Feedback on ls400s I am looking at (merged threads)
02-14-14, 02:02 PM
#1
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Feedback on ls400s I am looking at (merged threads)
Whats up guys, Im looking to buy a lexus ls400 or sc400 for about 2k-2.5k i found this ls400.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac...332841150.html
do you guys think this is a good buy. Im going to go see the car in person tomorrow. The guy is the 3rd owner. He claims he has no maintenance records. The car itself is in great condition the then the small little hit on the right front bumper which doesn't worry me much. I checked on Lexus for maintenance records there and it doesn't have much only up until 2001. I posted a image of the records. Overall the car seems to be in great shape. he claims no leaks and no rips in the interior and it really does look like its been taken care of. I know in 20k miles Im gonna have to do the 100k service but as my first I dont believe im gonna be driving much so it'll probably come in a about a 2 years. He claims all electronics work too. Of course i cant really confirm all that until I see the car in person with my dad (Who knows alot about cars). If the car itself is in the shape he claims it to be would you buy it at around that price. the car was first posted a 3k and now is at 2500. I can probably talk him down another 500. At the price theres a lot of first gen ls400s and arent really that clean. Would you recomend buying this car. Everything newer in my price range still has really high mileage around 200k and i doubt is anywhere as near as reliable as the LS400. I have about 5k right now which would be my rainy day fund just incase something does go wrong. Gas prices dont worry me much. And Im also planning on doing repairs/maintence with my dad when i have to. We've been doing them together since i was a kid on his cars.
EDIT: Sorry I also havent checked the carfax yet but he claims its clean. Ill check it later tonight once my dads home. I want to be certain hell drive me there. But give me advice as if it was clean
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac...332841150.html
do you guys think this is a good buy. Im going to go see the car in person tomorrow. The guy is the 3rd owner. He claims he has no maintenance records. The car itself is in great condition the then the small little hit on the right front bumper which doesn't worry me much. I checked on Lexus for maintenance records there and it doesn't have much only up until 2001. I posted a image of the records. Overall the car seems to be in great shape. he claims no leaks and no rips in the interior and it really does look like its been taken care of. I know in 20k miles Im gonna have to do the 100k service but as my first I dont believe im gonna be driving much so it'll probably come in a about a 2 years. He claims all electronics work too. Of course i cant really confirm all that until I see the car in person with my dad (Who knows alot about cars). If the car itself is in the shape he claims it to be would you buy it at around that price. the car was first posted a 3k and now is at 2500. I can probably talk him down another 500. At the price theres a lot of first gen ls400s and arent really that clean. Would you recomend buying this car. Everything newer in my price range still has really high mileage around 200k and i doubt is anywhere as near as reliable as the LS400. I have about 5k right now which would be my rainy day fund just incase something does go wrong. Gas prices dont worry me much. And Im also planning on doing repairs/maintence with my dad when i have to. We've been doing them together since i was a kid on his cars.
EDIT: Sorry I also havent checked the carfax yet but he claims its clean. Ill check it later tonight once my dads home. I want to be certain hell drive me there. But give me advice as if it was clean
02-14-14, 02:39 PM
#2
Lexus Champion
skip the Carfax and use Autocheck instead, www.autocheck.com
Carfax has been caught multiple times giving a clean bill of health to cars that have been wrecked, salvaged, etc. - they were caught by ABC News
I personally don't want a car that has ever been hit - it affects long term reliability more than you would think!
the 1996 LS400 is a great car, as are all LS400's, just wait for a garage kept creampuff! - Be patient, there are new ones coming for sale every day!
Carfax has been caught multiple times giving a clean bill of health to cars that have been wrecked, salvaged, etc. - they were caught by ABC News
I personally don't want a car that has ever been hit - it affects long term reliability more than you would think!
the 1996 LS400 is a great car, as are all LS400's, just wait for a garage kept creampuff! - Be patient, there are new ones coming for sale every day!
02-14-14, 03:03 PM
#3
Nothing wrong with a car that had been hit if it was fixed properly. That said, there are a lot more shady repair jobs these days than quality jobs so you have to spend the time and a little extra cash to get it checked out properly!
Even "rebuilt" cars can be great depending on the hit.
My car is a rebuilt, was tagged in the left rear, dimpled the fender, broke the left side taillights, cracked the bumper and tweaked the trunk in the bottom corner at the taillight. Aside from a few paint chips and scratches housed expect with a 18y/o car, it was extremely clean without a spot of rust anywhere, but the insurance company wrote it off. I talked to a couple buddies who work at body shops and all said it was maybe $1500 worth of damage at most. No critical wiring harnesses, no stressed structural members, no suspension parts were damaged or even in the area of the damage... Looked to be the result of getting backed into in a parking lot. So I did a really thorough PPI, history check, got the insurance documents on the write off... Paid $3500 for mine already fixed and couldn't be happier with it as an interm beater.
As a master technician, I have seen more than my fair share of shoddy rebuilt cars and half-assed body work in my day. For the most part, I tend to stay away from such cars and tell my customers to do the same, but there are good ones out there.
Yeah, you might wait and find a gem out there, but it will probably will cost a lot more.
If you do your homework and get it properly checked out, then it might be a good car. If there is any sign of existing or unresolved damage, walk away.
If the car lacks records, one option is asking the seller where they had it serviced, the shop will have records. If it is a multiple owner car, you might get lucky and the seller has the transfer papers with the previous owners name and address/number. I've gotten lucky in the past and managed to track them down and find out where they had the car serviced and got those records too!
Even "rebuilt" cars can be great depending on the hit.
My car is a rebuilt, was tagged in the left rear, dimpled the fender, broke the left side taillights, cracked the bumper and tweaked the trunk in the bottom corner at the taillight. Aside from a few paint chips and scratches housed expect with a 18y/o car, it was extremely clean without a spot of rust anywhere, but the insurance company wrote it off. I talked to a couple buddies who work at body shops and all said it was maybe $1500 worth of damage at most. No critical wiring harnesses, no stressed structural members, no suspension parts were damaged or even in the area of the damage... Looked to be the result of getting backed into in a parking lot. So I did a really thorough PPI, history check, got the insurance documents on the write off... Paid $3500 for mine already fixed and couldn't be happier with it as an interm beater.
As a master technician, I have seen more than my fair share of shoddy rebuilt cars and half-assed body work in my day. For the most part, I tend to stay away from such cars and tell my customers to do the same, but there are good ones out there.
Yeah, you might wait and find a gem out there, but it will probably will cost a lot more.
If you do your homework and get it properly checked out, then it might be a good car. If there is any sign of existing or unresolved damage, walk away.
If the car lacks records, one option is asking the seller where they had it serviced, the shop will have records. If it is a multiple owner car, you might get lucky and the seller has the transfer papers with the previous owners name and address/number. I've gotten lucky in the past and managed to track them down and find out where they had the car serviced and got those records too!
02-14-14, 03:36 PM
#4
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I paid $2200 for the car, and it was visually in near perfect shape, but I knew it needed most of the above listed work. Bought it anyway for the condition, but be aware the work done was worth nearly three times the purchase price.
For me, for a car in such good condition, it was worth it. I wouldn't go nearly so far for a car that isn't damn near perfect.
02-14-14, 04:09 PM
#5
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Bingo. Not long ago I got a 1990 that's pushing 200k miles. It needed the power steering pump and rack replaced, had a broken motor mount, replaced the hood supports, new front brakes, all 4 cv boots, rear lower control arm bushing, coolant expansion tank was cracked, thermostat was starting to go, and the rear differential was leaking. I also changed the AC to R134A and replaced the receiver/dryer. Oh, the center sun visor was floppy, had to fix that.
I paid $2200 for the car, and it was visually in near perfect shape, but I knew it needed most of the above listed work. Bought it anyway for the condition, but be aware the work done was worth nearly three times the purchase price.
For me, for a car in such good condition, it was worth it. I wouldn't go nearly so far for a car that isn't damn near perfect.
I paid $2200 for the car, and it was visually in near perfect shape, but I knew it needed most of the above listed work. Bought it anyway for the condition, but be aware the work done was worth nearly three times the purchase price.
For me, for a car in such good condition, it was worth it. I wouldn't go nearly so far for a car that isn't damn near perfect.
02-14-14, 04:50 PM
#6
If you actually "knew all of that," what you are asking is dependent on the inspection.... Get it checked out by a proper shop, and they will confirm/deny the quality of the car.
And to be BRUTALLY HONEST, unless your dad is a trained automotive technician or has been building/rebuilding cars for decades, he doesn't know a lot about cars. Being able to tinker with cars in the drive way =/= knowing a lot about cars. I always laughed when people brought their "buddy who is a car guy" with them to buy a car and then show up with the at the shop only for me to find thousands of dollars worth of repairs/damage/maintenance were required. None of which their "car buddy" even had a clue about. 99/100 times the "car guy" know about the same as the buyer but can change their oil, spark plugs and maybe brakes... Take it to a pro!
I cannot stress this enough, getting it checked out by a certified professional of your choosing is a must!! Not only will it give you piece of mind, but you can use any problems the pro finds the negotiate the price down. It's much harder to do that when you bring your "car buddy" with you.
If it the pro gives you the thumbs up, then I'd buy it at that price. Just be sure to get him to pull the fender liners when it's up in the hoist and check for any hidden damage. I looked at a lot of LS's before I bought mine and more than a few had frame work but no hits claimed on insurance....
You can do the work yourselves after you buy it, just please get it inspected!
Some shops will even do the inspection for free if you are an existing customer... We do...
And to be BRUTALLY HONEST, unless your dad is a trained automotive technician or has been building/rebuilding cars for decades, he doesn't know a lot about cars. Being able to tinker with cars in the drive way =/= knowing a lot about cars. I always laughed when people brought their "buddy who is a car guy" with them to buy a car and then show up with the at the shop only for me to find thousands of dollars worth of repairs/damage/maintenance were required. None of which their "car buddy" even had a clue about. 99/100 times the "car guy" know about the same as the buyer but can change their oil, spark plugs and maybe brakes... Take it to a pro!
I cannot stress this enough, getting it checked out by a certified professional of your choosing is a must!! Not only will it give you piece of mind, but you can use any problems the pro finds the negotiate the price down. It's much harder to do that when you bring your "car buddy" with you.
If it the pro gives you the thumbs up, then I'd buy it at that price. Just be sure to get him to pull the fender liners when it's up in the hoist and check for any hidden damage. I looked at a lot of LS's before I bought mine and more than a few had frame work but no hits claimed on insurance....
You can do the work yourselves after you buy it, just please get it inspected!
Some shops will even do the inspection for free if you are an existing customer... We do...
02-14-14, 05:19 PM
#7
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
If you actually "knew all of that," what you are asking is dependent on the inspection.... Get it checked out by a proper shop, and they will confirm/deny the quality of the car.
And to be BRUTALLY HONEST, unless your dad is a trained automotive technician or has been building/rebuilding cars for decades, he doesn't know a lot about cars. Being able to tinker with cars in the drive way =/= knowing a lot about cars. I always laughed when people brought their "buddy who is a car guy" with them to buy a car and then show up with the at the shop only for me to find thousands of dollars worth of repairs/damage/maintenance were required. None of which their "car buddy" even had a clue about. 99/100 times the "car guy" know about the same as the buyer but can change their oil, spark plugs and maybe brakes... Take it to a pro!
I cannot stress this enough, getting it checked out by a certified professional of your choosing is a must!! Not only will it give you piece of mind, but you can use any problems the pro finds the negotiate the price down. It's much harder to do that when you bring your "car buddy" with you.
If it the pro gives you the thumbs up, then I'd buy it at that price. Just be sure to get him to pull the fender liners when it's up in the hoist and check for any hidden damage. I looked at a lot of LS's before I bought mine and more than a few had frame work but no hits claimed on insurance....
You can do the work yourselves after you buy it, just please get it inspected!
Some shops will even do the inspection for free if you are an existing customer... We do...
And to be BRUTALLY HONEST, unless your dad is a trained automotive technician or has been building/rebuilding cars for decades, he doesn't know a lot about cars. Being able to tinker with cars in the drive way =/= knowing a lot about cars. I always laughed when people brought their "buddy who is a car guy" with them to buy a car and then show up with the at the shop only for me to find thousands of dollars worth of repairs/damage/maintenance were required. None of which their "car buddy" even had a clue about. 99/100 times the "car guy" know about the same as the buyer but can change their oil, spark plugs and maybe brakes... Take it to a pro!
I cannot stress this enough, getting it checked out by a certified professional of your choosing is a must!! Not only will it give you piece of mind, but you can use any problems the pro finds the negotiate the price down. It's much harder to do that when you bring your "car buddy" with you.
If it the pro gives you the thumbs up, then I'd buy it at that price. Just be sure to get him to pull the fender liners when it's up in the hoist and check for any hidden damage. I looked at a lot of LS's before I bought mine and more than a few had frame work but no hits claimed on insurance....
You can do the work yourselves after you buy it, just please get it inspected!
Some shops will even do the inspection for free if you are an existing customer... We do...
EDIT: the car was sold
Last edited by xxmariolxx; 02-14-14 at 05:32 PM.
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02-14-14, 11:47 PM
#9
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Agreed I was gonna get it inspected but who knows. Maybe something better will come along I'm not in a hurry. I'm on probation so I wouldnt even risk driving it without a lisence so it would be sitting in the garage for a month. So no hurry. It was gonna need a tune up real soon either way
02-15-14, 03:58 AM
#10
Lexus Champion
wait for a great one, a great many of these cars were garage kept and meticulously serviced, and a 1996 was recently on ebay with 897,000 original miles! 
so don't worry about high mileage, even 200K is fine, what I would want to see is a car that has never been in an accident (as per autocheck) and one with outstanding paint and interior
many people are scared of cars with over 150,000 miles which keeps these cars at reasonable prices, even for the real beauties that look like they just rolled off the showroom floor - I would keep at least $1000 in reserve for many little things a 20 year old car might need, so don't spend your last dime on the car purchase itself. Example: tires that are 5 years old or older, are worn out, I don't care if they have only 1000 miles on them and look brand new, the are worn out due to age, as opposed to mileage. And a new set of good tires is $600 even at a great deal.
97 and earlier are dirt cheap these days, if you can get the 95-97 generation in your budget, there were some improvements, but a 90-94 is fine if the condition/history is there - the main things not to concede on is cosmetic condition, service records, accident history. 98-2000 have many additional improvements over 95-97 including considerably more power and much harder to steal, but these are more pricey.
If a car has been taken car of as far as paint and interior, then generally the mechanical side has been taken care of as well! - Interior and paint are the most expensive things on the car to get back to beautiful condition.
Regardless of what some people here might say, I have found a huge correlation between a car having been in a serious accident, and future reliability of the car, even on unrelated systems on the other end of the car from where the accident was!
look at the driver's seat condition, as the first thing to go, that and the accident/autocheck history will tell you almost everything you need to know!
AVOID cars that have been modified in any way, lowered, slammed, giant subs in the trunk, HID lighting, other mods - these have typically been owned by teenagers or 20-somethings and been driven hard and or abused with little regard to the Lexus factory maintenance schedule.
You want the car the little 95 pound Japanese lady owned and used a soft touch on everything on the interior, and had the maintenance done like clockwork! - surprisingly, even this type of car will be reasonably priced if you can be patient - I waited nearly 5 months to find mine and took a plane flight to go and pick it up in another state and drove it back!
Living in California, I would be looking very hard in Phoenix and Vegas, as a lot of LS400's were sold in those two areas and the 4% humidity has kept them pristine!
so don't worry about high mileage, even 200K is fine, what I would want to see is a car that has never been in an accident (as per autocheck) and one with outstanding paint and interior
many people are scared of cars with over 150,000 miles which keeps these cars at reasonable prices, even for the real beauties that look like they just rolled off the showroom floor - I would keep at least $1000 in reserve for many little things a 20 year old car might need, so don't spend your last dime on the car purchase itself. Example: tires that are 5 years old or older, are worn out, I don't care if they have only 1000 miles on them and look brand new, the are worn out due to age, as opposed to mileage. And a new set of good tires is $600 even at a great deal.
97 and earlier are dirt cheap these days, if you can get the 95-97 generation in your budget, there were some improvements, but a 90-94 is fine if the condition/history is there - the main things not to concede on is cosmetic condition, service records, accident history. 98-2000 have many additional improvements over 95-97 including considerably more power and much harder to steal, but these are more pricey.
If a car has been taken car of as far as paint and interior, then generally the mechanical side has been taken care of as well! - Interior and paint are the most expensive things on the car to get back to beautiful condition.
Regardless of what some people here might say, I have found a huge correlation between a car having been in a serious accident, and future reliability of the car, even on unrelated systems on the other end of the car from where the accident was!
look at the driver's seat condition, as the first thing to go, that and the accident/autocheck history will tell you almost everything you need to know!
AVOID cars that have been modified in any way, lowered, slammed, giant subs in the trunk, HID lighting, other mods - these have typically been owned by teenagers or 20-somethings and been driven hard and or abused with little regard to the Lexus factory maintenance schedule.
You want the car the little 95 pound Japanese lady owned and used a soft touch on everything on the interior, and had the maintenance done like clockwork! - surprisingly, even this type of car will be reasonably priced if you can be patient - I waited nearly 5 months to find mine and took a plane flight to go and pick it up in another state and drove it back!
Living in California, I would be looking very hard in Phoenix and Vegas, as a lot of LS400's were sold in those two areas and the 4% humidity has kept them pristine!
Last edited by LScowboyLS; 02-15-14 at 04:03 AM.
02-15-14, 09:18 AM
#11
Great advise cowboy, I even bought 5 99 LS' and drove them long enough for "hidden" things to show up and then sold them, as I have always drove two of everything for my wife and me, and I know how to inspect a car properly.. but you can be fooled... so be patient and get a cherry... cheers..
02-15-14, 10:06 AM
#12
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Great advise cowboy, I even bought 5 99 LS' and drove them long enough for "hidden" things to show up and then sold them, as I have always drove two of everything for my wife and me, and I know how to inspect a car properly.. but you can be fooled... so be patient and get a cherry... cheers..
02-15-14, 10:10 AM
#13
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
wait for a great one, a great many of these cars were garage kept and meticulously serviced, and a 1996 was recently on ebay with 897,000 original miles!
so don't worry about high mileage, even 200K is fine, what I would want to see is a car that has never been in an accident (as per autocheck) and one with outstanding paint and interior
many people are scared of cars with over 150,000 miles which keeps these cars at reasonable prices, even for the real beauties that look like they just rolled off the showroom floor - I would keep at least $1000 in reserve for many little things a 20 year old car might need, so don't spend your last dime on the car purchase itself. Example: tires that are 5 years old or older, are worn out, I don't care if they have only 1000 miles on them and look brand new, the are worn out due to age, as opposed to mileage. And a new set of good tires is $600 even at a great deal.
97 and earlier are dirt cheap these days, if you can get the 95-97 generation in your budget, there were some improvements, but a 90-94 is fine if the condition/history is there - the main things not to concede on is cosmetic condition, service records, accident history. 98-2000 have many additional improvements over 95-97 including considerably more power and much harder to steal, but these are more pricey.
If a car has been taken car of as far as paint and interior, then generally the mechanical side has been taken care of as well! - Interior and paint are the most expensive things on the car to get back to beautiful condition.
Regardless of what some people here might say, I have found a huge correlation between a car having been in a serious accident, and future reliability of the car, even on unrelated systems on the other end of the car from where the accident was!
look at the driver's seat condition, as the first thing to go, that and the accident/autocheck history will tell you almost everything you need to know!
AVOID cars that have been modified in any way, lowered, slammed, giant subs in the trunk, HID lighting, other mods - these have typically been owned by teenagers or 20-somethings and been driven hard and or abused with little regard to the Lexus factory maintenance schedule.
You want the car the little 95 pound Japanese lady owned and used a soft touch on everything on the interior, and had the maintenance done like clockwork! - surprisingly, even this type of car will be reasonably priced if you can be patient - I waited nearly 5 months to find mine and took a plane flight to go and pick it up in another state and drove it back!
Living in California, I would be looking very hard in Phoenix and Vegas, as a lot of LS400's were sold in those two areas and the 4% humidity has kept them pristine!
so don't worry about high mileage, even 200K is fine, what I would want to see is a car that has never been in an accident (as per autocheck) and one with outstanding paint and interior
many people are scared of cars with over 150,000 miles which keeps these cars at reasonable prices, even for the real beauties that look like they just rolled off the showroom floor - I would keep at least $1000 in reserve for many little things a 20 year old car might need, so don't spend your last dime on the car purchase itself. Example: tires that are 5 years old or older, are worn out, I don't care if they have only 1000 miles on them and look brand new, the are worn out due to age, as opposed to mileage. And a new set of good tires is $600 even at a great deal.
97 and earlier are dirt cheap these days, if you can get the 95-97 generation in your budget, there were some improvements, but a 90-94 is fine if the condition/history is there - the main things not to concede on is cosmetic condition, service records, accident history. 98-2000 have many additional improvements over 95-97 including considerably more power and much harder to steal, but these are more pricey.
If a car has been taken car of as far as paint and interior, then generally the mechanical side has been taken care of as well! - Interior and paint are the most expensive things on the car to get back to beautiful condition.
Regardless of what some people here might say, I have found a huge correlation between a car having been in a serious accident, and future reliability of the car, even on unrelated systems on the other end of the car from where the accident was!
look at the driver's seat condition, as the first thing to go, that and the accident/autocheck history will tell you almost everything you need to know!
AVOID cars that have been modified in any way, lowered, slammed, giant subs in the trunk, HID lighting, other mods - these have typically been owned by teenagers or 20-somethings and been driven hard and or abused with little regard to the Lexus factory maintenance schedule.
You want the car the little 95 pound Japanese lady owned and used a soft touch on everything on the interior, and had the maintenance done like clockwork! - surprisingly, even this type of car will be reasonably priced if you can be patient - I waited nearly 5 months to find mine and took a plane flight to go and pick it up in another state and drove it back!
Living in California, I would be looking very hard in Phoenix and Vegas, as a lot of LS400's were sold in those two areas and the 4% humidity has kept them pristine!
02-15-14, 11:03 AM
#14
You stated you do not plan to keep the car very long, admitted you are just about to get your license and just learning to drive. While the LS is a phenomenal car, I would hope you do not do the community the emmense disservice of taking one of the cleaner examples and ratbagging it into one of the poor examples.
While I think you would not be making a poor choice with LS as your first car, it's not to big of a car unless you are utterly devoid of spacial awareness, but a first car is one you will ultimately do stupid things in, smack up and abuse. That is just the reality for the vast majority of young men, it might not even be your fault should that scenario play out. But as a new driver you will not have the skills nor seat time to be able recognize that you are there until it is too late. Also remember you are going to have your friends in/around your car and no matter how fastidious you might be about your car, one of them with something sharp in ther pocket punching a hole in your seats, dragging ther bookbag carelessly across the rear quarter, leaning up against the car and denting/scratching paint is almost assured. I'd personally be more worried about one of the stupid kids I went to school with, who were also just learning to drive, backing up into my car then crashing it myself. Or some insolent little punk/jealous ex-girlfriend keying it just because you have something nice and he doesn't/saw you with another girl... Just things to considered because only you know your situation.
Most of us are well past that stage in our lives so we pretty much control our cars destiny and condition.
For that reason, I would suggest you consider not worrying about ultra the pristine example as your first car. I'm not suggesting you buy a rebuilt, far from it... Just recognize the position you are in, the people you surround yourself with (not just be choice) and make the judgement call on if all of that adds up to keeping a really nice example, a really nice example. If it does, more power to you, if not focus on the best mechanical example you can find, even if the paint and interior are not pristine.
I'd like to hear from Scope as he is our resident teen LS driver, he might be able to give some advice to a fellow novice driver and potential high school LS owner.
Oh and I 100% agree, never ever buy a modified car!
You are always buying someone else's problems!
While I think you would not be making a poor choice with LS as your first car, it's not to big of a car unless you are utterly devoid of spacial awareness, but a first car is one you will ultimately do stupid things in, smack up and abuse. That is just the reality for the vast majority of young men, it might not even be your fault should that scenario play out. But as a new driver you will not have the skills nor seat time to be able recognize that you are there until it is too late. Also remember you are going to have your friends in/around your car and no matter how fastidious you might be about your car, one of them with something sharp in ther pocket punching a hole in your seats, dragging ther bookbag carelessly across the rear quarter, leaning up against the car and denting/scratching paint is almost assured. I'd personally be more worried about one of the stupid kids I went to school with, who were also just learning to drive, backing up into my car then crashing it myself. Or some insolent little punk/jealous ex-girlfriend keying it just because you have something nice and he doesn't/saw you with another girl... Just things to considered because only you know your situation.
Most of us are well past that stage in our lives so we pretty much control our cars destiny and condition.
For that reason, I would suggest you consider not worrying about ultra the pristine example as your first car. I'm not suggesting you buy a rebuilt, far from it... Just recognize the position you are in, the people you surround yourself with (not just be choice) and make the judgement call on if all of that adds up to keeping a really nice example, a really nice example. If it does, more power to you, if not focus on the best mechanical example you can find, even if the paint and interior are not pristine.
I'd like to hear from Scope as he is our resident teen LS driver, he might be able to give some advice to a fellow novice driver and potential high school LS owner.
Oh and I 100% agree, never ever buy a modified car!
You are always buying someone else's problems!
Last edited by Shmee; 02-15-14 at 11:06 AM.
02-15-14, 01:17 PM
#15
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
You stated you do not plan to keep the car very long, admitted you are just about to get your license and just learning to drive. While the LS is a phenomenal car, I would hope you do not do the community the emmense disservice of taking one of the cleaner examples and ratbagging it into one of the poor examples.
While I think you would not be making a poor choice with LS as your first car, it's not to big of a car unless you are utterly devoid of spacial awareness, but a first car is one you will ultimately do stupid things in, smack up and abuse. That is just the reality for the vast majority of young men, it might not even be your fault should that scenario play out. But as a new driver you will not have the skills nor seat time to be able recognize that you are there until it is too late. Also remember you are going to have your friends in/around your car and no matter how fastidious you might be about your car, one of them with something sharp in ther pocket punching a hole in your seats, dragging ther bookbag carelessly across the rear quarter, leaning up against the car and denting/scratching paint is almost assured. I'd personally be more worried about one of the stupid kids I went to school with, who were also just learning to drive, backing up into my car then crashing it myself. Or some insolent little punk/jealous ex-girlfriend keying it just because you have something nice and he doesn't/saw you with another girl... Just things to considered because only you know your situation.
Most of us are well past that stage in our lives so we pretty much control our cars destiny and condition.
For that reason, I would suggest you consider not worrying about ultra the pristine example as your first car. I'm not suggesting you buy a rebuilt, far from it... Just recognize the position you are in, the people you surround yourself with (not just be choice) and make the judgement call on if all of that adds up to keeping a really nice example, a really nice example. If it does, more power to you, if not focus on the best mechanical example you can find, even if the paint and interior are not pristine.
I'd like to hear from Scope as he is our resident teen LS driver, he might be able to give some advice to a fellow novice driver and potential high school LS owner.
Oh and I 100% agree, never ever buy a modified car!
You are always buying someone else's problems!
While I think you would not be making a poor choice with LS as your first car, it's not to big of a car unless you are utterly devoid of spacial awareness, but a first car is one you will ultimately do stupid things in, smack up and abuse. That is just the reality for the vast majority of young men, it might not even be your fault should that scenario play out. But as a new driver you will not have the skills nor seat time to be able recognize that you are there until it is too late. Also remember you are going to have your friends in/around your car and no matter how fastidious you might be about your car, one of them with something sharp in ther pocket punching a hole in your seats, dragging ther bookbag carelessly across the rear quarter, leaning up against the car and denting/scratching paint is almost assured. I'd personally be more worried about one of the stupid kids I went to school with, who were also just learning to drive, backing up into my car then crashing it myself. Or some insolent little punk/jealous ex-girlfriend keying it just because you have something nice and he doesn't/saw you with another girl... Just things to considered because only you know your situation.
Most of us are well past that stage in our lives so we pretty much control our cars destiny and condition.
For that reason, I would suggest you consider not worrying about ultra the pristine example as your first car. I'm not suggesting you buy a rebuilt, far from it... Just recognize the position you are in, the people you surround yourself with (not just be choice) and make the judgement call on if all of that adds up to keeping a really nice example, a really nice example. If it does, more power to you, if not focus on the best mechanical example you can find, even if the paint and interior are not pristine.
I'd like to hear from Scope as he is our resident teen LS driver, he might be able to give some advice to a fellow novice driver and potential high school LS owner.
Oh and I 100% agree, never ever buy a modified car!
You are always buying someone else's problems!