FirstgenLS

Greetings fellow enthusiasts. I have a 1990 LS that is a one owner car since new. It is black with tan interior, ground effects kit, and only has 47,000 original miles on it.

Stroock639

that's awesome you found a 1990 1 owner. i'd be a little worried about the milage being that low, makes me think that it sat for awhile and didn't really get out on the open road too much. these cars are absolute tanks and as long as maintenance has been done there's no worry buying with 100,000 or even 150,000 miles. after all there's currently a 1996 LS with over 930,000 miles still going strong.

how does the car drive otherwise?

dicer

I'd make a convertible out of it.

AandSC

Congrats on a great find! I bought my 00 with only 33,000 miles and have put 11,000 miles on it over the past five months. The only issue I had was a rear axle replacement.

Do you know if the timing belt has been replaced?

Stroock639

you're too funny man it was over as soon as you read ground effects kit lol

dicer

Your getting to know me

Stereorob

on a car that old 47k miles is a little scary. ive been to many junkyards over the years looking for Ls400 parts and most of the ones I see in the junkyard have very low miles. seems the only way you can kill an Ls400 is to not drive it. id make sure all the seales belts and gaskets are replaced. you should be good to go. either way a 1990 1 owner with 47k miles is a very rare find. enjoy!!

KJG92

I've messed around with a lot of cars in my time. I've turned away from several older cars with low mileage and people thought I was insane. When I buy a old car I buy it to drive and enjoy it. When they sit for so long all the soft parts become vulnerable and that can become costly. Now if I was going to collect one and park and stare at it then yes, I'll take a low mileage example all day long.

My advice is drive it and keep a close eye on things and be prepared to start changing hoses and seals. Automatic transmissions don't like to sit either, but then again it is a Lexus so I'm sure it will be just fine. Good luck with it, sounds like you found a good one.

Stereorob

seems like the sweet spot for Ls400s to look for is around 165k miles. that means it was driven regularly but not driven to death, and all the hairy stuff that would normally break has already been replaced. ive had 4 so far and ive had very good luck using this benchmark.

Stroock639

how long would you say the power steering pumps last on these? mine's been making a sort of hiss/groan noise when under load for a bit now, and sometimes, like if you're turning the wheel while stopped in D, the steering will get real heavy when you're approaching full lock. i have like 129,000 miles now, i'd say it first became noticeable like 10k miles ago... also it's not low on fluid, nor is it leaking, i don't think

dicer

I'd take a perfect condition low mile over high mile any day. I try to not let a car sit too long and at least run it and cycle brakes and transmission every 2 weeks, some may go a bit more though. Ya just can't be driving something a lot that needs work to begin with, like timing belts that are cracked and over mileage by a bunch, starter making noise etc. and cold weather doesn't help with doing car projects.