cdhp4now

I am considering purchasing a 1996 LS400. A friend of mine has a high mileage example he is selling. It has 270,000 miles on it. It needs new struts up front; he says it does not have the pneumatic suspension. My questions are: how many miles are people typically seeing on LS400 motors and transmissions before they need to be rebuilt or replaced? Are there are any other issues I should anticipate in the near future? What would you think is a reasonable offer for such a vehicle?
All other items (A/C, sunroof, power windows, etc) are in good working condition.

Thanks in advance!

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Welcome to CL.

All dependent on the regular maintenance schedules. Some may do well and others not. He the first owner or second-third...? 270K miles is up there. Have you driven it?

cdhp4now

His dad is actually the second owner, and he is selling it for him. I have driven it.

dvourthis

thats too many miles for me, even with all the proper maintenance...unless its going for real cheap i would pass.

gmacrae

"real cheap" for that car here in NZ would be about NZ$4k, about US$3k. Give it a miss otherwise

dvourthis

by real cheap i was thinking $1500-$2000........for $3k you could find a lot better deal in my opinion.

gmacrae

fair enough, im not real familiar with the dollar values up there

acidfire52

A couple grand could be a decent deal. Remember at that mileage, even if the drive train is good, other parts are going to be ready for replacement. I am in the same boat. a '97 with 253k. Am working through the suspension now.

Woozy

I have seen pretty good ones on Ebay and Craigs list with less than 150K going for around 2500.00 at 270K I would prolly pass unless u can get it for less than 1K

steveski

My 95 has 275,000 miles and it has always been maintained (meticulously). I just spent $3,200 to repair the body after it side swiped trees in my yard....why would I spend such money on a car with 275,000 miles? Because it will go another 200,000 miles with ease Let's see what happens guys my money is on the longevity of this great car it drives better than when I bought it new...love it

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Giving the current owner the benefit of proper maintenance since it has reached this point, it may be good. With what we see on the forum lately, it may have a tire or two ready for the dismantle yard. Unless you drive it and can look through the service records, the is an unknown.

The better advice is if this is a "friend" don't buy it. Should the car go south shortly after you take possession, you'll have a whole other view of this "friend". I recently did a deal to a friend and the situation deteriorated, saw a side that was I'm kinda glad it came out because it removed all doubt about character. Left bad feelings but we both can move on. With a car this is going to be some $$, think this over carefully. If it was an obvious POS and you know going in, no big deal.

deanshark

X2 on the friend issue. I bought a truck from a family member that died a month later. (on X-mas Eve) I haven't seen that uncle in 24 years.
Never buy a vehicle from a friend or family member, ya don't know how it's gonna turn out.

yuyo

i got my 96 LS400 with 153,000 miles one owner for $1,000.. had a bad icv and cracked erg tube but thanks to clublexus.com i have did all the repairs myself and saved thousands of $$$$$.. car runs like a champ.. went to lexus.com put in the vin and all the history of the car came on like 20 pages...........

yuyo

im with you on this one is the worst thing to do ever and also selling a car to a family member they want it dirt cheap and then when they buy it expect it to run like if it was brand new.... never again

vietstuh

I just bought a 96 ls400 with 238k miles on the clock and have had this car for about 4 months. I have had to change to the following:

-rack and pinion
-rear passenger brake sensor
-rear brake pads
-transmission fluid flush
-timing belt
-water pump
-spark plugs
-fuel pump
-front strut rod bushings
-hood shocks
-fuel filter


i know it's a lot of work that i've done in such a short time, but the car runs great and it feels like I'll be able to go atleast another 100k in this car.