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A lot of what I see here in Northern California, and I look everyday, are tossed up 90-93/94 LS's, beat to death, slammed, dented, runs strong/needs work etc....BUT on the bright side, those that own a 98-00 seem to know they have something special and the cars are maintained and fairly clean and I don't see a lot of them which tells me these are not being run into the ground by some knucklehead. At least I hope not. Best ride for the $
sadly not the story here. ucf10s in any shape are a rare sight on the roads and most ucf20s I see are awful looking sadly. hell most Ls430s I see around here are already being honed and not taken care of. ive even (believe it or not) seen a few beat up early Ls460s....
That one in SF appears to me to be worth every penny. Their are a lot out here in that good of shape but they'll have twice the miles. If I was in the market I would probably be looking into a plane ticket.
While I prefer the UCF20 to the UCF10, the 10 is certainly a nice option as well and should be cared for in the same manner as any other worthwhile vehicle. But I don't mind seeing the occasional UCF10 for sale for $500 on Craigslist. The 1st gen 1UZ makes a great swap for other Toyotas and hasn't really caught on yet. I might just start stock pilling them.
Basically, if you have a nice example do whatever it takes to keep it up and it may be worth something someday.. And if it isn't, then it will take care of you for tons of miles.. But at the same time, when it's time for them to rust in peace hopefully people will at least give people a shot at using them for parts before just crushing them.
i started this thread in 2014, nearly 5 years ago. as time marches on as we all know clean examples are getting rarer and rarer.
things ive noticed long term over the last 5 years since i started this thread
1. UCF10s are a very very rare sight on the road these days, if i do see one, its always a 93-94 variant.
2. early UCF10s are basically extinct at this point at least in my neck of the woods. crazy is that they made more 1990s than any other year, over 44,000 of them, yet they are simply gone. nothing is immune to time.
3. early UCF10s are so old now that people seemed to have just kinda lost interest in them. the few i spot in the junkyard are not picked to the frame before junked anymore. ive seen several almost complete examples go to the crusher.
4. pre-refresh UCF20s are not extinct but i dont see very many of them. i can go weeks without passing one on the road, and yes i do count them.
5. any year LS400 is getting very hard to find in really clean condition, as production ended just about 20 years ago
6. the first UCF10s came off the assembly line august of 1989. -thats 30 years ago in 9 months. legit classic car status.
7. i am beginning to hear whispers of UCF10s referred to as "classic". some people already consider the ucf20s classic cars.
here on the west coast, I still see 1st gens and 2nd gens floating around, the cleaner ones being 98-00 models.
the older ones have definitely seen better days!
my neighbor across the street from me has a 1st gen but it's not highly cared for (at least to my standards); he is a much older gentleman.
I haven't frequented my local yards for parts in over a year but what you observed sounds about right.
what qualifies a classic car other than age? desirability should also be a determining factor, something that is dying with time (and advancement in tech).
5. any year LS400 is getting very hard to find in really clean condition, as production ended just about 20 years ago
6. the first UCF10s came off the assembly line august of 1989. -thats 30 years ago in 9 months. legit classic car status.
7. i am beginning to hear whispers of UCF10s referred to as "classic". some people already consider the ucf20s classic cars.
thoughts?
It took me almost a year to find a 400 that was:
97'-00'
Silver on black
Low miles
No air suspension
In excellent condition
Wasn't halfway across the country
There are currently zero for sale in all of America that fit this set of (strict) criteria.
There are a ton of rough examples with lots of miles, but the supply of clean cars is really drying up. Not many older folks who garage keep them and drive 5k\miles a year still have them.
I think they were too highly produced to really enter "collector" status, but the value for money will always draw people. Considering the cars all look the same to the untrained eye, I've been telling people as a car that was fundamentally designed in the 80's - it's held up well.
97'-00'
Silver on black
Low miles
No air suspension
In excellent condition
Wasn't halfway across the country
There are currently zero for sale in all of America that fit this set of (strict) criteria.
There are a ton of rough examples with lots of miles, but the supply of clean cars is really drying up. Not many older folks who garage keep them and drive 5k\miles a year still have them.
I think they were too highly produced to really enter "collector" status, but the value for money will always draw people. Considering the cars all look the same to the untrained eye, I've been telling people as a car that was fundamentally designed in the 80's - it's held up well.
my 97, pearl white, every thing works, 194k miles, regular coilovers. has been in southern california all its life. i got lucky?
This happened the other night when i went to air up the tires. Mine is on the left and the other pulled up while I was airing up the tires. The woman who got out of the car just gave a glance and went on so I assumed she was not impressed/gear head. I did look it over and the outside on hers was much better looking than mine, but the inside of mine was 100% better. Mine is from the dates I have found 5/10/1990. The paint on hers looked so good, mine is sun baked and fried and has a crackle paint finish, and as u can see the top of the bumper is not going to win any beauty contests, but the inside of mine is great, and no rust. I am sitting at 156,000 miles and just got it on the road at the beginning of December, I bought it around the beginning of November.
97'-00'
Silver on black
Low miles
No air suspension
In excellent condition
Wasn't halfway across the country
There are currently zero for sale in all of America that fit this set of (strict) criteria.
There are a ton of rough examples with lots of miles, but the supply of clean cars is really drying up. Not many older folks who garage keep them and drive 5k\miles a year still have them.
I think they were too highly produced to really enter "collector" status, but the value for money will always draw people. Considering the cars all look the same to the untrained eye, I've been telling people as a car that was fundamentally designed in the 80's - it's held up well.
nailed it! clean low mile examples are crazy stupid hard to find now. even the ones that LOOK nice will still have some kind of gremlin in it.
when it comes to searching for an LS400 as my main everyday car, my criteria and standards are equally as high, maybe even higher. took me 6 months to find my super clean 95, and that was 6 years ago!
here are the models on my dream list that ive been looking for now for a very long time...
early build 1990,
decent condition
black on grey,
fully loaded with NAK, phone,
air suspension, and factory chrome turbine wheels
. doesnt have to be perfect at this point. ive been searching for one since 2013 and havent found one yet.
immaculate Black on Tan 1999
Nak and the green IR glass (rare)
orangewood instead of the birds eye maple (even rarer)
factory chrome starfish wheels.
been searching now for about 4 years.
95% of the ones i see have half a million miles, shredded seats, crack dash, and paint that looks like it has flash burns from an atom bomb. i haven't found a single even remotely nice 1990. they simply dont exist.
the original old people or upper class owners have just about all died off at this point, or threw the cars to their kids ages ago that destroyed them. most rich folks dont want to be seen at the country club in an LS400 anymore, and the few old people still coherent enough to drive them that arent half blind and ****ting their pants are scared of them simply bc of the age of them. (how i got my immaculate 2000. owner was 85 years old and as much as he loved the car, he was getting scared of it cause of its age)
there ARE a few holdouts tho. some of the folks (boomers) that got these cars when they were affluent doctors, lawyers, whatever and now retired HAVE kept thier Ls400s and in immaculate condition, but they dont want to give them up, ever.
working at a major dealership with plenty of rich old people around, i DO see those unicorn cars but not many and just since ive been here (4 years), those unicorn Ls400s went from 10 or so down to less than a handful. i know them all.
there is ONE dream car that shows up here. its a PRISTINE 1990, early build, black on tan with 85k miles, so clean it looks like it just came off the showroom floor, thats owned my a 92 year old WW2 vet, that ive tried to buy from him several times, but insists on wanting to die with the car. so yeah, they still exist, but VERY RARE.
I'm with you @Stereorob . I love these cars, especially the UCF10. I searched and searched for years trying to find the right one. I ended up giving up for a bit and then I found one, 1990 Black Jade. It came from a one owner in his 80's. Garaged and maintained at Lexus and so on. The last 10 years he owned the car it mostly sat in the garage. He slipped on the maintenance towards the last few years of ownership though since it mostly sat. Mostly suspension issues. I've spent a lot catching up on things and fixed all so far with help from this site and lexls tutorials, all using new Toyota parts. I've spent more than what the car is worth so far but it's an investment and I plan on keeping my LS forever!
In the past year since ownership, I've put on 25k miles. It's my daily work commuter about 85 miles of flat highway driving round trip and it's a dream to ride in. It's smooth, quiet, comfortable, reliable, and I feel safe in it. When I was 10 years old, I first got to ride in a neighbor's LS. It was a brand new 90. It was so quiet and smooth. I fell in love! Since that ride, I've always been fascinated with them. I have 3 other cars too, newer etc., but on long trips I always drive the LS.
I'm with you @Stereorob . I love these cars, especially the UCF10. I searched and searched for years trying to find the right one. I ended up giving up for a bit and then I found one, 1990 Black Jade. It came from a one owner in his 80's. Garaged and maintained at Lexus and so on. The last 10 years he owned the car it mostly sat in the garage. He slipped on the maintenance towards the last few years of ownership though since it mostly sat. Mostly suspension issues. I've spent a lot catching up on things and fixed all so far with help from this site and lexls tutorials, all using new Toyota parts. I've spent more than what the car is worth so far but it's an investment and I plan on keeping my LS forever!
In the past year since ownership, I've put on 25k miles. It's my daily work commuter about 85 miles of flat highway driving round trip and it's a dream to ride in. It's smooth, quiet, comfortable, reliable, and I feel safe in it. When I was 10 years old, I first got to ride in a neighbor's LS. It was a brand new 90. It was so quiet and smooth. I fell in love! Since that ride, I've always been fascinated with them. I have 3 other cars too, newer etc., but on long trips I always drive the LS.
you got DAMN lucky to find that car!!! i figure eventually when the moon and stars all line up perfectly someday, i WILL find one hopefully. ive had 2, 90s over the years. my first one was a 90 i got back in 2001. was an early build car with NAK and air suspension. fully loaded pearl white with grey leather. had it for several years and regret ever giving it up. since then ive had 10 other Ls400s. i got my second 90 last spring as a project car but needed way more work then i had time for (VERY NEGLECTED) so i ended up getting rid of it. current fleet is my jade green/tan 00 (immaculate one i use sparingly) black/black 99 (very clapped project car) and pearl white/tan 95 (my forever ls400) thats my commuter, plan on keeping till i die, that ive had for years, and currently restoring slowly.
01-06-16, 08:10 AM
