sadielady

I had to fight hard to pass up a 1998 LS400. This would have been my first Lexus. The car had 125k mi and the 'story' behind it was the car was a 1 owner elderly man who died and passed it down to his middle-age son. It looked real nice...just all the pieces of the puzzle didn't come together. Primarily the seller wouldn't budge off $7,000. Seems 7k is asking a bit much for that car....don't you think?

Can someone make an analogy that explains the difference between an ES300 and the LS400???
Please understand, I know very little about Lexus.

Cartune

iTrader: (3)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_ES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_LS

nutshell: es300: v6, fwd, good start for family car. ls400, v8, rwd, luxury, huge space.

7k is reasonable due to the miles imo.

carfax it, drive it on the hwy, check the car out.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

with that mileage, as long as the maint. was kept up to date 7k is right there for a 98-00.

ES to LS is pretty much base model to flagship.....

Mugen_1

Basically, the ES300 was a re-badged Toyota Camry that had been enhanced with luxury items, and while a reliable car, wasn't really anything to write home about.

The LS400/Celsior redefined what a Japanese luxury car could be, was extensively engineered from the ground up as an entirely new vehicle, has won numerous awards, and scared the crap out of Audi/BMW/Mercedes-Benz, all while being ridiculously dependable.

Cope

7K very fair price. Mileage is low 1 owner ect. It is a Lexus that new was around 59K. If you want a dependable, luxury, powerful, car with a ride hard to match for 7K buy it.

trukn1

As others have stated,, with one owner, proper maintenance, and the milege,,,,go back and pull the trigger on that one.

denverdog

run the vin # through a dealer to see if it was dealer maintained.

LexusMirdy

Get a carfax on it. Very fair price for the car especially with miles that low on the car. that $7,000 investment could give you 200,000 + miles. Id' jump on it fast. (after the report of course)

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

I would have bought it at 7, maybe even 7500. Don't find many ls400's at that price with that mileage that havent been through hell and back

sadielady

thanks for the input and i'm sure others will pop up in due time. had it not been for the absence of documented maintenance, i would have took a leap of faith and driven the required 140 miles to see it in person. i just didn't want to spend the time researching the maintenance. furthermore, i wasn't comfortable buying a v8 because of increased fuel and auto insurance premium. after all, the car is for my 22 y/o son and i think he's more likely to want an ES as opposed to the LS.

mikes7ke

iTrader: (1)

He's 22 years old and would rather have some silly fwd thing than a rwd luxory car with a v8?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

I'm around that age and resent that generalization.

fatcat2

im 23 and have owned a civic, a g35, and now 2 ls400's. i love the styling so much more then the es. i bought my 99 for 8k and it has 110k miles, i would say that 7k is vary reasonable for that car.

researching is easy, lexus just lets you put the vin into their website and it shows you the history behind the car from the lexus dealer. if it was owned by an old man like he claims, most older people i know always get it taken care of by the dealers.

Why dont you ask him which one he likes more? does he not really care about cars? if so, i would say the es since it is most likely cheaper. things to know about the ls, 97+ has airbags everywhere, 98 has better head lights, but some dont like the styling as much, i average 21mgp with a mixture of city and highway driving, my average speed is 30mph. so its not bad for a v8 imo. just depends on how you drive it.

whit3b0y

You buy an LS cause you can afford a Lexus, You buy an ES so people think you can afford a Lexus.
ES is an entry level car, LS is top of the line

sdls

You can easily buy a 1998 ES300 for $2000.
You can't easily buy a 1998 LS400 for less than $7000.