Tony1M

I am seriously considering buying a 1995 LS400 that has, believe it or not, about 48 K miles. I've verified the miles by CarFax and dealer records.

The car is a day's drive from me, so I haven't seen it yet. The seller knows where I live.

The owners' son (the person who is conducting the sale on behalf of his parents) says the vehicle's interior and exterior are "showroom condition" because it has been spending the vast majority of its life sitting a large garage. The car has never been driven in snow. The car has never been in an accident.

After I heard his description of the car, I again told the son what I meant by showroom condition - "no damage or rust of any kind; if you wash and wax the car, it looks like a new car in a showroom". He said "yes, that is exactly what the car looks like".

Now to the reason I posted. Assuming that the vehicle is in the condition claimed by the son (that is, after I personally examine the car and determine that the son's claims are true), what is the maximum I should pay for the car?

Acidic

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't pay a penny over 10k but personally I wouldn't price it much lower than a 100k mi car... the wear n tear differences are very minor at this point... just remember it IS 15 years of and it IS NOT going to appreciate in value... Also some things wear down as a function of time and not mileage.

7schulz

No more than 7K. 7 is the most I would pay for that car if it truly show room condition. No rock chips, dents, dings, nothing... full dealer records etc. Check to see if you are cruising over 40 and let off the gas quickly and it jerks pretty good. This is a defect in the 95 ECU and is kind of a pain. Not detrimental but takes thought when driving in traffic. Also remember no matter how nice it is it will still need maintenance and things break on Lexus' too and they aren't cheep to replace, so don't blow your whole stash on the car save some for maintenance and mods.
http://www.kbb.com/kbb/UsedCars/Pric...itions=#survey

Tony1M

Thanks for the price advice, guys.

I understand the simple age issues with rubber parts, etc., and I never owned a car that appreciated in value.

My wife and I are in our 60s. We've owned our present vehicle - a 1992 Honda Accord - since it was new. This will be the last vehicle we ever buy. I do all the work to our Accord and I will do the same to the "new" vehicle (as long as I am able, anyway).

Can this problem be fixed? It sounds like a PIA to me.

7schulz

TSB number (EG00396)
POWER TRAIN:AXLE ASSEMBLY:AXLE SHAFT


Complaints Summary

Make: LEXUS
Model: LS400
Year: 1995
Complaint Number: 503636
Summary:
JERK WHEN SLOWING DOWN , INSTALL THROTTLE SHOCK FIX, INSTALL NEW SPARK PLUGS, CRUISE CONTROL ECU AND ENGINE ECU.

I was quoted $4100 to fix mine(from the Lexus dealer). I believe you can just get a new ECU with the updated part number, I haven't gotten that far yet, but that should fix it.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...-95-ls400.html

7schulz

If I had the 7-10k I would look for a 98-00. I think they are just a bit better 30 more HP vv-ti and a few less issues, I think. Someone else can chime in on that.

Acidic

iTrader: (1)

I agree... I'd rather get the better car with more miles... these are lexus cars... it's not like 100k miles is the beginning of problems...

bmoore

I bought a '96 with 82k last year for $5600. It is virtually flawless. However, with its age, I have replaced all the fluids, plugs/caps/rotors/wires, the regular maintenance stuff.

I also just this past weekend replaced the timing belt and tensioner (I was going to do the typical "other" timing belt parts -- water pump, crank seals, cam seals -- but I got in there and saw everything looked absolutely perfect. The timing belt looked fine when I inspected it when I got it (just pulled cam cover), and it looked nearly perfect when I replaced it, but with 14 years, it was over double the recommended age for replacement.

If you find a car like you're talking about, which is how I found mine, they are awesome, but be ready for a bunch of maintenance stuffs.

Tony1M

Thanks very much for the information guys!

The seller claims that he has all maintenance records for the car. I'll contact him to see if the work under the TSB was performed. If it was not, I will have to restrict our search to '97 or younger.

Again, you guys may have saved my wife and I very much trouble, so thank you all very much!

Tony1M

I'm back. Maybe the '95 is not a lost cause after all.

I've done a bit of searching for the necessary parts for TSB EG00396 and, other than spark plugs, they are available, used, pretty inexpensively.

I know I can replace the plugs myself, no problem.

How difficult is it to replace the engine and cruise control ECUs? I'm not asking for directions on exactly how to do it, just whether one can do it relatively easily if one has the service manual and the usual shop tools. (BTW, I've done all the maintenance work on our 92 Accord, including timing and balance belts, water pump, seals etc.)

Thanks again.

Boyscout

iTrader: (3)

its not too hard. some trim to remove, a couple bolts and wire harness plugs.

where in alberta are you? if you're close to Edmonton i could lend a hand when you need it.

7schulz

Do you have the part numbers for the CC and ECU.

Tony1M

Lexus part numbers for the car I'm considering:

Engine ECU.........................................89661-50225
Cruise Control ECU..............................88240-50071
Denso platinum spark plugs PK20R11....90919-01178-83

(I understand that California cars need different part numbers, but I'm not exactly sure what those are. But, regardless of where your car came from, if you give your car's VIN to Lexus and the TSB #, they will tell you the exact part numbers for your car.)
_______________________________________________________

I'm on the verge of buying the car, but I wonder how good a job the various ECU re-programming vendors perform.

Has anyone sent their engine ECU to http://www.autoecms.com/ to be re-programmed and, if so, what was the result?

Do you recommend any other places that do this job?

Thanks!

7schulz

And these are the new upgraded ECU? Did you get prices?

Tony1M

Yes I did. Is it OK to post them on this forum?