armadill0

They were asking $5000. 136k miles. Carfax is excellent. The 97 Coach I just bought has 186k and I paid $4000. Bad decision.

Sorry for the confusion about the engine pic, that was one i found on google. (Maybe a JDM?) I didn't like the one from the dealer's listing:

Banshee365

Why is $4k for the 97 a bad decision? If the car is in nice shape that's a plenty fair price.

armadill0

I feel the decision was bad because I bought the car without a pre-purchase inspection, and viewed the car in the dark. I was told by the guy who posted it on Craigslist that his Grandfather owned it and always had it serviced at a dealer. Considering my Grandma takes her 2000 Avalon to the dealer for every little thing it needs, I figured this Lexus has to be in simply excellent condition. The hood supports were dead when I looked at it the first time but I figured, no big deal. The owner's son was showing it to me, and said it had a small power steering leak, again I figure, nothing serious. Last he tells me the a/c probably needs charged, and it's due for an oil change. Overall, nothing sounds bad enough to walk away. So a couple days after buying it, I take it to the same dealer and same service advisor my Grandma always goes to. I tell them to do a THOROUGH inspection of the car including road test, change the oil, and charge the a/c. I walk out with an estimate of nearly $3000 in recommended services. (BTW they totally failed being thorough. there was nothing mentioned about the hood supports needing replaced. shouldn't that have been the first thing they noticed?!!! I also found the cabin air filter to clogged with dirt. That wasn't mentioned either.) Called "stealerships" for a reason right? Next, I go to an independent shop that specializes in imports. The tech takes me in the shop and shows me the leaking power steering pump, rack, oil pan, and transmission pan. They're too busy so I don't get an estimate. Even though they told me some of the dealership's recommendations were unnecessary, I'm looking down the barrel of more than a grand if I don't do any of it myself. I wonder how far down the bunny hole goes. Based on the experiences of the majority of people on Club Lexus, I don't worry about a catastrophic breakdown. T-belt was done 30k ago.

phohunned

I feel your pain my ls400 brother.
I had a 97 ls400 (my first one)

The hood struts didn't work ( had to get a used pair at the local used jdm parts shop....paid 50 CAD for the pair and it still didn't work, so make sure you test it if you buy, I held the hood up with an old plank of wood for its life with me)

I had a power steering leak too, had to top it up with "lucas power steering stop leak" every few weeks. (Not sure how much the power steering issue will cost, I never fixed mine and it was never an issue, however I am not saying that's the case for you)

My fave thing on the 2000 ls400 is the oem wood wheel.