Stereorob

Yes we love our cars, we as enthusiasts do everything we can to keep our cars nice, but the harsh reality of the Ls400 is that that's not the case with a lot of examples out there. Most cars achieve Hooptie status around 15 years old when they reach there final owners and the end of there mechanical lifespan. The ls400 on the other hand was so over engineered that they can live far past the Hooptie default mark of 20 years. There almost immortal. And they can be let go of for years apon years, and take a tremendously insane amout of abuse and still be drivable. Now that the earliest examples of our beloved ls400s have hit the quarter century mark which is much longer of a lifespan then most cars, and although there numbers are dwindling and fading fast, there are three types of Ls400s we see on the road today, one being the immaculate original owners or people like me that keep them stock but really nice, then the slam/race/rice/drift crowd that customizes them, and finally, neglected examples that are horribly decrepit clapped out bombs that are truly rolling wrecks that somehow defy the odds and are still being driven. Now I've seen some VERY VERY bad Ls400s. Any that stick out in your mind? I caught a pic of this one. A grey 90 with rust and burned paint, missing a window, crunched rear end, hunks of dashboard missing and shredded seats. I talked to the owner and the car had 456k miles on it and still ran good.

cgawelko

Well. Before I moved to Oregon I was looking for a second car. Found a black SC that looked great in photos. Had 190k which I thought, well its a Toyota motor so I got like another 100k on it. Then I saw it was a V8 ive never seen and my hope plummeted. he wanted 2500. It had 4 different aligned tires. front end collision. Leaking everything it possibly could. Shifted like someone was kicking me in the back and half the electrical didn't work, Fading black paint, had gigantic stupid exhaust on it, horrible rims that didn't clear right, ball joints were shot, CVs clicked, misfired like a SOB. I had it running while I was talking him down, I had him at 1500 and I stopped. turned around and I could watch power steering fluid leak in a steady stream. Cut my losses and walked away. SC series cars have no chance in Phoenix. Ricer kids MESS them up beyond worth being repaired.

Not an LS - but same concept.

For LS specifically. My buddy had one that was a 1st gen like mine. But his was a 1991, THRASHED interior, HORRIBLE paint, 22s on it, Had no trans fluid in it, just Lucas trans slip fix to the brim, leaked oil like a stabbed pig, no radio, all types of junk. He owned it for like a month and sold it for 4500.

YoshiMan

When I worked at the local Lexus dealership back in 07, i saw some pretty sorry examples come in through there. One 98+ LS400 that came through the wash bay looked like the owner had been living in it with his St. Bernard, and it was rather foul.

It appeared that the person never washed their hands... or anything for that matter, because there was this black tar like substance on EVERY surface of the car that would be touched while driving... the buttons, steering wheel, door handles, you name it. The leather, which was the lighter tan color when new, had this brown filthy residue all over it, the whole backseat area, headliner, doors and seat belts had been chewed to bits by a large dog, and there was those dog nose prints all over the windows. I'm sure the interior was a bio-hazard in every way, shape, and form. Needless to say it ran just the way it looked.

I also saw a 97 being serviced once that was "Donked out" with 22" something rims and looked like it had a 10" lift put on it. It had a shoddilly crafted "custom" interior with monitors and cables running all over the place, and the front doors had Lamborghini Hinges that barely functioned and looked like they were fabricated with blocks of steel and a welder with zero experience. There was Slag ALL OVER the door jambs.

Needless to say, I saw that exact 97 in the junkyard several years down the road.

Stereorob

Anyone got pics?

Kingsoup

Yoshiman LOL That sounds like some terrible LS's you've seen!
That car in the picture is so CRASHED, someone is still driving that? good lord!

I've not seen many bad ones, I virtually never see them at all here in Calgary, I think its because an open-differential RWD car isn't the best in a place with 6 months of winter.

Mostly just seen some first gens with rust, chrome fender things to cover said rust, on cheap 205 tires, but not that bad.
The slammed ones I see never last for long, I've seen a few bad VIP body kit RHD cars, and then never again, like the hundreds of R32 Skylines imported, all in the junkyard.

All the more reason to have a nice LS with some nice wheels and taken care of, rare around here.

Was driving to the Lexus dealer today for a part I coudln't find anywhere else, traffic was cut off in one lane with a cop car blocking it, the calamity? a hellaFlush newer lexus IS with a flat tire, with a couple of young asian guys looking puzzling at the suspension tire area, SIGH, guess I'm getting old!

j2b4o

One of the LS I checked out before buying the one I have now was a 93' with 89k "in near perfect condition"....the add stated that it "runs perfect & needs nothing". When I showed up every single body panel was damaged, the side view mirror glass was broken, the driver seat only had half of the cushion left and the outer section had disintegrated long ago, it did start but only ran on one bank( he assured me it was just a bad cat lol), it overheated after like 2 min of shaky idling while I played with things to see what was up. Amazing what people will say vs. reality.
Went to check out a 95 es300 once also. The add said "perfect condition, runs like new". I called to ask if this was in fact the case and he assured me it was better than that...... Car was sitting on the lawn with two tires that had been flat for ages, he was starting it for someone else as we approached the house and immediately we turned and left. It had probably the worst engine knock I have ever heard, it was insane that the car would run at all with that knock.

Greg5OH

there are a TON of cars liek and worse than this running around greater detroit are. SOme are simply just NOT SAFE. See wheels that have more hop than a jackrabbit, guys driving with no windshields, all windows busted out, hood held down by a ratchet strap, zero headlights, lots of accident damage people jsut tape up and keep driving....no safetys and etest are great for enthusiats, but bad for general public lol.

cgawelko

wait. no windshield is a bad thing?

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

Wow I've never seen one as bad as the ones described in this thread. Most of the ones I see are first Gen with bad paint and jacked up peeling rims. My car which is under constructing is the worst. I don't have the bumper on and the paint is just bad but the interior is a solid 9 with some fading on the drivers seat.

Sc0pe

iTrader: (1)

What year was this in? So we get an idea of how he managed to pull that much for a trashed one lol

cgawelko

it was last year! that's why he tried to buy mine for 3200 before I even got it home because he knows he can sell it for 4500 like its nothing. He still asks me if im ready to sell it yet. Ill wait till he offers at least 4200 lol

Kingsoup

Wow that is crazy!!! that is the stories of Detroit that people here about, but I've heard that its actually not a bad place to live at all, whats your take on that?

No safety's! thats crazy! this city if flush with easy blue collar jobs and everyone has 8yr financing on new trucks, there are honestly few cars older then 10yrs around here, although the long cold winter does tend to get you into a zero down brand new car pretty quick when you have some breakdowns.

Doc Yota

I need to post a picture of my neighbors 91 LS. Busted headlight, frame damage, rusted paint and much more. I'll get it on here when I get a chance...

pmarr

Daughters 91, this is after a mild front end collision. One working headlight, crushed front bumper, buckled passenger front fender, passenger door will not open, busted fan shroud,leaks coolant and PS fluid. Daily driver

dicer

Every one I look at either has multiple dents, or real nice body and paint with a crushed door. It seems there is always something that turns me off on it. Then there are the leaks both outside and inside, like moon roof or trunk. I guess I should have gone for that 3000 mile one that was at a dealer in CA, it didn't have one option though.