expensive and they are at an age when most things need replacing /servicing./  Lovely Car but then I can splash out on parts - which I certainly have had to, since ownership. 

Think I'd avoid Jags also.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-03-JAGUAR-X-TYPE-2-5-SE-AWD-AUTO-LONG-MOT-FULL-LTHR-NICE-SPEC/153705499457?hash=item23c98fcb41:g:QG8AAOSwZf5duvMY

Thank your for the advice 🙂 I’ll make sure he considers when making his decision. I should add though, that this is certainly not going to be car intended for anything else other than leisure. So if the worst came to the worst and it had to go off the road for a prolonged period, it wouldn’t be the end of world. He doesn’t really need a car, they’re just a hobby to him and he happens to like large luxury cars (unlike most his age, he like to waft and not thrash). The car he just got rid of was in fact a Jaguar! A 1999 S-Type 3.0 manual, surprisingly reliable but he found a bit dull. I think he found the V6 characterless and has even said he’d rather take a more charismatic but less powerful and slower V8.

Apologies for the rambling, thanks for the post!

 

[mrdoofa]

17 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Up to £3k for the LS.

Do not overlook the Toyota Camry.

Great, thanks for the help! 🙂 I’ll make sure he has a browse at Camrys. However he did fancy a V8 (assuming he can afford one). But the Camry’s reliability would be appealing to him.

[mrdoofa]

16 hours ago, ambermarine said:

Reffering to the Lexus LS400 as an old Barge is sure to make you lots of friends on this forum think carefully what you write.

Your attitude and input is neither helpful nor particularly welcome. “Old barge” is simply an term of an endearment and is not intended as a slur. “Barge” simply refers to the car’s size, because it’s big (and you can’t argue that the LS400 isn’t large). Also it refers to the car’s softer nature which again is not a criticism, it’s just an attribute of the car (an attribute that both me and my nephew happen to like). And the “old” part is simply a reference to the fact that the youngest example is now 20 years old. I did not intend to offend or upset with my initial post, however I’m not going to apologise for such an insignificant remark especially since no one else sees unduly bothered by it. I suggest you address your over sensitivity

[Malc]

6 hours ago, mrdoofa said:

I suggest you address your over sensitivity

don't stress over this, I think it was said jokingly anyway, we KNOW they are old barges and for me, it's a simple term of loving endearment 

Malc  

hope he gets what he wishes for

[Howplum]

Range Rover?

[ambermarine]

7 hours ago, mrdoofa said:

Your attitude and input is neither helpful nor particularly welcome. “Old barge” is simply an term of an endearment and is not intended as a slur. “Barge” simply refers to the car’s size, because it’s big (and you can’t argue that the LS400 isn’t large). Also it refers to the car’s softer nature which again is not a criticism, it’s just an attribute of the car (an attribute that both me and my nephew happen to like). And the “old” part is simply a reference to the fact that the youngest example is now 20 years old. I did not intend to offend or upset with my initial post, however I’m not going to apologise for such an insignificant remark especially since no one else sees unduly bothered by it. I suggest you address your over sensitivity

My attitude and input as helped a lot of members over fifteen years on this forum and also contributed to a lot of solutions to problems the last person to call my car a barge is now regretting it because he had just bought a BMW and that coined the phrase "box made for #ankers". just saying. 

[Cotswold Pete]

To add my two pence worth (as a very biased Lexus owner), Jag X-type sills are a nightmare after about 10 to 11 years, the oil leak problem on that eBay sale, is probably same as my wifes had, the new seal is £2.50, but need to take the whole darned engine out to do.  I loved the engine - nice and free running, but at 140K, head gasket goes, so Jag now scrapped.

On Range Rover, not quite sure why the three mates of mine who have them, keep them,  they have either had teething problems from new that took over a year to get sorted and older ones, well it does not seem to matter whether you use them as a Chelsea Tractor or for Chasing Wildlife over fields, the faults keep coming.

BMWs, same thing, have got many mates who own them, but none of them ever managed to keep them after 10 years, start becoming money pits.

Mercs, have two mates who own Mercs, but they use them for business visits, and complain about the bills (well their company accountant does)  (both own LS as the car they prefer, just do not feel quite right rocking up at a client in a 20 year old motor)

Not sure if Honda do a V8, but if they do, than I expect it to be bullet proof, though thirstier than LS, previous Honda Civic we owned, the engine was bullet proof, the body work took a battering, the only thing that made us change it was a badger incident - took the front bumper out on one side, so changed to the Jag (hey-ho).  Wife has just bought a 2 year old Mazda 2, not a bad car, frugal, more toys than my man cave, but will still be using the LS for our trip to Lake District next week.

Being honest, when I bought my first LS it was a 11 year old Mk3, I had it for 5 years, and never did anything to it (apart form standard service), it had knocking drop links, knackered Anti-roll bushes, but it drove okay (and I suepct it needed a new ECU - as it had that horrible stalling problem), and my current motor at 19 years old and 204K on clock needs a bit of money spent on various suspension bushes.

I think an LS is a bit like that Toyota Pickup they tried to destroy on Top Gear a decade or so ago, you really need to blow the darn thing up to stop it from being of any use.

[Malc]

1 hour ago, Cotswold Pete said:

Not sure if Honda do a V8, but if they do, than I expect it to be bullet proof

my 2006 V6 3.6ltr Honda Legend is just about bullet proof too BUT oh my, the toys and electronic gadgetry do my head in tbh ...  and I can't get a comfy driving stance either for more than 15 mins

the dear old barge, sorry my Mk3 Ls400 is a joy to drive wherever and whenever ................  and now almost 226k miles AND I could easily drive her all day long

There's no other car i would think to just jump in after checking the engine oil and screennwash bottle and drive across Europe .....  if I'm allowed to that is with all this Brexit stuff going on 

Malc

[The-Acre]

12 hours ago, mrdoofa said:

Your attitude and input is neither helpful nor particularly welcome. “Old barge” is simply an term of an endearment and is not intended as a slur. “Barge” simply refers to the car’s size, because it’s big (and you can’t argue that the LS400 isn’t large). Also it refers to the car’s softer nature which again is not a criticism, it’s just an attribute of the car (an attribute that both me and my nephew happen to like). And the “old” part is simply a reference to the fact that the youngest example is now 20 years old. I did not intend to offend or upset with my initial post, however I’m not going to apologise for such an insignificant remark especially since no one else sees unduly bothered by it. I suggest you address your over sensitivity

Mine is apparently not just a barge but a slab sided one!

[Tinonline]

Well these barges...the Mk4 is quicker than the v8 Jag S type as I had an S type...scrapped at 73000 miles...

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi,

If he needs any help with insurance at all then please feel free to direct him our way if you wish.

Regards,

Dan.

[Howplum]

There might be something on this site that appeals to your nephew:

http://forum.retro-rides.org/board/58/cars-sale

 

[runsgrateasanut]

 

I've just received a Quotation for my Car Insurance renewal £450.00. Up quite a lot on last year and no claims.

Now, bearing mind I may not actually be able to use the Car more than a drive to the Supermarket once weekly (or less) for the next

six months or so, should premiums reflect the new low mileage expectation + lack of traffic risk,  in my renewal price?

Or, should I be tempted to not insure for six months - sorn the Car and take advantage of the three quarter million who will be delivering groceries to me? 

 

[runsgrateasanut]

Please ignore my above comment as I'v created a new Thread under Insurance Renewal