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Have you pulled a CARFAX to see if there's any accident history? Or, have you asked or inspected the title to make sure it's not "rebuilt" or "salvage"?
If your FL car is at a store in GA, it probably went through the auction in Orlando or somewhere in Central FL.
Just wanted to give an update on the 98 LS400. Thanks again to everyone posting so far.
Short version:
Drove the car on Saturday. Smooth, powerful, and quiet. Stops great, drives great. Interior really great, 9/10, and a few marks and scrapes on the exterior, maybe a 7 or 8/10. Next step is an inspection by an already trusted mechanic. I've got family in the car business and they'll be pulling the carfax shortly.
Quick question: Not having recent info on stuff like spark plugs, fluid changes (transmission, diff, coolant, brakes, power steering) will my mechanic be able to give a go/no-go when he looks at those? I figure worst case he can say what needs to be changed. Dealer service history gives "named" services (60k, 80k, 90k, etc) every 5k up to 100k but without details of what those were, then just says "5000 mile service" thereafter, with no mention of any of the above items specifically.
The dealer knows only that the car has a clean title and was sold at auction as a "green light" vehicle with no problems and "up to date" maintenance. The Lexus-provided service history seems to agree with this, although the dealer didn't seem aware that this was available. The last Lexus service entry was a customer-reported check engine light on 11/19/14. No idea on that, but no lights on in the car.
No service log, but the CPO warranty registration(in the glove box) says it was sold as a CPO on 8/31/02, with 51,437 miles. Knowing this, the history suggests the car was traded in to the same dealer who had been servicing it, on 7/17/02. The dealer listed in the CPO warranty book is different from the one named in the history, but there's no break in the dealer's service reporting - oil changes every 5k - until the owner leaves for FL years later.
Working theory is that the previous owner was a little old lady who put 51k on the car in 12 years. The last 6 years in FL only added 14k. The name on the CPO registration, the remnants of a Naples, FL condo parking sticker, and the 3 pairs of ladies' granny-style reading glasses found buried between the driver's seat and console support the theory. (It sounds like a joke, I know.)
The car was dead and had to be jumpstarted. The last entry from Lexus (in Naples, FL) was 11/19/14, 16 miles ago on the odo. Guess on my part is that the car sold at auction at the end of November and has sat on the dealer's lot, undriven, ever since. (the battery was replaced at 111k, 11/13)
Little bit of a burning smell at first, little bit of squeal/chatter sound as it started up, but both went away almost immediately and didn't come back on later restarts. No other smells and I drove the car for over an hour on both suburban back roads and on the interstate at 70-80mph. Speaking of which, holy cow - accelerating from 55 to 70+ was like hitting the afterburner. My first time driving one of these!
Seemed like another squeal from the first full turn of the wheel all the way to the left, but it didn't happen again. I took it to an empty parking lot where there was room to turn the wheel to the stops in each direction, and no other sounds presented. Tires are Dunlop SP 5000s with 20k on them but deep tread, unused full-size spare in the back. Car pulls very slightly to the right.
It's not perfect. There are marks on each side,rear, where it looks like someone scraped against their garage door - ugly, but not deal-breaking. The passenger side door panel isn't flush with the front fender the way the driver's side is. There's a slight bulge in the hood along the driver's side - not visible, but you can feel it when you run your hand along the seam btw hood & fender. There's a chip/mark on the very front of the hood that goes down to the metal - not big, but not pretty, and I wouldn't want the paint peeling up from here. Wheels have misc scrapes and gouges.
Overall - paint and interior look great. Aside from the chips and scrapes, the paint hasn't faded and the car looks to have been garaged. The interior hasn't faded at all and there's little wear except for where the driver's seatbelt contacts the seat. There was a "rainbow effect" on the CD player/radio display that came and went a few times over the course of an hour. Steering wheel seemed almost new, weird (but coloration/texture matches the rest of the dash - I don't think it's actually new). CD changer works, speakers sound good, radio works, etc.
So on the whole, I was very pleased . The remaining hurdles are the Carfax/Autocheck and the mechanic's inspection. We'll see if either throw up red flags. If not, I'm optimistic.
This turned into a wall of text - so extra thanks to anyone who made it this far. Last question then: I've never had a pre-purchase inspection done before. Should I be asking my mechanic to look for any LS400-specific details? (steering rack, belts, water pump, etc?) Or are the guys at my shop already likely to know what to look for? As I said, I'm not a mechanic and there's nothing I'm going to tell these guys that they don't know -- so maybe that already answers my question.
Many more thanks again. I'll put up some pics to show the condition. If I end up getting the car, I promise the best glamour shots I can muster.
Finally pulled the Carfax. No wrecks, no title issues, no surprises, and only a little new info vs what was already provided by Lexus. Mileage guaranteed by Carfax. Looks to have been sold at auction on 12/1/14.
The only repair that I wasn't already aware of was at 110k, 11/13, when a non-dealer shop replaced the crankshaft position sensor and checked the enginge/powertrain computer module. That's it, beyond what i'd already mentioned. Right now I'm poring through the Maintenance forum for further info about what to expect, but looks to me like it's been well kept.
Going to hopefully get it into the shop for a pre-purchase inspection this week. I will keep you posted!
The "sold at auction" is likely just a matter of it getting traded in at another dealer on a new car, but the dealer didn't figure they could sell it so they flipped it at auction to one of the used lots, who has it now...
My only disappointment is that the Carfax as well as the Lexus history has notes like "75,000 mile service performed", "90,000 mile service..." and "recommended service performed", etc. Hopefully physically inspecting it will determine exactly what was done in those cases. Fingers crossed that either the 90k or 100k included spark plugs, but I guess I'll find out.
Yes the little plastic piece for the shift lock is missing by the shifter. It wont affect anything but I would try to find something to cover it so nothing spills or falls done there.
while none of the damage is serious, it certainly will be costly to repair.
I personally wouldn't offer them more than 4k as it needs over $1000 in body work and $5-6k is the going price for a solid 98 without damage, a solid maintenance record and that sort of mileage.
Instruct the independent or dealer inspection facility to look for everything that will be needed within the next 1-2years, and then lowball the hell out of them if you want to proceed.
while none of the damage is serious, it certainly will be costly to repair.
I personally wouldn't offer them more than 4k as it needs over $1000 in body work and $5-6k is the going price for a solid 98 without damage, a solid maintenance record and that sort of mileage.
Instruct the independent or dealer inspection facility to look for everything that will be needed within the next 1-2years, and then lowball the hell out of them if you want to proceed.
Thanks, I appreciate the perspective here. The scrapes on the side I can probably live with at the right price, the hood is a little worse. And there are other little snags here and there - the adjustable steering "grind" sound is there in one direction (saw repair suggestions on Youtube for this) and where the psgr door is obviously out of whack and fixed, the salesperson insisted it was just a little dirty. I got a chuckle out of that...
So not perfect by far. We'll see what the inspection reveals next.
Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who responded to my initial query here. Everyone's responses were invaluable in figuring out whether or not this one was a good idea. In the end, it looked like a pretty solid deal.
Unfortunately, I dragged my feet too much on this one, and by the time I went to the dealer a few days later (cash in hand) it had already been sold! Or at least it was gone - I don't know - some cars they list as "sold" later pop back up on their lot, so they may be a little shiftier than I thought.
I ended up having to go with something else. But a similar LS400 remains on my perpetual "to-get" list. Extraordinarily solid and powerful car, and I'm sorry I missed out on that last one. Hopefully one day soon. Thanks again to everyone. I'll still be lurking, even without my LS400.
You're in a better position to find one now. Best not to be in a hurry. Know what you want and what you're not willing to settle for and then wait for it to pop up for sale. Do your due diligence on it as you already know how to and then make the deal that makes you happy. Another great deal is out there, just have to wait for it. Good luck in your search.
01-15-15, 12:50 PM
