Malc

I've just emailed the seller for the Lexus colour and if it's Aspen Green, like mine, I might be persuaded to store some of it for my future use. But the colour could be any number of real Lexus silvery colours Malc

with 5 owners I doubt other than the first one would have bothered, and that's if he did ........... just taking that chance ....... and came unstuck .. they reckon 100k miles for a change in the USA for the same car/engine

hey guys, look at the advert on autotrader for the P reg Mk3 Ls400 at 166k miles ............... scrap really at @£200 Checking the MOT stuff, it passed last year at 165k miles BUT now the cambelt has bust and some other terminal Advisories ............ but looks an ok body shell and maybe the interior too ! What it does is give credibility to what we might have understood all along that 150k miles is just about ok for a too long in the tooth first change on these beasts ....... just too long at 165k miles eh ! ( if it is that long ) Malc http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201708168387311?postcode=me115ag&radius=1500&model=LS 400&make=LEXUS&onesearchad=Used&advertising-location=at_cars&sort=sponsored&page=1

wonder if the last 3 annual MOT Advisories refer to the same rear stuff wearing out ? Problem might be availability of those parts for a Mk2, no matter how nice the car would seem ........ wheels need refurbishing and the tyres could be replacement cheapos I fear BUT it looks quite good for a late Mk2 .............. at the right price Malc

the seller is a business and not the private individual that's driven and owned it ? The Return Conditions ............. why specify them if you're not running scared of a Return ! Price, well, who knows what it's really worth ........ try to get Agreed Value on an insurance policy and then one would find out for sure I guess. But at £4k,............ peanuts really in the great scheme of buying a used car and at least with this one you can be pretty sure it's had good maintenance for it to have covered such monster miles. Malc

I suppose the reality of this is that there are now so very few Ls400s around that it would take any power crazy driver by total surprise to find him/her self competing against an old guy in an ancient behemoth ..... and often being thrashed well and truly and left at the side of the road nursing their wounded pride ........... BUT of course many modern cars are able to drive like crazy and were never designed for power in the hands of old guys who might want to drive sedately most of the time Malc

And there was me thinking my Ls400 was invincible ............. just pipped to the post by a brand new 17 plate Audi S3 ........ 0 - 62 in 5.3 secs and 155.3mph BUT he sure was having a hairy moment straining every limb on his brand new car to compete with my near silent 22 year old beauty ........ and the noise the S3 made, straining to " get there " Malc

hahahahaha ............ next time will probably be in 24 years time .... having said that I think they are only meant to last 16 years .... the timing at which i have replaced TWO on my earlier Ls's Malc

..... priceless Malc

try telling that to your insurance company when they decide to write your car off for a dented wing or door mirror ! These are fabulous cars but true value rests at the auction and insurers decisions on economic repair ...... and it just doesn't wash with them and the values are still on the floor ... Ferraris they ain't and what's great value to us afficionados is limited to ................... just US Malc

rather too expensive ............

looks dopey money to me tbh Malc

well, I'm pleased they stopped wittering on about the exhaust being welded as an Advisory ! Quite surprised that it actually failed on some rust areas, in such a young car and low miles too .... but hey, there we are ......... must be just unlucky I guess OTHER THAN maybe a giveaway was the lacquer peeling on the door mirror .......... perhaps a sign of some badly repaired earlier more serious damage at some time.... and rust now rampaging through the beast Malc

Keith Bowler traded in / part ex his 1999 ? one for £400 the other week for his almost new Mazda estate ! Where were you when it happened Malc

then surely you will buy an elderly Ls400 ?? Malc

the number plate rings a bell or two too ..... has it been mentioned on here before at some time I wonder Malc

when it comes off it might look like " new " as an aside ...............when i bought my 1994 Mk2 in 2007 it had covered just 8542 miles and the cambelt had been Lexus changed at 10 years and 3104 miles ! by the time it was written off in 2011 it had covered just 42k miles ( I think ) Malc

cambelt could be 100k miles and/or 10 years ! Malc

.............. always used the cheapest appropriate octane fuel wherever I happen to be .... and I've successfully covered hundreds of thousands of miles in well serviced and " never miss a beat " running, multiple marque cars over my driving years. Just my twopenneth' Malc

excuse me ... isn't the average Lexus owner 60+ and also wearing jeans and trainers and also I quote from the following too " That said, the 'structural' aspects of Lexus dealers tick the right boxes. You're greeted professionally when you walk in, the coffee is excellent, and clearly effort is spent on making everything look slick." When taking my Honda Legend to the Main Dealer . Barrett's in Canterbury ..... using their free courtesy bus to the City Centre and to their Jaguar Land Rover showroom there, via their other main dealer showrooms en route ........ for Mini and BMW.. . it is quite clear that it is the dealer offering a tremendous service with coffee, newspapers etc and that is down to the ethos of the BRAND of Barrett's . a long standing family business ... not just the marque requirements My dealings at the Mazda main dealer in Canterbury were not of a similar quality, where the sales staff couldn't care a monkey's if one wished to view a new car or not ( my 1994 car was in for a free re-call earlier this year ) ........... clearly not owned by Barrett's and it shows hahahahaha ............ maybe it was the jeans and trainers and a 23 year old Mazda that made them think I was broke and not worth bothering with eh ! Malc

wow, that's a big ££££ step .... can you tell us the miles and age etc since it was last changed Malc

and the exhaust might just need a slight weld job done at @ £40 ................... eventually Malc

now now guys .... everyone to their own with life's experiences........... and expectations I own a classic car capable of about 60/70 mph, dreadful braking distance and poor lights .......... certainly no airbags apart from fresh air ......... if it gets a prang ( heaven forbid ) I'll live with my local body repair shop fixing the problems, a hammer to straighten out the springs and suspension, likewise a body repair hammer to take out the wing creases etc ......... I don't live in fear of some bugger crunching a door in a carpark ( yes, it regularly goes to Waitrose shopping too ) .... it's a car and probably worth a little more than many nearly new cars on this forum Malc ( by the way it's 85th birthday is in October )

ocd..... well yes i think so. It's a car and the road has others cars on it with drivers that don't care a monkeys about you and yours ............ all you do to protect your car is great and commendable BUT you just know that some silly bugger will cause your dearly beloved some harm at some stage and you won't have a clue who's done that ........ I personally wouldn't worry so much ..... it's a car ! Malc

I think there is a significant problem with insurers and making cars these days that are not, to put it bluntly, fit for purpose ...... any useful and sensible car repair shop would have a good stab at putting these relatively " minor " blemishes right without replacing ............ go ask your local guy and see what he says about making it " just right " for you , you'd be surprised at what they can do from a purely pragmatic point of view. I know my indy car mechanic guy buys write-offs from insurance companies auctions cars where a bumper and a scratch might cost ££thousands to repair by the insurance company BUT a secondhand bumper and a good scrape repair might just cost a few hundred£ or less. Insurers in the main are write-off merchants and don't do enough to keep premiums down by being pragmatic in most cases. It's easy for them to just keep increasing premiums coz they know the customer is in a zero position to stop being ripped off. And no Govt Review or Enquiry whatever will stop this practice ......... they are cheats and thieves in most cases without YOUR interests at heart, just their own money grabbing interests .............. and no one's going to stop them. RANT OVER ftb Malc