jpv7774

I help my sister with car stuff....She has a 17yr old boy that is ready to roll. He is a pretty laid back kid that I might be able to convince the 400 is a cool car.

I am thinking this would be a lot of steel around the kid....good safe car
Reliability better then just about any other car on the road
Easy to drive......
Can prob find one with some scratches and a rip in the seat for 3K

What year should I look for? Would be looking for a budget beater.....4k or less

As i get more serious in my search I will take this question over to the 400 forum......

tradosauru

If you are patient you might find one that sold on here recently:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lex...ional-car.html

BradTank

It would make a good car for a young driver, and they've usually been cared for. The only thing I would be wary about is some them had an air suspension and all the things that come with that (compressor, sensors, etc). You're not going to want to spend big bucks like that on such an inexpensive car.


A Lexus ES is an even better bargain on the used car market. You can find pretty decent ones in the $2k-$3k range, and they were usually owned by elderly people, it was a sort of Japanese Buick.

Either one will run forever. I personally think it's worth "overpaying" a bit for a nice one as the price is so cheap anyway.

KING

iTrader: (1)

I second the tank on this one.

I feel the ES is more suited for a beginners car. He will learn to do maintenance on it, which is a piece of cake on the ES300. And generally learn more about cars.

I got a 2000 ES300 platinum edition just 2 months ago, and yes, this car DOES REALLY drive like a Buick.
The power to weight ratio makes the car feel so smooth and yet so convenient for getting around reliably.

I'm sure the LS400 has better safety over all around the car. But it's a big car with a V8, gas will be an issue compared to the 27 mpg the ES300 gets.


Good luck finding him a car, and it's nice to know that you're trying to helping him out and get him the best suiting car for him.

JffGRY706

I would only consider 1998-2000 year LS400's. if you look at the Long Term Quality Index they score like the 430's. before that they are just another car. Jim, I shipped the wheel today, had to wait until payday, sorry.

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

Too much power for a kid. The ls400 is a fast vehicle and does not handle like a sports car. I think you are better off with a conservative vehicle as a first car that gets good gas mileage. Teenagers like to speed and with a powerful V8 that can easily go past 130 mph it is not a wise idea.

jpv7774

Thanks guys....good advise.

Thanks Jeff....I will be checking my front door step every day...I cant wait. I really appreciate your efforts. If its the correct rim I will be stoked. I am scared to think how much it costs to ship a rim but I assure u Im not gunna let u lose money to give something away.

Coulter

Compared to today's cars, they're pretty slow.

An early to mid 90's LS400 has a 0-60 in around 7 to 8 seconds.

That's about what a 4 cylinder economy car does in today's world.
I can't see myself worrying about an an older LS400 being too much of a hot rod.

I think it's a lot more about the driver and their maturity, even the slowest car can get someone in trouble if they're reckless.

Stereorob

another 17 year old kid that can play bumper cars in an LS400. yeah, lets take another one off the road!

Lavrishevo

iTrader: (1)

A V8 makes it very easy to speed. It does not feel like you are go as fast as you are. When I say fast I'm not talking about 0-60 times. A 4 cylinder Civic, Camry, Accord or similar is a much better choice in my opinion.

jpv7774

Well....this was the first car I thought of .....safety and reliability were my focus. I wasnt gunna yank a mint 400 off the road for bumper cars. I checked out some ES300's...man those are going for cheap! Of course many of them are due for o2 sensors ....cat converters....charcoal canister....etc.....but for $2500 u can buy a nice ES300 with high mi. Another thought is his grandpa in law has a Toyota pick up 4x4.....its slow and reliable....

KING

iTrader: (1)

Trucks are excellent beginner's cars!

GH5T

There's a good chance he'd like the truck better than the ES.

airchomper

For responsible kids, yes. But the gas can be expensive. And if the kid is irresponsible, it can end poorly.

I know a few people who have gotten in trouble for mudding in parks (sticking the parents with 1000+ bills).

And my neighbor who is a lawyer recently told me about a terrible case of a girl texting and driving her dad's F250 on a highway who slammed into a few cars stopped at a red light - another lawyer at my neighbor's firm was representing one of the people in the cars.

She totaled 3 cars and her truck while giving 2 people permanent neck injuries. The truck was under-insured and now her parents personally owe a few hundred thousand dollars to the people she hit. But neat fact, the guy at the firm who does the auto accident stuff drives a Lexus GS because he likes the saftey. Go Lexus!

And a few weeks ago, some kid in an old chevy silverado in one of the burbs around here managed to flip his truck and kill his two passengers while they were goofing off with nerf guns.

So I guess that's the question for the parent - would you underwrite the risk of putting your teen in a truck? They're slower, which is great. But they can suck gas down, and the consequences of poorly driving a truck are very high.

I wish I had an LS400 when I was younger, but I'm atypical. It might make sense for a regular kid, but it's probably too bad on gas and too expensive to keep running for it to make sense for a kid. What if the ECU capacitors leak out? Or the power steering pump began to leak? These are all common problems with non-trivial repairs. I don't think you can expect a 17 year old kid to be able to resolder the ECU / source the correct parts. Or what if they don't notice the power steering pump leak and need a new rack or new alternator? The VVT-i ones had fewer issues, but they cost as much as the 2001 LS430s in comparable condition. Which is ~8k for a solid one with a maintenance history. And although they're solid, they're 15 years old now.

Why not get a Honda Civic hybrid? They're cheap, reliable, and pretty tough, and pretty inexpensive. And usually cheaper than a Honda civic in comparable condition.

Good luck at the low end of the car market- finding a safe, efficient, reliable car isn't easy.

BradTank

I personally wouldn't get a truck for a kid starting out. I tend to think little fender bender type accidents are more likely with a bigger vehicle in a parking lot and backing out, etc for their first car.

An older LS or ES would be a good choice for a cheap starter car. If you set aside a thousand or two for maintenance and repairs, I could easily see that lasting them through High School. Still usually MUCH cheaper than a new or new(ish) car with a payment, and I think a teenagers first car should be inexpensive.

And I would make them put their phone in the glove box until and only use it when they are no longer driving. I'm sure many kids will ignore that, but it would be good to at least try and make a rule like that. I really believe phones cause more accidents with teens than drunk driving in today's world.