migitymark

I'm looking at a 90 ls400 with 120k on it and air suspension tomorrow for 3800.

what things should I look for? -What tends to be problematic in these cars?
A mechanic's shop is selling the car, and SAYS that it was driven by an older guy and has a;; schedules maintenance. they say its in perfect condition except one tiny scratch.

its been my experience that when a car seller says 'nothing wrong' they mean nothing that they will admit. only at dealerships that tell me upfront whats wrong with the car have I not found a complete turd so far.

what hidden problems should i keep an eye out for?

thanks

uncle_el

i bought a 90ls400 without air earlier this year with about the same amount of mileage, for the same price, with the same story... an additional 7800 later, i have what i should have had in the first place.

the first thing that would bother me about a car that age with air suspension is that if the suspension is bad, i think it's about a 3500-4500 fix.

then, given the age of the car, and mileage, your right at the area for a number of major scheduled maintenances... which may not have been done, which you'll have to spend money on.

so, unless you really want a 1st gen ls400, you might be able to find a newer model for about the price you would have spent on the 1st gen + maintenance.

HKS_IS300

check if the suspension is not shot. i had to do a non-air suspension conversion (spring/strut) since my air suspension didn't work. i also had to change the suspension bushings because they were shot as well.

you probably want to change out ALL the fluids i.e. coolant, oil, brake, transmission, differential, etc...

i recommend changing the spark plugs, wires, belts, and timing belt if needed.

hopefully nothing is wrong with the speedometer, a/c, or LCD screen.

Bradster

Has the timing belt been changed? Water pump? Power steering pump/rack problem with this generation is well documented..

migitymark

I mistyped: its got "all scheduled maintenance done" ..supposedly..

Ive learned that when a car seller tells you 'theres nothing wrong', or 'all maintenance has been done'; that theyre hiding something. Ive decided to pass on this car, because I called at least 6 times, and every single time the kid told me to call back in 15 minutes or that nobody would be there outside of the hours of 9-noon to show the car, so i should call back tomorrow.

I mean come on, if you want to sell a car, you have to do a little work to get it sold, and this kid did absolutely nothing, didnt go out of his way at all.

it sounds like the first generation LSs have alot of things to look out for compared to other years, i guess ill go for a 95-00 model.

thanks guys

tcho82

iTrader: (1)

I'd stay away. Air suspension on an older car is asking for repairs. The first gen is a great car, but you want to stay away from potential issues if you can.