Cotswold Pete

And I hope you have your pipe clenched in teeth and wearing plus fours at the same time just to top it all off.

I would suggest running into one another might not be a good idea, that would be two less LS 400s on the road. Can I suggest just winding down the window, waving politely and saying 'toodle-pip old chap', just like they used to in the 1950s

At work (been there 2 years) the other day in conversation it shocked some people that the LS was 4 litre, quite a few thought it was a 2 litre, and many thought it was a yank tank. Just goes to show how people are fooled by the looks. I do like the paint job on the pimp mobile, but not so sure it would fit where I live, might upstage one of neighbours and his pimped up Sirocco.

About 18 months ago went to Cheltenham dealer with the missus as she was looking for a new car. I was trying to get her to look at a Lexus, so we drove in and had a look around. Not one person took any interest in talking to us, so we eventually left. I wonder if it was because we were in her really beat up old Honda rather than the LS???? Must admit though that the newer Lexus models I poked my head into did not get either of us excited.

£120 quid seems good if it is a full replace of the oil. Oil is never for life, it will break down, and having had full transmission oil replace it makes a difference with gear changes, and was only £50 more than having just a standard oil replace, which only gets about 20-30% of it replaced.

Excellent for hiding with Zebras!

I have managed to get almost 37mpg, but it was long Motorway haul at 50-55mph. Maybe they live in Motorway services, and work at Highways depot!!!!

Are you sure?? AVG can be over-sensitive to stuff that is quite okay, there was a time when it was bitching about Spotify. I use Avira now which seems to be a bit better as an anti-virus. Of course if you are looking a dodgy cat web sites such as VW then you only have yourself to blame

To my mind the LS 400 Mk4 has everything you really need, a decent seat, great gear box, hardy engine, good build, electric mirrors, traction control, CD player, even a cassette deck etc etc. The only thing it could do with is some USB ports and a MP3 input jack for the all the gubbins we now have. I have no need of a fridge, or massage seats, or on board TV's and so on, just adds weight and more stuff to go out of data/break. Maybe in the future we will have cars with on-board log fires, personal gym, four-poster bed and saw horse - to name a few - but I will still feel I have everything most sane drivers need when I will still be pottering about in my Mk4.

Disconnected mine about a year ago, and thought I will just leave it. But the other day found some foam type float material (those woggles that kids use when learning to swim), so when I have some spare time might have a go at trying that. Not sure when I will get time to try it, as in the middle of major house renovation. The problem will be making the foam edge smooth so that it does not have so much surface contact with the water. The problem is that water and washer fluid are corrosive over long periods of time. What Lexus should have done is used a polythene float with air in it, would probably have lasted longer then the material they used.

Totally versatile, mine has had many a trip to the local tip with more than a few bags of heavy soil etc. Also when I used to run local school bar for fund raising events, found you could get a heck of a lot of beer in the boot and car was drive-able (steering a bit light), and would still pull like a train. Who needs a pickup (Well having seen some USA conversions, would be great if I could get my hands on one for this 'awkward' loads)

You might need to turn the stereo up a notch or two as well

Driving home tonight could not work out what the rear view mirror was not dimming and then noticed I had left the little flap above the mirror, down. I am not sure whether to complain about this design fault or live with the moon blinding me at certain times of the year.

The LS is the more stately looking, the other ones seems as if they are looking for a fight

Chris, If I was not about to spend £4K completely rebuilding my lounge, that would be tempting to get the Townshend, but more than likely going to tinker with the Thorens (ie: treat it like one would a classic car, and make a few improvements after running in it's original form). As to selling your vinyl. Why? I still have all 600 LP's, 400 singles, but all cleaned so that they sound pretty good. Also agree with Cleverdick about over-engineering, which does apply to the LS, the SP-10 etc etc, but I have a Pioneer D-07 DAT (very over-engineered), but it suffers a bit as I do not use it everyday, so it gets a bit stiff here and there. I drive my LS400 every day, as I think it is designed to do that and do it for more than a couple of decades.

I think it comes down to the fact that when a new product comes to market there is a period of trial & error and corrective actions, which no doubt contributed to the very high price of a LS400 (and it did not make a profit - according to various sources). Any company that thinks it has ironed out the problems then just keeps the machine producing the same thing. However the market demands change and the manufacturer needs to look at ways to stand out from the crowd, and if the new technology is not so tried and tested then you find out problems that never would have existed in your Mk1, Mk2 version (etc.) So in theory your Mk5 Mk6 version will not have the same up front development costs, and the manufacturing process will have been fine tuned to save costs and time. It does not make a 430 or a 460 worse, just tends to make them more complex which means more things to take more than a few years to come out in the wash. The other thing is the economy of scale that China brought to the market through from early 2000 onwards (which meant even Lexus would find the supply chain being cheaper than the decade before). The same thing has happened with TV's, Washing Machines etc, all cheaper than 20 years ago, all more features, and as a general rule about the same level of reliability (from my experience) Overall I would rather buy a Lexus (or Toyota) over just about anything else, because I always consider the ongoing costs or ownership (not just of fuel), I apply the same rules to my HiFi, I have a 40 year old Thorens record deck (gets used most weeks), and it was not cheap at the time, but it sure as heck gives good value. I can buy it's equivalent today for about three times the price (but with inflation cheaper). Would I buy a new one? Only if the one I have blows up and I cannot find a good original TD160 to replace it. Same with the LS, I would only go for a 430, 460 if I could not find a good Mk4 to replace mine (should anything happen).

No need to touch wood when owning a Lexus. Just get it serviced regularly, and have any strange noises investigated ASAP. The LS is superb at temperature regulation whether it be hot or cold, and the seat heaters keep your bottom toasty (unlike some BMWs which are too roasty)

Barry, By all means give Gas & Go a call, they do my servicing (though I am not running with LPG) and they seem to know what they are up to. They are right next to Swindon station, but I guess the problem might be starting the car to get there in the first place.

Agree with the posts here that modern cars are more trouble than they are worth. It seems to me that problem is safety systems on cars add weight, so they try to cut weight out of the important bit like gear boxes, running gear etc etc. Also the need to have less oil in the system means we have pumps and so in places where they fail (such as BMW gear boxes). Reminds me of my first company car (Ford Escort 3rd generation) which attempted to use less sump oil, but had a spray type system to ensure the the mechanics were bathed correctly. Gave me no end of problems with warm start problems, and glad to get rid of and get a good old fashioned Vaux Cavalier (at the time). So what you save by having half the oil and 1mpg better consumption is more than used up by hefty repair/service bills, and it is not saving the environment because manufacture and shipping the new parts probably uses even more energy. I will be sticking with my LS 400 for as long as I can for my every day car and even though it has had it's issues. And if I was to change it would be another Lexus or if pushed a Honda (the older ones were built like battleships - not sure about current generation)

Agree that it looks brilliant, and assume it spreads weight over both front and rear, but what it does to the alignment of the body over time is an point to ponder.

What was that for; too much effing and jeffing or suggesting that BMW and Jeremy Clarkson should rule the world

I have blueprint on the front, and agree. They were okay for first 10,000 miles, but over last 10,000 been squeaking and had them cleaned on a regular basis, so looking at going back to Toyota pads, even though there is plenty of wear left in the blueprints.

Disc do not warp, they just have areas of greater 'stiction'. http://www.skimmydiscs.co.uk/blog/warped-brake-discs-myth/ Many other web sites that say the same thing. Never got to the bottom of way some pads are worse at leaving a variable deposit, but had same problem in previous Lexus, though I was aware that the Front end suspension was amplifying the problem. I do know that really heavy braking followed by leaving foot on the brake can cause pad deposits to be more of an issue So get someone who really knows the Lexus running gear to have a good poke about before making a decision. From previous experience I have found just replacing the pads and not skimming the discs, means that the judder comes back way quicker. Though surprised if you have OEM that you are getting problems after so few miles

Could not agree more, though maybe 279 years is being a bit too optimistic, because by then we will all have given up driving and we will just leave the roads to Google cars crashing into one another.

The comment on the uncluttered feel of the original LS400 is the essence of the beast, as well as the silence in the cabin. This is why the 400 appeals to me, seems like the later models moved somewhat away from this look as they tried to add all the bells and whistles. Went out the other day in a Audi Q7, seemed like you need a degree in reading way to many screens of stuff. Give me a car where you turn on the ignition, and hit the ON button on the radio and just drive; any day of the week