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Hi guys I have been a long time lurker here, just never made an account, I would always get my answers here for whatever I have needed. I own a 2000 Lexus LS400. It currently has just north of 120,000 miles on it. My family and I are thinking of permanently re-locating to Frankfurt, Germany and do not want to leave behind out trusty LS400 here. We want to take it to Germany as well. Are any of you familiar with the modifications it may or may not need in Germany? I know that the Autobahn has no speed limit in a majority of its stretch, but I doubt we are looking to compete with the modern day super fast German Vehicles, so the speed limiter is a non-issue. Besides that, what else do you guys think I will need done? We have found a Lexus Dealer in Frankfurt who has assured us that they will be able to service our LS400 and keep her in top shape. I just don't want to give her up just yet and want to enjoy her for as long as we can and have no car payment! Attaching her picture for reference. PS. She is totally stock besides the tint!
It will probably need to pass tuv inspection which is pretty rigorous. Also probably needs to have a bright taillight on whenever the fog lamps are active
good luck to you!
It seems to me that the Lexus dealer in Frankfurt is the best source of information as to what modifications you may nee. No? Also, the shipping service you are planning to use for sure will know.
Last edited by esman305; 08-26-20 at 01:59 PM.
Reason: Update
If you are interested in letting it to go to a good home, message me. I will take care of it. You can see my post history on how much I care about me present Lexus. What I own also was one owner 98 LS400 but wouldnt mind adding another LS400 to my garage.
i believe the shipping service you will use to transfer the car over will know best. likely there are very little things you will need to do functionally to get the car road legal out there. the country is LHD which helps. very beautiful car, and all the best to your move!
There are not many LEXUS LS400 i Germany . Seems most Germans buy the MB and BMW:s.
You will be in the same situation as me ( SWEDEN ). I see a LS400 perhaps once every 3 months or so.
The practical issue then is that a good non LEXUS or Toyota garage that has some experience is probably hard to find.
The prices at dealer in Europe for work and parts is probably simmilar to Sweden. Expect up 50+ % compared to US is my guess.
I often need to order stuff from US or JAPAN for availability or price reason and the shipping and taxes are a bit steep and often also
and you may need to wait up to a month worst case. I have a spare cheap car partly becuse of this reason. I Happily accept this since i like my LS400 a lot and it
does very seldom need urgent fixing. Sum of expences is moderate.
I have a LS400/1999 in Germany. Yes, there are not many LS400, especially 1998-2000 ones in Germany. I have not seen another one in about one year now.
In Frankfurt, there is a Lexus forum, address is: HANAUER LANDSTR. 431, FRANKFURT, 60314.
If you do not find a Lexus garage (called "Lexus Forum" in Germany, there are only very few of them), you can also bring your car to any Toyota garage in Germany. The Toyota garages have usually lower per hour fees. :-)
Usually, US cars will have to change some lights. The turn indicators, for example, are only for that, they cannot be on with the normal drive lights and they must have orange color.
I did not know that US Lexus has a speed limiter, or do you mean one that switches on at ca. 150mph (250km/h)? In Germany, many cars have a limiter at this speed. Elese, if the limiter is working a lower speeds, you might need to check your oil coooling system as well - many US cars have to change it (get a stronger one) because it is not made for permanent high speeds (like 100mph+), which is a rather normal speed in Germany (not many drive 125+ mph though).
If you are fine with lower speeds, you probably do not have to take care of anything, though.
Many people think that in Germany, you can drive really fast all the time - but in reality, you can't. Many Autobahn regions have speed limits of about 50-60mph ... and when they haven't, you will always find someone driving low speed on the left lane who pretends not to see you coming, so basically, you have to accelerate and decelerate all the time, which makes, today, Autobahn driving not so pleasant anymore like it used to be. :-( If you drive constantly about 80-100mph, you will do fine!
Not really - by far most Germans buy compact cars ... or SUV these days. The bigger BMW and MB (especially AMG), even Audi R8 and such, is, likely with exhaust modifications to make it really loud, nowadays, rather the domain of young people of the turkish and arabic communities. The limousine car segment is, unfortunately, almost non existant anymore in Germany.
08-26-20, 01:44 PM
2000 LS400 relocating to Germany
