Buyer Beware

[lexuschap]

Hi Lexus Members

In my defense to all the various opinions of people who have never even met me, I am the famous Lexuschap on eBay, I invite anybody to view, test drive, confirm mileages of any of my cars & make your own mind up! Isn't it ironic that not 1 negative comment has been made from anybody who has actually purchased a Lexus from me. In fact the only person on here who has done business with me is Clunkfish and just look at what he has to say about me! I think its completely unfair to make a judgement on anybody from heresay on the net. From this point on wards I will encourage all my buyers to post their views on this website, which will falsify any allegations made against me! I can say honestly hand on heart that I have never altered any mileage on any car that I have sold & i describe all my cars as honestly as possible! Some people have nothing better to do than to speculate and slander! They need to get a life for real. Chill man & buy a Lexus from me! Open for business to all, liker's & hater's.

Kindest Regards

Adam

[lexuschap]

As promised email sent and reply from Lexuschap.

I have had communication with this person many times and if anyone thinks to themselves why does he bother the reason is as follows.

I have used Ebay as part of my businesses selling strategy almost since its launch and over that time Ebay has gone from a brilliant idea to an almost miserable place to do business. A lot of that trouble has been bought about by Ebay themselves but overwhelmingly its people like this person who make Ebay such a miserable place now to do business.

Ebay for their part rarely go after the crooks as all they are interested in are the listing fees and as long as they get that they are happy. There are no final fees due on Classified Ads but I am sure they will get fed up when someone like this uses the the same Classified Ads for multiple items thus avoiding new listing fees each time. He has been reported to Ebay for this practice lets see how long this one stays up there for.

Email to Lexuschap................

Well here you go again first the mileage is 160K then we contact the buyer

you bought it from who tells us he sold it to you with !80+k on the clock

so you put the mileage back up until the Trader ad disappears and you

bring it down again.

This time though the guy you bought it from is

more than happy to talk to the police and Trading Standards which we

will be arranging on Monday. Sleep well your time will soon be up.

We have also reported you to Ebay for not declaring you are a dealer and

sell as a private person. Just one other call to make on Mon and that's

to HM Customs & Revenues. Might be worth ringing the Benefits people

as well just to give them your name and all your ebay aliases. Mike.

His reply..............

i have not altered any mileage. The mot has just been done u fool &

mileage is clearly on the certificate. As i said im a sole trader

registered with HM, im not on any benefits either. Good luck u sad piece

of s**t. (I have censored the last word)

I think you will agree just the sort of reply you expect from an honest, straight and pillar of the community.

He also admits he is a sole trader which means he should declare this on his listings as required to by Ebay listing requirements but doesn't.

Mike

I should have also included that as a Sole Trader he does have obligations under the law to his customers.

Using the Ebay Classified Ad gives you absolutely no protection, Ebay rule as follows

Considerations: Classified Ad sales aren't backed by eBay services and protection, including Feedback and eBay Money Back Guarantee.

You need to get a life!

[lexuschap]

Thanks I found it through eBay but bought it cash. I new he wasn't upfront about everything at the time but I checked the car over and figured I worked out all the faults. I only paid 1200 and it had an mot till jan which backed up Mileage claims for the last 4 years. Lexus are checking cam belt for any signs of change and a general health check of the car. Fortunately lexus are one of the few dealers who seem willing to help there car owners regardless of the cars age.

Do me a favour please write your comments about the lexus i sold to you when you carries out all your checks!

[lexuschap]

Well I am gutted to find this thread. I have just bought one ls400 from lexuschap. I can't help but question everything about it now. Fortunately I have a good relationship with my local lexus garage and they are giving me a free all over check of the car to tell me what is and isn't good with it! I just feel gutted I may have bought a pup

It may have been mine, in which case I can tell you exactly what to look out for (not much).

The invoice for the timing belt change was in the folder you gave me, it was done at Nissans, ring any bells?

[Ruud]

oooh action at the forum :)

But seriously Adam, what has clocking an ls400 to do with the fact that people have never met you?? Or maybe you don't give out false info to people you have actually met?

using swear words in your replies isn't really helping you either.

And to tell someone to 'get a life' really sums up what kind of seller you are.

[messi]

Shouldn't someone delete this crook of the LOC? It's no place for crooks

[messi]

So you've read what clunk fish said, what about reading what parrotofdoom said? What about that ls430 private reg BIGLEX or something like that, you know which one I'm on about, so the car had really done 280000 miles, yet you stated it did 135000 miles, the faults on the car were eml was on due to vsc sensor, passanger side rear door wouldn't open or close but the main one was the 280000 miles, so why didn't you mention all this in your ad? You made out the car was mint

[Parrot of Doom]

Hi Lexus Members

In my defense to all the various opinions of people who have never even met me, I am the famous Lexuschap on ebay, I invite anybody to view, test drive, confirm mileages of any of my cars & make your own mind up! Isn't it ironic that not 1 negative comment has been made from anybody who has actually purchased a Lexus from me. In fact the only person on here who has done business with me is Clunkfish and just look at what he has to say about me! I think its completely unfair to make a judgement on anybody from heresay on the net. From this point on wards I will encourage all my buyers to post their views on this website, which will falsify any allegations made against me! I can say honestly hand on heart that I have never altered any mileage on any car that I have sold & i describe all my cars as honestly as possible! Some people have nothing better to do than to speculate and slander! They need to get a life for real. Chill man & buy a Lexus from me! Open for business to all, liker's & hater's.

Kindest Regards

Adam

I've done business with you. You resold the car I sold you and neglected to mention some of the faults I'd listed in my auction. Despite making it very clear that I had only a receipt for a timing belt kit at about 120,000 miles and that I could not guarantee a belt change had been done, and despite my not being able to find that particular receipt when you collected the car from me, in your listing you stated that the belt had been changed. This was not a claim I was confident enough to make, despite spending an awful lot of money on the car's upkeep.

I would appreciate it if you could explain how you felt able to state a particular job had been performed on the car, when I could not.

[Parrot of Doom]

Well I am gutted to find this thread. I have just bought one ls400 from lexuschap. I can't help but question everything about it now. Fortunately I have a good relationship with my local lexus garage and they are giving me a free all over check of the car to tell me what is and isn't good with it! I just feel gutted I may have bought a pup

It may have been mine, in which case I can tell you exactly what to look out for (not much).

The invoice for the timing belt change was in the folder you gave me, it was done at Nissans, ring any bells?

No, it was an invoice for a timing belt kit. It was not an invoice for a timing belt change. And you know very well that I couldn't find that invoice when you collected the car, a fact you used to bargain the price down. So where did that invoice come from?

[Bluesman]

As promised email sent and reply from Lexuschap.

I have had communication with this person many times and if anyone thinks to themselves why does he bother the reason is as follows.

I have used Ebay as part of my businesses selling strategy almost since its launch and over that time Ebay has gone from a brilliant idea to an almost miserable place to do business. A lot of that trouble has been bought about by Ebay themselves but overwhelmingly its people like this person who make Ebay such a miserable place now to do business.

Ebay for their part rarely go after the crooks as all they are interested in are the listing fees and as long as they get that they are happy. There are no final fees due on Classified Ads but I am sure they will get fed up when someone like this uses the the same Classified Ads for multiple items thus avoiding new listing fees each time. He has been reported to Ebay for this practice lets see how long this one stays up there for.

Email to Lexuschap................

Well here you go again first the mileage is 160K then we contact the buyer

you bought it from who tells us he sold it to you with !80+k on the clock

so you put the mileage back up until the Trader ad disappears and you

bring it down again.

This time though the guy you bought it from is

more than happy to talk to the police and Trading Standards which we

will be arranging on Monday. Sleep well your time will soon be up.

We have also reported you to Ebay for not declaring you are a dealer and

sell as a private person. Just one other call to make on Mon and that's

to HM Customs & Revenues. Might be worth ringing the Benefits people

as well just to give them your name and all your ebay aliases. Mike.

His reply..............

i have not altered any mileage. The mot has just been done u fool &

mileage is clearly on the certificate. As i said im a sole trader

registered with HM, im not on any benefits either. Good luck u sad piece

of s**t. (I have censored the last word)

I think you will agree just the sort of reply you expect from an honest, straight and pillar of the community.

He also admits he is a sole trader which means he should declare this on his listings as required to by Ebay listing requirements but doesn't.

Mike

I should have also included that as a Sole Trader he does have obligations under the law to his customers.

Using the Ebay Classified Ad gives you absolutely no protection, Ebay rule as follows

Considerations: Classified Ad sales aren't backed by eBay services and protection, including Feedback and eBay Money Back Guarantee.

You need to get a life!

The truth always hurts.

Could you give us a link to clunkfishes feedback on eBay.

[Bluesman]

Well I am gutted to find this thread. I have just bought one ls400 from lexuschap. I can't help but question everything about it now. Fortunately I have a good relationship with my local lexus garage and they are giving me a free all over check of the car to tell me what is and isn't good with it! I just feel gutted I may have bought a pup

It may have been mine, in which case I can tell you exactly what to look out for (not much).

The invoice for the timing belt change was in the folder you gave me, it was done at Nissans, ring any bells?

No, it was an invoice for a timing belt kit. It was not an invoice for a timing belt change. And you know very well that I couldn't find that invoice when you collected the car, a fact you used to bargain the price down. So where did that invoice come from?

Oh dear its not going to well Lexuschap.

[messi]

So after you answer parrot of dooms question, I'd like you to answer the BIGLEX question and also a question about the blue v reg ls400, you drove all the way to Bolton to exchange that car with a BMW 728i yet forgot to tell the buyer it needed wheel bearings, so that's being honest is it? And why are you on the LOC? This is for honest people who own Lexus's, not crooks like yourself who buy on eBay or gumtree, then sell without being honest in your listings

[Clunkfish]

Chaps, I am very uncomfortable about all this and I think you should be too. It's a forum, not a court of law, and the use of words like "crook" is not helpful. By all means express your views but bear in mind that there are nearly always two sides to every disagreement.

I would very much like to hear both sides, but it's all in danger of degenerating into a slanging match which will help no one. The ultimate goal is to help current and prospective LS owners decide where to put their money, and the best way to do that is by shining light on the points raised rather than heaping abuse on the people making them!!

And in answer to another question, you will not find my feedback on eBay because it was not an eBay deal. I am prepared to say here that the person I dealt with was polite, straightforward, friendly and helpful. He did not try to hide the couple of blemishes the car had (indeed, he pointed them out to me) and when I took it Bristol Lexus for a check-up they gave it a clean bill of health. 1998 LS400, 106K miles, everything working, sat nav display, wooden wheel, gold badges, black with beige interior, £2K and it is without question the finest motor I have ever driven. The only thing that comes close for quality is my old Honda VFR750, also a legend in its own lifetime :)

[messi]

I think I remember this guy, I was speaking to my brother, and about 2 half years ago there was an ad on eBay for a Honda Accord for sale, at the time I had a Honda Prelude motega 4 wheel steer, in mint condition, so obviously this guy made out in the ad the Accord is mint etc etc, so we went down, before we went we spoke on the phone about a px with my prelude as I needed a 4 door car, parked up, this guy didn't come of his door step, he didn't even say hello, all he said was "your car is mint, I can't do a deal, look at the accord and look at your prelude" again he still standing on his door step, the Accord was nothing like he described on his ad, it had holes in the roof, body work was really tatty, no radio or CD player, and this was us looking around the car, as he was still standing on his door step, at which point me any brother got really angry, my brother was going to give him a good beating, the only thing that stopped my brother was, the guys kids were outside, I think one was a little baby then as I remember a baby seat with a little one in it, he was very lucky that day

[Clunkfish]

I think I remember this guy, I was speaking to my brother, and about 2 half years ago there was an ad on eBay for a Honda Accord for sale, at the time I had a Honda Prelude motega 4 wheel steer, in mint condition, so obviously this guy made out in the ad the Accord is mint etc etc, so we went down, before we went we spoke on the phone about a px with my prelude as I needed a 4 door car, parked up, this guy didn't come of his door step, he didn't even say hello, all he said was "your car is mint, I can't do a deal, look at the accord and look at your prelude" again he still standing on his door step, the Accord was nothing like he described on his ad, it had holes in the roof, body work was really tatty, no radio or CD player, and this was us looking around the car, as he was still standing on his door step, at which point me any brother got really angry, my brother was going to give him a good beating, the only thing that stopped my brother was, the guys kids were outside, I think one was a little baby then as I remember a baby seat with a little one in it, he was very lucky that day

"I think I remember this guy"? Is that it?

And a reasonable response to a dodgy ad is to beat someone up?

I can't believe what I'm reading. Say what you think to be true, let geezer have his right of reply, if you disagree then say so and move on.

This is more like a public character assassination than grown-ups having a chat, and most of it is based on second- or third-hand experiences. How'd you like people to start rubbishing your character with a load of "I think I remember this guy" stuff?

I imagine I'm going to get serious flak for standing up for someone for whom few of you have any respect, but it is the decent thing to do because my dealings with Lexuschap were positive. And at least I actually met him and did business with him!

[harrylime]

I agree with Clunkfish. It is very useful to be told about good and bad experiences, wasted trips to view misdescribed cars etc, had a few myself over the years. It is useful to be told about cars sold with undisclosed faults and discrepancies with mileages. Personal digs are just a waste of time and sometimes say more about the poster than the person they are having a go at, which is a distraction. It is even useful to hear anecdotal evidence about specific sellers and dodgy practices, as long as it is true. I would hate to buy a lemon when I could have been warned by the fine people on this forum. However, we should stick to the facts and let the reader draw his own conclusions. After all, we are not Americans, we do not need to be spoon fed every little detail to be able to work it out. :D

[Bluesman]

Clunkfish.

This guy is an out and out criminal.

To alter the mileage on cars is a criminal offence this is just one thing that has been identified he does on a number of occasions but he and others like it get away with it because our police cant be bothered to do anything about it, the same is also true of trading standards.

Even eBay cant be bothered to do anything about him but one day as always is the case he will over step the mark and we will be paying for him to stay in one of HM Holiday camps and no doubt have to pay out to look after the wife and kids as well.

He trades under various different names and nearly all his sales take place off eBay so no one can give him Neg feedback.

You were lucky there are plenty that were not. Very noticeable how he has gone very quiet today after yesterdays bluster. Mike

[Maduggo]

Shouldn't someone delete this crook of the LOC? It's no place for crooks

Bit late entering this i know but here's my bit for what it's worth.

I don't think we should ban lexuschap/adam from the forum, if this forum is making comments in regard to car trades or even the person.

And lets be honest here, if members of the forum are stating that a person is doing illegal practices to vehicles prior to sale then they have the right to defend themselves, you would demand that right if it were you, well i would anyway.

We as a forum need to look at things, good and bad objectively, we are not in a court, and sometimes things posted online can be taken further so we also have to be accurate and be able to prove what was alleged.

Now please don't think i'm a supporter of lexuschap/adam, i just think that we should be fair and give him an opportunity to reply.

Whether or not you believe in what the replies are they do have to right to answer.

Just being devils advocate, sorry

[messi]

One thing that's been bugging me all day is how did lexuschap know we were talking about him on the LOC? The only reason my brother was going to give him a good beating was because of the lack of respect, and making us drive to his property and him knowing full well his car wasn't anything like he described in his ad. We ain't got fuel to burn going to some timewasters house.

[messi]

Sorry Maduggo

This guy just makes my blood boil

[Maduggo]

Sorry Maduggo

This guy just makes my blood boil

I understand that these issues can and do make people angry, i don't doubt i would be myself if i were to buy anything and then believe that i may have been misled.

[Bluesman]

Shouldn't someone delete this crook of the LOC? It's no place for crooks

Bit late entering this i know but here's my bit for what it's worth.

I don't think we should ban lexuschap/adam from the forum, if this forum is making comments in regard to car trades or even the person.

And lets be honest here, if members of the forum are stating that a person is doing illegal practices to vehicles prior to sale then they have the right to defend themselves, you would demand that right if it were you, well i would anyway.

We as a forum need to look at things, good and bad objectively, we are not in a court, and sometimes things posted online can be taken further so we also have to be accurate and be able to prove what was alleged.

Now please don't think i'm a supporter of lexuschap/adam, i just think that we should be fair and give him an opportunity to reply.

Whether or not you believe in what the replies are they do have to right to answer.

Just being devils advocate, sorry

Well his attempts to try and clear his name so far have all fallen at the first hurdle, but like Al Pacino would say keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. Mike

[Bluesman]

One thing that's been bugging me all day is how did lexuschap know we were talking about him on the LOC? The only reason my brother was going to give him a good beating was because of the lack of respect, and making us drive to his property and him knowing full well his car wasn't anything like he described in his ad. We ain't got fuel to burn going to some timewasters house.

That's easy it was me and he has known that for months. My guess is that he is finding the temperature rising in various ways and eventually thought he would come on here and have a go at what must be a load of old fuddy duddies that will just roll over and die.

I have had email exchanges with him and his crooked cars over at least the last 6 months. He was at first a sort of genial type of person, nothing I can say will upset him and that all his cars were 100% genuine but my last email to him suggested that HMRC, Trading Standards, eBay (as he sells as a private person and should be registered as a trader) and Benefits agencies would like to here about him then his emails changed and became abusive.

The reason why I have done it is because eBay used to be a fantastic place to do business but sadly people like him were attracted to it and with the help of eBay who do nothing about people like him and allowed them to continue their crooked practices.

Every car he has put up for sale on eBay in the last 6 months Lexus or other has been reported for being a trader but selling as a private person to eBay who have done nothing. Mike

This makes the eBay experience a bad one for buyers and sellers alike as we are all tarnished with the same brush.

[bilmac]

Shouldn't someone delete this crook of the LOC? It's no place for crooks

Bit late entering this i know but here's my bit for what it's worth.

I don't think we should ban lexuschap/adam from the forum, if this forum is making comments in regard to car trades or even the person.

And lets be honest here, if members of the forum are stating that a person is doing illegal practices to vehicles prior to sale then they have the right to defend themselves, you would demand that right if it were you, well i would anyway.

We as a forum need to look at things, good and bad objectively, we are not in a court, and sometimes things posted online can be taken further so we also have to be accurate and be able to prove what was alleged.

Now please don't think i'm a supporter of lexuschap/adam, i just think that we should be fair and give him an opportunity to reply.

Whether or not you believe in what the replies are they do have to right to answer.

Just being devils advocate, sorry

Have to agree with this. just fair play from us, to someone who possibly, is not fair with others.

Its the right thing to do.

[Parrot of Doom]

For the avoidance of doubt, and in case anyone thinks I've invented some of the points I've made, here is the auction I placed on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151231521174&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:GB:1123

And here is the same car, advertised by Lexuschap, also on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-LS400-LPG-Converted-MK-4-Bronze-Service-History-Tax-Mot-Nice-1650-/301077146257?nma=true&si=7x3X+IF1E6pjXgmB3F4Ql4EasAE=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I think most people will be able to judge, from the two descriptions offered, who was the most descriptive of the car's condition. I draw your attention to these points:

"Its covered over 200,000 miles but considering its age of 16 years, however it has been maintained to the highest of standards"

It had covered less than 200,000 miles, possibly Lexuschap has a standard script he copies and pastes to each auction. Yes it was maintained, but the servicing (oil etc) was done by me. Suspension components were replaced by a wholly capable back street mechanic. While this work was done competently and safely, I think most buyers would interpret "highest of standards" to equate to Lexus servicing.

"Cam belt kit replaced at 128k at the dealers."

I do not understand why Lexuschap wrote this, because I was unable to confirm the date on which the cambelt was last changed. For all I know, it might last have been done at 60,000 miles. The receipt I had was for parts only, from memory around £100 or so. Obviously that is not a receipt for work done, which would be at least three-four times more. And the receipt was not a Lexus dealer, it was a small A5 paper receipt from a motor factors or similar. And I could not find that receipt when I sold the car.

"There are lots of invoices for major parts that have been replaced, anything that needed changing has been done!"

Apart from the nearside front upper wishbone, which as a cheap interim replacement was beginning to squeak (offside was a new Lexus part).

No mention of the patches of bubbling rust on the top of the windscreen. No mention of the rusty rear sills. No mention of the steering play. No mention of the failed auto-dimming door mirrors. Also, "alloys with decent tires" - while the fronts were very good, the rear tyres had only a few mm left, another point I made in my description.