smart142 Posted July 31, 2018 Posted July 31, 2018 It was a week ago today and I was on my way to Aurora to visit my daughter who was here from Vancouver. Beautiful countryside - rolling hills with beautifully kept estates and there was a car for sale at the end of one of the driveways. I recogized it instantly aa a Lexus LS400 - a car that I had driven in over 20 years ago and was very impressed. I was ahead of schedule and had enough time to check it out. A paper on the windshield said it ''ran like new'' and was smooth,fast, and powerful. This vehicle is fully loaded. It appeared to be in excellent condition with only minor minor rust on the leading edge. The sides and rear were straight, true, and unblemished. Interior was in remarkably good shape. However it was a 1999 with 335,000 kms. The owner was asking $3200 and it had been safetied. This really got me thinking. It was over 3 years ago that Liz and I had driven a 1994 Camry from Vancouver to London and that vehicle performed flawlessly and everything worked. In fact it is still running today. Another Toyota product has been in the family for the past 15 years, has over 400,000 kms and is still going strong. So I knew that a Toyota could last a long time. I had lunch with my daughter and her boyfriend and got to visit his parents. Looks like the start of a long relationship. Anyways I couldn't stop thinking of that Lexus. So on the way home I stopped and called the owner. He told me the car had been meticulously maintained and a test drive confirmed that. It drove like new as advertised. So I gambled and bought the car. The next day Leadwing was kind enough to drive me to Aurora so I could pick up the car. We have had the car a car a week now and have put on over 1.000kms and it is AWESOME!! The ride is very smooth and I can find no faults. It is hard to believe that a 20year old can be this good! Apparently Toyota spent a billion dollars to develop this model to compete against Mercedes and BMW. Looking back it would appear that they were successful!! Liz also fell in love with the Lexus and its V8 power!!! .https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LS 3 Quote
Leadwing Posted July 31, 2018 Posted July 31, 2018 The day following Glenn's purchase, I had the opportunity of being a passenger in this vehicle. All I can say is "Very nice!" Quote
smart142 Posted August 14, 2018 Author Posted August 14, 2018 2 weeks have passed and the Lexus continues to impress!! I've gone on a few road trips and can't find any faults. Yesterday I popped in some cd"s and was blown away by the quality sound!!! Because the ride is so quiet you can really appreciate the music. Here's a video of an owner who loves his LS400.... Quote
RobCDI Posted August 15, 2018 Posted August 15, 2018 I drove a lexus suv the other day, it was really quiet and seriously impressed me. When i drove my smart later that day I was trying to pin point where the sound leaks were. The loudest sound while cruising is road noise from the tires, then wind noise from the tailgate, doors, and side windows. Im going to take off the plastic door panels and cover them in sound absorbing mat($35 and easy), Put some sound absorbing foam like in the pic below on the inside of the roof(glass roof with vinyl wrap over top) and on the back of the seats($15), a second rubber/foam door seal all around the lower part of the doors($10). Total $60 cad. Im not sure what i will do about the road noise from the tires. My last car was a straight pipe mx5. No sound insulation with a convertible roof, 3500rpm at 90km/h. It was crazy loud and i grew to hate it, when i first got my smart it was a breath of fresh air for my ears. Quote
darren Posted August 15, 2018 Posted August 15, 2018 Convoluted foam like that isn't really "sound absorbing". It's "sound diffusing" and only really good for stopping sound from reflecting and reverberating off hard surfaces. It won't do much to reduce the amount of sound coming in from outside. It's also not fire rated, unless you get the really expensive stuff that's meant for acoustic treatment of spaces, and not for packing eggs. Quote
RobCDI Posted August 15, 2018 Posted August 15, 2018 thanks for the info, i plan to use it to reduce the noise that has already gotten into the cabin, the smooth glass roof reflects a lot of sound Quote
smart142 Posted August 15, 2018 Author Posted August 15, 2018 In my first smart I fitted custom made carpets with a thick underlay and that helped cut the road noise. Quote
darren Posted August 16, 2018 Posted August 16, 2018 When everything opposite the glass is a soft surface, I’m not sure you’ll see much acoustic benefit by lining it with foam. But by all means, knock yourself out if you think it’ll get you the result you want. Just please, for your own health and safety, get the fire rated stuff. Quote
Chopper Posted August 16, 2018 Posted August 16, 2018 Good quality tyres at the correct pressures is the most effective means of reducing road noise. They also bring other benefits. 1 Quote
smart142 Posted August 16, 2020 Author Posted August 16, 2020 Well its been over 2 years and Liz and I still love our Lexus!! I didn't have a complete mechanical history of the car so one of the first things I did was change the timing belt, water pump and serpentine belt. After a year with no issues I upgraded the brakes and put on new tires. And a month ago I had to do the first repair. I noticed a wet spot under the front right of the car. It was power steering fluid. I was thinking it was the pump or the rack and pinion. Turned out it was the hose. The cost of repair parts was only $60 The past week in SW Ontario was very hot and the AC in my smart was not working so I have been using the Lexus. What a pleasure!!! The ride, comfort, power and responsiveness are incredible!!! The only drawback is that the V8 consumes about 3 times more fuel than the smart! The Lexus replaced my 1982 Mercedes 300SD. I could see that the Toyota engineers got many ideas from the Mercedes and then improved on them. I sold the Mercedes for $2000 so I figure the Lexus cost me $1200 - in my view a bargain!!! Looks like we will be keeping the Lexus and the 1985 Toyota Landcruiser in our stable 5 Quote
smart142 Posted December 29, 2024 Author Posted December 29, 2024 I just read about Mike T's B200 and his updating to a new Mercedes. So it reminded me about the Lexus I bought back in 2018. Well that baby has only required regular maintaince and repairs that I have being able to do by myself. However about a month ago I got a scare. At highway speeds it was ''jerky'' and my first thought was a slipping transmission. That would be an expensive repair. Luckily the CEL came on with a 308 code - misfire #8 cylinder. That required an ignition coil. I didn't know the age of the sparkplugs so they were replaced. Parts were less than $300 and I did the work. The Lexus has now clocked over 388,000kms and continues to be super reliable. She's only used for pleasure and when we need to haul more than 2 people. Continues to be an absolute pleasure to drive! Back in 2018 I said, ''I had lunch with my daughter and her boyfriend and got to visit his parents. Looks like the start of a long relationship.'' Well that was right on - they are now married, have a 2 year old, are expecting in April, and are moving to London from Vancouver in May - busy times!! Story about a 1,000,000 mile Lexus LS400 https://lexusenthusiast.com/2019/02/22/matt-farahs-lexus-ls-400-reaches-1000000-miles/ 1 Quote
MikeT Posted December 29, 2024 Posted December 29, 2024 388K is a good run. 8 cylinder, what is the fuel consumption like? Quote
smart142 Posted December 30, 2024 Author Posted December 30, 2024 12-14L around town (depending on how heavy your foot is) and 9-11L on the highway (per 100km's] 1 Quote
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