Hello,
I am about to pull the trigger on a 1998 ls400, brown, 90300 miles. I have been doing my research and am pretty sure I am aware of what to look for. No A/S cars for me. The timing belt and water pump will be replaced pre-purchase. I plan to have the motor mounts and tranny mount replaced before I pick it up (the car is in florida and i am in indiana). I plan to purchase new capacitors for the ecu and have those replaced before I make the drive back home, should the purchase go through. The car is local to some family I have down there and they have checked the car out for me as of today. Being told its a cream puff. 1 owner car, clean carfax, perfect paint (clear vinyl bra on front of car and rear bumper), perfect leather and interior, minimal fading of wood wheel and interior trim. $8000 is the asking price and I plan to go in with a target of $7000 out the door with the timing belt and waterpump done (but prepared to pay more...not letting this one get away should it all check out). Now, on to the question........

When my cousin drove the car he says that there is a small "clunk" noise when the wheel is turned all the way left and the car pulls slightly to the left while driving. I am aware that I need to watch out for ball joints, front strut bushings, and upper control arms iirc. Again, I am not there and am going off the description of a 20 yr old. The car will be taken to a mechanic in the am and the above mentioned will be inspected then. But, any ideas if I'm on the right track in terms of chasing down this "small" noise? Anything else I should be looking for before this deal is signed?

 

Welcome to Club Lexus.

From what you have described, the car sounds fine. The strut bar bushings typically wear so this is an common fix among other worn suspension issues. As for the ECU, you could inspect it. LscowboyLS could advise further.

The $7-8K range is fine for a car in "cream puff" condition.

 

Having family there to check it out beforehand is awesome. But, although he's family, he is only 20 years old so having the car go to another mechanic for inspection is a very good idea. Read some more on this forum on what to look for as to where the normal problems are on that year Lexus and give that list to the inspecting mechanic. The noise you described does sound like a strut bar bushing. Good luck with the potential purchase, hope it's what you're looking for.

 

Sounds like a great find... maintenance records will go a long way toward getting a good feel of how well the car has been taken care of.
Welcome to the club... (hopefully)...
Not sure you need to worry about the ECU caps before you get home...and not sure that it is as big a problem on the latter years as it is the earlier years...but I'll leave it up to LSCowboy to clear that up. I would certainly get it checked out from top to bottom before I attempted to drive it home.
Good luck.

 

i have a hard time buying car that i have not looked at in person. one person's "cream puff" definition can certainly differ from another. just be sure you trust your family who is currently your eyes and ears to the situation. have them taken pictures, and/or video if possible.

another place to take a look is the power steering pump. are there any noticeable leaks, or drips?

 

I agree 1000% and would not even think about the purchase if my family was not close. I'm still feeling uneasy actually, but the deal seems impressive and the mechanic who is checking it over is a family member who has owned and operated his own shop for 10+ years. My cousin, while young, is a car guy. All of the men in my family are....he gets it honestly. I trust his eye, but it stops there. The uncle mechanic I trust for everything under the skin.

The power steering pump and coolant temp sensor were on the list of things for him to check. He reported that there were no leaks visible. He drove the car for 15 min and hung around for another 10 after the test drive to be thurough. The temp was high during the test drive which leads me to believe that the coolant temp sensor will need replacement. I have pictures and am freaking amazed by them thus far. Should this thing check out at the shop and the mystery noise is just a bushing then I'm pretty sure I'll roll the dice.

As far as the caps for the ecu go I'm a believer in the "ounce of prevention" saying. So if its a known issue on the cars up until 2000 I would rather change them now then wait for some of the issues some of you guys have had to materialize. The car is supposedly bank vault quiet with no noticable vibrations. But, it seems as if the engine and tranny mounts have been an issue for you guys, so, thats why i plan to go ahead and change them now even if they seem ok at the moment. Interested to see what Lscowboyls has to say about the caps. Been lurking for over a month trying to educate myself and prepare for this purchase and he seems to be the resident guru.

Thanks for weighing in on this folks. Any other advice or things to watch out for is welcomed!

 

'98+ ecms have a very very low failure rate compared to the earlier cars, I wouldn't crack it open unless extensive diagnosis leads you to it as a possible/probable problem.

 

Thank you sir. I will not worry to crack it open and mess with it then. Can you weigh in on this clunk noise thats being described to me. Apparently the noise was only made while the car was parked and wheel was turned to full lock. He is telling me there was absolutely no noise from the suspension while under power.

 

I agree about not being so worried about a 98 ECU with 90,000 miles - I think it will make it home to Indiana just fine, however it is an area to keep an eye on, as Florida is the number one state for the ECU capacitor issue!

 

I have successfully purchased Florida cars on ebay with good results with only photos to go by, but no way in hell I am buying this car without getting an Autocheck (a more reliable version of CarFax) first

we have so many flood cars down here, you wouldn't believe it! (and they all look nice)

 

That's what I read in one of the threads....florida cars were prone to that. I hope this thing checks out tomorrow. Been looking for awhile now. I haven't been particular on color or options....just condition. But if I HAD to pick a color it would have to be antique bronze mica.

 

Duly noted......I'll check that now. Thanks.

 

Thanks for that.....no flood damage, but its NOT a 1 owner car. It showed a reppossesion and an accident to the front with moderate damage. The vehicle had to be towed. Carfax didn't show all of that! Will be sure they get it up on a lift and really inspect this clank now.

 

The accident would sour me on this car, because accidents severe enough to show up on Autocheck will affect future reliability, regardless of how well the repairs were done, in my experience.

Also the repossession is telling you that this is no creampuff that has enjoyed an easy life of some easy-going gentleman owner babying it or some delicate Japanese lady treating it gently.

Even if the condition were "showroom new", I would pass on this one. This is that little red flag that you get sometimes, that some folks choose to ignore, and later regret.


On a more upbeat note, this is not the last nice LS400 in Florida, they pop up all of the time, be patient and wait for the genuine bonafide clean 1 owner, no accident, no repossession luxury car you really wanted in the first place, and surprisingly, the price will likely be similar!

 

Sour me it has. The car had the valve cover replaced 10k miles ago as well. That, when combined with the accident, repo, and 4 previous owners means I should continue the search. None of the owners put many miles on the car and it seems to have been consistently owned by the elderly. I make that assumption by the yearly mileage and locations of the registration. But 1 red flag is enough.....multiple means adios! I want one, but plan to write a check for it and must wait on the right one.

But.....I woke up this am and searched craigslist and was able to find a 1997 in the indianapolis area with the same mileage....90600. Its the same price and I am going to make the 30 min drive to check it out in just a bit. They are asking 8000 for this car, its grey, truely a 1 owner vehicle, no accidents reported (but there are 2 small dents in the front and rear bumper in the photos), full service history, former lease car that the leaser then purchased. So there may be a silver lining.