Hello, this is my first post in this forum and I'm currently in the process of purchasing this 1995 lexus LS400 with 410k miles. While the car resides in Indiana, it has spent most of its life traveling to and from Southern California so I can't imagine the rust (if any) is very bad. It's owned by an elderly couple who is moving to Southern California to be with their daughters. The car has been meticulously maintained with a spreadsheet of every purchase made for the car and maintenance records going back to the first day of ownership. They want 2,500.

I'm asking you all, because if anyone knew it would be this forum, if a lexus ls400 this well maintained is worth that amount of money with the miles it has and if it will continue to be a reliable car for years to come. Is there anything I need to look out for and make sure has been done or need to do before I really go through the process of buying this car.

 

The Unoffical LS400 Buyer's Guide

 

Honestly, it has 410K miles, lol, that's a lot of miles. Is it worth 2500? If it lasts you two years without having to do any major work, then you got your moneys' worth. That's how I see it anyways.

 

The mileage is the only discernable issue at this moment. The interior looks brand new and the outside looks great too, even down the polished rims. If you want me to I can send the FB Marketplace link so that you could take a look, that being said it seems like you're saying its something I can't really know for sure until after the fact, is that accurate?

 

If it was a Kia the engine would last 40K miles, not 400K + miles. These are some of of the best engineered cars built very well. Send a link I'd like to see it

 

Ah I see what you mean, yeah that's why I didn't immediately turn it down and have given it some pretty good thought. here is the facebook link https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/793401096064727/ i was a little late and the owner said that he is in talks with someone else who's buying it but He'd let me know. We'll see how it goes lol

 

i've driven a 1996 LS with this many miles:



mileage is a complete non concern for me with these cars, if anything i'd be concerned to buy one with too few miles lol... too much sitting around is bad for a car, driving around and having frequent oil changes is the way to make it last awhile

also to have that many miles likely means a lot of long highway trips as opposed to primarily city driving and short trips, if the car drives well and the maintenance can be verified i'd say what do you have to lose! it also sounds like this car was used in an area with particularly low corrosion potential

 

Wow! That's definitely good to see, even if this opportunity falls through, I'll likely still get an ls400

 

of course it's impossible for me to be unbiased here and i'm sure opinions will vary, but definitely try to get a 1998 - 2000 model

the original LS 400 was quick in its day, same with the 1995 model, but after the 1998 upgrades the car is just quick! better mpgs too with the VVT-i and additional 5th gear... other upgrades like HID headlights, an actual multi function trip computer with an instant mpg display, and other minor conveniences like the outside mirror automatically folding down in reverse to help you better see the curb

true stability control was added as well besides just conventional traction control, and it's less likely you'll encounter the dreaded failing ECU capacitor issues faced by many early models... this is a good page to look over:

http://www.lexls.com/info/lsgenerations.html

 

A word on the power gains for 1998 - they are quite substantial. 290 vs 250/260 horsepower of the earlier 1UZs. But the peak numbers don't tell the whole story because all of the changes were to optimize torque and bottom end power. The area under the curve gains are massive. It's something like 20% more torque at 2-3000 rpm. The original motor has quite the torque hole.




I am not sure if ACIS is included in this, but I do know the VVT-i requires a coolant temp of I think either 60 or 70c to operate. So when you first start the car, nothing is going on and there is a very noticeable lack of power in the midrange until the car warms up and the system(s) turn on. So I can confirm, you'll notice the difference in power ESPECIALLY when driving around normally in traffic.

 

lol i'm always so gentle on the car until the coolant needle reaches near operating temperature i wouldn't even notice if it's down on power at that point... but the VVT-i works off the engine oil so that would make sense if the oil needs to warm up first before it can properly activate that helical spline gear



love the look of the ACIS valves

 

I'm gentle on the car too until it's warmed up for the same reasons I'm sure you are - but I can tell even at 2500rpm at 1\4 throttle or whatever. There just isn't more additional torque coming through when you add more pedal like when later. I notice it every time I pull out of my neighborhood going from 0 to 40 lol.

 

Note for EvanMitchell: If you are going to consider any car from the upper Midwest, e,g., Indiana, you should assume the car is a rusty mess and nothing to consider unless proven otherwise, and treat any claims that "its spent most of its life in S Cal. [or other similar place]" with extreme caution. I now how quickly the winters in Illinois will ruin an undercarriage with rust, ditto with Indiana.

 

Amen. The only time the mention of California/Florida/Georgia/etc has a meaning is when they say "the car never left California since new".