Malc

I ran my Ls400 around the local straights ( roads ) a couple of years ago when I found myself at Le Mans on the way through France I hadn't planned to be there but was quite chuffed I was, my first time at Le Mans ........... . and I imagined myself racing somewhat Then the following year I found myself at Monza, again quite by accident too Malc

I find that a little strange that GM had both Vauxhall and Opel main dealers in the UK ..... or maybe GM didn't own them then Malc

Yep, I don't have private health cover I admit ..................... Malc

I've also bought, last August, a 10 year old Honda Legend and that's with AWD ....... not used it yet, well, i don't believe it's hit into that mode yet ............ will be fascinating to really drive in the snow and ice which unlike my Ls400 I just tuck up in bed when the weather's like that coz I KNOW it's absolutely useless driving in those conditions ........... goes nowhere I want it to ........... Malc

Yep, but you probably wouldn't be ........ and then you'll enjoy it even more and in the meantime be able to pay your normal monthly outgoings for one's family without undue pressure ..... BUT of course it's always a personal choice whatever one does, but throwing £20 notes on the bonfire seems a little strange to me ......... .......... as I said. maybe it's coz i am an OAP , in a timewarp and with too much spare cash, possibly got there by not splashing out on a new car every year or two ....... just making do with my limo and 0 - 60 in 6.9 secs and 155 mph ( still ) Malc

paint bubbling ? I thought the Japanese learnt the lessons well, my Ls400 is just about like new with just two tiny tiny rust spots starting to come through and absolutely zero rust underneath ............ 22 years old and 193k miles ............... and a stainless steel exhaust in fine nick too I think the issue is that Lexus is now just skimping somewhere in the prep and the finishing ..... btw i saw the other day a 54 plate VW with one front wing rusted to very large holes, probably a MOT failure next time around. Let's hope they don't get like the Lancias' of old ! rust failure at first MOT and cars being scrapped. Malc

I know I'm living in a timewarp with my Ls400 but for heavens sake, do you guys feel happy paying out £718 a month, presumably from your after taxed income, for a car ? that's going to have zilch value to you when you do change to another ? You'd be heaps of ££££ better off by popping that £718 ( plus the tax relief presumably making it possibly £1000 a month ) into your pension pot and buying something you actually NEED for maybe a couple of months effective payments, rather than maybe a status symbol AND into your pension pot, assuming a return tax free on FTSE equities , if that's your thing, of about 4% pa which grossed up year on year to your retirement will provide a better time for you later in life AND of course you can maybe take 25% of that in tax free cash anyway at the time. Just my thoughts............... from an OAP with more money than sense maybe and happy with the best built car ever on the road ..... and still 0 - 60 in 6.9 secs and 155 mph Malc

so tell me, you've paid a deposit of £x ? and a monthly payment of £ ? ...... to end up with a car how old and actually worth £? as a cash sale or as a trade-in / swap ? Thanks Malc

sad to hear of your loss I too had a Vauxhall, well, three actually ......... fond memories of my 1988 Carlton 1.8ltr..... fabulous family car and did me many years and just over 200k miles before it finally expired with irreparable RUST Malc

there sure is a feel good factor in having a brand new car, I do know, having had company cars and early on in life buying my own brand new too ...... a Hillman Imp BUT that feel good factor soon vanishes, coz the car isn't new after a few months................ and the need for a manufacturer's warranty with a brand new car just tells me that the buyer maybe NEEDS that .......... so much to go wrong these days ...... that's why one can buy an extended warranty to protect oneself against the inevitability of something serious going wrong ............... and they can charge the earth for that, didn't someone pay £1495 for another years warranty on a new'ish Ls recently on these forums and the warranty costs suffered by Lexus were in excess of £15,000 ? My Ls400 cost me £1400 some 6 years ago and since then I've done 70k miles in her at relatively tiny repair and servicing costs......................... no depreciation there to worry about Malc

Brilliant outcome however i would check that darned ps fluid cooler pipe that runs the length in front of the radiator, they do tend to rust to bursting at about 20 years old ! can be replaced in copper tube for about a fiver. Malc

I agree with this, investments cars are NOT, even Classics can be costly to maintain especially, and you're lucky if they appreciate more than they cost " all-up " property portfolios, well, unless you're a professional with a suitable sized portfolio I would question the rewards ( after tax ) outweighing the grief ( from poor tenants etc ) other " investments " well ... buyer beware, values do go up AND down too. NEW CARS a crap way to invest imho ............. good and well considered used cars can be brilliant to run, rarely in the garage for repairs, less technology to go " pop " and can be minimal cost to purchase, often from spare cash that's earning zero interest anyway ! Amongst other jobs/ careers I was a used car dealer for 10 years following being a let property owner and a career City banker. I have by choice NOT bought myself ( with cash ) a new Lexus or any other marque, nor would I. I couldn't be arsed having to spend so much time in the garage/main dealer getting things " fixed " I'm retired, started a new business ( 2 years now ) and happily running my brilliant used cars ............ brand new cars are for companies with tax sparing capacity and personally, the thought of using monthly payments that just cover depreciation, blimey, why would you want to just throw away all that depreciation in your hard earned cash. Hope I'm not too " off the ball " here ... maybe I'm just "old" with different life values eh Malc

at the weekend i saw a Healey 3000 Mk111 with a very sophisticated steering lock in use ....... but it was a show car entrant in the middle of a Classic Car Show on Sheppey Kent ! I know the car is probably worth about £100k BUT would it get stolen parked in the middle of a classic car show with the owner right by Malc

is there no warning on the dash that a bulb is out ? I know on the older Ls400s that when a stop/brake light bulb has gone the brake wear light illuminates on the dash ! Malc

maybe a dark silvery colour, I couldn't see it properly in the light and tree shadows behind me and i concentrated on the right turn rather than notice him chasing off behind me.

WOW, driving along a country lane at the back of Benenden School there was another Ls400 right behind me wanting to overtake and a really strange phenomenon ........... There wasn't really a safe line of sight for him so I slowed a little and in my rear view mirror it seemed, just for a moment, that his car went into starting leopard leap mode,.... . slightly back on its haunches and nose slightly lifting as it prepared to leap past me in power acceleration mode ..... looked brilliant . I'm sure i didn't imagine it Then he held back, I turned right and off he went ............ as only a Ls400 in a hurry can Malc

I go with the Honda marque for good secondhand utterly reliable ( hopes ) and cheap to buy .... my 56 plate Legend with 106k miles and Full Honda Service History was a " no brainer " to purchase ...... £4k last August Likewise my Mk3 Ls400, 6 years ago at £1400 and now at 193k miles and costs nearly bugger all in annual maintenance bar simple servicing costs ........ and magical comfort, power and speed when needed and utter, utter reliability Depreciation on both cars, well, almost annualise at zero ..... and gadgets a-plenty too ............ we do about 18k miles a year on average Malc

it's must amazing to see TWO Ls400s together tbh Malc

............. and the likely price available to a cash purchaser could be ??? Malc

sadly the Dunlop DZ8 s or whatever they were are no longer manufactured and we Ls400 owners are having to source an alternative ! Malc

I thought at the time that Z Cars stood for the Zephyr and Zodiac Fords they used. I never remember seeing Stratford Johns in a Wolseley or Westminster, that was an older time warp for policing I think Malc

I would never buy part worn tyres for a main car, too much to lose: ....... one's life maybe ! However i have put part worn non-budget tyres ( from a main tyre dealer ) on my Mazda for pottering about locally and not under undue stress like they would be on the Lexus Malc

my 60's cars, especially BMC Wolseley, Morris etc had starting handles that were often used those cold wintry, frosty mornings ....... to save the almost dead battery which in those days I'm sure didn't have the charge holding capacity of modern times Malc

update.... the car drives exactly as before, brilliantly smoothly etc ...... that darned expensive balljoint eh ! makes zero difference perceptively to the drive etc Malc

Peter, any update that you might care to share ? Thanks Malc