How did you feel when you first got your LS?
02-08-16, 06:06 PM
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How did you feel when you first got your LS?
Im talking about like right when you just handed over the cash to the previous owner. Were you in love? Did you feel like you were just buying another car that you and your family could fit into? Was it the car that you'd been saving up for? Did you have cold feet about buying it?
I still remember what the craigslist ad looked like. It was advertised as a regular car would be you know without glamour shots and with pics of the engine bay, trunk, rear seating area etc. etc. Being 20 at the time I wasn't even supposed to be looking at luxury cars let alone V8 luxury cars hell I didnt even know what I was looking at haha Id punched in GS300 just for ****s and gigs cause I remembered the my older brother would pick it occasionally in videogames and the LS came up along with the suggestions. I gave it a gander and I wasn't too crazy about it to be honest. I was stuck on an emerald green late 90s GS300 with gold plated badging that id found for like $3,500 I wanted that car sooo bad I called and e-mail night and day for about half a week then I finally just gave up I remembered the LS and how clean it seemed you could even see the fresh shampoo strokes in the carpet lol. I gave it another look and I called and scheduled a meeting for the coming weekend. When it came I took two of my cousins with me and we set off for paradise hills in San Diego California which was perfect purchasing location cause Im from the Imperial Valley and SD is always nice to visit when you live in a desert. I remember pulling up to the street where it was supposed to because it didn't look like the niced neigborhood and that it shouldn't have been called paradise hills haha but I didn't mind I just wanted to see the LS. We finally found it and parked a bit up the street walked back to the LS and I called the seller to come out and showcase the it. He was a pretty cool dude had a chill attitude which didn't make the whole experience and awkward encounter. He opened it up and showed me all the compartments I remembered being amazed that it had the first aid kit pull out from under the seat. It really was just as clean as in the pictures even the engine bay, spotless all of it! even passed smog too and had carfax I read it and it was well taken care of by dealers. I like what id seen so sure enough I asked for a test drive. Naturally I was in the driver's seat the seller in the passengers and both of my cousins in the back. I turned the key and I remembered thinking oh my god this car sells itself it was night by then and the cluster lights dazzled me upon ignition haha. I started down the street slowly and rolled down all the windows so I could hear the car as well as possible. So far so good. During all this my cousins were quiet but had no complaints about space even though ones 6 ft and the other is 6ft 3in. I was asking usual questions and the seller answered them in detail but still didn't make it formal at all. Then he said ok lets hit the freeway now. I didn't show it but I was exited cause I was able to feel how great it was just on surface streets. We got on the ramp and entered. It cruised fine and didn't seem to struggle at all which was something that I wasn't used to never owned a V8 before and my previous vehicle was a 91 hardbody with an ambiguous past. I was doing speed limit and he said you know you can punch it right? I laughed and dropped that pedal faster then a bad habit. Now we all know that the LS isn't that fasted car in the world but at the time I was none the wiser. From there Id made a decision and it was to buy it but I didn't tell him that just right then. We came back to his house we parked and got out the car by now it was chilly out but not by too much. I asked my cousins to wait by the car we'd arrived in and then we started dealing. I had no idea how to haggle at the time haha but asking price was $3,200 had high 160s on the odo and was a 96 it was an honest price but as anyone else would I wanted to see if I could talk him down. I didn't realize it then but I low balled the hell out of him and offered $2,500 cash he countered with an expression that read massively along the lines of "really?" But he kept his cool and responded "well I like even numbers $3,000 and its yours" I countered with "$2,700" obviously missing the recent even numbers memo. The seller then then responded with "I like even numbers $2,800". By then I felt that 28 was a good deal so I took it. We shook hands and signed papers and drove off into the night with my new car with my cousins tailing me we took the freeway to seaport village. When we got there we parked their car and just cruised the down town area in the LS with the windows down and the sunroof open. The only way that I can explain the way that I felt that night was that I felt like I was walking on air. Later on with time I found out that it was an Easter egg with aftermarket tail lights, magnaflows, and coilovers. Hell. Yea
I still remember what the craigslist ad looked like. It was advertised as a regular car would be you know without glamour shots and with pics of the engine bay, trunk, rear seating area etc. etc. Being 20 at the time I wasn't even supposed to be looking at luxury cars let alone V8 luxury cars hell I didnt even know what I was looking at haha Id punched in GS300 just for ****s and gigs cause I remembered the my older brother would pick it occasionally in videogames and the LS came up along with the suggestions. I gave it a gander and I wasn't too crazy about it to be honest. I was stuck on an emerald green late 90s GS300 with gold plated badging that id found for like $3,500 I wanted that car sooo bad I called and e-mail night and day for about half a week then I finally just gave up I remembered the LS and how clean it seemed you could even see the fresh shampoo strokes in the carpet lol. I gave it another look and I called and scheduled a meeting for the coming weekend. When it came I took two of my cousins with me and we set off for paradise hills in San Diego California which was perfect purchasing location cause Im from the Imperial Valley and SD is always nice to visit when you live in a desert. I remember pulling up to the street where it was supposed to because it didn't look like the niced neigborhood and that it shouldn't have been called paradise hills haha but I didn't mind I just wanted to see the LS. We finally found it and parked a bit up the street walked back to the LS and I called the seller to come out and showcase the it. He was a pretty cool dude had a chill attitude which didn't make the whole experience and awkward encounter. He opened it up and showed me all the compartments I remembered being amazed that it had the first aid kit pull out from under the seat. It really was just as clean as in the pictures even the engine bay, spotless all of it! even passed smog too and had carfax I read it and it was well taken care of by dealers. I like what id seen so sure enough I asked for a test drive. Naturally I was in the driver's seat the seller in the passengers and both of my cousins in the back. I turned the key and I remembered thinking oh my god this car sells itself it was night by then and the cluster lights dazzled me upon ignition haha. I started down the street slowly and rolled down all the windows so I could hear the car as well as possible. So far so good. During all this my cousins were quiet but had no complaints about space even though ones 6 ft and the other is 6ft 3in. I was asking usual questions and the seller answered them in detail but still didn't make it formal at all. Then he said ok lets hit the freeway now. I didn't show it but I was exited cause I was able to feel how great it was just on surface streets. We got on the ramp and entered. It cruised fine and didn't seem to struggle at all which was something that I wasn't used to never owned a V8 before and my previous vehicle was a 91 hardbody with an ambiguous past. I was doing speed limit and he said you know you can punch it right? I laughed and dropped that pedal faster then a bad habit. Now we all know that the LS isn't that fasted car in the world but at the time I was none the wiser. From there Id made a decision and it was to buy it but I didn't tell him that just right then. We came back to his house we parked and got out the car by now it was chilly out but not by too much. I asked my cousins to wait by the car we'd arrived in and then we started dealing. I had no idea how to haggle at the time haha but asking price was $3,200 had high 160s on the odo and was a 96 it was an honest price but as anyone else would I wanted to see if I could talk him down. I didn't realize it then but I low balled the hell out of him and offered $2,500 cash he countered with an expression that read massively along the lines of "really?" But he kept his cool and responded "well I like even numbers $3,000 and its yours" I countered with "$2,700" obviously missing the recent even numbers memo. The seller then then responded with "I like even numbers $2,800". By then I felt that 28 was a good deal so I took it. We shook hands and signed papers and drove off into the night with my new car with my cousins tailing me we took the freeway to seaport village. When we got there we parked their car and just cruised the down town area in the LS with the windows down and the sunroof open. The only way that I can explain the way that I felt that night was that I felt like I was walking on air. Later on with time I found out that it was an Easter egg with aftermarket tail lights, magnaflows, and coilovers. Hell. Yea
02-08-16, 09:55 PM
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Oh its all good man haha I really wasnt trippin much. Only thing that turned out to be weirdish were the exhaust pipes turns out that they were made of like 11 different peices.
02-09-16, 02:36 PM
#4
Lexus Test Driver
oh man that's a story. I was 17 when I got my first Ls400. this was back in 01 and it was a 1990 model. for over a year I was absolutely fixated and hell bent on getting one. I had lots of cars before my first LS, but my DD at the time was a 1992 buick roadmaster that was falling apart. I found my first one on autotrader. I remember going to look at it, seeing it for the first time, meeting the people that had it. they had just got a new Ls430 and the 400 was just taking up space in there driveway with a for sale sticker on it. I remember handing over the cash, (they wanted $5k but got it for $3k), getting all the stuff for it, keys books papers etc, signing the title, putting my tag on it for the first time, and that first drive. man it was the greatest. ofcourse I went to all my friends houses with it, picked everyone up in it and went joy riding everywhere in it. I bought the car at 3pm and didn't get home until 3am! I drove that thing all over the place. and I was so proud of it cause it wasn't just handed to me, I earned the money for it myself, and really busted my *** and saved up to get it. hard work payed off. I ended up keeping that car for 8 years. I absolutely loved it till the very end, and was very very sad when it finally died and I had to get rid of it. I still think about that car all the time, now some 4 LSs later lol
02-09-16, 03:23 PM
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oh man that's a story. I was 17 when I got my first Ls400. this was back in 01 and it was a 1990 model. for over a year I was absolutely fixated and hell bent on getting one. I had lots of cars before my first LS, but my DD at the time was a 1992 buick roadmaster that was falling apart. I found my first one on autotrader. I remember going to look at it, seeing it for the first time, meeting the people that had it. they had just got a new Ls430 and the 400 was just taking up space in there driveway with a for sale sticker on it. I remember handing over the cash, (they wanted $5k but got it for $3k), getting all the stuff for it, keys books papers etc, signing the title, putting my tag on it for the first time, and that first drive. man it was the greatest. ofcourse I went to all my friends houses with it, picked everyone up in it and went joy riding everywhere in it. I bought the car at 3pm and didn't get home until 3am! I drove that thing all over the place. and I was so proud of it cause it wasn't just handed to me, I earned the money for it myself, and really busted my *** and saved up to get it. hard work payed off. I ended up keeping that car for 8 years. I absolutely loved it till the very end, and was very very sad when it finally died and I had to get rid of it. I still think about that car all the time, now some 4 LSs later lol
02-09-16, 04:51 PM
#6
Dude your story puts a smile on my face and tear in my eye (jk about the tears haha) but yea man Id read your story in the poll/thread that you started having more background on this thread just adds to the inspiration that ive found in what youve shared lol I think thats it pretty cool that you saved for a straight year too! I'm pretty sure that ill be keeping mine for a lot longer. I can honestly see myself as and older head that passes it on to a family member. Im also finding myself more confident when comes to working on it. So far with it I've swapped the flexjoints and Diff by myself with either of my cousins from the story there as extra set of hands if I need em haha.
Just a note: Wash the car and put some wax on it. I noticed that your clear coat on the roof is going, and it would be best to protect that well for now, before it goes too far beyond potential repair.
02-09-16, 05:35 PM
#7
Lead Lap
the surprising ease of serviceability is just another of this car's many many strong points. i've replaced the LCD on the radio twice now lol and once i learned about those two clips on the center air vent assembly i completed the whole thing in like under 30 mins.
it felt great when i first got it. it'd been in the family for the first 12 years of its existance, so it's very comforting to know that it was driven by 2 old people and always had its regular oil changes, always with mobil 1 (or so it's claimed at least). my first impressions were how nice and light the steering is, as well as how incredibly quiet and smooth it was. of all the adjectives people seem to use to describe an LS, quiet and smooth seem to be most frequent. makes sense, minimizing NVH was after all a top priority. i also just love the feel of the thin 90s wheel.
after getting over that, i soon realized how nice and torquey of an engine it has. after driving other cars, i really began to realize just how much punch this engine has compared to almost any other. i mean for an N/A engine that's not even 4 liters, it really gives you a proper shove. you can smoke most people off the light, but with it's tall gearing the highway is where it really dominates. i always love following a group of merging cars, those 'ordinary' cars start to run out of steam once they reach highway speeds, but the LS just keeps pulling and pulling, soon leaving everyone behind you
i've honestly grown to like it even more the longer i've had it. the more you look at it and see how they laid all the controls out, i at least think it's just way better than any modern design. there's not a single thing in or on this car that i think can't be justified in some way for being there. nobody needs and electrically adjusting seatbelt, but you can totally rationalize it's place there. why shouldn't your luxury car make adjusting your seat belt even easier? or the central 3rd sun visor, which is still something i've seen on incredibly few cars, if at all. and THEN you factor in the reliability... oh i love it
it felt great when i first got it. it'd been in the family for the first 12 years of its existance, so it's very comforting to know that it was driven by 2 old people and always had its regular oil changes, always with mobil 1 (or so it's claimed at least). my first impressions were how nice and light the steering is, as well as how incredibly quiet and smooth it was. of all the adjectives people seem to use to describe an LS, quiet and smooth seem to be most frequent. makes sense, minimizing NVH was after all a top priority. i also just love the feel of the thin 90s wheel.
after getting over that, i soon realized how nice and torquey of an engine it has. after driving other cars, i really began to realize just how much punch this engine has compared to almost any other. i mean for an N/A engine that's not even 4 liters, it really gives you a proper shove. you can smoke most people off the light, but with it's tall gearing the highway is where it really dominates. i always love following a group of merging cars, those 'ordinary' cars start to run out of steam once they reach highway speeds, but the LS just keeps pulling and pulling, soon leaving everyone behind you
i've honestly grown to like it even more the longer i've had it. the more you look at it and see how they laid all the controls out, i at least think it's just way better than any modern design. there's not a single thing in or on this car that i think can't be justified in some way for being there. nobody needs and electrically adjusting seatbelt, but you can totally rationalize it's place there. why shouldn't your luxury car make adjusting your seat belt even easier? or the central 3rd sun visor, which is still something i've seen on incredibly few cars, if at all. and THEN you factor in the reliability... oh i love it
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02-10-16, 05:39 AM
#8
Lexus Test Driver
I planned on keeping my 90 forever. I was going to keep it till I was old too. but sometimes life happens and tough decisions have to be made. when I sold her (sadly to a pick and pull) it was only out of desperation because I was about to be thrown out of were I was living and I needed rent money. it was the worst feeling in the world watching her go to the junkyard cause I knew there was no happy ending. I actually kept tabs on her too, just to see if anyone ended up taking pity on her and rescuing her from the boneyard. no such luck. she was stripped to the frame and crushed about a month later. I was at that same yard getting parts for my other car that was my DD, and unfortunately glanced over to where are all the crushed cars were, and saw her flat as a pancake under a bunch of dodge and fords, covered in mud at the bottom of the stack. I knew it was her cause my bumper stickers were still visable. worst feeling ever. I kinda broke down and cried.. real bad day.
anyway I searched for my 95 for 6 months before I found the right one, and vowed to never get rid of it. I will have this one till the day I die nomatter what. even if she is slap wore out and doesn't run, ill atleast keep her in my garage. ill be that frail old 90 year old man with a walker that has kids banging on my door asking me to sell my classic car. haha
anyway I searched for my 95 for 6 months before I found the right one, and vowed to never get rid of it. I will have this one till the day I die nomatter what. even if she is slap wore out and doesn't run, ill atleast keep her in my garage. ill be that frail old 90 year old man with a walker that has kids banging on my door asking me to sell my classic car. haha
02-10-16, 12:43 PM
#11
02-10-16, 12:47 PM
#12
Honestly the failing struts are a hazard, the hood is rather heavy on this car. I replaced mine for $35 and change and 10 minutes time. It's obvious by the pic dude works on the car...maybe has not gotten around to it. Oh well. Heck, my hood latch was broken so I was carrying a clothes hanger in my trunk to pop the latch until I hit the P&P and grabbed another. All in due time I suppose
02-10-16, 07:36 PM
#13
So what keeps the airfilter in? Gosh if I need a stick its a small cross section wood stick, and rests on the radiator top clamp bolt, and one of the grill bolts and thus won't screw up the paint. That stick looks like it messes up a bunch of stuff. I got some hood struts that I paid too much for at autozone and some I paid close to nothing for. My hoods stay up with no sticks.
02-10-16, 08:46 PM
#14
Lead Lap
if you're using the stick might as well just take out the struts all together, weight reduction bro
02-11-16, 12:31 AM
#15
The hood lifts are a low cost fix. The original hood shock/strut thread has part#s but those have changed so check the last pages for updated ones. This page of the thread:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...thread-11.html
For us, my goal was a change but I found myself liking the simplicity of the 400. Goal is to hit 300K so that is 100K miles more to go. At 6K annually, this car could be around for a long time.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...thread-11.html
For us, my goal was a change but I found myself liking the simplicity of the 400. Goal is to hit 300K so that is 100K miles more to go. At 6K annually, this car could be around for a long time.
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