ajm

I am new to this forum and am looking at buying an LS400. I love the way they drive and the reputation for reliability. Also, this forum has already been a great source of information.

I am going to look at a Silver/Black '97 with 107k tomorrow. Here is the link:

http://annapolis.craigslist.org/cto/1407916380.html

Any thoughts?

After looking through a bunch of info on here, including this thread:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...blems-etc.html

It seems that, aside from normal things, I need to check the tranny fluid and make sure the PS pump isn't leaking. And hope that it doesn't have air shocks. I am also hoping that the owner has already had the timing belt replaced, as I don't want to foot the $1500 bill for that. Anything else?

I am thinking about having the dealer perform a pre-purchase inspection. Anyone have any experience with Lexus of Annapolis, or another recommended shop in the area?

I would love to get one of these cars, but don't want a money pit. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

TexFinn

If it has been taken care of, 107K is nothing. My 94 has 223K and it still runs great.

Here's one LS400 buyer's guide. Lots of self-explanatory stuff, but still good to read.

I'm new to these cars, too, but the way I have figured is that the leaking power steering pump seems to be most frequent problem. And, yes, if possible, get one without air suspension. They are great when they work, but PITA when they don't. No matter what car it is, actually.

Good luck!

ajm

Thanks Tex. That guide appears pretty thorough. I will have to take some notes from there with me tomorrow. I am not really worried about the mileage, as I know these cars will go forever. I am more worried that the time is coming for major work (timing belt/water pump, 12 year old rubber, etc.).

I agree about air/hydraulic suspensions - a small increase in comfort maybe, but from everything i have ever heard, they are a maintenance nightmare on any brand or model.

Anyone have any input on a dealer inspection, or a good shop in the area?

Thanks.

TexFinn

When any car hits that 100K miles and/or about 10 years, things will get close to the age of replacement. Just ask if there are any service records available and if you don't feel comfortable making the decision on your own, by no means take it to a Lexus dealer for an inspection. That should clear up many things.

I highly doubt the car has 12 year/100K mile old rubber, though.

97CE LS400

Looks like a nice find.
Provide a Lexus dealer with the VIN# & they should be able to access the vehicles service records.
Good Luck and enjoy!

ryhi

iTrader: (1)

that car is not silver

fourthmeal

Looks like the seafoam light green color. Still nice.

ajm

I went and looked at the car earlier today. The two posts above are correct, it is a slightly green color. I think it's called silver jade pearl. It looks much more green in person, but not bad.

The Bad and Good:

The bad:
-The dent that the seller told me about and is barely visible in the pics: It broke the paint and slightly creased the body line. So fixing it completely right would not be cheap.
-The timing belt has not been done. So that's what $1200?
-My dumb *** forgot to look and see if it has air suspension.
-Minor stuff - Some of the digits in the radio were out and the hood struts were worn out.


The good:
-Pretty much everything else.
-Other than the aforementioned dent, the body is very good.
-There are no rips in the interior and it doesn't look like it has 100k on it.
-All gauges light up very brightly, AC works, didn't find any electrical problems.
-Sitting in the car, you can't tell the engine is on. Shifts were smooth.

I didn't have a really long time to look at the car. However, the only real problems I found were the timing belt and the dent. I can get it for $5400. I think I might get it checked out by a dealer, and if they don't find anything wrong, go for it.

haha, wow this post got long fast.

TexFinn

If he is already willing to come down to 5400, I think if you go there with 5K in your pocket, you'll be driving away with it.

Dents are always big bummers... But if you can live with it as is, there's one more barganing point. Just like the timing belt. Hood struts are something like 30-40 bucks online.

Then again, if the 5-5.5K is at the top of your budget and you are worried about having to spend money on it in the near future, then I guess you need to pass on it and try to find one which has had things done to it and documented.

ajm

Spending 6-6.5k for the car and timing belt (i would pretty much do the job immediately) isn't exactly at the top of my price range. I am more concerned with getting a good deal and more importantly, a car that won't cost me a boatload of $ over the next few years.

I am probably being a little paranoid about the whole thing, but i just want to end up happy with my next car. It needs to last a while and I have had bad luck before.

Dents are a huge bummer. Although I think it might be able to be fixed 70-80% reasonably. Meaning that it will look decent from 20 feet or something.

If I knew it checked out clean and I could have it for 5k itd be mine.

Verrry nice cars - like riding in a vault.

seanl

I bought a '97 LS400 Coach Edition today.....100,300 miles. Extremely clean, no dents, dings and only a few minor nicks and scratches. The paint is in excellent shape. Same color as my previous LS400 (see avatar). Interior shows a little wear, but most of it's cleanable.

It was a 2 owner car, same (elderly) owner last 8 years. Lexus CPO. No traction control or air susp. Nice thing is that I have detailed records going back 8 years. All service done at local Lexus dealer---this car was pampered. Timing belt service done promptly at 90K. Starter at 95K (common). Hood struts replaced. A few bulbs here and there. Everything works, including radio display.

I paid $7200, but the car needs tires. So that's another $450 for name brand 16s.

Definitely not the deal of the century, but I've been looking for a clean '97-00 LS400 here in the Bay Area for 3+ months. It's very hard to find a good, well documented car.

TexFinn

The only person to decide whether it is a good deal or not is you. As long as you are happy with spending 6-6.5K on it, even after the timing belt change, that's all that matters. Personally, I don't think ~6K is not too much for a fairly low mileage 97 LS with a fresh timing belt.

Now cue in all the people finding low mileage cars for just a couple of grand...

Then again, there will always come around a deal that seems better right after you have bought something. Isn't that what always happens?

I don't know how long you have looked around already, but if you are not in a hurry, then take a deep breath and keep on looking a bit more. Especially if that dent bothers you.

seanl

TexFinn is right, spend the time to buy the right car. Whether it's $6K or $7K isn't as important as finding a well maintained LS.

You might also want to consider a pre purchase inspection on any used car you buy if you're really concerned about the car's overall condition. I skipped the inspection on the car I just bought because a) I previously owned a '97 for 8 years and know the car fairly well and b) I bought a dealer maintained car that was gone through by Lexus top top bottom 10K miles ago for the 90K service and again at 95K miles.

Good Luck.

NO1ZX6R

AJM - I'm also in the greater Balt area and I think that I looked at this car last Sunday. It's being sold by a guy for a dentist right? Look very carefully at the car though b/c I saw quite a few things. Too many to make me comfortable so I walked away from it. Also I had him down to $5100.

Like you stated the timing belt service is due and all four tires are dry rotted so badly that I was sketched about driving it on the test drive. Those two things are close to $1500 total. The car is also filthy (not so much on the inside) on the outside and it clearly sat for a while (did you see all of the spiders webs in the engine bay?) and there was water damage at some point in the trunk; although the guy selling it for the dentist told me that it was only a one time thing. Although IMO I don't like anything having to do with water when it comes to used cars since it's difficult to tell if it's truly a one-time thing or a recurring problem.

Good luck but again IMO I'd stay away from this one.

seanl

I've now had my '97 LS400 Coach Ed. for about a week. I took it to my favorite indy repair shop that specializes in Lex and Honda for an oil change and inspection. Car is in overall great shape (was a CPO car) but sure enough the power steer pump is leaking. I'm living in a hi rise down town with a much smaller array of tools so I'm going to have to pay to get the PS pump changed, close to $800. Ouch.

So, pre purchase inspect from Lexus dealer or indy shop is probably a good idea for anyone looking at a used LS400, especially if you don't have access to detailed service records (which I did, and I knew the PS pump was gonna have to be dealt with eventually). I would have still bought this car, but I would have def. offered $800 less. $7200 isn't a bad deal, but given I need to drop $800 next week before the PS leakage kills the alt., I would have been more comfortable paying around $6500. Would have have sold it for that much less, I don't know, he could have simply passed and kept the bad power steering pump info to himself. Dunno.

That being said, I did negotiate the price down from an asking $7800 to $7200 as the car really needed tires badly. A Craig's List search turned up a set of very nice 2002 LS430 wheels (16") with good michelins. And literally they were 10 blocks from my apt here in SF. $400 cash and now I am free of those horrible non Lexus chrome wheels and I've got tires that will at least a year or two. Wheels are in great shape, just a few small nicks and most of surface marks came right off with little Meguiar's cleaner wax.

The moral of the story is to be patient and search for the right car. Unfortunately, the used car market is tight right now and people are holding onto good cars (Lexus!) in this economy and many of the LS400s that are for sale are high mileage cars that show a lot of wear. But you kiss enough frogs and eventually princess (creampuff?) will materialize.

Here's my creampuff (literally) wearing the oh so boring but functional 16" LS430 wheels. I'm going to remove the 'gold kit' today and install new chrome emblems I ordered from Sewell last week. And that's it for mods for now.