Jlacck

I was visiting a dealer to view a 1997 LS 400 with 115k miles that I was considering purchasing. However, upon taking the car for a test drive I noticed several things on the dash that were lit up.

1.) I can't recall for sure but I think I saw an ABS light lit up on the dash. 2.) there's also another icon lit on the dash that is a circle with 3 lines on each side of the circle. Can anyone tell me what these icons mean?

Over all the car was in pretty fair shape on the interior/exterior (definitely needs some detailing) but it did have a little fender bender type of accident near the driver's side head light. It wasn't something you'd noticed at first glance but it's probably something that needed to be straighten out if you're the picky type. Fortunately however, the headlights still work fine.

Anyway, the car seemed like it either needs a whole new suspension kit or the alignment is SEVERLY off center. The car kinda felt like it was wobblying when I took it for a drive and as a result I didn't feel too confident giving it some speed. Sounds like a lemon?

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

The ABS light is the ABS light, and the circular light is the brake pad wear light. Lights up when the pads are about to go. Seems like someone replaced the brake pads after the light came on, and in the process broke a ABS sensor, which is very common, but never bothered to replace either sensors.

Also, if the suspension is wobbly, i would run away as fast as i can, as this can turn into a serious money pit.

Kansas

Having a few problems doesn't mean it's a lemon but it obvious that the prior owner(s) did not fix things in a timely manner. And if he didn't fix things when they needed to be fixed then there is a good change simple maintenance was not done thoroughly, on time or at all.

"Wobblying" could mean bent rims but also suspension issues. By 115K miles, it is unfortunately fairly typical for a number of front suspension components to have to be replaced. For example recently at between 85-90,000 miles, my current 00 LS had to have the lower strut bars replaced -- noticiably tightened up the front end. On my first LS, a 90, various other suspension components had to be replaced by the time it hit 120K miles and I suspect my 00 LS will need replacement of similar items as the miles pile up.

Of hand it sounds like a car to pass up unless you can verify that maintenance was done, that the car was not abused, and that the price is low enough to address all the issues with enough "pad" in the low price to make it worth your time.

If it means anything, when I sold my first LS at 183,000 miles, nothing needed to be done. All maintenance was current and it looked like new. There are plenty of people who take care of these cars and if you are patient, you will find one for sale from an original owner at a lower price than you could buy from a dealer.

Jlacck

Thanks for the replies guys. In regards to the car, I guess the question now becomes whether its even worth taking the car to a mechanic to check it out so that he can tell me EXACTLY whats wrong with it. The dealer is trying to sell the car for $6995 but I highly doubt its worth more than $4500. Having said that, lets assume in a hypothetical sense that everything that's wrong with the car could be fix and brought to great condition for about $2000... do you guys think the purchase is worth it if you get buy the car at $4k or less?

Kansas

Whether you buy the car depends on whether you are looking for a "project car" or a car to drive. I see you already have a 93 LS400 so you probably know the risks involved.

If you are looking at a 97, I'd suggest being patient and going up one more model year to 98 to get the "big bang" of an LS with HID lights, VSC, 5-speed auto transmission, and 290 horsepower.

Jlacck

I actually don't have the 93 lexus yet. I was considering buying one a couple weeks back and I was actually pretty close to closing the deal until I changed my mind after seeing several posts reporting problems with the dash boards etc on the 1st Gen Models. I figured I'd try to get a 2nd Gen model which is why I was looking at the 1997 model that I've mentioned previously in this thread.


In any case, I am definitely looking for a car to "drive"... however I do plan to "pimp it out" some what... *you know, new rims... maybe a paint job (assuming I dont like the color) and perhaps updating the interior a little bit*. Just simple things... nothing major.