btz0

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum, figured I should join the community because I recently purchased a 1993 Lexus LS400. I'm also from Canada, don't know if that has any relevance but I figured I might as well mention it.

I've wanted one of these cars for a very long time, dream finally came true. Only problem is, it's a salvage title. It appears to have been rear ended at a low speed. I checked where the damage was done and the guy before me cheaped out big time on the repairs. It passed inspection, which I assume was done under the table because it probably shouldn't have passed. I will take pictures of the damage tomorrow for reference if this thread garners any sort of response, it's too dark out right now for me to be able to get a good picture.

Basically though, the car drives wonderfully. Very straight, doesn't seem to have any sort of frame damage. My father who was a mechanic and worked selling cars for a long time drove it and said it was a great car (and he's all about the domestic market). It's probably the only Japanese car he's ever liked. Again, I believe that the damage was caused by a low speed collision. It is only on the right side of the car.

My main question is regarding the trunk and the right tail light. The trunk is not flush with the car and the right tail light isn't straight either. I'm assuming these two go hand in hand, because if I push down on the trunk and hold it down it is flush with the car and the tail light moves slightly. I read in another topic on the forum that someone else has a similar issue and they consider it to be frame damage.

So is it as simple as taking off the headlights, remounting them or even replacing them? Or do I have a more significant underlying problem here?

This is just cosmetic damage, but i am rather picky with my vehicles and I like to keep them in the best shape possible. It doesn't feel like frame damage to me or look like frame damage. I just want an opinion from fellow owners before I go and take mine in to get it inspected. I just can't imagine a car driving as well as this does having any sort of serious damage to the frame.

Thanks for your consideration, I'll gladly answer any additional questions

LScowboyLS

if there is no frame damage, then you just need a good body man, they have tricks to make everything line back up - but if Chinese parts were used in the previous repair, it may be a battle you can't win!

btz0

That's what I was hoping for. I'll probably take it in for a professional opinion. The only visible damage is inside of the trunk underneath the carpet. Some minor paint chipping on the rear quarter panel as well, and the paint job in the damaged area doesn't shine compared to the rest of the car. Also something else is loose around the wheel wells on both sides but that is a separate issue. I'll probably make another thread in the future inquiring about that.

My main concern is the quality of the body work that was done to repair the car. It's hard to explain without an image of the damage, but to me it just looks very cheaply done.

I've attached the only picture I have right now of the right side of the car. If you look closely you might be able to spot the crooked tail light and minor trunk issue. I'll take better pictures when it's not night time

LScowboyLS

or another smart way to go is to sell it and turn right around buy the same model car back, that has never been wrecked and has a clean Autocheck (more reliable than CarFax) and the difference in the two prices may be very little

getting this fixed right is gonna be big bucks unfortunately, so I would consider the method above, unless you have a friend or relative with a body shop who owes you a favor or else take it to the community college body shop and let the body repair students work on it

btz0

I do know a fellow who is pretty handy with bodywork. I would love to flip this car and buy a clean one, but unfortunately where I live the used car market is ridiculously inflated. A clean LS400 from America for 4000$ will generally cost north of 8000$ here. The only other ones in my price range had very high KM. The damage is so minor and barely noticeable that I am not too concerned.

I will see if the guy I know can do minor work like this. He repairs old cars as a hobby, and he's not just your average project car guy. 5000sq ft shop with room for around 12 projects at once, wash bay, paint bay, the whole works. I don't know how different this would be from the old stuff he restores. (1920's-1960's). I'll be uploading pictures as soon as I can find a way to transfer them from my phone to my computer.

LScowboyLS

body work hasn't changed much over the years, better paints and clear costs and computerized color matching is about it

and as far as flipping the car, it doesn't matter where you are, if a nice 93 LS400 costs $8000 in Canada, then yours will also sell for a correspondingly high amount.

btz0

Sorry folks I totally forgot about this thread, life takes over sometimes. I believe the taillight is just because a clip is broken, I can pull out the light very easily. I'm trying to attach the images but it won't let me for whatever reason..

Any ideas why it's not working?

peterls

I believe you can only "attach" a link to where the images are, not the image itself. This is pretty much standard on all forums on the net...

In your place, I too would just sell the car, even if it means taking a little hit on the price. Let it be a good lesson: never buy a car without thorough inspection - either learn how to do it yourself, or have a friend (preferably a Lexus mechanic) with you.
Here are some things to check:
- Compression (you have to know factory specs: too high compression means there is too much carbon build up, which means that engine was not maintained properly; too low compression, and engine is even worse; big difference in compression from one cylinder to another means - useless, just walk away)
- Suspension
- coolant
- oil (look for any trace of abuse there such as dirty/caked oil cap)
- any leak anywhere
- take a fridge magnet and put it in different places on the car to see if it sticks - if not, you found a place that was repaired
- look at reflections on the car (from an oblique angle), they have to be perfectly smooth. If the car is dirty, it is to hide those imperfect reflections, which points to an accident in the past
- even the best car report may not have all accidents. You know that in any accident, drivers can agree not to wait for the police... in which case, no one will ever know about it. This is especially more likely in Canada where everyone's insurance goes up, even if the accident was not their fault
- The first thing I always check is under all the carpets, especially in the trunk, and around the spare tire and so on. This usually tells me if there was an accident as well as if there was a flood (moldy smell there).
- I guess in Canada you have to worry about rust as well, especially if the car was ever damaged even a little bit... it is like cancer, and will not go away on its own.
- above all, make sure you learn how to "read" the seller. Too many scam artists out there. The type of stuff I have seen when I was buying my LS is what nightmares are made of: a guy poured honey (yes, HONEY!) into the shifter to make it "smooth"; another were a couple of guys who were obviously thieves and I was dumb enough to believe the "good deal" to go there and meet them in the worst part of Oakland... I think I only made it out alive because I was pretending to be an undercover cop (I have met quite a few, and I know the "tells" they have... and what criminals don't like to see - you show any fear, and you are gone); another few were students, telling me that the car was "tip-top" only to have a puddle of oil under the car... I look underneath and the oil is DRIPPING like from a bad faucet. The other student has not touched it and ran it into ground. Nothing worked on it, even the oil was low and coolant too, and oil cap had caked stuff on it... and to him "The car is in great condition, meticulously maintained, I inherited it from my mom...". even if he did, he abused the heck out of it. Another one "never in an accident" looked like re-used aluminum cooking foil under the trunk carpets...
- Also, any time I see even the slightest difference in shade of paint, I walk. I don't care as to whys or hows, too much to risk. I happen to work with colors, so I have a good eye for that which helps.
- If the engine was washed recently, I wonder what they were trying to hide...