AZGirl

Hello, all. I am new to this forum, but am looking for some information. I have a 1999 LS 400 (white/silver) with 150K miles on it. The car is still amazing, very quiet and smooth, but it's getting up there a bit. Though I tend to keep cars for a very long time (10 years), this one is a new record for me. That being said, my husband thinks I should start looking at newer cars. The only thing I would consider at this point is a GS350, and they are few and far between, and I must confess, the thought of giving up the LS gives me major heartburn. It's been an awesome car and is in great shape (very minor scrape on the front bumper and a cracked taillight where some idiot backed into me in my parking garage). It's been dealer-maintained to about 135K and now I use a good local mechanic. Here's what I am thinking: rather than get into the whole car payment thing, I would like to put $5K into the car to make sure that the engine is in great shape and to get the minor body damage fixed, but I am wondering if I have big-ticket items about to go south? I live in AZ and if my AC goes out I will be in big trouble. I know these engines can go and go (several people have called them "bulletproof") but I would love to hear from other owners of older LSs and see what you have encountered. Advice/experiences welcome and appreciated. Maybe I should post a pic of the car?

Legender

Guess we have to know what your objective is.... and why does your husband want you to look for new car? Just to upgrade? Fearful that this one would go south on you? Seems you've been keeping it up pretty well all this time... type of car most of us on this forum would look to purchase. I would think that $5k is more than enough to keep it running for a few more years and certainly cheaper than purchasing a newer GS 350... There are plenty of people on here with older LS's on this site that have much more miles on theirs than me than can vouch for their reliability and longevity.. but some things will break and some things you might choose to live with. Newer cars are nice, but there is no guarantee they won't have problems either. If I had to choose between keeping one where I knew the history vs spending a lot of money o one that I know nothing about...especially if I like what I have... don't think I'd make that jump to the newer one... I'm sure others will chime in. Best of luck to you... there is alot to be said for 'loving' what you drive..

AZGirl

Thank you very much. After perusing this site it seems like the car has a lot of life left in it...and yes, I think he is concerned that I will have something major go wrong, but I like my plan. I still LOVE the car, and it would be terrific to stay away from a car payment for a few years if I can (kid in grad school). And I would miss that monster V8. The other factor is that hubby gets itchy for a new car every five years or so, but that's just not me.

fixmiester

Very sensible lady; I like your reasoning. I too have a '99, with about 120K, and I do all my own maintenance. Assuming you timing belt/water pump and belt tensioner/pulleys were replaced around 100k miles, normal oil & filter changes, and the tranny fluid has been changed about every 50k miles (not power flushed), and your suspension is not causing any real issues (tire wear, banging noises, etc.) I would bet that you may not need to spend any serious $$ on repairs in the next few years. The usual stuff; brake pads, periodic A/C checks, maybe engine/transmission mounts, and a few front bushings are about all that may need replacement, and those are not big ticket items. Sure, there are dozens of other problems that owners have, but, for the most part, a car that has been well cared for--like yours--will not develop serious problems before 250k miles. Keep the faith!

2GSKaizen

iTrader: (1)

Keep driving the car you love! Worst case scenario, something big goes wrong and you have to spend 2 or 3 months of what would be a car payment on a new one to fix it. Then it's fixed, you are still driving the car you love, and you still have no car payment. Like it was stated above, you know the history, have done all the maintenance, and haven't had any major problems yet. Secondly, that $5k you want to spend on it should be enough to cover maintenance and repairs for another 75k miles.

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

AZgirl.... stay with the 99LS, we have 2 of them, mine is black with 233k miles and my wifes is white with 170k miles.... do the WP-TB every 100k, and normal upkeep on it.... you are in the best (in my opinion) Lexus ever.

dengman

Keep it and spend money on maintenance items. I put nearly 30k on mine in the past year.

LScowboyLS

you don't need to allocate 5K for the engine, that is the beauty of the LS400, the three most expensive systems on the car don't have problems, namely: the engine, the transmission and the A/C system - yay!

here are the likely areas where you may have issues that ya might wanna take a peek at:

strut bar bushings
lower EGR pipe
transmission mount
motor mounts
ECU capacitors (not as often an issue on '99 model as it is on 97 and earlier)
PS leaks (which kill alternators)
cig lighter fuse link
upper control arms (UCA's)
+ side battery terminal
clean throttle body breather ports

the only other things I would do is perhaps new plugs and drain & fill transmission with genuine T-IV fluid

as the former owner of the largest auto A/C shop in Arizona (near Sun City) I can assure you that your NipponDenso A/C system is the most reliable A/C ever put on a car!

dc893

Keep the LS. Those are the nicest LS models Lexus ever made IMO. That car should be crazy reliable when it's properly maintained. My 1992 has about 300,000 miles on it and it still rides good.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Welcome to Club Lexus.

The LS you have is and will be a fantastic car for many more years/miles to come. This remains a fantastic car to drive. Motivation for another car could be for: more carry space, better MPG and/or safety standards. With those come higher insurance rates and or monthly car payments.

The overall satisfaction and longevity of Lexus is quite good but each of these cars has their issues to overcome as the miles accumulate. Scan through the prospective model forums here to get an idea what others are experiencing with the cars. With the LS400, you have great support because many of us are in the higher miles. We know what to expect over time and what fixes need to be done.

Then that freshness of a new car and the reduced worries of having to do maintenance is also a consideration. That all falls on what direction you foresee with a car.

I say keep the LS400.

LScowboyLS

carefully wipe down every seal, weatherstrip, door seal, window seal, trunk seal etc. with distilled water until they are squeaky clean like new and then get some Shin-Etsu

silicone grease

silicone grease

and wipe down all of them with it and the car will become quiet and rattle/squeal free like new!

also be sure and clean the mating surfaces for each weatherstrip area, such as the steel part of the door where it meets the weatherstrip

this can be purchased at a Honda or Acura dealer, p/n 08798-9013