jaredmac11

I looked at a 1995 LS400, 155k miles. Asking $2100. The one-owner car grabbed my attention. However, It was picked up by a used car saleman and is not being sold by the family.
Regardless, I made the decision to go see it and had a few questions/red flags that came up.

• The side view mirrors dont seem to move via the controls. Is this fixable?
• The stereo and 6-disk changer are out. The owner/salesman claims it is a fuse, I asked him to replace it and let me know. These components have been known to fail for my IS300 and my ES300 so I wouldnt be surprised if they both died and its *not* a fuse.
• The ECT PWR indicator flashes every few seconds. A brief review online seems to show some scary stuff-- Gearbox solenoid failing or other transmission issues.
• The car felt like it was very loose on the suspension. Almost like I was swaying a bit... Is this just the drive style?
• Finally, the control arm bearing would need to be replaced. I dont mind putting in a new arm entirely. Made loud clunks when breaking while hitting a bump/hole.

Suspension/bushings on a 20 year old car arent alarming. I do wonder about the ECT indicator and other electrical stuff. Original owner usually is a good thing but I fear that this car wasnt that well maintained. I know there is a way to look up a Lexus service history without a car fax.. just cant find the link yet.

Anything else I should look for? This is my first LS Im looking at so I could just walk and keep looking.

dicer

I don't think anyone here can advise with out knowing the price tag. For $1000. I'd buy it if the body and paint and interior is a 10 of 10, and never ever a repaint of any panel etc. Radio and cd are out? Not working or not there? Go online or call around and see what it would cost to fix. Are you sure it wasn't mom and dads car that was given to the kid and he wanted some aftermarket sound system? Meaning someone has fooled with the electrics. The out fit needs to know top book value is with all the stuff working. And the price needs to reflect the work that is needing to be done. So where is the timing belt change point are there service records?

jaredmac11

Can't believe I forgot the price. Edited that in. He's asking for $2100 but I wouldn't give more than 1750. He's a used car salesman so.

Not sure about the history on the car, to be honest. I'm going to run the VIN tonight and see. Radio is there but does not turn on.

Thanks for the input. Timing belt would be another key indicator. I'm leaning no on this, but the one owner aspect was appealing.

brybo86

I would say no.

One thing youcan be sure about is that a used car salesman knows absolutely nothing about the car he is selling other than the year/make/model/color.

Their job to to BS their way to a sale, period.

dicer

If you are going to walk away from it, then for laughs just hit him up with all the problems and how the fixing it exceeds the value by thousands, and say its pretty much a wrecking yard queen and I'll give a bit more than a wrecking yard would. But to buy a car with problems you need to be a mechanic of sorts because paying to have someone do the work will end up costing way too much.

Legender

I'd shy away from this one. No history and from a used car lot are huge red flags for me. Not worth the time and hassle and will end up costing more in the long run. Just be patient and wait for a better one that will most certainly come along.

KJG92

Buying a car like this you are better off buying from a person instead of a car lot. Any LS400 you are interested should have some service records and you can tell a lot about a car by it's owner.