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1998 LS 400 with 900mi

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Old 05-13-10, 02:15 AM
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tmm9d
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Default 1998 LS 400 with 900mi

My father is a salesman at Charles Barker Lexus located in the Hampton Roads area and about two month ago a customer came in with a very unique car. It was a 1998 LS 400 that had been sitting still for nearly the life of the car. She said it belonged to a relative of hers that had recently passed away and the car was left to her in the will. She did not have any keys to car and could not tell if it still ran so she had it towed into the dealership to find out how much it would cost her to get it in driving shape. The estimate the shop gave her ended up being outside of her budget and she agreed to sell it to my father as is. So i gave it away in the tittle but the car only had 600 miles on it when he bought it. I have been driving it now for about three weeks and have got it up to 900 miles. It was covered in leaves, the paint had stains, the tires were rotted, and everyone associated with the dealership seemed apprehensive to take it on. After a couple weeks in the shop, new tires, new fuel pump, new timing belt, flushed fluids, and basically a 100K service job done it is in showroom condition. Nobody at the dealership or anyone that sees the car can believe that it is actually 12 years old. This is the first Lexus we own as a family and we have already fallen in love with it. So the point behind me telling the story is to just give you guys a story about the background of the car and to ask exactly how rare is a 1998 LS 400 with 900 miles on it? It certainly feels like we found a diamond in the rough.
Old 05-13-10, 02:54 AM
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RA40
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Congrats on acquiring such a fine car. These are great barn car like stories!
Old 05-13-10, 03:35 AM
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PureDrifter
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sorry but i call BS unless you have pics of the odometer and maybe a title document showing mileage, this is too good to be true
Old 05-13-10, 04:31 AM
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Schnitz
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Wow! If it is true then congrats to you.
Definitely keep an eye/ear out for dry rotted bushings etc..
Old 05-13-10, 06:56 AM
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Husker1
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If true........ Then Congrats! It's the "mileage" would make it rare and unique.

"Barn Finds" are still out there but getting rarer. My father actually still has a 1937 Oldsmobile convertible which he bought and drove back from Calif., some 45 years ago. Unfortunately while it has only 25k miles on the clock, it has been sitting for over 30 years and now is a true "barn car". My father still is holding on to it and I cannot get him to part with it. Someday I will hopefully have it in my barn and be able to create memories with my kids just as he did with me and my siblings.

I am trying to upload a couple photos, if it works the first two are of the 37 olds convt coupe with rumble seat! the last one is of the 37 sedan with dual fender mounts which he sold and was turned into an amazing streetrod. photo is from Barrett Jackson auction 2-3 years ago.
Attached Thumbnails 1998 LS 400 with 900mi-37-olds-front-passenger-side-large-view.jpg   1998 LS 400 with 900mi-37-olds-img_0885.jpg   1998 LS 400 with 900mi-barrett-jackson-2006-027.jpg  
Old 05-13-10, 12:01 PM
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willhickey
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thats awesome what did your father pay for it? thats a sweet car
Old 05-13-10, 02:55 PM
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tmm9d
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Here are just a couple of quick pics I took. Not the best quality but they get the point across.







Old 05-13-10, 03:03 PM
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hypervish
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That car is in excellent condition. I'm curious how much did you pay for it? It sure is a rare find with only 994 miles on it.
Old 05-13-10, 03:31 PM
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miked808
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It must be a Virginia thing.
Old 05-13-10, 04:43 PM
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BLKonBLK98
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man that's a sick find.
Old 05-13-10, 05:34 PM
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PureDrifter
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win. epic win.
Old 05-13-10, 11:05 PM
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Jasbmo
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wow............amazing
Old 05-13-10, 11:37 PM
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jadu
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real nice find. just like brand new!
Old 05-13-10, 11:41 PM
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bjlisiono
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Wow... very nice find!
Old 05-13-10, 11:49 PM
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V8RdnLow
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Originally Posted by bjlisiono
Wow... very nice find!
+1.....very nice find indeed


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