The-Acre

I see, I'll stick to being a carpenter then!

I can only think being a lorry driver pays good money! My previous LS430 was owned by a lorry driver, bought from Lexus and maintained by them. He then bought an LS460 from Lexus Guildford with 35k on the clock. I knew I should have got my HGV licence all those years ago!

When I bought mine I found that none of the usual insurance providers would touch an import, and I tried most of them. Fortunately the specialist I went with was no more expensive than a non import. Road tax oddly was £30 less than a non import.

My Celsior came via an importer so all the taxes, registration etc was already done, as was the instrument cluster, changed to Mph. The history is in Japanese so it means very little to me. The radio picks up radio 2 which is what I listen to, plus one other station where everyone seems to shout so that stays off. I'll be testing mine in May on the German autobahns so I won't know about speed restrictions until then! I put a UK nav disc in mine but it doesn't work so a used unit for about £200 is the answer. Many insurers won't cover imports but there are companies that specialise. An auction sheet with good grades is important too.

Interesting, so presumably the roof aerial on the pre-facelift is for the GPS, on the facelift its GPS and phone? I might have known that nothing in a Lexus would be straightforward!

That all makes sense which is why I've always applied the parking brake, if its designed to work and it isn't used it stands to reason that it'll seize or just not function properly after time. I even use the soft close door function every week or so.

The same with mine, after 16 years it's immaculate underneath, not even a rusted bolt head, I must get it sealed this year.

Absolutely, have a spring compressor slip and you won't need to visit the dentist ever again!

As Steve says, anti roll bar is basic stuff and the bushes are cheap. I did my GS ones, front and rear, very easy. The LS ones are about £20 a pair and I'd be happy to use aftermarket ones. Drop links are also cheap and easy to do. Probably 20 mins to change the ARB bushes with the car on a lift.

I'd be surprised if it was just for the phone as the pre-facelift had the same aerial but no Bluetooth.

No, the old base stays, you just remove the stick, so no work to be done inside the car. The wire from the original aerial is soft, like the outer part of coaxial cable so that simply connects to the new one, then it all fits inside the shell of the shark fin. This was mine taken yesterday morning.

Keep us posted, it's always helpful info.

Duff batteries have certainly been responsible for all manner of problems.

I know, and after all these years that I've been a member of the LOC it's time for me to listen to my own advice! Especially as I was being driven in a Mercedes today, nowhere near as comfortable!

Well clearly I'm being concerned about nothing at this stage. I had the car checked today, bushes, ball joints and suspension, and I'm told all is fine, no sign of impending doom! So for now I'll keep my gob shut and just get on with enjoying a fine car. Maybe its time to stop being swayed by the negative comments we read.

Hi Peter, this is the one I used. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Universal-Auto-Car-Roof-Radio-AM-FM-Signal-Shark-Fin-Aerial-Antenna-WT/192593664019?hash=item2cd77a1813&enc=AQADAAADAFjVrDbVsZ8oH%2F8PNHtt9VX4%2Fw7FZcmMuqsX8uaFEduVhXvoTouLhcUcY79O78ElPnZzBugTCpGGaisaCDtm%2B%2FrXokaBRTzLwQiuScUAvYJfZ0sBYA8PuGZcYGAXcXG6MNi8CTZiP6Ggeodo3d68agfYV6ZRbrsM94XBU0YxeLRGdhHepskNOCDTxP0XCuAzSvoiYW6r2o%2BF3kOmTmyVTa9XbRYp5IBNAs%2BcCnO9XwMc70yWhB2y7QLYUwFnivdKP%2BwqIfrnnpl7UFEuP0u2oizArHwT8TGBYHKKb3gRWyEQ0lb57l4D5C5UXWGPtM%2Fl5%2F8HKCXbXJXP%2BZ07SvaPQW16vokPcDNeC%2F0WxairwmCFEMOoHo2BvTOYo3JjPTCaHYuftIaIwxpZ0wTXyhwBUHML0uOz746EZHVJTj0jYbqL5VMQpqGTkk87BBZlzSRkmkMzTFPFp%2BLZnFrg75slmjfNv554kekKUbs9SBtRXRYNQw1NM2dt4WZeh3yagrZn%2FBOKMJEeRBL1f%2FsgUVZ%2BWr8mN%2Fwf6wRIueGJIRjhRZN4SZdipQaDPz8K22pLC8Q3rHFDY43o7I3QtmckRhi0WIht%2BnIVIq2xLaAns%2BsVtCF%2Fx8p7lz9vzxDghgvNLVBJYslzgRvgtYUX0M6Fe%2BXfezDvfbVcb3FIBlS0usQERvKnWgsfltoxYx9D%2BZKBio2mYLDfDkCcRQVhuo4OTB4Ak6T0XazwYqSLCZZy1YxBg1f7tKnM5vdqeysndJiJsQZ09OSbrCBL7dj8f9u3qVpqnHsSewTramkZEZ1jvUrz%2FvWkv4F%2Bp2NDSxuK3ToZd0iwVYMCqEK17yWLIFiN0AMGT9eK6jxGeZwYfV9yQGW2Wgp0aXYQIg2GVbds079WQ6YTteqE44i9rA6hiJVFQ9hJyAZlyGU3q%2FU0Pgfc%2BkGbj8tmu%2BCHgs4%2BIoCqQuh2kxko0Sz7AUUtdcGVYUsFl4AKq%2FJqpqeoU4uWI3hT4RkTzmHMH2m8EQSbOPfqwn2An4s%2FOA%3D%3D&checksum=19259366401972ec63dba8a44b67a608b6408fc62f45 It works fine and the chewing has stopped! As a creature removed it originally I'm guessing it just pulls off. I put the original remains back on (after retrieving it from the ground) and it just pushed back in place. The day before I installed the new one I removed the small screws from inside and sealed it (Stixall) then screwed the plate back on. It's all fairly obvious when you see it. The double sided tape they supply is naff so I bought some better stuff. When the old aerial comes off there's a piece of plastic inside the wire to keep it upright, that just pulls out. The back of the roof is slightly curved so as soon as the shark fin was fixed down I sealed the edges, Stixall again, then cleaned it all up. It sounds a bit amateurish but it looks very neat and tidy. 3 months later and all is good. Also worth mentioning, I used a hair dyer to warm the new one up as it was being fixed, just to help the adhesive as it was very cold. And I've no idea why the eBay link is sooo long!

Excellent info!

I think the temptations of a low mileage LS are not necessarily something we should be persuaded by. These cars can do mega miles if looked after and a 200k example should drive as well as a 60k one. £4,250 does seem a tad high.

Can you post some links?

Mine didn't come with parking sensors either, although it does have a reversing camera. I retro fitted rear ones which you can just do without removing the bumper. If I remember correctly the pre-facelift has the reversing lights in the wing rather than the boot lid which makes fitting them even easier.

Not a code I'm familiar with, in fact I can't remember it ever coming up. Why do you think you have a faulty hub, is it bearing noise? If so it's fairly common. Maybe get that replaced first, erase the codes and see where you are from there? PS. as it's a 2000 model, is it a non premium pack?

There you are, we were getting worried, thinking you've deserted us! Any idea how I would find the part number for a complete coil spring assembly? I went with another member a few weeks ago to see the Celsior he bought which has conventional suspension, so we know it exists. His is a 2004 I think.

I've discovered that, they don't like giving info that won't benefit them!

Thanks, much appreciated.

Well done that man, an excellent result!