The First Six Months

Anthony B · January 7, 2015

Having now owned my LS430 for six months I thought some readers might be interested in my expenditure from July 1 to Dec 31 2014. Here are the figures:

Insurance (full year) £233.72

Tax (from Oct 1) £285.00

Warranty £178

Fuel – total spend £921.22

Maintenance/servicing

Front offside wheel bearing £349.00

Trunk lid struts £231.00

Winter health check £60.00

4 tyres (Falken ZE914) £420.00

Fuel quantity 708 litres = 155 gals

Mileage covered 4200

Thus average mpg ~27

So I'm well pleased - 27 mpg is over three-fifths of what I got my old Rover 75, and look at the quality of the motoring. And with current prices, filling the tank is much less painful than it was back in July.

Comments welcome.

Anthony

alien1974 · January 7, 2015

might want edit the date :)

The-Acre · January 7, 2015

Sounds pretty good to me, especially less than £1,000 of fuel for 900 years of motoring! As you say, the price of fuel now makes a big difference.

ambermarine · January 7, 2015

Anthony ,

Are you sure your car is not a Delorean.

Anthony B · January 7, 2015

OK, OK, should be 2014. Silly boy!

steve2006 · January 7, 2015

I've corrected it :)

Docp · January 8, 2015

Can I ask what you mean by warranty? Is this a third party warranty you have?

Thanks

Anthony B · January 8, 2015

No, it's a limited warranty I got when I purchased the car - mainly mechanical parts. Most warranty deals seem to me to be fiendishly expensive, esp. for older cars. It remains to be seen whether I need to use it in this first year and whether I renew next July.

My main aim in looking carefully at my costs for the first six months has been to compare them with my previous Rover 75, which was beginning to cost me. Also to check whether Lexus quality is too expensive for me. It seems not - and I've been very impressed by the excellent service and prices of my nearest Lexus dealership at Bristol.

Chris Skelton · January 8, 2015

Also check 'Gas and go' in Swindon (surprisingly! given the name?) who have a Lexus mechanic there (or had, 3 years ago)

ambermarine · January 8, 2015

Anthony

I was interested in your comment regarding Lexus quality being too expensive,I also realize that you are unfamiliar with the Lexus having been a Rover owner for some time.

I had a warranty with my first Ls400 which I was unaware of until the dealer sent me all the paperwork for the car ,he was covering his back at my expense really.

That was way back in 96 and the car was then 6 years old with 50 k miles on the clock the price I paid was £19k then which would be expensive at todays prices campared to the new cost of £37k.

The car was sent straight to Lexus for appraisel and it required a new caliper which at that time cost £350 fitted ,in the following 12 months one of the solenoids in the gearbox failed and the wireless locking failed which together cost £1200 .

So your warranty decision is a wise one and it may be that you will not need its benefits but you have peace of mind.

colin4989 · January 8, 2015

I had bought the 1 year warranty from Lexus after the one that came with the car expired. They paid for 2 wheel bearings, air shock and the air con pipes in the rear of the car which had corroded

I've just bought the 24 month warranty. I believe it's well worth it, plus I'm a worrier so I enjoy the peace of mind.

The dealer was also doing an offer on servicing to include 1 major and minor service for £199

Great value for money overall, cheaper than other marques plus a bloody great car :)

ChewBakker · January 8, 2015

Ah, I have just purchased myself a 2003 LS430 that has a full LEXUS Service History and is on 105k miles. I see mention of a LEXUS Warranty. Is this something I would be able to buy, or is my car too old?

Chewy

colin4989 · January 9, 2015

It's up to cars ten years old and less than 140k miles. My car will be ten years this year that's why I bought the 2 year deal.

Did you buy from a Lexus dealer? Could always chance your arm but according to the t&cs your car is too old

Colin

ColinBarber · January 9, 2015

The Lexus warranty can only be applied to vehicles of an age up to 10 years old unfortunately.

Malc · January 9, 2015

But don't forget that the Lexus bodywork/rust warranty is for 12 years ( is it still ? ) and if the usual door centre rust spots appear then prior forum comments have been that Lexus WILL replace the miscreant door(s)

Malc

cruisermark · January 9, 2015

I had bought the 1 year warranty from Lexus after the one that came with the car expired. They paid for 2 wheel bearings, air shock and the air con pipes in the rear of the car which had corroded

I've just bought the 24 month warranty. I believe it's well worth it, plus I'm a worrier so I enjoy the peace of mind.

The dealer was also doing an offer on servicing to include 1 major and minor service for £199

Great value for money overall, cheaper than other marques plus a bloody great car :)

your warrranty paid dividend because thats some expensive jobs there

colin4989 · January 9, 2015

Aye mark

850 for the 2 wheel bearings

800 for the aircon pipes

750 approx for the rear shocker

ChewBakker · January 9, 2015

Ah.... Ten Years.... Okay :-(

n4chv · January 12, 2015

I bought my LS430 a few months ago and thought I'd got a bargain until I had some air suspension issues which have cost me a lot to put right

The great news now though is that the car drives really well and my entire ownership experience is now proving to be great now :-)

I had considered an extended warranty and I'm aware that Lexus are doing one for the LS430 for £1695 for 2 years but I'm hoping the car will now be trouble free for me