dnelmo

Good morning:

My brother-in-law is wanting to sell his '96 LS400 and will sell it to me for $8,000. The car has been meticulously maintained (he is a diesel mechanic by trade). I feel that the price is right but what I want to know is how user serviceable are these cars?

I'm a better than average "shade-tree" mechanic and I do not want to go to the dealer for all maintenance items (in the interest of time and money). The car has 82,000 miles. The 90,000 mile service for this car includes the following:

new timing belt, brake fluid flush, coolant flush, oil and filter change, air filter change, AC cabin air filter change, coolant flush, brake fluid flush, change spark plugs, balance and rotate tires, new wiper blade inserts. I called the local Lexus service department this morning and everything in the 90K service runs $1151.71.

With the exception of the timing belt, brake fluid flush, and balancing the tires, surely I can take care of most of the maintenance. Are the spark plugs, air filters and other basic maintenance items easily accessible on this car? I can have Lexus (or another mechanic) change out the timing belt and perform the brake fluid flush, but shouldn't I be able to take care of the other service items?

What kind of work do you do on your own cars? Also what kind of fuel mileage do you get out of your car?

I appreciate any feedback/experience you can provide,

dnelmo

Strida

Are the spark plugs, air filters and other basic maintenance items easily accessible on this car? Yes it is. If you are mechanically inclined the LS400 willo not be that bad specially you will have a mechanic do the timing belt everything will be fine.

Ive owned my 95LS for two years now, change the airfilter, sparkplugs, oils and Im soon to change the suspension and starter by myself.

For $8000 i think its a good deal. Ask if you can get it for $7500 . As for gas mileage I get 20mpg on city and 27 hwy.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

I concur with Strida...the basic stuff is readily serviceable and if you can recruit a helper, flushing the brake fluid is a 20 minute or so task.

The timing belt service I was quoted along with water pump, idler/s and I think cam seals was around $900. Check the strut bars as these are often items that make "clunking" sounds over bumps and such when they wear out. It is easily seen as the rubber bushing/boot will have splitting around the metal sleeve. Replacement costs with alignment got me $315 all toll. $125 for the bars, $120 for install and $70 alignment.

So long as the regular maintenance has been performed, this sounds like a nice price. Of course getting it for less makes it sweter.

Buying a car from a relation and speaking of my family... As much as I care for our cars, I wouldn't be inclined to sell it to anyone in the family. The premise being that they can trust you...sure. With things mechanical like this it may turn ugly and being removed from the equation makes it easier.

ychachad

I second RA40. Do not buy a car from a relative. If anything goes wrong with it, there WILL BE bad blood. You will think you got screwed, and he will think, "Man, I did him a favour by selling a beautiful trouble free car to him for such a low price, and he screwed it up, and he is blaming me for selling him a dud!" I've been through this before.

dnelmo

Thanks for the great feedback everyone.

I'm not too worried about the "family" issue. I know that when you purchase a used (sorry, pre-owned ) car, there are risks involved whether you purchase from a family member, friend, or complete stranger. We both will benefit from this because my wife will be getting a lower-mileage car that gets much better gas mileage then her '97 Expedition - it's for sale if anyone is interested! He has recently gone through a pretty nasty divorce and his employer is about to transfer him to south Texas for a construction project.

He had all of the maintenance performed at Lexus until recently. Since the divorce he has continued to be very retentive with the car. He would like to see the car go to us because he knows we will take good care of the car.

I have always performed my own maintenance on our cars (primarily Fords) and enjoy working on cars. Having never owned a Lexus though, I was uncertain about how owner serviceable they are. Nowadays it is so expensive to have any car worked on, and I'm sure the Lexus is no exception. This forum and specifically you all have been great in helping to make a decision.

Thanks again for your input,

dnelmo

RA40

iTrader: (6)

I say

Let us know your thoughts when you get it.