cbrkat28

Howdy y'all,

I've been lurking around here for a little while and decided it was time to formally post an intro thread since I might have an LS400 again very soon.

My first LS, and car in general, was a black/tan '94 that my father gave to me when he bought the black/black '03 LS430 (fully loaded) he still drives but now it has 150k on the clock...I was privileged, and responsible enough at 15 with just a learners permit, to rack up it's first ~9k miles and truthfully I think the 400's were better to drive while the 430 and whatever else has been introduced are better to be driven in.

Back on topic: I've been looking for a '99 or '00 LS400 because right now I have toys (2010 CBR600RR & 1971 VW 1302) but no car and of all the different vehicles I've driven enough to develop an opinion about, the LS400 still reigns so if I must drive something, and empty my toy-box to do so, it's gonna be a LS400.

I'm looking at a '99 that is in excellent condition cosmetically but since it is about 300 miles away from me, I can't check out the spark plugs or use a camera to peek inside the cylinders.

The dealer had no problem putting it up on a lift to take pictures of the frame like I requested so is there anyone with experience buying cars out of state and/or sight unseen have any advice they could give me?

Thanks in advance,
Ari

dicer

That's pretty funny looking in the cylinders etc. Personally I don't care what they look like as long as its running good doesn't burn oil and the whole car is not a repainted mess. So rather than a bore scope maybe a paint thickness gauge would be better to bring you could spot the bondo repairs then, if any. Besides a replacement engine costs what maybe 1200 ? A good paint job can run over 10,000.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

is this a lexus dealer? you will need to request TONS of detailed pictures, but being in texas the cars aren't too beat up compared to states that see snow. best is to get at least major maintenance evidence like timing belt. is the car in TX as well?

i would stay away from non-OE dealers.

cbrkat28

I can tell how healthy an engine, or a specific cylinder rather, is just by looking at the spark plug and if I already have the plug out then it's too easy to check for scoring on the cylinder walls for confirmation. IIRC, these cars have a closed loop setup so the chances of them running lean or rich is low, unless the MAF sensor is failing.

Regarding the paint, I plan to bring a relatively weak magnet with me and since these cars have steel bodies it should stick just about everywhere. I agree with you about the paint vs engine from a cost perspective, but how the car runs isn't dependent on the paint job.

What I know about the car (aside from the MY, exterior & color, and the options on it) is this:

1) It's from California and 18k of the 93k it has on the clock are from there, otherwise it has been in Texas for most of it's life aside from some time spent in Tennessee and Arkansas.

2) It has been repo'd before (which does concern me because of possible damage done to the drivetrain and/or suspension)

3) Service Records are very limited and I'm pretty confident the timing belt hasn't been changed because when I asked I heard something other than "yes"

4) It is being sold by a non-Lexus dealer.

5) All the detailed pictures I asked to be taken and in the specific way I asked for them to be taken, including pictures of the undercarriage (which was mainly just to see if they'd clean it up), were taken.

6) The salesman gave me that played out shpeel about it being owned by a grandmother blah blah blah; this is a red flag imo because I've heard that script when looking at so many different cars including an '02 Trans-Am and '07 WRX STI.

7) Despite the clean Carfax report & title it could still have been damaged at some point and I won't be able to confirm that without actually seeing the car in person.

No, it is not currently located in Texas (it's about 300 miles away from me) but has always lived in places that do not salt the roads or have particularly harsh winters.

cbrkat28

Also I want to mention that I know my way around an engine and, while motorcycles are a lot easier to work on than cars, if I can change the timing belt on a Ducati, I'm pretty confident I can get it done in my garage.

dicer

Me too. That is why engine and transmissions are not a worry about a car purchase. Body and paint is the most difficult. I can spot a repaint in pouring down rain, did it one time.
And it depends easy on motorcycles, not if its a fancy HD you don't want to scratch the parts. I say its a bit more difficult in that respect. If its a who cares junker then yes.

cbrkat28

I completely agree with you on the body because I can't undo an accident, and yea there will be a very noticeable difference between the engine bay and exterior body panels if it has been repainted because the level of factory quality can't be matched without shelling out at least 8k if you have a hookup, but being in grad school at the moment and close to starting an internship/full time job, it needs to start and run properly every time I turn the key.

Yes I want it to not look like crap, but no I do not have control over every place I'll have to park, but the interior looks top notch; seat belt fabric isn't grimey, the headliner doesn't sag like my '94 eventually started to, the bolsters are in good shape and the dash appears to illuminate evenly but I won't know about the brightness part to that or the seat heaters until I see it in person.

I am not infatuated with this specific car, just LS400's lol, so I can and will walk away if something doesn't seem right; if there's any doubt, there is no doubt.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

with the car coming from a 3rd party dealer, it's a red flag for me already. being repo'd is also a flag. it's changed ownership a few times and you will not be able to get a full history on the car other than what they say which should be taken with a grain of salt in the first place!

if you have time to drive 300 miles to look at it, by all means. nothing beat a personal inspection! but for me it is already not worth my time. i feel i will be upset at what i see unless the price is stellar!

cbrkat28

There have been 2 previous owners according to carfax and IIRC the 1998-2001 are the 2.5LS which means it has electric steering...unless it was willingly surrendered, and the tow truck was a flat bed, it could have damaged components that will be extremely costly to buy and even more time consuming to replace.

I have a friend that is a master mechanic and has a legit diagnostic reader with the proper software to check all the sensors plus if any trouble codes have ever been erased but since he just had twins he won't go there with me and said I could borrow it.

Also I never, never, pay attention to what a salesman tells me; When I was buying my first bike one tried to push me onto a 1000cc sportbike, calling the 250cc I went in to buy a "girl's bike" and the same thing happened when I bought the 600RR...there's no way any used car salesman knows what the car has seen before arriving on the lot, especially not all 16 years and 92,627 miles of it's life.

When I asked about the timing belt, not only did he not say yes, he tried to downplay the importance of it...so my plan, before even making the trip out there is to negotiate over the price, which is set much higher than book value, and doesn't factor in the details I've mentioned here.

The price will also be contingent upon no other issues, major or minor, being discovered once I see it in person; the extra pictures I asked to be taken give me a reasonable amount of assurance that no major body damage has ever occurred and I'll use a relatively weak magnet to confirm no bondo is underneath the paint.

If the body & paint have anything more than a few minor blemishes, I'll walk away.
If the results from the diagnostic results should further reduce the price and they won't budge, I'll walk away.

I would love to have another LS400, but I would hate to have another headache; too many of those already.

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

I like your thought pattern, you are going about it the right way.... my 99 now has 196+k and is a nearly perfect car & driver.... if the price is right and it drives out good, you have no worries coming up.. timing belt & bearings will fix you up.... 98 - 2000 are the best in my book, and I have had 12 LS's of every type, 94,95,96,97,99... (2 of each for me & wife) + a few that failed to meet my standards.. (see my cars I have owned)

cbrkat28

Everyone I know that hasn't owned or driven one is calling me crazy (including my mom that just bought a Hyrbid Sonata so that disqualifies her lol)...When cars with upwards of 300,000 miles are still around, let alone running and for sale, 92,627mi is relatively nothing if it's kept up properly...even the master mechanic (transmission specialist) that's letting me borrow his 3k diagnostic reader to check for trouble codes/any resets says they're solid, and he has nothing to gain from giving me bad advice because the few times I've had to have a car repaired he just charged me for parts and still gave me the 12 month warranty he gives everyone else.

My old '94 went from 105k to 189k in one year; drove that car all over the country and never needed roadside. my dad's '03 430 has every option that was available at the time and now with 150k even he admits the '94 was a better car; when it was 4 months old, the air suspension worked fine, the electric rear sunscreen (which now sags), etc all worked...except the hazard lights, he was making combo-swears I hadn't heard before but definitely would've set a new high score had it been a video game lol.