1992 Lexus LS400 £11.5k + taxes anyone?

steve2006 · June 19, 2020

Prices are now hitting the roof it seems with the sale of this 15,000km example from Japan.

With a landed price of just under £11.5k plus import duty, VAT and registration we’re looking at around £15,000 OTR.

https://carfromjapan.com/cheap-used-toyota-celsior-for-sale?minYear=1990&maxYear=1994

skyway · June 19, 2020

LOL Chancers 🙂

I know the prices for LS's are high in places like UAE.

Malc · June 19, 2020

I'll be quite amazed if there's a market for these cars at anything like these silly prices

But let's wait and see ......... some classic car dealers treat cars like a currency .... like rare number plates too .................... like Bitcoin perhaps

Mine's going to be run into the ground in about 15 years time when she hits @400k miles :yahoo:

Malc

ambermarine · June 20, 2020

The problem here is that this is not a Lexus spec the seats are not leather and it as a couple of other non Lexus additions.

In the UK this does not come close to a Lexus LS400 specification even the colour is not found in the UK issued cars.

The Americans love their classic cars and there is an industry built around it but here we tend to stick to classic British and so nothing like the same interest in Asian manufactured post war vehicles.

There are a lot of Celsiors for sale in Japan and this is a rare low mileage car but plenty of reasonable mileage examples at half the price so anyone buying this car is paying a premium for the reading on the odometer because everything else is the same and to my mind not worth the extra.

Spottedlaurel · June 20, 2020

Crikey, the one I've just purchased was a rather small percentage of that price!

As noted in another topic, I found yesterday that some insurers don't list any Lexus models, of whatever age, as 'classics'. After 25+ years of being involved with various Japanese car clubs, forums etc it's amazing that there is still this prejudice.

ScousePaul · June 26, 2020

On 6/20/2020 at 9:00 AM, ambermarine said:

The problem here is that this is not a Lexus spec the seats are not leather and it as a couple of other non Lexus additions.

I think I read somewhere once that in the Japanese market they prefer wool cloth in their luxury cars (thinking particularly of the Toyota Century). Supposed to be quieter and more comfortable than leather. Wasn't leather on an LS an option on the early models, even in the UK? Or maybe not. It was a long time ago... Wouldn't mind a decked out Century though - would just remove the lace curtains 🙂

ambermarine · June 27, 2020

Hi Paul

The first LS 400s in the uk had no options, the offer was an all up full specification my 1990 mark 1 was the 65th car to be imported and according to my Toyota / Lexus dealership as they were up to the late 90s that specification was exclusive to the UK.

I think there were several reasons for not offering more options the main one was the dealership set up and why they eventually forced a exclusive Lexus dealership on the franchisees' .

steve2006 · June 27, 2020

From what I understand with Japan being a fairly hot country wool is preferred because leather would soon expire because of the heat and sitting on a hot leather seat is not a pleasant experience. Those that do have leather seats tend not to be heated.

Same with the sunroof these again are not favoured in Japan as glass will allow the heat to pass through into the cabin whereas a steel roof will tend to reflect it or dissipate it.

The-Acre · June 27, 2020

42 minutes ago, steve2006 said:

From what I understand with Japan being a fairly hot country wool is preferred because leather would soon expire because of the heat and sitting on a hot leather seat is not a pleasant experience. Those that do have leather seats tend not to be heated.

Same with the sunroof these again are not favoured in Japan as glass will allow the heat to pass through into the cabin whereas a steel roof will tend to reflect it or dissipate it.

My Celsior has wool and to be honest it's so much nicer than leather, it's like sitting in your favourite armchair, and two days ago when it was 32degrees I really appreciated it. It's also very nice on a cold winter morning.

ScousePaul · June 27, 2020

I think it's just a psycological thing in EU/cooler climes. Leather is obviously seen to be the luxury premium option but I'd love to experience a quality wool interior (not the tatty stuff we get in the cheaper brands over here). I can imagine it would feel quite pleasant. Would be constantly worrying about spilling my drive-through milk shake over it though 🙂.

ScousePaul · June 27, 2020

(as an addendum to that - we took our dog out to the beach yesterday in the IS300h, and he threw up all the sea water he'd been gulping due to the heat all over the back seat. Was fixed with a quick wipe with some kitchen towels on the leather)

The-Acre · June 27, 2020

42 minutes ago, ScousePaul said:

I think it's just a psycological thing in EU/cooler climes. Leather is obviously seen to be the luxury premium option but I'd love to experience a quality wool interior (not the tatty stuff we get in the cheaper brands over here). I can imagine it would feel quite pleasant. Would be constantly worrying about spilling my drive-through milk shake over it though 🙂.

No one is allowed to have coloured drinks in my car! I love the way I found the pure new wool label when I removed the rear seat!

steve2006 · June 27, 2020

Mmmmmmmm.

The-Acre · June 27, 2020

1 hour ago, steve2006 said:

Mmmmmmmm.

Well there you go, there's nothing like it! On the downside, our dogs hairs like to cling to it!

ScousePaul · June 27, 2020

I'v'e not taken my dog out in my newly acquired LS400 yet. It's so immaculate inside I know I'll get very annoyed if he makes even the slightest mess. May have to wrap him up in bubblewrap or something. My last weekend warrior vechicle was a Land Cruiser amazon (the silly V8 4.7 litre one) and I just stripped out the third row of seats and threw up a guard rail (though we had to two dogs then). The mess was part of its charm.

Main reason I went back to the LS was we had to let one of them go so it was overkill for one dog (it was overkill for two dogs tbh...). Still considering my options for how to manage my dog in it (current strategy is to use my wife's car 🙂). Would imagine wool would be a nightmare with pets...