I'm finally part of the club!

[bean_counter]

Good morning everyone!

Just picked my 2004 Lexus LS430 last night and drove it back home and I couldn't be more pleased (pictures to follow but I just couldn't help and make my first post as an official Lexus owner now).

Just for full transparency and in the interest of showing market value and what I paid: £3,700. Car was a Cat N for a caved in back bumper which was replaced, repainted and then scratched up again by the previous owner who forgot how long the car was and reversed in to his own living room wall... oops. 55,280 miles on the odometer, verified original as it has full main dealer history (services, any repairs etc) up to 40,000 miles from the original owner at which point it was bought by the gentleman that I bought it from and maintained by a (seemingly) reputable local mechanic. 

Now on to some work that needs doing:

- Back and front bumpers need repainting but in all honesty, I'm happy to drive around with a bit of a scratched up bumper for a few months so not right at the top of the list.

- Another cosmetic item, some top coat is peeling off on the front passenger side door but again, not at the top of my list.

- Replace the wipers and the Battery, wipers were an advisory on the last MOT and I quite like being able to see while driving in the rain and the Battery has just gone flat as the previous owner really didn't drive it an awful lot.

- The bonnet struts have failed, a small inexpensive task but still worth doing.

- Top up fluids

- Brake rotors and pads, there is a bit of brake shake, not incredibly noticeable but the brakes is probably the one place of the car you want to feel absolutely confident in.

- Other than that, a good thorough clean, considering a full detail as the carpets are a bit dirty but I might have to pull the car in to the garage and borrow a carpet extractor from a kind neighbour.

- Called up Lexus to enquire about some prices:

    - £770 (incl. VAT) for a full service

    - £795 (incl. VAT) for a timing belt and water pump change.

Probably will get around to the timing belt at some point soon as a bit of preventative maintenance but will most likely buy the parts and find a reputable garage to replace them for me (I'm in South East London, Dulwich if anyone has any recommendations for good mechanics they've had experience with)

Thank you everyone and I look forward to being an active member of the forum!

[Jon Evans]

Welcome to the club, Yousuf.

[BigBoomer]

Welcome aboard Yousuf 
Sounds like you got yourself a low mileage bargain.

Wipers, Battery, bonnet struts are all easy enough to do. Make sure that the struts you buy come with the fittings.
Pads & disks are also easy enough to do.

When was the last timing belt change? They should be every 90k miles or 9 years so it should have been changed twice already.
Normally there is a sticker under the bonnet somewhere telling when/mileage the last change was.

[Malc1]

Welcome to the Club …… she sounds a good buy ….. just don’t have another bad bump coz the insurers won’t be kind to you on the value as a Cat N sadly

Good luck

Malc 

[Cotswold Pete]

Yousuf,  your only problem now is every other car will seem like a retrograde step.

Enjoy the experience and sounds like a jolly good buy, be good to see photos when you have them.  

[jonthetourist]

Sounds ace. Make sure you have a secure support when you do the struts - that bonnet is really heavy. (ask me how I know 🙃)

If bean counter means accountant, you will enjoy the (lack of) depreciation on your new purchase.

Enjoy!

 

Jon

[lex - eleven]

Well done on that find! The 430 is a wonderful car and sublime to drive. You don't really drive the car it just sort of cuddles you home. 😁

[Lexus_2023]

Welcome to the club, Yousuf.

[RONNIE W HODGEKINSON]

A Big Welcome to the Club Josef.. Looking forward to pictures of your new Car....Best of luck..!!!

[MaximusPrime]

Welcome to the club, Yousuf! 👍 Hoping to see some pictures of the new car once you've settled in, this will definitely be one of the best cars you have ever owned once the bits you have highlighted have been addressed! 🙂

[Stanwithaplan]

Mabrook! Congratulations Mr Bean. I'm smiling as I type this because I know exactly how delighted you are feeling right now. Sounds like a very satisfying project to me. I got a really good pair of struts recently,   https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262798433773

Edited November 3, 2023 by Stanwithaplan
added url for struts I found

[Mikaelse]

On 11/2/2023 at 1:11 PM, BigBoomer said:

Welcome aboard Yousuf 
Sounds like you got yourself a low mileage bargain.

Wipers, battery, bonnet struts are all easy enough to do. Make sure that the struts you buy come with the fittings.
Pads & disks are also easy enough to do.

When was the last timing belt change? They should be every 90k miles or 9 years so it should have been changed twice already.
Normally there is a sticker under the bonnet somewhere telling when/mileage the last change was.

Yupp. A definite risk that the oem belt is stil in there.  When I bought my oldest LS400 the original belt was stil on . Only 90Kmiles but 20 years old. The job is expensive so some do not want to listen to the years rule. Scary old rubber.
I actually kept rpms below 2500 on the trip home and changed it as soon as parts arrived. 

These are wonderful V8 engines that will be wrecked in one second if timing belt fails or waterpump locks up or ??
I would only trust a mechanic who has done a few of these Toyota/Lexus V8 belts before and has some knowledge of what to look for and how to handle handle stuff in OLD cars. 
Extra care must be observed when handling connectors , sensors and cables. 
Just swapping out stuff as ordered is also not enough if you want to enjoy good reliability.   
You should also. 

Spin the accessory belt driven stuff with belt off and listen/feel for dry or worne bearings.  Alternator, fan bearings, tensioner bearings, idler bearing, freewheel bearing for Ac compressor, Servo pump bearing,
It only takes a minute extra listening with a bearing stethoscope (prefferably) while spinning them by hand. I really needed to replace serpentine belt tensioner and idler also , This was 8 years ago. 
If done at a shop I would go in early and get these things checked ( takes no time , belt on/off is done i 5 minutes in parkinglot ) . Then you can preorder the parts stuff needed if any. It can take a week or two to get hold of. 

Use good parts. AISIN has a full kit for these engines for timing belt swap with all needed parts for a good price. AISIN waterpump and Mutsiboshi belt and japanese bearings in the idler and tensioner pulley. 
You can get this from for example ROCKAUTO.com in USA.

Decide if rubber hoses are ok to put back in or if new ones are needed. Mine were fine after 20 years and were reused. Stil in there now 28  years old

The LS430 has a reputation for getting a leak inside the radiator where ATF oil in transcooler is then contaminated with coolant which will wreck the transmission quickly. 
If the radiator is stil original It is smart to replace it premptively with a good brand third party one since radiator is out already while doing the timingbelt. 
These radiators typically cost only 100£ or so.