LS buying advice / good forum to visit
Discussion
Hi All,
My trusty old E39 clicked over 160K the other week. It needs a service (insp 2), a couple of new tyres, and a few other jobs that are probably going to add up to a few £££. So, I think it's time to retire the old girl, pull the nice trim bits off it to go on ebay, and scrap what's left. It's a shame, but having covered 80 of the 160K I am a bit bored of it, and don't really want to pump any more money into it that I'd never recover in a sale. Such is life.
So, on to my next car, I do 25K motorway miles a year. I already have a weekend car for fun. I need something purely for commuting - reliable, comfortable, and big enough to carry the wife and daughter about in comfort when necessary. The LS seems like the ideal machine for the job. I have set a budget ceiling of £4K, hoping this will get me into a 430.
This means I need to do my research and learn about what to look for, any gotchas etc. Do you guys have any sage advice? Or any pointers to the best forums to do my research?
Thanks!
My trusty old E39 clicked over 160K the other week. It needs a service (insp 2), a couple of new tyres, and a few other jobs that are probably going to add up to a few £££. So, I think it's time to retire the old girl, pull the nice trim bits off it to go on ebay, and scrap what's left. It's a shame, but having covered 80 of the 160K I am a bit bored of it, and don't really want to pump any more money into it that I'd never recover in a sale. Such is life.
So, on to my next car, I do 25K motorway miles a year. I already have a weekend car for fun. I need something purely for commuting - reliable, comfortable, and big enough to carry the wife and daughter about in comfort when necessary. The LS seems like the ideal machine for the job. I have set a budget ceiling of £4K, hoping this will get me into a 430.
This means I need to do my research and learn about what to look for, any gotchas etc. Do you guys have any sage advice? Or any pointers to the best forums to do my research?
Thanks!
lexus owners forum.
Ultra reliable, waftamatic. NOT a drivers car, but you get out of the car at the end of a 10 hr drive as fresh as a daisey and a big smug smile on your face.
Every extra you need andf a few more you never knew you wanted.
You should get one for 4k easilly, and it shouldn't be stellar miles.
I've had one for 3.5 years and done 60k (milage now 160k) in it with zero problems up to the end of last week.
Spend so far has been 1 light bulb and a Lambda sensor. Last week my rad went, and looking thru the forums its looking like its happened a few times. ATF cooler is part of the rad and the connection goes loosing the water and the ATF Fluid with all the potential complications if.
If I was getting one now I'd consider fitting a separate ATF Cooler.
Don't want to alarm you, as I absolutely love my LS and will definitely buy another as my next car.
Also consider the GS430 - same engine, lovely car but cheaper than the LS
Ultra reliable, waftamatic. NOT a drivers car, but you get out of the car at the end of a 10 hr drive as fresh as a daisey and a big smug smile on your face.
Every extra you need andf a few more you never knew you wanted.
You should get one for 4k easilly, and it shouldn't be stellar miles.
I've had one for 3.5 years and done 60k (milage now 160k) in it with zero problems up to the end of last week.
Spend so far has been 1 light bulb and a Lambda sensor. Last week my rad went, and looking thru the forums its looking like its happened a few times. ATF cooler is part of the rad and the connection goes loosing the water and the ATF Fluid with all the potential complications if.
If I was getting one now I'd consider fitting a separate ATF Cooler.
Don't want to alarm you, as I absolutely love my LS and will definitely buy another as my next car.
Also consider the GS430 - same engine, lovely car but cheaper than the LS
Edited by sparkyhx on Monday 15th October 22:18
Thanks for the reply, good info there. You do seem to confirm what I thought about the cars, I really don't need a drivers car, it's going to be a motorway express whose sole purpose in life will be to get me to and from work in utter comfort. It's never going to see a corner in anger.
I had found the Lexus owners club, but it seemed a bit quiet, but I suppose anywhere is quiet compared to PH. Also it might be quiet as there aren't really that many problems with the cars - there did seem to be quite a few 'oh no one of my bulbs has blown after 10 years trouble free motoring!' posts, but that's probably a good sign.
Thanks for the suggestion on the GS430. They were sort of on my radar and I had actually found one for sale very close to where I live and planned to go and look at it after work, but it was sold a couple of hours later... Got to be quick it seems. At least now I know the effort of looking for one is worth it.
The choice of good cars (or ANY cars) of this type is really dire in this part of the world, I had the same problem when looking for my 530 - and that's hardly a rare car.
I had found the Lexus owners club, but it seemed a bit quiet, but I suppose anywhere is quiet compared to PH. Also it might be quiet as there aren't really that many problems with the cars - there did seem to be quite a few 'oh no one of my bulbs has blown after 10 years trouble free motoring!' posts, but that's probably a good sign.
Thanks for the suggestion on the GS430. They were sort of on my radar and I had actually found one for sale very close to where I live and planned to go and look at it after work, but it was sold a couple of hours later... Got to be quick it seems. At least now I know the effort of looking for one is worth it.
The choice of good cars (or ANY cars) of this type is really dire in this part of the world, I had the same problem when looking for my 530 - and that's hardly a rare car.
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
This one looks nice, but sadly at opposite ends of the country to me...
This one looks nice, but sadly at opposite ends of the country to me...
I've been looking over the past few days, owing to not knowing if my autobox was trashed cos of the failure. Looks like it isn't so I'm off the hunt again.
That one would be worth the trip to be honest, looks a bargain - in the photos you can see it was for sale for 4.4k. I was seriously considering this one, if the news was bad on mine. Same age as mine but with 100k less miles.
Low milage and a nice colour private plate worth a few hundred.
That one would be worth the trip to be honest, looks a bargain - in the photos you can see it was for sale for 4.4k. I was seriously considering this one, if the news was bad on mine. Same age as mine but with 100k less miles.
Low milage and a nice colour private plate worth a few hundred.
Edited by sparkyhx on Tuesday 16th October 11:13
Phew, that's good news, will you be carrying out the modification to separate the ATF from the main cooling system? Is that an expensive thing to do?
I had to have my 5 series gearbox rebuilt after about a year, and that was a painful bill to swallow.
The car mentioned is 540 miles away from me, not sure I could convince Mrs Skoff that it was a worhtwhile trip to look at a car that I may or may not buy. I'd at least like to look at one closer before committing to that, but your point is well made and I will certainly consider it - At least it would be a nice drive back
I had to have my 5 series gearbox rebuilt after about a year, and that was a painful bill to swallow.
The car mentioned is 540 miles away from me, not sure I could convince Mrs Skoff that it was a worhtwhile trip to look at a car that I may or may not buy. I'd at least like to look at one closer before committing to that, but your point is well made and I will certainly consider it - At least it would be a nice drive back
I wouldn't have thought it would be expensive to modify. Oil cooler can be had for £50 and it would be bigger than the standard one. then a couple of hours max to fit, I would have thought. The only issue I see would be where to put it.
I'm not going to bother doing it as, when its fixed it will be good for another 160k, but I would possibly consider it if there were signs of corrosion in a 'older' car when I come to buy my next one
I'm not going to bother doing it as, when its fixed it will be good for another 160k, but I would possibly consider it if there were signs of corrosion in a 'older' car when I come to buy my next one
Edited by sparkyhx on Tuesday 16th October 12:34
The problem I am having is finding anything in budget that's close enough to me to justify going for a look to see what I'd get for my money. There are a couple of really nice examples close(ish), but they are out of budget and I don't like the idea of wasting anybody's time looking at a car I don't seriously plan to buy - that's just not cricket.
The cars are out there, they are just too darned far away for a look. If I was confident of quality, I'd travel and buy a car there and then, but my confidence in the second hand car sellers (dealers or private) is pretty low.
I think I need to widen the net, so I am including
LS400 - still rare as hens teeth round here, and not sure I want an £800 example, I'd want something as late as possible
GS430 - seemingly as rare as gold hens teeth
GS300 - How much of a step down are they? Are they comparable with the E39 530i in terms of refinement and motorway performance - I'm not at all bothered about chassis dynamics, the car just needs to have enough 'shove' to keep up with RogerRep in his Audi 1.9TDI
The cars are out there, they are just too darned far away for a look. If I was confident of quality, I'd travel and buy a car there and then, but my confidence in the second hand car sellers (dealers or private) is pretty low.
I think I need to widen the net, so I am including
LS400 - still rare as hens teeth round here, and not sure I want an £800 example, I'd want something as late as possible
GS430 - seemingly as rare as gold hens teeth
GS300 - How much of a step down are they? Are they comparable with the E39 530i in terms of refinement and motorway performance - I'm not at all bothered about chassis dynamics, the car just needs to have enough 'shove' to keep up with RogerRep in his Audi 1.9TDI
skoff said:
The problem I am having is finding anything in budget that's close enough to me to justify going for a look to see what I'd get for my money. There are a couple of really nice examples close(ish), but they are out of budget and I don't like the idea of wasting anybody's time looking at a car I don't seriously plan to buy - that's just not cricket.
The cars are out there, they are just too darned far away for a look. If I was confident of quality, I'd travel and buy a car there and then, but my confidence in the second hand car sellers (dealers or private) is pretty low.
I think I need to widen the net, so I am including
LS400 - still rare as hens teeth round here, and not sure I want an £800 example, I'd want something as late as possible
GS430 - seemingly as rare as gold hens teeth
GS300 - How much of a step down are they? Are they comparable with the E39 530i in terms of refinement and motorway performance - I'm not at all bothered about chassis dynamics, the car just needs to have enough 'shove' to keep up with RogerRep in his Audi 1.9TDI
the GS300 is a very nice car and is a more than capable cruiser. I can't point you at any evidence to back this up but I think the GS is not as reliable as the LS, but we are talking lexus here, so its relativeThe cars are out there, they are just too darned far away for a look. If I was confident of quality, I'd travel and buy a car there and then, but my confidence in the second hand car sellers (dealers or private) is pretty low.
I think I need to widen the net, so I am including
LS400 - still rare as hens teeth round here, and not sure I want an £800 example, I'd want something as late as possible
GS430 - seemingly as rare as gold hens teeth
GS300 - How much of a step down are they? Are they comparable with the E39 530i in terms of refinement and motorway performance - I'm not at all bothered about chassis dynamics, the car just needs to have enough 'shove' to keep up with RogerRep in his Audi 1.9TDI
I went to look at a GS430 that came up for sale close to where I live.
Whilst the specific car was a bit rough for the price (no history, 2 on the limit tyres, 2 ditch-finders, alloys with lots of corrosion, lots of scratches down the side, no nav - £4.5K was just too much for it), I was actually quite taken with the GS in general.
I didn't drive it as I was sure it wouldn't have been coming home with me. However having sat in it, engine running I certainly think I could live with one for the daily hack for a couple of years, nice place to be. I can only assume the LS is even better.
I've found quite a few possible cars for sale, but they are all a long drive away. I'd feel pretty peeved travelling 200 miles to look at a car and it be in similar condition to the one I saw today, and I suppose that's quite likely to happen, very frustrating.
Whilst the specific car was a bit rough for the price (no history, 2 on the limit tyres, 2 ditch-finders, alloys with lots of corrosion, lots of scratches down the side, no nav - £4.5K was just too much for it), I was actually quite taken with the GS in general.
I didn't drive it as I was sure it wouldn't have been coming home with me. However having sat in it, engine running I certainly think I could live with one for the daily hack for a couple of years, nice place to be. I can only assume the LS is even better.
I've found quite a few possible cars for sale, but they are all a long drive away. I'd feel pretty peeved travelling 200 miles to look at a car and it be in similar condition to the one I saw today, and I suppose that's quite likely to happen, very frustrating.
I quite like the look of this GS, I don't suppose anybody knows the car or the dealer? (I know it's a long shot but it's several hours drive so I thought best to check before going only to be disappointed...)
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...
Search is off guys, I bought this:
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
A big thanks to everybody who contributed to this thread, you really helped me pick a decent replacement for my old 5.
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
A big thanks to everybody who contributed to this thread, you really helped me pick a decent replacement for my old 5.
Edited by skoff on Tuesday 30th October 14:53
skoff said:
Search is off guys, I bought this:
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
A big thanks to everybody who contributed to this thread, you really helped me pick a decent replacement for my old 5.
Congrats - let us know how you go on and how it compares with the 5 http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
A big thanks to everybody who contributed to this thread, you really helped me pick a decent replacement for my old 5.
Edited by skoff on Tuesday 30th October 14:53
bit of an oddball there, its unusual to find a car that old at a dealers.
Surprised to see CO2's and MPG not that much different to the LS430
Edited by sparkyhx on Wednesday 31st October 12:19
Well done, you'll enjoy the 300. Having bought a GS300 a few months ago I fell in love with it. But being a V8 lover on Monday I bought a GS430 from Lexus Leicester. Fabulous car. In fact, surprisingly, according to the Trip Screen, the 430's consumption is about 10% better than the 300.
In the past I've had a CLK55, I much prefer the 430.
In the past I've had a CLK55, I much prefer the 430.
IanA2 said:
Well done, you'll enjoy the 300. Having bought a GS300 a few months ago I fell in love with it. But being a V8 lover on Monday I bought a GS430 from Lexus Leicester. Fabulous car. In fact, surprisingly, according to the Trip Screen, the 430's consumption is about 10% better than the 300.
In the past I've had a CLK55, I much prefer the 430.
Excellent! I saw a 430 advertised at Lexus Leicester and was going to go and look at it, but this one was really close to my office, so just far to convenient to pass up. The 430 would have been my first choice had I been given a straight choice.In the past I've had a CLK55, I much prefer the 430.
Not sure on economy as yet as I have only used half a tank of fuel (no trip computer on mine), but I'm hoping I will get 28-30 out of it since it will spend 95% of it's life doing 50 mile trips up the M5 and back.
My car is pretty filthy inside, but I have made a start on it and it's coming up like new on the bits I have cleaned. I have some leather cleaner on order so that should transform the car.
Yes, Ian, you are right it is high time for a report on how things are going with the 300, and I must say it's good news.
I have covered about 10K in it so far and it has been a really good car. Economy is acceptable, if not great at an average of 27mpg. Peaks of 34 on a run. In terms of comfort it is definitely superior to my old 5 series, much quieter and without fuss, but as expected it is not in the same league as the 5 for driver involvement. Still, whilst the 5 was a great car it had lots and lots of annoying niggles, the Lexus has had none to speak of; except for a very slight rattle from the sunroof interior cover, easily rectified.
I swapped the cassette player and cd changer for a touch screen stereo with a built in bluetooth phone kit which works well, and has the added benefit of full iPod control from the head unit. I also went to work on cleaning up the filthy interior and it is now looking really nice.
When I bought it I had an advisory for upper ball joints on the MOT. The cost for Lexus to do the job was pretty high, parts alone were £800 - ouch. However I went for after market parts from Euro Car parts and did the job myself. Parts were a shade under £100 after a promotional discount, and it took me about half a day to do the job (though I took my time and had lots of tea breaks), and a couple of thousand miles later the car is still behaving itself nicely.
I do occasionally wish I had held out for a 430, but to be honest I would probably only exploit the additional performance very, very rarely and if I want to have a more inspired drive to work I take the Monaro. I get the feeling that this is a car that will go on forever.
How is the 430 going?
I have covered about 10K in it so far and it has been a really good car. Economy is acceptable, if not great at an average of 27mpg. Peaks of 34 on a run. In terms of comfort it is definitely superior to my old 5 series, much quieter and without fuss, but as expected it is not in the same league as the 5 for driver involvement. Still, whilst the 5 was a great car it had lots and lots of annoying niggles, the Lexus has had none to speak of; except for a very slight rattle from the sunroof interior cover, easily rectified.
I swapped the cassette player and cd changer for a touch screen stereo with a built in bluetooth phone kit which works well, and has the added benefit of full iPod control from the head unit. I also went to work on cleaning up the filthy interior and it is now looking really nice.
When I bought it I had an advisory for upper ball joints on the MOT. The cost for Lexus to do the job was pretty high, parts alone were £800 - ouch. However I went for after market parts from Euro Car parts and did the job myself. Parts were a shade under £100 after a promotional discount, and it took me about half a day to do the job (though I took my time and had lots of tea breaks), and a couple of thousand miles later the car is still behaving itself nicely.
I do occasionally wish I had held out for a 430, but to be honest I would probably only exploit the additional performance very, very rarely and if I want to have a more inspired drive to work I take the Monaro. I get the feeling that this is a car that will go on forever.
How is the 430 going?
skoff said:
How is the 430 going?
Glad to hear you're enjoying your GS. Mine goes well. No problems other than a dodgy starter motor and a faulty bonnet closing. Both repaired foc by Lexus. They were slow out the traps when I first approached them but came good in the end.I must say the car goes like stink, the steering feels a little light (compared to my GES300 and my SL60AMG) but I don't mind that at all. All in all it handles pretty well for a car in it's class and I'm very glad I bought it.
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