Stereorob

As the ls400 continues to age, what will the future of these cars bring? Possible classic collector value? The earliest examples will hit 30 years old and the newest will be 20 years old by the end of the decade. No doubt the Ls400 is the greatest car in the world but everything has it's mechanical limits. Non abused examples of these cars are already a rarity and more than 70% on the road have well over 200k miles as it is. When these cars are well kept they are beautiful, but when they are not they look really, REALLY bad. A lot of them have already achieved Hooptie status just by default due to age but are still hanging on. I still pass a Ls400 in traffic every day but there numbers are dwindling as much as I don't like to see it. Also, other things like the insanely hard to change starter, and the interference engine in the 97+ models will cause a early death to many! simply due to neglect. I see a mass die off of 400s over the next 5 years as they hit 30 years old and that sucks, but the real question is, how many ls400s will still be chugging along at 30 years old with 500k+ miles on them? Will they ever be collector cars? Do you still see a Ls400 in your driveway in 2020? I do.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

The intended goal for ours is 300K miles. It just clicked 190K and at an annual of 12K miles, we should be there barring some incident that takes the car away.

As for collectible, nah. It would be nice to see them gain popularity like the Cressidas or if some auto movie comes out making these sought after. Aside, they will be another period showing what Toyota Motor Company was capable of by entering the luxo market. The Cressidas had a an excellent lifespan with some still on the roads in decreasing numbers.

Amusingly, yesterday, I saw two 1980 Celicas driving around in decent shape.

xxmariolxx

I personally don't think I do. I bought a ls400 because for the price I couldn't have got a nicer more luxury car with the reliability. I also love big red v8 sedans. That said I don't plan on keeping my 90 very long maybe just a couple of years. Then I might get a ls430. Or gs400/430 I really don't like the looks of the 95+ ls400s. But where I love just in my neighborhood there's 4(including mine) And then I see another 3 on the road everyday. It'd be cool if the pricess started raising for clean ls400s

PIONEER

iTrader: (2)

These mass produced cars eventually all go away gracefully. LS, S class, 7 Series, Q45 , legends are all reliable cars. A few enthusiasts pickup these cars and mod them out but those are a few and far between.

YoshiMan

Someday LS400s will be few and far in between, and when you see one people will say "I remember those! they were pretty hot cars back in the day!"

I think the vast majority of LS's will be kept out of the hands of some neglecting owners, just because i think that alot of people just looking for some cheap car are not ever going to consider a Lexus of any sort.

Not saying that ALL LS400s will have meticulous caring owners, but i think they will hold out alot longer than most vehicles of their vintage

dengman

Considering I just spent $1200 on maintenance this year on top of the $2000 maintenance last year on my LS. I might as well keep it, has 228k miles. I don't see it breaking down anytime soon. It really wouldnt be worth selling if I couldnt get $7-8k out of it.

qha_vn

i am with my 90 ls400 for almost 8 years. i believe she will be fine for another 5 years at least as long as i keep taking care of her the way i have done so far. btw, i drive around 50km per day every day. mostly stop and go in city

Stereorob

I work as a salesman at a lexus dealership. I have the oldest car in the parking lot lol. Lexus has come SO far with design and technology my old 95 Ls400 feels like a dinosaur after driving 2014 Ls460Ls and gs350f-sports all day but I still love my car and would rather have a 20 year old 400 then a 460.. All my co workers drive new or much newer ones and I hear the occasional whisper of "classic" and "old school" when people talk about my car and it dosent bother me a bit. In fact it gives my car a sense of history and dignity. I'd love to know where these people are that claim the Ls400 was the most soulless forgettable boring ride ever, cause it's anything but that. It has personality, soul, and pretty damn fun to drive! Maybe when they were new they were like that but throw two decades of driving on them, let the suspension sink a little bit and high speed driving can be not only heart racing but downright terrifying in one to some lol. sadly most Ls400s are HORRIBLY neglected examples that I've come across. The money crowd dosent want them anymore cause there so darn old now some people are scared of them or they think there dated, tacky and embarrassing to drive which I don't get at all either. So who buys a Ls400 now for the most part? People that A. Can't afford them so they don't maintain them, B. Kids that want to go drifting and racing in them, or c. People that are lazy and don't want to have to do regular matinence to them, and don't change the oil for 90,000 miles etc. remember the Ls400 is a incredibly over engineered car, and you can let go of one for years and years and it will keep running. I am starting to see a serious mass die off of them though and that's very sad to me because I absolutely love these cars, especially the really early ones. I hardly ever see them anymore

xxmariolxx

But mines a 1990 the first Lexus ever. So I'm hoping by the time I sell it value goes up a little

xxmariolxx

Really? I'm still seeing the ucf10s everywhere. 4 in my neighbor hood but 2 of them are beat to death. Mimne and another guys are pretty mint. I see them every time I go out to drive but your right very rare do I see clean ones most are beat to hell

JM51526

Sadly, most are either in sad shape, or in sad shape with horrible and poorly done modifications. Most people won't do or pay for maintenance that's worth more than the car - which makes a nice one all the more special.

Really glad I found mine when I did. Even the occasional clean one you see is so cheap right now, but the clean ones are getting harder and harder to find - makes me wish I had more garage space!

dengman

All this praise of the UCF10... Makes me want to drive one. I've ridden in a couple but never actually drove one.

Stereorob

You are really missing out if you haven't. I wish I still had mine. I tried to find one last year. I looked for 6 months and gave up. I ended up with a ucf20 but still wish and would rather have a nice ucf10. Nice ones are almost impossible to find

Stereorob

1990 was the best year. Back then lexus was the new kid on the block and most people hadn't ever heard of one. They wanted a good first impression and it was a lasting one that's for sure. Try to find one from the first month of production, august 1989. I know of only one still in existence

Kingsoup

I think as its not a real enthusiast car, there won't be many around in 20yrs at all. Look at the Mustang 2 from the 70's, they sold a Million of them but how many do you see now? (granted the styling didn't age very well)

You read this board all the time with super young guys buying them to beat on and cheap drift cars. I almost never see any up here in Alberta, usually still being driven by quite older people!