Selling My Much Loved Ls

[Nick V]

Hi everyone

It with a heavy heart that my LS went on eBay this week (and on this site). A sudden change in family circumstances have meant I want more seats and whatever other many strengths the LS has 7 seats alas is not one.

I bought this 98 model intending it to be around a very long time and if I could mothball it I would but that isn't feasible. It is the second LS I have owned and I can honestly say it is probably the best car you can buy to travel long distances in I have ever had (including a Mercedes 500 and Audi S8). Add to that the built-from-solid quality, extraordinary reliability and outright Q car performance and it makes me want to weep to see it go.

I am keen it is sold to a private user and have resisted an inundation of enquiries from people who are clearly amateur traders wanting to wave cash at me. There have been about 10 so far which is extraordinary.

What I can't quite work out is that the Volvo that is replacing it, of which there are 300 + at any one time on eBay is costing 5 times more than the LS will make, has not much less miles and is well built but not Lexus. Supply and demand I guess but it still is a mystery that the truth of these cars is only just beginning to seep out.

Anyway just wanted to say thanks to all here for direct advice and passive help in all a genuinely great forum.

Keep it on the road (not hard in an LS).

Nick

This 98 model has been fab and

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[The-Acre]

When my first LS went on a low loader after 5 years I was gutted, so I know exactly how you feel! I face the same predicament, I need a more practical vehicle and went to see an e class estate but it just

wasn't the same. Volvo's are great cars, I've had two. All the best, and at least you know you'll be driving a safe car.

[Nick V]

Thanks - you never know I may be back one day when I'm wearing beige enough to match the upholstery!

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[Tulpen]

At least you've owned an LS. Think of all the poor sods who've never had the chance.

As somebody famous once said...........you'll be back!

[runsgrateasanut]

May have seen it for sale.

I can think of many reasons why the LS may not be the hottest purchase on the market. Key, is cost of parts and labour. Yours, if i am correct is at that time of Replacament Cam belt etc., - looking at a tidy cost here (can be more than the price you'll get for the car).

If the starter motor is starting to sound a bit suspect - again a tidy cost for a very difficult time consuming job to replace probably a token priced pair of brushes.- labour costs at stealership? Sit down if you'r asking, i imagine.

Bit of oil leaking from the power steering perhaps? - could be an Alternator needed if allowed to continue or not spotted. Had similar problem on my MR2 where oil leaked onto the Alternator. Getting that out was no doddle and not cheap.

Those Upper Control Arms front and back getting a bit tired? - priced to make your eyes smart. (Rear £423 each)

Transmission? possible time when the Radiator just happens to decide that that inner cooling pipe has lived long enough. Disaster on the cards.

Exhaust perhaps leaking just a bit? Won't be a cheap fix.

Spongy almost non existant brakes - OK service items but never been in a car with such inefficent brakes before.- all discs and pads since changed - a few hundred smackeroons. Great brakes now. Excellent.

Some of these problems I'm wading through at the moment, and yet still like the Car, (it has character IMO)

if I hadn't spotted a lovely LS430 in our High Street one day, I might never have looked at Lexus. Then made an eBay impulse purchase , not something I normally do with Cars. The S Class I had for six years and despite being 18 years didn't spend a fraction of what this LS400 has cost me to date. But, there's no going back.

Was looking at Volvo Coupes at the time, and can't recall why I didn't go that route? Needed more space I suppose.

Good luck with your car sale.

[Nick V]

Thanks. Some good and fair points. That said if all those things happen to you would be unlucky!

Usually the bad stories prevail often because the majority are undramatic. People rarely mention the Olympic which sailed through the Great War sinking a submarine and was scrapped in the 1930's because the Titanic's story was more interesting and negative. There are a lot of LS s which sail on undramatically.

I have never had a car that I am so certain would go another 100k so readily if, big if, you treat it for what it is - a high quality executive express. Hence the running costs are no less than they were for the bloke who paid £50k - indeed more. Which from what you say is how you are investing in your own.

Even if all the worst case events (other than transmission) happen to a single car (very unlucky) then when your wallet had taken the strain you'd still have a fantastic car for a lot less than a 5 year old Honda Jazz . The "Mk 4" in particular I would say marries the longevity with drivability - it is cleaner away and so much better on the brakes than my Mk 1 was.

Hope yours now behaves!

Cheers

Nick

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[n4chv]

When I sold my LS400 after 13 years and 200k miles of driving, I really missed being a Lexus owner and after a year without one I finally got back into the fold with an LS430

They are awesome cars and it's only when you have owned and run one that you really appreciate them :-)

[Titch LS]

My 15 year old mk4 LS has been far and away less costly to maintain than any of the Merc's and BMTroubleyou's that my friends own. They have literally spent small fortunes on their cars and not just on routine maintenance stuff either (unlike my LS), but nasty big expensive faults; e.g. timing chain failure, transmission failure, etc. I agree, the LS400 does have potential for faults (as mentioned in an earlier post), BUT, in my experience those raise their ugly heads a darn sight less often in a Lexus than in a german uberwagen.

[Keynun]

My 15 year old mk4 LS has been far and away less costly to maintain than any of the Merc's and BMTroubleyou's that my friends own. They have literally spent small fortunes on their cars and not just on routine maintenance stuff either (unlike my LS), but nasty big expensive faults; e.g. timing chain failure, transmission failure, etc. I agree, the LS400 does have potential for faults (as mentioned in an earlier post), BUT, in my experience those raise their ugly heads a darn sight less often in a Lexus than in a german uberwagen.

Agreed.

I've owned quite a few BMW e36s and they've all had more issues than my current LS400. E46 BMWs are even worse.

I think people need to start using smaller garages for these LS400s. They are not really that complicated in comparison to much new cars these days. As far as I have seen, most issues with the LS400 can be fixed by a decent small garage. Main dealers and large specialists should really only be used for diagnostics and things that rarely require repairs (e.g. gearbox issues).

[mikeyv]

Good on body corrosion too, by comparison with Mercs, my 99 T reg 400 is solid as a rock, top and bottom.

There was an 02 Merc estate at the auctions this week, about 100k on the clock and rotten as a pear on all four wings and doors, and I've seen plenty before in the same state.

[ambermarine]

Read this thread with some interest and along with Nick have been through most of the issues thrown up by the Mark 1 having owned one for 16 years .I can't make comparisons with other manufacturers cited as I have not owned any of them .The thing that stands out most in the LS400 are the faults that did occur in the earlier models were virtually illiminated by the time the Mark 4 arrived.

This fact had a massive impact on my decision to stick with the LS400 and not move up to either the 430 or 460 keeping in mind the Lexus key phrase. "In pursuit of perfection" ,the ten years of production and usage of the LS400 had enabled the engineers to get very close to that goal using dealership and customer feedback when producing the very last marque in the 400 series.Those of us who own a LS 400 mark 4 know this to be the case,especially if they have moved up from a previous model.

[jonthetourist]

You make a good point, I think.

When I took my 430 in for a health check I asked about stopping the retracting steering wheel because I had read it could fail, and another fault I had read about but can't remember. Carl, with 40 years of Toyota experience, said mine was the 2004 facelift and the issues were sorted.

Jon

[messi]

No I don't think the issue with the retracting steering wheel is sorted on a 2004 ls430 as I know someone with a 2004 ls430 and his retractable steering wheel has failed

[Mybikes a cx500]

Read this thread with some interest and along with Nick have been through most of the issues thrown up by the Mark 1 having owned one for 16 years .I can't make comparisons with other manufacturers cited as I have not owned any of them .The thing that stands out most in the LS400 are the faults that did occur in the earlier models were virtually illiminated by the time the Mark 4 arrived.

This fact had a massive impact on my decision to stick with the LS400 and not move up to either the 430 or 460 keeping in mind the Lexus key phrase. "In pursuit of perfection" ,the ten years of production and usage of the LS400 had enabled the engineers to get very close to that goal using dealership and customer feedback when producing the very last marque in the 400 series.Those of us who own a LS 400 mark 4 know this to be the case,especially if they have moved up from a previous model.

As a fellow Mk4 owner, couldn't agree more