CarlB3

I am trying to decide what to do with my daughter's high mileage '95 LS400. It's very clean, no rust and never had an accident. I'm the 3rd owner, I know the previous owner as he lives directly across the street. He bought it from a grandpa who used the car to drive between winter/summer homes in Florida and Wisconsin. It was 15 years old before it saw it's first snowfall.

We're at 210k and it threw a misfire code with a rough idle. After some careful examination and diagnosis it appears to have lost the cats as they are plugged up. Remove the cats and the engine will run smooth. The inside of the exhaust looks clean, it does not burn oil. Best we can tell is that it was overdue for a tune-up which is probably what caused the cats to melt.

Quote from a professional for recommended work: replacement of cats, timing belt (due for 2nd), water pump, plugs, wires, rotors, caps and optional valve cover gaskets is $2,600. Kbb.com values this car between $2,100 and 2,700. I can source all the parts for about $600, I have a decent set of tools and okay wrench skills.

I'm not paying a mechanic 2,600 to fix a car that I would be lucky to sell for 2k after the work. As I see it my options are:
1) Buy the parts and repair it myself.
2) Drive the car to a salvage yard and hand over the title. Most don't want cars this old for parts.
3) Part out the doors, hood, lights, bumpers and trans, ECM, etc and flatbed the rest to a scrap metal yard.
4) Try to sell the complete car as-is on craigslist with full disclaimer.

With the exception of the A/C, everything else works great.

I am struggling with this because I like the car. It's good looking, smooth, safe and has a timeless design. People are shocked to hear that it is as old as my daughter who drives it at college. Are these older LS400s worth more than kbb suggests? Maybe just the pristine ones? If it was a rust heap I wouldn't think twice about having the salvage guy take it but this one is too pretty for the car crusher.

dicer

I'm not a gen 2 person, but if the body is in top shape, I would not junk it. If its in top original shape with those miles it would go for more than kbb says. All the parts for $600 is pretty good. You could always do the things you can handle and hire out the rest. Just think, some people pay the upfront as much or more than your mechanic quote, and then $300 or more a month for a car newer of course plus insurance etc. If the suspension is okay the interior is good, and you still plan to use the car even the 2600 isn't bad, because you will just be buying some other headache that you have an initial cost purchasing it plus any fixing costs it may need.
Or maybe trade it in for a newer LS.

JJDAG

The pic of the car looks pretty nice, no rust is real nice , your not going to buy another car for $2600 that doesn't need work. you know how well the car has been maintained, If you can do most of the work yourself even if it cost you $1500 its worth it. I've been reading up on these car it seems they tend to run well past 200k there are a few videos i've seen with 1000000 miles yes 1 million and they didn't look half bad. If you like it and have kept up on the fluid change maintenance fix it.

cobalt91

Do the work your self. You will be very glad you did.

Legender

You can't look at it as $2600 into the car in hopes to sell it. I'm thinking your daughter needs a car, so if you don't put $2600 into this one to catch up on maintenance what are you going to get for the same money? Even if you didn't have the cat problem, it's time for this maintenance on this car. And if it's strong and reliable and keeps your daughter safe then seems like an easy decision for me. These cars are strong and reliable when we'll cared for and sometimes even when they're not.

CarlB3

Thanks guys. I realize that a $2600 car would just be taking over someone else's problem. I think you are confirming what I suspected in that these do hold better value than most cars this age.

JJDAG

I've found most cars that you buy for under $5000 need a couple grand in repairs to bring them up to snuff , your ahead of the game with the one you own you know the history , no rust and most important a nice safe car for your daughter = priceless. And a bonus you don't have car payments of high tax or insurance cost like you would if you bought a new one.
Good luck man !!

RA40

iTrader: (6)

$2600 isn't bad if the car has given that many years of good service, this is due maintenance. The cats are $$ though. If you can get error codes we can relay some specifics on the necessary maintenance.

Cat's get plugged up from dead O2 sensors and other EFI issues. Pretty easily solved with some specific parts like the ECT sensor which sells for ~$65 and is a pretty easy DIY. What kind of MPG was it getting highway and in town?

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

good thought from JJDAG! if you get rid of the car, what will take it's place? most likely it will be something more expensive so why not just invest in a familiar car as it will give back another 100k in comfort!

the one thing i cannot stand in a car (unless it's a race car) is no AC. that would be a deal breaker for me to get rid of the car no matter how nice it is. could be a simple fix though. best of luck in your decision!

CSTU93

Way too beautiful of an LS to send for scrap!

I agree, I would fix what you are comfortable with and go from there.

Best of luck!

CarlB3

RA40, I have not monitored her mpg. Never a check engine light until very recently and the code it threw was a misfire and not usual P420 from a cat. I was looking at Walkers for about $140/each. Let me know if these lower-end cats are known to be a problem on this car.

Timmy, you are in SoCal and we are in Wisconsin. A/C usage here is minimal and only ever during the summer when she is off from school anyway. We never had it serviced for A/C, just accepted that it didn't work when we bought it. Would be entirely different if we lived in Houston.

I agree that less than 5k into a car and it will be a problem. What is she driving now? The immediate solution was to loan her my winter beater, an '01 GMC Denali XL but I want it back. I'd rather not go used car shopping. My son has an '01 Acura RL 3.5 that we did stereo upgrade, timing belt, tires, cat, O2 sensor and a couple other little things. It's a fantastic car but he's talked off and on about a new car so I offered him some cash towards a new car if he gives the Acura to his sister. We're going out today to kick some tires and mill this idea over.

So, if he pulls the trigger on a new car she gets the Acura. If not, she keeps my Denali for now. Either way, no immediate pressure to fix the Lexus. If someone were to knock on my front door today with a low-ball offer I'd probably take it but once I order the parts and start pulling it apart I'll see this repair through. The responses on this thread confirm my suspicions that it should not be scrapped.

fixmiester

You may want to consider just replacing the cats, and leave the timing belt/water pump alone. If there is no leaking or symptoms of unusual noise from the timing belt area, those assemblies can easily go 200k, and you appear to have about 100k on the car since it was last replaced. Sure, the TB may break, or the WP crap out at some point. But that may be years from now, if ever, and it will still be a better financial proposition either way.

JJDAG

Im not sure on the cats for Lexus but I did replace the cats on my Lincoln with Walker cats they didn't last 8k before the check engine light was back on with the same problem. Could have been something else with the car not sure didnt have it checked any further.

zoomee99

Don't give up. I get a bank 1 p420 code on my 97 for a few days a year., 235K and runs fine. I expect the code is weather or temp related on a well worn cat.

Misfire code should be ignition related, so I'm guessing you've already done plugs, wires, dist cap? I had a wire loom short that drove me nuts, gave me a misfire code. Short was in the main loom above cyl 1.

It runs well without the cats? There's an O2 sensor after the cats that would not have been working during your test so your results might be misleading you. The ECU would have reverted to base mixture map if it was not getting good O2 data and maybe covered up your misfire.

dicer

Fixing the A/C should be on your list because if the compressor is not turning sooner or later the clutch bearing will go bad and break the serpentine belt, good thing is the water pump still works but the alternator won't nor will the power steering, don't want your daughter stranded on a lonely road. Do the T belt, its an interference engine and again reliability is what you want. And in my opinion a way more trust worthy car than any new car anywhere. I'm not sure about the 95's and fuel pump relays etc. but I would also consider swapping in new heavily used relays and keep the old ones in the trunk as spares. If the car is in top shape exterior and interior, its worth the cost to fix it right. Like others say for the same money you will not get anything better.