Hello And Also Unoriginal Ls400 Vs Ls430 Question From A New Member

Bluesman · November 29, 2014

Like the others have said be very careful. If you think you have covered all the basses, check them all again. This guy is well known for cars that go backwards for many tens of thousands of miles. Mike

SlowV6 · November 29, 2014

Thanks very much for the heads up guys. I think I will steer well clear. There must be a safer route to Lexus ownership.

n4chv · November 29, 2014

I know this seller as I looked at an LS430 which he was selling a few months ago.

Despite what has been said about the seller by other members on here, I found the guy to be OK but then I haven't bought anything off him. He does seem to sell both Lexus LS vehicles and used LS parts too.

For £1k if the car stops, starts, goes fine, has sound mechanicals, good bodywork, good reliable electrics where everything works, and the mileage & history all OK then this could be a bargain of a car.

The advert says the timing belt has only been changed twice at 60k miles and 120k miles - it will be due another belt change at either 180k miles or 4 years after the 120k change was done.

Use your wits and common-sense for sure if you decide to check the car out. Make sure you try everything electrical in the car and that the paperwork all looks good.

You can also veriify the mileage & MOT history yourself if you ask the seller to provide you with some information on the car

Here's a link with more information

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history-vehicle

The most important piece of advice I would give to anyone buying a used LS is to check all of the above things are fine and in order - good LS400s are very rare and hard to come by.

I recently bought an LS430 to replace the LS400 which I sold last year after 13 glorious years of ownership.

Good luck

cruisermark · November 29, 2014

I know this seller as I looked at an LS430 which he was selling a few months ago.

Despite what has been said about the seller by other members on here, I found the guy to be OK but then I haven't bought anything off him. He does seem to sell both Lexus LS vehicles and used LS parts too.

For £1k if the car stops, starts, goes fine, has sound mechanicals, good bodywork, good reliable electrics where everything works, and the mileage & history all OK then this could be a bargain of a car.

The advert says the timing belt has only been changed twice at 60k miles and 120k miles - it will be due another belt change at either 180k miles or 4 years after the 120k change was done.

Use your wits and common-sense for sure if you decide to check the car out. Make sure you try everything electrical in the car and that the paperwork all looks good.

You can also veriify the mileage & MOT history yourself if you ask the seller to provide you with some information on the car

Here's a link with more information

https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history-vehicle

The most important piece of advice I would give to anyone buying a used LS is to check all of the above things are fine and in order - good LS400s are very rare and hard to come by.

I recently bought an LS430 to replace the LS400 which I sold last year after 13 glorious years of ownership.

Good luck

yes i agree with nach - we know these cars can do galactic mileages - a prime example is that white LS in USA being discussed in another thread - the miles on this green one might be a bit high but aslong as the service history and miles are verifiable and as nach says the gizmos work then why not - what could possibly go wrong? - alot of car for the money

n4chv · November 29, 2014

That US car has done nearly 900,000 miles - incredible to say the least and looking at the pictures of the car, the owner has clearly lavished a lot of time and money on the car. Whilst I'm sure the car has had some parts replaced and refurbished, it looks like a stunning car given the age and mileage

SlowV6 · December 1, 2014

Thanks All.

I asked for the most recent MOT reference, the date that the 120k mile timing belt was done and confirmation of the dealer who did it yesterday. Will update you with answers if/when I receive a response. Someone selling another 160K mile LS400 got back to me with the same info within the hour.

SlowV6 · December 2, 2014

Not heard anything from LexusChap yet..

n4chv · December 2, 2014

Not heard anything from LexusChap yet..

Is the car still being advertised for sale ?

If he's sold it, maybe that's why he's not been back in touch

messi · December 2, 2014

It's funny, I was reading his ad recently and in it he states he's had lexus with over 300000 miles on it, and it still drove like a new car, thing i dont understand is he's a trader so how come the lexus's hes sold have never had over 300000 milex on it? Answer, he's clocked them back or he was driving them backwards

SlowV6 · December 2, 2014

It is still showing on both eBay and Gumtree..

I will be looking elsewhere, but would still liked to have seen that MOT history trace.

n4chv · December 2, 2014

It's funny, I was reading his ad recently and in it he states he's had lexus with over 300000 miles on it, and it still drove like a new car, thing i dont understand is he's a trader so how come the lexus's hes sold have never had over 300000 milex on it? Answer, he's clocked them back or he was driving them backwards

You could well be right there - I was disappointed with the LS430 I went to see as he swore blind to me that it was in mint condition despite having 170k miles on the clock. When I went to see it, the alloys were marked and there were rust marks on the bodywork and the interior looked like it had done some miles. The car drove fine actually but had I known about the cosmetic issues, I would have saved myself a trip

n4chv · December 2, 2014

It is still showing on both eBay and Gumtree..

I will be looking elsewhere, but would still liked to have seen that MOT history trace.

I find it astonishing that someone in sales hasn't taken the time to come back to you - although good LS400s are becoming very rare, they are still out there. The right car will turn up so don't rush into buying just any car

Bluesman · December 2, 2014

Lexuschap????? keep well clear even if he tells you its made of solid gold and all he wants for it is a fiver, keep clear. Mike

SlowV6 · December 2, 2014

Lexuschap????? keep well clear even if he tells you its made of solid gold and all he wants for it is a fiver, keep clear. Mike

Message received and understood.

SlowV6 · December 5, 2014

Well I never did hear from LexusChap. Looks like he sold the dark green one as it has disappeared. He's now got a pale green one with lots of tasteless adornments on it up on eBay. That car has been on and off eBay and Gumtree in recent weeks changing its price each time and guess what it now has two timing belt changes with invoices ;-)

What do people think of the silver one in Southend. Currently £900 with no bids. Seller has answered all my questions and the MOT history looks fine. Has any one seen this car before by chance? Southend is a real PITA to get to from Poole so I would be going in blind plus a horrid journey to boot. Why is no one in Devon, Dorset or Hants ever selling mark IVs!

Moan over

mikeyv · December 5, 2014

Well I never did hear from LexusChap. Looks like he sold the dark green one as it has disappeared. He's now got a pale green one with lots of tasteless adornments on it up on eBay. That car has been on and off eBay and Gumtree in recent weeks changing its price each time and guess what it now has two timing belt changes with invoices ;-)

What do people think of the silver one in Southend. Currently £900 with no bids. Seller has answered all my questions and the MOT history looks fine. Has any one seen this car before by chance? Southend is a real PITA to get to from Poole so I would be going in blind plus a horrid journey to boot. Why is no one in Devon, Dorset or Hants ever selling mark IVs!

Moan over

Well, not the best advert I've ever seen, and not much detail about service history, but if you could get that for around a thousand, and it checks out when you go to pick up and pay, then a reasonable buy probably.

Did you check his feedback though?

Little bit offputting imo.

Personally, I'd wait for better/nearer to crop up, unless you're not in a position to wait.

Bluesman · December 5, 2014

Most of his feedback is written by himself, also take into account the number of cars he sells and then count how many feedbacks in a year (4 I think) means there is very little feedback.

SlowV6 · December 5, 2014

Well, not the best advert I've ever seen, and not much detail about service history, but if you could get that for around a thousand, and it checks out when you go to pick up and pay, then a reasonable buy probably.

Did you check his feedback though?

Little bit offputting imo.

Personally, I'd wait for better/nearer to crop up, unless you're not in a position to wait.

You mean the other Lexus he sold? Fair point. I am in a position to wait, so I think you're right. My Aero is a very nice place to be in the meantime, although I've not bonded with it quite in the way I expected.

SlowV6 · December 8, 2014

Well the silver Southend one got delisted in the end, and I had gone cold anyway.

A silver LPG' ed one has turned up locally on eBay, complete with rusty LPG filler cap, but doesn't appeal at all.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-LS400-LPG-SAT-NAV-/231413436367?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item35e150cfcf

Looks to be some dodgy shill bidding going on as well as a zero bidder has suddenly jumped the price up to £1000! Need to wait for the market to refresh a little.

mikeyv · December 9, 2014

Agreed on the lpg one, I was going to post a link when I saw it was your area, but the more I read, the less I liked it, so didn't bother.

No mot is never a good selling point either.

n4chv · December 16, 2014

Hope you manage to successfully source a good used LS400 - they are awesome cars and as much as I love my LS430, my LS400 was without question the best car I had ever owned.

I'm hoping over time, I will feel the same way about my LS430 too

SlowV6 · December 18, 2014

No I haven't yet. Still looking but there's not many about and certainly none locally. A silver mk4 has popped up on AT "with last owner for 10yrs" but I am not inclined to rush off on a 300mile round trip over Xmas.

I have also started thinking about GS430s. There are none of them even vaguelly locally either. Seems like Lexus haven't made much of a dent in Dorset!

Has anyone compared and contrasted LS400s and GS430s?

n4chv · December 18, 2014

I have test driven some GS vehicles including the GS300, GS430 and the newer GS450h

They are all lovely cars to drive but having driven the LS400 and LS430, the GS felt like a step down in many ways.

The GS is a beautifully built car and being a bit more compact, it does drive slightly better but if you are after the best luxury drive it has to be an LS all day long in opinion

cruisermark · December 18, 2014

Ive also been thinking about trying the gs hybrid range - but deep down i know i will never happy be as i am now - for me smoothness and quiteness is a must and i think the GS wont be as smooth as the LS.

And for that reason for me i dont think it will be an upgrade unless its a 460 or 600H!

with regards to Mark 4s for sale - i check AT daily and notice that there are peaks and troughs in the numbers for sale - at the moment there are very limited numbers - just wait it out and one will come along.

n4chv · December 18, 2014

Good cars are always worth waiting for and with the LS, I am sure that it is only a matter of time before a good one turns up

There are some rough examples out there but they would cost a lot of time / money to put totally right although having said that I didn't spare any expense on my previous LS400

Good luck with the search :-)