SHOoff11

As the title states I am considering purchasing a 1992 LS400 with 270,000 for a project car. I have always loved this body style and have always wanted one for a weekend cruiser. The speedometer and gas gauge do not work, but I've already searched and found the repair procedures for those on here. The seller also states in the ad that he believes there is an oil leak near the "timing cover seal." The car needs paint and there is no stereo, however the interior looks to be in decent shape. The asking price is $1000 OBO, but I was already planning to offer $500 and work up to $700 max. I wanted to know if you guys think it's worth bothering with this one or just wait until a better one comes along. I'm waiting to hear some opinions before I contact the seller for further information. I'm pretty handy with a set of tools and I've read that these cars are very DIY friendly. Here are some pictures of the car from the ad...

Yotarip

I think it's a good buy for 1000 and $700 would be a killer deal if it drives fine. The high mileage motor is fine but it is due for front and rear seal, valve cover gaskets, timing belt and associated part. With 270K expect to put in work on the front suspension, maybe rack and pump. So, you could be nickle and dimed to death on needed maintenance but for $700, I'd be fine with it as a project.

jerryparks

iTrader: (1)

I also have a high mile LS400. I would a least want to see what routine maintenance has been done on the car before I would go $ 700.00. I suspect you will find a long list of minor stuff that needs to be done. If you end up having to do the timing belt and water pump- and possibly the starter, you are going to be out some rather large expenses, even if you do the work yourself. I just installed a rebuilt starter on my LS and it is not an easy job to do. If you have it all done, it can easily cost you 1000-1500. There is also the power steering pump repair that probably needs doing-if its not been done. I would think that you are going to need a lot of patience while working on the car. The pics do seem to indicate that the exterior and interior are in good shape for a 20+ year old car. The guys on this site are a great help in walking you through many repairs, and there are many visual tutorials to help in the process. Try hard to get it for $ 500 bucks!

SHOoff11

Thanks for the replies guys, but someone got to it before I did. Hopefully the next time I start a thread it will be because I have bought one.

LScowboyLS

I think this may be a blessing in disguise - even at $500, it is really only a good deal to drive basically as-is

if you were planning to fix it up nice, you want to start with one with great paint & interior, the paint would have scared me off for anything other than a beater or parts car

SHOoff11

There was another one, I don't remember the year, but I'm pretty sure it just needed new capacitors on the ECU to be fixed. I think that one was $1600 OBO, I'll try to find something more along the lines of that from here on out. Anything else besides a timing belt I should look for when I go drive one of these?

LScowboyLS

ECU capacitors is not expensive, even if you have to pay to have it done - but a nice paint job that doesn't look like junk is $5,000 minimum - so choose your car issues wisely!