Malc1

oh my, MOT Testers often say about rust when it's absolutely just surface and there's never any fear of structural effect ever. I think springs might fracture/crack when exposed to sudden shock and unwarranted manipulation .... I doubt they just " go " with old age.............. but maybe my wishful thinking here. and I understand cracks and breaks might not affect the handling or performance of the car and just show up at the next MOT My single one broke after being manually removed from the car at about 100k miles and stored. Good luck whatever Malc

Stuart hi, ACLex the previous owner of mine replaced one spring when he re-converted her from DHP set-up style, coilovers .... but he was Parts Manager at Lexus Poole and that was 7 years ago ! Maybe the Mk1/2 renewal is more complex but I remember him saying that the single new spring cost him @gbp100 back then and I think he would have used his co-workers to fit maybe. Just a thought, not to scrap her but just see if Lexus has a sensible price for doing the job ? and/or a simple explanation to do the job that someone there might be willing to divulge Malc

hey, I couldn't pass this by and not give praise for the good looking " new " car you've just bought, wow, she looks good Dreaded cambelt etc recently changed is sooooo positive 159k is tiny mileage as you know but I would mention ( not that it will happen to you ) that on my cars front UCAs went on my Mk1 at about 160k and the alternator too but that might have been due to the Mk1 pas leakage that's common to the Mk1 On my Mk3 one front UCA went at 173k and one rear UCA at 193k ( the n/sides only ) and the rear summat or other both sides were replaced about 120k I think by ACLex from here ( expensive job he told me ) She looks a great car, well done BTW I'm now in India for a month and again can't remember my original sign-in password ! Malc

.......... first thing on the menu will be a bacon sandwich ! Malc1

ok guys, I'm leaving Delhi tomorrow morning, Friday 2.30 am flight so I'll be reverting to just Malc quite soon ... from my desktop comp. Malc1

............ funny that, on my Grand Tour of Italy last year, about a month and 6k miles, just driving the length and breadth, around the coast and up into the mountains, I was stopped about 15 times by the police .... just to have a look at this very strange car, which they had probably never seen before, my elderly ls400 Malc1

when I first started having my Lexus serviced ( all those years ago now, 15 to be precise,) the air filter needed changing once every two years ..... these past 6/7 years it's needed changing annually and it's quite grubby too. It's doing its job well, filtering the air intake BUT the car's location hasn't changed much in that time. Air pollution generally has worsened it seems....... well in Kent anyway. ( and similar annual mileage too ) Malc1

seems a little pedestrian to me tbh . ......... the ancient and well proven Ls400 technology achieves 0 - 60 in 6.9 seconds ............. and it still feels like it. ...... does the Tesla achieve the same environmental benefits as the hybrid Lexus but in ultra quick time of 2.5 seconds whichever way you look at it, old fashioned petrol or new electric, the new generation of Lexus cars just doesn't seem to hack it at all sensationally. Malc1

. and I never did get an answer to what the existing Ls400 was all about ! Malc1 / Malc

.....on the bad back front ( no pun ) I too suffer considerably from spinal curvature and compression issues that are permanent BUT I absolutely never ever have discomfort when driving my Ls400 ( or indeed any of the three I've had over 15 years ) and I know that whatever the length of journey, many hours, I can jump out of my drivers seat feeling absolutely fine with zero issues...... as fresh as the moment i started my drive. Maybe for long, well, and short journeys too, for your back alone, and huge boot space to boot, you should get yourself an elderly Ls400 or Ls430 ! Keep your GS and get a "real " car too ... the increased fuel and running costs will pale compared to the capital cost savings. ........ but if you're an age fiend then there's no point in taking what might seem a regressive step Malc1

sounds to me rather like an occasional vibration rather than a rattling ! ............. maybe something inside the glove box or the centre console ? Malc1

......... and squillions in pocket too if you don't make that change ................. but I rarely buy cars, can't abide giving my money to car stealers and the like .......... hahahahaha, my " modern " motoring is the 10 year old Honda legend SH-AWD we've just bought ..... amazing technological advances over the old Ls400 but that 3.5 ltr V6 just doesn't compete with the V8 4ltr 0 - 60 in 6.9 secs and supreme Lexus ride comfort on what seems to be ( on the Honda ) crappy Pirelli P6000 tyres ( I hate them ) Enjoy making your decision and, well, just make the right one Good luck Malc1

considering the amount of money you have poured into your existing car and the fact that it is still just 10 years old, I would keep it and think that further maintenance would probably be be less costly ( maybe the other 2 corners needing sorting at some stage ) and apart from consumables like tyres, brakes and normal servicing costs which you would have with any car whatsoever and can discount as attributable to your existing car alone. Amortize your existing over another 5 years and you will have " won " financially and be in a position, maybe, to take advantage of better technology available in 5 years time when you do actually buy your " new " car. The aged voice of experience speaking here with a 21 year old brilliant Ls400, cosseted in supreme comfort and with finger tip power and acceleration and tiny maintenance costs even approaching 200k miles. Good luck whatever your decision Malc1

I think that running any car to 200k miles in a very short timespan is a bit of a leap in the dark. The old Ls400s and 430s are exceptional vehicles with proven durability..... and up to a million miles. The Prius too with 500,000 + miles and used as taxis around the world. Where you see a taxi you will see a car capable of monster miles, but with huge and methodical servicing etc. You are wanting a street cred car with stellar mileage capability; that will be very hard to find..................... and at the end of 200k miles the car really will have negligible value. You will have extracted all its value by using it ...... ask any car dealer the value of a car, even a Lexus, with that mileage and age .............. and study auction values too ... that will help you decide on the likely end value, ......... it's not conjecture, it's a bit of a science ! I wouldn't wish you to be under any illusions with your hard earnt money being spent. Malc1

....... at that annual mileage probably about 2 or 3 years ! and with full Lexus attention too and then probably amortize the value of the car to just about zero at the end of those two years. The auction lot will be for it's end of life owner to acquire from methinks. I might be wrong of course Malc1

......... the car is " timeless " Malc1

congratulations, another Ls400 ( Mk3 ? ) lives to see another day ( or 20 years ) btw, have you replaced the cooler pipe that runs in front of the radiator ? that too might need changing sometime soon, they rot out at about 20 years or so. Malc1

oh ok, I was only saying what I had read, always happy to be corrected .............. Someone on here said about what he thought was the very last Ls600, a while back and I read on here too about the Ls460 now having being discontinued.

..... I think you'd be very hard pressed to find a single Ls of any size for sale at a Main Dealer in the UK ........ I was reading on here somewhere that the very last Ls600 sold at a deep discount to 60k or so and that the Ls460 is totally discontinued as a stock car for sale ....... it was about 78k if my memory serves me well. Malc1

.... my third Ls400 in 15 years of continuous Ls400 motoring .................. wouldn't know how to drive another car ........... hehehehe Malc1

priceless ( one way or the other ) seriously though, the replacement cost new comes into it now ...... shall we start at US $ 69,139 ( just looked up the price new of a Ls460 on google, in the USA I presume) Malc1

..... I've mentioned before on here that my indie takes my cars for their MOTs to his local MOT Testing station so that he can be there to understand any issues on fail or advisories 1 2 1 directly with the Tester and then do whatever on the service that follows and take the car back the same day or next ( hopefully ) for the free Pass Retest. I pay the full MOT Test price from which discounted price my indie I suppose takes his profit for his extra time spent for me. My now old cars rarely need work outside regular servicing and rarely is there a MOT failure for him to work with......... he keeps " on the ball " with any and all likely issues for me; even an annual battery cell test to advise if I'm likely to need a new one " coming up ". There's no way he would put up with a " let's conjur up some work " ethic that many garage/MOT stations seem to display. Malc 1

I would only claim if the likely sensible and cheapest method, repair cost was significantly higher than the excess ....... notwithstanding Full NCD etc they WILL hold it against you personally for ever and you WILL be penalised by them at some stage, somehow. They always get it back in the end, they are Users and Thieves without exception I doubt there's a Lexus Main Dealer in the land that has it's own bodyshop, they will farm it out to someone else; maybe just find that other " someone " and use them yourself, saving the Lexus 200% mark-up. Malc1

........ when ever my cars go in for their annual service and MOT I get my indie to do a check on the battery's health, cell testing, to give any indication of degradation. Once with a non-starting battery in my Mazda one night ( years ago ) the RAC came to jump start me and offered to provide a replacement at gbp 80+. The following day I bought a good new one from a local factor for gbp 45. They had no hesitation getting me going but formally noted I had refused a new one from them and stated that they wouldn't come to my rescue again if it still had the same battery in situ. Fair enough I thought Malc1

well,.............. get it done quite soon I would think ....... maybe within 3 months / 3000 miles ...... it's so subjective Malc1