Lexus LS400 for sale

[azekeil]

I don't suppose anyone wants to buy my LPG-converted 4.0L V8 Lexus LS400 do they? Cosmetically not great, but it has 9 months tax and MOT, is very reliable.. the front tyres currently deflate a bit but I'm hoping I'll be able to fix that shortly.

I'm selling it because I currently commute 100 miles per day and it's costing me ~£400 per month. If it weren't for that I'd be keeping it...

Make me an offer?

Comments

[gerald_duck]

Well… if I didn't already have one… (-8

Surely an LPG-converted LS400 is exactly the right vehicle for 100 miles a day, though? It feels like the right sort of compromise between having something comfortable and something cheap to run. You'd have to go to a diesel supermini to get better fuel economy, wouldn't you?

[swaldman.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing, but I imagine that an LPG LS400, while cheaper to run than a petrol one, may still not have especially wonderful fuel economy..... ;-)
For reference, doing similar mileage with my 2.2l TD would cost a little over half that. And with a small diesel even less, as you identify.

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Well, I get diesel-equivalent of 38mpg. If I got 60mpg, I'd save the £2k for the new car in 12 months.

You're right, it has to be comfortable, have cruise control, etc, but I think that might be possible. My plan today is to visit a few second-hand dealerships today and see what I can get, and it's time to do more research now.

[da-pol.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I'm seeing a fairly religious 56MPG from my diesel Rover 75 saloon on similar commute distances.

[da-pol.livejournal.com]

Also, I know what I sold the car to you for, what sort of money are you hoping to get selling on?

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Well, about the same, given that it's now taxed and MOT'd and doesn't require a bunch of work to get it road-legal...

[da-pol.livejournal.com]

*grins* Fair reply.

[gerald_duck]

Really? That's quite disappointing. I get 26.5mpg out of my LS400. If I moved to LPG I'd expect to get 90% of that fuel economy, so 24mpg. If LPG costs 76p/litre and diesel costs 140p/litre, 24 miles per gallon of LPG is the equivalent of 44miles per gallon of diesel.

Now, a modern short-wheelbase Audi A8 3.0 TDI quattro manages 42.8mpg and slightly better performance, but you can't get a modern Audi A8 for decade-old LS400 money.

[da-pol.livejournal.com]

Decade old? Try two decades. The LS is an *old* car these days.

Still lovely though :)

[gerald_duck]

My current one's an N-reg, so fifteen years old. The LS400 was only replaced by the LS430 in 2000. OK — strictly speaking eleven years, but I don't think "decade-old" is an unreasonable approximation. :-p

In due course, I have my eye on a Series-III LS430.

[gerald_duck]

Have you sold the LS400 yet?

Having decided I'm not going to be ready to move house quite yet and, having realised I can recoup the cost of an LPG conversion in eight months (£2000 to save £250 a month), I'm now intending to switch to LPG quite soon.

If you still have your LS400 I should at least consider the option of selling mine (N-reg, 170,000 miles, possibly worth £2000?) and buying yours. But the exhaustive list of things currently wrong with my LS400 is:

• Cracks in aerofoil under front bumper
  
• Radio aerial wedged in "up" position
  
• Slight play in one track control arm bush
  
• One seat heater pad dead
  
• Trim strip across top edge of windscreen raised at one point
  
• Hazed glass in one wing mirror
  
• Very slight exhaust blow (garage can't track it down)

…which is, by any standard, embarrassingly trivial. I'm guessing I might not be happy with the condition of your one by comparison? /-8

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't sold it yet.

No, I don't think you'd be happy with the condition of it in all honesty. I'm selling it as 'reliable, but flawed' - good for someone who wants a reliable, cheap and different car, but doesn't care much about things that are broken/cosmetically imperfect.