The body and interior is in mint condition, no scratches on the exterior, leather seats are straight and surprisingly the leather steering wheel and shifter look brand new. I called the seller twice, first without seeing the car I got her down to 3k cash. I will try to get her to do 2700-2900 depending on mechanical condition. The second time was today, left her a message wanting to test drive the car and if happy buy it. Overall, this could pass as a 99 year model, it looks so modern. I was just wondering what to look out for mechanically, I been reading that this model has some drivetrain related vibrations and what not. The vehicle has 210k miles. I'm very familiar with Toyota/Lexus vehicles, I have a 99 Avalon with 150k and a 07 with 70k.

 

Read the FAQ t's got the most common problems covered.
I would look for the usual(leaks, sounds, smells, vibrations) smoke on startup, leaky/noisy power steering, blacked out climate controll or radio, cd changer functionality(if it matters to u), air suspension(big $ for replacement parts, good bargaining chip even if in good shape), timing belt/water pump receipts, unusual tire wear, a/c functionality, gauges light up(needles, big deal, PIA$$).
Negotiating on the phone is in poor taste IMO I hate I when people make offers without seeing the car I am selling.
Brig cash and if you want it take out the WAD and make your offer with the cash in her vision. Usually works without issue unless the seller is dreaming about a cars worth (like 1k over BB with work needed). Most people will sacrifice a few bux for the luxury of not having to deal with loads of people coming and busting *****.

 

I called her after seeing the car since it caught my eye while driving home last week. The car is 3 minutes from my house lol.

Here's the good. The exterior is fine, the interior is okay, except for a small tear in the driver side, no biggie though. The engine bay had no leaks I could see. All reservoirs were full. No wet spots on the ground where is was parked before and after the test drive. The suspension is in good shape, rides smooth and very plush, handling is good. A/c blows cold, all gauges light up and the hvac and radio display is in working order.

The only bad problem is when you want to get on the throttle, the car refuses and instead hesitates and the RPMs start fluctuating up and down from idle to about 1500 and the CEL flashes a couple of times. He said the mechanic who took a look at it said the O2 sensor was bad, but he said it could be cleaned? I think he may be taking about the TPS. Any idea?
I'm going to take it to my mechanic tomorrow who is a former Lexus Master Tech.

Do all LS400s have air suspension btw?

 

No it was an option I believe, if it has switches next to the shifter for ride height and stiffness than it had th option when new. The air shocks have different lookig tower covers than the standard suspension models and a quick peek in the wheel well should reveal coils or air shocks. Could be a number of things causing that symptom, you can check the codes with a paper clip( there may be some magic sequence of key turns and pedal presses but I'm not sure). In my experience the TPS will cause rapid rpm spikes at idle but not as much under throttle (but that is on Honda engines). I doubt it's the O2 sensor IMO its the most wrongfully blamed part in car repair before cat's. If the O2 was out I would think the car would run on a fail safe value for the fuel trim and maybe run lean but not remove the ability to accelerate.

 

Ok, then it has the standard suspension. I'm waiting for my mechanic to call me back, he usually doesn't work Mondays but he told my friend and I to drop of his ES300 in about an hour for a rear main seal replacement last week. I will do the Paper Clip method if he's not there today and see what codes give. I also just remembered to ask when the last timing belt service was done, hopefully I can knock off a couple hundred if it wasn't done yet. Thanks for your help.

 

Fuel injection treatment...Seafoam...Clean throttle body...Etc

 

For the hesitation/jerking problem? I was thinking the same thing, as well as Fuel Filter change. I still have not taken it yet, tornado warning here in Dallas.

 

Good news, I was right it was a TPS code 41. A timing belt service is needed too, last time it was done was at 111k. Other than that she is perfect, I got her up to 80 mph on the highway, no vibrations. A little wind noise from the driver side A piller but it's no big deal. I offered 2600 and waiting for her to call me back(her x-husband was only home).

I also found a new TPS online for 38.99. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-LEXUS-TO...ht_3030wt_1348

Is this OEM?

 

I just bought a 1996 ls 400, but before I did I bought a 1993, and then returned it for the problem you are describing. There were other issues too.

Anyway, under normal driving and easy acceleration i never noticed anything odd. but when I put the trans in power mode, and accelerated hard, it would not shift out of first gear, the tranny would seem to slip and the rpm's would fluctuate.

I would drive it some more to make sure it is the TPS, and not the tranny is starting to go out, and slipping.

They might not be the same issue, but your description sounded a lot like what I experienced. At that mileage it could have limited life on the tranny. Yeah I know these things go forever. If it was not taken care of well, the tranny could be slipping.

Good Luck.

 

Not getting it. What about a clean one owner 99 LS with 116k for 7.3K?

 

That is the kind of car I would buy. That is a good deal too. You might find some cheaper, but if it is one owner and very well cared for and serviced, that is worth a $1000 easy IMO.

 

All the similar ones are priced higher with higher miles on them. This LS still hasn't been sold since I last posted and I should be selling the Xterra tomorrow so I will try to pick this one up tomorrow as well to replace it. Our initial offer last week was 6700 with TTL(no deal then). 7.3K was w/out TTL.

 

I picked up my 93 on UAS for 2500. I got him down on price because of the things i had to fix... egr, climate control, dash... other than that it runs like a champ for 210000 miles

 

Picked up a different 99 LS with 87K, it's at close to brand new as you can get. Everything is 100%.