The-Acre

No, certainly not a member. He said he always asks Lexus to tell him if there are any problems. I'm not sure he's all that mechanically minded, but he certainly knows how to look after a car, a very nice gent anyway. I hope after all the nice words from everyone it lives up to expectations! I'm picking it up on Tuesday as it's the start of the month, i didn't want to tax it until then. Let me know when you want to meet up, I'm happy to come your way this time if you prefer.

I wondered what that smell was, hopefully the money pit has stayed where it belongs. I went to see an LS400 just 15 miles from me some weeks back, advertised in great condition, what a wreck it was!

When I spoke to the guy selling his car in Swindon he said he had a call from someone in the Midlands offering to buy it without even seeing it, offering a silly price of course....I wonder who that was...

Most definitely, and you're welcome to drive it, it'll interesting to know your thoughts comparing the two models.

Thank you gentlemen, and I can honestly say the photo doesn't do it justice. I turned up in my work clothes and I was uncomfortable about sitting inside because it looked like it had just come out of the showroom. It'll need a couple of tyres soon, and when the weather improves I'll replace the radiator as a precaution. The cambelt was replaced by Lexus about 40k ago so hopefully no worries there, and it has 3 keys which is good. The guy was clearly fanatical about looking after it, he's just about to retire and says his LS460 will be his last Lexus.

Now that's almost as bad as asking a woman her age! I paid £2,400 Hard to believe that he always kept it in that garage, but he did. It doesn't look big enough but he opened it up to reveal his LS460 inside.

I was planning to see the grey/green one in Swindon on Thursday, but I spotted this one on Gumtree and only 35 miles away. Mint condition, 117K complete Lexus history to date, and owned by the present guy for the last 10 years, he's just bought an LS460. Even the steering motors both work! It could be 3 years old, I've rarely seen a car of this age looking so immaculate. Picking it up next week. I may well be having coilovers fitted, well, at the first sign of trouble anyway! I'll put some better photos on when I get it back.

I've seen photos of my own cars and they look like patchwork. Lots of phones around with naff cameras which doesn't help. Anyway, I'm off to Guildford in the morning to view the burgundy one on Gumtree. A year older but full Lexus history.

I spoke to the guy this morning and he says it's just a bad photo and all paint is fine, and no problems with it having been in an accident. I'm planning to go Thursday morning. There is another one in Guildford that looks interesting, and as that's only 40 mins away I may take a look.

It looks like it's just the light, the paving looks a different colour in the middle, in fact the boot looks completely different but that's clearly just a bad photo. Out of all the ones I've looked at this one has the best MOT history by far. I'm planning on seeing it on Friday but I'll ask about paintwork before I go. I'm not sure how put off I should be that it's been advertised for a while as there seems to be loads on eBay that have been around for ages, some for many months. I think people are afraid of them because of the bad publicity with suspension issues etc. We do need to remember though that they are an excellent car, with basically the same engine as the LS400. And some of the known problems can be avoided fairly inexpensively.

I spoke to the owner today, sounds genuine enough. The MOT history is good so we'll see. I would like a facelift model but the mileage on this is good and I like the colour. Any thoughts? https://www.gumtree.com/p/lexus/lexus-ls430/1152275395

It's just that the mileage doesn't add up.

Something not right here, I think I'll forget that one!

I put one in my Last LS400, a cheap Chinese job, and it was excellent, crystal clear, and very easy to install.

To be honest I would consider it. The one thing I didn't like about the Jag was the way the dashboard seemed so high, maybe its just the low seating position. It was very nice to drive, and the cabin was a very nice place to be. The LS is more serene though, and more powerful. The XJ6 is a big car, but was only 3litre so not surprising. It was comparable I think.

Ah, I wondered if anyone would notice. It went back to the dealer a week later for various reasons, now he's got it up for sale for £300 more. I took a friend with me who deals in Jags as he had two to pick up in Doncaster, so I got to drive an XJ6 back. I just got home and an air suspension warning light came on!

That is my concern, also the fact that it's been for sale for so long.

I think I've got a fairly good knowledge re the potential problems, it's just finding time to get there. The biggest difficulty is explaining to my wife that I may get another car!

You're not wrong there, unless I change my name to Zechariah or Zebedee or Zed bed! It's just a NI plate, and definitely not worth £1,000. Why doesn't anybody local to me ever sell their cars, this one is less than 100 miles away though.

This has been advertised for ages, and I have mentioned it before. The seller says the the current mileage and the discrepancy in the MOT history is a misunderstanding between him and the boss! The MOT history is actually quite good, and I may be able to get the price down. What do you think a fair price would be if it all checks out OK? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-LS-430-4-3-Lth-S-Wheel-auto-6sp-Petrol-Blue-/271588920462?hash=item3f3bf60c8e:g:l-IAAOSwPe1T~doA

A friend of mine has an original Shelby Mustang, 1960's I believe, with something like a 7 litre lump. One of only a handful made with four wheel drive. Even some Americans on the forum have told him he's wrong, they never made a four wheel drive version, so he posts the info to show that they did. And the best thing is, I'm on the list to drive it when it's finally back on the road!

Like most people, I like Polo mints, but they have a place, and I don't think it's on a car! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STUNNING-CAR-LOW-MILEAGE-1999-V-LEXUS-LS400-Full-historyJUST-SERVICED-Long-Mot-/252286627168?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368

Get a 430 and have coilovers fitted, between 1&1.2k parts and labour. The 430 really does have a fine cabin, it feels much bigger inside than a 400. It has more or less the same engine which is well tried and tested.

It's worth remembering that gearbox contamination is not a certainty, and its not the most common problem. I would simply do it as a precaution and peace of mind, which is what I did. I paid £85 (or there abouts) from an eBay company but I can't remember which one.