I'm planning on picking up a 2000 LS400 for the wife and as a long haul cruiser, probably 15k/year keeping it 6-8 years at least. Is the premium for a Cert. dealer car worth it or go for a private sale? I do all work on my cars, dealer would be for warranty work for the most part. Most Cert dealer cars appear to be coming off 3 yr leases with 33-40k miles. Car would have a premium maint schedule on my part. Anything to look for besides carfax and dealer and maint logs on these cars?? Thanx for reading my 1st post!!

 

Just make sure the car is well taken car of then you will have the car for a very long time. This is the perfect crusier car.

 

I've owned two (96 and 99) LS 400's, both certified. The pro's are that with the kind of mileage you put on it's probably good to have. I've Saved a few bucks, mostly on minor things like a new battery, air filter, etc. One con is that the certification warranty is not transferable. I've also found the difference in price between the certified and non-certified is not all that great, at least here in S. Florida.

 

I just purchased a 1998 Certified LS 400 with 35,000 miles on it and in nearly perfect condition. I'm very happy with the car.... and even happier with the price i paid the dealer; $31,000. I think it was a great a deal and an incredible value.

 

I am in love with all LS from 1st generation to the current one..
u will be happy to own the LS...!!

 

Thanks for the comments, the lease is up on my wife's pos saab 95 in 7 weeks thank God, it has been a terrible car. I've put about 700 mi on a friend's 99 LS400 and it a really great car, hence why I want one. I think it is going to be blk/blk. Anything else to watch out for prior to purchase that is particular to this car??

 

You'll be happy to know the LS 400 is judged by many experts to be the finest luxury sedan made, bar none. I happen to agree. I've owned 40 cars and this one is, by far, the best. I see no down side to this purchase.

 

Roller,

The LS's are some of the best made cars on the road, in my opinion. I have a 91 Ls 400 with 199,654 miles. Based on records at Lexus and the opinion of an independent Lexus mechanic, the only maintenance done on the vehicle so far has been light usage service manual requirements (oil change, air filter change, brake fluid change [weird but that is what the manual says every 30k], some common sense stuff like new plugs, coolant flush and replace, brake pads replaced. Oh, and one part failure - the alternator was replaced in the past year before I bought the car - probably about 300 dollars, due to leak from power steering pump which I am having fixed on Friday (about 250 to rebuild). So, eleven years of use and two part failures. I still occasionally drive the car at 100 mph+. Fantastic vehicles. You will be very happy with them (and probably hate everything else you get behind the wheel of )

Rich

 

I went for the certified Platinum extended warrranty and saved thousands in repairs. Well worth it.

 

How long does the certified warranty go for? Is it 5 years/100,000 miles? You get the roadside assistance too, don't you?

Rich

 

JHummer...Sorry to hear you had thousands in repairs. Certainly not normal in my Lexus experience. Must have been an anomaly. I've owned two and never had anything major.

As for the certification...3 years, 100.000 miles, whichever comes first. Roadside included.

 

Actually, I am still impressed with the car. Can't say that I have had the best experience with it but it has been the most reliable (never left me stranded) and most of the problems I have had were mechanical and discovered by the dealer and repaired under warranty so I can't complain too much but I have not decided whether I will return as a Lexus coustomer with my next purchase (but I suspect that I will).

 

...deviating a bit here, but what kinda problems did you have with the 9-5? Minor annoyances or extensive mechanical problems? Reason I ask is we were looking to possibly add a fwd vehicle into the garage, and were vaguely considering the '99/'00 9-5 SE. I appreciate any comments you have. Thanks!!

 

if you were looking for a fwd car, why dont you buy a used ES300 or the 2003 ES300. i think they are great cars since all LEXUS are.

 

What specifically were the mechanical problems?

Regards,