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I finally picked up a black/black platinum edition LS400 today. The car has 97k miles on it.
How rare do you guys consider the car to be? If going by the KBB value of the car... I think I overpaid a bit considering quite a bit of work that I need to put in to the car, especially to pass inspection and register the vehicle, but the previous owner unfortunately would not budge much on the price.. regardless, I still ended up purchasing the vehicle, due to the fact that a black on black LS400 seems hard to come by often...
The car had a left headlight with a fully cracked housing which will need to be replaced. Timing belt and water pump had not been replaced on the car either. The tread on the tires seem pretty good but the tires must be old as I noticed all the sidwalls dry rotting and wearing unevenly, probably due to the previous owners not inflating the tires to the recommended pressure.
Is the platinum edition headlights different from the regular LS400 at all? From what I read on another post, they seemed to come with factory 8k HID bulbs? Correct me if I'm wrong please. Is there any other difference with the housing at all or just the bulbs itself?
There seems to be an oil leak somewhere under the car, as I noticed the plastic shielding below was dripping. Where are common spots that I should check for leakage?
Left fender had been repaired and repainted... they did a terrible job with blending the fender and front bumper... chrome trim strip is also missing from the front bumper...this is just cosmetics that I can address later.
The car also did not come with its spare tire.. and the board that goes in the trunk to keep the inside from sagging was missing.
Is there a badge on the car somewhere inside the car that lets you know for sure that its a platinum edition? (i.e 1 of 2500). I have a platinum edition badge on my left fender but the right one is missing. Will purchase later.
Here are some pictures of the car. The interior is in very good condition considering the age of the car. Will post more pics later!
You can tell it's a Platinum Series by the maple wood trim, the textured leather seat inserts and the 2001 LS430 wheels.
Check the oil drain plug to see if it has a washer on it. All Toyota and Lexus vehicles use the same oil drain plug washer. If that's not the cause of the leak, check the oil filter and valve cover gaskets.
Cracking tire sidewalls are usually due to age. Check the year code on the tire sidewalls.
The original HID bulbs were Phillips 4100K. 8000K bulbs may be a pretty blue but they don't produce much usable light. You'll need to replace that cracked headlight with one specifically designed for HID and you may have to transfer the auto leveling module to the new housing. Most/all of the aftermarket headlight housings for the 98-00 LS400 work only with halogen low beams.
You can tell it's a Platinum Series by the maple wood trim, the textured leather seat inserts and the 2001 LS430 wheels.
Check the oil drain plug to see if it has a washer on it. All Toyota and Lexus vehicles use the same oil drain plug washer. If that's not the cause of the leak, check the oil filter and valve cover gaskets.
Cracking tire sidewalls are usually due to age. Check the year code on the tire sidewalls.
The original HID bulbs were Phillips 4100K. 8000K bulbs may be a pretty blue but they don't produce much usable light. You'll need to replace that cracked headlight with one specifically designed for HID and you may have to transfer the auto leveling module to the new housing. Most/all of the aftermarket headlight housings for the 98-00 LS400 work only with halogen low beams.
Looks like they no longer make aftermarket fenders and front bumper for this car... will have to go the OEM route when it comes time to replace those. Sure gonna be pricey..
As for the left headlight, the cheapest I was able to find was on ebay for $192.81. May check the classified to see if there are any used headlights available as well. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1999-2000-LE...RVyTN8&vxp=mtr
Need to source a spare tire too...
Do you guys know of anyone who has transferred the auto leveling module out of an old headlight to a new one?
I'm curious what you paid for her. Seems like the previous owner cut some corners somewhere on the maintenance. Also no spare tire? What's up with that?
I'm curious what you paid for her. Seems like the previous owner cut some corners somewhere on the maintenance. Also no spare tire? What's up with that?
Yeah they told me they didn't have the money for a proper repair of the fender.. I'll take some pictures of the awful job tomorrow.
It makes sense now that they'd go the cheap route since I found out you can't find an aftermarket fender for these cars anymore.
I drove 2 1/2 hours up to Philly to see this car and was excited at the thought of picking one up. Unfortunately she would not budge on the price much no matter how much I tried. I'm sure.if I would've been more patient, a deal closer to home would've popped up. I paid $4900 for this car... Way too high considering the amount of work that needs to go into it. The more I think about it, the more I get depressed haha. Decided to stop browsing Craigslist to see what's out there.
What a strange mix of low mileage/good condition and don't-give-a-crap lack of maintenance! I'm going to guess that this car was loved and well cared for a long time by its original owner, and abused/neglected for a short time by its second owner.
All-in-all, not a bad find and not a terrible price.
What a strange mix of low mileage/good condition and don't-give-a-crap lack of maintenance! I'm going to guess that this car was loved and well cared for a long time by its original owner, and abused/neglected for a short time by its second owner.
All-in-all, not a bad find and not a terrible price.
Thanks! Currently looking around to buy a wrecked parts car to source what I need. Cheaper than having to buy a new one fender and front bumper. Luckily my father owns a body shop and can paint the parts for me!
Not a bad price based your ability to access cheap body / paint work. If you got the color/style/model you wanted and intend to keep it for a while and it makes you smile..... then all is good. Enjoy the ride and take pride in making it yours.
08-05-17, 08:38 PM
New owner of a 2000 LS400 Platinum Edition
