Title goes here.

[azekeil]

I appear to have bought - in all but deed - a car that I haven't seen or driven any version of, from someone I only know through reputation and chatting to twice. It's a Lexus LS400 with LPG conversion. I haven't even worked out exactly how or when I'm going to pick it up.

I think I'll just go and have a little lie-down now.

Comments

[edwards.livejournal.com]

You are officially completely and totally hatstand crazy!

An LS400?
With LPG?

You're a very brave man indeed ;)

Do you really not know what you've bought? Nearly 2 tonnes of Japanese V8 luxobarge with equipment and specification intended to blow the Mercedes S-class out of the marketplace. With presumably £1,500 worth of "not designed by Toyota" plumbing... presumably fitted by some past owner in order to save a few pennies (does it even have any bootspace left?).

Now, the Japanese bit bodes well, but I'm assuming this is a 1994 or around then car, they're very heavy on suspension and brakes...

I hope it's a good one!

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

'93, yes. Although I don't know the owner that well, they strike me as being similar to you in the way you look at/deal with cars. Plus, I trust them. It's all subject to being 'as described' but he's getting some work done and the MOT so there's an element of trust on both sides.

The LPG was fitted professionally.

I know what the car is; I've been driven around in one once.

I suppose this is what comes of my ambition to own a V8 before the fuel prices get even more out of hand. Sometimes you just gotta grab an opportunity with both hands.. right? :)

[edwards.livejournal.com]

I'm sure the car will be fine; the Lexus has a good reputation overall and the 1UZ engine is allegedly bulletproof. I am religiously opposed to LPG conversions - not so much that they're not fitted professionally, but Toyota didn't design that V8 for LPG, and the reason people fit them isn't really "economy", but "saving some money". And I do tend to take the attitude (of people fitting them - sometimes, you can't help but find cars with them used) that if you want to save some money, how about not driving a Range Rover etc., the usual candidates for them. It comes from knowing too many people who buy cars like BMWs, Jaguars as "middle aged" bangers - sort of £6,000 cars - then 'can't afford to run them' so spend £1,500+ on LPG conversions, but you know they're going to keep the car for a year or two at best, and run it on petrol when they can't fill up, and would probably have been just as well spending the £1,500 on fuel!

Of course, my attitude to LPG isn't unique, and as such, an LPG converted luxobarge is worth bugger all in the trade, even a good one :D

Without knowing what you're paying for it, or anything like that, I can't really comment on the opportunity, but yes, you HAVE to own a V8, and the LS400 is a cheap way to get a good V8 car. I know one bloke with a Toyota equivalent and he's now bemoaning the cost of parts like suspension though, so I wouldn't have one myself purely because I maintain my cars at a certain level, and if I can't afford to do it I get shot of them quickly.

As a converted car, is it exempt from C-charge like the bifuel Vauxhalls/Volvos were?

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

I have no idea, but I don't go into London during the week. If I do, work'll be paying for it.

V8

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I've had a Plymouth Satellite Sebring and a Buick Electra (first one was just a 315ci V8, the second a 455ci (which I think works out as 7.5litres or thereabouts) but only in the US, all the big engined cars I've had in this country have been six cylinder (one Sierra 2.8l XR4x4, one Sierra 2.3V6, two Mondeo 2.8l V6s and a Merc 3.0l straight six, before the current Sharan 2.8l V6)

[da-pol.livejournal.com]

It's pretty good - it's heavier on tyres than anything else.

And the LPG's pro fitted, done several thousand miles in the time I've had it and yes - it's got most of the boot free - toroidal tanks FTW.

Hi, I'm Pol and I sell Japanese Cruiseliners to unsuspecting geeks :)

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Yes. There must be a term for that. Perhaps an internet term.

SURPRISE LUXURY-CAR-SALE!

Hmm. Doesn't really have much of a ring to it.

[edwards.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm EdwardS, and I quite like cars ;) I see from your LJ you like to drive short distances for fun!

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

da_pol, meet edwards - this is the person I mentioned to you the first time we spoke :)

[gerald_duck]

What?

My Series III has done 244,000 miles and is still on its original suspension. Um. Actually, it needed a couple of new track control arm bushes 100,000 miles ago now I think about it so that's not quite true, but it really wasn't the end of the world.

Brake pads last 25,000 miles or so; discs twice that.

Tyres last about 20,000 miles for me. I don't drive everywhere sideways, but nor am I exactly sedate on twisty-turny roads.

Yes, it's a big car with a big engine and yes, this means it needs slightly more expensive tyres and brakes, more oil and a larger number of spark plugs, etc. It costs more to run than a Mondeo, but it's certainly not a frightening money sink.


I thought about the LPG conversion, but I wussed out. I'll leave that until I have the Phaeton W12 I'm semi-intending to buy next. (-8

[edwards.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a big car with a big engine and yes, this means it needs slightly more expensive tyres and brakes, more oil and a larger number of spark plugs, etc. It costs more to run than a Mondeo, but it's certainly not a frightening money sink.

These are all terms that are relative; IMO a Mondeo worth £400 with repairs costing £600 is a "frightening money sink".

Series III is post '95, no? Suspension components wear differently on different cars, but IME a: anyone who has been driving a car long enough to remember that it's had something done 100,000 miles ago will not necessarily notice the gradual aging of a suspension system until it's leaking or utterly shagged (including myself - I've had a few cars where I thought "that's just fine" and then driven a new one and gone "Oh! It's broken!"), and b: larger car suspension tends to fail with age as much as mileage covered - use, location, climate are all variables.

I'm not saying the suspension on this one will be shagged, either. I'm saying that when it goes, the shock absorbers are somewhat expensive. Since I personally tend to go for genuine parts, I notice the difference.

20,000 miles is about right for tyres; brand makes such a difference IME that I don't trust anyone's experiences unless they're fitting the same brand I want.

Calling him insane was a: partly a joke, and b: partly because he's talking about buying a big car unseen. Hell, any car unseen is always going to be amusing - I once travelled to Plymouth to collect a Visa Cabriolet that was mostly held together with tape...

[teadaemon.livejournal.com]

I'm probably going to be buying a car I've never driven before (although I have seen a fair few), but as it'll be my first car (currently learning to drive at the tender age of 31) I suppose that's not that unusual.

What is somewhat odd for a first car is that I'm fairly sure it's going to be a Land Rover Discovery (but might be a Range Rover if I happen to find a relatively decent one in my price range), purely on the basis that I can insure it for £200 less than anything else with roughly equivalent capacity for people and stuff).

Good luck with your Lexus - I looked at a few online (not very seriously, I admit) but couldn't find insurance for under a eleven hundred quid.

[da-pol.livejournal.com]

Do yourself a great big favour if it's a Discovery and get a 200 or 300TDI - the V8s are horrendously thirsty and there's a 4 year production run of them where the engines have a nasty design flaw and not all of them have been fixed or died yet.

Also - avoid the Discovery MPi like the plague - it's underpowered for what it is.

Also - avoid the VM engined Diesel Range Rovers - they're too easy to have been badly maintained and the engine is *expensive* to repair from a maintenance induced failure.

Disco's far better for stuffing people in than the Rangie - most of the early ones will seat 7 people (2 in the boot - small people) where the Rangie tends to be limited to 5.

If you want the best bang for the buck - see if you can find a Land Rover 110 County Station Wagon - they seat 12 people :)

[teadaemon.livejournal.com]

I'd decided on a 200 or 300tdi for precisely the reasons you mention, though I had been considering the possibility of a V8 with an LPG conversion (though only if I can find one with underslung tanks, as I need boot space far more than serious off road capability).

To put my decision into perspective, I need a vehicle that'll carry me (6'2" tall and almost as broad :-)) and the family, plus assorted stuff (and one two year old generates rather a lot of assorted stuff) on long distance journeys, but more importantly, will cope with my new career as a yacht surveyor. (Long distance travel with a fair bit of equipment, potentially followed by some light off roading to get to wherever the boat I'm looking at is located - they have a tendency to end up stored in barns in the middle of nowhere, or need to be surveyed on a drying mooring at low tide, etc.)

[edwards.livejournal.com]

Are there any MPi Discoveries left? I thought they (mercifully) killed that thing off quite quickly...

[edwards.livejournal.com]

Have you considered a Mitsubishi Delica if you want carrying capacity and 4x4?

Not sure how they stack up for insurance as imports, but they're rather nicer to drive than Discoveries and exceptionally capable off-road (bodywork is a worry, but it is on a Disco too); less issues with the transfer case and slightly better interior build quality. 7 or 8 seats, aircon (dual), very good driving position, 2.8TD engine.

There are two types of Delica - L300 and L400 - commonly found in the UK. The former has part-time 4WD, is semi-forward control (engine is under seats, pretty much) and looks mad - but also has the slightly more troublesome 2.5TD engine. The L400 has SS4 4WD with full-time 4WD, locking centre diff, low-range, shift on the fly (it's 2WD too so slightly better economy if you want it). Manuals are few and far between, sadly, but they are available.

L400s look more "modern" with a sort of MPV-body and both models are available with glass roof panels.

Not saying the Discovery is a bad car, or the Delica is a better choice, just wondering if you were aware of them since as a 7 seater, they're rather better than the Disco with side-facing rearmost seats. The Delica's worst problem is the 2.1m height, but the Disco isn't far off that IIRC.

[teadaemon.livejournal.com]

I'll take a look at the Delica, thanks.

Got to rush, got a driving lesson in 20 minutes and I haven't managed breakfast yet. :-)

[meltie.livejournal.com]

Hurrah, you got one :)

Your V8 vs. mine. First to top't'ill wins a pint of castrol octane booster.

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

I'll only win if the route is smoothly tarmac'd. Otherwise I wouldn't even bother trying. ;)

[beeby.livejournal.com]

Good Lord - is this the boys' corner or what? Wow! rich guy as G-Pa would have said. Looking forward to seeing it. Now for the important female question - what colour is it?

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Metallic silver with darkened windows. Apparently it looks like a drug dealer's car, which amuses me.

Here is a review of the 1st gen model (mine will be, it's a '93), with pictures.

[beeby.livejournal.com]

I am v impressed - without any bullshit - after my stint as a professional driver at Heathrow I always said my favourite car was a Lexus - they drive exactly how you expect and all the bits inside are ever so comfortable and work exactly how you'd want.
However darkened windows remind me not of drug dealers but swanky foreigners in Jakarta..............

[rebelbrethren.livejournal.com]

I HAZ A CAR TWO.

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Wot, a new (to you) one?

[rebelbrethren.livejournal.com]

NOES. SAME 1.

GOES BRRRM THO.

:D