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Jacques thank you ..... looks as though you are going to be a STAR if you're able to sort out replacement of otherwise unavailable suspension stuff Just simply a Ls400 lifesaver no less Malc

It's an interesting argument, the obvious answer is to mock up a straight pipe through an old cat body, I will double check with the MOT station for the retest, but I'm sure my old MOT testing friend says that regardless of year as long as it passes emissions it's not needed. I'm stopping by tonight, I'll ask if he's interested in mass orders. I won't quote what he's offered it to me as it might be a 1-off price, but it's a lot less than £500. He's the sole supplier of a manifolds for international F3000 series, so I trust his work, and I'll review it for your all. As for the rear arms, I will try and order some. In the mean time has anyone kept some trashed ones they can donate? One of the many benefits of working in Motorsport Valley is having plenty of specialists on my doorstep. I will take them around to see if the old ball joints and bushes can be removed and or replaced with an alternative. If they can be machined/modified, I'll make sure to reimburse the donator, and replace with a set modified/machined from those removed from my car. If modifying is a dead end, I'll design and test my own in CAD in a simple tubular steel design. I'll make manufacture drawings and of course make them free issue to forum users.

Hi Martin and welcome to the Forum. I bought my LS400 nearly six years ago and afterwards put together this advice - some of which might now be out of date or wrong? I don't know about 430s but there are plenty of members on here who do, so don't be afraid to ask. There are never many 400s for sale, and once you’ve discounted the ones that are too old, clapped out, expensive, or too far away, you won’t be left with many to choose from. Good ones sell quickly so it’s important to look at as many examples as you can, otherwise you won’t be able to make comparisons. Be prepared to travel to find the right car. I ended up buying one from 250 miles away, and did wonder at one point whether I was mad, but I don’t regret it because I got a good car at a good price. It’s sometimes difficult to work out what a good price is - some sellers ask ridiculous prices, assuming that a car that cost £45-50,000 new must be worth at least a tenth of that now, and in one way you can understand why; but I’ve noticed that overpriced cars stay on the market for months until they’re reduced. Mileage seems not to matter as long as the car’s been maintained properly, but things inevitably wear out with age. I read somewhere that younger with high mileage is usually better than older with low mileage. Service history is a must, because they’re complex cars that need proper maintenance. Some for sale haven’t been serviced for 20,000-odd miles, which suggests that they need expensive work. If the cambelt needs changing, budget for about £450. I think they need changing every 10 years or 70,000 miles. Open the bonnet before starting the engine. If you hear a roar it could be the top exhaust manifold leaking, which is expensive to replace. The rest of the exhaust system will probably be the original (stainless steel), which should last the life of the car, but obviously you should check for blowing. Starter motors sometimes fail and this is expensive to repair because they’re stuck right down in the V at the bottom of the engine. It’s difficult to know when they’re about to pack up, but try starting the engine a few times. I’m not sure how you check for it, but you need to ensure that the power steering isn’t leaking fluid. This can damage the alternator. Listen for knocks or clonks over bumps. Suspension wear is common, particularly the wishbones and bushes, but mine has got through six MOTs with a bit of wear and clonk (more noticeable when cold). The CD-Rom unit for the satnav is under the boot floor. Sometimes the disc is missing. But it's an outdated system (street name only, no postcode) and it's cheaper to buy a Tomtom than a new disc. If the bonnet won’t stay up on its own, budget for new struts. Check whether the car has the Dynamic Handling Pack – this includes slightly lower suspension, stiffer springs and bigger wheels with low profile tyres. This version looks better (in my opinion) but the tyres are much more expensive. Gear changes should be almost imperceptible. On my car, most are only noticeable because of the rev counter needle moving. Heavy braking from high speed and then keeping your foot on the pedal can cause the brakes to bind, so check for judder when braking hard. Check that the trim around the inside of the boot fits properly. If it doesn’t, the boot can let in water and become damp/smelly. Check that everything electrical works. This will take time because there are a lot of toys on the car, but you don’t want to be stuck with a dodgy sunroof, aircon, lights, seat motors etc. The heated seat elements often fail because they’re not very strong, but if you’re like me you never turn them on anyway. The electric aerial often fails, or breaks off in a car wash. Budget for about £50 for a decent replacement (I’m told that cheap Halfords-type ones don’t get good reception). There should be at least two keys, and one of them must be a master (these cost a lot of money to get chipped by Lexus). I was advised to deduct £200 for each key not supplied with the car. Otherwise I think it’s just general things that would apply to any old car you might be looking at. But do read what other guys in the Club say – most of them are more technically-minded than I am! Good luck with your search!

Please get some pictures of the Y section you are having made once it is done and the price charged, there may be some more orders coming in

You've certainly been clocking up the miles, Jacques. I've never done more than 3000 a year in mine.

I think you made the right decision, but then I would say that... Have a good (and safe) journey home. I can't think of a better car to do 250 miles in.

It does happen, there is a known problem with the LS steering position motors, the same part is used in other Toyota cars and is considerably cheaper than the Lexus price. On the other hand mine is JDM import model and if I use the Toyota part number it costs more than the same part under Lexus. There are also other options like buying from the USA or the likes of Amayama, even with import charges and shipping considerable savings can still be made.

Hi Martin, and welcome to the club. Type ls400 v ls430 in the search box, then make sure you have a comfortable seat, there are a LOT of results.

Hi and welcome to the LOC, we are a friendly bunch and some of us even know how to pull them to bits and put them back together again, with of course the one bolt and washer left over. If you are going to go for an LS400 you need a MK4 which is considered to be the best LS ever built for reliability & comfort. You need to go over them with a fine tooth comb as there are plenty that glitter in the pictures but when you get under the skin horror stories wait to catch the unwary. Get yourself a gooden with a FSH and she will last you forever. Worth giving the West Midlands a wide birth. We recommend you spend a couple of mins looking over the rules of the LOC, we will be asking questions later. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/terms-conditions/ Regards Mike.

These babies that come along without so much as a by your leave, I have seen even cats, dogs and other various pets being thrown out because one of these things are on the way or have arrived. These people often become susceptible to allergies as well. We bought a family up and apart from buying a bigger house to house them all in I don't think we made any changes, certainly never sold a car because of them.

I was looking for 9 months for my Evora and found it via the forum after the owner stated it was being traded in. Hopefully you will have a similar bit of luck. Best to wait and be fully happy with the eventual decision.

I fitted a set of these lights. They are good quality no different to the original Lexus type. In some ways better quality as they have brighter LED bulbs and project the Logo which looks great at night. Unilluminated they look no different so not "cheaping", (I assume you meant to say cheapening)

Damn dude you got a 2015 Lexus and your cheaping it out with eBay logo door lights Its cool if that what you want and you enjoy them. (I ordered eBay underglows to put on my car for when we drive on the back roads at night aha) I just think you should be investing in upgrades to complement the caliber of the car, any cheap mods will stand out on your fresh new lexus

Just got these and with a bit of bending of the connectors only on the boot light, I fitted them to all three interior lights. They are polarity sensitive so if put in the wrong way don't work but hey you just have to swap them round.

The red has a pearlesant flake in it, very hard to capture in photos, but looks fantastic when the sun catches it, that's about 3 days a year, but those 3 days are worth it.

If you fancy a red one that's been properly cared for; my old IS-F is in Lexus Manchester for £25,000. I bought it when it was 8 months old from Lexus Warrington when it 2800 miles on the clock. Red is, of course, the best colour. http://usedcars.lexus.co.uk/used-IS-F/IS-F/5.0/Manchester/2070391-605286534-1609630.aspx?srcmdc=se_na_re_ It should still have a Warranty until Mar 2017 too

That would be me! News travels fast eh? Patrick at Freelance Guernsey was extremely helpful. I made an offer and it was accepted. Sounds like it's in great condition; I bought based on info from here + photos + just generally chatting to Patrick. I haven't seen the car yet and won't see it until it's here in the UK. Anyway, I've spent quite a little while since then sorting everything out to import and register the car. It's being shipped over next week - won't be able to drive it until the UK reg has been assigned. Can't wait. I'll obviously upload some pics once it arrives. I'm not overly hopeful for reduced rate of tax - think it'll be £505 rather than £230. Yes the Guernsey reg document doesn't state emissions but the certificate of conformity does. We shall see! Besides, I'm very happy with the price I've paid vs what I was going to spend had I purchased a C63. It gives me plenty of money left over to get the alloys refurbished and a couple of small scratches to the paintwork. Oh and I'll be getting an H&S exhaust in due course. Cheers

Ye I still have mine . Gotta say . Think they saved my car from crashing . http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/crash-left-one-car-roof-10703429 i passed this crash just after it happened . I could have been the 4wd or tyres . But only the tyres were on the ice . Definitely won't be scrimping on tyres ever again . As for comfort and sound . Best tyre I've had :)

Yes, both tyres were run on 36psi. The manual actually says 32psi but i thought that was too low as the car wasn't as confident in the turns and visually, the tyres just looked deflated from the side on level ground. Not had any issues with 36psi. Feels much smoother on good roads and has added confidence in the turns. To top it up, MPG has increased by about 2mpg but that could be down to the tyres themselves. The thing about Lexus recommending Dunlop/Bridgestone is a bit of nonsense to be honest. These Michelin's are standard fitment in USA and Canada which are the biggest markets for Lexus so I dont think they'd go round putting these tyres on otherwise.

looks nice clean and straight but on the flip side due to being standing there might be hidden problems not he best of advert either - no mention of service history apart from the scrunched up MOT certificate

I always used Morrisons 95 standard in mine and never had any issues.